Archive for the ‘Health Insurance’ Category
Thursday, February 4, 2010 | Written by Jim Beach
Posted under: Health Insurance |
Tags: health insurance entrepreneurs |
1 Comment
I met my downstairs neighbor yesterday. He and his wife are from South Africa and moved here to be near their 3 children and several grandkids. As an international lawyer, he is still able to work, but at 71, considers himself largely retired. Nice guy, great neighbor.
He told me the story of getting health care when he moved to the States several months back. Upon arriving, he applied for Blue Cross/Blue Shield, but due to his age and a very small pre-existing condition, was denied. Of course.
His comment was classic, “But in America, you must learn to never accept ‘No’ and to keep trying until you get what you want!” So, true. Especially for us entrepreneurs. When denied, you find a different way to skin the cat. My neighbor set about a search for all the organizations that offer health insurance as a benefit of membership. He found several chambers of commerce that did indeed offer it, and shop which plan was better, which membership was cheaper, etc. He created a business in upstate New York that serves as a corporate shell for his ongoing legal work and joined the chamber. And now, lo and behold, he gets insurance for a “great, cheap rate.” I love this story. I love his entrepreneurial attitude of never giving up.
What do you think of that Nancy and Harry?
Tags: health insurance entrepreneurs | Posted under Health Insurance | 1 Comment
Saturday, January 9, 2010 | Written by Erik Rostad
Posted under: Economics, General Thoughts, Health Insurance |
Tags: entrepreneur insurance, Health Insurance, small business owner insurance |
3 Comments
My wife and I had some new friends over last night and I had an interesting conversation with a gentleman looking to start his own business. He has a strong corporate background and is used to having health insurance from his company. One of his biggest fears in proceeding on his own as an entrepreneur was how he would support himself and his wife with health insurance.
Health insurance fears should not be a reason to keep you from pursuing your entrepreneurial ambitions. But that is one of the first questions I receive from many people when they realize I work for myself. I have purchased health insurance for my wife and I from a gentleman who specializes in providing insurance to entrepreneurs and small business owners. The way I found this gentleman was by asking an entrepreneur friend in the Atlanta area what he did for insurance. Believe it or not, when I was single and working for myself, I was actually paying less per month in health insurance than the subsidized plan I used while working in Corporate America!
My friend was recently listening to a radio show that estimated the current freelancer/consultant workforce to be 25% of the USA workforce. As early as 2010, that percentage is expected to come closer to the 50% mark. What that tells me is that there will be increasingly more opportunities to obtain health insurance at a great value as more people start businesses filling this need (hey, as an entrepreneur, you may want to check out this expanding market).
If you are unsure about what to do for health insurance for you and your family as you leave Corporate America and venture off on your own, seek out entrepreneurs in your community (church, ex-coworkers, club, gym, etc) and ask them how they are currently insured. Chances are, they will be able to provide follow-up contact information. We are currently redesigning The Entrepreneur School website and hope to offer this information in our forum so that you have contact information for insurance agents who work with entrepreneurs and small business owners in your city.
If you live in the Atlanta area and need the contact information for a health insurance agent for small to medium sized companies, please email me at erik@theentrepreneurschool.com or comment on this blog post with your return contact information.
Tags: entrepreneur insurance, Health Insurance, small business owner insurance | Posted under Economics, General Thoughts, Health Insurance | 3 Comments
