Reinvent-as-a-Service (RaaS)

Reinvent-as-a-Service (RaaS)
 
I'm visiting the big island of Hawaii and Mauna Loa has been erupting the past few weeks. It reminds me that we as humans have to adapt to the air, the changing landscape, and lava flows that we cannot control. Of course we need to plan ahead and take action in order to survive, but at times we just need to stay put, observe, marvel at the universe, and go with the flow.
​
So with that in mind, have you ever wanted to reinvent yourself and start fresh? Taking inventory of your skills, personal and professional relationships, living arrangements, and goals and dreams can be invigorating. Going through this process can help you focus and have a rich and fulfilling life.  
 
I was an independent consultant and contractor 10-years ago with a thriving practice. I was then recruited to work as a full-time role at a large tech enterprise and was employed there for nine years. For my next career move, I recently I decided to make a change and reinvent myself. As I went through the process, what I learned is that 1) there are many new resources in the marketplace for independent contractors and consultants and 2) it’s challenging to find all of this information in one place. I decided to document the process.
 
I conducted research, made comparisons, reviewed SaaS applications, and explored many vendors and services available today. In this post, I share my decisions. You may have your own connections and expertise to draw upon and I believe having this comprehensive list will also save you time. I call this Reinvent-as-a-Service or RaaS. It’s all about setting yourself up with the right infrastructure so you can present yourself professionally and provide services as a consultant or contractor versus a full-time salaried role. It can seem overwhelming because there are quite a few things to get in place. It also requires some investment of time and money to do it right. In the long term, like any organization, you will be better positioned for growth. My total investment to get all set up was under USD5000. These costs are rough figures based on my experience. Of course, I have my preferences, but I am not formally endorsing any particular vendor or service and have no referral fees or commission arrangement with any of them. In my case, I did not hire a professional coach and given my background, I handled the website build, domain name registration, email set up and CRM configuration on my own. Depending on your skills and interests, you might decide to take these on yourself or, I am happy to consult or contract with you to speed the process. I find it’s good to have a sounding board to talk things through and stay on course.
 
Here's a list of tasks to set things up for your reinvention.

Outline

1. Take inventory of your skills and interests
2. Ideate with supportive people
3. Determine what product/service you will offer
4. Purchase a domain name, build a website, and set up your email
5. Register yourself as an LLC with an Agent
6. Obtain an Employer Identification Number for your entity
7. Keep a record of your business expenses
8. Hire a tax professional for advice and preparing tax returns
9. Set up a bank account
10. Purchase liability insurance
11. Purchase health insurance
12. Get Legal Support
13. Manage your network
14. Share your new website with your network
15. Prepare a proposal and sign your first deal
16. Send an invoice and receive payment
17. Filing taxes as an LLC or S-corp

 
Details

1. Take Inventory of your skills and interests  
I suggest getting a journal and getting your thought down on paper. What have you always dreamed of doing? What did you love about your career? What do you enjoy most?

2. Ideate with supportive people  
This can be tricky because it may not be family or even your closest friend who will support your reinvention. This is all about you, not other people’s image of you or their expectations. It can be a bit lonely trying to figure this out, but it’s also exciting and invigorating. At this stage, some people may hire a coach to guide them through a process or get a good book to challenge and be true to yourself.

3. Determine what product/service you will offer  
Actually, this may not be readily evident at first and may evolve over time. You can always add this later to your website. Initially, I find it’s good to be broad and flexible to get going. You can always change course, fine tune, and get more focused over time.
 
In my case, I was quite focused and knew that staying involved with technology and applying it to different industries was a good fit for me. I tend to enjoy working across many subject areas. My media and entertainment background has enabled me to bring creativity and innovative ideas when applied to technology industry. Areas like supply chain, manufacturing and transportation were a good fit for my organizational skills. I like organization, structure, and clearly defined process. By having those in place there’s a greater chance of success when rolling out creative endeavors. Having good systems enables more flexibility and responsiveness. Interjecting compelling creative assets into the mix guarantees even a base level of performance, but if it’s a great concept that is well-executed and resonates with your audience, then it’s a big win.

4. Purchase a Domain Name, build a website and set up your email  
I used Weebly to find and register my domain name michaelrichter-consulting for under USD250/year. Weebly has a lot of functionality and is easy to use. Nearly all online applications ask for a resume and a Linkedin address, neither of which is the best medium to present yourself. Your past experience may be just that, something of the past. Presenting what you can and will do in the future in a clean, succinct, and visually compelling website is the future whether you are looking for a full time job or presenting your business. For myself, I share my approach and what I’m passionate about to make it personal. I share samples of my best work, a blog, and other content that showcases my professional skills and experience. Don’t get hung up on this if you’ve never built a site. It takes a mix of technical, creative, and writing skills. If you need help, I’m very familiar with the platform and functionality, setting up domain names and emails and it’s one of the services that I offer.

5. Register yourself as an LLC with an Agent  
After conduct research, I chose Northwest Registered Agent, Inc. Everything was executed online for under USD400. I received a full packet with everything I needed including a Certificate of Status, Articles of Organization, Statement of Information, and Employer Identification Number. The Agent is where all the correspondence will be sent.

