Should you take on a short term 1099 project?

A company reached out to me this past week and had an immediate need for someone to do some work at the Pentagon.

I mentioned I would only do 1099 and they were open to it and could meet my rate.

But, I learned that the project was basically a short term trial they were hoping to turn into a bigger, longer term project.

There was no guarantee the customer would agree to follow on work.

I turned it down.

It was too risky given that it could disappear after a few months, particularly considering it's a new project.

A short term project is one scenario in which companies would consider 1099 in order to reduce their risk. After all, they wouldn't want to have keep paying someone if the project ends and they don't have other work for them.

On the flip side, if this was the tail end of a longer term project (e.g. end of option year five), I might take the risk because contracts get extended pretty regularly and if it didn't, I could probably join the new prime on the re-competed contract if I do a good job.

It's important to understand the risk you're taking on with each potential project and weight it against the potential benefits.

Want the full playbook? Check out Going 1099.