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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.
Grow a Small Business |
10 Ways to Make More Money as a Consultant
As an independent professional, it can be easy to get caught up in the cycle of finding a client, completing a project, getting paid, and then repeating the process. While constantly being on the lookout for new projects and new clients comes with the territory of being an independent, if you find yourself starting from…
Self Employed Benefits |
Life Goals: Exploring the Great Realization in Depth
While it’s been something of an open secret among independents that their work-style choice fosters the achievement of life goals, there is now empirical evidence that supports this. The events of the past few years have prompted many people to reexamine work in relation to other areas of their lives. As a result, the quest…
Manage a Small Business |
Pricing Your Proposal: Hourly, Fixed Price, or Hybrid?
Figuring out your billing rate can greatly impact the ability to build your business. Ideally, you will arrive at an amount at the intersection of the income you need, the market value of your services, and the value you provide a client. Once you calculate your billing rate, you need to decide how to bill—that…
Grow a Small Business |
10 Professional Development Tips to Grow Your Business
One of the biggest perks of running your own business is that you have full control—the clients you work with, the projects you take on, and how you structure your day is all up to you. By positioning your business around your strengths and skills, you can provide clients with reliable, trusted expertise. But that…
Market a Small Business |
5 Ways to Get More Clients in 2023
When you run your own business, finding new clients is an often less-than-exciting part of the job. Patience and self-promotion are important parts of the process, and each can come with a lot of frustration before you get to that coveted contract. In the past, most independent contractors found new work through word-of-mouth, but in…
State of Independence |
The Growing Independent Population: Is the Genie Out of the Bottle?
Companies considering the viability of establishing or expanding a contingent labor workforce program may find excellent support in our 2022 State of Independence report. It marks the second year of forecast-breaking results in the independent professional population, perhaps indicating that the workforce disruption of the pandemic years has left a mark on the way that…
Contracts and Finance |
Consulting Rates: How to Determine My Bill Rate
How do you calculate your consulting rate? It’s a question most W2 employees ask themselves when they want to become a consultant. How can you maximize today and prepare for a profitable consulting business? 1. Evaluate Your Bill Rate When’s the last time you evaluated your pricing strategy? Have your bill rates remained steady for…
Manage a Small Business |
How to Make Risky Business Decisions as a Small Business Owner
In the majority of traditional jobs, managers have the final word when it comes to making important business decisions and there are always coworkers to bounce ideas off of or ask for opinions. Independent professionals, on the other hand, are relatively on their own when it comes to making choices that will affect their business….
Workforce Management |
How to Eat An Elephant: Open Innovation Bite-by-Bite
Open innovation can help companies solve problems that would otherwise remain left behind by any department. Whether implemented at a large or small company, crowdsourcing can help thrust productivity forward. It is important to use problem-solvers who are naturally curious, confident lifelong learners. After selecting problem solvers, a company can learn from the solutions provided….
Grow a Small Business |
5 Best Practices for Developing Long Term Client Relationships
For many independent professionals, work can be tinged with uncertainty. The top two challenges reported by respondents to our 2022 State of Independence survey were not enough predictable income and concerns about the sales pipeline, and a big part of operating an independent services business is addressing them. In addition to these challenges, many independents…
Grow a Small Business |
5 Steps to Jump-Start Small Business Growth in 2023
The end of 2022 is steadily approaching. Soon we will be in January with post-holiday activities revving up across the business world. Planning for the future is an important part of business management, but it’s a task that can often get pushed to the end of the list as an “I’ll do it later” item….
