WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:03.279 The topics and opinions expressed on the following show are 2 00:00:03.279 --> 00:00:05.200 solely those of the hosts and their guests, and not 3 00:00:05.240 --> 00:00:08.119 those of W four WN Radio It's employees or affiliates. 4 00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:11.839 We make no recommendations or endorsements for radio show programs, services, 5 00:00:11.880 --> 00:00:14.960 or products mentioned on air or on our web. No liability, 6 00:00:15.080 --> 00:00:17.920 explicit or implied shall be extended to W four WN 7 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:21.079 Radio It's employees or affiliates. Any questions or comment should 8 00:00:21.079 --> 00:00:22.399 be directed to those show hosts. 9 00:00:22.519 --> 00:00:43.359 Thank you for choosing W four WN Radio. 10 00:00:45.320 --> 00:00:49.000 Welcome to Fearless Fabulous You. I am your host, Melanie Young, 11 00:00:49.159 --> 00:00:53.079 and I enjoy helping women like you and me live 12 00:00:53.119 --> 00:00:56.640 empowered lives on their terms. We're going to talk about 13 00:00:56.719 --> 00:00:59.640 a very important topic today that I have a lot 14 00:00:59.679 --> 00:01:03.240 of ex experience with, as does my guest. Many women 15 00:01:03.479 --> 00:01:06.159 want to start their own business. It is the beginning 16 00:01:06.200 --> 00:01:09.680 of the year twenty twenty five, and you know it's 17 00:01:09.719 --> 00:01:12.000 a great time to think about starting your own business. 18 00:01:12.120 --> 00:01:15.480 Maybe you want to have an independent business to have 19 00:01:15.519 --> 00:01:19.799 more freedom. Maybe you how are switching careers, maybe you've 20 00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:23.959 been downsized, whatever, Maybe you want to side business. But 21 00:01:24.159 --> 00:01:27.079 we are going to talk about how to set up 22 00:01:27.319 --> 00:01:30.280 your home based business so that you make the right 23 00:01:30.359 --> 00:01:35.920 steps and avoid any missteps. Joining me is Aaron Morosick. 24 00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:39.319 She is a specialist with legal Zoom, which I have 25 00:01:39.519 --> 00:01:42.040 used to set up my businesses, and we're going to 26 00:01:42.079 --> 00:01:46.280 take you through some essential steps. Aaron, welcome to Fearless 27 00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:47.079 Fabulous You. 28 00:01:47.760 --> 00:01:49.439 Thank you, it's so great to be here. 29 00:01:50.319 --> 00:01:54.400 Well, the biggest question is, you know, I assume my 30 00:01:54.519 --> 00:01:57.359 listeners think they want to start a business, but what 31 00:01:57.439 --> 00:01:59.480 kind of business can you start? You know, we know 32 00:01:59.480 --> 00:02:04.560 they're different options between escorp, LLC, DBA and sole proprietorship. 33 00:02:04.920 --> 00:02:07.879 Can you just, with brevity lead us through those to 34 00:02:07.959 --> 00:02:12.199 understand what may work best for someone who's maybe single 35 00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:13.960 practitioner versus employees. 36 00:02:14.439 --> 00:02:16.319 Sure, I would be happy to and knowing that your 37 00:02:16.360 --> 00:02:18.560 audience is primarily female, I also want to share a 38 00:02:18.599 --> 00:02:21.879 really fun fact. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics has 39 00:02:21.960 --> 00:02:25.159 shared that last year was the highest percent of female 40 00:02:25.240 --> 00:02:28.639 self employed businesses at forty three percent. So we are 41 00:02:28.719 --> 00:02:32.280 talking to the right individuals today in terms of what 42 00:02:32.319 --> 00:02:36.400 you have to consider determine what kind of company you 43 00:02:36.439 --> 00:02:38.680 are looking to set up. Are you looking to run 44 00:02:38.680 --> 00:02:42.680 it completely by yourself with no employees, no partners, you 45 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:46.199 have very limited liability that you're worried about. If so, 46 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:48.840 