IT Freelancer

GO OUT ON YOUR OWN. DO IT RIGHT.

Ken Boone Jr. left the corporate world after the dot-com crash and built a self-employed IT consulting career that has lasted more than 25 years - working with everything from mom-and-pop shops to state governments to Fortune 500 vendors. In IT Freelancer, he lays out exactly how he did it, so you don't have to learn it the hard way.

This isn't theory from someone who's never sent an invoice. It's real numbers, real decisions, and real lessons from a quarter-century of billing clients, structuring a business, and surviving the mistakes that sink most new consultants in their first year.

Whether you're a network engineer, a help desk veteran, a developer, or any other IT professional wondering if you have what it takes to work for yourself, this book walks you through the entire decision - honestly, without the hype.

Inside this book:

How to honestly assess whether working for yourself is the right fit for you - and what it actually costs you in trade-offs, not just what it pays.

Setting up your business the right way: sole proprietor vs. LLC, insurance you actually need (general liability, E&O, cyber liability), and the licenses and permits that trip people up.

Real hourly, project, and contract pricing - with actual numbers, not vague ranges.

Landing your first customers and building a base without a marketing budget, plus how to turn one-time jobs into recurring, value-added revenue.

Taxes, retirement savings, and health insurance for the newly self-employed - the parts nobody explains until you're already stuck.

Invoicing, contracts, and the customer paperwork (W-9s, NDAs, certificates of insurance) that make you look like a professional from day one.

Equipment, certifications, and how AI tools are changing the way independent consultants work in 2026.

PLUS: invoicing and expense-tracking templates to get you started - so you don't have to worry about upfront costs. Included free with this book.

Ken Boone Jr. is a CCIE Emeritus certified network engineer (CCIE #4649) who has run his own IT consulting practice near Greenville, South Carolina, for more than 25 years, working with Cisco Gold Partners, financial institutions, utilities, and government agencies along the way.

If you've ever wondered whether you could make it on your own in IT - this book is the answer from someone who already did.