Advice on Becoming an Independent Contractor? 81
miyako asks: "I'm 20 years old and going to be graduating soon with a degree in Computer Information Systems. I was thinking recently about the job market available and I began to realize that I don't want to spend the rest of my life using my skills to make someone else money. I've been making money these last few years doing odd computer related jobs, programming, networking, graphic design, but never steadily or on a big scale. What I've come to realize is that when I graduate I'd prefer to work for myself doing contracting jobs. I thought that I would put the question out to Slashdot since a number of you seem to be doing this for a living or to supplement your income. What's the best way to get started, especially for someone without a lot of professional experience under their belt?" Update: 10/08 11:20 EDT by C : After press time, another worthwhile related question popped up. Rather than post another story, it's probably better to handle both issues together. So in addition to the current question, what legal aspects should Independent Contractors consider, especially when it comes to writing contracts?
"Is it better to be a generalist, or to specialize in a few areas? What can I do to get myself recognized in the sea of other people doing the same thing? Is the market really there and is it strong enough that someone could make a living only doing this? What do I need to be aware of on the business end of things?
I realize that I might make significantly less, at least at first, than I could working for a company, but I would rather make less money and be more fulfilled working for myself. In short, what advice would Slashdot readers give a new graduate who is looking to start a business doing contracting jobs?"
While considering the issues an independent contractor needs to worry about when starting out, it might also help to consider the aspects a starting contractor will need to tackle when confronted with an important aspect of his job: writing contracts. With that in mind, we have this addition from Clanner: "I've been working as an IT Contractor recently, and I have a few opportunities to do some independent contract work (IE: not through a contracting agency) for a handful of clients. While I plan on consulting an attorney at some point, I'd like to get a few pointers from the Slashdot community as far as things to watch out for in contracts with customers. I'm looking for both items to avoid having in a contract as well as things that I should make sure are included. I plan on using a balanced contract, where neither party is at any severe advantage or disadvantage. I'm sure there are plenty of experienced hands at this in the Slashdot community, and I'd like to hear any suggestions you may have and about your experiences in this type of work (good or bad). Thanks!"
Easy (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Easy (Score:3, Insightful)
Learn to get good at dodging random gunfire.
Re:Easy (Score:2)
Jeez.. Hash moderation.
Re:Easy (Score:1)
OP: Your answer (Score:2)
Enjoy.
And come up with an answer to the following (follow the sig-link) :
But Don't Lose Your Head! (Score:2)
If you are thinking of travelling to Iraq, think very carefully about the possibility that you'll only need a one way ticket.
Although showing up on an Al Quaeda connected website will certainly get your name out there!
oops (Score:5, Informative)
Or maybe that's just what happened to me =[
Re:oops (Score:4, Interesting)
Two words: "business acumen". If you don't have it, you're not going to succeed at running your own business.
If you want to be a contrator, get some real business management training, or team up with someone who has it.
If you want to have a successful business, you'll need technical experience and business experience.
Market yourself, build a portfolio, network. Focus on service -- people respect good service. Find a niche market and take control of it. Get your contracts in writing and understand the legal issues around them. Protect yourself by using a business form that provides limited liability. Understand the work involved in a contract and the amount of money you need to cover all expenses and required profits, and don't take jobs that aren't worth it. Prefer contracts that leave you with an opportunity for recurring revenue (more contracts from the same source, or reuse the work/knowledge in other contracts).
Re:oops (Score:1)
This is a big part of what being independent is all about. No 9-to-5 workdays for you! You *MUST* get the job done on schedule and on budget if you expect word of mouth reccommendations and referrals, IOW if you want to succeed rather than just survive.
There are other implications related to this. Ever hear of paid time off? When you own the company, there is no such thing.
This is just a generalized step, but... (Score:4, Informative)
2. Advertise, advertise, advertise
3. Shoe-string budget (macaroni-cheese and Top-Ramen)
4. Network, network, network (the social kind, not the other kind)
5. Brush up on phone etitiquette
6. Learn legalese on contractual languages or hire a lawyer
7. Complete the job
8. File taxes regularily
9. Profit!
Get professional experience (Score:2, Insightful)
This doesn't necessarily mean get a real job though. I've found that if you want to build a really good portfolio or resume, be it devleoping, design or whatnot, go to work for a non-profit that is aligned with something you care about. Usually they have some projects that are just yelling for technology help, which of course is usually some of the most costly help.
