Four legal falsehoods of freelancing

After more than 20 years of practicing business law in Philadelphia, working mostly with entrepreneurs, John Gerber became a freelancer himself.

He joined the self-employed workforce to help businesses grow from a legal and operational standpoint as an independent consultant. Since then, he has helped more than 100 companies launch.

Now, he’s created an opportunity to spread the wealth. He recently formed Upstart Legal, an online legal repository for the freelance community. On the site, paid users can download modular, semi-customizable documents on the cheap. These “tools for entrepreneurs,” as Gerber calls them, help protect freelancers from potential legal liabilities.

On the site, there’s documents there for developing a service agreement with a client, the proper paperwork needed to hire sub-contracts and more. For an all-inclusive fee of $395, users get all the documentation they need to create their business, from forming a Limited Liability Corporation to tax registration. All that’s left is paying the State its due.

Well, it’s not always that easy. Let’s please not forget Technically Philly’s 15 steps to open a business in Philadelphia. Still, properly setting up your business with the right legal framework is easy and cost effective, Gerber says. “Because the key protections of a legal entity and good contract forms can be purchased at a relatively low cost, from a cost/benefit standpoint,” protecting your freelance work is a no-brainer, Gerber says.

After the jump, Gerber shares four often misconstrued truths of the legalities of freelancing.

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