Contract Employee's Newsletter
Helping Contract Professionals Manage Their Careers

November 01, 2001

Edited by James R. Ziegler

A Companion to:
The Contract Employee's Handbook
www.cehandbook.com

Sponsored by:
P.A.C.E. - Professional Association for Contract Employment
www.pacepros.com

About The Contract Employee's Newsletter

The Contract Employee's Newsletter is a free e-mail publication for technical and professional contractors containing news, commentary, tips, links to useful resources, nuggets of wisdom submitted by readers, and anything else that seems appropriate at the time. The CENewsletter is distributed bimonthly or whenever issues warrant and time allows. The subscriber list is confidential and will not be disclosed outside this organization.

In This Issue

• Suggest A Topic
• Marketing Tips: Some Tips For Negotiating Your Billing Rate
• Business Basics: What The Heck Is A Surety Bond?
• Ask Dungaree Dan: Do I Have To Pay Social Security and Medicare Taxes?
  
• Resources: Paycheck City
• Contract Employee's Glossary: Terminology For Contract Professionals
  
• P.A.C.E. News: FREE Life Insurance and FREE AD&D Insurance
• Contract Employee's Handbook: Break The Ties That Bind
• Contract Employee's Workshop: San Francisco Bay Area: January 12, 2002
• Contract Employee's Project: What Is It?
• Copyright and Publication Info
• Disclaimer
• Subscribe

Read recent issues of The Contract Employee's Newsletter.

Suggest A Topic For The Newsletter

Ideas Anyone?
Thank you for your excellent suggestions for future newsletter topics. Keep 'em coming. Chances are, if a topic interests you as a Contract Professional it will certainly interest the majority of our readers.

Guest Appearances
I would like very much to publish short guest contributions to the Contract Employee's Newsletter. Maybe a marketing tactic that works for you, or a true story of agency madness? I'll cite your name, your e-mail address, and a link to your professional website. I can't pay you, but I'll make sure that everyone who reads the Contract Employee's Newsletter knows who you are and what you do. It can't hurt, and, who knows, it might help your consulting career. Contributions should be of general interest to all Contract Professionals.

Mail your suggestions to suggestion@pacepros.com.

Return to Table of Contents.

Marketing Tips

Some Tips For Negotiating Your Billing Rate

Here is a common scenario. What do you do when the client asks for your billing rate? If you quote too low a rate you might end up leaving money on the table or, worse, you might devalue yourself in the eyes of the client. If you quote too high a rate the client might eliminate you on the spot. . . or will she.

First, let me state some basic principles about negotiating.

1. The one who speaks first loses.
2. Know your bottom line, and stick to it.
3. It is always better to quote a rate that is too high than to quote a rate that is too low.

Here is an example of the first principle at work.

Client: What is your billing rate?

Contractor: Gosh, that really depends on a number of factors, including skills required, project scope, contract duration, complexity, and the potential for professional growth. Tell me more about the project. I want to make sure that we have a good match here. By the way, how much have you budgeted for the project's completion? For example, to be sure we are in the same ballpark, what is the range of billing rates that you have budgeted?

Client: I am not at liberty to discuss that information now. What is your billing rate?

Contractor: I could throw a number at you, but I don't even know yet if I want to accept this project. And I certainly don't want to waste your time discussing this project further if the funds aren't available to support it. How much have you budgeted for the project you want me to complete?

[Note: This approach takes courage, and it projects confidence. Contract Professionals who are worth their salt don't jump at the first offer, even in a down economy.]

Now, here is an example of how to incorporate the second and third principles.

Client: We expect to pay between $60 and $75 per hour depending on the successful candidate's experience.

Contractor: I agree that it is important to control costs, but I would be very wary of paying too little. It is my experience that I usually get what I pay for. For example, it is one thing to have an inexperienced contractor take 50% longer to complete a job. It is quite another matter when you have to scrap a bad job and start all over from scratch.

