The platform designed for the
independent professional workforce
MBO offers a customizable suite of business solutions to fit the specific needs of premier talent.
Build your business with the leading platform for the independent professional workforce.
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looking for elite independent talent.
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Share ideas and apply creativity working on projects from top companies around the world.
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Insights
Access a wide range of tips, research and tools designed to support the growth and innovation
of the independent workforce and enterprises who engage independent professionals.
Guide |
How to Give a Great Business Presentation (Guide)
MIN < 1 MIN READ Approach your presentation from a storytelling perspective. Stories are a powerful communication tool that engage your audience and create a memorable experience.
Grow a Small Business |
10 Ways to Get New Consulting Clients
MIN 5 READ Landing your first client is one of the most intimidating aspects of going independent and starting your own business. Visions of cold calling and repeated rejection can quickly cloud your thoughts and worries about being able to find any clients at all can feel paralyzing. These fears can sometimes scare potentially successful independent consultants away…
Contracts and Finance |
How Much Should I Charge as a Consultant? (Guide)
MIN < 1 MIN READ If you’re just getting ready to find your first consulting project or already well along on your journey, you have most likely grappled with this basic question.
Market a Small Business |
5 Creative Client Engagement Strategies
MIN 4 READ Finding and keeping clients is a primary part of your job as a small business owner. Networking, communication, and growing an online presence are good baseline strategies, but your business should stand out in a more memorable way. We’ve put together a list of five creative ways you can find, engage with, and keep the…
Grow a Small Business |
How to Expand Your Independent Consulting Business: When and How to Grow (Guide)
MIN < 1 MIN READ Learn how to decide if it’s time to grow your business, what to consider, and how to develop a growth strategy.
Guide |
How to Write a Consulting Contract (Guide): Types and Terms to Include
MIN < 1 MIN READ The modern independent consultant must be adaptable to their surroundings, particularly when client organizations change rapidly.
Market a Small Business |
9 Ways to Build a Personal Brand for Small Business
MIN 4 READ Building a personal brand is an important part of your identity—whether you’re an independent professional or a Fortune 100 company. From your name and logo to your company slogan and reputation, it’s how the public knows you. As an independent contractor, you are the face of your company. Establishing a strong personal brand is essential…
Grow a Small Business |
5 Reasons to Avoid Overselling Consulting Services
MIN 3 READ Overselling is an easy mistake to make—one that can put your business reputation at risk. As an independent professional, your drive and ambition are what make your business succeed. However, it is possible that the very ambition that helps you achieve your goals can become a detriment. When selling your services to a client, there…
Market a Small Business |
5 Marketing Strategies to Reach Your Target Audience
MIN 4 READ Reaching your target audience and properly communicating with them is important to growing your small business. Reaching the right audience provides visibility into the services you offer, builds brand credibility, and begins to form valuable relationships. Here are our five tips to reach your target audience and leverage your key messaging to grow a successful,…
Market a Small Business |
5 Tips to Elevate Your Productivity Working from Home
MIN 4 READ As we discovered in our 2021 State of Independence Report, within the past year, 68% of newcomers to the independent workforce were Gen Z or Millennials. Various benefits, such as improved health and happiness, continue to make working as an independent increasingly appealing to young professionals. If you are a college student wanting to join…
Contracts and Finance |
How to Write a Consulting Contract: 6 Best Practices
MIN 5 READ Writing contracts is an important part of your business as an independent professional. A contract defines the work you agree to do for a client, and it also provides you with legal protection. Contract negotiation can be an intimidating part of starting a new project but setting up this legal framework will help protect you…
Contracts and Finance |
Top 5 Common Contract Mistakes to Avoid
MIN 3 READ Contracts are an important part of starting a new project. They provide legal protection, discuss services to be performed, and include payment terms and conditions. If you’re new to the process, you may find that drafting a contract is a complicated task, requiring specific key terms, provisions, legal obligations, and ultimately, client agreement. As a…
Market a Small Business |
5 Tips to Elevate Your Productivity Working from Home
MIN 4 READ As we discovered in our 2021 State of Independence Report, within the past year, 68% of newcomers to the independent workforce were Gen Z or Millennials. Various benefits, such as improved health and happiness, continue to make working as an independent increasingly appealing to young professionals. If you are a college student wanting to join…
Manage a Small Business |
10 Legal Rights of Independent Contractors and 1099 Workers
MIN 6 READ A guide to the rights you have as an independent contractor.
