1. Contract work can take many forms. I found great success with informal "please keep my business online" work when I was very raw -- part time network admin is how it was called, and I was a PTE of a couple of small orgs.
2. Later, I was more seriously into contract work, and I was dealing with companies that wanted me to incorporate. In my jurisdiction, this cost $300 and happened instantaneously after a visit to a government website.
3. If you live in a jurisdiction with sales tax(es), you will need to collect your sales tax. This is actually one of the worst/most irritating aspects.
4. do purchase private dental and health care insurance. You never know what will break loose next, because you're mortal. (A fact that tech folks can easily forget, myself included).
5. Back to the primary frustration. In my jurisdiction, the government can be *really harsh* with folks that aren't collecting sales tax. This can result in frozen accounts. I have a friend who forgot to collect sales tax while driving a literal taxi cab, and wound up, over half a decade and several careers later, with frozen bank accounts and an emerg move back home with the parents -- at 35, because of a tax mistake he made in his twenties.
If you're a business, you are subject to business-grade laws, and you can get in a lot of trouble, especially if you're ever asked to certify or attest that a particular system is effective, safe, or secure.
So, yeah, if you wind up doing this work for more than a few months, get a lawyer on retainer and get an accountant.
2. Later, I was more seriously into contract work, and I was dealing with companies that wanted me to incorporate. In my jurisdiction, this cost $300 and happened instantaneously after a visit to a government website.
3. If you live in a jurisdiction with sales tax(es), you will need to collect your sales tax. This is actually one of the worst/most irritating aspects.
4. do purchase private dental and health care insurance. You never know what will break loose next, because you're mortal. (A fact that tech folks can easily forget, myself included).
5. Back to the primary frustration. In my jurisdiction, the government can be *really harsh* with folks that aren't collecting sales tax. This can result in frozen accounts. I have a friend who forgot to collect sales tax while driving a literal taxi cab, and wound up, over half a decade and several careers later, with frozen bank accounts and an emerg move back home with the parents -- at 35, because of a tax mistake he made in his twenties.
If you're a business, you are subject to business-grade laws, and you can get in a lot of trouble, especially if you're ever asked to certify or attest that a particular system is effective, safe, or secure.
So, yeah, if you wind up doing this work for more than a few months, get a lawyer on retainer and get an accountant.
This sounds like more hassle than it actually is.