Elbaum's World 89: Prepping for Self-Employment š·āāļø
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Prepping for Self-Employment š·āāļø
As promised, this is the first newsletter that's part of my new format: self-employment updates on the first Sunday of every month. I've still got one more week of full-time employment left, so I haven't been fully focusing on indie stuff. Even so, I feel I've made good progress in preparation for making the jump.
Without further ado, here are the things I've been working on in the past month:
Getting an Accountant
I've worked with my parents' accountant since I first entered the workforce. While there's been nothing wrong with that, I wanted to find someone local to me with whom I could build my own relationship. After some research, I got a good recommendation and have become a client of this new firm.
Incorporating a Legal Entity
The first thing the new accountant helped with was filing for an LLC.
While not strictly required (especially as a solopreneur), I felt the benefits (liability protection, simple structure) outweighed the drawbacks (administrative overhead, have to pay the state $125). I'll run my freelancing through this entity, which I hope will make for a simple way to separate business and personal finances.
Reserving a PO Box
I didn't want to put a home address on the LLC incorporation forms or anything else related to the business. So, I reserved a post office box at our local branch of the USPS.
Unfortunately, you can pay for the box online (great) but then have to print an application off and bring it to the office in order to get your box (not so great). The theme with government so far has been that there's an annoying amount of friction to do anything related to business.
Finding/Completing Freelance Work
I ended up extending my notice period to six weeks in order to accommodate my current job. While everyone was happy with the final arrangement, that plan meant balancing my initial freelance work with the full-time job for a time. I'm currently doing ~6 hours per week with a friend in his company. I think the arrangement will work well when I'm on my own, but it's requiring some balance right now.
Pete's Picks ā
- What I'm Reading: Work: A Deep History, from the Stone Age to the Age of Robotsā
- What I'm Listening To: Serial Productions dropped a new show, The Trojan Horse Affair, last week and I've been devouring it. It's about a scandal that broke in Birmingham, UK about a supposed Islamic extremist plot to infiltrate schools and (as is the Serial way) things are not as they seem. So good!
Some Recent Videos š„
I Quit My Software Engineer Job
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How I Prepared to Quit My Developer Job
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How to Become a Freelance Software Engineer
Cheers,
Peter
Hi, Iām a creator
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