getting down to business

when my contract working for the VA ended in may, i took a week to regroup and then basically immediately jumped back into freelancing while looking for the right long-term fit. it turns out i kind of like a lot of aspects of being a freelancer. so i decided to lean in.

the process has been kind of messy, but i’m slowly figuring it out. i’ve been lucky to have a couple of steady clients for these initial months to really ease most of my concerns during this phase. it certainly made it a lot easier to warm up to the idea of striking out on my own.

here are the rough steps i’ve taken to start my freelance business:

0. have lunch with a friend to pick their brain about starting a business
1. register a LLC with the state. member managed as the sole member. in oregon, this was pretty simple, and cost $100.
2. apply for a EIN with the IRS
3. open business bank accounts + credit card. the EIN is helpful here.
4. buy domain, set up very basic landing page
5. google workspace for business email
6. sign up for healthcare via healthcare.gov
7. create invoice template + basic accounting spreadsheet

when the landing page is a little more polished i’ll make a more official announcement.

in the meantime, i am available for full stack software development and consulting including but not limited to creative prototyping, design systems engineering, systems design and architecture, devops, developer experience and tooling, a11y issues, vibe code triaging, etc.