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The information in “Working For Yourself: Law & Taxes for Independent Contractors, Freelancers & Consultants” by Attorney Stephen Fishman was helpful for assisting my clients at my law firm, and for my other businesses. NOLO books are exceptional at making legal issues understandable for the lay person. This book is invaluable for the small business owner in the independent contractor area. Please note, if your small business is selling goods, there are other books that would be better. But for freelancers and consultants, this is an extremely useful text for many areas the small business owner must address. It is a book I would not hesitate to recommend to my clients that have their own business as independent contractors.

The book is full of practical and useful information for the small business owner. It starts out with some general advice on working for yourself, and then provides information on forming the correct business entity, including sold proprietorships, partnerships, corporations and LLCs. There is next a chapter on naming your business and how to protect that name.

The book then has chapters addressing working from home or an outside office, and information on obtaining the correct licenses, permits, and identification numbers. Chapter six is on insurance, something some people don’t think about, but is extremely valuable, especially when you need it. There is then a short chapter on pricing your services and getting paid.

Chapters eight through thirteen cover tax issues, including basic tax information, reducing your income taxes, self-employment taxes, paying estimated taxes, rules for salespeople, drivers, and clothing producers, and then taxes for workers you hire.

Chapter fourteen covers an area that I personally hate, but is necessary, and that is record keeping and accounting. Fishman offers some good advice for this area. He then provides information on safeguarding your self-employed status and an important chapter on retirement options for the self-employed.

Chapter seventeen covers very basic information on copyrights, patents and trade secrets. If you need more information in this area, Fishman provides additional resources. (He provides additional resources all through the text) Next comes a chapter on using written client agreements. As an attorney, I don’t know how many problems I have seen that could have been avoided if the parties would have put down what they were agreeing to in writing. Chapter nineteen covers drafting your own client agreement, and chapter twenty covers reviewing a client’s agreement.

The last chapter, twenty-one, has some basic information on getting help beyond this book. As a mediator, I was glad to see the section on alternative dispute resolution. The book concludes with some basic forms, documents, and sample agreements in the appendixes.

Overall, I found this to be a very practical and useful book for the small business owner. If you work for yourself, or are thinking about making that move, this book will help you do it right.