I am a self employed contractor (sole proprietor).

@Roy Oliphant I will be interested in counties with the right investment dynamics of population, employment and growth prospects.

But I can't think of any large employers...Round Rock has Dell, Emerson, 3 hospitals and the growing education corridor.  

That larger number should reflect the same gross income that the payroll verification should come back at from your employer.

Always be ready for corporate downsize, or for the wind to change direction and your employer tells you you're being transferred to a place you wouldn't want to visit; let alone live.

But profits are also subject to Self Employment taxes, so there's plusses and minuses to both methods.The issue with taxes is that it is both an art and a science to maximize tax savings and balance other needs and it's really important to sit with a knowledgeable CPA and talk about your specific situation (not your friend's, not somebody else on BP, not your mentor) and have them help you design a tax plan built for you.  

So I'm starting to look around for investors/employers looking to bring someone on like myself.I look forward to reading about and learning from your experiences and engaging in discussion with the community.Regards,Eddie

A couple of other things that you might want to think about are the historical trends for the neighborhood in regards to rents and prices, age of the housing stock and major events that have occurred recently such as new employers.  

I am just trying to answer Bao's actual questions about his struggles with the realities of finding the time to build his business while employed full time.

All it takes is one major employer to layoff some folks.