What this does for you is a) gives you some real n
Re:Don't (Score:1)
If you are just looking for a creative outlet to express yourself, get a regular job doing whatever you can. Do what you love on your time as a hobby, and for your own education. You will be happier with this situation, because nothing ta
Re:Don't (Score:2)
The best contracting opportunities come from knowing and understanding the mistakes big companies make. The best way to learn that is to spend 4,6,8 years in the field before going solo.
And dont get caught in the loyalty game (even when golden handcuffs are offered). If a company environment no longer satisfies your goals - move on to the next one.
Re:Don't (Score:1)
How apropos! (Score:2)
I'd like to break away on my own (and cash out that yummy 403b my current employer's been generously contributing to for the last 5 years), but I'm unsure just how to become a sysadmin for hire.
I've been toying with the idea of trying a retainer-like system. My h
Re:How apropos! (Score:1)
Smaller companies might be more interested in an arrangement that would give them access to talent on a part-time basis. Larger companies might do that too if you have some unusual skill.
Re:How apropos! (Score:2)
You do work on a regular basis for a company for quite some time until they decide that you are the best person for the job. Tell them that you can continue to do that job for half the cost (or less)each month but will be working on an as-needed basis, fixing whatever needs fixed when it needs fixing (and generally remotely.) Negotiate something that is benefitial to them fiscally and at the same time open up your schedule and time frame. Bingo - retainer, and b
Re:How apropos! (Score:2)
It's usually a bad idea to withdraw from your 403b. You're better off transfering it to another retirement plan so you don't get hit with more taxes.
Price and Paper (Score:3, Insightful)
Two - contracts are your friend. Even if you don't insist on a full written contract, send the client an e-mail that outlines duties, timeframes, deliverables, and pay rates. Do that before starting work. As one lawyer put it, even the weakest paper beats someone else's memory of a conversation.
Three - if the job changes direction or scale, stop and renegotiate. Don't wait until you've put in two weeks of work not covered by your original contract, only to find that the client has some odd idea about how it was "included".
Four - if the client jerks you around do not ever work for them again, no matter how much they cry and plead for forgiveness. If they do it once, they'll do it again.
Finally, if you have a good client, tell them, and cut them a deal from time to time.
Re:Price and Paper (Score:2)
I had a company screw me over some completely weak amount, less than $500 - and they came back crying about me being the only one that knew how their network was set up and could fix their problems. I still haven't made as much money per hour, paid up front, as I did on
Are you sure? (Score:2)
Best advice for becoming IT consultant (Score:5, Funny)
I too have been wondering this same question (Score:2)
Re:I too have been wondering this same question (Score:2)
That said, answers
1. You are going up against people that will work for free, and people that have 25+ years experience (generally not the same people, however.)
You have enough experience to do intermediate level Python, VB, VBA, and SAS. I wouldn't mention SAS because nobody uses it except college students doing statistics. *
2. If you put your credentials on the web, make sure the domain you use is your own domain, and that you use it only for professional pur
Get a job (Score:3, Informative)
One good way to get a good network of contacts is to get a job or two and develop your network of contacts there. Even better if you can find a job with an established contracting company. They will have the reputation neccessary to get the contracts, but you will be the person who goes out to the site, and you develop your own personal reputation in the course of the job. Those very same people you were just contracted out by your employer to may soon be your bread and butter as an independent contractor. They know you, they know your work (and presumably are happy with it), and they may be in need of additional contracting in the near future.
Regardless of where you get your job, get chummy with everyone. Networking, networking, networking. Everyone you meet will probably know of a job you can do now and then, whether they need something done, or they know a guy who knows a guy who needs something done. Remember, you're not just gaining one contact, you're gaining their whole network.
Anyway, I don't think it's feasable to become an independent contractor right out of school. When it comes to life, resigning yourself to "I know I won't make much money" is rarely good enough, because even though it sounds like it's the ultimate sacrifice, it's not. The real challenge is sucking it up and doing something you really don't want to do, if it'll put you in a better position down the road.
Don't move... (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't regret moving to a big city (Tallahassee is a FUN FUN town though!); however, keep in mind that where you start your practice is going to be your home for a looong time if you want to be successful and build a significant income from it.
Please keep in mind, that things like rent-a-coder.com, etc didn't exist back when I was consulting. I could only work locally (I had clients all the way up in Thomasville, GA though).
