DIGITAL STARTUP SOCIETY BLOG — Going Legit in Your Online Business

  While you don’t have to do much to start a business if you have a sole proprietorship, there are other business structures and legal entities for your online business that you can choose from that you need to know about before you choose a permanent structure.  Sole Proprietorship (SP) This is the leading business structure that people choose, especially service providers and those without the worry of a lot of liability. For example, if you work as a VA performing secretarial tasks, go through those tasks to find out if there is anything risky for you to be involved...

The truth is, once you start making your first profitable dollar, in the eyes of the IRS, you’re either a business or a hobby. Whether hobby or business, you are required to report every dollar you earn from the day you start making it. If you’re a hobby, you can’t deduct against any of the income you earned, which causes that income to be costly to make. If you are a sole proprietor business or any of the other entities you can choose from, you can deduct all your expenses and even carry over a loss to future years. In...

  When you start and run a legitimate business, you will be dealing with a lot of rules, regulations, and fees. It’s impossible for you to know everything, but sadly, not knowing the law is never allowed in your defense.  For this reason, not only do you need to educate yourself about your business, and all the rules and regulations regarding it, but you need to hire the right team to help you go legit with your online business. While you can do it alone, it’s always better to let the experts help you - at least the first time....

Did you know that over half of all millennials, 22% of Gen Xers, and 34% of boomers have a side gig, hustle, or hobby that brings in additional income over their regular job? Many of them report that their side hustle brings in half of their yearly income. How can you know when it’s the right time to get legal? You Have Funding – It does cost a little money to pay for licenses, permits, make an initial deposit into a business bank account, and to pay professional fees to lawyers, bookkeepers, CPAs, and the like.    Your Side Hustle...

Once you realize that you have a good business idea that will succeed, it’s time to get your ducks in a row. Set up your business so that everything is legal and above board. While it can seem confusing and too hard to legitimize your online business, you’re going to be glad you did because it’s going to save you a lot of problems in the long run to have everything legal.  In this series, you’re going to learn the steps to take to turn your side hustle into a legitimate business by: Choosing a name that you can legally...