a sole proprietorship could be right for you. It's very 47 00:02:48.840 --> 00:02:52.719 easy to manage. There's really no tax implications. If you 48 00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:55.400 want to potentially have employees, if you might want to 49 00:02:55.400 --> 00:02:58.800 have a partner, if you are concerned about any kind 50 00:02:58.840 --> 00:03:01.879 of lawsuits or financial implications, and you want to keep 51 00:03:01.919 --> 00:03:05.159 a barrier between your personal assets and your business assets, 52 00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:09.039 and LLC is potentially the way to go. If you're 53 00:03:09.080 --> 00:03:11.479 looking to make this pretty large. You might want to 54 00:03:11.520 --> 00:03:15.000 have shareholders, you want to have employees, you might want 55 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:18.319 to go out and earn capital, raise capital, you might 56 00:03:18.360 --> 00:03:21.240 at some point want to sell stock. A corporation is 57 00:03:21.319 --> 00:03:23.719 quite likely the right fit for you. So those are 58 00:03:23.759 --> 00:03:25.439 some of the things that you have to consider when 59 00:03:25.479 --> 00:03:28.199 you pick the entity type as you start your business. 60 00:03:28.800 --> 00:03:29.800 What about a DBA. 61 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:34.039 Yeah, so a DBA is just that's an acronym for 62 00:03:34.120 --> 00:03:37.879 doing business as So, if you pick a sole proprietorship 63 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:40.520 or an LLC or a corporation and you come up 64 00:03:40.560 --> 00:03:42.759 with a name for it, you might want to do 65 00:03:42.840 --> 00:03:46.240 business under a different name. So let's say I've started 66 00:03:46.280 --> 00:03:49.400 a business called Joey's Donuts, and now I've decided to 67 00:03:49.479 --> 00:03:52.360 launch a bagel company. I want everything to roll up 68 00:03:52.400 --> 00:03:54.479 under Joey's Donuts. But I don't want to call my 69 00:03:54.520 --> 00:03:57.879 bagel company Joey's Donuts because that could be misleading. So 70 00:03:57.919 --> 00:04:01.439 I might have a breakof that, says Debas Joey's Bagels. 71 00:04:01.960 --> 00:04:04.560 So it's just a way to rebrand if you have 72 00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:07.000 a different name you want to assign to your business. 73 00:04:08.199 --> 00:04:12.800 Great point. So you have to file paperwork and a 74 00:04:12.840 --> 00:04:15.240 lot of people may think, is it going to cost 75 00:04:15.240 --> 00:04:17.040 me a lot of money to do this? What are 76 00:04:17.079 --> 00:04:18.879 the essential paperwork you need to file? 77 00:04:19.639 --> 00:04:22.319 Yeah, So when you are ready to file your business 78 00:04:22.399 --> 00:04:25.959 articles of organization is a fancy way of saying, register 79 00:04:26.040 --> 00:04:29.800 your business with a Secretary of State. The other paperwork 80 00:04:29.879 --> 00:04:32.720 that you need is really truly state dependent. You might 81 00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:36.439 need an initial report, you might need to have different 82 00:04:37.199 --> 00:04:41.759 licenses and permits in going about this, And so as 83 00:04:41.800 --> 00:04:45.120 you're going through this, you really want to look at 84 00:04:45.160 --> 00:04:48.000 a company that can help you navigate and figure out 85 00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:51.079 what paperwork do you need depending on your state and 86 00:04:51.120 --> 00:04:52.480 each state has different rules. 87 00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:57.120 Well that's interesting, Aaron, because I have moved three states. 88 00:04:57.199 --> 00:05:01.800 So and a lot of people are working remotely in 89 00:05:01.839 --> 00:05:05.399 a digital nomads doing their job. Yeah, does it matter 90 00:05:05.399 --> 00:05:07.720 where your business is dominciled? Do you have to have 91 00:05:07.759 --> 00:05:10.000 a business? Does your business have to be where you 92 00:05:10.040 --> 00:05:12.319 are doma siled or can you have your business in 93 00:05:12.360 --> 00:05:15.079 another state because it's more advantageous to the business. 