Sharon, we're going to be talking about something today that really deals more with psychological stuff than it does financial stuff. Imagine that. Yeah, well, we've had this discussion before and we have also done a podcast on it about how part of what you do is psychology related. And there was a lot of psychology getting me to go 1099 also. Yep, yep, absolutely. And you know what I've figured out is, you know, everybody has to have a goal for going 1099. And it really comes down to the second question on the screen, and that is, what is your why? Why do you want to do this? You know, what's important about this to you? Because innately as humans, we all have reasons for doing what we do. Maybe. You know, we do, I mean, you might not- We just might not know them. That's right. You might not know them, you might not recognize them, but we all do. And some of those are fairly evident and some of them aren't as evident. And I'm a big believer in answering this question before you make that decision to go 1099 and while you're entertaining that decision. And sometimes even during that, you have to fact check yourself and see why am I continuing to do this? So that's what we're going to be talking about today. So let's kind of get started. So your why, you know, there's a lot of talk out there, but I mean, it really is the reason behind your choices, your actions, and the things you do. Sharon, you know, sometimes we don't understand other people's why. They do things that might hurt us. They do things that we wouldn't expect them to do, but everybody has a reason for what they do. And it really is the reason that typically gives your life meaning and fulfillment. You know, what is that why? And if you can define that why, it brings you kind of more into tune with your life and where you're going. And I know that sounds like a lot of psycho battle, but it really is true. It does sound like that. But if you've ever read any Simon Sinek, you understand. Remember he spoke at my meeting in Salt Lake City whenever I was president, because his tenets really rang true with me. Yeah, yeah. So as you're doing this, as you're thinking about it, really think of your why. Is it just to make more money? You know, what is your why? And, you know, we kind of work through that process, but, you know, a lot of times there aren't big roadblocks. You know, I read a statistic about this, but I think it was over 90% of people don't know their why. Oh my. They don't understand. I wouldn't believe that. I would believe that that's never really been me or you, but I can imagine that that's the case. Yeah, I think people that do this go through a process and, you know, some of the roadblocks, as we see here, I mean, there's self-doubt and fear. I mean, when you really got to get in touch with yourself like this and try to figure out that why, sometimes you don't want to see that. Well, I mean, and going to the fear portion of this, going from W-2 to 1099, and the reality is most CRNAs are the wage earners for their family. And that'll make you step back and think about what you're doing when you're going from what we used to think was a guarantee. Of course, COVID showed us that nothing's guaranteed anymore, but going from a guarantee to maybe not so much, especially if the market changes, like we've talked about earlier. The market is great right now. The future's bright for CRNAs, and I suspect it will be for a good while, but, you know, it can be pretty frightening whenever you're the one who brings home the bacon. Absolutely. Absolutely, it can be. And that's one of the big impediments to people doing this is, you know, the big things are I'm the breadwinner and I can't take that risk. I carry the benefits. I can't take that risk. But there are other things. I mean, external influences, and this is another one I see all the time. I had a CRNA talk to me about this the other day. Everybody at work, by the way, she works in an office W2 environment, says that this is gonna collapse. This market for CRNAs is gonna collapse, and all these people out here doing 1099, they're not gonna be able to find positions. You know, and I kind of listened and I thought through it, and I said, how old are these people? She started telling me, and I said, you know, I said, they lived through 2008. In 2008, we all saw what happened. But in 2023, the environment is completely different than it was in 2008 for a lot of different reasons. So, you know, people can cloud our judgment. People can influence us to do things that influence that wide process of decision-making. Somebody obviously was not paying attention to numbers right now, but that's a whole other conversation. Very true, very true. And then, you know, sometimes there's just a lack of self-awareness. A lot of times, CRNAs doubt themselves. They doubt their skills, and they're worried about, you know, am I gonna have to go into a new place and work with new surgeons and understand a new system? And that's another reason is that lack of self-awareness of what do you bring to the table? I mean, Sharon, you could walk in anywhere and give anesthesia. Pretty much so, and have done that for many, many years. But, you know, I think that kind of goes side by side with the comfort zones. Not everybody can just walk into some place and pick up their computerized system, their flow, and just go with it. So I think those kind of things can go hand in hand. And even if you have a lack of self-awareness and doubt, I mean, all of these got to all go together, right? Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely, and you're right, stepping outside of that comfort zone. You know, I'm used to collecting a paycheck every two weeks, and, you know, I know I'm gonna get that. And I'll tell you, I won't say the word guaranteed, because, you know, during COVID, a lot of CRNAs, W-2, weren't guaranteed a paycheck anymore. Hello. Right, just as 1099s aren't guaranteed. But sometimes stepping outside your comfort zone, maybe you don't like doing certain types of cases, but you want to push yourself a little bit and do that. And, you know, I find with CRNAs that we get very comfortable in what we do every day, and we want to stay in our box. Well, I don't think that's just CRNAs. I think that's people in general. Oh, absolutely. I just meant from a practice perspective. Sure. You know, and the same thing with a money perspective and looking at it, W-2 to 1099. So just some things to think about as you are either transitioning, considering the transition, or maybe