After 11 years with my consulting firm, I've finally had enough of the toxic environment and I've decided to leave. DH and I are not FI, but we have enough FU money to make it possible to leave without causing immediate financial distress.
So. Starting in 2016 I'll be a freelance consultant, picking up a bunch of 1099 work through other similar local companies. It occurred to me that I should open a solo 401k. Which led me to research the requirements for that – what kind of company do I have to be, e.g. sole proprietor, S-corp, LLC, etc. And then it occurred to me that I have enough industry experience (20 years) that I should be able to develop some of my own business in this space, not only act as a subcontractor to the other firms in my area. I’m not trying to “build” a business per se in the sense of eventually hiring employees; I mainly want a way to sell myself/my services effectively and not have to bring that work to a larger firm if I can avoid it. These various musings have led to a series of questions that I hope Mustachians can help me with:
1. I’m debating between acting as a Sole Proprietor and forming an LLC. The biggest difference between them, it seems, is the liability protection of the LLC. Which appears to come with a $500 annual cost in my state ($500 to register; $500/yr to file the required annual report.) If I went with sole proprietor and obtained an umbrella policy for DH and myself, would that accomplish the same thing as an LLC? What are the pros and cons here; what am I overlooking?
2. I probably need a website. I have started doing more writing recently, some of which is getting peoples’ attention – so I’d like to create a professional website where I can house my writing and blog away at will. I’ve had Fortune 50 clients, so I want it to look professional. Is there a Mustachian way to find someone who can create a high quality web presence? (I took a whack at updating my firm’s website several years ago, and let me say it wasn’t pretty. This is not a DIY project.)
3. Any advice on the best software to track my business cash flows – Quickbooks Self Employed, Freshbooks, Godaddy Bookkeeping, YNAB (?), an Excel spreadsheet, other? I want the ability to import receipts (w/ photos), generate/track invoices, make my taxes easy to do (estimate quarterly taxes, tag Schedule C deductions).
If there are other threads that address these sorts of questions, I'll gladly read them. My rudimentary search skills didn't turn up much.