I am a health educator, coach, and digital health expert. I’ve been pretty entrepreneurial most of my life, so I look for opportunities that others might not. I’ve owned businesses as well (a spa and a podcast), so I also understand why businesses want to hire independent contractors rather than employees sometimes. 

I love contracting because it allows me to pick up interesting work and be in control of my schedule. My role, depending on the job, can vary wildly! From developing components for health apps to screening people for health programs, I’ve done a lot. In order to pick up contracts you just have to understand what the company needs and make sure you have that skillset. 

I have found that I can’t be a mother to my four now-almost-grown kids and tolerate the in-person work environment. Being an independent contractor means I can legally set my own pace and schedule and can run to the doctor if I need to. I went this route because two of my four kids have some serious health challenges and that caused me to need to have flexibility.

I had one child who had a TBI and then post-concussion syndrome. Later, my other child got PANDAS (it’s a severe pediatric autoimmune disorder). If I didn’t contract and work remotely, I would have had no income at all because my children couldn’t attend school and/or needed around-the-clock care. Additionally, treatments for those disease states require outside-insurance interventions, and they are expensive! It was a hell of a time. I learned a lot about how to put family first, but also keep my career and keep myself somewhat sane.