Independent Web Studio

Before a client gives you money, logins, or a domain, create a basic operating boundary. The goal is not to turn a one-person studio into a bureaucracy. It is to prevent the ordinary problems that create confusion later: unclear scope, missing records, shared passwords, surprise tax questions, and no record of who approved a launch.

Keep a business name and contact method you intend to use consistently. Set up a simple bookkeeping routine that records incoming payments and legitimate expenses. Ask a qualified local accountant, attorney, insurance professional, or business adviser the questions that depend on your jurisdiction and situation: registration, tax treatment, contracts, insurance, and licensing. This article cannot answer those questions for you.

For every client, keep a written project summary. It should say what you will do, what the client must provide, what is outside scope, how changes are approved, who owns the accounts, and what “launch” means. Use a password manager or a client-approved secure sharing method; do not send secrets around in ordinary email or reuse them across clients.

The first business system is simply a record of decisions. It protects the client as much as it protects you. If an assumption matters to the outcome, write it down and have the relevant person confirm it.

Definition of done: you have a place for project records, a professional-advice question list, a secure access policy, and a written scope outline for the first project.

Next: Set domain and account ownership rules. Return to the Independent Web Studio guide.