r/selfemployed

So I did a job recently and everything was going well but the condition of the property was terrible & we did additional good will working to complete it but all was going well until client came over and saw and I mean legitimately saw a 50mil brush mark on newly painted skirting. They weren’t happy which is fine because it can be rectified under my businesses workmanship guarantee. However after they called me in the evening screamed at me down the phone then said if it’s not sorted they’re not paying for any of the painting (including the walls which themselves said were “Perfect” & funnily enough is the most labour intensive and most cost of the job) and only said “I’ll pay for the bathroom retiling & then the kitchen plastering”. I have my best painter in there at the moment & he’s currently resanding and cleaning all the wood work to repaint them (he isn’t the original painter who left the brush mark) but I can’t help but feel this is a bit of a set up & that the clients already had a agenda for not paying. If it comes to the completion and they refuse to pay again what should I do? I’ve had my Property Maintenance & Improvements firm for almost 10 years now and have genuinely never had this happen. Some people have told me to withhold the Keys others have told me to got to SCC. If anyone’s experienced this before please let me know how you got around it! Thank you

If I'm OK being a 1099 Contractor, does it really matter if some elements of the agreement don't quite fit the legal criteria?

Basically, I'm retired but have been offered a project by a company I trust, and have a great relationship with. There is no real end date as of yet, but will have large gaps of time with nothing going on. But, I do need "tools" (a laptop), will need to have access to their network and want an email address that would appear as though I'm an employee. They will pay me hourly, plus reimburse any extra expenses such as out of state travel to their location, if any. I will work when I want, with the exception of a few set meetings. I'll basically just tell the team I will work with weekly when I'm "in" and when I'm "out". I can work nights or weekends if I choose. I can work other jobs if I want (I do not want, lol), but I could.

It seems to have elements of 1099 and elements of W-2 from what I read. As long long as both of us are just fine with my classification, then there shouldn't be an issue, correct? I guess in theory the gov't could randomly decide to investigate them, but the chances of that are pretty much zero I would think since I would be the only person working this way so who would complain?

Am I missing anything?

I’ve been trying to be way more intentional with my weekends lately, but it is so hard to completely unplug when your phone keeps buzzing with client messages. For a long time, I was just letting people text me whenever they wanted to book a time to chat, and it honestly felt like I was on call 24/7. It gets so draining always having your brain in work mode even when you are just trying to watch a movie or hang out with friends. Lately, I’ve been forcing myself to just send everyone to a booking system instead of doing the whole manual back-and-forth over text. It definitely helps set some healthy boundaries, and it feels pretty nice to just look at my phone on Sunday and see things organized without me having to micromanage it. But ngl, I still feel that weird tiny bit of guilt every time I don't reply to a booking request instantly. Anyone else struggle with this when you're first trying to automate things and step back? How long did it take for you to actually stop checking your schedule every five minutes?

Ngl I always thought the hardest part of launching a business would be the actual marketing or getting people to buy stuff. turns out it’s just dealing with endless state paperwork. my dad has run a small construction business for years and i always used to see him buried under folders, but i thought everything was digital now. It’s not. The state websites look like they haven’t been updated since the internet was invented, and the phrasing on some of these compliance forms is literally designed to make you fail. I spent a whole evening trying to figure out how to assign a registered agent without putting my home address on public record. ended up just using an online agent because i couldn't deal with the headache anymore, which saved my sanity, but the rest of the process is still a mess. Like, why isn't there a single, simple dashboard for this? it feels like you need a law degree just to legally sell things online.

I (F24) started my own clothing brand when i was 20 and fresh out of college, because of the fear of the restrictions of a 9-5 (both my moms and dads side of the family has a business background for generations- growing up, i saw my dad be able to take leaves for 15 days without issues while i heard about my friends not being able to go on longer vacations simply due to their parents’ jobs and leave approvals.)

That (the clothing brand) did not work out, i infact lost money which i am yet to repay to my father. I realised i know nothing about marketing, and joined a marketing agency as a social media manager. From there i jumped to a sister company in read estate for brand marketing, which was the most toxic job of my life - not a single leave, no WFHs, bad hours, boss who used to cuss during meetings, no constructive feedback, no approvals, no training (no guidance from any senior as there were no seniors in my dept, i was the only person, winging it). I got a good raise there but it took a toll on my mental health and I quit that job.

I felt sooooo goooood and the one month after i quit was amazing. However, Now i need to get back to earning because, well, bills. Initially i had planned to take a 2 month break, travel etc and then get back to another job with better work culture. But now, after tasting freedom for a month, I was not sure.

I have the option of teaching Japanese (I used to teach when I was in college, side hustle, paid well and I enjoy it, and Japanese is a high demand language among indian engineers), but it will only work out well IF i can get enough students for 3-4 batches (5 students per batch).

Japanese Teaching Pros:
10 hour work week (including class prep)
Lots if TIME for more side hustle and also hobbies!
3 batches - I earn same as my last job
4 batches - i earn more than my last job

Japanese Teaching Cons:
Getting 20-25 students consistently!
(thinking of running meta leadgen ads but scared)

New Job Pros:
Fixed monthly income
Security

New job Cons:
No time to myself for hobbies, reading, any other side hustle or business

Any advice? What should I do?

