A Practical Guide to Venturing Out on Your Own

2. About Me

3. Senior Consultant
& Founder, Whitmoyer

4. Treasurer, ADCMW

5. Advisor & Contributor,
FullBleed

6. Part-time Instructor,
CDIA Boston University

7. Member & Volunteer,
Live Green

9. What’s with the
Whistle?

10. A Few Good Reasons
to Set Up Shop

11. • Make your own hours
• Be your own boss
• You have a choice and can work on projects
that you like
• You’ll get to work with new people on a
regular basis

12. 3 Years Ago

13. When’s a Good Time?

14. • Unhappy with employment options
• Looking for a new challenge
• You see an opportunity that's in high
demand
• Have tons of cash under your mattress

15. Why Wouldn’t You
Want to Venture Out?

16. • You don't enjoy working more
than 40 hours
• You're bad with saving money
• You're not an outgoing person
(waiting isn't much of an option)
• You don't like to wear many hats

17. How Many Hats?

18. Just a few to start:
– Chief Executive Officer
– Chief Marketing Officer
– Chief Financial Officer
– Chief Technology Officer
– Chief Legal Officer
– Chief Operations Officer
– Human Resources
– Customer Service

19. It's impossible to do it all
and be able to continue growing
a er a certain point.

20. Taxes & Accounting

21. • Find an accountant
• Determine how you do business: Sole
Proprietor, LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp
• Get an EIN (it's free) & register a DBA
(Doing Business As) name with the IRS
– You may also need to register your DBA with
the state and local municipalities (having a
good accountant helps)

22. Book Suggestions

23. FAQ: How do you pay yourself?
– If you’re a Sole Proprietor or LLC, you can
simply write a check to yourself as a non-
deductible expense.
– If you’re a S-Corp or C-Corp, you pay yourself
a salary and taxes get taken out of your pay as
a W2.

24. • To be safe, put 30-40% of your revenue
aside for Uncle Sam
• Scan your receipts and then get rid of them
(they’ll fade in 6 months)

25. Be the Bank,
Not the Banker

26. Find Accounting
So ware that
Works for You

27. Time Tracking & Invoicing:
• Freshbooks
• Blinksale
• Harvest
• Billings

28. Full Ledger + Time Tracking & Invoicing:
• Xero
• Less Accounting
• Quickbooks

29. Alternative Full Ledger Options:
• Outright (free)
• Google Docs (free)
• MS Excel

30. Technology

31. • Run auto-backups and store data offsite
• Skype + VuRoom
• iPhone and use hands-free
(radiation is never a good thing)

32. • Pandora (it rawks)
• Skitch
• Use an all-in-one printer, fax, scanner for
the day to day stuff

33. Save your money.
It's really easy to want the latest:
– Hardware
– Operating System
– Version of So ware
But are they necessary?

34. Human Resources

35. • Paying yourself & others (1099 & W2's)
• Uni-401k or SEP-IRA?
– Sharebuilder401k.com (Uni-401k)
– Fidelity.com (has both)
• Health & Dental Insurance
– eHealthInsurance.com
– GoHealthInsurance.com

36. Legal

37. The majority of people working in DC
have a legal background.

38. • Business Insurance Recommended
Minimums
– Comprehensive general liability insurance with
minimum limits of $1,000,000 for each
occurrence
– Commercial excess liability insurance with
minimum limits of $2,000,000 for each
occurrence
– Property damage insurance with minimum
limits of $1,000,000

39. • AIGA: Standard Form of Agreement for
Design Services
• Work made for hire
(Copyright & IP Law)
• NDAs & Confidentiality Agreements

40. “If I honor your NDA, and I meet a great
investor or potential employee or valuable
partner for your new venture, I wouldn't be
able to tell them about it.”
— Anil Dash

41. The bottom line:
It’s all about trust.

42. Sales & Marketing

43. Run of the mill
• Website
• Blog
• Social Networks
• Email Marketing
• Attend Events

44. Things that actually matter
• Hire a copywriter
• Keep people in the loop — send personal
emails
• Schedule lunch meetings frequently
• Public speaking — share your secrets
• Offer referral rewards
(e.g. ping pong tables, drinks, hugs, etc)

45. It’s All About Building
Solid Relationships

46. Defining Pricing
• Determine what you need as a base
• Outline business objectives and a budget
for the entire year

47. Fixed Cost
vs.
Hourly Rate

48. Maintaining a Portfolio
• Designers: Avoid having a style, instead
always try to show that you have many
• Developers: Avoid showing the same
solution, instead try to show many

49. Maintaining a Portfolio
• Make sure you always have permission to
show your work
• Make sure you get permission to show the
work and submit it to contests for industry
recognition

50. Maintaining a Portfolio
• Quality over quantity, make people want
more
• Don't just show the work, explain the
problems and challenges you had to
overcome
• Explain your role

51. Customer Service

52. Thanks
(Now would be a good time for questions)
www.slideshare.net/nickwhitmoyer