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Ask HN: How many of you are self employed?

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Re: Ask HN: How many of you are self employed?

#201

Post by sebnun »

replwoacause wrote: post #180
sebnun wrote: post #154

About 6 months ago I left my job to start my own company and make a language learning tool I always wanted to build ( https://www.langturbo.com ), It's something I use myself and I see real value in it. I'm fully bootstrapped and I have some months left of savings to try this out. If this doesn't get traction then I guess I'll have to get a "real" job again :).

I like the design of the site, well done!

Thanks, I'm not a designer by trade. It was inspired by a design trend I like: "neo brutalism"

Re: Ask HN: How many of you are self employed?

#202

Post by lorenzk »

mortallywounded wrote: post #189
lorenzk wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I want one of these so bad! Without spilling secrets: was it luck or a systematic process that gave you the idea for your company?

It may sound like a cop-out, but both? I have no doubt luck was involved. I hit the market at a good time and gained traction quickly. I have done zero marketing and customers come in through word of mouth and via search engines. Surely there was luck in there. As for choosing the idea-- that was more systematic. I chose a service that solved a real pain point for many companies in a specific industry. I chose it bec…

Thank you for taking the time to respond with so much detail! Good on ya!

Re: Ask HN: How many of you are self employed?

#204

Post by stephenhuey »

Self-employed since December 2019. Back then I wasn't sure how long it would last, but I'm still doing it! I've juggled several consulting clients needed web/mobile app development, sometimes simultaneously, and sometimes with extra developers on the project. A business partner and I also started a B2B SaaS that we're bootstrapping.

Re: Ask HN: How many of you are self employed?

#205

Post by jacobyoder »

matsemann wrote: post #155
philip1209 wrote: post #2

I've been self-employed for the last ~18 months. In the past I started two VC-backed startups, then was a PM at some later-stage companies before returning to entrepreneurship. This time around, I'm building a solo "digital product studio" [1] instead of a startup. So, I'm staying one person, haven't raised money, and have multiple revenue-generating products. Product revenue doesn't cover my costs yet, so I do occas…

> And, a fun technicality - I truly self-employed in the sense that I have a salary and a payroll system. That's how most devs here in Norway would do it. Make a "proper" company, where you own 100 % of the shares. Then hire yourself, and pay yourself salary, withhold taxes, pay into a pension program etc. Mainly because if you make good money, it's better to leave some of it in the company (and for instance re-inves…

doesn't the 'company' itself also pay taxes on the income?

For most solo folks in the US, the revenue flows directly to you. You could set up a more complex corporate structure to hold the income that you don't pay to yourself, but that corporation would itself have to pay taxes on the income too. I suspect there's not any real savings/benefit until there's enough 'leftover' money to start getting creative/flexible.

Re: Ask HN: How many of you are self employed?

#207

Post by mcv »

jacquesm wrote: post #182
mcv wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have multiple customers over time ; 3 years ago, I worked on a different project, for a different client, than I do now. But with the kind of projects I work on, it's hard to do several of these projects at once, and they're too long to do several in a year. Expecting self-employed contractors to have multiple clients is unreasonable. As for job security, employment doesn't give a shred more job security than being…

> I have multiple customers over time; 3 years ago, I worked on a different project, for a different client, than I do now. But with the kind of projects I work on, it's hard to do several of these projects at once, and they're too long to do several in a year. So please be very careful and if you can find a side gig that doesn't interfere with your main one so you have at least some protection. It could be a low hou…

> so you have at least some protection.

Protection from what exactly?

> Without multiple clients you are super fragile, don't have a strong negotiation position and in case of any kind of headwind you're immediately on the ropes.

Not at all. I can walk away and I have my financial reserves. My negotiation position is stronger than when I'm an employee.

> If you insist on doing long running contracts try getting two that do not overlap in terms of run-time, make one two days a week, the other two days a week or three days a week and bill the smaller job a higher rate.

This sounds like an absolutely terrible idea. I'm not going to undermine myself like that.

> They could stiff you on a bill and it would already pull you under water.

One (very small) client did stiff me on a bill. I won't work for them anymore, and I tend to prefer larger clients now that simply do pay their bills. I have considered suing them, but the amount was too small to be worth it. It didn't pull me under water.

Re: Ask HN: How many of you are self employed?

#208

Post by ailun »

sebnun wrote: post #154

About 6 months ago I left my job to start my own company and make a language learning tool I always wanted to build ( https://www.langturbo.com ), It's something I use myself and I see real value in it. I'm fully bootstrapped and I have some months left of savings to try this out. If this doesn't get traction then I guess I'll have to get a "real" job again :).

This is nice! Going to try it out for a while. Could potentially expand to TV shows on YouTube, there are tons of free ones for my target language (Chinese). Also, this might be challenging, but would be nice to see Chinese divided into Cantonese/Mandarin and simplified/traditional characters, although it's not a big deal for intermediate learners to just choose podcasts that use their target language themselves.

Re: Ask HN: How many of you are self employed?

#210

Post by nlh »

philip1209 wrote: post #2

I've been self-employed for the last ~18 months. In the past I started two VC-backed startups, then was a PM at some later-stage companies before returning to entrepreneurship. This time around, I'm building a solo "digital product studio" [1] instead of a startup. So, I'm staying one person, haven't raised money, and have multiple revenue-generating products. Product revenue doesn't cover my costs yet, so I do occas…

This is awesome! Nice work. This model was a dream of mine for a while -- I generally love being solo but even a small group of 3-6 people working on a revenue-generating digital product studio has so much potential to be super super fun. Good luck with it and keep us posted!
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