Comments on: Is the free agent mindset infecting employees too? http://gigaom.com/2012/06/21/is-the-free-agent-mindset-infecting-employees-too/ Fri, 24 May 2013 09:22:24 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: adammbsmith http://gigaom.com/2012/06/21/is-the-free-agent-mindset-infecting-employees-too/#comment-863456 Thu, 12 Jul 2012 15:17:18 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=535073#comment-863456 Hi Jeff, I’m in that position myself right now. I’m starting up as a sole trader in addition to my day job with the help of a contractor accountant. Maybe it’ll be a side line, maybe it will grow into a limited company? Who knows. But being an employee doesn’t have any of the benefits it had a few decades ago.

Pay isn’t what it was. Very few companies run pension schemes or agree to contribute to your private pension and I’ve never had a pay rise -ever. So it’s no surprise that people are either looking to supplement their income or make the gradual progression to full time contracting altogether.

]]> By: Bob Paddock http://gigaom.com/2012/06/21/is-the-free-agent-mindset-infecting-employees-too/#comment-860617 Thu, 05 Jul 2012 01:22:57 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=535073#comment-860617 Did you know that the very people being asked to be innovative are actually singled out in the Tax Code:

Engineer
Designer
Drafter
Computer programmer
Systems analyst
or other similarly skilled worker

http://www.irs.gov/irm/part4/irm_04-023-005r.html

More here:
http://blog.softwaresafety.net/2011/02/want-innovation-then-get-out-of-way.html

]]> By: Jeff Yin http://gigaom.com/2012/06/21/is-the-free-agent-mindset-infecting-employees-too/#comment-855359 Fri, 22 Jun 2012 20:03:28 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=535073#comment-855359 I think that there are many employees who envision themselves as free agents, who want to be free agents, but have not made the leap yet. I was recently at BlogWorld Expo, and I was surprised at how many attendees were working a full-time job while putting in many hours to get their own business off the ground. I can understand why: They don’t want to take the risk of failing to support their family, so they keep their day job while they work hard to build a business based on their passion. They plan to quit their day job when their business starts making enough money to support their family. Unfortunately, this can be very difficult to achieve while working a full-time job. I am afraid that many will never leave their day job and eventually give up on their dream, unless they find the right strategies for using their limited time to successfully launch their business.

I happen to be a free agent, currently making a living as a contractor managing internet advertising campaigns, while I work on getting my own passion-based business off of the ground. I am lucky to have more freedom and time than most people with a full-time job, so I have the ability to experiment a bit more with my business. I plan to use what I learn to help others to focus on winning strategies so that they can realize their dreams of being a free agent.

So, watch for more of those employees to jump ship as we figure out how to succeed as free agents!

]]> By: dlambert http://gigaom.com/2012/06/21/is-the-free-agent-mindset-infecting-employees-too/#comment-854889 Thu, 21 Jun 2012 17:10:24 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=535073#comment-854889 Aside from the fact that Mr. Vayssiere ends his post with a bunch of questions and doesn’t appear to allow comments on the post, it’s a thought-provoking concept. I’d agree that free-agent thinking is more prevalent than ever, but I’m really not sure this is good for either businesses or individuals.

Taken to its extreme, this mentality suggests that businesses are nothing more than a collection of gigs, doesn’t it? Where do these businesses find continuity and identity, if not from their employees?

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