HACKER Q&A
📣 teaearlgraycold

Resources on web dev freelancing/contracting


I have recently gotten two offers to employ myself on a contract-basis. I want to be a business owner and a lifestyle contracting LLC would be a great way to get started on that. I would love some tips on running that kind of business.


  👤 gregjor Accepted Answer ✓
I have freelanced as a sole proprietor for 15 years. I advise focusing on getting customers and establishing long-term relationships, and not worrying about the trappings of a business.

One person contracting, with no employees or significant assets at risk, doesn’t gain much from an LLC or S corp. The income passes through to you as business income on your taxes regardless, so the less paperwork, bureaucracy, and fees the better.

You can easily find lots of companies selling questionable or outright useless services to new small business owners. Ignore all of that, you probably don’t need it. Do good work, don’t accept jobs from shady or pushy clients, keep records (a spreadsheet works fine). You want to optimize for billable hours, not for looking like a “real” business.

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