

Ask HN: Consulting on the side - twampss

I have a 9-5 job at a large company and intend on keeping it until my student loans are paid off.  I know in the future I will gravitate towards joining/starting a startup, however the option of consulting (nights, weekends) is more accommodating to my schedule and lifestyle now.<p>Does anyone have experience with balancing a 9-5 job and a consulting business on the side?  How did you get started?  What are some of the pros-cons you experience vs. starting a startup?  Any advice, lessons learned, or experiences you can share?
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aagha
When I started consulting I was able to find small "gigs" here and there by
tapping my personal network to find out if people I knew (or people they knew)
had any projects aligned with my skill-set that needed working on.

I was aslo willing to do a couple of projects in the beginning either for dirt
cheap or free just to have a couple of reference customers--I found that
trying to get a customer to pay for my service when I had no track record was
difficult.

One thing I think I did (I was doing software development) as a consultant was
to form an company (C-corp, since I planned--and did--to grow and hire on
staff) was get insurance. In 2001, $1M insurance cost about $4K if I recall
correctly. That was an added piece of mind to customers.

In terms of time management, you have to be careful. Back then, I didn't have
a family, so coding during dinner time or late into the night wasn't an issue.
a wife and kid later, that changes. Any consulting I do now is after the
little one goes to bed and or on weekends.

Best of luck!

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twampss
Thanks for this advice - this is exactly what I was hoping to get out of this
discussion. Insurance wasn't even something I thought about until now.

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goofygrin
I've been doing consulting for a few years (4+) and quit a few 9-5 jobs during
that time. Frankly, consulting full time offers great pay and a boatload of
flexibility. For a long time I went through firms and they ate 20-30% of my
"profits" although they dealt with the billing and finding work, which is
worth quite a bit. Lately I've been on my own though.

My startup activities are limited to at night (after the kid's in bed) and
some time on weekends which does put a damper on things, but it also makes me
more efficient _and_ since I can think more (like when driving to a client) I
tend to make less mistakes.

And I echo what aagha said, incorporate early. Some clients don't do 1099,
only corp-to-corp. There are some tax benefits to an SCorp as well (you can
take a salary which you pay employement tax for and then take distributions
which are not employment taxed). I probably would have saved $30k over the
last couple years if I'd incorporated rather than been 1099.

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davidw
Why not work on your own stuff on the side, if you eventually want to do a
startup, unless you just want the money?

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twampss
Very good point - wish I had a good idea to work on! It's not ALL about the
money, but it would be nice to have some side income. I think it would also
expose me to a variety of different projects, ultimately preparing me for the
startup life.

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rcoder
If you don't have an idea burning a hole in your brain, and can pass up the
extra income, at least for the moment, you might consider contributing to one
or two open source projects.

It'll give you exposure to a new code base, earn you some community good-will,
and be a genuine differentiator when you do go looking for that new
startup/consulting/whatever gig.

