Posted on June 23rd, 2009 by Barbara
A common misconception people have about not-employees is that they squirrel away in their home offices and come out only to meet clients. I’m not saying that doesn’t happen, but there are times when not-employees want to hang out in a work setting with other not-employees. Often you just need to get out of the house, have a change of venue, and maybe bounce an idea or two off of someone to help clarify your thoughts. Sure you could do it in a coffee shop or the library, but those places aren’t designed to allow independent workers to interact with their peers.
Over the past couple of years, some of us here at Not An Employee have been trying to develop a coworking community. Not An Employee itself is a product of microcoworking — an early attempt at open coworking, what some people now call a Jelly. We organized meetings to talk about how to make a space for a community of independents. We even looked at office spaces all over downtown. But we always ran into the same problem: we couldn’t find affordable space of the right size in an attractive building in a good location.
Then one day Mike Kessler had a meeting in a big open space right on Main Street downtown, in which he said he would build a coworking space, if he could figure out what people wanted and what they were willing to pay for. And some of us said, “We’ve been wanting a space. We’ll help.”
And so Workantile Exchange was born. After 4 months of buildout and 2 months of “alpha” period, coworking is officially open in downtown Ann Arbor. I’ll let you go over to their website to see what it’s all about. It’s worth the visit.
Posted in NAE Business | No Comments »
Posted on June 3rd, 2009 by bkerr
Just another interesting fact about oak trees:
What can destroy oak trees? — One common element that destroys oak trees is fire. When fire, caused by lightning or by a careless human being, hits a tree, the fire can spread and burn several trees. Another common destruction is caused by developments and the use of trees for wood.
Posted in Resources | No Comments »
Posted on April 10th, 2009 by bkerr
The Natural Area Preservation Division of the City of Ann Arbor will conduct a prescribed burn today in BLUFFS NATURE AREA. Prescribed burns are used to enhance the ecology of a site by controlling invasive plants. The fire is conducted by trained personnel and will be under control at all times. The burn will take place between approximately 12:00 pm and 6:00 pm.
Posted in Resources | No Comments »
Posted on March 31st, 2009 by mitten
President Obama’s stimulus package contains tax cuts for working folks in a program called ‘Making Work Pay.’ Originally slated to be up to $500 for single filers and $1000 for joint, it has been cut back to $400/$800. The credit will be applied when you file your taxes in 2009 and 2010. It is a refundable credit (ie. it will be given as a tax refund if you don’t owe any tax).
For the W-2ers out there, their employers are being asked to modify withholding amounts from paychecks starting April 1. 1099ers benefit from the tax cut as well, however. Any profits from self-employment are counted as earned income, and thus are eligible for the credit.
You may adjust your quarterly estimated tax payments to account for the credit you expect to receive. In general, if you expect to clear more than about $6500 in profit (earned income), you will get the full $400 [double the numbers for joint filers]. The credit phases out if you report more than $75K/$150K. So assuming you are over $6500/$13K and under $75K/$150K, you should be able to take $100/$200 off your quarterly payments. If you expect to clear less than $6500, you will get 6.2% of the amount as credit; adjust accordingly.
There are some pitfalls for W-2ers who are filing jointly and are both working. If both employers adjust the withholding as if each spouse got the full $800 credit, not enough tax will be withheld. So if you’re coordinating withholding adjustments with a W-2 spouse, be sure to adjust only for $400 of credit on paychecks and then adjust for your $400 of credit in your quarterly payments. Likewise, if you personally have both W-2 and 1099 income, be sure you’re not double counting the credit.
We’re not tax pros here at NAE and there are more rules about this credit that are not included in this overview. Please consult with your tax professional and/or the IRS for the final word.
Internal Revenue Service: Making Work Pay
Posted in Resources | 1 Comment »
Posted on March 16th, 2009 by Barbara
The telephone rings as I’m leaving the shower. I’m expecting a call, so I answer, and this is what I hear (paraphrased, of course):
Hello! My name is Robo Interruptor, and I work for A Company You’ve Never Heard Of. Times are tough, so we’re offering our fabulously unnecessary service to you at half-price!
Me: *Click*
There were a number of things that annoyed me about this call, not the least of which was the “we’re all in this together, so buy my service” statement. The biggest issue for me is that my phone number is in the National Do Not Call Registry, and I shouldn’t be getting any unsolicited commercial calls from someone I have never done business with.
You might want to take a few minutes to read the two FAQ’s (consumer, sellers), especially if you haven’t looked at them since you signed up. You did sign up, didn’t you?
I felt a little sad for the company that called. It’s a small business that’s scrambling for sales. They probably bought (access to) the phone list together with the automated system that makes the calls from some third party that doesn’t have clean lists and doesn’t care.
What the company might not realize though, is that there can be substantial fines associated with making unwelcome calls — up to $11,000. That’s a quite a chunk of change for a small business that’s already struggling.
This company got lucky, though. I wasn’t anywhere near a pen, so I couldn’t take down their information to file a complaint (at a minimum you need the company’s name or telephone number and the date). Next time I’ll be better prepared.
How does this relate to Not Employees? Just giving you a little reminder that if you have some need to cold call for work, you better be sure that the source of your phone list takes care to have followed the FTC rules and cleaned their list on schedule. It could be an expensive lesson, otherwise.