you're in 1099 right now, and you're doubting yourself a little bit. So why 1099? Sharon, first question I ask everybody, what do you want out of life? And that is a deep, deep, deep question. Sure, and I bet a lot of people can't answer that. They can't, but it gets them thinking. What do you want out of life? You know, is it, you know, I want to live to buy a new car. I want to live so I can live in a big house. I want to retire early. You know, what is it? What are you looking for? What are we trying to accomplish here? You know, a lot of times when we're working with clients and we're sitting down with them, we want to know, you know, why do you get out of bed in the morning? What drives you to do that? Is it to pay for your children's college education? Is it to pay your bills? Is it so, as someone told me the other day, so I can go buy new pocketbooks anytime I want to? Oh Lord, yes. Oh yeah, that was, yes, absolutely. So you've got to define that. And it's a hard thing to do, but it leads us down a path. And that's some of the first things that we typically do. But there are a lot of reasons to go 1099. One, accelerate retirement savings. We'll get into this a little bit deeper, but you know, a lot of times we've got CRNAs who want to retire early. And in order to do that, the W-2, the amount they can save W-2 is not going to get them where they want to go. So on the flip side of that, you know, you've got CRNAs out there that haven't done as well saving for retirement as they should have. I was having this conversation this actual past week with a CRNA who I've known for many years. And she was the first to tell me that she had not done a good job saving. And now she's reaching an age where it's getting real and it's getting closer within 10 to 12 years of retirement. And she's not- That's still not getting totally real, 10 to 12 years. That's still pretty good. It's not, but it's at a point- You're at a connection point of being able to save more in order to get you where you want to go. And that's it. So one reason is to maybe retire earlier. One reason is maybe catch up on retirement savings and retire not earlier, but maybe on time for whatever that moment is for you. Another reason we see a lot of people do this is college education is expensive. And they haven't saved enough money. I mean, right now it's upwards of $100,000 to go to a four-year school. And most kids are there for five years right now. And that's not giving them blue jean and beer money on the weekend, Sharon. Right. That's room, board, tuition, books, and maybe a little bit of spending money, but not a whole lot. So what happens is we get CRNAs who are in their forties, late forties, maybe even early fifties, their kids are going to school. They haven't saved enough money and they've got to pay as they go. Looking at their lifestyle, their W2 lifestyle, and they're doing okay. Or you could have had them very early in life and didn't have time to save. And then you got to pay as you go. Sign up, that's what I had to do. You remember- That's another reason. That's right. That's right. I mean, my kids were in college when I was 40. Exactly. Exactly. And I'm sure knowing you, you worked extra shifts and you did all you could do to help them and pay along the way. And that's what we're seeing here is, the 1099 Avenue is very lucrative right now. We're in a good spot and they can do this and not really affect their retirement savings, not really affect their lifestyle. And they can pay as they go to finance that child's education. So that one, the children don't have to get student loans or two, the parents don't have to take out loans to pay for it. So another big reason we see. Save on taxes. If done correctly, and we'll have some case studies throughout that we'll talk about this, doing 1099 can save you on taxes for sure. By utilizing business expenses the right way, doing things the right way through your business, you can definitely save on taxes and make yourself better in the long run for that. Pay off debt. Sharon, you would be amazed at how many CRNAs are walking around out there with 20, 30, 40, 50, even 100, $150,000 in credit card debt. I've seen it. It can be credit card debt. It can be student loans. We're gonna talk about that as well. How do you get this debt paid off? What's the easiest way to do it? Well, if you can work 1099, make a lot more money, you can utilize that to pay this debt off a whole lot sooner. And then the key is to not get yourself right back into debt. I've seen that happen as well. We'll be talking about a section of giving some examples about paying off debt, but that's another reason we see people do this. A lot of times it's one spouse that drives up the debt and the other spouse is the one that ends up paying for it. See that a lot as well. Sharon, your favorite word. Control. There you go. Control. Be in control. You can really control when you work, how you work, when you vacation. And for a lot of CRNAs, especially the younger CRNAs these days, it's very, very important to them, that work-life balance. How can I find that? I'm making good money. I'm doing everything I need to do, but I wanna enjoy my life along the way. How best can I do that? 1099 gives you that flexibility to maybe have that lifestyle. Maybe your children are younger and you don't want to work full-time. You wanna work part-time, but still make the same amount of money you made as W-2. 1099 gives you that opportunity. So making more money. Bottom line is that's what 1099 is about, ultimately, is how do I make more money? Sharon, we have other people that it's not really about money. I don't wanna go to the same place every single day and be involved and caught up in the politics of that. That is true. That is another scenario. I'd rather go to a place that really, they know me, but they don't know me, and I don't have to fit in with their politics every single day. You ever had that experience? Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Sometimes you think you want your own locker and to be at the same place, and then you figure out, maybe not so much. Maybe not so much. So, and these are just a few things that we see out there. There are a lot of reasons, but you've got to figure out what it is for you. Why am I doing this? Because when we figure out that why, that's really where we can hone in on making this 1099 experience work best for you.

transitioning from W-2 to 1099 work

CRNAs

motivations for pursuing 1099 work

common roadblocks

benefits of 1099 work