The Self-Employed Man

Be your own boss and still pay the bills: clients, pricing, taxes, tools and time for your family.

The BRO Code. What to do, what not to do, and a few laughs on the way.

Do's & Don'ts: Men Do's & Don'ts: Business Owners

Match the belt to the shoe and the socks to the trousers

Two rules cover most of it. The rest is knowing when a 35mm belt is wrong, why your socks fall down, and when to break both rules on purpose.

GuideCountry StyleTobias ReedSep 23, 20266 min

Duster, slicker or parka, and when each one fails

Three coats, three jobs. Pick wrong and you'll spend the afternoon soaked in your own sweat instead of the rain.

Gadgets5 min

Wipe a device in the right order before you sell it

City Style6 min

Three straps and one watch will cover your whole year

GuideCountry StyleTobias ReedSep 23, 20266 min

How to break in canvas work pants without wrecking them

New duck canvas fights you for about two weeks. Do this and it's over in five days, without shredding a pair you paid good money for.

GuideGadgetsDean ShawSep 23, 20266 min

Buying your first drone without breaking the rules

Start under 249 grams, take the free test, and never run your firmware update in a parking lot.

City Style5 min

Black tie, charity dinners and what the invitation means

Country Style6 min

Reproofing a waxed jacket without ruining it

GuideGadgetsDean ShawSep 23, 20265 min

Light first, then the mic, then the camera

Most people buy the webcam first. That's the wrong end of the problem, and you'll spend a few hundred dollars finding out.

GuideCity StyleTobias ReedSep 23, 20265 min

How to stay sharp when the city hits thirty degrees

Heat doesn't just make you uncomfortable, it makes you slow and short-tempered. Shift your day and your kit before it does.

Country Style6 min

Wearing a pearl snap without looking like you're in costume

Gadgets6 min

The pop-up with a phone number is always a scam

GuideCity StyleTobias ReedSep 23, 20265 min

What to wear to an interview at a company with no dress code

"Come as you are" isn't an instruction. It's an unwritten code, and you can read it in about ten minutes.

GuideCountry StyleTobias ReedSep 23, 20266 min

What to wear to the fair, and what changes at the rodeo

Start with your feet, because you'll walk four miles on gravel and stand in a sheep barn. Everything else follows from that.

Gadgets6 min

Doing your own screen and battery swap without wrecking the phone

City Style5 min

Four days of meetings out of one carry-on

GuideCountry StyleTobias ReedSep 23, 20266 min

What makes a work glove last more than one winter

Goatskin, pigskin, elk and cowhide all fail in different places. Match the hide to the job and gloves stop being a monthly purchase.

Gadgets5 min read

When your phone camera is enough, and when it isn't

Two things decide it: how much light you have and how far away the subject is. Everything else is marketing.

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