I first met Gavin about 7 years ago when he was a Technical Evangelist for Microsoft in the Cambridge Massachusetts area. At that point in time, he was heavily involved in the tech community around Boston and often was presenting at user groups and Code Camps. He worked for Microsoft for around 8 years before recently leaving to be a lead software engineer at Stately.

The reason I asked him to be on the podcast is because he is also working as an independent consultant on a side project these days.

In our discussion, we get into topics like how his experience as an independent is going (in this first year of having a side project). What type of business entity he chose and why, he also introduces group legal plans (something I hadn't heard of) for how he has gotten some legal advice. We talk about invoicing and billing, then we move on to work life balance and his challenges. We finish up with advice for others out there thinking of starting with a side project while still a full-time employee and some recommendations.

This was a fun interview to do and really cool to hear him echo many of the same experiences I myself have had.

Episode Outline

• Background
• • Is still a full-time employee
  • Working as an independent on the side
  • In his first year as an independent
• How it started for him and his experience
• Business entity type and why
• • Single person LLC
  • Used Legal Zoom
• Group legal plan
• Agreement that keeps renewing with client
• His take on invoicing
• • Reason for hourly billing vs. project billing
• Accountant or not?
• • Taxes get complicated
• Work-life balance
• • Work hours not what he are thought they would be originally
• How he found client #1
• • Network-based source
• Advice for starting as an Independent
• How did he pick his company name
• Recommendations
• • Novo - https://www.novo.co/
  • Legal Zoom - https://www.legalzoom.com/
• More detail about his side project

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavinbauman/
Twitter:  @gavmanbauman