Should I create an agency for my future products?

Question

Hi Makers!

I am about to start building many things like templates, JS plugins/small apps, plugins for services like figma, sketch, zeplin, etc. but I'm wondering whether should I do this with my current freelance developer profile or is better to create an agency and put everything there, what do you think?

Tyler Lastovich · Accepted Answer

@_soldier @abadesi I'm not so sure about this. There are plenty of agencies that are just single-person shops initially. I think what really matters is how you represent yourself, if you talk like you have 10 employees then I agree that is deception. 'Maximizing revenue' often looks different when seeking short-term vs long-term benefits. I just went through this same thought process a few months ago and chose to make a container business. IMO the upsides outweigh the downsides.  Some important considerations to think about before you decide:
• You can sell a brand
• You can grow and hire people if things take off
• Depending on the structure you could more easily take investment or reduce personal legal risk
• Single person LLCs don't have terribly complicated taxes (pass-through entity)
• Easier to write and explain on a resume/job app
• Your brand doesn't have to be 'you', ie you can keep your personal social media and professional efforts separate
• If well-executed, the company itself turns into a very nice portfolio piece

It is more work to set up a professional brand for sure, but I am happy I did it and would do it again. My 2¢.

Alex Conway · Answer

@_soldier @abadesi @tylerlastovich +1 definitely don't mis-represent but the short-term vs. long-term perspective is key. I'll also add that some clients aren't open to working with a freelancer but will be open to working with a small agency (even if the agency just has 1 person). You can also develop relationships with other freelancers who can work on projects under your agency without needing to be full time, in which case your agency does have more than 1 person working on a project but those people aren't full time. Depends on your goals though - if you only ever want to build plugins and do that on your own then continuing to be a freelancer and market yourself might be the way to go...

Abadesi · Answer

@_soldier I'm a big believer in authenticity and if you pretend to be an agency when you are still just a freelancer it is deceptive. That's just my opinion!

Edgardo Ramírez · Answer

@abadesi @tylerlastovich @alxcnwy You right, part time for those initial freelances is the best and the goals are not just plugins but the usual things I do (websites, mobile apps, APIs) + tools for other developers like those plugins, templates, etc.

Edgardo Ramírez · Answer

@abadesi Hi @abadesi! Thank you for your reply. I'm Indeed  trying to increase my income but regarding the Agency, is more like to put everything on behalf of a company name to look more serious instead of doing it with my own name. I am already paying taxes and doing accounting since the very beginning but I was thinking on that doubt I am having because some clients prefer to work with Agencies instead of single developers and some others the opposite.

Abadesi · Answer

I think it depends what you want. If this is about maximising revenue, and you can do that as a freelancer - why give yourself extra work setting up an agency? That comes with its own legal and administrative tasks that are time consuming and take away from your time building products.

Edgardo Ramírez · Answer

@abadesi Me too, I really appreciate your opinion :)

Should I create an agency for my future products?

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