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Ask HN: Opened a LLC in USA, where should I look for clients?

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Re: Ask HN: Opened a LLC in USA, where should I look for clients?

#21

Post by bidandanswer »

consumer451 wrote: post #16
bidandanswer wrote: post #5

Stripe takes a hefty cut. Use USDC. Costs a fraction of a penny and settles in less than a second.

Red flags which crypotocurrency may raise for a client aside, isn't it higher friction for the vast majority of companies? It's hard enough to get clients, but then to have to say.. oh, also please use this other payment system which I will likely have to walk you through setting up once you clear it with accounting?

In my experience, clients have asked me if it's alright to pay me in USDC, not the other way around.

The genie's out of the bottle. Once your funds are on chain, you have instant settlement, zero fees, and zero risk of an intermediary arbitrarily freezing your funds. No point in going back, unless your counterparty demands it.

Re: Ask HN: Opened a LLC in USA, where should I look for clients?

#22

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

MuffinFlavored wrote: post #12
candiddevmike wrote: post #9

Sorry to tell you this, but you picked a terrible time to start contracting. I'd start on Upwork and see if you can get any bites on there. Also, I personally wouldn't use the US LLC if you don't live in the US--that would be a huge red flag for me as a potential client. Contracting is all about trust, and you want your business to appear as solid as possible.

> I'd start on Upwork and see if you can get any bites on there. Upwork is international and you're competing with millions of people willing to work for $5/day, are you not?

Yes, but most good clients aren't focused on price-above-everything. There are other axes that you can compete on.

Re: Ask HN: Opened a LLC in USA, where should I look for clients?

#23

Post by bidandanswer »

Zetobal wrote: post #20
bidandanswer wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No explanation, just downvotes? Standard Stripe fees on $250k revenue: - 2.9% + 30¢ per charge - Assume net-30 invoices - Total fees: 2.9% * $250k + 30¢ * 12 = $7,253.60 - Stripe can freeze your money arbitrarily and indefinitely Standard USDC fees on Solana: - Less than 1 cent per transaction - Total fees: < 12¢

Finding a client who wants to pay in crypto... priceless.

See my other comment. Not hard.

And it will only get easier as time goes on.

Re: Ask HN: Opened a LLC in USA, where should I look for clients?

#24

Post by consumer451 »

bidandanswer wrote: post #21
consumer451 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Red flags which crypotocurrency may raise for a client aside, isn't it higher friction for the vast majority of companies? It's hard enough to get clients, but then to have to say.. oh, also please use this other payment system which I will likely have to walk you through setting up once you clear it with accounting?

In my experience, clients have asked me if it's alright to pay me in USDC, not the other way around. The genie's out of the bottle. Once your funds are on chain, you have instant settlement, zero fees, and zero risk of an intermediary arbitrarily freezing your funds. No point in going back, unless your counterparty demands it.

That's interesting, what industries do your clients work in?

Re: Ask HN: Opened a LLC in USA, where should I look for clients?

#25

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

karanmg wrote: post #6

You might be able to find some here, or on LinkedIn. What are some projects u have done in the past? Where r u located? What US time zones will u overlap with? What do you charge?

@OP:

Don't refer to anything in your communications as "u" or "ur" or the like. It will result in an instant discard from most reputable clients.

I mentioned above that there are other (better) competitive axes than price. Clear English communication is definitely one of them.

Re: Ask HN: Opened a LLC in USA, where should I look for clients?

#26

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

MuffinFlavored wrote: post #14
tptacek wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because they have too much business to actually deliver, and would get a cut if you did some of the work for them; it's called subcontracting, and it's very common.

What's funny is think of the "value charged but not added here". By all means I'm sure the parent contractor might do some light management to make sure delivery goes as expected but what do they take, a 15-30% cut compared to the subcontractor? All because they found + negotiated the original lead

If I'm going to be on the hook for the work, you bet I'm taking 30% minimum!

Re: Ask HN: Opened a LLC in USA, where should I look for clients?

#27

Post by bidandanswer »

consumer451 wrote: post #24
bidandanswer wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my experience, clients have asked me if it's alright to pay me in USDC, not the other way around. The genie's out of the bottle. Once your funds are on chain, you have instant settlement, zero fees, and zero risk of an intermediary arbitrarily freezing your funds. No point in going back, unless your counterparty demands it.

That's interesting, what industries do your clients work in?

Trading and finance. It makes sense that they are crypto friendly, given their close proximity to it.

I suspect the rest of the commercial world will become much friendlier to it as more and more businesses are onboarded.

The pros vastly outweigh the cons and if you need something like escrow (or another trusted intermediary) then you can always revert to the legacy financial system for that. Both have their use cases.

Re: Ask HN: Opened a LLC in USA, where should I look for clients?

#28

Post by derstander »

MuffinFlavored wrote: post #14
tptacek wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because they have too much business to actually deliver, and would get a cut if you did some of the work for them; it's called subcontracting, and it's very common.

What's funny is think of the "value charged but not added here". By all means I'm sure the parent contractor might do some light management to make sure delivery goes as expected but what do they take, a 15-30% cut compared to the subcontractor? All because they found + negotiated the original lead

Alternatively you could think of the value added as the general contractor is you loaning the subcontractor your reputation. Certainly that reputation should be on the line if the sub (and by extension the general) fails to deliver.

Though from what I hear this isn’t necessarily the case in construction / home improvement.

But in any case, if you can’t close the deal yourself, 70-85% of something sounds better than 100% of nothing.

My reputation is worth a fair amount to me, but I’ve never been a general or sub contractor though so my opinion is probably pretty naïve.

Re: Ask HN: Opened a LLC in USA, where should I look for clients?

#29

Post by Zetobal »

bidandanswer wrote: post #23
Zetobal wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Finding a client who wants to pay in crypto... priceless.

See my other comment. Not hard. And it will only get easier as time goes on.

It's neither easy nor will it get easier.

Re: Ask HN: Opened a LLC in USA, where should I look for clients?

#30

Post by anonu »

candiddevmike wrote: post #9

Sorry to tell you this, but you picked a terrible time to start contracting. I'd start on Upwork and see if you can get any bites on there. Also, I personally wouldn't use the US LLC if you don't live in the US--that would be a huge red flag for me as a potential client. Contracting is all about trust, and you want your business to appear as solid as possible.

I disagree with both you statements:

Why is it a terrible time?

What's wrong with setting up a US entity? Actually from a US employer perspective you have a bit more recourse if you need to use the legal system than someone operating entirely out of a foreign country.

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