Recent press reviews of this site: The San Jose Mercury News calls us a "flashy site worth visiting"... USA Today names us a 'Hot Site'... Fortune Magazine calls us 'a great little online magazine'... and The Mining Company seems to like us too. Events for Independent Professionals (Yes, you're welcome to email us about your event. We'll post it as long as it's IP-related.) For press coverage of the recent renaming of our talent agency, go to:	Yes, we know, you love your clients. Most of them. Sometimes, however, a client crawls out of your nightmare swamp and almost makes you wish you were a wage slave again. Sound familiar? Dennis Barker tells the tale. IP Issues in the News Congressional Bill Would Refine Employment Definitions Tuesday, May 25 -- The Wall Street Journal reported today that U.S. Representatives Jerry Kleczka (D., Wis.) and Amo Houghton (R., N.Y.) have sponsored legislation that would refine the distinction between "employees" and "independent contractors." Under the proposed bill, service providers would be classified as employees unless they control their own work; are free to work for multiple clients; and take "entrepreneurial risk." The new bill would displace the current means of distinguishing service providers from employees -- the so-called 'IRS 20 factors" test. No date has been set for a vote on the bill. Louis Harris Poll Finds That Money Isn't Everything May 1999 -- A Louis Harris survey of more than 1,000 entrepreneurs who are either self-employed or supervise others in small companies revealed that the most important aspect of their jobs is freedom, not money. Of those polled, 12% said they were primarily motivated by a craving for more money, while 23% said they were primarily motivated by a craving for independence. Another 6% said that they wanted to "be my own boss." The poll, which was sponsored by New York's GreenPoint Financial Corp., found that U.S. entrepreneurs tend to define the American Dream in terms of overall independence rather than more narrowly as financial independence. Even in the complex productions of Hollywood, some people work for themselves. Meet well-known film producer John Daly. Full story Always Ready to Rant: Our inSANity columnist has had some strange obsessions lately; he seems to think you can manipulate clients with a hairy arm, and that freedom means you should always be ready to walk. From the letters we've been getting, some independent professionals agree with him. Apparently there are a lot of strange people out there. Beating The Night Terrors No work coming in? Living in your own private horror movie? We feel your pain... no, actually, that's baloney. Only you feel your pain. But we do have some advice.   Full story     Tips You can invent a name for your solo business, or simply use the one you were born with. We found that IPs disagree on this issue. Full story A Day in the Life of an IP: Surely you knew that museum curators can be independent professionals. It's an interesting life, complete with mother goddesses, problem clients (sound familiar?), and a diabetic male cat named... Susan? Don't ask; just read. A Day in the Life of an IP: When it's hot in the Hamptons, superstar summer residents hire IP landscape designer Elizabeth Lear. Full story   Tips Classified ads for IPs? The Great Scott, a magician, is used to stunning children and adults by making things appear and disappear. But not even smoke and mirrors can conjure up new clients... Full story    Tips At least once every year -- usually in April -- IPs have a first hand experience of film noir. We found an IP lawyer/accountant who divides his time between murder, bombs, and... tax preparation. Call it IRS noir. Full story Should you do your own taxes, or have a professional tax preparer do it? 1099 speaks with three professionals about the pros and cons of each method. Full story April's long gone, and if you were a good little girl or boy and filed your taxes on time, you can ignore this. But if you screwed up and are still having IRS nightmares, here are our picks of Key Web Sites for Tax Panic.	(ir)regular columns... San gets drunk at a wedding. Can his strange conclusions (and totally unacceptable title) really help you? New every Friday Are you really running a business -- or is it just a hobby that makes some money? News Flash: Aquent launches a seminar series for independent professionals. You can read the full details on a special web site, or read summaries on this webzine's own Events page. Email from our readers: Readers react to hairy arms, critical bastards, Judy Fireman's articles, and much more... Books of Interest to Independent Professionals New: We've linked our book descriptions directly to Amazon.com in case you'd like to buy any of the books. We've also added new listings. (What? You work for yourself and you actually have time to read?) We unveil our newest, previously secret, self-promotional strategy: If you don't tell your friends about this web site, we'll throw a hissy fit! If you don't bookmark us, we'll rant uncontrollably! (That would be a change, wouldn't it?) Don't ever say we're not sophisticated marketers...
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