As a freelancer, are you best to trade under the banner of a small branded company, or all under your own name?
My current preference is to brand under my own name as I fear I may fall in the cracks between people who are looking for a freelancer and people who are looking for a business if I try to appear too formal.
However, I'm interested in the pros and cons and what other freelancers have chosen.
But if you're like me, you want to work directly with founders and small businesses. They tend to trust companies, they seem more... permanent (even though it costs $100 and an hour of paperwork to put one together) And it's also all about appearances. Say you attend a networking event. When you pass out a business card with "ABC Consulting" and your name followed by "President", I'm almost certain the results would be better than "Brennan Dunn, Web Developer".
There are a few other benefits that come with being under a company.
I've realized the need for some pretty firm processes: payment schedules, handling additional scope, etc. And I think it's easier to stick to processes when they're a company thing, even if it's just you.
Second, if you get more work than you can handle and need to subcontract things out under you, you'll want to manage that as a company.