94 00:05:15.639 --> 00:05:19.040 Yeah, great question. You do not have to put your 95 00:05:19.120 --> 00:05:21.560 business in the place in which you live. Many many 96 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:25.120 people choose a state other than where they live to 97 00:05:25.360 --> 00:05:28.800 register their business. And so when you're looking at the 98 00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:31.560 rules of the road in your state, certain states have 99 00:05:31.600 --> 00:05:35.040 certain requirements, but quite often you might be running a 100 00:05:35.160 --> 00:05:38.759 national service or product, and hence it's okay to say, hey, 101 00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:41.480 I live here in California, but I am going to 102 00:05:41.519 --> 00:05:45.439 do this in Delaware for better tax implications. So yeah, 103 00:05:45.480 --> 00:05:48.519 you can really put your business and register it where 104 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:49.000 you choose. 105 00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:52.959 Well, you know, Delaware here is a big one for this. 106 00:05:53.600 --> 00:05:57.399 Who should you consult? I would assume a tax advisor 107 00:05:57.439 --> 00:06:00.839 and a lawyer? What would he? How did each help 108 00:06:00.879 --> 00:06:01.319 you with this? 109 00:06:02.040 --> 00:06:05.160 Yeah? So talking to an attorney will help you from 110 00:06:05.240 --> 00:06:09.000 the legal implications of what you're trying to accomplish. Talking 111 00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:12.319 to a tax expert, a CPA typically will help you 112 00:06:12.399 --> 00:06:15.319 with the financial and tax implications of this. So if 113 00:06:15.360 --> 00:06:17.800 you're trying to figure out what's the best place and 114 00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:21.279 what's the right entity type, both of those professions can 115 00:06:21.399 --> 00:06:26.120 help you, and they can be sometimes expensive, So using 116 00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:29.360 something like legal Zoom, where you can also access those 117 00:06:29.399 --> 00:06:32.439 types of professionals, can be a more cost effective way 118 00:06:32.519 --> 00:06:33.839 to get those answers done. 119 00:06:34.839 --> 00:06:36.920 Well. I know this is important because when I did 120 00:06:36.959 --> 00:06:40.839 move my company, when I did physically move, my company 121 00:06:40.879 --> 00:06:42.519 was still in New York and I was still getting 122 00:06:42.600 --> 00:06:44.839 letters from the New York Department of State saying I 123 00:06:44.879 --> 00:06:48.600 was not filing certain state taxes, And I said to 124 00:06:48.639 --> 00:06:51.959 my CPA, but I'm not there, but my business still was. 125 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:54.519 So I need to be mindful of that if you 126 00:06:54.600 --> 00:06:58.759 are planning to have the digital nomad life, I'm curious 127 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:02.319 because of that, have you notice any changes in how 128 00:07:03.560 --> 00:07:06.439 businesses are done and has legal Zoom come up with 129 00:07:06.519 --> 00:07:11.279 any accommodations to address what I call the remote digital 130 00:07:11.279 --> 00:07:12.240 nomad business? 131 00:07:13.319 --> 00:07:17.079 Yeah, so really, depending on whether you're a remote digital 132 00:07:17.120 --> 00:07:19.439 nomad or you're trying to do it in the state 133 00:07:19.480 --> 00:07:23.399 in which you exist today, all of that has been 134 00:07:23.439 --> 00:07:25.600 figured out on the back end through legal Zoom. So 135 00:07:26.120 --> 00:07:29.160 we have worked across all of the different fifty states 136 00:07:29.199 --> 00:07:31.680 here as well as a district of Columbia to understand 137 00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:33.680 what are the rules of the road, what are the 138 00:07:33.720 --> 00:07:36.879 legal implications, and so as you're putting in your information 139 00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:40.000 to this very easy questionnaire, it will ask you the 140 00:07:40.079 --> 00:07:43.360 right questions so that you make sure you aren't putting 141 00:07:43.399 --> 00:07:47.199 in the wrong state or the wrong location for your business. 