Moving from full time to part time, what can I automate?
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@guyinpv said in Moving from full time to part time, what can I automate?:
As for rates and other stuff. I only have a DBA for a year and a half now. My business checking account is opened under that. This will be the first year I've made enough money to significantly change anything about my taxes just by working at night.
A DBA should be assigned to a business. Like "Bob's Hamburgers, LLC" is DBA is "Freddie's French Fry Hut".
A DBA should never be assigned a person, only to a business.
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@guyinpv said in Moving from full time to part time, what can I automate?:
There are a lot of questions. I have a home office with a designated room. I don't know what business deductions would look like at this point, or how much I'd make and how much overhead there is, none of it.
After incorporating with your attorney, the next people you bring on are your CPA and your IT guy. You are the IT guy, so that is covered. Your CPA will answer the tax stuff once there is a business to file under.
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@guyinpv said in Moving from full time to part time, what can I automate?:
If I go 1099 with my company, I would only be offering them "nice" rates as a friend. probably not $40 or $60 but the $30-$35 area sounds nice, unless my hours are cut back lower than 20, at which case I'll just bill them my full rate. I'm not sure how that will work out. They kind of need a full time nerd because nobody there can do computers.
If they need a full time person, then you should be billing them for full time stuff
You have your first customer and are in good shape. -
@guyinpv said in Moving from full time to part time, what can I automate?:
Liability isn't a huge concern,
Yes, it really is. It's HUGE. This is how one mistake leads to you losing your home, cars, business, bed, chairs, blankets, the kids' toys... everything. Liability isn't huge, it's INSANELY ENORMOUS.
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Have you not been following this case?
https://www.channele2e.com/2017/02/06/can-you-get-arrested-for-turning-off-customer-it-services/
If you think your LLC doesn't matter, any client can claim ANYTHING they want and possibly send you to jail. Refuse to work for free when they stop paying... go directly to jail Mr. Unlimited Liability. Nothing to limit what they can claim that you are responsible for.
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@guyinpv said in Moving from full time to part time, what can I automate?:
https://mangolassi.it/topic/10510/home-business-ideas-for-transition-out-of-9-5/637
Im new here so I may have missed previous threads on why your company is a bad place to work. Do you have freelance work or access to opportunities right now? I would be very scared to leave full time employment on the hope of ascertaining web development work.
Why not just keep the full time job and work nights on the freelance dream until its sustainable?
Also it would make no sense from a legal or tax perspective to go from W2 to 1099 without at least a 100% bump in your hourly rate. Your employer currently pays half of your social security taxes, which I believe are 15%.
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@scottalanmiller said in Moving from full time to part time, what can I automate?:
@guyinpv said in Moving from full time to part time, what can I automate?:
There are a lot of questions. I have a home office with a designated room. I don't know what business deductions would look like at this point, or how much I'd make and how much overhead there is, none of it.
After incorporating with your attorney, the next people you bring on are your CPA and your IT guy. You are the IT guy, so that is covered. Your CPA will answer the tax stuff once there is a business to file under.
He would need to incorporate AND create a solid master services agreement as well as some type of services contract between his new LLC and employer to protect himself.
As an employee you are protected legally and you have a much simpler tax scenario.
Again, maybe he has a big customer or freelance contract already onboarded.
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@guyinpv said in Moving from full time to part time, what can I automate?:
There are a lot of questions. I have a home office with a designated room. I don't know what business deductions would look like at this point, or how much I'd make and how much overhead there is, none of it.
You should make sure that you are looking at your standard deductions when considering itemizing costs. If you itemizations don't exceed those it wont matter.
Filing Status Standard Deduction
Single $6,300
Married Filing Jointly $12,600
Married Filing Separately $6,300
Head of Household $9,250 -
@scottalanmiller said in Moving from full time to part time, what can I automate?:
Have you not been following this case?
https://www.channele2e.com/2017/02/06/can-you-get-arrested-for-turning-off-customer-it-services/
If you think your LLC doesn't matter, any client can claim ANYTHING they want and possibly send you to jail. Refuse to work for free when they stop paying... go directly to jail Mr. Unlimited Liability. Nothing to limit what they can claim that you are responsible for.
This is so true. It's easy to underestimate the risk of civil suits. The state doesn't have to bring a case against you, your customer can file a complaint and drown you in legal fees.
It sounds like you are wanting to be free of a boss, which is understandable if the situation is bad. All the reason more to protect yourself if you do go this route.
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@scottalanmiller said in Moving from full time to part time, what can I automate?:
Have you not been following this case?
https://www.channele2e.com/2017/02/06/can-you-get-arrested-for-turning-off-customer-it-services/
If you think your LLC doesn't matter, any client can claim ANYTHING they want and possibly send you to jail. Refuse to work for free when they stop paying... go directly to jail Mr. Unlimited Liability. Nothing to limit what they can claim that you are responsible for.
Something everybody says but I never see actually happen. And what does it have to do with LLC? I mean, if the customer wants to sue over their data or create some bogus lawsuit, it's not like he can just smile and be like, naaaaawww, I got my red and blue LLC suit on so I think I'll just relax at home instead!
Sole proprietorship is perfectly valid for a sole freelancer, and DBAs are perfectly valid for SPs to work under. OK so there is some risk, but I don't intend to create contracts, loans, legal agreements or whatever, with my clients. I'm not becoming a hosting company or storing peoples data or white-labeling services.
If I did ANY of that, then for sure.I mean, if an LLC is cheap or doesn't take much to maintain, then no big deal, but working as a SP is also just fine in certain circumstances too.
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@guyinpv said in Moving from full time to part time, what can I automate?:
Something everybody says but I never see actually happen. And what does it have to do with LLC? I mean, if the customer wants to sue over their data or create some bogus lawsuit, it's not like he can just smile and be like, naaaaawww, I got my red and blue LLC suit on so I think I'll just relax at home instead!
