
Ask HN: How do you become an independent contractor? - geogra4
I feel like this is something I&#x27;d like to do in the future -- and a way to increase income and be my own boss.<p>What are the pros&#x2F;cons?
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tedmiston
I made the jump a few months ago. I'm contracting software design and
development services (modern front end and back end, but mostly back end) and
focus on startup clients. My site is linked in my profile if you're curious.

Plenty has been discussed on this before, but here are the biggest pros and
cons from my experience.

Pro: Time flexibility. I wanted to be able to dedicate more time to non-dev
things like reading, writing, creating, and learning things just for the hell
of it.

Con: You don't get paid for time in several situations where employees do, for
example, paid vacations and holidays. Another would be long lunches. As an
employee, I never thought about the length of my lunchtime. As a contractor, I
tend to eat as fast as possible so I can get back to business.

I think the benefits and drawbacks really vary by one's personality. I'm a
very autonomous person and have always worked best when I can control my day
and working hours.

Increasing income was not a direct goal for me, but it will probably happen.
It's not quite that simple though — you need to make about 30% more to cover
self-employment taxes and various startup costs like creating a company,
legal, accounting, web services, etc.

Once you consider: (1) that you don't get paid vacation and holidays, (2) that
you probably won't have 100% of your desired hours every week for 52 weeks out
of the year, and (3) that you have certain time-consuming activities that
aren't billable, like invoicing; it's probably more like 1.5x to net more
overall at the end of the year vs being an employee. Note that this also
ignores any equity you might have vested as an employee.

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clueless123
Regardless of how good you are (or you think you are) one way or another
without an actual contract, there is no paycheck.

Before you even think about being a contractor, get good (or partner with
someone good) at getting contracts.

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swah
I'm getting a small job and since I can't bother with a contract right now,
I'll ask for 50% before I start working..

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kayman
Get a client willing to pay you. Forget everything else. Contracts and all
that you'll learn as you go along. Don't be afraid to mess up.

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neximo64
You're asking the wrong question. The right question is how do you sell your
service of building apps or thingiwhatever as a freelancer.

That's where it gets difficult, because you have services that help you sell
like freelancer.com - that are easy to go through but you get market price.

Then there's selling your services at higher prices, which is finding clients
and offering your services - no clear cut way to do. You'll also find its not
as clear cut as being your own boss that is just illusory, it's like being in
a job but getting no benefits with it and being able to be let go at any time.
Also it is difficult to get clients.

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tedmiston
IMO the marketplaces, even the high end ones, are mostly not worth your time.
They also tend toward lower rates and more fickle clients. On top of paying
lower rates, they also take a cut of course.

I would consider using a high-end marketplace or advice channel as
supplements, but not as a main stream of work. Though it is more difficult and
involved to find your own clients, it's a better approach once you've done it
a few times.