Have you considered the cost savings from paying an experienced professional half again as much as the budgeted rate if they can do the job in three-quarters of the budgeted time and do it right the first time? My rate to do what you have described is $100 per hour, and I consistently bring my projects in well ahead of schedule. I can start on Monday. Is there anything you would like me to study between now and then so I can hit the boards running?

Client: I can't approve more than $75 per hour.

Contractor: I am sorry I can't help you at a billing rate of $75 per hour.

[Note: At this point, let us assume that your bottom line is $80 per hour.]

Client: I may be able to get $85 to $90 per hour, but it will take approval of the Executive VP.

[Note: Either of these rates is greater than your bottom line. If the project manager gets approval you will be happy because you will be earning $5 to $10 per hour more than your bottom line, and the project manager will be happy because she will think she is saving $10 to $15 per hour.]

Contractor: I can start immediately at a rate of $100. Anything lower and I will have to wait for the results of interviews I have with other clients. Can you let me know by 10:00 am tomorrow so that I can cancel my other interviews?

[Note: Contrary to pricing yourself out of the market, bidding high creates a scenario in which both parties can "win." This illustrates the effectiveness of the third principle.]

Read and reread this dialog until the ideas begin to flow naturally. Then role play with a spouse or friend. When the dialog begins to feel natural throw in some curves to see how well you think on your feet in different situations. Follow these three negotiating principles and watch your billing rate soar.

Return to Table of Contents.

Business Basics

What The Heck Is A Surety Bond?

What do you do when your client asks for a surety bond?

Most independent contractors do not have the slightest idea what a surety bond is, let alone know how to get one. When you were an employee, such matters were handled by your boss. But now, as a free agent you are the boss, and your client is asking you for a surety bond.

A surety bond is a three-party agreement between a surety (a type of insurance company), a contractor, and the project owner (the client). The agreement binds the contractor to comply with certain terms and conditions of a contract. If the contractor is unable to successfully perform the contract, the surety assumes the contractor's responsibilities and ensures that the project is completed.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Surety Guarantees has a special program to help small and minority owned contracting businesses obtain surety bonds. Although the SBA does not actually issue surety bonds, it does provide a guarantee for certain types of surety bonds issued by participating surety companies.

Below is a list of selected surety bonds that independent contractors may be required to provide:

• Bid Bonds: Bonds which guarantee that a contractor will enter into a contract, if it is awarded to the contractor, at the amount bid and post the appropriate performance bonds. Bid bonds provide financial assurance that the bid has been submitted in good faith, and that the contractor will enter into a contract at the bid price.
  
  
• Contract Bonds: Bonds designed to guarantee the performance of obligations under a contract. Contract bonds guarantee to the client that the contractor will perform according to the terms of a written contract. Contract bonds protect the client by guaranteeing a contractor's performance and payment for labor and materials.
  
  
• Fidelity Bonds: Bonds designed to guarantee honesty. Generally, a fidelity bond guarantees honesty of employees. Fidelity bonds cover losses arising from employee dishonesty and indemnify the principal (for example, an employment agency) for losses caused by the dishonest actions of its employees against the client.
  
  
• Fiduciary Bonds: Bonds which guarantee an honest accounting and faithful performance of duties by administrators, trustees, guardians, executors and other fiduciaries. Fiduciary bonds may be required in the administration of an estate, or the management of affairs of a trust or a ward.
  
  
• Maintenance Bonds: Bonds that provide for the upkeep of the project for a specified period of time after the project is completed. Maintenance bonds guarantee against defective workmanship or materials, and may include a guarantee of "efficient or successful operation" or other obligations.
  
  
• Payment Bonds: Payment bonds guarantee payment of the contractor's obligation under the contract for subcontractors, laborers and materials suppliers associated with the project.
  
  
• Performance Bonds: Performance bonds guarantee performance of the terms of a contract. Performance bonds protect the client from financial loss should the contractor fail to perform the contract in accordance with its terms and conditions.

Surety bonds are commonly required by government contracts, and I suspect that surety bonds will become increasingly popular as businesses seek to reduce the overall risks associated with hiring contingent workers, especially on project-based contracts.

