1. I've only gone co-op for high-expense shared services like Cision. Wouldn't ever want to jointly sign a lease with anyone because I've never wanted office space and don't anticipate a need for any.

2. We only work on a fixed-fee basis — no hourly charges and no external (that is, client-reviewable) time tracking. So if I client wanted a day for something that's in scope, it's already covered. And if it's out of scope, they'd get a fixed-fee quote for the out-of-scope work. Generally, it's in the neighborhood of $1200-1400 per day, if you wanted to slice and dice it that way.

3. I don't work without a contract and don't work in conditions that put work at risk. Generally, that means a 30-day termination clause. But for clients who don't want that — and there have been a couple along the way — then pre-paid retainer works just fine. You want to fire me six days into the month? That's fine, because I've got my retainer check and you're not getting a refund. And I've got no more than five days of work at risk because all work *stops* if I don't have that check by the fifth of the month. (Sidebar: We've got some outsourcing clients on a weekly billing cycle and net-10-days payment terms. It only takes one late check — and an accompanying work stoppage — for them to know we're serious about our payment terms.

* Our contractual work-for-hire clause says that we retain copyright on all the work until final payment is made. So if someone wants to skip out, usually a nastygram from our attorney reminding them that they don't quite own the work yet sets things straight. Now, having said that, I won't go beyond a nastygram for anything under five figures — it's too much hassle when, frankly, I can move on and go do more billable work.