[LINK] private question for off list - consulting

[Paul Brooks]

On 6/12/2013 10:36 AM, Rachel Polanskis wrote:
> Hi Linkers,
> I have finally accepted a redundancy from my job at <some uni> and my last
> day is just on the new year.
>
> I have put together a little business plan, getting an ABN and putting together
> a little website we will host on our NBN FTTH connection, hopefully making
> a small business out of it.
>
> What I am planning is to go into IT consulting, for various projects,
> big and small.  I am studying a diploma in Project Management, so hopefully
> that will go well with (what I believe are) my extensive technical skills.

Nobody yet has mentioned insurance. While you hope you never have to use it,
Professional Indemnity (PI) insurance and Public/Products  Liability insurance is IMHO
essential for your own business, as is Workers Compensation insurance for yourself
(mandatory) and often a requirement for consultancy tenders especially government.
Even if you think you'll never make a human error, its comforting to know that if
someone was to falsely accuse you of doing something wrong that the insurance company
will pay the legal bills defending the claim. You need to factor the costs of this
into the costs of doing business, which points to a higher hourly/daily rate than one
would initially estimate.
Also, when working for yourself, Workers Compensation insurance for yourself in the
business is mandatory, and look at really good keyman-insurance (aka injury/permanent
disability insurance). If you get sick and can't work for several months for some
reason, it helps to have some insurance pay your salary when you have no business
revenue. Its all tax deductable.

P.