Imagine the value that you could bring to the table by telling a prospective client that your work is bonded. Satisfaction guaranteed!

Surety bonds are not widely required by client companies, but general liability insurance (GL) and, to a lesser extent, errors & omissions insurance (E&O) are commonly required. Contract Professionals with inadequate or no liability insurance coverage pose a significant risk to their clients. There is the risk that a contractor might damage a client's property or the property of others, or injure someone while on the job. Or, a contractor may damage the client's business through willful negligence or incompetence. Many Contract Professionals do not carry liability insurance, so the liability could easily pass to the client.

General Liability Insurance protects both the contractor and the client from damage to persons or property. Errors & Omissions Insurance (also known as Professional Liability Insurance) protects the contractor and client from financial harm to the business caused by the contract's actions.

Adequate individual coverage for both General Liability Insurance and Errors & Omissions Insurance can cost several thousand dollars per year. Fortunately, all P.A.C.E. Division Managers are automatically covered for both General Liability and Errors & Omissions Insurance up to $5,000,000 aggregate. This coverage is free to all P.A.C.E. Division Managers.

Should your client require a specific surety bond, P.A.C.E. will purchase the bond, leveraging the size and experience of P.A.C.E. to obtain the lowest possible rate. Your division of P.A.C.E. will then pay for the surety bond with pretax dollars out of your division's revenue stream.

Surety bonds, GL and E&O insurance coverage are compelling reasons to select P.A.C.E. as your employer of record.

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Ask Dungaree Dan

Title

Q: Dear Dan -- I am a new independent contractor. I will get a 1099. What if I only pay federal and state (Ohio) taxes, and local if necessary, and not Social Security or Medicare taxes. -- Signed: Clueless in Cincinnati

A: Dear Clueless -- Oh boy. I strongly suggest that you do the following immediately:

1. Read Chapter 1 of The Contract Employee's Handbook so that you understand the danger you are exposing your client to when you don't pay your taxes.
   
   
2. Read the P.A.C.E. website from cover to cover so that you understand how you will fare much better as a Division Manager of P.A.C.E. than as a self-employed 1099 with no benefits.
   
   
3. Then, if you are still bound and determined to do everything for yourself as an independent contractor, consult with an accountant who works with small businesses and independent contractors.

Willful failure to pay your FICA taxes is a federal crime. First, you will be fined a very large amount of money. If you continue not to pay your FICA taxes you could go to jail in a federal prison. Consider who you will be dealing with. FICA taxes are paid to the IRS. These guys do not play fair, and they take tax evasion very seriously.

Granted, a good CPA or tax accountant can show you how to minimize your self-employment taxes, but there is no way to legally not pay them.

P.A.C.E. would be happy to serve as your employer of record, so that both your client and you are protected from the risks associated with hiring (and being) a self-employed independent contractor. But not everyone is a match for P.A.C.E. The <Am I A Match?> section of the P.A.C.E. website will help you understand if you are really cut out for the life of an Independent Contract Professional.

If you still feel comfortable with the idea of a career in technical and professional contracting then I suggest that you read the P.A.C.E. website from cover to cover so that you fully understand the tremendous advantages of using P.A.C.E. as your employer of record and benefits administrator compared with being self-employed.

As your employer of record, P.A.C.E. does all the invoicing, collections, payroll preparation, tax payments, direct deposit, tax-free expense reimbursements, and we also give our contractors the Best Benefits Package Available To Any Employee In Any Company In the USA.

By all means, visit the <Benefits> section of the P.A.C.E. website to get a full explanation of the benefits available to every P.A.C.E. contractor. For example, every active Division Manager receives FREE, Guarantee Issue, Long Term Disability Income Protection Insurance. Not only is the policy FREE to our contractors, it is also the best LTD Insurance Plan we could find at any price.

Nothing could be easier than billing through P.A.C.E., and our 5% service fee is more than offset by the incredible benefits, savings, write-offs, and retirement plan earnings that every P.A.C.E. Division Manager enjoys. And, you won't have to worry about how to pay all those pesky taxes. -- Signed: Dungaree Dan

Questions for Dungaree Dan
Send your questions about contract employment to Ask Dungaree Dan. We will try to answer all of your questions, and we will publish the most interesting ones in The Contract Employee's Newsletter.