6. Obtain an Employer Identification Number for your entity  
This was part of the Northwest Registered Agent, Inc. service.

7. Keep a record of your business expenses  
Though you can track expenses by using a credit card to keep a record of itemized expenses, I also keep paper copies. Best thing to do is purchase a box file and then set up all of your topics such as travel, meal, office, legal, accounting, internet, and others so you can easily organize your receipts by category.

8. Hire a tax professional for advice and preparing tax returns  
I have hired an independent tax consultant for many years, and it’s been a great relationship. I have experimented with other tax agencies, and I did not have a good experience. I prefer working with the same person because they understand all the details of my career and business, and they stay up to date with the latest tax law changes. This saves me time, ensures I’m filling accurately, and also gives me peace of mind. When a tax event occurs (e.g., change of job, new business, investments, etc.), I keep my tax professional informed. I file quarterly estimated tax payments and my returns are prepared by my tax consultant at the end of year. The fee I pay is under USD1000. It is important that you determine what entity to use for your tax returns such as sole proprietor, LLC, S-Corp, etc. since this can make a significant difference in how much you pay in taxes. Unless you are a tax expert, I don’t advise that you go it alone. There are many changing laws to stay informed about.

9. Set up a Bank Account  
I researched a number of banks including a large bank that I use for my personal checking and savings accounts. After carefully considering my small business needs, comparing fees, and understanding the online capabilities, I decided on Bluevine. I was able to execute everything online without a hitch vs. working with larger banks that charge fees and still require in-person meeting and verification.

10. Purchase liability Insurance I conducted research on this and spoke to a few organizations. I decided that for my type of business which is technology/marketing consulting and as an executive producer, it was appropriate to have General and Professional liability coverage (USD1m for each) plus property insurance (USD5m). I purchased this online for under USD700 through Simply Business and this Home Based Business Policy is with AXIS. Your situation may be different depending on the nature of your business and product or service offerings.

11. Purchase Health Insurance  
If you’re leaving a company, you may have an option to keep your current health insurance through COBRA for a number of months. If not, you can visit the healthcare websites for your state to look at policies that suit your needs. With the Affordable Care Act, there are many kinds of coverage to choose from in the marketplace and it varies for each state. Prices range depending on your income level and the coverage you need. In my case, there wasn’t a significant difference in price for the health coverage I want so I opted to retain my current plan at USD1200 with United Healthcare which includes health, dental and eye care. I pay through the COBRA program which I have access to for 18-months. Since this is such a personal and individual preference, it does require doing some research of your own.

12. Get Legal Support  
I asked my tax professional if he knew any good legal firms and was referred to Bend Law Group, PL. I asked them to review a master services agreement for my first client so that I would have a full vetted legal document that I could use for all clients. In my case, the agreement was initiated by my client and then I reviewed, and we iterated until we agreed. There were many changes, and it was well worth the investment which was under USD1000. I also have a past standard Statement of Work that I use to provide details for projects and the SOW refers to the Services Agreement. The SOW includes specific projects, costs, and terms of payment.

13. Manage your network  
Today, there are many free options for applications that will help you manage contacts, accounts, and opportunities by stage. I use Airtable’s free version and one of their CRM templates. It was easy to set up and it can be scaled as my business grows. I also can apply my learnings to my customers since Airtable is a flexible integration and automation platform with templates for many different types of functionality so I can experiment using my instance. If you are familiar with another system or if your client is using one, you may want to use that. There is a learning curve and initial input of data and set up does take some time, but once you get into the swing of it, you will have a much more systematic and efficient way of managing your business.  

14. Share your business website with your network When you are ready, then systematically prioritize and start sharing the news or your new self and business with your network. I prefer to tailor individual notes and make it more personal versus a general announcement. I start with my close family and friends, then professional colleagues. This is time consuming, but also a great way to reconnect with people and think through what services you can deliver depending on each recipient. Cast the net far and wide and get the word out. You never know where business may come from or who you may be referred to. Have some fun with it when you kick things off.

15. Prepare a proposal and sign your first deal  
One day, you will connect with an organization that wants to engage with you. Once you have discussed what is needed, you can prepare a proposal. I use the master services agreement in conjunction with a Statement of Work. The services agreement is content to define how the relationship will work between you and your client. The SOW is an overview of the project with specific stages, timing, costs, and payment schedule.
 
I use my experience to estimate how long something may take, place value on your knowledge and expertise, and build in some contingency for dependencies. You might start creating a rate card for different tasks. My preference is to work on a project basis based on the deliverables, not hourly rates. Your client is hiring you for your expertise, the value that you add and your experience.

16. Send an invoice and receive payment  
Customers may have their own financial application. My clients have used BILL which is an easy invoice application. Set it up so that your payments are automatically deposited into your bank account.

17. A limited liability company is a legal designation that can protect small-business owners from personal liability in business obligations. An LLC can also choose taxation as a corporation, and owners can save money by electing S corp. tax status. Always check with your tax consultant to get advice and consider your options for filing annual taxes. 
 
SUMMARY OF RESOURCES
Michael Richter Consulting LLC
Weebly
Northwest Registered Agent, Inc.
Bluevine
Simply Business
COBRA
Bend Law Group, PC
AirTable
BILL
Legal Zoom

---