142 00:07:47.279 --> 00:07:49.920 But let's say your example, you've moved from New York 143 00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:51.959 and now you want to have it registered in a 144 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:55.079 different location. You don't have to dissolve your business. You 145 00:07:55.120 --> 00:07:57.879 can keep it running. There's a very simple form called 146 00:07:57.920 --> 00:08:01.279 the foreign qualification where you can move the entity of 147 00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:03.879 your business from New York to wherever you've gone. If 148 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:04.680 you choose to do. 149 00:08:04.680 --> 00:08:08.040 That, that's actually very valuable because I'm actually in the 150 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:10.160 process of doing that because the State of New York 151 00:08:10.199 --> 00:08:12.800 sent me a dissolution. But then you're like, but I'm 152 00:08:12.839 --> 00:08:17.120 not dissolving the company. It gets very complicated, it really does. 153 00:08:17.560 --> 00:08:21.480 So if you are again, many individuals have a lot 154 00:08:21.480 --> 00:08:25.639 of side hustles, and do you have to set up 155 00:08:25.720 --> 00:08:29.000 individual businesses for each side hustle, and you run everything 156 00:08:29.000 --> 00:08:31.360 even if they're not related, or can you just run 157 00:08:31.360 --> 00:08:33.200 it under one entity. 158 00:08:33.279 --> 00:08:35.600 Yeah. So I don't want to give legal advice because 159 00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:38.440 I'm not an attorney, So I want to make sure 160 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:40.840 that you know, as your listeners are thinking about this, 161 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:43.480 it is really good that if you are planning to 162 00:08:43.559 --> 00:08:47.879 do multiple side hustles in different industries, potentially in different states, 163 00:08:47.879 --> 00:08:51.559 that you understand the legal ramifications of your choices. So 164 00:08:51.600 --> 00:08:53.399 I'm not going to make a blanket statement that you 165 00:08:53.440 --> 00:08:55.440 can do it all under one umbrella or all under 166 00:08:55.480 --> 00:08:58.480 one LLC, but I will tell you that at legal 167 00:08:58.559 --> 00:09:00.799 Zoom we have small business attorne needs that help with 168 00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:04.360 exactly these types of questions. And if you're trying to 169 00:09:04.399 --> 00:09:06.840 figure this out, and you know, you're obviously doing a 170 00:09:06.840 --> 00:09:09.799 lot of these, which is phenomenal. Most people are just 171 00:09:09.799 --> 00:09:11.960 figuring out the very first one. But if you're at 172 00:09:11.960 --> 00:09:13.919 the point of doing a lot of these, it is 173 00:09:13.960 --> 00:09:16.519 a really good idea to talk to an attorney and 174 00:09:16.600 --> 00:09:18.799 to make sure that you are getting your documents in 175 00:09:18.919 --> 00:09:20.799 order and you're setting it up correctly so that you 176 00:09:20.799 --> 00:09:23.360 don't get yourself in a pickle later on. And like 177 00:09:23.399 --> 00:09:26.080 I said, if you are seeking an attorney, either you 178 00:09:26.120 --> 00:09:28.759 already have one in your network, which is fantastic, Or 179 00:09:28.799 --> 00:09:31.399 you don't, you can visit legal Zoom and they've already 180 00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:33.559 vetted a whole network of small business attorneys. 