If you’re a newly full-time entrepreneur, someone who’s been killin it in your creative biz, or someone who is still debating leaving the 9-5 looking to achieve piece of mind that your legal and tax ducks are in a nice and tidy row while instead feeling like you may be missing something or are overwhelmed by the process, than you already know that you may need some more specific direction on where to go next.
So I'll spare you the sales pitch on why you need to legally protect your business.
After all, you likely already know that business can be risky. Failure to meet certain obligations can lead to fees and fines, and you have affirmative responsibilities as a business owner. BUT, No one teaches us tax basics and even most business classes (if you have taken them) skip over the formation steps. You have expertise in your area, probably in multiple areas, but you can’t know everything. Googling for 38 hours is a poor investment of your time, and handing your trust over to Legal Zoom may not instill confidence that all the steps are being completed.
Avoid the Mailbox Panic
Wouldn’t it be great to just know when a certain document or payment is due. You wouldn’t need to worry about letters appearing in your mailbox from different agencies telling you that you owe late fees for something you never knew about in the first place.
Stop Relying on Others Who Don’t Have Your Biz Top of Mind
You wouldn’t need to rely on your accountant or attorney to send you updates. Instead you’d have the knowledge to take affirmative steps to keep your business up to speed, and you’d be able to do this with minimal time investment on your part.
Protect Your Business
You have likely heard about LLCs and why you need them, but what’s not talked about as often is the importance of an operating agreement and separate bank accounts to protect your business. Get this stuff set up now, so that your biz can run on autopilot.
Be The Boss & Know What's Up
Ok, so I'm not expecting you to get a full on law degree. I lived my Elle Woods life, but you don't need to incur the student loans to do it too. However, it is important to know why you're making certain decisions and how to manage your business. That means knowing what licenses you need and when they need updated.
Here’s how I have typically seen creatives tackle the biz formation part of their business. They either:
- Just don’t do it, which leads to stress, late fees, and penalties
- They DIY it and save some money but don’t have piece of mind everything has been done correctly, and the process takes time because documents are not filed in the proper order; or
- They go with a service like legal zoom, where they over pay for certain services, don’t get other services they don’t know they need, and also don’t get educated on what’s happening
The obvious solution to these problems is to hire an attorney, but here’s the deal. I have learned that many individuals just don’t have the funds to do that, they don’t know a professional they can trust, or they simply want to prioritize those funds on something else. That’s why I have been wanting to provide an alternative that gives more guidance and education than Legal Zoom but won’t break the bank. My hope is to provide a clear path of what to do in what order to save you time, money, and worry, and set you up for success.
The reasons why most creatives use one of the above approaches to get their legal docs done are simple. We don’t know what we don’t know, right? For many creatives, a personal attorney seems out of budget, and a service like legal zoom feels like a quick fix.
But here’s the thing, online filing programs don’t provide guidance on what you need to do or why. Many service professionals also fail at this. I talk to many clients who tell me that consultations with other pros in the past have just left them more confused, and they want to know the "why" behind what they’re doing.
The Three Mindset Shifts
You Need to Make Right Now to Get Legit.
You have a business. Not a hobby.
If you’re providing a service and are receiving compensation in return, you have taxable income. At that point, it’s to your benefit to treat your hustle as a business. You’re now an entrepreneur! Make this mindset shift to become the boss that you are, save some taxes on deductions, and get your biz legally legit.
You need to know the legal and tax stuff
I’m all about outsourcing, but here’s the thing. It’s to your benefit to know the basic legal requirements for your business and to understand the tax fundamentals. This will make you a savvy-er business owner who can be empowered to make smarter decisions in your business while relying less on others.
You totally can do it
Forming a business entity is not complicated. It’s just forms that ask for your personal information. The reason you pay pros is because it’s tough to know which forms you need. That information I can give you. Now there are a few things I highly recommended hiring out, but I call tell you what you can do on your own and when to rely on a pro. If you trust me on this bit, I can save you some money while making sure that you check all the boxes you need in your biz.
I know that you likely didn’t get into business to think about legal structure. It’s not top of mind or even exciting. You’d probably rather be reading about Pinterest strategy, but you’re here for a reason. You’re either full on ready to do this thing, of you still know you need some guidance but have a few reservations. The market is starting to explode with done-for-you, online legal solutions and other DIY options. You may not be sure which is right or how necessary all of this is. You’re now a business owner. It’s time to get legit. And you can do this on your own with a little help from me. Together, we will untangle the complexities, drown out all the noise online about what you should do, and get your business headed in the proper direction.
I have taken all the knowledge I have learned through my law degree, my master’s in tax law, and one-on-one work helping small business creatives form their businesses in California along with the research I gathered co-authoring the Small Business Startup Guide to create this step-by-step course to help you launch legally. You will have a meticulous, guide that gives you all the necessary info you need and leaves out all the extra to check the legal boxes for compliance.
Legally Launched is the only program of its kind that:
1. Will help you avoid the mailbox panic;
2. Help you stop relying on others to keep your biz compliant; and
3. Arm you with the info you need to know to make your own decisions & protect your biz
So if you’re ready to legally launch . . .
Here's how I'll help you get there:
To check all the same boxes with Legal Zoom, your cost would be 450+, but you wouldn't learn along the way or know that you're taking all the right steps. A lawyer would likely cost north of $1,000. I created Legally Launched to fill the gap in these alternatives.
COST OF LEGALLY LAUNCHED:
Legally Launched is perfect for you if . . .
- You're just getting started with your business and want to do things right; or
- You're not sure if you have correctly formed your business, so you want to troubleshoot and get up to speed to ensure piece of mind.
