If online reaction is any indication, people have been loving the presidential debates. Even the vice-presidential debate had everyone all a-Twitter. (Sorry, sometimes I can�t help myself.) If only we could have more debates!

Well, the public’s wish is our command.

Our amiable friends James and Harry over at Men with Pens have agreed to let us call them out this week, and we’re taking full advantage.

You see, we like James and Harry. We think they’re swell. We think it’s totally cool how they’re two guy friends running a freelance company. After all, we’re two girl friends running a freelance company. We like it that they’re a little geeky, too. We’re nerds, as well; just in a different way.

Still, we have some major differences of opinion among us. You see, Tamara and I believe that one of the best parts of having a freelance business is that fact that it costs practically nothing to start and run. Unlike other businesses, we didn’t have to pay for a franchise, stock up a bunch of inventory, or go back to school and get an MBA.

We figure that we started the Berry-Brewer Freelance Agency for the cost of about $220. That includes filing for our tax ID, getting city and state licenses, and setting up a Vendor account on Guru.com. We each contributed half, and we were able to pay ourselves back after getting our first couple of gigs. You could probably also add in a few bucks for the coffee and bagels we consumed at our first real business meeting. All-in-all, though, the financial investment was pretty darn low.

Now, over at Men with Pens, they have a different take on the cost of setting up shop, and if you pop on over there, they’re going to tell you why the Freelance Parent ladies are all washed up with their post “The True Cost of Freelancing.” Feel free to add your two-cents’ worth by sharing your thoughts in the comments section. Better yet, pipe up and tell them why we’re right! We’d love to know how you figure the cost of starting and running your freelance business. In fact, we’re going to be at this all week long, so if there’s a topic you’d like to see us debate, bring it on.

So, if you’re going through debate withdrawal now that the candidates are back on the campaign trail, you can join in with us and the boys as we take a look at how much it really costs to play the freelancing game.