Don’t Quit Your Day Job – Reach Out for Help - DailyBlogTips

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Don’t Quit Your Day Job – Reach Out for Help Posted: 16 Apr 2010 09:54 PM PDT This is a guest post by David Hutchison. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here. Building a community on your blog can be more satisfying-and successful-than going it alone. When I began my blog, inGoal Magazine, I had everything in place that the how-to guides suggest, from a topic I am passionate about to a niche market that was underserved. Hockey goaltending also comes with an almost endless stream of publishing opportunities – if nothing else there are games almost every night to report on and countless options for link posts reporting the latest news. I thought I had it made. While I have a day job I enjoy and was in no hurry to leave, I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't somewhat seduced by the idea of retiring to a beach in Costa Rica with my family to blog and enjoy the sun. Of course, I quickly realized that whether I intended to keep my day job or not, creating a significant blog and building a sizeable audience takes time. Lots of it. That’s not news if you’ve been reading daily blog tips. Between creating multiple posts per day to promoting my content all after my kids had gone to bed, I was either going to flame out burning the candle at both ends, or I was going to have to give up my newfound passion. There was simply too much to do and too little time to do it in. Then inspiration hit. It wasn't quite a light-bulb moment, but it was significant. You can't go it alone. Being a control freak and doing it yourself just isn't an option. Whether I was going to continue building my offline career, or I was going to go all-out Tim Ferriss and put my online world on auto-pilot, at the end of the day I was going to have to reach out for help. Since that day I have posted a few "help wanted" articles, inviting passionate readers to join me. I have reached out directly to professional goalies and coaches as well – they don't bite and are actually quite friendly when approached! I’m not talking about a call for guest posts, either. I’m talking about inviting people to join me as part of a greater team. After a few submissions I offer login and posting abilities, email addresses and, if they want it, a title that recognizes their contributions. Most importantly, I treat them as part of a team. I keep them up to date on metrics and significant developments and I invite their opinions when I consider making a change. When story opportunities come up relating to their aspect of the site – I pass them on to them even if it means losing an exciting chance for myself. In short, I am building a team and a community so that we can create a better blog. The site isn't about me, it's about our collective interest and building something that serves a greater community. Together we have created a site that is far, far better than anything I could have ever done on my own. From world-class photography to exclusive interviews at the Vancouver Olympics the people who have joined me have made inGoal Magazine something we can be proud of, something that serves the goaltending community in a way I never could have on my own. We have yet to meet face to face, and I have only spoken on the phone with some of them a few times – but I have friends who share a common passion and a common endeavor that mean the world to me. Best of all, I can follow my passion, I can enjoy the experience of blogging and connecting with others while maintaining a sane life, a rewarding career and most importantly a loving family. About the Author: David Hutchison is the editor of inGoal Magazine. Together with a team of writers and photographers who share his commitment and passion for goaltending he is building a leading site for the most important players on any ice hockey team. And he does it at night after the kids go to bed. Original Post: Don't Quit Your Day Job – Reach Out for Help

At What Point Should I Turn My Website Into an LLC? Posted: 16 Apr 2010 07:41 AM PDT This post is part of the Friday Q&A section. If you want to ask a question, just write a comment below. Tim Schmoyer asks: I'm trying to figure out when/if it's appropriate for my blog to turn into an LLC. The income my blog generates from advertising and Adsense is adding up, plus I have two other sister-sites (not blogs) that generate an income to help support my main blog. Right now I do it all as a sole proprietor, but it's getting complicated to differentiate income from expenses for tax purposes. Plus, I want to hire some on-going help/contributors for my blog. So, at what point is it best to become an LLC both for practical and tax purposes? Disclaimer: I am not an accountant, so the information below has educational purposes only and should not be taken as legal advice. First of all let’s clarify the terms involved. LLC stands for “Limited Liability Company,” and it is a business entity that stands in the middle between a sole proprietorship (i.e., the smallest/simplest business form) and the corporation (i.e., the largest/most complex one). Sole proprietorships don’t require registration, so if you are already making money with your websites and paying your taxes, you already have a sole proprietorship business. This reader, therefore, is asking when it would be worth while to step up and register an LLC. In my opinion you should only take this step when your running costs (i.e., administrative expenses plus taxes) for the LLC will be the same of the sole proprietorship. Why do I say the same and not lower? Because the LLC has a big legal advantage over the sole proprietorship form: it has limited liability, so the personal assets of the owner are not at risk. Once your income grows enough, however, you should be able to make your running costs actually lower with the LLC. This happens because the LLC has a more flexible tax structure (you can pretty much choose any type of taxation, from “Partnership” to “C Corporation”) and it also has a feature called “pass-through” taxation, which removes the risk of paying taxes twice on the same income (e.g., paying the company tax and then personal income tax on top of that). In some places around the world making this decision becomes even easier, because the tax burden on personal income is much higher than the tax burden of companies. Here is an example with numbers to illustrate the point. Suppose that the personal income tax (or sole proprietorship tax) on your country is 30% of the profits you make. The LLC tax, on the other hand, is 15% of profits. Running an LLC will have $300 in additional monthly costs, however (e.g., accountant, federal and state registrations and so on). With this scenario, when does it become worth while to form an LLC? First of all we calculate the additional annual costs of running the LLC, which are $3,600. We also know that the tax burder of the LLC is 15% instead of %30, so to balance the additional costs out we would need an annual profit of $24,000 ($3,600 divided by 0.15). Here is the test: with an annual profit of $24,000 a sole proprietor would pay $7,200 in taxes. An LLC, on the other hand, would pay only $3,600, but it would also have administrative expenses of $3,600, so the overall cost would be the same. In other words, as long as you are making at least $24,000 in profits annually, it becomes worth while to have an LLC instead of a sole proprietorship, because you’ll have limited liability. Each country and state is different, however, so you’ll need to research your local law and run the numbers to find what is the right point for you. Finally, keep in mind that in some U.S. states LLCs actually have a higher tax burden, and in those cases going directly for a Corporation might be the best option. Original Post: At What Point Should I Turn My Website Into an LLC?

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