Corporate smart vs. 1099 smart

In the Unreasonable Hospitality book, Will Guidara writes about being "restaurant smart" vs. "corporate smart."

Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect

In restaurant-smart companies, members of the team have more autonomy and creative latitude. Because they tend to feel a greater sense of ownership, they give more of themselves to the job. They can often offer better hospitality because they’re nimble; there aren’t a lot of rules and systems getting in the way of human connection. But those restaurants tend not to have a lot of corporate support or oversight—the systems that make great businesses.

Corporate-smart companies, on the other hand, have all the back-end systems and controls in areas like accounting, purchasing, and human resources that are needed to make them great businesses, and they’re often more profitable as a result. But systems are, by definition, controls—and the more control you take away from the people on the ground, the less creative they can be, and guests can feel that."

If you're going to pursue the 1099 path, you definitely need to be "corporate smart" in order to negotiate higher billable rates, find new projects, get paid on time, etc.

But it's also important to be "1099 smart." As a solo 1099, you are not just a business or corporate entity. You're also a person who needs to be able to exercise your creativity, find a life outside work, and funnel resources into things that bring you joy.

Being corporate smart can often be in conflict with being 1099 smart. It's tempting to bill more hours or pursue higher rates on tougher projects.

But that is a path to a sad 1099 life. You would be missing out the benefits of the higher levels of autonomy that you worked hard to take back.

So yes, be corporate smart, but reinvest the profits into being 1099 smart.

Want the full playbook? Check out Going 1099.