Return to Table of Contents.

Resources

Paycheck City
http://www.paycheckcity.com/

This is an extraordinarily clever and useful website. Paycheck City offers free access to a variety of online paycheck calculators and tools.

Suppose your agency quotes an hourly pay rate. Use the Hourly Paycheck Calculator to compute how much you can expect to take home. First, select your state from the drop-down menu. Next, fill in the blanks, and voilà! The calculator computes your take-home pay. You can enter up to two pay rates (for example, straight pay and overtime), and up to two additional payroll deductions.

The company that sponsors this site, Symmetry Software, specializes in accounting products, technologies, and services, so you can expect the results to be accurate.

Additional calculators compute the future value of your 401(k) retirement savings account under different assumptions, and the current value of stock options. A W-4 Assistant walks you through the process of filling out and printing an official W-4 (federal withholding) form. Another page contains links to downloadable state withholding forms.

This site is worth bookmarking.

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Contract Employee's Glossary

Terminology For Contract Professionals
More terms from Appendix B: Glossary of Terms for Contract Professionals of The Contract Employee's Handbook.

Backup withholding
Independent contractors are required to give their clients a valid taxpayer identification number (TIN). IRS Form W-9 is used for this purpose. If an independent contractor fails to provide a valid TIN, the client is required to withhold 31% of what they owe the contractor as an assessment for income taxes. This assessment is called backup withholding, and it is paid to the IRS. In practice a client company should never engage the services of an independent contractor, or any other vendor for that matter, without first obtaining the vendor’s TIN.

Beach time
Contractors refer to unpaid time off between contract assignments as beach time. Unpaid time off is like a voluntary or involuntary vacation, hence “beach time.”

Bench time
Contractors refer to paid time off between contract assignments as bench time. Bench time usually applies to consulting firm employees and salaried contractors who work in-house “at the bench” until they can be sent out on a new assignment.

Billing rate
The billing rate is the amount that an independent contractor or staffing agency bills the client. Contractor recruiting firms, temp agencies, and other employers of record make their money on the margin between the rate that they invoice the client (billing rate) and the rate that they pay their contract employee (W-2 pay rate) or subcontractor (1099 or Corp.-to-Corp. pay rate).

Board of Directors
The Board of Directors is the governing board of a corporation under the leadership of the Chairman of the Board. The board has fiduciary responsibility for the corporation. In other words, it is responsible for making important business decisions and legally binding financial decisions for the corporation. Directors are considered to be employees of the corporation. Directors are elected by the shareholders of the corporation at the annual meeting. The Board appoints the officers of the corporation, who manage day-to-day operations. In a one-person corporation the Board of Directors consists of the sole shareholder, who functions simultaneously as the Chairman of the Board, President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and the corporation’s sole employee.

Body Shop
A derisive and often well-deserved term for a recruiting firm that specializes in finding and placing foreign (high tech) workers on temporary assignments at U.S. companies. Body shops compete on price by billing significantly less than typical recruiting firms. Then they pay their H-1B visa holders even lower wages than typical recruiting firms pay American workers. Body shops have a reputation for taking advantage of foreign workers’ fears and ignorance to maintain their employees in a state of virtual indentured servitude. Fortunately, the immigration law signed by President Clinton in December 2000 has a portability provision that makes it possible for H-1B visa holders to change employers with relative ease. As a result, body shops have lost much of their hold on H-1B visa holders.

Boilerplate
Standardized text used in publications and formal documents. Contracts are constructed almost always of boilerplate clauses and terminology. Consequently, contract language should be studied carefully, and modified where necessary to personalize the contract to your specific situation.

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P.A.C.E. News

FREE Life Insurance and FREE Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance

The last issue of the CENewsletter featured P.A.C.E.'s FREE Long Term Disability Income Protection Insurance. This week we feature P.A.C.E.'s Group Life Insurance and Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance.

