I can't fathom a legal ramifications behind all of this so long as you're careful to draw up agreed - upon contracts. Never do anything without a signature.

So basically as long as it's specific I should be good? Would it be best if they were actually employees or independent contractors, if that makes sense?

How do I make sure I'm not screwed if one of my employees somehow manages to get injured on the job or whatever?

And do I need to worry about general illness?

Thanks anyway.

The real question might be, what are the possible ramifications of getting free legal advice on a diplomacy site?

In the contract with the person, all of these questions you are asking need to be a bullet point with an agreed solution. Then get it signed by both parties.

Any concerns by the employee should also be itemized and addressed on the contract. including general illness.

What are the employment laws in your country, is the relevant question. In Australia I would point you at Fairwork.gov.au - they have all sorts of info about subcontracting and other employment type options.

Also presumably you want a tax advisor who understands the business model you are planning to embrace.

They aren't your employees - you subcontract to them. You tell them what you want done, they give you a quote for the work, you pay them, no different than someone servicing your car. They are written off as an expense.

In the US, anyone who would be working for you would technically be an "independent contractor" and get paid according to your going rate or their contract rate. No taxes would be taken out of their paycheck.

Thanks so far, I'll try to be more concrete:

I'm 17 years old for a few more months. Should I work out the legal/fiscal stuff asap or might it be better to wait until I'm 18?
I'm currently working on a trust-based system, contracts would certainly be more professional. I probably can't really afford to have contracts drafted for me by a professional though. Can I just type out terms in my own words and will that still sort of do for now (as in, will that not be entirely useless)?
I haven't registered a company yet since I don't think I make enough money just yet to really be required to do that, it seems like a grey area to me. Can that wait until 18? I also don't know what kind of company it would be yet, seems like something I'd have to dig into first, just not sure whether that can/should wait.

Taxes, pretty much the same concerns as above.. Can I get that all straight when I'm 18 and be done with that? I also understand I will absolutely need a seperate account for business, is that correct?

This might be a crazy idea, but hear me out...why not just get a job at a web design firm? Assuming you know absolutely nothing about the business side of things (you know, since you're asking the forums for help with basic tax stuff) you could always, say, go to school for web design and get a job with a web design firm, build your portfolio and business acumen, and then start your own company.

Oh come on, do you really think I'd do something that sensible?!

On a more serious note, I wouldn't know whether I'd get a job at a web design firm anyway which is a poor argument since I could always try.. Luckily I've got more arguments. Come on, read on, you know you'll love them!

This was always not so much about webdesign as slowly working my way towards a company. Why? Where do I start.. I love freedom, I think schedules cause many a mental illness in today's society and I just work more efficiently when I can work whenever I feel like it.
More importantly, I very much value my education over any work, so I need to be able to reduce my workload to no more than 0 hours in certain periods when work asks for all my time.

I want to work toward sustaining myself without a job. If I can make a small, constant living without a constant work input, that's great because that enables me to do other things in my life. I'm not lazy, I just want to do a shitload of things and while I can make money with a lot of them, it is different if you HAVE to make money with them.

Those other things? The best way to make profit out of them will be by selling products, for instance, ideally directly to the client.. so ideally with a company!
The webdesign/webhosting is just the beginning, really. More of a start so I have the groundworks there. I will have many things already sorted out, I will have some income that allows me to completely focus on something that doesn't give me an income for a while without feeling the pressure of being broke. When I finished creating some new product, I have the company to sell it myself, making money, allowing me to focus on something else!

A vicious circle of freedom.

I start driving lessons tomorrow so I think I'll go to bed now. Sorry for interrupting my rant, I may or may not continue later.

Another quick note: I believe in my vision and I want to profit from whatever I achieve with it, I don't want some boss to profit from it.

Independence.

Not sure the uhh.. excentric people like me do well on a workfloor, anyway.

