Question for the cool independent contractor types

[abquke]

Er, maybe a couple of malformed half-questions.

-Are there things you now know that you wish you would have known starting out?

-Is there a blog/YTchannel/etc you could point to and say "that's 100% what being an EE contractor is like"?

[johnboxall]

I'm not cool, but here's some good tips:
Formalise all specifications, details, required standards to be met (RoHS, etc), agreements in writing.
Give yourself more time than you need.
If they want the design files as well, quote goes up.
Underpromise, overdeliver, etc.
Don't be afraid to say "no".
Get half the money up front.
Don't give credit to customers. If they want credit, tell them they can pay you with a credit card.