Five minute action: Calculate your potential 1099 revenue

Here’s something you can do in five minutes or less: calculate your potential revenue as a 1099.

1. Write down your current salary
2. Divide it by 1000 - Mark this as “mid billable rate”
3. Multiply your mid billable rate it by 0.8 - Mark this as “low billable rate”
4. Multiply your mid billable rate by 1.2 - Mark this as “high billable rate”
5. Multiply your low, mid, and high billable rates by 1800

This will get you an estimate of your potential revenue range as a 1099.

Let’s use an example salary of $100,00.

1. $100,000
2. $100,000 divided by 1000 is $100. $100/hour is the “mid billable rate”
3. $100 x 0.8 = $80. $80/hour is the “low billable rate”
4. $100 x 1.20 = $120. $120/hour is the “high billable rate”
5. Low: $80 x 1800 = $144,000; Mid: $100 x 1800 = $180,000; High - $120 x 1800 = $216,000

If you were making $100,000 and went 1099, you could probably earn between $144,000 and $216,000 in revenue.

As a bonus step, run this exercise with a salary that you think you could get at another company if you switched jobs.

If you make $100,000 now and believe you’re underpaid by $30,000, see what your revenue would be at a $130,000 salary.