[nycbug-talk] Getting started in Consulting

[Francisco Reyes]

On Thu, 9 Jun 2005, Jerry B. Altzman wrote:

> Perhaps it's time to start nycbug-freelancers :-)

Yup.

> Be very careful with credit cards. You can easily dig yourself a very deep 
> hole.

That's the good thing about Amex.. you can't really do as much damage as 
with a regular credit card... It has to be paid every month in full.

> That having been said, if you declare a corporation, credit card companies 
> will come and find *YOU*.

My experience is that they won't take small businesses/independants..
Amex seems to me much easier to get.

> I have had no fewer than 5 offers; I picked one 
> that just "seemed right" and gave me 11 months of 0% APR and some other stuff 
> I'll probably never use (miles).

What bank?

> Moreover, if you're working for clients, it's nice to have a separate account 
> to separate out your personal spending from your client spending.

I only use the "corp amex" for business expenses so it's easier to track.

It also helps when you present a client a "whole setup deal"... ie you buy 
the equipment and charge for both the equipment and your time.. however be 
carefull to NOT markup the equipment... or you will have to deal with 
sales taxes. Basically I may buy parts for the client, show him the 
bill and charge him the exact amount. In other words the buying of the 
parts is just for his convenience. Very helpfull if you are buying 
multiple parts from differenc places; you don't want to be bothering your 
clients to buy items several times.. Big items like a computer or anything 
over $100 or $200 I let the client order directly.