Ask HN: How many of you are self employed? • Hacker News Board

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

#371

Post by philip1209 » Tue, Feb 06, 2024, 1:13 AM UTC

paulette449 wrote: post #335

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…

I hate to have to ask this but how do you manage healthcare being a solo s-corp? I was under the impression this could only be done through a company if two unrelated family members owned the company? The only other alternative is "Obamacare"? I could be totally wrong.

I found a broker who would give me insurance for one person, but the offering wasn't good. So, I'm on a mediocre Helathcare.gov plan.

This article has good details:

https://www.collective.com/blog/health-insurance-for-s-corps

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

#372

Post by philip1209 » Tue, Feb 06, 2024, 1:14 AM UTC

rainclouds wrote: post #325

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…

There is someone renting a room around Mount Fuji on AirBNB that advertises themselves as a systems engineer with fiber in the middle of the woods. Sounded like a great place to work to me!

Starlinks are starting to pop up on Airbnb listings.

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

#373

Post by philip1209 » Tue, Feb 06, 2024, 1:15 AM UTC

ryanwaggoner wrote: post #362

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…

I thought NYC didn’t recognize the S-corp, so you end up paying the corporate tax rate. Has that changed?

Hasn't change, it's pretty terrible but my accountants thought it was marginally better. I've heard that some people get an office outside the city (such as Hoboken) to "work" outside the city.

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

#374

Post by philip1209 » Tue, Feb 06, 2024, 1:16 AM UTC

sixQuarks wrote: post #297

philip1209 wrote: post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kind of like a structured professional sabbatical / workcation with a built-in community and some events. (I paid for it, to be clear.) Here's a video one of the residents made about the program I did: https://vimeo.com/350701368

Interesting, what did you work on there?

I've been building Booklet features:

https://hq.booklet.group/posts

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

#375

Post by nlh » Tue, Feb 06, 2024, 1:17 AM UTC

bibliotekka wrote: post #298

nlh wrote: post #217

Currently self-employed as a.....rare coin dealer! Odd path for a tech nerd hacker like me, but certainly the most fun thing I've ever done with no plans to change this gig ever. My backstory: Collected coins as a kiddo, took a 35-year detour into startup land: Started a VC-backed Web 1.0 company from 1999-2002, ran a non-tech company for ~10 years, then 2014-2022 did very traditional early stage tech product managem…

Awhile back a friend of mine started talking about how he was getting into coin dealing as a full time job. I was never able to quite believe him, and then was just kinda baffled when he started buying houses and nice cars and boats and taking expensive vacations. Was he legit or was he dealing drugs? Is the coin game that lucrative?

Hmmm I mean it can certainly be lucrative but it is NOT a get-rich-quick kind of business. It's a get-rich-slow business if you know what you're doing and put lots of effort in over years. So I'd say I'm skeptical, but you never know!

I'm not sure I'd jump to the conclusion that he was dealing drugs, but it's certainly an option that he was...shall we say....washing his income.

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

#376

Post by nlh » Tue, Feb 06, 2024, 1:22 AM UTC

dogman144 wrote: post #292

nlh wrote: post #217

Currently self-employed as a.....rare coin dealer! Odd path for a tech nerd hacker like me, but certainly the most fun thing I've ever done with no plans to change this gig ever. My backstory: Collected coins as a kiddo, took a 35-year detour into startup land: Started a VC-backed Web 1.0 company from 1999-2002, ran a non-tech company for ~10 years, then 2014-2022 did very traditional early stage tech product managem…

To what extent did your past income (IPOs, executive…) provide the necessary capital to do this profitably? I wonder if there are some economies of scale required outside of numismatics know-how - ie get positive expected value/profit if you can front to buy $100k worth of coins for the 1 coin that is worth it at $101k.

That is an excellent and reasonable question. I was able to put a moderate chunk of capital into my inventory and yes, that absolutely has helped (the old 'it takes money to make money'), but at the same time, I'm not the most efficient capital allocator. I know people who make just as much as I do (and more!) with 1/10th the capital, but they play a different version of the game I do and have a different set of skills.

I do think that numismatic know-how is an absolute must and the more you have the more opportunities there are. There's very little money to be made simply churning bullion, for example. That doesn't require a ton of know-how other than hanging a shingle and buying and selling gold and silver. But margins there are 2-3% if you're lucky, so that's a hard game to play unless you've got a BIG chunk of capital to throw at it. (Also, I'd argue bullion slinging is on the fringe of true "numismatics" but I'm a snob about that lol)

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

#377

Post by vineyardlabs » Tue, Feb 06, 2024, 1:24 AM UTC

k__ wrote: post #10

I'm self employed for around 10 years now. Before that I was employed as frontend developer for around 7 years. I started self employment as software consultant, which worked pretty well despite not having any connections from my previous employment. I only needed one or two projects a year to sustain my lifestyle. Getting two companies a year to accept your application isn't hard. If you write at least 5 application…

Curious about this. How did you manage to build up a consulting business without prior contacts? You say you wrote applications, but normally companies aren't soliciting consultants in a public fashion (other than fiver/upwork which seem to be a race to the bottom).

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

#378

Post by vineyardlabs » Tue, Feb 06, 2024, 1:32 AM UTC

mackopes wrote: post #348

I quit my job and became self-employed ~6 months ago. I work as a freelance developer and I focus on 3D graphics and computer-vision, but I occasionally take on other projects if they are interesting. I find jobs on Upwork and I do cold reach out on LinkedIn and via email. So far, I managed to keep myself pretty busy and I landed a few pretty good projects. I consider that a success since I went into the freelancing…

If you don't mind my asking where are you based? I am interested in building a consulting business but all my contacts are in industries that are regulated and don't really hire individual consultants. So Upwork and places like it seem attractive but seem like such a race to the bottom due to the saturation of developers from third world countries there.

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

#379

Post by blatzguzzler » Tue, Feb 06, 2024, 1:56 AM UTC

hotpotamus wrote: post #359

blatzguzzler wrote: post #358

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Speaking as someone who has been mostly self-employed since about 2002, Obamacare is a godsend. Massively better than the old individual "underwriting" system that basically made it impossible to get coverage. Yes, health insurance is expensive, but you may be amazed that the ACA marketplace plans frequently cost less than employer plans with better market protections. The only way to do health insurance nowadays is…

It's probably worth remembering this sort of thing when people say there is no difference between the parties. Every Republican voted against it, they almost repealed it, and apparently are gearing up for another crack at repeal https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/01/trump-o... At your age, you'll likely be on Medicare soon either way, but some of us are still decades away.

I truly am waiting for Medicare (traditional only, no Advantage plans as those are a complete rip-off). I can tell you though, I've been continuously on the ACA since it started selling plans in 2012 and it's always been better than anything I could cobble together before. It's fantastic to be able to decide how and where I want to live my life without being locked into a shitty job or tied to a crap insurer because you can't pass underwriting to get on a different plan.

Also, I am on the highest ACA premium tier because of my age. Someone who's 35 could get the same policy I have for about $400/mo., unsubsidised.

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

#380

Post by unmole » Tue, Feb 06, 2024, 1:57 AM UTC

smiths1999 wrote: post #309

unmole wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is in India.

I apologize if this is a stupid question but why wouldn't everyone be investing in India with these returns being standard? In the US we would assume a conservative rate of 7%

The 12% returns are not adjusted for inflation or depreciation. Historically, India had a much higher rate of inflation than the US. And the rupee has continuously lost value against the dollar.

US 10 year treasury yields are ~4% while Indian treasury yields are ~7%.