Free Basic Coverage
The first $10,000 in coverage for both the Life Insurance and the AD&D is FREE to all P.A.C.E. employees.

Option To Buy Up
P.A.C.E. Division Managers have the option to purchase additional guarantee issue Life Insurance and AD&D Insurance at deeply discounted group rates. Rates are based only on your age and whether or not you use tobacco products.

Premiums for additional insurance coverage between $10,000 and $50,000 are paid with tax-exempt dollars out of your division's revenue stream. Premiums for the portion of insurance coverage greater than $50,000 are subject to very favorable P.S. 58 tax rates.

Here is a breakdown of the P.A.C.E. Life Insurance and Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance.

Group Life Insurance

Group Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance

AD&D coverages and limits are essentially the same as for Life coverage. AD&D coverage may be obtained in any amount up to the amount of your Life coverage.

P.A.C.E. is a Win - Win - Win - Win Solution for Downsized Employees, Contract Employees, Independent Contractors, and Client Companies. Check out P.A.C.E. for the best benefits package available to ANY employee in ANY company in the USA.

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Contract Employee's Handbook

Break The Ties That Bind

The following is excerpted from an article I wrote called Inefficiency and Greed.

The Ties That Bind
Recruiting firms can easily hide what they make because they practice tying. Recruiting firms tie the job matching function to the employer of record function. The up side of this arrangement is that recruiting firms help you locate contract assignments. The down side is that in order to take an assignment you must become their employee.

Even if you succeed in retaining your status as an independent contractor, the recruiting firm still holds you captive by keeping you from signing a direct contract with the end user and by refusing to disclose what they are billing the client for your consulting services.

In most industries tying is an illegal restraint of trade – an anti-competitive practice. Unfortunately, tying is still tolerated in the technical and professional contracting industry. Staffing firms can get away with tying because, while the contractor is indeed a customer of the staffing firm, the contractor is also the firm’s employee. Laws against tying are written to protect customers and clients, not employees.

Tying Stifles Career Advancement
Staffing agencies use tying to isolate contractors from the very information they need to assess their careers. For example, staffing agencies invariably bar contractors from active participation in contract negotiations with the client. Most contractors never see the contract that defines the very conditions under which they must work.

Staffing agencies also use tying to keep contractors ignorant of their value on the open market. They don’t want contractors to know how much they could be billing as independent contractors, and they certainly don’t want contractors to know how little they are being paid in comparison with their actual worth.

Staffing agencies view contract employees as their competitors, and they view contract details and billing rates as competitive information to be protected at all costs. Staffing agencies use tying as a strategic tool to protect their “competitive information.”

If contract professionals are to regain their independence they must split the entirely separate functions of job matching and employer of record. They must break the ties (pun intended) that bind them to traditional recruiting firms.

Only then will contractors be able to make reasoned decisions based on the quality of service and on price. They will be able to work with an agency based on value delivered rather than on who controls the information.

What Is A Fair Margin?
It is easy to determine if a recruiting firm is charging a fair margin or if it is gouging both the client and the contractor. You begin by examining what stand-alone job-matching services and stand-alone employers of record charge for their separate services. Competition and full disclosure ensure that the these stand-alone services are priced fairly.

A recruiting firm that matches you with a contract assignment and then forces you to become the recruiting firm’s employee in order to take that assignment should surely charge no more than the combined charges for a stand-alone job-matching service and a stand-alone employer of record. In fact, the recruiting firm should be able to charge less owing to economies of scale and elimination of duplicate costs.

So let’s review what stand-alone job-matching services and stand-alone employer of record services actually charge. If a so-called “full service” recruiting firm charges more than the combined charges of the separate stand-alone services it can only be attributable to inefficiency and greed.

The Cost of Stand-alone Job-matching Services
Savvy contractors develop and nurture a powerful, professional network of colleagues, clients, and coworkers. They search the contractor-friendly job boards and corporate career pages for contracting opportunities, and they contact prospective clients directly.