TLDR: I quit my marketing job, got a taste of freedom within a month, skeptical whether I should get back to the security of a job but no time to myself, or take a leap of faith and start with freelance and/or language classes?

So I finally did the thing. After three years of doing freelance web design on the side, always telling myself "it's just a little hobby," I officially registered a proper company for it this morning. Honestly, the whole thing felt so intimidating because the local government websites look like they were built in 2004 and the legal terminology makes my brain melt. I was terrified of putting my actual apartment address on the public state registry because clients can be weird, so I just paid for an Incorp registered agent to keep my home life private. It took a massive weight off my shoulders, to be honest.But man, opening the business checking account right after was the weirdest feeling. Putting in my actual company name instead of my own name felt like I was playing dress-up or pretending to be a real adult. I'm literally sitting here in my pajamas eating leftover cold pizza, but on paper, I'm a whole corporate entity.It’s an exciting milestone, but the imposter syndrome is hitting so hard right now. How long does it take to actually feel like a boss and not just a kid playing with a laptop?

I’ve been trying to get my online business officially registered this past week and honestly, the anxiety is so real. I’m usually pretty good with tech and filling out forms, but the moment you start looking at state compliance, LLC articles, and all those legal terms, it feels like walking through a minefield. One wrong box and you feel like the IRS is gonna show up at your door lol. The biggest headache for me was realizing how much private info gets made public. I really didn't want my home address sitting on a state database for any random scraper to find. My brother actually warned me about this because he got flooded with spam when he started his shop, so I ended up using an agent for the registered agent service just to keep my peace of mind and protect my privacy. But outside of that, the whole government filing process just feels designed to confuse you. Between the outdated websites and the weird hidden fees for basic processing, it’s just exhausting. I haven't even launched yet and I already feel burnt out from the bureaucracy.

Curious to hear from self-employed trades.

Once you’re out on jobs all day, what admin ends up eating your evenings?

Quotes?
Chasing payments?
Booking jobs?
Replying to WhatsApp?
Paperwork?

Interested to hear what wastes the most time.

Start by getting specific about what you need. Financial planning, operational structure, exit prep, and practice growth are all different problems that point to different firms. The search goes sideways fast when you treat them as the same category.

Once you know the problem, look for firms that have worked inside your type of practice at your revenue stage, not just in financial services broadly. A firm with deep banking or fintech experience won't necessarily understand what it means to run a 10 person CPA practice. The sector knowledge matters less than the scale match.

Once the problem is clearly operational rather than technical or regulatory, the firm type shifts. Cultivate Advisors works with professional services owners to build the pricing structure, scalability, and internal systems that make a practice worth more and less reliant on the owner to run, which is a different engagement model than what most financial consulting firms are built around. Make sure you know what you're looking for.

Don't hire the first firm you talk to. Interview at least three, ask each one what they would specifically do for a practice at your size, and talk to a past client they worked with at a similar stage. References provided by the firm are just their best story.

Hi all, i'm a self employed gardener UK. Looking for some suggestions to how I can store strimmers and other tools such as hedge cutters in my van ( transit custom ) more efficiently. Right now I use bungee cords and it's a real pain in the backside.

Any photos or suggestions would be appreciated thanks.

yesterday was my last official day at my corporate marketing job and today is my first day being completely on my own doing freelance strategy. I woke up at my usual 7 AM out of pure panic habit, walked into the kitchen, made a coffee, and just sat on the couch staring at the wall for like thirty minutes. No angry Slack messages, no pointless stand-up meetings, no micromanaging boss. Just quiet. It’s honestly kind of terrifying. Spent the afternoon setting up my home desk and trying to get my legal ducks in a row so I actually feel like a real professional. I was looking through a bunch of corporate filing sites to see how to handle the state paperwork without putting my home address on the public registry, and I think I'm just gonna go with an Incorp registered agent setup to keep things private. Once that's filed, the reality is really going to sink in. I'm completely responsible for my own paycheck now. It’s a weird mix of total freedom and absolute imposter syndrome. To celebrate, I’m probably just going to order some expensive sushi and try not to check my email every five seconds.

I just got S-corp status finalized and need to chose payroll service. I'm curious what the general consensus is about which is best for 1 person businesses.

I am sure that this is a common topic, but I am in search of an invoicing software that will fit my needs.

I am a sole proprietor freelancer doing glorified data entry (cataloguing fine arts collections). I currently have 1 client and I expect I will only ever have ~5 at most at any given time. I would like a software that allows me to track my work and send invoices based on that. I bill either by the hour or by the entry, depending on the scope of the project. I need a software that will allow me to record my work in either format. I am current using a Google sheet, but I’d like something integrated with my invoicing.

I plan on invoicing monthly, and I would like a software that can accept card payments directly. An option to charge the client for associated processing fees would be great.

I don’t need a full-scale accounting software as I am a sole proprietor and my expenses are fairly low, if any.

All suggestions appreciated.
Thanks!

i been self employed for about 4 years now. i do painting interior exterior. good work fair prices- my regulars love me.but new people barely any.

i tried facebook ads, flyers, even yelp at one point. spent way too much money for not much return. friend told me to check my google maps ranking. i said i dont have one he said exactly.

i set up my profile properly. added photos of my work. filled out my service areas. asked for reviews.its been like 2 months now. my phone rings more not every day but more than before.

anyone else feel like youre doing good work but nobody can find you?