Also, treat every client/contract as if it's the most important one. You _never_ know who they know and word-of-mouth was the way I found most of my clients.
Good luck!
Nobody will hire you. (Score:5, Insightful)
You: "Hello. I'm an independent contractor with no experience, no support staff, and no financial backing whatsoever. I'm doing this because I don't want to work for "The Man." Did I mention I'm 20 years old? Please hire me."
Them: "Uh, no."
People become independent IT contractors after they have 20 years of experience and get fed up working for other people. They can do this because they have 20 years worth of personal contacts, industry knowledge and hands-on experience to draw from. You have none of those things.
You say you're willing to work for less. That's good, because you're going to be working for a lot less...like zero. Oh, and were you aware that you'll have to pay more in taxes at the end of the year because you're an independent contractor? Hope you like 1099 forms because you're going to be seeing a lot of them.
This is one of those things where, if you have to ask for help, you're better off not doing it. If and when the time is right for you to quit your 9-5 job and contract yourself, you'll know it. By that time, you won't have very many questions at all, which is a good sign that you might actually be sucessful.
You haven't even given yourself a chance to hate the 9-5 IT job yet. You might as well try. Who knows, you might actually enjoy it! Stranger things have happened.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Nobody will hire you. (Score:2)
Re:Nobody will hire you. (Score:2)
Re:Nobody will hire you. (Score:2)
Sure there is. Just yesterday I started working at 9 in the morning, and finished at 5 this morning. That's why I'm posting now at 1 in the afternoon, I just got up to go do it again.
I hate 4:00 AM cutover schedules.
the AC
In addition... (Score:4, Interesting)
Chances are that the "jobs" you have gooten so far are the "kiss and a check" kind of jobs. They are the kind that after 10 hours of troubleshooting a job - because you couldn't talk the customer out of trying to put Wi-Fi in thier 4 story house and the WAP in the basement, you end up asking for $50 because -well, you didn't realy get the job done. So you walk out with your check, and a kiss for being a sweetheart about the whole thing.
I build computers for people on the side, and it is a fun hobby that makes me a little bit of money to support my Athlon64 habit. I go buy the parts, put it together, drop on your choice of OS, and preinstall the minimum of software so that getting on the net is not a death sentence for your new machine. Before I deliver it, I offer a $10 discount if I can install linux on the machine as a dual boot. I then deliver the machine (or they pick up) and and give them "The Talk" and answer questions (takes about an hour) - in the end I charge $50-100. Now for me this is a hobby, I am just under Dell for total price for the same hardware and I give free tech support for 6 months to boot.
In short - I and people like me are the death of your vision.
There are a lot of us out there and even with great networking you will not beat our niche. And you certainly aren't going to make a living out of it.
What you need to do is look for a real job, get the experience and start to collect a clientelle on the side. Hopefully someone you know will start a real business and need some outside consulting - and then you just may get on the road. Not to be unkind, but there are an awful lot of very good techies scraping the ground for any cash that will come up - dont plan on this buying groceries any time soon.
Somewhere on Slashdot there was notice about a three part series about becoming a consultant - wonderful to read, very honest and inspirational -cant find it though sadly :/
Sera
Re:In addition... (Score:1)
Huh????
Why would you spend 10 hours troubleshooting a job that was the result of a bad purchase on the part of the customer?
As an independant IT consultant , it's a *damn* good idea when confronted with a possibly nightmare situation like this to tell the customer:
"What you have here
Re:In addition... (Score:2)
Sera
Re:Nobody will hire you. (Score:2)
Don't take it so easy with the kid.
I'd peg the minimum at 10 years before being fed up enough to start contracting. I started at 7 years, and the first 5 years of contracting were very ro
Re:Nobody will hire you. (Score:2)
Totally agreed- I started at 8 years out due to involuntary displacement and disability- and 26 months later subcontracted to another contracting company because I couldn't afford the million dollar bond government wanted. I'm about to go permanent
Learn on someone else's nickel .... (Score:3, Interesting)
There is a very good chance you will suck rocks for the first several gigs (or more). If you want to give it a whirl doing the freelance thing, find a services company and work for them a while. You will learn more about how stupid / demanding a customer can really be, how the bloody contract does matter, and what a bonus it really is when you have a good, organized, understanding customer. Take a year or two being someone else's meat popsickle - you can avoid many of the normal bonehead moves that most people make on their payroll. No worries, as you will get to learn a bunch more when you go independent.
