
Owning Your Own Business
It always seems so attractive…to be your own boss…to not answer to anyone but your customers. But is starting a small business all it’s cracked up to be?
Skill Set Required
Having been an independent contractor for a few years, I took the advice of my peers and set up what’s known as an S-Corporation. The client I was contracted with, required that I had my own business set up, and given the options for organizations, S-Corp was the best option for me.
I had no idea how much work was required outside the standard work that I was required to do as a contractor.
So, in addition to my skills as a systems consultant, I was required to understand:
- Basic business accounting
- Tracking receipts
- Knowing which expenses needing to be tracked
- Billing/Accounts Receivables
- Payroll
- Calculating withholding for Federal, State, local, Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment and State Disability taxes (yes, all of them)
- W-2 processing (yes, you have to issue your own W-2)
- Tax Accounting – this was for me, by far the most daunting task that I completely underestimated
- Insurance needs
- Errors & Omissions Coverage
- Workers Compensation
- Legal understanding of contracts and statements of work
- Contract/Fees Negotiations
- Marketing
- Customer Relations
Don’t get me wrong…some of these skills can be purchased (and should be, in my humble opinion). But government certainly doesn’t make it easy to start a small business.
Current Knitting
The Niece Blanket is progressing, and I”m hopeful I’ll have it done in time to show it off at the Men’s Knitting Retreat in a couple of weeks.
So far, I’ve completed almost 50 inches in length and will probably do another 10 inches. So completion is fully possible.