It means that they can sue your business NOT you. Currently they only sue you. Do you want them to only be able to go after the value of your business, or the value of everything you have your personal name on?
Yes, the magic LLC suit really does protect you.
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@guyinpv said in Moving from full time to part time, what can I automate?:
Something everybody says but I never see actually happen.
You do realize that that is a community member here in that article, right? It REALLY happens. NTG has had false lawsuits for tens of thousands of dollars as well, it REALLY happens. Someone sees a business name, they try to make a quick buck.
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@guyinpv said in Moving from full time to part time, what can I automate?:
Sole proprietorship is perfectly valid for a sole freelancer, and DBAs are perfectly valid for SPs to work under.
It is LEGAL to do this, it is NOT valid. There is no condition under which I could in any ethical conscious ever agree to this statement. You will not break the law by doing this, it is totally insanity to consider such a thing, however. Unless you are maybe homeless and living out of a tent under a bridge.
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I was sued for $75k about 10 years ago, and it was an experience that led me to leave self employment. I had about 20 customers over a period of 10 years.
Too boot, it was a company with 2 employees. When interrogatories began he claimed over $1mm in damages. The $75k was just enough in punitive damages to remove it to Federal court, which he intentionally did because all the filings cost more.
My $10k retainer I paid to "teach him a lesson" was gone in 3 weeks.
I had hosted this got a server with some CRM called ACT at a colo. After months of non-payment I turned it off. The truth was that he already went bankrupt. He claimed this caused his business to fail.
Eventually my attorney got my PMI (private mortgage insurance) to take over litigation as he would have taken my house and everything else I had.
Its a long story, but I had the same cavalier attitude for the decade leading up to that. Simply ran a business by filing a sole prop fictitious name registration with the state so I could open a business checking account.
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@guyinpv said in Moving from full time to part time, what can I automate?:
OK so there is some risk, but I don't intend to create contracts, loans, legal agreements or whatever, with my clients.
So you are at even more risk than normal, rather than less, and feel that that makes you less at risk?
Unless you can tell me that you will never provide advice, never touch a customer computer, never enter their business, never let them enter yours.... you can't tell me that it's not crazy to not have the minimum protection.
Think of it this way... when is it okay to not wear your seatbelt? How "little" risk does it take while driving before the basic protections are just ignored?
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Also a lot of "Freelancers" you will find have at least formed an LLC.
If you do go through with this you need to convert it to a contract or a $40 to $50 per hour rate. I am sure you are thinking your boss would laugh at you over this. They already think you are only work $20/hour.
Which is back to my original point; if you are going to work even 5 hours a week somewhere why not keep it W-2?
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@guyinpv said in Moving from full time to part time, what can I automate?:
I mean, if an LLC is cheap or doesn't take much to maintain, then no big deal, but working as a SP is also just fine in certain circumstances too.
Few hundred bucks and zero effort to maintain. Literally, if you even question this having this you should stop all plans for working on your own this instant. I mean that as seriously as I can. I would not do one hour of work as a side project without an LLC (or more), you are talking about actually working full time like this! The gap between where we are on this is hard to describe. You are talking about working thousands of hours a year at a level of risk I would not consider for a single hour a year.
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@guyinpv said in Moving from full time to part time, what can I automate?:
..., but working as a SP is also just fine in certain circumstances too.
Not, it cannot be stated enough that this is so completely untrue. There is no condition where you are getting paid by someone where this is true. It's legal, the government does not require you to be sensible, but that's not a factor in this discussion. Since there is no one at risk but you, the government has zero responsibility to stop you from doing something reckless.
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@magroover said in Moving from full time to part time, what can I automate?:
I was sued for $75k about 10 years ago, and it was an experience that led me to leave self employment. I had about 20 customers over a period of 10 years.
Too boot, it was a company with 2 employees. When interrogatories began he claimed over $1mm in damages. The $75k was just enough in punitive damages to remove it to Federal court, which he intentionally did because all the filings cost more.
My $10k retainer I paid to "teach him a lesson" was gone in 3 weeks.
I had hosted this got a server with some CRM called ACT at a colo. After months of non-payment I turned it off. The truth was that he already went bankrupt. He claimed this caused his business to fail.
Eventually my attorney got my PMI (private mortgage insurance) to take over litigation as he would have taken my house and everything else I had.
Its a long story, but I had the same cavalier attitude for the decade leading up to that. Simply ran a business by filing a sole prop fictitious name registration with the state so I could open a business checking account.
Wow, great timing on having that story. I've never known anyone to risk running a business as an SP before, so we only know the exposures that LLCs see that would have been total disaster had they been SPs. That's so scary.
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SPs carry a LOT of risk that LLCs do not (small ones, anyway) in the same way that insurance is dangerous. One of the reasons that consultancies avoid general insurance is because being insured makes you a lawsuit target and insurers rarely pay out. So you increase your risk of going to court by far more than you mitigate the risk through insurance protection. Insured companies are just more valuable to sue.
SPs, likewise, are worth a fortune to sue whereas a small LLC is not. Think about it, you have client that isn't doing well, they need some money. If you are an LLC, they can sue you for the value of what... a computer, an office chair, some file folders, what little cash you keep around. What are they going to get, $2K? That's very small payoff and they take on the risk of you winning in court and countersuing with your personal funds.
Now that same situation with an SP, that customer can sue your little side business and go after your car, your wife's car, your retirement plan, your house, your cottage, your kids' college funds... everything. Instead of a $2K payoff, maybe it is a $400K payoff. That puts a target on your back.
So in one case, you are not a target AND have protection. In the other you ARE a target and do NOT have protection.
