Can you go 1099 as a manager?

If you're a W2 employee and are a manager (meaning you have a team of direct reports), you may wonder whether going 1099 makes sense.

In my book, I make the point that it's difficult to cross over into a 1099 role as a manager.

The main reason is that primes like to keep their own people in "manager" roles.

Also, managers often aren't fully billable like individual contributors so you may not actually have a full time project to 1099.

For example, if you're a W2 manager, you may spend 50% of your time doing billable work (like being a task lead) and then another 50% doing company work (proposals, admin stuff, etc.). 50% billable hours may not be enough to sustain your lifestyle.

If you're a manager now, like the job, and are considering going 1099, here's what I do:

• Position yourself as a strong individual contributor in whatever field you're in
• Get a 1099 role that's on a small team and do a great job
• See if you can be an unofficial or unofficial task lead for the small team on a contract, meaning you'd manage and organize the work for the prime and government client
• Grow a company underneath you by doing good work and hiring people when the opportunity arises

It may be tough losing some of the prestige of being a manager at an established company. But, autonomy and money cures a lot of those feelings and you can have a better opportunity of building something you can call your own.

Want the full playbook? Check out Going 1099.