When Sara Horowitz was hired as a lawyer, she was made an independent contractor and wasn’t given any benefits. Since then, she’s created Working Today, a nonprofit for uniting freelancers; Freelancers Union, an organization that promotes the needs of independent workers; and Freelancers Insurance Company, which provides health insurance. She also authored the recently released Freelancer’s Bible, a practical guide for the self-employed.

In the latest installment of Mediabistro’s So What Do You Do?, Horowitz talks about the best and worst parts of freelancing, and gives advice on networking, budgeting and getting ahead. Here’s an excerpt:

How does the re-election of President Obama and his healthcare agenda play into the future of the practice?
There are other things that are good all around, like the end of the preexisting conditions. We’re a nonprofit, and we own our own insurance company, so there are no private shareholders. I think what we’re going to see is that a lot of private equity is going to move out of the insurance business per se, because they won’t be able to make as much money. So, I think there’s going to be a lot of changes afoot in the healthcare industry.

For more, read So What Do You Do, Sara Horowitz, Founder and Executive Director of the Freelancer’s Union?