Running Your Business
Choosing and forming an entity, pricing and quoting, record-keeping, managing customers, and taking on your first employee.
13 guides in this section
Guides in this section
Accounting software for a small contractor: what you actually need
The right software for a small contractor is the cheapest tool that does three things well: tracks your income and expenses cleanly, sends invoices and takes...
Bookkeeping for the trades: what to keep and how to do it
Good bookkeeping for a trade business comes down to three habits: run every dollar through one dedicated business account, keep a record of every bit of...
Business banking and building business credit
Do two things and you separate your business from yourself the way it needs to be: open a dedicated business bank account before your first invoice and run...
Employees or subcontractors: which should your business use?
As the owner, the choice between hiring employees and using subcontractors is a trade-off between control and cost. Employees you can direct, train...
Estimating and invoicing software: what it has to do before it is worth paying for
What estimating and invoicing software has to do before it is worth paying for, why a built-in national cost database is a trap, and when a spreadsheet is still the right answer.
Growing from solo to a crew
Going from a one-person operation to running a crew is the biggest and riskiest jump in a trade business, because your actual job changes from doing the work...
Managing cash flow in a feast-or-famine trade
Construction is the most cash-flow-hostile business there is, because you pay for materials and labor weeks or months before the customer pays you, so...
Naming your business, DBAs, and branding basics
Naming a trade business comes down to three checks and one legal step. Check the name is actually available (not already registered as an entity in your...
Retirement when nobody's building you a pension
When you work for yourself, nobody sets up a pension for you, so it is entirely on you, and the three tools built for exactly this are the SEP-IRA, the Solo...
Writing a simple business plan for a trade business
Most trade businesses do not need a formal, investor-style business plan, and you should not lose a month writing one. What you do need is a one-page plan...
Sole prop, LLC, or S-corp: which should you be?
For most tradespeople the answer is a single-member LLC, taxed the same as a sole proprietor, until your profit gets high enough (usually around $70,000 to...
Taking on your first employee: what actually changes for your business
The day you put someone on payroll you stop being solo labor and become an employer, and that changes your business in four concrete ways: you now run...
When to hire a bookkeeper or a CPA
Do your own books while the business is simple, and bring in help the moment the admin starts costing you money or you are making decisions blind. As a rough...