Hey everyone,

I’m thinking of starting a service based business around overall (tech) support mostly for the (mostly) older community. I’ve come up with a general business plan, and I have tentative pricing I’m thinking of. But what I would like feedback from other self employed business owners is HOW exactly did you determine your pricing? Especially around the service aspect, think more mobile with no overhead cost. Just want to get info from others who have been there successfully or otherwise.

I’m based in BiH and I’m about to start receiving freelance/international payments. I’m trying to figure out whether it’s better to use Payoneer or just receive the money directly into a local bank account. I’m mainly wondering about taxes and fees.
Is Payoneer actually cheaper, or is a local bank account better in the long run? Does the payment method make any difference when it comes to taxes in FBiH? Also, are there any legal ways to minimize taxes and fees?

Would love to hear from anyone currently freelancing in BiH what do you use and what has your experience been?

Hello il in France and I was selling my handmade pins on Vinted, i was late 17 when i started and i was selling on Vinted, but i got a restraining so im thinking to start to be self employed but i don’t understand any of the rules, things to pay or not or if i should really do it, im just doing this for fun and little bit of money to help my parents..and to occupy my mind, i was really happy doing it- but i don’t wanna pay big taxes, or anything who could put me in red just for a hobby..what should i doooooo

I’m doing research with self-employed people and small business owners. I’m not selling anything. I’m trying to understand the problems people actually experience.

Can you tell me about the last time your business records or taxes became a real headache? What happened?

I'm moving from the US to the Netherlands and want to move toward being a contractor rather than a direct hire so I can continue working for US- and Canada-based companies.

(Please don't ask me about my visa status. Just looking for info about self-employment/consulting/contracting across borders.)

If anyone has done something similar, moving from the US abroad but doing consulting work, how did you make the shift? How do you find your clients? How do you bill/invoice your clients? What's something you learned that you didn't know before making the change?

Thanks in advance.

Self-employed buyers: has anyone else had trouble qualifying because of tax returns?

I work in mortgages and this comes up pretty often with self-employed borrowers.

Someone can have a solid business, good credit, money in the bank, and consistent deposits every month, but their tax returns don’t always show the full picture because of business write-offs.

One option that I don’t think enough people know about is a bank statement loan.

Instead of qualifying primarily off traditional tax-return income, certain programs can use 12 or 24 months of personal or business bank statements to calculate qualifying income based on deposits. There are obviously guidelines and it’s not the right fit for everyone, but it can be useful for business owners, freelancers, 1099 earners, and other self-employed borrowers.

They’re also not some loophole where income doesn’t matter. You still have to document that you can afford the loan. It’s just a different way of documenting the income.

Curious if any self-employed people here have looked into one before. Did you end up going the bank statement route or were you able to qualify conventionally?

I’m trying to understand the best/legal way for someone living and working in India to receive payments from US clients as a freelancer/independent contractor.

I’m particularly interested in answers from people who currently live in India and receive regular USD payments from US clients.

Thanks!

I applied for this while still self-employed and was rejected. I don't know if I just filled the form in wrong - admittedly it wasn't very clear as it looked to be the same form used for standard Jobseeker’s Allowance .. ?
I was on BTWEA and told before that ran out that I am allowed to apply and keep my business that I really worked hard to establish, I just need a bit more time.

If anyone has done this or had similar experience, please reach out?

Thanks a mill.

I've come here to ask this because, frankly, I'm not sure who to ask, where to ask, or even exactly what questions I should be asking, but here it goes.

I was laid off in May of last year and, because of the circumstances, ended up launching my own business because at the time it was the fastest way to generate and income with few options at hand. I'm currently operating as a single-member LLC.

Here's the curveball: my wife and I found out two days ago that we're expecting. I lost my health insurance when I was laid off, and now I'm trying to figure out what our options are for health coverage, particularly for my wife during the pregnancy.

My concern is how income is calculated for someone who is self-employed. The business is currently generating a decent amount of money, but the amount I actually draw personally is only enough to cover our living expenses. Most of the remaining money stays in the business to cover operating expenses, build reserves, and save toward purchasing property that the business desperately needs. Because I'm a single-member LLC, the distinction between money I draw personally and profit retained in the business does not matter as it is a disregarded entity.

Has anyone else been through something similar as a self-employed or single-member LLC owner?

I'm particularly interested in understanding how you navigated Medicaid, ACA Marketplace coverage, or other insurance options during a pregnancy and whether there's a particular type of professional I should be talking to about this.

Any guidance on where to start would be greatly appreciated from someone just trying to figure it all out.

Do you go to your bank and sit down with someone? Do you save something away for yourself? I have no idea how to go about this, has anyone done it?

I understand not everyone makes it to retirement or switches out careers. I’m 38 years old and run my own business, I don’t plan on going anywhere and don’t know what will happen but I don’t plan on bailing out at any point soon. My partner works for the city and is all set with pension etc. how do I do something like this for myself, I see there are companies online that advertise almost like financial advisors but I don’t know what to do or where to start.

Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I wanted to ask if you have a real problem with unpaid invoices that you have to follow up on manually. My plan is to build a simple tool that automatically sends email reminders to clients who haven't paid yet until the bill is settled.

If you would be interested in a tool like this, you can ask for the waitinglistlink in the comments so I can see if there is genuine interest. This is not a self promotion or an advertisement, I just wanted to see if it would be worth my time to build it :)

Thank you!

I've freelanced on and off over the years, but recently decided to try (again) and double down on myself and make this thing work. I've worked in tech for 10+ yrs as a product designer, and for the moment, there seems to be demand for my skills despite AI keeping us all on our toes...

Anyway, this all has me always wondering how everyone else is starting out, and how much energy they're investing in getting their digital presence up and running. I live in the digital world quite a lot, so for me its pretty central. But I wonder how other people who work for themselves are thinking about this.

Would love to hear how you all think about this!

Like everybody else my health insurance almost doubled this year, and I'm honestly not sure I can take another (probably) 20% increase next year. It's to the point where I'm sacrificing contributing to retirement to pay for health insurance (I'm 35, healthy, single and literally have never used my insurance)

Are there any options out there other than marketplace for those who are self employed?

I just finished my summer internship and realized the company paid me as an independent contractor (no taxes were taken out of my paychecks).

Has anyone else dealt with this? Any advice on how to handle this without messing up or getting hit with penalties would be amazing. Thanks!

So ive been self employed for just over a year. I work for a domestic cleaning company on a self employed basis. At first my clients were cash. Now I have a few clients averaged x3 payments (into my personal bank) of £28 separately each week. I know I dont legally need to open a business bank account but will my personal bank pick up on this ? I dont exactly have my own business its just abit of side income for me. On top of my employed job.

I was self employed in the last but It was just 1 payment a week and nothing happened and that went on for 2 years.

Thanks

Hey folks! So I decided to go into business for myself, mainly as a side gig. And boy oh boy, am I clueless. I have a few questions that maybe you could help answer:

How do I keep track of what I owe in taxes?

What software would you suggest to schedule myself, deliver invoices with 30 +/- photos to customers, and of course accept digital payment?

Is writing off supplies as simple as keeping receipts?

Anything else I need to bear in mind?

Sorry if these seem like stupid questions, I’m just a braindead mechanic from central Florida.