When I moved to Portland, Jenny Blake shot me a note with an introduction to her friend here, Jenny Foss. Jenny and I have been chatting since I moved (and I’m thrilled to finally meet for coffee or happy hour soon!), and she’s a complete rockstar when it comes to finding and landing your perfect job, from the resume-building to the actual process of vying for the position. She recently published an eBook titled To Whom it May Concern, Or How to Stop Sucking at Your Job Search ($39), and has offered a promo code for readers of doniree.com that gets that little gem in your hands for 50% off ($19.50). Looking for a job or feeling stuck in the one you’re in? You don’t want to miss this.
Buy her book between today and Saturday, 4/23 and use the promo code: DONI50 to save 50%!
As an independent contractor, I’ve been overwhelmed by what I’m supposed to do about health insurance and benefits, so when Jenny suggested that as a topic for my blog and you, dear readers, I knew I just couldn’t be the only one with questions. Read on, my entrepreneurial friends!
Benefits: Don’t let them kill your entrepreneurial dream.
Guest post by Jenny Foss, JobJenny.com
I’ve had this conversation with several amazing, talented entrepreneurial dreamers before. And every time I have it, I get riled up. Not at the dreamer, of course (love the dreamers. LOVE ‘em!) I get riled up because we live in a society that conditions people to be freaked the hell out about benefits.
Here’s how that conversation typically goes:
Entrepreneurial Dreamer (ED): I’d so love to quit my job and just focus on my (insert amazing, sellable thing that they adore and are great at here). But I just can’t. I need my benefits. I am bored to death and know I’d love to strike out on my own, but I just can’t do it.
Jenny: You’re sticking around at a job that sucks because of the benefits? You’re sitting on a dream that could quite likely generate a full-time income because of benefits?
ED: Benefits are just too expensive. And I’m too afraid to be without them. I must stay put. I must just stick it out here until I figure out a better plan.
Jenny: Are you healthy?
ED: Oh completely. I almost never go to the doctor. But JUST IN CASE.
Jenny: Have you actually priced out private health insurance?
ED: Um, no. I haven’t. I just know from my uncle’s friend’s cousin who runs a computer repair business that they’re SUPER expensive.
Usually, this is about when I insert the monthly dollar figure that I currently pay for private health insurance.
That’d be $200.
Yep, that is correct. $200 a month for a reasonably robust health insurance policy through Blue Cross/Blue Shield. And the premiums I pay? They’re tax deductible.
Now, I will admit a few things for those who are ready to challenge me on this topic:
- I don’t have dental nor optical coverage. I pay out of my pocket for these services; about another $500 annually.
- I carry a relatively high deductible. I do this intentionally. While my office visits are covered with exception of a co-pay, if something catastrophic were to happen, I’d be liable for up to $5,000. Which maybe sounds expensive, until you consider that a trip to the hospital costs between $1,300 and $3,500 per day. Comparatively, that $5,000 obligation is a mighty fair bargain, especially if I were looking at a multiple-day hospital stay.
- I am healthy. I have no pre-existing conditions and I’m in good health, which affords me a favorable rating in the eyes of insurers.
My point: Health insurance is way, way more doable (and affordable) than many people have been led to believe. Especially young, reasonably healthy people.
So if this fear is keeping you from chasing down a dream that you know in your heart of hearts will be fulfilling, rewarding and amazing? I beg you to go investigate this topic, immediately.
Don’t listen to your mother, brother or cousin (especially if they’re all tucked away in staggeringly boring and unfulfilling jobs, because they don’t want to lose their benefits.)
Go investigate. And then, when you have the FACTS, decide how you’re going to proceed.
Here are a few good places start your investigation:
- Groups and associations – Many groups are able to offer hearty discounts on insurance because they’ve approached insurers as a collective guild and, in turn, landed volume discount rates. Chambers of commerce often to this, as well as professional associations. If you’re a writer or media-related entrepreneur, check out the offerings through MediaBistro.com.
- HealthInsurance.org – This is an independent site that provides consumers with articles and other resource specific to finding affordable medical insurance. It’s segmented by states and insurance types, and allows you to compare pricing in your specific geography.
- HealthInsuranceInfo.net – This is a cool site. It’s run by Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute and shows insurance options based on geography, and provides information on high-risk people who may have been turned down by other insurers.
- Small Business Service Bureau – A membership-based resource for small business owners, the SBSB offers discounted health insurance to its members, along with a ton of other resources and programs for small business owners.
We’re a society with “safe bet,” “don’t rock the boat” and “benefits cost a zillion dollars” deeply ingrained into our belief systems.
You got an entrepreneurial dream? Then challenge these beliefs.
Please, I beg you. Don’t let “benefits” be the thing that kills your entrepreneurial dream.
Jenny Foss operates an independent recruiting firm, Ladder Recruiting Group, and is creator of the blog JobJenny.com. Your job search BFF and tough love expert on finding career passion, Jenny recently launched her first ebook, To Whom It May Concern: Or, How to Stop Sucking at Your Job Search. You may also find Jenny on Twitter @JobJenny.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I just want to point out that this scenario is much harder for people with pre-existing conditions. And pre-existing conditions can include some pretty common things. Ever had an asthma inhaler? Ever gotten Rx meds for acne? The combination of “asthma and acne” could be enough to cause insurance companies to DENY you. For some people it’s not even a cost issue, they would pay for private healthcare if they could, but even common issues (asthma, diabetes, etc.) lead to complete denial of private plans. This is why we really need to fix the healthcare system. People who want to pay for insurance should at least be allowed to!
Amira is spot-on – her point is unfortunate but true. Even when you can’t be turned down for a PLAN because of pre-existing conditions, you can be turned down for certain provisions for tons of reasons. My benefits are a big reason I don’t even bother job-shopping anymore, let alone thinking about going my own way. Even though I’m relatively healthy, I’ve had minor illnesses and a few very minor surgeries. I’m almost thirty. It happens. But it’s enough to screw me over when it comes to private insurance.
Here’s a somewhat obvious question: If you’re going to opt for catastrophic-only insurance, to the tune of a $5,000 deductible, are you banking at least $5,000 in an emergency fund or some other secure, liquid, long-term savings account?
If that $5,000 were to vanish tomorrow (to cover a broken foot, for example), would you still have enough left in the emergency funds to weather a dry spell in your entrepreneurial or freelance income streams?
Opting for catastrophic-only health insurance is not inherently reckless, nor is opting out of vision or dental coverage, but your financial planning should reorient itself accordingly.
Opting for a catastrophic health insurance plan allows me to fulfill a dream, maintain reasonably good health care (and prescription) coverage AND protect myself against a $50K or more bill should I find myself in a major health emergency. Yes, I happen to have a $5K cushion available should something major happen, but even if I didn’t? Financing $5K would be an entirely different story than financing $50K or more if I’d decided to simply opt out of insurance and gamble on staying healthy and accident free.
I think the moral of my story is this: This is your life. It’s worth a noble effort (yes, I totally stole that quote). If you have a marketable talent and a dream, it’s just a shame to stick around doing something you only tolerate (or downright despise) because of the perceived benefits safety net. For reasonably healthy people, this cost of business is much more doable than a lot of people assume it will be. I’d certainly suggest it’s worth investigating.
Personally? I can’t put a pricetag on the freedom, sense of pride and fulfillment that comes from implementing an entrepreneurial business.
Thanks for the comment!
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