(ps. Watch what you sign! These things can bite you in the ass)
A few rules of thumb (Score:4, Insightful)
IANAIC but I do play one on my CV.
Learn from the dot coms
You will need a bankroll. Kind of like the dot coms venture capital. Don't blow it all on plush offices in Mountain View with a company masseuse and free energy drinks. If you are living in your parents basement, stay there. But do have a dependable vehicle and a respectable wardrobe.
Don't underestimate your time. Include a fudge factor.
If you are going to have to make a living from this. You need to charge an hourly rate that will pay the bills while you are researching things you aren't familiar with. You can't go on site and look like you don't know what you are doing. You are on the clock and the client wants results for their money. Also charge enough to cover mistakes that you may make and cannot in good conscience charge a client to fix.
Get requirements in advance and in writing.
If you don't do this, you will get burned. Don't make exceptions to this rule. Don't start work until the client has agreed to what is to be done and has signed the dotted line. Changes also need to be signed off on before you do any work on them or you will get burned. By the way, did I mention that if you don't follow this rule you will get burned?
Re:Dont underestimate your time (Score:2)
Look at Current Trends (Score:1)
A "consultant" is a salesman... (Score:2)
If you can't bear the thought of a life as a salesman, then consign yourself to a life as a wage slave.
Re:A "consultant" is a salesman... (Score:2)
Another note: If you're wanting to become a consultant because the idea of someone else making money off of your labor burns you, I think that's a bad reason. What matters is how much you are getting paid for a certain amount of your labor. (Since I'm not a good salesman, I discovered I could make a lot more money at a salaried job myself.)
Mike
"Salesman"? Not really. (Score:2)
BUT -- if you think you need to approach clients like a "salesman" -- you're wrong. Yes, it's true that you need to sell yourself, but if you think that means getting an expensive suit and a nice haircut, and talking about yourself to strangers all day, you're
Been there, Done that. (Score:3, Insightful)
I started when I was 20.
I'll tell you some things I think you should know, and you can take it or leave it.
I don't have any post-secondary education, and I've never taken a class on anything Computer Science. I *have* worked my ass off on more platforms and languages than you can imagine.
First off, if you are going to be contractor/consultant, make sure that you are an expert in at least one field. Get jobs related to that. After that, keep learning. Become that expert in as many fields as possible.
Secondly, Always ask for too much money. It will improve your bargaining ability, and it will make your client think you are worth more than you really are.
quoting you:
I realize that I might make signifigantly less, at least at first, than I could working for a company, but I would rather make less money and be more fulfilled working for myself.
Ha-ha. I'm not sure what it's like where you come from, but I made $161,000 last year. No shit.
It sounds like you need more experience before you start. My first jobs I literally fell right into, and secured myself a spot where someone needed my skills bad. You need to be needed, not just wanted.
Here's what I recommend to young folk wanting to make that mark:
ALWAYS BE INTERVIEWING. Take a full time job, but never stop looking.
ALWAYS BE READING. If you can't read Alot really fast, learn how. I don't know how I learned that, but I can blow through more text faster than pretty much anyone I know. It has saved my bacon more times than I can count. I worked for 11 months teaching C, C++, Java, and Unix for a company once, with extremely good results. The trick? I didn't know Java when they hired me, but I did two days later. You need to LEARN fast, not just read.
BE OUTSTANDING. If you can type 60+wpm, you won't look like a twit.
oops, the wife just came back.
I'll post more later.
Re:Been there, Done that. (Score:1)
Good suggestions...Hope you find time to post more.
Re:Been there, Done that. (Score:3, Insightful)
THE BAG OF TRICKS. I have a 20 gig pocket drive I carry around with me these days. It started off as a couple of floppy disks in the early 90's, graduated to CD in the late 90s, and now I have this USB pocket drive. I keep on it all sorts of utilities and tools that I use to do things people just don't know how to do. Some of it is homegrown, some open source, some shareware. Stuff like the Sysinternals tools, etc. Collect these. Know How To Use Them.
SOURCE CONTROL. Real consultants know
OT: Starteam (Score:2)
I hope I never have a client on starteam again.
The Man (Score:1)
Finally, an ask slashdot I can answer! (Score:5, Insightful)
I have been contracting for most of my adult life.
