Do you have your own business, either full time or freelance?


SUJagFan said:
Business Taxes

Taxes will vary depending on your business. Businesses with no employees won't have payroll taxes. Businesses not in retail sales won't have sales taxes. Figure out which taxes the federal government, your state government and sometimes the city requires you to collect.

I have found that the best way to handle taxes is to consider them a cost of doing business. No different than the cost of your supplies, insurance, equipment or any other expense you have in business. As you earn revenue, set aside a certain amount for taxes (say 25% of revenue) then send it in to the appropriate agency at the appropriate time. Simple and easy.
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For new small businesses I recommend using a payroll company to make sure quarterly business taxes are paid and processed properly for at least the first year or so.
 
I started a marketing side hustle last fall and its doing quite well..

its garnered alotta buzz in my state through a popular social media platform

right now im just learning as I go and in the process of looking for a dependable graphic designer with reasonable rates and high turn around times because I have some special projects in store for the state of Alabama and region
 



consulting is cool, has the potential to make you rich, but how do you guarantee flow, meaniong customers etc etc.?
 
Tony said:
consulting is cool, has the potential to make you rich, but how do you guarantee flow, meaniong customers etc etc.?
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Work for your client... tell them what's wrong... offer to fix it... find something else wrong... offer to fix it... LOL
 
jsupop33 said:
I dream of the day when I full-fledge run my own consulting firm. No sense in building other people's stuff all of my life when I can turn my own stuff into a dynasty. Coming to DC helped me a lot. People here have a much different mindset than I was around in Jackson or NOLA (not that there aren't ambitious people in either city but there are a lot of people here branching out and starting their own stuff).
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True, I just wished I could have started my business years ago. I guess fear was the reason why I didn't get started sooner. I could have made even more money back then.
 
jag4life said:
For new small businesses I recommend using a payroll company to make sure quarterly business taxes are paid and processed properly for at least the first year or so.
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That's a possibility. Many small businesses .... Pop's business for example probably doesn't have any payroll. If he hires somebody to help him, he'll probably do it on a contract basis and give them a 1099 at the end of the year.

Others may not have enough payroll to justify paying somebody else to do it. Quickbooks has a payroll feature (for around $300) that will let you know what needs to be paid and when. It'll even let you pay those taxes online with a simple click of a button. Getting advice from a CPA and using Quickbooks or some other accounting software may be a more cost-effective solution for many small businesses.

I also think there is some value in learning the accounting/tax process of your business yourself. Even if a business owner makes a few mistakes at first, I think it's good to know what needs to be done and how it needs to be done. As the business grows, they can hire an in-house bookkeeper or accountant and pass that work off to them. But, I think it's very important for a business owner to know and understand their tax and reporting obligations. They are responsible for it anyway even if somebody else does it for them. Might as well make sure it's being done correctly.
 
Political campaign consulting is a cash cow also. Check this article out from the DC Mayor's race today. More than 1 million spent in two weeks.
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/...ay-bowser-spend-more-than-1-million-combined/


Gray campaign expenses included $124,001.05 for a New York-based strategy firm, $10,000 for campaign manager Chuck Thies, and $11,750 for campaign political director Steve Glaude. The campaign also paid $7,000 to pollster Ron Lester and $19,500 to another firm for polling and mailing list help.

Bowser's campaign spent big on advertising this month, paying Comcast and local TV stations a combined $107,234 for ad time. Former Barack Obama administration mouthpiece Robert Gibbs got his piece, too, with Bowser's campaign paying his firm $29,567.31 for digital advertising.

The firm owned by Adrian Fenty political mastermind Tom Lindenfeld, meanwhile, received $54,736.85 from Bowser's campaign. The campaign sent a combined $320,987.30 to two companies for mailer postage and printing.


I have been making some money off of campaigns for local races.
 
SUJagFan said:
That's a possibility. Many small businesses .... Pop's business for example probably doesn't have any payroll. If he hires somebody to help him, he'll probably do it on a contract basis and give them a 1099 at the end of the year.

Others may not have enough payroll to justify paying somebody else to do it. Quickbooks has a payroll feature (for around $300) that will let you know what needs to be paid and when. It'll even let you pay those taxes online with a simple click of a button. Getting advice from a CPA and using Quickbooks or some other accounting software may be a more cost-effective solution for many small businesses.

I also think there is some value in learning the accounting/tax process of your business yourself. Even if a business owner makes a few mistakes at first, I think it's good to know what needs to be done and how it needs to be done. As the business grows, they can hire an in-house bookkeeper or accountant and pass that work off to them. But, I think it's very important for a business owner to know and understand their tax and reporting obligations. They are responsible for it anyway even if somebody else does it for them. Might as well make sure it's being done correctly.
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True. The person I used helped me to understand the requirements and was invaluable in keeping me on top of tax issues. I did not want to screw up with the IRS.
 
JSUpop, check your messages.

I have a question for those in the consulting business... How did you determine your rates?
 
2kool said:
JSUpop, check your messages.

I have a question for those in the consulting business... How did you determine your rates?
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For the work I do, I look at the GSA rates for each position and I chose my rates that way. This is the site I use to determine what rate to charge for government and contract sites. http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/103877

This site has the rate for each position and Government contracting company.
 
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Another key to being successful in business is staying positive. When you first start out or even when you get established you will make some decisions that are not the best. Don't give up and hang in there. Really the key is a draw of luck. No matter how sound of an idea or great business plan you have, the draw of lady luck always plays a factor. Don't give up. If the first venture you try fails, try again. If you don't try you will never learn. You also gotta take risk. As humans we are scared of taking risk. Sometimes they pay off and sometimes they don't but you will never know if you don't try. Also seek advice and stay around positive folks. Don't out spend your cash flow and don't spend all your profits. Pay yourself and save the majority. After all it all comes down to dollar and sense. If it don't make money it don't make sense.
 
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CEE DOG said:
Another key to being successful in business is staying positive. When you first start out or even when you get established you will make some decisions that are not the best. Don't give up and hang in there. Really the key is a draw of luck. No matter how sound of an idea or great business plan you have, the draw of lady luck always plays a factor. Don't give up. If the first venture you try fails, try again. If you don't try you will never learn. You also gotta take risk. As humans we are scared of taking risk. Sometimes they pay off and sometimes they don't but you will never know if you don't try. Also seek advice and stay around positive folks. Don't out spend your cash flow and don't spend all your profits. Pay yourself and save the majority. After all it all comes down to dollar and sense. If it don't make money it don't make sense.
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You spitting some gospel today man.
 



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