Today we’re going to talk about the freelance economy and why it’s important that freelancers, contractors and the self-employed protect themselves and their future with insurance, retirement, and other methods of planning ahead. Many freelancers are passionate about what they do and become independents so they can focus more of their time on what they love doing. They often find, however, that they need to learn about a wide variety of things such as accounting to send clients invoices, project management, and many other skills. This is in addition to ensuring that they are planning for their futures and the well-being of their families. Insurance, retirement, and other methods of planning are often taken for granted by full-time employees, but freelancers have to source and purchase this on their own. This can be prohibitive from both a time and cost perspective. To help me discuss this topic, and offer some potential solutions, I’d like to welcome Steve Blair, who is part of the team at CareerGig, where he is VP of Benefits.