Seven Secrets to Optimising Your Income

Optimising income isn't only budgeting or planning for the days ahead. Along with the freedom of being your own boss comes the responsibility to stay financially disciplined; but what about making the most of your take home pay? Tax planning ensures you maximise your income by paying the lowest amount of tax, by structuring your company correctly.

But what actually makes a good contractor? Below are a few hints and tips which might help you to determine if the contractor's life is for you.

What type of person makes a good/great contractor?

• Someone who is proactive and a self-starter.
• Someone with skill-sets that are in demand. The good news is, there has never been a better time to become a contractor in terms of positions available or rates of pay. More and more companies are looking to contractors to fill positions, these include IT, Marketing, Sales, Project Management, Engineering, HR, Exec. Management and Telecoms to name just a few. In fact, there isn't an industry out there, that doesn't use contractors to achieve a specific goal.
• Someone with the right people skills. The ability to get on with other people is essential, as you must be able to slip straight into a role seamlessly and begin adding value immediately.
• Someone with the ability to deliver results.
• Someone who is capable of looking beyond the project in hand and identifying possible new opportunities for the client, but in a thoughtful and non-aggressive manner. After all, there is no point in annoying everyone by giving them a long list of things that you think could be improved! Incidentally, if handled correctly, these opportunities may lead to more work for you.