Howdy. I was redirected here from another sub! Let me preface this by saying I am going from this post to brewing a coffee, going to a couple wikis, and reading. But I know full well that my situation is pretty specific and modern, so I’m hoping you smart kids can help me find the correct path too!
Long story short: I’ve worked in a position in multimedia for six years and have been unceremoniously downsized. It’s still pretty fresh and I’m technically on payroll through next month, but I’ll keep it brief by saying that the way things were handled were very poor, my boss is a bad person, and I’m still pretty emotional about the whole thing. I very much grew up with the “you are what you do” mentality so having it taken away from me through no fault of my own (which they’ve been gracious enough to keep pointing out 😔😔) has really shaken me up.
However, a number of things have lined up. Without getting into extra sob story stuff, my grandmother recently passed and I was left an amount of money and a place to live with very few expenses. This was NOT expected at all. Complete surprise that I’m still kind of reeling from.
Thing is, I want to make moves to do what comes next the right way. I want to try working for myself because I’ll be able to for a bit with the money I’ve been left. I’ve decided to put it into savings and pull from that monthly to mimic a smaller version of what I was getting as a paycheck. Then, I’ll be working 9-5 on content creation. I’m monetized but still small, so it’ll be a bit of an uphill battle, but it’s one I am willing to undertake and I understand the risk involved.
What I don’t understand is how to most effectively move forward. I have a couple assets to manage. For one, a retirement account I probably need to move somewhere else. It is through my employer, obviously, and is centered on the industry I was working in (I was in higher education, the account is TIAA). Since I plan to leave that industry, I don’t think that account is going to serve me much where it is. That’s one thing I’ll need to take care of.
But from there? I’m a little lost. I need to determine how to register myself as a professional/company and how to effectively manage taxation and breaks based on that and the work I’ll be doing from a home office. I’ve been told several times over the years “oh you can write such and such off” but the people who tell me this don’t really know how or why, so it hasn’t been super helpful advice. Now that I’m heading into this next chapter of my life, I want to figure this stuff out.
Okay. I’m off to read, but if anyone has any advice or places to point to with specific information, I’d be really appreciative. I had considered making an appointment with a financial advisor, but the one I met with already really set off all of my alarms for “this is a good way to lose money” so I did not pursue that avenue further.
Thank you!
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There’s a lot to comment on here.
To get a couple things out of the way, remember that running a business is hard. Many fail. You are statistically likely to fail. Before you drop your inheritance money into this venture, consider that.
I would take a portion of that money and not look at it for a second, put it somewhere it will make you money and forget about it for a while. Don’t put all your eggs in the basket of self employment on your first rodeo, especially lacking a stable source of income. Diversification of assets reduces risk.
I can’t say I know the business model surrounding content creation well, but it’s almost always worthwhile to crunch out your existing runway, expenses, and income over a determined period of time. How much money do you need to make for your business to be reality? What data point needs to go up (customers, views, etc) for you to reach that target? How long can you afford to bleed money?
There are retirement accounts available for the self employed. If you are set on not replacing your day job income and going fully SE, you can explore that option. It is recommended you do.
In terms of deductions, credits, etc. there’s a lot of misinformation on social media so it’s best to be careful about it. The general rule is that expenses incurred during the operation of a business that are ordinary and necessary reduce your taxable business income by that amount. For things like credits, taxes, deductions and whatnot it is recommend you discuss it with a professional.
An accountant can help you with this. And yes, I generally recommend avoiding FInancial Advisors.
Thank you for all of this. Thankfully, some of it is in place already. I’m not investing the inheritance in the business so much as saving as much as I can and using the resources I have already going for me to work toward a self-sustaining business. I’ve run those numbers and determined what portion is ideal to just keep out of reach and what portion should be used for living expenses.
Any advice on finding a reputable CPA? Are there certain things I should look for or watch out for?
Can probably start with a basic quick books account, once you have some cash flow then search for a certified quickbooks accountant. There are other package options that are just as good.
Lot going on with this post, ultimately, pure statistics somewhere above 95% of new businesses fail across the board. You don’t say how much money this is. If it’s less than 6 months of expenses, I would not use to spin up a company.
Business registering etc varies by state, but generally you register an LLC with the secretary of state. If you do it yourself, your name is tied to it. If you care about being anonymous, you need an attorney to register it. Once that’s done you apply for an EIN number (IRS thing) and can use that to open a business bank account.
Any business, no matter the size, needs a general business attorney and CPA. If you can’t afford the $6-700 in fees to get a company legally off the ground you can’t afford the risk involved in starting a business.
Content creation… I will give the same advice as I give anyone else trying to start their own company. Start is as a side-thing. I don’t care if you’re working 14 hours a day. But especially content creation, very few just randomly pop off. It takes months, years of doing it before you gain a regular following.
Really appreciate this, thank you! I am realizing now that I may have worded some things in my OP pretty poorly in an attempt to not give out TOO much information, you know?
When I say business, I should have clarified that it’s not a traditional business I’m looking to start. I’ll be the only employee for the foreseeable future. BUT I am in a position, thankfully, to monetize the content effectively. It will take time to make it completely sustainable, but I’m not in danger of going belly-up overnight or anything like that. The expenses to operate are just the same ones necessary to keep me alive and working. I really should have been clearer about that from the jump, considering how wide the net is for users of this sub and the businesses they operate.
My position is that I’m in a place where I can do this thing I’ve been working toward for years. I’d just like to determine how to most effectively work within that plan. Would you recommend consulting with a CPA or an attorney first? Any tips for picking those? I’m assuming I’d at minimum want to have met with both before actually registering.
Get yourself on fivrr and similar sites and start to build a clientele for content creation.
Then go to library and check out books on starting a small business. Lots of great options there.
Also contact SCORE, great mentors esp when starting with little business experience.
Check local gov/university web sites for formal business launch/incubator locations. These can work wonders!
Search LinkedIn for potential mentors (I’m working with a handful of startups in my little niche, I really enjoy it and would never ask/expect payment)
Network with other business owners. Most people who draw paychecks will never understand what you’re going to be going through.