I'm here with Bejan from Artisan Talent
You guys have had thousands of job run through your company over the last twenty to twenty-five
years
Right
That's right
Tell me about sort of some of the legal stuff I need to know.
What is for a start a 1099
A 1099 is somebody that at the end of the year gets a 1099 from the company that they
worked for meaning that they 're truly an independent contractor and there are no taxes
being taken out of the check that is being sent to you
Okay that sounds good
I like the no taxes part
Right
Again I'm fresh to this country
Sure
I'm not clear on a 1099 versus a W-2
What is a W-2 and how is it different or is it the same thing
Well the W-2 they're someone that is your record employer
So if you work for someone let's say you are a nine to five person you're going to get
a W-2 at the end of the year from your employer
Okay
As a freelancer though you can also receive a W-2 depending on your relationship with
your client
Okay cool
So one's more so freelance and one's more so full-time
Yeah and the W-2 is when taxes are taken out of the paycheck
Okay so how do I know if I'm a 1099 employee
How do I know if I need a 1099 form
Well if you don't know what a 1099 is you really shouldn't go down that path
Alright
So however to receive a 1099 from a company you truly want to be an independent contractor
meaning that you do have your own business you have your own clients and you're not really
relying on one particular client to give you the income for your year
Okay I've heard something like it's sort of like the eighty-twenty rule
If you get eighty percent of your income from one person then you kind of think of yourself
as an employee
That is a grey area and you need to be careful not only for yourself but for the company
that's hiring you can put them in a difficult situation
So let's say I'm a freelance contractor
Yeah
And I'm working as a graphic designer or a copywriter or what have you
I know I have to have an agreement or contract with whoever my client is
What are some of the things I should make sure are in my freelance contract
Okay so if you want to make sure that you're an independent contractor I'd say with your
client you want to make sure that you actually have an FEIN number federal tax I.D.
number
Or if you can create yourself as an LLC that makes it much easier for a company to work
with you as an independent contractor
Okay cool
That's very important
Okay cool and then other things like terms and conditions anything to keep an eye out
for
Well not really
The basic terms and conditions
You obviously want to get paid within thirty days you know those types of things
Those are very important
Okay cool
Well all of this I must say does make my head spin a little bit
Right
If I'm a graphic designer honestly I just want to design
If I'm an artist I want to do my art
Yeah
I appreciate that there is a shortcut here and that you've started a business based on
this shortcut
Right right
Just the idea of listing with a talent agency where the agency does it for me
So tell me if I listed with a company like Artisan what do you take care of
You know what do I have to take care of
How does that work
We really try to make it very streamline and really easy for the talent
You know when the talent comes in they're going to register with us
We're going to look at their portfolio look at their talent see what they're capable of
And we're most likely most talent if they don't have their own company they don't register
as an LLC we really are going to treat them as a W-2
What that means is that we really are going to take care literally all their taxes
You know they're going to get a paycheck
They hand in their timesheet and they get paid on Friday when they hand in their hours
on a Monday
It's that simple
Well that makes sense to me
So if I come in you'll figure out what I am
Am I a 1099 or a W-2 deal with me either way and I don't have to worry about all that kind
of stuff I can just do what I love to do
Exactly that's the point
Sounds pretty good to me
What would be a good first step if I want to get in touch and start that ball rolling
First step is to come to our website at artisantalent.com and you can register there
You can also go to any social media channels be it Twitter Facebook or LinkedIn and or
just send an email or a phone call that could happen as well.
Alright sounds good
And you guys are pretty much across the United States in the major metropolitan areas
Yeah we're in the major metropolitan areas
Okay cool
Thanks very much for your advice on this I appreciate it
Great thank you