I tried to keep this introduction as short as possible, but I felt all the detail was necessary. I'm sorry for starting with a novel.
I am about ready to FIRE (26x expenses), but after discussing this with a mentor a few levels up the chain at Megacorp, I was contacted by a very small but well-connected consulting company. My mentor recommended me and suggested the consultant contact me. Despite being just under a 4% withdrawal rate I'm worried because my industry requires difficult to obtain certifications, and if I'm not regularly working they will expire with no opportunity to renew. Once they're gone, my golden ticket turns to lead. While I'm highly respected in my narrow and well-paying field, I have zero skills in anything else. The consulting opportunity would pay pretty well (I estimate ~$30-50k for 6 weeks of work), and I could just put in one to three 6-week stints each year to cover expenses, keep my certificates valid, maintain my skills, and maintain and build my contacts. This will help me sleep at night through the first few years of "FIRE" if the sequence of return risk materializes for the FIRE classes of 2019, 2020, 2021. Once I'm past the sequence of return risk window I would plan to FIRE completely.
I have read lots of threads on this forum including
@Axecleaver 's thread (
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/entrepreneurship/axecleaver's-steps-for-starting-your-own-services-business/) as well as a number of "how to start a business" articles. However, much of this doesn't apply to me. I don't need to find a business idea, I don't need financing, I don't need to build a client base, I don't need office space, and I don't need to advertise.
There's one other factor that may be relevant. I am prohibited from working directly for Megacorp for 1 year after I leave. However I can come back as a subcontractor to someone who contracts with them. That aligns with how the consulting company works. They only have two employees (husband and wife) and they find work, bring in individual people who have their own LLC, and they take a % off the top because they maintain the certificates (has to work that way), write up and manage the contracts, take care of billing, etc. I'm 100% ok with this arrangement - it's typical in my field and because I'm not really doing this for money but to keep my certificates active and get past the SoRR it's a great arrangement. It's also the only way it can work for the first year, and my certificates will expire in December 2019, about 6 months after I FIRE. Bottom line - there are tremendous benefits to working under this arrangement so I'm not looking for suggestions to strike out on my own. I am willing to give them a hefty % so I can mostly ignore the business and have occasional work fall in my lap with the details already sorted out.
I'm not sure what questions I should be asking, but I think my main question is - are the following the right things for me to research? Or am I missing something?
I'm not really asking for answers to these questions although I would welcome any answers - I should be able to research them myself.
I am asking if these are the right questions to ask.1. Do I need to set up an LLC (this was recommended by the consultant, so I am leaning towards "yes")?
2. How do I set up an LLC (I can read-up and answer this - so far it appears to be easy)?
3. Should I register as an S-Corp for tax benefits?
4. How can I set up a 401(k), or is there another tax minimizing avenue I should take? Remember I have enough to FIRE now so I don't need any immediate income from this.
5. How should I handle health care? Should I just sign up for the pretty good ACA plans we have locally or should I look into a small business plan?
6. Do I need business insurance, and if so where do I get business insurance? Can I just go with my current insurance agent who covers my home, cars, etc.?
7. Do I need a business plan? I don't think that given my situation I do.
8. Right now I plan for this to be just me, but my long-term girlfriend is in the same field and is far more capable than I am at dealing with detail-oriented tasks like dealing with paperwork. If she helps with filing forms for the LLC or helps with the taxes, does that change any of the answers above? Or should I just do it all myself and keep her out of it? She doesn't want to work at all after FIRE, and I'm absolutely ok with that, but she's willing to help with some of the details as long as she doesn't have to do the 6-week stints.
Basically, do you think I have covered everything I need to research? I'd definitely welcome any answers to the questions above but what I'm really looking for is - have you thought about <insert thing I missed>?
Thanks in advance. I'll keep reading this forum to pick up what I can.