My name or a business name?

Gabriel;

My initial thought is that if you have been using a business name already I would continue to do so unless there is a good reason to change. Development of a name brand takes time and it sounds like you have already put in some effort.

Having said that, the utilization of a business name can have some legal issues with it depending on your location. For example, I reside in Oregon, USA. In order to legally do business under a name other than my own name (or under a name that doesn't include my legal name) I have to register with the State of Oregon. If memory serves it is $50 for a two year period here in Oregon. Further, a bank won't (or isn't supposed to) open an account or cash checks written to a business whose name isn't registered with the State. For example, if I tell someone that I am ABC Programming, write a mobile app for them, and they pay me with a check payable to ABC Programming in theory I couldn't deposit that check into my personal account, nor could I get it processed without having ABC Programming registered as a business and have an associated bank account.

There are some additional legal reasons for having a business. I believe some of them are covered in Treehouse's How To Start A Business course. Some of the various types of business entities that you could look at (at least here in Oregon) would be:

• Sole proprietorship.
• Corporation.
• Nonprofit.
• Limited liability company (LLC).
• Limited partnership (LP).
• General partnership.
• Limited liability partnership (LLP).)

Obviously things may vary greatly depending on your location and I would encourage you to do your own researched based on where you are doing business or to discuss matters with an attorney.

I hope that helps some and I wish you the best in your freelance business!

Ken