My list of ten tips for success:
Re: You want to be your own boss (Score:2, Funny)
Re: You want to be your own boss (Score:2)
Re: You want to be your own boss (Score:1)
You say you were pushed into the school and the degree, without good negotiation skills you'll struggle as a consultant, people will push you into doing things and exploit you as much as they can get away with.
Reconsider your options now, if you want to stay in the field because you love it, that's g
My advice? (Score:3, Insightful)
A 20 year old with no experience wants to become an independant IT contractor 3 years after the biggest dive in the IT market in history?
I hope you like eating cardboard! I hate to sound negative but your enthusiasm is almost comical.
But in an effort to be more constructive, I would have to say that in your current position it is simply not a realastic objective to be independantly wealthy with your current level of expertise.
Doing contract work is certainly an option, many of my first jobs were contract and I gained valuable experience, however, in order to start working I had to work for a few people for nothing just for work experience to get paid attention to in interviews. Contract work for a bigger company is a good idea because it will not only give you the experience you need to be taken seriously, but you will also get a better feel for what both the contract market and the IT market is really like. And trust me, I have a university education and while the knowledge is useful in later life, university education will not prepare you for the mercenary world of IT human resources.
Re:My advice? (Score:2)
Re:My advice? (Score:2)
I probably do have the skill and experience to be an independant contractor, but I'm not interested in the risks and uncertainty involved.
I'm just saying, I've seen the ins and outs of the industry, and it's not easy going it on your own. Especially not for a kid straight out of college.
Whats your unique selling proposition? (Score:4, Insightful)
Small business - firewall/hosting/email servers?
Workflow?
Antispam solutions?
Ensure that you are not just promoting "general IT
service skills" have something unique.
Sell to small business, but realize they may stiff you. Small business are easier to get as customers, but typically have less money and expect more than their larger counterparts. Try to get a vertical industry niche. Retail, Law Firms etc. And then tailor solutions to them. Once you have a specific solution you can go after the only place in IT there is real money - the fortune 1000.
Get some contacts of people who specialize in certain things. Its impossible to know everything - exchange, linux, groupwise, time matters etc.
Finally, be aware it will probably take 3-7 years before you develop a "decent" living. Once you have the customer base life gets a lot easier.
It can be done (Score:5, Insightful)
First, contracting is roughly akin to prostitution. You might think you're escaping some sort of pimp/whore relationship by not working for A Big Company, but you really are doing the same thing, just for multiple bosses. To be perfectly honest, you're trading a safety net for the possibility of more income.
That safety net is damned important, though. A lot of people don't have the stomach to function without it. There's nothing wrong with that, though.
Things like "health benefits" and "401k plans" and stuff go right out the window. You better get some health insurance out of your own pocket. (Listen to me...You Better Get Some Health Insurance!)
The people turning the Cogs of American Capitalism as 9-to-5 coders aren't as dumb as you suggest. Many of them are brilliant and talented, and they are focusing on building interesting things. Someone else is worried about finding revenue for them to do so.
And blahblahblah, money isn't everything.
So here's what I think: it's not the idea of a "normal job" that offends you. It's the idea of a boring job you can't stand. You don't want to maintain someone's else's shitty code, you don't want to write some buzzword crap pie that is neither spectacular nor innovative. I suspect that making someone else money is really secondary...it's a sour grapes response for being relegated to mediocrity.
Yeah, I can dig that.
So for you, based on the paragraph of you that I know, I would say: find an interesting job. I know, easier said than done, especially in this market. But there's bound to be something out there. Take some interviews (take them regardless of what else you do), and find the company that is building something interesting, and failing interesting, find the company that is building something beautiful. There's a lot of edification in elegance.
Ok, so about contracting.
Here's my advice. Find a vertical market.
My first paying jobs were writing Java code when no one did that. Later, when I was out of college and looking for work so I could be a Normal Person, I landed a job doing Linux and Mac development, because no one did that, but I did it for fun in my spare time, so I was naturally qualified for a job that couldn't be filled. If you're spending time on any open source project of any weight, chances are you are in a similar position. I just had the luxury of poverty...Linux was my primary OS out of need, but it paid off when command lines and C code and kernel builds were second nature to me. If you take these things for granted, that's good for you, and something you should try to convey in job interviews and contract pitches. Employers want smart people that can pick up new things above all else, right?