Savvy contractors negotiate their own contract terms and billing rates, and they do a better job of marketing their consulting services to prospective clients than any hack recruiter at a third-party recruiting firm.

Nevertheless, there are contractors who prefer to have someone else market their services.

Talented professionals in other industries employ talent agents to market their services. Examples of talent agents are actors’ agents, sports agents, literary agents, and musicians’ managers. Typically, talent agents earn 10% to 15% of the talent’s gross revenues.

Talent agents work for the talented professionals they represent. Talent agents do not work for the production company, team owner, book publisher, or record label. That would be a conflict of interest.

Given that talent agents charge 10% to 15% we can assess the same value to the job matching service provided by third-party recruiting firms.

The Cost of Stand-alone Employer Of Record Services
The umbrella service business model offers contractors a far more comprehensive employer of record service than is available through any third-party recruiting firm. As the Executive Director of P.A.C.E., Professional Association for Contract Employment, I am very familiar with the services and costs of umbrella services.

Let’s review the formidable benefits of P.A.C.E. for contract professionals.

P.A.C.E. provides a “virtual back office” for contract professionals. P.A.C.E. processes time sheets, invoices the client, collects receivables, processes payroll, administers benefits, pays withholding and payroll taxes, and issues an IRS Form W-2 at the end of the year.

P.A.C.E. contractors enjoy continuity of employment with an established corporation, making it relatively easy to qualify for big-ticket credit items such as a home loan or auto lease.

P.A.C.E. contractors enjoy health and dental benefits that are far superior to those offered by traditional recruiting firms and placement agencies. Contractors qualify for group health and dental insurance after their first full month on the job. P.A.C.E. also reimburses its contractors with tax-free dollars for out-of-pocket medical expenses, including private insurance premiums, co-pays, and deductibles up to 10% of gross wages.

The P.A.C.E. 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan is an extremely aggressive, 100% self-directed, retirement savings program designed for highly compensated employees. It is unexcelled by any employer of record service in the country, and is vastly superior to any retirement plan offered by any third-party recruiting firm. P.A.C.E. contractors may contribute pretax dollars equal to 25% of gross earnings up to $30,000 per year into a Charles Schwab Personal Choice Retirement Savings account. There is no waiting period to qualify, and contributions are immediately vested.

P.A.C.E. reimburses its contractors with tax-free dollars for a wide range of out-of-pocket expenses. Qualified expenses include travel, business promotion, cell phone, modem lines, ISP, phone calls, training, personal health and disability insurance payments, dependent child care, home office supplies, computer equipment and expensive software (through our leaseback program), per diem and auto allowance while on temporary, remote assignments, and virtually any other work-related expense that an independent contractor would otherwise claim on IRS 1040 Schedule C.

And finally, P.A.C.E. contractors enjoy the same professional freedom experienced by self-employed, independent contractors. P.A.C.E. contractors choose when, where, and for whom they will work. They set their own billing rates, and they negotiate their own contract terms.

P.A.C.E. provides all of the above, yet P.A.C.E.’s margin is never greater than 15%. P.A.C.E.’s contractors still earn at least 85% of the billing rate after P.A.C.E. deducts its standard 5% service fee plus the employer’s share of payroll taxes.

Combined Costs
Talent agents who work for the talented professionals they represent charge 10% to 15% of the talented professional’s revenues. Thus, the benchmark for the job-matching function of a full-service recruiting firm must be no greater than 15% of the billing rate.

The P.A.C.E. umbrella service business model provides the industry’s most comprehensive employer of record service, yet P.A.C.E.’s overall margin is less than 15% of revenues. Thus, the benchmark for the employer of record function of a full-service recruiting firm must be no greater than 15% of the billing rate.

It is clear that any so-called full-service recruiting firm with a margin greater than 30% is padding the bill. They are gouging either the client company or the contractor, or both.

I attribute any excess in a recruiting firm’s margin over 30% to inefficiency and greed.

