A corporation gives even a one-person company access to the same legal substrate used by Microsoft or Toyota. That sounds empowering, but it is also absurd.
A three-person company inherits a miniature version of enterprise bureaucracy because the legal system does not really distinguish between “tiny but legitimate” and “large enough to have departments.” The obligations scale down poorly.
This is why running a small company feels stupidly hard.
The founder is acting as: CEO, bookkeeper, controller, tax coordinator, HR admin, payroll clerk, compliance officer, board secretary, benefits manager, procurement manager, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and legal operations.
That is insane. And it is especially insane because most of these roles are not strategic at early scale. They are anti-work. They exist to keep the legal wrapper functioning.
It’s exceptionally hard to create a version of the world where the boss doesn’t exist, and I often think that accountability is critical to growth and success.
That said, I’d take the feed and amazing clients any idea over the prior setup.
Excellent article, you are 1,000 percent correct. After working in technology for many years including Silicon Valley. I’m building this exact structure.
Amazing, Arnold! So glad this one aligned with your experience. Hope you’ll subscribe to be a part of the community of folks doing precisely this work! 🤓🙏🏼
Great insights! Starting your own LLC seems like freedom until you're fighting to be heard on a social platform with an algorithm you can't control. Makes building an in-person community even more important so you have a foundation to grow from.
A corporation gives even a one-person company access to the same legal substrate used by Microsoft or Toyota. That sounds empowering, but it is also absurd.
A three-person company inherits a miniature version of enterprise bureaucracy because the legal system does not really distinguish between “tiny but legitimate” and “large enough to have departments.” The obligations scale down poorly.
This is why running a small company feels stupidly hard.
Smart. Smart. Smart. Super interesting. Why waste your time building snd running something small when big takes the same amount of time.
The founder is acting as: CEO, bookkeeper, controller, tax coordinator, HR admin, payroll clerk, compliance officer, board secretary, benefits manager, procurement manager, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and legal operations.
That is insane. And it is especially insane because most of these roles are not strategic at early scale. They are anti-work. They exist to keep the legal wrapper functioning.
And they all have meaningful workloads that can be handled by agents. And software already handles multiple of the other functions.
You're the differentiation. Some people can't handle that ..
The barrier to building has never been lower, but the responsibility is higher.
We are all slaves to the algorithm now, one way or another.
Some people pay with attention, some pay with money. Most pay with both.
A lot of us have traded one boss for another.
The old one sat in an office, and the new one lives in the feed.
The platforms may look like freedom at first, but once too much of your work depends on it, you are still living by somebody else’s rules.
So true, my friend.
In the feed.
On the client side.
It’s exceptionally hard to create a version of the world where the boss doesn’t exist, and I often think that accountability is critical to growth and success.
That said, I’d take the feed and amazing clients any idea over the prior setup.
How about you?
I never really had a boss in the normal sense either. I thought that meant freedom.
And it took me a while to realise...
Google was the boss. Facebook was the boss. The client was the boss.
Whoever controls the work or pays for it gets a say, whether they employ you or not.
Excellent article, you are 1,000 percent correct. After working in technology for many years including Silicon Valley. I’m building this exact structure.
Amazing, Arnold! So glad this one aligned with your experience. Hope you’ll subscribe to be a part of the community of folks doing precisely this work! 🤓🙏🏼
I sure will John!!!!
Amazing! 🤓🙏🏼
Great insights! Starting your own LLC seems like freedom until you're fighting to be heard on a social platform with an algorithm you can't control. Makes building an in-person community even more important so you have a foundation to grow from.
Starting a one-person business is fast and simple, your company begins with you.