Should I create an agency for my future products?

Edgardo Ramírez
8 replies
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?

Replies

Abadesi
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
@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
@_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!
Tyler Lastovich
@_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¢.
Edgardo Ramírez
@abadesi @tylerlastovich Those are the exact points I have in mind! Even hiring 1 or two people from the beginning to do more stuff is a plan.
Alex Conway
@_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...