Talk to your friends/colleagues and find a good lawyer to talk to about this. The legal situation could be all over the map depending on your employment contrac

Talk to your friends/colleagues and find a good lawyer to talk to about this. The legal situation could be all over the map depending on your employment contract. Taxes are usually done after the fact. I.e you get a 1099-MISC from each person who has paid you, and you are liable for that. Speaking of payment, learn to be a squeaky wheel about it straight off the bat. Freelancing is notoriously inconsistent, expect 60 day swings between receiving payment. DONT BILL BY THE HOUR. There's plenty of reasons why online. Lifestyle-wise, figure out a way to be productive. You have to enforce accountability in yourself, you don't have a boss or a team counting on you. It doesn't matter when you work, you don't need to show up 9-5, you just have to get your shit done.