205 replies to this topic

[deborah2002]

Oh Great--now I look like the chick in Single White Female.

Really, my ultimate goal is to be able to do what I love, support my kids (without worrying CONSTANTLY ) and do it all from the comfort of my living room (or, if I were Jill, my converted porch! :laugh: ).

Simple plan, monster to start....*ho hum*


deb

[meta]

Get in line...

:laugh:

[dragonlady7]

I'm going to have to modify the plan somewhat. No high-powered husband (give me some credit! I'd get my own! I do have a very, very useful programmer boyfriend who spent all last night working on a database for the professional website I'm going to have very soon. Does it get better than that? I don't think so) or kids. Perhaps I'll have to pick another role-model.
But I do want the converted porch!! That's totally my dream office.

[Jill]

Wait till your clock starts ticking...you might change your tune on the kids!

[K.S. Katz]

Another suggestion is get the payment in two installments. 50% at start and 50% when you finish. I don't hand over files until I get my $$ cause I've had too many clients take my work and run. Once they do, it's a lot harder to collect.

[torka]

Just found this resource via another mailing list. It's got some articles that speak to several of the issues we've been discussing here:

http://www.staples.c...strauss_law.asp

Happy reading!

--Torka

[don1]

I would suggest you incorporate...

I am in a different industry so the rules may be different, but it will help to know what state dragonlady7 is in because going incorporated this soon in MA could be suicide. Basically, that should be the first question you ask your lawyer friend and accountant (well, after asking them for a favor) whether you should incorporate or not. Self proprietorship has its benefits and you can get protection in a number of ways.

You should start by going directly to your state governments website and see what the rules are in your area about setting up shop. Then, tap resources like SCORE, SBA, community colleges, your bank and the IRS.

IMHO I have to agree with the notion,

Good luck with it. Once you start working for yourself, you'll never want to work for someone else again.

Edited by don1, 02 October 2003 - 05:21 PM.

[Jill]

Hey Don, you're right near me! I'm in Ashland.

Jill

[dragonlady7]

>might change your tune on the kids

Might change my tune on making the boyfriend a husband, too. But we'll wait for the clock to speak on that issue. For the meantime, I covet the office, and want business. Let's just say Deborah and I admire your success and aspire to similar levels of achievement someday.

Oooo, good find, Torka!

Payment in installments-- good idea, but might be hard for some clients. Might do to separate large projects into smaller increments, though-- payment in installments upon completion of smaller portions. So, they could run off without paying, but they're not going to get the whole thing, so it's just going to be more work for them in the end because they'll have to take the half-done project to yet another copywriter, and eventually they'll run out of copywriters and not have what they need yet.

But, I can't get inside the head of a cheat and figure out their motivations, so...
You're right that it's very hard to get payment once they have the work safely in their keeping. Hm... Thanks for bringing that up, I'm going to have to give it more thought than just the rambling here.

Thoughts on that, anyone?

[don1]

Oh, and I forgot, start working on a business plan! You will do more learning about yourself, your industry, and your clients than you would in 6 months of work.

Good Luck

[dragonlady7]

> what state dragonlady7 is in

New York. Currently, I'm in Westchester. But I will hopefully be relocating to Buffalo.
I did look up Buffalo's SBA-- they had a newsletter online and had spelled it "Small Business Associsation", which was a great start to my relationship with them, I thought.

I do have to consult about that-- Buffalo is a severely economically depressed area at this point (my God, it's grim there. But I still love it...), and I'm wondering if I could get any breaks, aid, or bonuses if I start up a business there at this point. (I also forgot that I'm a "minority" of sorts because I'm a woman, so while it pains me somewhat I might see if I can't bilk that for all it's worth, because any break I can get is likely crucial. Apparently businesses get brownie points for using local small businesses, and a bunch more "diversity" points if the owner is female or in some other way not a white male. Which makes me feel sorry for the white males, but that's my cynical upbringing.)

[deborah2002]

DragonL, I know the SBA has a women's section. I read through it, and frankly it didn't help much. They tell you to hit up all your friends and family for money. That's kinda what I'm trying to avoid.

Cool thing about the internet is that no matter where you are geographically, you can still do great business. Doesn't really matter that Buffalo is economically depressed, cuz you can shake business up from Maine, Tennessee, or wherever someone is that needs a great copywriter.

But, still, let me know if the "minority female" angle works...I'm still open to that..


deb

[dragonlady7]

>no matter where you are geographically, you can still do great business

That's the idea. I want to be able to relocate to anywhere, so the other decisions in my life-- i.e. whether to stay with my boyfriend, whether to stay near my family, whether to travel, where to settle down-- can be made on their own merits, not because of some job that may well lay me off next year anyway. And I want something I can maintain part-time if I decide to go to grad school to work on that doctorate in Useless Studies... Etc. I want to manage my own time and work from wherever I want to be.

The hang-up with our scheme, even if my plan works out, is that my boyfriend does not want to work from home, he wants to be a desk-jockey code-monkey. And they're not hiring in Buffalo. So I may not be able to move.
But, at least it won't be my fault if we have to live in this crappy place any longer. :halo:

Those "minority female" things are kind of annoying. Yes, they're right, it's much harder to get venture capital if you're a woman, statistically, but just because you're a woman doesn't mean you're so family and relationship-oriented that your family won't mind loaning you money. I'm not going to hit anyone up for money and I'm not going to do anything I can't afford. Because I have no money anyway.

[qwerty]

Another suggestion is get the payment in two installments. 50% at start and 50% when you finish. I don't hand over files until I get my $$ cause I've had too many clients take my work and run. Once they do, it's a lot harder to collect.

What's been working pretty well for me is asking for a deposit -- just a good faith gesture of 4 or 5 hours worth of pay before I start a project. Since I've been charging by the hour, I can't have them front me 50%. I don't know how much 50% is when I start.

[dragonlady7]

Hmmm.... a deposit. Definitely a good thought. I'm going to have to give all this some serious thought.

Perhaps I should just have them send me their pet cat or firstborn child as security.
OK, now I mean it-- It's time for my bed!!!