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My original post (please see the top of this thread)was about the responses the poster Jennifer received in a thread below, responses from those who had the audacity to say an IC should hit the ground running; after all, that's how they marketed their business.
This post is not about how you are 1000% times happier doing what you do. It is about the misconceptions people who are not independent contractors have about being one.
Any independent contractor who contracts with an MTSO is using the MTSO's proprietary software or whatever is necessary these days to perform work for an MTSO. There are many, many platforms that are created, and most of them are anything but easy to use, again created by heaven knows who without a bit of experience of what it takes to do medical transcription. I dare say that even you placed in the position of working for an MTSO would need some guidance/training/informationwhen starting an account.
Unless you have filed with your state's Secretary of State, have received corporation papers and certification for your business in whatever form the business was created(partnership, sub chapter S, LLC, etc., etc.),are filing your quarterly payroll taxes with the Dept. of Labor even if you are a one-armed business with no employees, paying your quarterly state and federal taxes, have an EIN#, you are self-employed, an independent contractor...not a business owner. You will file under a 1040. When you no longer want to continue with your business, you will follow all the necessary steps your state/local has to dissolve your company with your state and with the IRS. Today, doing business the way you do, if you decide you want to become employee status, you will not go through those steps of dissolution because you have nothing legally to dissolve. If you disagree, then you should speak with all those accountants and lawyers you have.
If you apply for a mortgage, apply for a credit card, or a car loan, when asked your occupation, you will state, self-employed. You will not state I am Miss Big CEO of XYZ Medical Transcription unless you have the legal right to a legal entity to state such.
So, yes, you are confused. You may have your own accounts, employ no one, but this post wasn't about contractors such as you. This post is about the misconception some have that an IC WORKING FOR AN MTSO needs no training on any platform whatsoever, need ask no questions at any time, and can run from day 1 like an Olympian. That is just not so for us who are working in the real world of being an IC contracting with an MTSO, learning their platform, having the necessary account information to perform the work under contract, and interacting with some of the most pompous individuals one can meet. Jennifer has experienced the real world of being an independent contractor today. She needs advice that is helpful to her situation and does not need to be flamed by those who have not one iota of experience of being an IC.
I salute all those MTSOs who value their contractors, who do everything possible to help them succeed, who consider them a part of their team. They are few and far between, but they are still there, praise God. When we find them, we stick with them.
If it makes you feel better about yourself (as if you need that), yes, you are an independent contractor. You are just not a legal business owner. You are self-employed.
I hope there are folks here who will reconsider their insensitive responses to Jennifer, who by the way is living the experience in the real world of being an IC working for an MTSO. I doubt Jennifer marketed herself anything other than she is, an independent contractor willing to perform contract work for a company seeking independent contractors to perform the work of THEIR BUSINESS. If submitting a resume is marketing, then all MTs are marketing themselves, employee status or contractor status. An MTSO or any employer wants to know what you have done, when you have done it, and how long you have been doing it. |
Confused, this thread is not about you. Stay on subject. - An IC
