As soon as you're saying something that isn't true.
The guidance to "present yourself as bigger than you are" isn't bad, but it's not going to take any adult long to figure out that the same guy who responds to technical questions is the same one who submits invoices and receives tax paperwork.
That sort of "fake it 'til you make it" manipulation is part of the value that these middlemen provide. The hiring company gets a disposable individual contributor and the middleman puts up with silliness like what's described here.
If someone lied to get your business then you can be confident that they'll lie to keep it.
The guidance to "present yourself as bigger than you are" isn't bad, but it's not going to take any adult long to figure out that the same guy who responds to technical questions is the same one who submits invoices and receives tax paperwork.
That sort of "fake it 'til you make it" manipulation is part of the value that these middlemen provide. The hiring company gets a disposable individual contributor and the middleman puts up with silliness like what's described here.
If someone lied to get your business then you can be confident that they'll lie to keep it.