Lots of people can't take change. I desire change, always. 'Settling' for a job doesn't work with my life philosophy, I'd say.

but aren't you seventeen? i mean, didn't you already "settle" for a school for 8+ years?

That wasn't a choice.

If you're starting a business, you should not even think about contracting out work until you've literally no hours left in the day. If you're bent on doing this, get the jobs and do them well until you have work for more than 80 hrs a week.

The hardest part *should* be getting new business to come in.

Regarding legally starting your business, if you secure a customer from a legit company they will issue you a 1099 form (if you're in the USA) at the end of the year stating that you earned income from them (over 600 dollars). You'd have to include this income on your tax return and pay accordingly.

how so? i mean, surely you could've done something else entirely.

You should register your business and file your taxes in the loss stage so you can use them when/if you make money. Finding a sub to contract to is like seeking out any vendor. Get a quote, they'll invoice you when the work is done and then you pay it.

Also do your parents know you're running a business out of their house?

@ steephie: "I believe in my vision and I want to profit from whatever I achieve with it, I don't want some boss to profit from it."

And yet, you DO want to profit from the hard work of the people you plan to delegate work to?

I applaud you for going the route of being self-employed rather than working for somebody else. Do recognize the risks, though. And although I'm a lawyer in the US, I'd just feel very uncomfortable getting more into specifics about Dutch law, because I know almost nothing about it.

thorfi is correct that you should look into employment law. You should also look into the law of independent contractors (which may or may not be distinct from employment law in your country). Additionally, consider how to structure your entity to protect your finances and minimize tax complications (in the US, you might want an LLC -- limited liability company). And yes, find out about tax law. Also, are there any licenses you need to have? Maybe only if you have a lot of employees and/or a place of business? But maybe not.

Sorry I can give only questions, not answers. But these should be addressed well online, in Dutch.

PS There may be a book that covers how to do all of these things in Holland. It would be very well worth the purchase price, assuming < $100.

@ag: I guess what it boils down to is that I need people to fall back on in case I have more urgent business, or just too much business. For instance, if I know that I have a guy or two eager to do a site for some money, I can actively look for clients without having to constantly worry about whether I will have the time to help them myself. It also means I can maintain a constant client flow, rather than one client at a time for instance. Which I think is an important step towards a 'proper' bussiness: constant clients means constant money, constant money means constant income. If there's always enough work to do, I can choose how much I do in any given period. For instance, I might want to do a site now but I don't have a client right now because I was too busy before meaning I didn't want to attract clients because I'd have to keep them wait. With a subcontractor, I can constantly look for new clients and only do the work personally when I actually have the time, or a subcontractor bails or whatever.

@kasimax: "how so? i mean, surely you could've done something else entirely."

Not sure what you mean. Going to school is mandatory in the Netherlands.

@Lando: I have some people in mind with whom I'll try to arrange conversations to figure out the registration stuff. I'll make work of that now, thanks to what's been said here. So thanks again (everyone)!

@abge: I mentioned it to my dad, he doesn't seem to take it too serious yet.. Is it important they're fully aware? It's just web-stuff, no real investments on my part, their house seems.. irrelevant? It's not like anyone will be coming over, unless they allow it. Let me know if there is something important in this regard though!

@Jamiet99uk: "And yet, you DO want to profit from the hard work of the people you plan to delegate work to?"

Well, clearly they decided they want to work for a boss then. Surely that's their choice? Not everyone is as crazy as me and starts their own company to make a bunch of websites. There's really no ethical problem or whatever you're hinting at here. If someone doesn't want to fill shelves but does want a job and doesn't like risks, I can offer them something.

@semck: Thanks, I'll bring these questions along to some of the conversations I plan to have.

Steephie if you are a minor than your parents are responsible for you if shit hits the fan

That I understand. What can I do about this though? Apart from making sure shit doesn't hit the fan, which is very much the plan?

Also I think that for official registration, I will probably need parental permission anyway.

Or wait until my birthday of course.