So I went to work for a company in Orange County doing Linux video games (you might have heard of them). When they went out of business, I moved in with my parents (turning in my membership card in the Normal Person Society), and started doing Linux and Mac game development, on my own, for companies that needed it. You know what? Nobody else did that. Now everyone needs a Mac port or a Linux dedicated server...people call me and ask if I'm available. I've been jokingly introduced at trade shows as "The Linux Game Industry". Vertical market, baby.
I don't live with my parents anymore, but I never got my membership in the Normal Person Society renewed. I guess that's a happy ending.
There are _always_ markets where people will pay top dollar for talented individuals. In the 90s, it was Java, and Linux, and embedded stuff, etc, but you can pull out any number of good examples for any era.
The world is filled with unemployed Visual Basic coders that took a college course on it because they heard there was money in it. It is _trivial_ to stand out from the herd. This is NOT measured in how many programming languages you know, but by what you can do, what you can pick up o
A bit of clarification (Score:2)
From the way I wrote the question it looks like I'm basically trying to strike out with no real experience, or specific skills.
My main experience is with developing graphics, both using software like Maya, and writing graphics engines with OpenGL/C. I have a solid foundation in math and physics, enough to be able to write graphic simulations various e
Re:A bit of clarification (Score:2)
I've been in a similar situation before. Since I was 17 I've been a corporate whore (W2 employee), whore with a pimp (both W2 and 1099) and an independant whore (1099 and ran my own shop). Until you get contacts, you m
you're not a graphic designer (Score:1)
i am 98% sure you have no training for that.
if you start -really- doing contract work for graphic design, you won't be designing, you'll be implementing.
and the client hired you because they can't design.
and you'll get into discussions like
client: "hmm... maybe it should be more pink"
you: "um, i dunno about that... it looks kinda odd"
client: "no no, i like it like this. yeah, pink"
design is a process, and the applications of design have "languages" and "syntax".
until you l
Re:you're not a graphic designer (Score:1)
Some tips (Score:4, Insightful)
IANAL, but my wife's boss is - I wrote a general contract for my consulting/programming services, and he liked it very much. The only thing added, on his advice, was a clause that both parties wave the right to trial by jury; this is important because if you end up getting scruxored by a company, it precludes their lawyers from using a lot of BS legal maneuvers to indefinitely delay the case from being heard. On a similar note, you could build some sort of clause that limits suits by requiring arbitration. But please, check with your legal counsel before taking either of those as "the way to go."
Second - word of mouth is king when you are starting up. I can't begin to tell you how many good contracts I got simply through friends/associates of clients. Of course, this is much easier when you (as I have) target small business.
Third. Incorporate. Again, use a lawyer here, and probably also a CPA. My CPA has some sort of thing he did for me which "sets up a temporary injuction against any attempts to pierce the corporate veil." I don't really know the specifics, and I'm not sure I want to, but it sounds like a good thing.
Once you're incorporated, remember that you ARE NOT your corporation. This is an important mental distinction you must get straight in your own mind, especially if you start doing a lot of business with friends or friends-of-friends. Put in writing corporate policies (one of mine is requiring a signed contract and 50% deposit on work over $1000), and adhere to them at all costs.
For hourly work, be smart about your rates. For example, my hourly rate on an expected workload of 40 man-hours is 50% of the rate for 1 man-hour. Base your 1 man-hour rate on a budget of say 5 to 10 1-hour jobs per week (or less, if you expect less) and make the assumption that that is the best you will do for a while (i.e. adjust this to your necessary take-home). Remember, as the President of YourCorp (and probably also Chairman), you have the power to change these rate tables, as the business dictates.
Last - treat every customer as though they are the most important client you have. Always be cordial and prompt with delivery of service. Ingratiating yourself in this manner is important to getting follow-on business and word-of-mouth jobs. Remember that they may not have your level of understanding of computers, so you have to not talk to them as a technogeek, but be careful also not to condescend.
I wish you luck - it's a tough thing to get going, but it is a very rewarding experience.
Get some experience first (Score:1)
And getting a degree first won't hurt your prospects. I know contractors who don't have them but they are the exception rather than the rule.
It cannot be over-emphasised: personal contacts and a good reputation are key in this game (and a good reputation comes from impressing your personal contacts).
