Smart Cooperative Reaches Milestone in Membership Numbers
Our summer party has just ended, and now we have another reason to celebrate: We have surpassed the number of 1,000 members in our cooperative! A true milestone.
The International and Interdisciplinary Network for Solidarity in Freelancing
1,000 people from 30 professional groups and 50 nations are convinced: Smart’s cooperative model for freelancers and collectives hits the mark. We want to work according to our needs. And at the same time, we want to be secure now and in the future, just in case.
Smart, with its model of solidary employment, offers exactly this balance between freedom and security. As a member, you are practically authorized to represent and contact your clients. Smart issues the invoices for you, making the administrative work easier. Your employment costs are financed from your earned budget. Access to social security and payment guarantees are included.
Simple and Secure Job Handling
Is it really that simple? That’s exactly what it is. You solicit orders and carry them out. As soon as your orders are confirmed by your clients, you can enter into a socially insured employment relationship with Smart. This means you are covered by public health and long-term care insurance, public pension fund, and public unemployment insurance. And you are protected against payment defaults: Fortunately, this doesn’t happen often, but if there are difficulties with payment after order confirmation and execution, the network steps in for you.
Alternative Employment Forms and Digital Administration
As an alternative to socially insured employment, you can also choose the mini-job option. In any Smart deployment, there is no need for you to apply for a tax number from the tax office. One more security feature on top: With Smart, you are protected against false self-employment (“Scheinselbständigkeit”).
We put a lot of effort into making administrative processes as simple and straightforward as possible for you. We rely on digitalization and innovation. As a member, you have personal access to our Smart portal. There, you can not only keep track of your budget but also manage your orders and employment. And for everything that is better handled via email or in a personal conversation, our member advisors are always happy to help at the office.
Community and Networking
Furthermore, you might know this: solo self-employment can be quite a lonely endeavor. Not with us. We are delighted to have a community of wonderful people with often international backgrounds, both online and offline. It’s not just about partying; sometimes we even fill out tax returns together. With skills from over 30 professional groups, there is often a solution for all kinds of questions within our self-employed network.
Diversity and Inclusion
Currently, we have a slight majority of women in our membership. However, questions of sustainable self-employment and solidarity economy in the world of work are, of course, gender-neutral. Everyone is welcome here.
The Smart cooperative is continuously growing, and with each new member, our network becomes stronger and more diverse. We plan to further expand our offerings and develop even more innovative solutions for the challenges faced by freelancers and collectives. Our vision is a work environment where everyone has the freedom to work independently while being socially secure.
Join the Smart Community
Do you want to be one of the next 1,000 Smart members? In our info sessions, we explain the Smart model in detail and find out if our cooperative is right for you. We look forward to meeting you!