Grow a Small Business |
3 Ways to Find Ideal Consulting Clients
When you’re just starting out your independent career, there’s an initial push to land as many clients as you can to jump start your business. While it is of course important to make sure you can pay the bills, there comes a time when your strategy should shift to finding the clients who are truly…
Manage a Small Business |
Identifying and Avoiding Work From Home Scams
Working from home seems like an ideal setup for many employees, including new moms and retirees. However, there are often “work from home” opportunities floating around that end up being fraudulent. You may ultimately waste your time or, worse, your money. We’ve compiled a list of ways to identify work from home scams so you can…
Manage a Small Business |
10 Great Holiday Gifts Independent Professionals Can Give to Their Clients
The holiday season is always busy and taking time to find the perfect little something for your client can be an added stress. Rather than settling for a last-minute gift card or fruit basket, take advantage of our annual holiday gift guide. We’ve scoured the web and polled our team members to find some of…
Workforce Management |
Retention Strategies for Independent Talent
As more and more companies move toward a blended or optimized workforce—a combination of full-time employees and contractors—the need to attract and continue to engage high-value independent talent has become strategically significant. When an enterprise finds excellence in the workforce, whether in an employee or a contractor, it wants to retain it. How can an…
Self Employed Benefits |
Life Goals: Exploring the Great Realization in Depth
While it’s been something of an open secret among independents that their work-style choice fosters the achievement of life goals, there is now empirical evidence that supports this. The events of the past few years have prompted many people to reexamine work in relation to other areas of their lives. As a result, the quest…
Misclassification & Compliance |
Independent Contractor Misclassification and Compliance News January 2023
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. FTC Proposes Rule Banning Non-Compete Agreements In…
Workforce Management |
4 Benefits of Open Innovation for Enterprises in 2023
Innovation is a critical part of any firm’s strategy. From continuous improvement initiatives to go-to-market tactics to rebranding and beyond, a company must evolve in the right direction to compete successfully. Achieving sustained innovation has been a leadership quest for many years, with mixed results. As the traditional system of secrecy and locked doors that…
Workforce Management |
Proposals, Resumes, and Interviews: Best Practices for Hiring Independent Contractors
When you have received proposals from independent professionals in response to your project post, reviewing and assessing candidates is the next step toward engaging the best fit for your needs. Do this as a five-step process: Review the proposals Create the first shortlist Review the shortlisted candidates’ resumes Create the final shortlist Interview shortlisted candidates…
Workforce Trends |
What Matters Most to Independent Talent?
The independent professionals are highly skilled experts who can fill project roles on-demand. These individuals tend to work on medium-to long-term projects in a specific field of expertise. By understanding the behaviors and values of independents, enterprises become more attractive to top talent and are better able to retain the workers they want for…
Direct Sourcing |
How Independent Contractors Can Boost Your Bottom Line in a Recession
Despite dire recession warnings from economists, the US market currently has more job openings than labor to fill them. This doesn’t mean firms aren’t laying off talent, doing more with less, or considering scaling back on hiring. At this time, when the economy’s direction is up in the air and uncertainty prevails in the market,…
Workforce Management |
How to Write a Perfect Independent Contractor Job Posting
While the best approach to recruiting talent in today’s market is to hire skills rather than a particular work classification, how you attract independent talent with the skills you need differs from how you recruit employees. Because these two ways of working vary widely, your approach to job posting must change when seeking an independent…
Misclassification & Compliance |
8 Worker Misclassification Tips to Set Your Enterprise Up for Success
Worker classification is an important part of managing a blended workforce composed of full-time and independent contractor talent. Misclassifying workers can be a legal headache and an expensive problem, so following proper laws, policies, and regulations is a must. And while worker classification may sound scary and complicated, it doesn’t have to be. Today, there…
Workforce Management |
3 Best Practices for Independent Contractor Engagement
Improve independent contractor program adoption, increase talent retention rates, and mitigate misclassification risk with these three best practices for independent contractor engagement.
Guides |
How to Set Independent Talent Up for Success in 2023 (Guide)
This guide covers best practices for a company and its managers to set up their independent talent for success in 2023. These practices are part of building an optimized workforce. It also includes self-assessments that help determine what’s working and where improvement is needed.
Workforce Trends |
The Future of Work: 11 Trends and Tactics that Matter in 2023
The future of work is far from set. New models are nascent as the business landscape changes. Players in some industries (for example, the federal space) have consolidated, while other industries are achieving significant growth through acquisition (e.g., healthcare, technology) and new entrants (e.g., technology). We don’t know yet how these actions will ultimately affect…
Direct Sourcing |
How to Develop a Talent Strategy that Includes Consultants
Independent contractors are an important part of the talent pool for many enterprises today. MBO’s latest research finds that there are 64.6 million independent workers in 2022, a 26% increase from 2021. Professionals are making the leap from full-time employment to independence for several reasons, ranging from control of their schedule and career to increased flexibility. …
Direct Sourcing |
Why and How to Build a Direct Sourcing Business Case
Direct sourcing improves the ability of firms to find and engage contingent workers with the skills they need by: Creating a curated talent pool with contingent workers. Quickly accessing independent professionals with the skills you need. Re-engaging contingent labor, which increases work quality, decreases time to fill roles, and improves the culture fit with the…