181 00:09:34.600 --> 00:09:36.639 Yeah. I think it's really helpful because it's kind of 182 00:09:36.679 --> 00:09:39.879 like a go to source. What are some other considerations 183 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:43.879 that individuals should think about when they're starting a business 184 00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:45.720 other than what we've touched on. 185 00:09:46.279 --> 00:09:49.039 Yeah, So some things that people need to think about is, 186 00:09:49.080 --> 00:09:53.840 you know, creating their website, potentially setting up their bank account. 187 00:09:53.960 --> 00:09:55.960 So in order to set up a business bank account, 188 00:09:56.039 --> 00:09:58.799 you would need an EI in which you can get 189 00:09:58.840 --> 00:10:01.759 when you form your business, making sure that you have 190 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:04.600 your books in order. What we see a lot, especially 191 00:10:04.639 --> 00:10:08.159 this time of year being tax season, is small businesses 192 00:10:08.480 --> 00:10:12.559 did not separate their business expenses from their personal expenses. 193 00:10:12.600 --> 00:10:14.879 They're running it all on the same credit card, and 194 00:10:14.919 --> 00:10:17.600 that can make it really complicated at tax time. So 195 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:20.759 at minimum, even if you don't get a business bank account, 196 00:10:20.960 --> 00:10:24.279 get a separate credit card, run those business expenses in 197 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:27.159 one place and your personal expenses in another. It will 198 00:10:27.240 --> 00:10:30.480 save you hours at tax time. The other thing you 199 00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:33.799 should really think about is intellectual property. Do you need 200 00:10:33.879 --> 00:10:36.360 a trademark? Do you need a copyright? Do you need 201 00:10:36.399 --> 00:10:39.360 a patent? If you do, make sure that you are 202 00:10:39.480 --> 00:10:42.080 working with an attorney to get those things done. They 203 00:10:42.080 --> 00:10:45.919 are really really complicated processes of which we are here 204 00:10:45.960 --> 00:10:48.639 to help if you should seek that. And then the 205 00:10:48.720 --> 00:10:51.480 last thing I would say is a state planning. If 206 00:10:51.519 --> 00:10:54.879 you have family of any kind, which most of us do, 207 00:10:55.240 --> 00:10:57.320 it's good to have a willer a trust. If you 208 00:10:57.399 --> 00:11:00.120 have a business, you really should have a willer a 209 00:11:00.200 --> 00:11:02.600 trust because you want to make sure that that business 210 00:11:03.159 --> 00:11:07.159 has protections around it so that your heirrors know exactly 211 00:11:07.159 --> 00:11:09.039 what was intended and it doesn't get caught up in 212 00:11:09.080 --> 00:11:11.519 the court system. So those are some other things that 213 00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:14.360 I would encourage your listeners to think about once they 214 00:11:14.360 --> 00:11:15.639 get their business off the ground. 215 00:11:16.159 --> 00:11:17.919 Well, that's so interesting because I never would have thought 216 00:11:17.960 --> 00:11:19.759 about the will of the trust. You know. I want 217 00:11:19.759 --> 00:11:24.039 to add also, and you'll agree, have a have an 218 00:11:24.080 --> 00:11:27.600 attorney review your contracts. Don't just you know, well, you 219 00:11:27.639 --> 00:11:29.519 can go and get forms and do fill in the 220 00:11:29.559 --> 00:11:33.279 blank contracts. Every business is different, whether you're selling a 221 00:11:33.320 --> 00:11:37.039 product or a service, and it's important to have a 222 00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:39.480 master contract ready. 223 00:11:39.759 --> 00:11:43.919 Yes, and have the attorney review it before it gets signed. 