Consulting with an OSS slant (Score:2)
If buying a house, be careful (Score:1)
Be careful with this plan. I've been employed full-time since leaving college (almost 10 years now) and just recently switched to being an independent contractor at a new employer. This really bit me because we were also trying to buy a new house at the same time, and many of the mortgages fell through because I didn't have 2 years of history being paid this way. Many of the better mortgage offerings require W-2s as proof of employment.
We ended up going with a "low doc" loan at one of those TV-advertised
You Need Experience... (Score:2)
Otherwise, you're just another chump working for loose change and I wouldn't touch you wth a barge pole.
John.
(Current independent contractor at the top of my niche, so I know what I'm talking about)
Never, ever, get married (Score:2)
If you give up on these other ways of being fullfilled now- and put all your time into truly consulting- then you will one day be able to retire in comfort. And hey- postmenapausal women are very sex starved- especially since there are few men that age left.
Heh, I really fucked up then (Score:2)
I do agree that you are going to have extra obstacles to overcome if you have many responsibilites. But if you have a supportive partner (read: wife), that can really help you out.
The best time to start a business is when you have a dream, a desire, and the right attitude and high confidence. When you have all of those, nothing can stop you.
Also, when you retire into this "life of comfort", as you say, why the h
Re:Heh, I really fucked up then (Score:2)
Debt is not always bad (Score:2)
Regarding your business... GROW! Get some peons er..sorry.. subcontractors.. under you. Start marketing solutions instead of skills. Grow that business! There are two types of businesses: those that are growing and those that are dying. Which one is yours?
I could never be any
Re:Debt is not always bad (Score:2)
Well, if you add in my mortgage, we're $195,000 in debt- but I was subtracting out the value of the house ($175,000) and the value of the other items we own ($10,000), because theoretically if I had to pay off the majority of the debt tomorrow I could sell everything off and pay of
A few suggestions (Score:3, Insightful)
* Getting started will be very tough. With no past work history and little experience, you'll have a difficult time getting a foot in the door. The first few years be very grateful if you break even with expenses. More than likely you'll go into debt. He said the first several years they went to garage sales to buy Christmas gifts for the kids because they couldn't afford to buy things at full price. He also grew about 70% of his own food on his farm just to break even. Starting will be hard.
* You will pay more in taxes being self employed. A lot more. If you thing the government likes to take a bite out of the working class, wait until you are your own business.
* You don't get health care or insurance. You may not think health care is important, but remember: If you don't work, you don't get paid. A serious illness could cost you a contract job. Getting hospitalized for any length of time will put you under a mountain of debt. Good health insurance costs a lot.
* You don't get a matching 401k plan or pension. That may not be important to you now, but it should be. It is never too early to start a retirement fund.
* Unless you eventually hire an employee, your business is only good while you own it. Let me explain. What are you expecting to do in 30+ years when you want to retire? If you are a one-person shop it won't be worth much because your clients deal with you, not your company.
* Get a lawyer. Be careful of what contracts you sign. If a client wants you to sign a contract it is to protect them, not you. You need to protect yourself.
* You may need an accountant. Small businesses are much less likely to be audited than individuals.
* If you are a white male, you don't qualify for any minority contracts or some small business loans. That puts you at a disadvantage for some jobs.
* Be sure what the payment terms are and get everything in writing. If you are going to impose penalties for non-payment be sure your clients know this.
* Be sure your clients know what you are going to do and what you are not going to do. Having delt with contractors you'd be surprised how easily a misunderstanding can happen and how quickly it will turn a relationship sour.
All those negatives aside, he said that he enjoys his own business. He has about 4 months out of the year where he works 6 days a week 16+ hour days but he enjoys the work and he is relatively free the rest of the time. My father-in-law is also to the point where he doesn't need to go looking for new work. He is well established enough that word of mouth brings him more work than he can handle.
Personally, I'd recommend getting another job first. A friend of mine decided to work for a non-profit organization. It gave him a low stress work environment and a really good feeling about his work. He didn't get rich overnight but it does give you something to put on a reference and a small or non-profit company may be more willing to let you do work on the side than any large company. It will also help make business contacts.
Just my $0.02. Good luck.
A good guide (Score:2)
Sorry, not ready yet (Score:2)
I'm sorry to say it, but this attitude alone disqualifies you from running your own business yet.
As a contractor or a consultant, you have to figure out how you can make other people money. That's the whole point of it; if they're not going to make a lot more money through your efforts than what you're charging, then they'd be fools to hire you, wouldn't they?
As an independent, you will spend a lot of time selling yours