This is not as big a problem as you believe it to be. The independent contractor test is a balancing act. It is not an absolute barrier to you personally work

This is not as big a problem as you believe it to be. The independent contractor test is a balancing act. It is not an absolute barrier to you personally working on behalf of a particular client. Kalzumeus Software maintains a fact sheet, because that sounds better with "Word document". It's one page and starts with the words "Patrick McKenzie is, under relevant IRS regulations, an independent contractor and not an employee of your company." It then has a bunch of bullet points where I recite the facts which are most supportive of that conclusion. This has resolved 95% of interactions I've ever had about this question. (The last 5% was at a particular BigCo where they wanted me to fill out a BigCo-approved questionnaire, but they reached the same conclusion.) I second Thomas' comment that this is largely a sales question rather than a legal question. At a lot of places, "I want an agency in front of you" just means "I want someone to yell at if you turn out to be a bozo." An agency is one way to decrease the downside risk of you being a bozo. Or you could just have a bunch of strong signals which say "Almost certainly not a bozo." If a potential client said "Patrick, we want to work with you, but we'd rather do it through an agency." I'd say "Can I ask what is motivating your desire to do it through an agency? I might have a solution for you."