Ask HN: Contract employee telling employer about own company

Hi all, burner account to ask a question about contract employment.

I am a contract software developer and have been contracting with the same company full-time for a few years (let's call this "day job"). I recently started my own company in an unrelated field (concrete construction) and am curious if/when I should tell "day job" about the "concrete company". I have professional experience in both fields but have just been working most recently in "day job".

For the sake of this specific question let's ignore any non-compete, time allocation, or legal specifics. I am not seeking legal advice.

I enjoy working at "day job" but would eventually like to ween myself off "day job" and pursue "concrete company" full time. "Day job" has a culture of open communication and I feel "personally" comfortable with telling management about my engagements outside of work.

Is it "professionally" relevant to tell "day job" management about "concrete company" at all? If it is relevant, when should I tell "day job" about "concrete company"?

As mentioned above I feel "personally" comfortable with "day job" management but am aware it may not be in my best "professional" interest to say anything about "concrete company".

If/when I am able to pursue "concrete company" full-time it certainly makes sense to leave "day job".

Once again, I am not seeking legal advice, any opinions or thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks!

It's not clear why you are compelled to do this, or what benefit for either party would be achieved by doing it.

What do you hope will happen by telling your "day job" about your "concrete company"?

That's a good point, it is possibly best to not mention anything. I don't hope for anything in particular but find it "easier" for myself to just be honest with people when they ask what I'm doing.

As for timing, I think you should tell them when one or more conditions below are met:

1) You are okay (financially, emotionally, etc.) with that being your last day at "day job".

2) You plan to permanently move some hours from being available to not. For instance, you need to commit to 20 hour weeks when you were doing 40. I would give them some advance notice, whatever you would give them before accepting a new job somewhere.

3) You are going to need flexible timing. For instance, you know that a big client might demand you fly out. In this case, it's so they know to start adjusting their expectations of your availability and personally don't worry about you if you go dark.

Or, to summarize, I think you tell "day job" when "concrete company" will soon impact the work (quality, quantity, timing, etc.) and you are okay losing "day job".

Once you know more about the concrete company, I would reevaluate when/how to tell them. But that's at least six months away. Are you sharing exciting news? Something that failed? Just something going on in your life? Once you know more about what's happening, you can choose another disclosure time.

I'm not sure if it's worth mentioning unless you have specific plans to end the contract in a certain period of time. Otherwise, I don't see it as relevant. You are a contractor and so they must understand they aren't your only client. Whether or not your contract stipulates, I would say it's just good business to give them a heads up when you have a good idea of when you might transition away, especially depending on how critical the work you're doing for them is.