Ok, you’ve done it. You have taken a big step and become a freelancer. Maybe your decision was influenced by downsizing or micromanagement at your previous job. Maybe your decision was influenced by an epiphany concerning your career or personal life.  Whatever the reason, you have done it. You are now a bonafide freelancer.

Free from the corporate world, you may have trepidations about those little things that are now missing. Things like health benefits, dental benefits and retirement plans. Never fear fellow freelancer, just because you don’t have an overbearing supervisor breathing down your neck, doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the security offered in the corporate world. Check out Freelancers Union. They are your voice. They are your friends. They are your guardian angel.  Ok, so maybe that’s a little melodramatic, but it sure is nice to know there is someone out there that has your back.  They have the resources needed to allow you to affordably continue some of the benefits you may have sacrificed when you waved goodbye to the 9 to 5 shackles.

There are group rates on health insurance and dental benefits. They lobby on YOUR behalf for tax breaks and fair tax laws. Unemployment compensation is virtually unheard of in the freelancing world, you have to either sue or just walk away with a loss. Freelancers Union says NO MORE.

The union was founded in 1995 by Sara Horowitz, a former Labor Lawyer. The home page of the site has so much useful information that I almost forgot I was supposed to be writing a blog about it. I didn’t want to leave. Ah, the beauty of freelancing, I can go back to the site whenever I want. But I digress.

Joining the union is simple and free. First they ask for a valid email address. Immediately after entering the email, they send you a link to sign up. They ask for the basic personal information such as address and contact info.  Then there is a section to set up your password. After that, you can select which, if any, subscription offers you would like. If you do not select any, they assure you that you will only be contacted no more than four times in the course of a year. It’s nice to know you won’t be bombarded with a bunch of unwanted email after you join. They have you fill out some brief demographics about yourself and your chosen field. Then, last but not least, you are invited to create a public profile for the sites’ yellow pages. The yellow pages open the doors for many opportunities within the site amongst the members. I can easily see this site quickly becoming one of my ‘go to’ sites.