Posted in Serious Business | 3 Comments »
Posted on December 17th, 2008 by vaguery
…
Between the finite limitations of the five senses
and the endless yearnings of man for the beyond
the people hold to the humdrum bidding of work and food
while reaching out when it comes their way
for lights beyond the prison of the five senses,
for keepsakes lasting beyond any hunger or death.
This reaching is alive.
The panderers and liars have violated and smutted it.
Yet this reaching is alive yet
for lights and keepsakes.
The people know the salt of the sea
and the strength of the winds
lashing the corners of the earth.
The people take the earth
as a tomb of rest and a cradle of hope.
Who else speaks for the Family of Man?
They are in tune and step
with constellations of universal law.
The people is a polychrome,
a spectrum and a prism
held in a moving monolith,
a console organ of changing themes,
a clavilux of color poems
wherein the sea offers fog
and the fog moves off in rain
and the labrador sunset shortens
to a nocturne of clear stars
serene over the shot spray
of northern lights.
The steel mill sky is alive.
The fire breaks white and zigzag
shot on a gun-metal gloaming.
Man is a long time coming.
Man will yet win.
Brother may yet line up with brother:
This old anvil laughs at many broken hammers.
There are men who can’t be bought.
The fireborn are at home in fire.
The stars make no noise,
You can’t hinder the wind from blowing.
Time is a great teacher.
Who can live without hope?
In the darkness with a great bundle of grief
the people march.
In the night, and overhead a shovel of stars for keeps, the people march:
”Where to? what next?”
Posted in Readings | No Comments »
Posted on August 25th, 2008 by mitten
Most all the time, being not an employee is a good thing. But there are occasions when it’s not. For one, at least, is when you enter into contracts on a work-for-hire situation. Abusive work-for-hire clauses can leave you without ownership of your own work.
When you’re traditionally employed and enjoying a consistent paycheck and health benefits and vacation time and so on, it’s largely reasonable to expect that the works you create for your employer are the property of your employer. It’s part of the deal. But when you are freelancing or otherwise contracting with a company, who owns the final works is something that must be negotiated.
Realize that the first draft of the contract for the ownership of the work product is just that - a first draft. Be prepared to edit it and send it back. Look for clauses asking for exclusive rights, look for promises not to compete, and look for promises of confidentiality. These are all items which can be the starting points for discussion.
There is an excellent write up of work-for-hire, what it means and why it should be avoided here: Stop Work For Hire Work-for-hire can only legally be applied to a fairly short list of creations, however, if you sign a contract with a work-for-hire clause, even for a creation that is not on the short list, you’ve put yourself in a situation where you would have to fund a legal battle in civil court to protect your rights.
Know the rules, be smart about your contracts and don’t give up ownership of your work without proper compensation.
Posted in NAE Business, Resources | 3 Comments »
Posted on June 28th, 2008 by bkerr
From The Timeless Way of Building by Christopher Alexander (1976):
7. The more living patterns there are in a place—a room, a building or a town—the more it comes to life as an entirety, the more it glows, the more it has that self-maintaining fire which is the quality without a name.
8. And when a building has this fire, then it becomes a part of nature. Like ocean waves, or blades of grass, its parts are governed by the endless play of repetition and variety created in the presence of the fact that all things pass. This is the quality itself.
Posted in Resources | 5 Comments »
Posted on May 5th, 2008 by vaguery
What: Ann Arbor Coworking “town hall” meeting
Coworking is any long-term arrangement in which independent professionals can work in the same space, whether full- or part-time. You may have seen mention on CNN.com, in the New York Times, or local media.
We’re trying to gauge interest in developing a permanent dedicated coworking space in downtown Ann Arbor. This might include shared office space, meeting and training space, a private cafe, a “makers’ den” for electronic and other fabrication projects. Any or all of those. The space might be run by a private concern, a nonprofit organization, or an ad hoc collaboration. It might be a membership organization, a business of its own, or a cooperative. Or something else.
Let’s explore what it might be, and why you might want to participate.
Where: Ann Arbor District Library Freespace, 3rd floor, Downtown Ann Arbor library building
When: Monday, May 19, 7-8:30pm
The meeting space is reserved from 5pm through 8:30pm, but we will officially begin proceedings at 7pm. If enough interest is generated, we may run two 90-minute rounds of discussion. Please let us know if you’re coming.
Who: Organized by Not An Employee, LLC
Space in the Library conference room is limited to 32 people. If more want to attend and discuss the prospects for coworking, we will try to arrange a second session, and extend discussion after the meeting at one of the other local meeting venues.
Please let us know if you’d like to attend. You may want to use the free service at Upcoming.org to coordinate.
Posted in NAE News, Serious Business | 3 Comments »
Posted on March 31st, 2008 by mitten
One of the tricks they used to tout for helping tiny babies go to sleep was to play a special cd with quiet, muffled whooshing noises. It was meant to simulate the noises a baby would hear while in the womb (her mother’s blood rushing past, presumably) and thus calm and console her enough to let her sleep.
So now that you’re out of the employment womb (um, maybe that’s not the best visual), do you have trouble working because you miss the sounds of the office? Well, worry no more: the fine folks at Thriving Office have the perfect solution for you. They are offering a ‘Sounds of Success’ cd that should make you feel right at home. It even has busy and very busy tracks so you can vary your experience appropriately. If you’re having trouble making the transition from employee to not an employee, this cd is sure to help you stay productive!
Posted in Serious Business | 2 Comments »
