I know I keep pestering you to take that step; to start your own business, to teach the rest of the world, and to constantly lead by example. But, I really think this is your year! The window is open! Unemployment is 3.9%, and corporations are more flexible than ever - literally ever. Technology is ready for you, the regulatory environment is ready, and the tax structure is optimal. Now is the time for you to be the person you always dreamed you could be. On our death beds we only regret the things we DID NOT do.
I have an idea. Why don't you set July 4, 2019, as the date you will launch your new business? You can execute a responsible and methodical game plan to hit this target. If you are now an electrician working for other contractors, on Independence Day you will roll out your own organization. If you are a software engineer, by the time you are watching fireworks, you will have launched your own consulting enterprise. If you are in sales, by mid-year you will have negotiated contracts to independently represent only products and services about which you are passionate.
First, review our previous Post, "What Smart Investors Look for in a Business Plan." Initially, you are not going to need investors but the plan will help you get out of the gates. Investors will come later when everyone wants to get in on your success.
Second, let's take the next few months to get everything you need in place. You will be surprised at how easy and inexpensive it is. The Friends of JAM have been kind enough to help us with a Virginia, USA, startup example. I note "USA" since we are honored to have many JAM Views readers from Germany, Ireland, France, and Ukraine, to highlight a few most-frequent visitors.
While watching "Seinfeld" reruns this weekend you can access Virginia.gov and open your single-member Limited Liability Company (LLC) online in 15 minutes, to include Articles of Incorporation. Pay the $100 fee and you are off and running. Do it yourself instead of paying an attorney to waste your time and money. You don't even need to pay Legal Zoom $400. All these intermediaries do is charge you tons of money to make you think you need them. Do it yourself so that you understand everything. Remember, you are taking back your power! Make a note to also file a simple Annual Report and $50 to the state in 12 months.
Spend 10-minutes online with IRS.gov, and get your Employer Identification Number (EIN) for your new company. That's free. If you think your name or logo is really awesome, you can trademark these at USPTO.gov. That's $400, or we can wait on this one until the Chinese begin stealing your Intellectual Property (IP). Open a corporate account with Ally Bank online, so you don't have to pay all the fees from the big banks.
Download QuickBooks for the Self-Employed, at $10 per month, so you can easily keep track of all the expenses you will now write off your taxes. Come tax time, as a single-member LLC in Virginia you will simply translate your revenue and expenses to your Schedule C on your personal return. Easy. Later, when you add employees and are printing money, you will do a separate return, K-1's, and all that.
Next, during "Cheers" reruns you will create your online presence. At GoDaddy.com you will purchase your website name (URL) for $13, and you will also have them host your website for $7 per month. Next, you will design your website using one of Go Daddy's easy plug-n-play templates. Super simple. Then, you click over to Blogger.com to start your own blog (You mumble to yourself, "I've met Martinovich, and if he can do it, anyone can do it!"). This is free. You open a new blog, and twice a week you begin posting something short and simple that will help people in your industry. By next year, they will refer to you as "an expert."
Now, you are going to gradually dip your toe into this new venture by doing a little work on the side. Steve Strauss wrote in "USA Today" that nearly 40% of Americans now have a side hustle, and "the average side hustler earns about $8,000 a year." That pays for a lot of ballet lessons, not to mention braces! I know a beautiful woman who sells R&F on the side, another for Scentsy, and you would be surprised who drives for Uber and Lyft.
Steve also highlighted the online product Ascend as one tool that allows us to do just as much in our startup from home as we used to only be able to accomplish at the office. From the dashboard you can manage contacts, give price quotes, manage workflows, and invoice customers. Over coffee you can run email and social marketing campaigns, create a video in a few minutes, and create search-engine-optimized (SEO) pages.
Now is the time. You will not find a better window during your working lifetime. Grab the opportunity for freedom, challenge, responsibility, and no excuses. Maybe it will go nowhere, maybe it will be a failure, but then again, maybe you will succeed. You don't have to build Berkshire Hathaway, but at the end of this journey you need to be able to hold your head high, your shoulders back, and claim, "I played the game, and I gave it everything I had."
Download "Defending Your Life" this weekend and watch Meryl Streep during her life review. Notice how she overcame fear. That's the point. That's why we came down here. I will be cheerleading you all the way to Independence Day and beyond! And, if you stumble, we will all help you back up to stay in the fight. You can do this.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead
* Thank you to Friends of JAM (FOJ) for the above research conducted, initially, for the JAM Course "Building Special Companies."
* I, thank God, am not a lawyer or accountant, and nothing above is to be construed as legal or tax advice. Please consult an expert. (Isn't it ridiculous that the lawyers make us include this, or otherwise they sue us to protect their own cartel? I promise we will fix this, also).
* For more information on Jeff's Books, Blog, and Legal Challenge, please visit www.jeffmartinovich.com.
** To access JAM Views directly please visit jeffreyamartinovich.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment