"If I hadn't put in the initial legwork" might better be read as "If I hadn't invested up front in some startup costs from experts who know things I don't". Paying for Lawyers and Accts seems crazy, when we have the web and a local library. But it often turns out to be 50% wasted money... and 50% "saved my life" money.

After all, an entity is hiring _you_ because you have skills they can't do even though there are tons of books and sites on dev and web engineering. It's wise to do the same yourself for the skills you don't have, or don't have time to master.

BTW, I found lots of variability in pricing around lawyers and accountants, and some negotiation can go a long way.