224 00:11:44.279 --> 00:11:46.559 What we have found a lot of times is when 225 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:50.120 our customers call into our attorneys and they say, hey, 226 00:11:50.919 --> 00:11:53.720 I have this situation. Can you help me out? And 227 00:11:53.759 --> 00:11:56.960 the attorney says, well, you've already signed it, so now 228 00:11:56.960 --> 00:12:00.279 it's really difficult to unwine that. Let's review the terms 229 00:12:00.279 --> 00:12:03.399 of your contract prior to signature so that you are 230 00:12:03.440 --> 00:12:05.840 set up for success. So I totally agree with you. 231 00:12:05.879 --> 00:12:08.799 If you are creating a contract of any kind, it's 232 00:12:08.960 --> 00:12:11.080 very good to get an attorney's eyeballs on that to 233 00:12:11.159 --> 00:12:14.360 make sure before it gets inked, it is in a 234 00:12:14.399 --> 00:12:15.360 place you want. 235 00:12:15.200 --> 00:12:18.120 It to be exactly. And I think it's really important 236 00:12:18.120 --> 00:12:21.639 that everyone you realize that an email cont well, everybody 237 00:12:21.639 --> 00:12:24.399 that's PDFs, you need to always have a file with 238 00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:29.440 hard copies available as well of everything, because I've been 239 00:12:29.480 --> 00:12:33.120 down that path. So you've got to have those contracts, 240 00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:36.159 handshake deals, emails. Yeah, let's do it. 241 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:39.440 That doesn't work, no, I mean, you know, in an 242 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:42.440 ideal world it would, but you know, we are a 243 00:12:42.559 --> 00:12:47.519 litigious society and having an inked contract is in your 244 00:12:47.559 --> 00:12:49.360 best interest as a business owner. 245 00:12:49.960 --> 00:12:53.200 And I think another point, while I still have you 246 00:12:53.480 --> 00:12:55.519 for your time, is that you need to think about 247 00:12:55.519 --> 00:12:57.120 business insurance. 248 00:12:57.279 --> 00:13:01.240 Yes, yep. And so as you're thinking about the industry 249 00:13:01.840 --> 00:13:03.799 or even the state in which you're in, the type 250 00:13:03.840 --> 00:13:07.200 of insurance that you need could vary. Some require a 251 00:13:07.240 --> 00:13:10.279 significant amount of insurance. Especially let's say you're you're a 252 00:13:10.320 --> 00:13:12.960 restaurant or a bar and you're going to have people 253 00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:15.399 on site and you're going to be serving food or alcohol. 254 00:13:15.759 --> 00:13:16.519 You're going to need a. 255 00:13:16.480 --> 00:13:20.279 Lot more insurance than say someone who's doing marketing consulting work, 256 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:24.000 and you know, offering marketing ideas to companies. So really 257 00:13:24.080 --> 00:13:26.840 understanding the rules of the road of what you're offering 258 00:13:26.879 --> 00:13:29.120 and making sure that you have the right coverage to 259 00:13:29.240 --> 00:13:29.679 cover you. 260 00:13:29.679 --> 00:13:32.240 Even if it's a home based business and you really 261 00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:36.120 are just working with your computer or like me, podcast equipment, 262 00:13:36.480 --> 00:13:42.720 make sure you're covered with the technology clause as a writer, yep. Absolutely, 263 00:13:43.320 --> 00:13:45.919 And that also includes your intellectual property. You touched on 264 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:49.039 intellectual property. You know, I'm a big believer in owning 265 00:13:49.039 --> 00:13:52.120 your name and your copyright. And also make sure you 266 00:13:52.159 --> 00:13:56.080 own your domain and all the little dot nets and 267 00:13:56.840 --> 00:13:57.879 dot dot dot. 268 00:13:57.799 --> 00:14:01.960 You red, yes, the dot net, you know, every single 269 00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:04.240 version of it. And the thing that people do really 270 00:14:04.279 --> 00:14:07.000 well is get that set up. The thing that people 271 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:09.679 can fall down on is monitoring it. So once you 272 00:14:09.799 --> 00:14:13.200 do set up that trademark, create a trademark monitoring service 273 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:15.960 so that you are making sure no one is infringing 274 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:19.720 on your trademark or your domains. That's really critical. 