For indie developers - separate AppleID for your business?

Based on the personal experience of a very close friend of mine, I recommend that you create a corporate entity for any business you conduct — preferably a limited liability one — and then have that entity enroll as an Organization. It’s some extra paperwork but it will be helpful in the long run (and may end up being very helpful in certain worse-case scenarios).

How do you do two-factor for the "business" ID?

You can use a Mac as your second factor for an arbitrary number of Apple IDs. Just create a new local account for each Apple ID. You can then add your main phone number as an additional phone number to each of these Apple IDs and use that for day-to-day authentication.

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—
Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@apple.com"

Are there any "gotchas" if you set up a second Apple ID just for your paid developer account?

Always

I assume you can set up your personal ID as a "developer" in App Store Connect for testing.

No. Never do that. App Store Connect has the ability to create kinda-fake Apple IDs just for testing. They use special Apple developer services designed just for testing.

How do you do two-factor for the "business" ID? (Do you need a separate device for that?) Do you use the same phone number for both accounts (I'm only planning on having one phone, haha)?

This Apple web page has instructions on how to configure your phone for two-factor authentication with multiple accounts. It is very easy. You can do it on your Mac with a separate account but using your phone is so much easier.

PS: Those testing Apple IDs also support two-factor authentication. But for those, I just use SMS. I wouldn't recommend trying to integrate them with real two-factor authentication, or even if that is possible.

Are there actually any meaningful advantages to having a separate Apple ID for this purpose?

I don't know if I could conceive of any "meaningful advantages". There are a number of gotchas and hassles associated with having a separate developer Apple ID. It is just that I can't even imaging trying to use the same Apple ID. Maybe if you are just doing it as a hobby and always plan to do that forever then a single Apple ID might be acceptable.

If you have any apps in the App Store, they will be associated with your real name. That can be a bit suspicious. I have an app that has some security features and I've been seriously contemplating considering any Mac app signed by a personal Apple ID to automatically be potential malware. I have a lot of data from the other side of things so I know that signed, malicious Mac apps are always signed with personal (but probably fake) Apple IDs. I consider such accounts practically worthless from a security perspective. This does NOT apply to App Store apps, however. There are more hoops to jump through over there.

One of the biggest hassles is just dealing with multiple Apple IDs. One trick I use is keeping Safari Technology Preview handy and using that exclusively for my business activities. This way, I can login to the forums (and App Store Connect) with my business Apple ID. All of my other Apple interactions (iCloud, etc.) use my personal Apple ID in the normal Safari version. I even use a really old Apple ID for Apple Support Communities (long story). Apple's corporate login procedures are not designed for multiple Apple IDs. But ironically, Apple has made if more difficult to sign in at all recently and now it is a little bit easier to just click on the "Use other Apple ID" button and then I can just pick the appropriate Apple ID and let it autofill the password.

Officially, I am in complete agreement with Eskimo's suggestion to create a corporate entity, especially if you ever intend to charge money or do more than hobby coding. Just don't that that step lightly. It isn't as expensive as you might think, but ideally, put a couple thousand dollars into it to do it right. You will need to pick a business name and make sure it isn't one that someone else has ever used. You WILL get sued if you don't do your legwork and preparation. At a minimum, check domain names and do trademark searches. I strongly recommend consulting with a lawyer. Your corporation would be a global corporation and subject to laws throughout the world. Apple makes compliance with global laws very easy. Apple handles 90% of the details for you. (But not 100%). Read that developer agreement very carefully and have your lawyer do likewise.

Thanks a lot for the replies and thoughts. Do people have favorite resources for learning the ropes as a small business? I've been reading "Small Time Operator."

Thanks a lot for the replies and thoughts. Do people have favorite resources for learning the ropes as a small business? I've been reading "Small Time Operator."

I know of no such resource for app developers. Moreover, most of the information that you will find about starting an indie app development business is wrong, sometimes maliciously wrong.

Developing software is not like other businesses. When you go to talk to an accountant, lawyer, or insurance broker, you have to explain it to them from the ground up. In many cases, they will have never encountered anything like this in their careers. When you fill out forms, you will struggle to even find the right category to identify your business type. When you look to find out what tax and consumer protection laws apply to your business, you will have to go deep into the minutiae of intangible personal property and/or software services. Most of what exists for "software" is designed for companies like IBM. Either it will not apply to your small company, or it will, with all the paperwork, fees, and forms that IBM has to submit.

It was easier years ago when it was more of a "Wild West". Now, all of the authorities know something is going on, they know they are being cheated, and they are looking to get control.

However, there is one bright spot - Apple. We will soon see the end of the Golden Age of the app developer, but it isn't over yet. As bad as it is, Apple is as good as it gets. Apple takes care of most of the details and gives you access to the best customers. You should be able to find professional services like accountants, lawyers, or insurance brokers who know about Apple's developer program and maybe already work with some Apple app developers. Keep looking until you find them. You might have to choose some bigger, more expensive names than you would like. But the bigger companies have more resources to tap into than the local folks who just deal with plumbers and duct cleaners. If they don't know how to do something, they have people they can call and ask.

I can't make any guarantees about the future. There are a lot of powerful and/or influential people who are working hard to put an end to this. They've made their money and now they want to burn it all down. Don't follow their advice.