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I don’t know why I thought launching Fidgets and Fries as a legitimate business was going to be easy. I was like, “it’s just going to be me, doing what I have always done, but in a way that is more organized and structured so that I am paid what I feel I am worth for it.”
Ha.
In many ways, it is the same. I am doing the exact same thing I am doing. But in so many ways, it ain’t. A few months out from my announcement that I registered my business, and I am more confused than ever. This is a goal that I know many of you have and it is definitely one of mine so I am going to see this through to the end, but I will document my doing so to the best of my ability.
And who knows? Maybe sharing the journey will help me to learn a few things as well? Cause whew, I damn sure need it.
Why I turned Fidgets and Fries into a Business.
Honestly, it was time. Either I was gonna go the business route or the IRS was gonna “force” me to. I wasn’t raking in the dough, but I was coming eerily close to hitting the threshold that would make me responsible for paying taxes on third party payments income (that’s Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, Stripe, Paypal, etc.). And if they actually counted donations as taxable income, I would have been screwed because that would have pushed me firmly over that threshold.
I didn’t have money squirreled away for tax purposes; I would have been assed out had I been required to pay over the last two years. I grow each year and I don’t see this year being any different, so it was time to account for my monies like a grown-up and pay my damn taxes, so I am not hit with grown-up penalties and fees.
Launching a business made financial sense to me. A sizable chunk of what I am doing is a business and I need to treat it as such. I went sole proprietorship first. I wanted the fastest and easiest way to get off the ground running. Hopefully by the end of the year I can launch full LLC status, with one day going nonprofit.
Baby steps, y’all.
So, armed with an EIN (business tax ID from the IRS) and a newly registered business under the name Fidgets and Fries, I opened up a business bank account that took like 2 hours to do so because you’re basically being interrogated like a suspect in a TV crime show. What was taking my bank so long, well, adding to an already long process was that neither I, nor them, could classify what exactly it was that my business would be doing.
Yeah, you literally gotta know what products and services you offering, lol.
Odd that they don’t have classifications that keep up with our fast-paced internet world. We found some options that were close to what I was doing and went with that.
Speaking. Consulting. Influencing. Educating. E-booking. Authoring. Mentoring.
That’s the -ings I will be responsible for.
And I will be charging my worth. That is more money to keep track of…and more money to pay taxes on. With a business account, it breaks my expenses down into certain categories that make it easier for me to keep track of what money is going where or coming from where. This helps with taxes. Or it’s supposed to. I took advantage of Patreon’s discount they offer to creators for a discount on the tax app Keeper. This app will keep track of the write-offs I have throughout the year by linking my account and whatever I spend they find the tax benefits for me. Thus far, I have about $1780 write offs documented with another $800 or so to review.
This app will even help to file taxes at the end of the year but not quarterly ones and that is where I feel like I am fucked, lol. So, I am working on finding an accountant to help me out cause I am way out of my depth here. But accountants feel like money I don’t have.
Cause they cost money I don’t have. I will figure something out here.
Bottom line, if you making $20K per year and it ain’t donations, consider making what you do into a business. Don’t be caught out there with your ass out like I almost was.
Why I REALLY turned Fidgets and Fries into a business.
Yeah, the above was true and all but why I really did it was because I wanted more ownership of the creations of my mind. I wanted to be in control of how much I feel my work was worth and do what I could to not only increase income to care for my family but to deter those from taking my offerings and monetizing them. And this has been something that has happened to me for years now. I am tired of sitting back and watching mediocre creators ride the back of my work and be paid for it.
It was time I got my due.
And I am. And I will.
Plus, the maintenance and upkeep of showing up in these spaces and creating content ain’t cheap. You’re paying for internet, devices that run smoothly for virtual events and meetings, Zoom, Google Workspace, your websites, apps that make your content possible, and more.
And then there’s the goals.
Those things that I need to happen for myself, or my family and I need money to make that stuff happen. I won’t bore you with what those goals are…or rather my fingers are losing strength and I need them to finish up this post. Another time. Another time.
What makes this business owner thing so damn difficult?
Everything.
Seriously. I am constantly overthinking what I am putting out there and how much to keep as free content, what to share as paid, and what to use to inspire others to want to hire me for their events. And doing all that while not losing the heart of my community. I have no desire to run off people. So, I can’t be a walking business ad. I know my audience is full of families like ours. Single income. Or low income, no income, single parent, etc.
I am keeping this mind, but I am also noting that I have made far more money on giving away e-book than I ever did selling them. And that when I did things to fundraise, average donation was $50. When I do speak, I am paid over $1300 (which is honestly low for someone with my experience, audience, and expertise).
So, there is money to be made here, I just have to be mindful of how I do that.
That is what makes it so hard. Trying to figure out what to offer for free and what to offer as paid. I ultimately decided that I would keep my social media as my free offerings period. That won’t ever go away. Unless they boot me off or something. I will keep the free option Substack so that I can write long form posts and share the happenings of my life in a space that is more controlled and virtually troll free. But I will charge for e-books, community learning spaces like Patreon, and offer more for those who pay to be in this space.
Crafting a website was challenging and I am so close to launching that baby. But it was necessary to have as a business owner. You want to inform the public of what it is that you offer and give them an accessible way to reach you to hire you for your services.
Shit, everything about this is hard. But necessary. I am moving on up. So, should how I do things in this online world.
Asking/hiring help.
This has never been my strong suit. I always feel like it is on me to get what it is that I need and require. As I grow more and more in this work and who I am in these online spaces, I recognize that I need help. Both at home and in this business. I have a book coming out that I know is gonna be something special. But I cannot keep up with promoting it. I have been nonstop with it since October of last year. So, I created a Street Team that has been of great help getting the word out. They have taken so much of the pressure off of me. I am beyond thankful for them.
I have a manager that helps me to secure partnerships and brand deals but also handles negotiating my speaking and consulting engagements as well as setting up our schedules. Her team has helped with my website and will begin to moderate my online spaces as well.
I need the time to be with my family. I want to keep my business afloat and maintain an online presence with the community I love, but I need to have breaks and spend more time with my family. The work smarter and not harder thing.
I am still figuring out the whole asking/hiring help thing, but I think I am gonna get the hang of it this year, lol.
In conclusion,
this shit is HARD yet rewarding. I feel accomplished. I feel satisfied. I feel like I am finally in a place where I can smile because I am in control of who I want to be here. I am not chasing algorithms anymore. My IG engagement tanks more and more each month while my Facebook grows more and more each month. I won’t be surprised that my FB followers overruns my IG ones by end of year. That is if something doesn’t change with IG. And I am not working on actively changing that. You never know what really works and what doesn’t. I just show up in the way I know how, and I just let it be. I will grow as I was intended to grow…in either space, but I am channeling energy elsewhere.
I swear if you are a content creator, and you are looking to turn what you do into a business. Do it. It’s a fucking headache, but it is worth it. If you are not and you love the creators you do follow, please consider contributing to their work with a monetary contribution or sharing and amplifying their work so that others can do so. Especially those of us who are disabled to the point where we cannot work. The internet has been a lifesaver for so many of us.
I know it has been for me.
👍🎉😊
Im gonna be following along bc the way I receive donations for my mission work makes me have to file as if I’m a self employed business and damn if it doesn’t kick me in the teeth most of the time. I’m like welp, might as well look into formalizing all this bc I’m gonna have to pay all that self employment tax anyways...but it is all freaking overwhelming.