Workforce Management |
8 Ways to Effectively Engage Independent Contractors
MIN 4 READ Engaging independent contractors shouldn’t be complicated. Yes, navigating the risk of worker misclassification can be daunting, but there are ways to simplify the process. Many businesses today engage independent talent as part of their total workforce. As the use of independent talent has become more mainstream, so has the engagement process. Follow these eight tips…
Workforce Management |
Contingent Workforce Management: What You Need to Know
MIN 4 READ Finding, engaging, and retaining skilled talent can be difficult in today’s work environment. There are many more job openings available than job seekers so where can companies find the people they need? We believe the answer is self-employed professionals, a population that brings highly specialized services to the workforce. The number of self-employed individuals is…
Resources |
How to Manage Freelancers and Independent Contractors
MIN 2 READ Learn three approaches to independent contractor engagement and tips for how to best manage your independent workforce.
Guide |
10 Steps to Take When You Have an Independent Contractor Compliance Issue (Guide)
MIN < 1 MIN READ As the project-based economy continues to evolve, proper management of independent contractor talent will prove to be critical.
Guide |
9 Common Contractor Compliance Issues and How to Avoid Them (Guide)
MIN < 1 MIN READ The number of people working as independent professionals in the United States is steadily rising. As this workforce continues to grow, so do the number of companies tapping into this talent source.
Workforce Management |
De-Risk with Confidence: 3 Ways to Reduce Misclassification Risk
MIN 3 READ Your ability to achieve workforce optimization is only as good as your staff’s abilities and bandwidth. When specific project needs arise—that may be highly technical or involve in-demand skills not found in your FTE population—partner with trusted, compliant, and vetted independent talent. In order to effectively source independent talent end-to-end, it is important to establish…
Workforce Management |
Should I Hire an Independent Contractor? 10 Myths
MIN 5 READ Deciding to hire independent contractors can raise a lot of questions—especially if this is new territory for your company. There are many common misconceptions about the independent workforce, a 51-million strong talent pool. One important distinction to note is that independent professionals don’t just make up the on-demand economy. Rather, this segment of the independent…
Misclassification & Compliance |
Independent Contractor Misclassification and Compliance News July 2022
MIN 3 READ As the independent workforce continues to grow, so do the issues of worker compliance and misclassification. It is important for enterprises to remain informed about the latest laws, regulations, and developments surrounding these topics. Each month, we’ll bring you the latest news stories from around the web. 1. Class Action Lawsuits Alleging Misclassification of Independent…
Workforce Management |
How a Workforce Optimization Strategy Attracts Tomorrow’s Top Independent Professional Talent
MIN 4 READ What would you do if your best employee left tomorrow? Perhaps they won the lottery or decided to change careers—the past few years have taught us that anything can happen. And the thing is, this is really happening every day in workforces across the country. High performers are leaving and moving on. If your organization…
Misclassification & Compliance |
When is an Independent Contractor Really an Employee?
MIN 3 READ What is an Independent Contractor vs. Employee? These definitions will help you understand how each type of worker is defined: Employee A full-time employee works for a single employer and that employer has a say over the work they do and how that work gets done. An employer can control the hours, location, and type…
Workforce Trends |
Tech Layoffs Shed Light on Need for Workforce Optimization
MIN 4 READ Recent increase in tech layoffs and hiring freezes paint an interesting—yet somewhat inaccurate—picture of the current workforce environment. High-profile companies including Netflix, MasterClass, Tesla, Twitter and more have slowed down hiring and laid off thousands of employees due to fears of a recession, rising inflation, tightening of budgets, and big swings in the crypto currency market, among…
Direct Sourcing |
Create an Agile Workforce Using Independent Professional Talent
MIN 4 READ Workforce optimization: it’s something every enterprise strives for. When your workforce is agile, flexible, and fluid, it is best able to meet the demands of your business. Companies that use independent contractors as part of their workforce strategy realize significant cost savings per engagement, as well as access to top talent and accelerated business outcomes. …
Workforce Management |
10 Tips for Managing Remote Teams
MIN 5 READ More workers than ever before are choosing to work remotely. Millions of these workers are independent contractors who describe themselves as digital nomads: workers who have chosen to embrace a location-independent, technology-enabled lifestyle that enables them to travel and work remotely, anywhere in the world. The ability to work remotely is certainly one of the…
Misclassification & Compliance |
How to Avoid a Worker Misclassification Audit
MIN 5 READ Independent contractor misclassification can be an expensive mistake—here’s what you need to know to avoid it.