One of the under-appreciated benefits of the large webinar format is that the Zoom chat becomes a real-time focus group.

Unfortunately for the speaker, you don’t get to read and process this trove of insights in the moment.

But I sure love digging in afterwards.

After speaking to a group of a ~400 new and aspiring solo consultants yesterday, I wasn’t surprised to see one particular topic emerge in the chat: health insurance.

(For those outside the US, you’re welcome to stay and hear about something we haven’t quite figured out over here yet…)

Aside from fear itself, health insurance is probably the most common blocker keeping folks from going solo.

Or at least the uncertainty around self-provided health insurance.

It’s the first exit on the 'going solo' freeway, and most people take it.

My lens on this has been:

Unless you have alternate coverage through a spouse/partner...

• Yes, you have to pay for it yourself
• Yes, it’s expensive (as a single, dependent-free, 40yo in WA state, I pay $560/month)
• Yes, it stings.
• But yes, you can pay for it through your LLC and get some tax savings
• And yes, you should bake this cost into your revenue goals and pricing decisions

I usually also add something flippant like - “If $560 a month is the price of my freedom from corporate, I’m happy to pay it.”

Now, that’s not really fair to those whose family situations would require a much more expensive plan.

And further, in yesterday’s Zoom chat, someone called my attention to the fact that prior to the ACA in 2010 (sometimes referred to as ”Obamacare”), you might have struggled to even find an individual policy at all, and if you did, the premium was likely 2-3x higher than they are currently.

I appreciate the reminder that it was this extremely high hurdle, more than fear, that likely kept a lot of people from making the soloist leap in the not-so-distant past.

But with that context now firmly in mind, and while it’s still a sub-optimal situation overall, I’ll add another “Yes” statement to my list above:

Yes, it’s actually never been easier to go solo.

💡

-Wes

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