What are the downsides?

You will need to direct your customers/clients to a new booking/payment platform.

You will take home 2%-$10% less than your current take-home pay, depending on your benefits elections and earnings.

You cannot write off any work-related expenses since you will technically be a W-2.

Is Guilds with Benefits going to be my boss?

Definitely not! But since we are responsible for our Guild Members’ actions, we do require that Guild Members sign and agree to uphold our Code of Conduct.

We are about providing benefits to Guild Members. We are not interested in telling you how to run your day to day operations, what services to provide, what to charge, when to work, etc.

We simply provide a booking and payment tool for your customers to use. Then we use the funds collected to pay for your payroll and benefits.

Is anyone else doing this?

There are other professional organizations out there who are able to access group premium rates for health insurance. Members of those organizations pay their monthly expense to that organization in return for their health insurance options.

We are very different in that we want to help remove the administrative burden completely from ICs by handling tax compliance, stretching large/sporadic payments into consistent paychecks, providing pre-tax affordable quality insurance options that are automatically deducted, matching retirement contributions, issuing PTO, and offering all other applicable safety nets according to your state.

What’s in it for GwB?

Being able to help people reach financial security while doing the thing they love is why we exist. We see this failure to support ICs as a societal problem, and we are hoping that we can be part of a positive change. Frankly, we can’t believe we are the first organization to do this!

There is a small profit per Guild Member, so the more members we have, the bigger the profit. However, we intend for most profits to be spent on building additional guilds, offering better benefits to members, and increasing the level of support Guild Members receive.

Will I need to sign a contract or commit to Guilds with Benefits?

No, all Guilds with Benefits employees (AKA Guild Members) are at-will and can leave whenever they like. Outstanding balances for insurance premiums will be deducted from the final paycheck, and PTO will be paid out… This isn’t like breaking up with a regular employer. We literally just want you to succeed and get the most out of your career- so no hard feelings if you decide to leave.

The heart of what we are trying to do is provide options for folks who currently have none.

If someone joins a guild to get themselves from point A to point B, then they decide to leave the guild, we see that as a success!

Likewise, if someone joins a guild, and they love it and have their family on their health insurance plans, and they stay a Guild Member for the rest of their career, that’s a win, too!