Monday, February 11, 2008

Moving to Incorporation

I've been pretty happy being a sole proprietor so far, and although I was aware of the benefits of being incorporated I was given advice not to worry about it until I was making more money than I was spending...basically a nod to protecting money taxation wise when my personal salary would start to jump up.

However, things have changed. A bulk of my work is done through staffing agencies, Saphire (formerly CNC Global) as the primary one. As of February 1st, they've changed their policy and only do two types of placements: Incorporated individuals or Term individuals. The problem is that even if you're a sole proprietor, you'd be placed as a term employee OF Saphire...meaning that in the government's eyes you aren't acting as an independant body; you're a temp employee of the staffing company.

So add to my plate this month going through the incorporation process...which should give way to some great blog posts at least. Some things that I'm needing to research:

- How to set up my own salary once my business is its own incorporation
- How to set up other employees of the business if I wanted to
- How to set up financial accounts since the incorporation is now separate from my own finances
- What do I need to do from a license perspective with the city, provincial government, and feds

And I'm sure many others. Stay tuned...

CC

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Now I Know How a Trader Feels...

Finding gigs on your own can sometimes feel like your trading stocks: things happen in ebbs and flows, and can change on a dime.

Last week I was asked if I could help with a contract engagement with a former employer (as a subcontractor). We were waiting to hear back from the client and in the meantime I had an interview for another subcontracting gig.

This week, I received confirmation that I won the gig I interviewed for, which is good...but this other opportunity would need to finalize soon if I was going to fit it into my schedule. That same day I get a call that the job I won was a no go because a senior position couldn't be filled and the government agency we were going to work with had to re-tender it. Then I find out today that the former-employer opportunity is a go and we have a meeting for this Friday. All the while, I'm negotiating with a placement firm for an engagement as well.

Tonnes going on...the biggest thing I've realized in all this is that you play until the whistle: talk means nothing unless there's a signed contract backing it. Otherwise, nothing is a for sure. This meeting scheduled for Friday *could* get bumped, or cancelled outright, and if I placed my entire hope in this one contract I'd be handcuffing myself. So to all those out there starting out in consulting, keep all the pokers in the fire but don't commit to one until the meat on the end of it is cooked (I have no idea where that came from...just go with it).

CC