Re: Thoughts about Whether to Become Independant

Just wanted to add my own thoughts as an independent for more then 10 years.

1. Doing accounting etc.
It is better to hire an accountant. I write my own invoices (using
drorit, a free software I wrote) and sending all of them
once a month to my accountant who will do the actual reports to the tax
authorities, this is not such a big deal.

2. I can do what I choose
This is not as simple as it seems, you must do many things you probably
don't like such as marketing. Plus you may have to do some boring jobs
requested by your customers.

3. Good  contacts and publicity
This is the most important thing. you must do marketing and sales for
yourself which might not be an easy task, this is a proffesion by it's own.

4. More time to do the things I like
This is sometimes true. This is the main reason I work as an independent
consultant so I don't have to work long hours each day.

-- 
Ori Idan

Chen Shapira wrote:
>
> I've been thinking about becoming independent as well.
> I add some of my thoughts below.
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > 1. I'll have to do my own accounting, taxes, etc.
> > -------------------------------------------------
>
> Not necessarily. One can work with an accountant. It is even
> recommended, since I'm not sure if GnuCash covers the Israeli tax laws.
>
> > 2. I can do what I choose
> > -------------------------
> To some extent, this is true. However, you may have to take projects you
> prefer not to simply because you need the money, want to get a foot in
> the door with a specific client, etc.
>
> A friend of mine is an independent interior designer and she had to be
> back at work few days after giving birth, simply because her clients
> needed her and she didn't want to risk them turning to someone else.
> This is something employees don't worry about.
>
> > 3. I would need good contacts and publicity
> > -------------------------------------------
>
> I think this is the most difficult point.
> It is not enough to be known, you need to be liked as well. People will
> hire you only if they think that they'll enjoy working with you. I don't
> know of anyone who hired a consultant they didn't like. In fact, the
> consultants I know are the nicest people ever.
>
> Forgive me for being frank, but you have a knack for pissing people off.
> I think you can name more than one person who will never ever hire you.
> This is not the right direction.
>
> > 4. More time to do the things I like:
> > -------------------------------------
> Not sure about this one. Independents tend to be more busy than
> employees because in addition to their main job duties, they also need
> to do marketing, chase clients and force them to pay, etc.
>
> > 5. I can see the world:
> > -----------------------
> Anything prevents you from going to conferences right now?
> The only plus side is that the travel expenses will be tax-deductible.
>
> I think you can make a rather good consultant if you can only improve
> two things:
> 1. People skills. Actively try to be very nice and accommodating. You
> tend to annoy many people, and those you annoyed will not hire you.
> Don't fool yourself - No matter how good you are, people will not hire
> you unless they will enjoy working with you.
>
> 2. If you want to train people, you'll need to improve your public
> speaking skills. I saw you are already working on this.
>
> Thanks,
> Chen
>
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