Calculating Inefficiency and Greed
What is the real cost of using a full-service agency that takes more than 30% of the billing rate? Table 1 shows the cost of inefficiency and greed for billing rates of $100 and $50 per hour when the agency margin is 35%, 40%, 50%, and 60% of the billing rate.

Even at a relatively low agency margin of 35% the annual cost of inefficiency and greed is several thousand dollars. At higher agency margins the cost is higher yet.

I have calculated the cost of inefficiency and greed based on the assumption that a typical contractor will only work a total of ten months out of the year, the remainder being vacation, sick days, national holidays, bench time between assignments, and time off for training. It is clear, however, that the more hours a contractor works the more he or she will loose to inefficiency and greed.

How do you know how much your agency is taking off the top? Ask them! If they won’t tell you their margin then you know they are taking too much, and they don’t deserve your business. Call around until you find an honest agency that will work on your terms. You should not have to pay for someone else’s inefficiency and greed.

Better yet, don’t even use a third-party recruiting firm. The analysis in this article shows that you will do much better financially if you split the job matching function and the employer of record function. Use a talent agent if you must, or use your own wits to locate your next assignment. Then, if the client wants you to be someone else’s employee, use an umbrella service like P.A.C.E. as your employer of record.

Table: Calculating The Cost Of Inefficiency and Greed.

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Contract Employee's Workshop

San Francisco Bay Area: January 12, 2002

We have set a date for the first all-day Saturday Workshop for technical and professional contractors. It will take place somewhere in the San Francisco Bay Area. Cost of admission will be in the neighborhood of $50, provided I can locate an inexpensive yet comfortable venue large enough to hold at least 50 people. It would be nice to have a corporate sponsor for the workshop, especially if I don't have to sell my soul (and halo) to qualify for their support. Ideas anyone?

Participants will leave the workshop with a solid understanding of how the technical and professional contracting industry works. Agency contractors will learn how to increase their earnings by 30% to 50% on their very next contract assignment. The workshop will cover how to set your billing rate for maximum earnings, and how to market your consulting services directly to client companies. The handouts alone are worth the cost of admission.

After the initial shakedown I'll take the workshop on the road to those cities across the US that express the greatest interest in The Contract Employee's Workshop.

I'm open to suggestions. E-mail your ideas and suggestions to Workshop@pacepros.com

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The Contract Employee's Project

The Contract Employee's Project is the larger context under which the following interrelated vehicles operate to promote and defend the interests of Contract Professionals:

• The Contract Employee's Handbook
  
• The Contract Employee's Newsletter
  
• The Contract Employee's Workshop
  
• Professional Association for Contract Employment (P.A.C.E.)

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Copyright and Publication Info

Copyright (c) 2001, James R. Ziegler. All rights reserved.

You may copy or forward this free publication provided it is left intact with all links and this notice unchanged. Any unauthorized duplication, including republication in part or in full for commercial use, is an infringement of copyright.

Published by:
P.A.C.E. - Professional Association for Contract Employment
1355 Willow Way, Suite 244
Concord, CA 94520
USA
http://www.pacepros.com/

Editor:
James R. Ziegler, Ph.D.
Executive Director
P.A.C.E. -- Professional Association for Contract Employment
(925) 680-0200
ziegler@pacepros.com

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Disclaimer

The Contract Employee's Newsletter is designed to provide information in regard to the subject matter covered. Use is granted with the understanding that the publisher and authors are not engaged in rendering legal or financial advice. If expert assistance is required you should seek the services of a competent professional.

The purpose of this information is to educate and entertain. The publisher and contributors shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused, or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly, by the information contained in this Newsletter or by information contained in any web site or resource referenced by citation or hypertext link within the pages of this Newsletter.

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Sign-off

I hope you have found the information in this newsletter to be interesting, informative, and provocative. I encourage you to share the CENewsletter with your friends, colleagues, coworkers, clients, and agency recruiters.

Why clients? Because you need every ally you can get. Why agency recruiters? Because they need to know the jig is up.

Wishing you success in your contracting career,

James R. Ziegler, Ph.D.
Executive Director
P.A.C.E. -- Professional Association for Contract Employment

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