275 00:14:20.440 --> 00:14:22.480 Yeah, and I don't think people realize how important that 276 00:14:22.559 --> 00:14:25.279 is until you realize somebody has just you know, used 277 00:14:25.320 --> 00:14:29.879 your name or your your tagline in their marketing. Which happened. 278 00:14:29.879 --> 00:14:33.759 Happened to me, so fortunately I was trademarked, Aaron. I 279 00:14:33.799 --> 00:14:37.279 know you have limited time with me. I value everything 280 00:14:37.320 --> 00:14:39.679 you've said. Any parting words. 281 00:14:40.519 --> 00:14:42.879 I would say, you know, to your female listeners out there, 282 00:14:42.919 --> 00:14:45.960 whether you're in early stage career or a later stage career, 283 00:14:46.720 --> 00:14:49.519 now is the time to pursue that passion. Really just 284 00:14:49.639 --> 00:14:53.320 believe in yourself. Give it a try. It's the most 285 00:14:53.360 --> 00:14:55.960 cost effective, easiest time to give this a try. And 286 00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:58.120 if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. But really go 287 00:14:58.159 --> 00:15:00.840 out there and believe in yourself. You are amongst many 288 00:15:00.919 --> 00:15:02.960 many females that are doing this today, and I know 289 00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:06.000 you have some male listeners as well, so just really 290 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:08.919 give it a try and know that you know legal 291 00:15:08.960 --> 00:15:11.840 zoom can help you as you do this, and talk 292 00:15:11.879 --> 00:15:14.879 to your friends and family. Listen to podcasts like these 293 00:15:14.960 --> 00:15:18.120 where you can get tips. You know, visit different platforms 294 00:15:18.120 --> 00:15:21.000 where you can learn about starting a business. I think 295 00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:23.639 you'll really find it to be quite a lot of fun. 296 00:15:24.519 --> 00:15:27.240 Well, Aaron Moroasick with legal Zoom, thank you for joining 297 00:15:27.279 --> 00:15:30.600 me with your expertise. Listeners, hang in there because I'm 298 00:15:30.639 --> 00:15:34.039 going to give you some of my time tested I've 299 00:15:34.080 --> 00:15:37.519 been there, done that tips. After Aaron leaves, thank you 300 00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:38.919 so much. You're welcome. 301 00:15:38.960 --> 00:15:39.720 Thank you for having me. 302 00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:46.000 Absolutely. That was Aaron Morozek with legal Zoom. I have 303 00:15:46.200 --> 00:15:52.080 used legal Zoom myself for setting up the Connected Table. 304 00:15:52.679 --> 00:15:55.639 Before that, I had a company called em Young Communications. 305 00:15:55.679 --> 00:15:59.519 So let me just share with you some of my 306 00:16:00.120 --> 00:16:03.759 tips for setting up a business. First of all, really 307 00:16:03.799 --> 00:16:09.159 put down on paper what you want your business to be. 308 00:16:10.159 --> 00:16:13.440 I think it's really important to understand what is this, 309 00:16:13.840 --> 00:16:16.159 Why do you want to start a business, and what 310 00:16:16.200 --> 00:16:19.120 do you want your business to be? Create a business 311 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:26.799 mission statement. Figure out from the beginning how you're going 312 00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:29.399 to make money running your business. A lot of great 313 00:16:29.399 --> 00:16:33.240 ideas are out there, but they don't necessarily generate money. 314 00:16:34.200 --> 00:16:37.960 Podcasts don't necessarily generate money, but they are great marketing 315 00:16:38.039 --> 00:16:42.679 tools to help promote businesses. My main business is the 316 00:16:42.720 --> 00:16:47.679 Connected Table. It is a consulting business in wine and 317 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:53.200 business development, and I promote through the Connected Table Live 318 00:16:53.559 --> 00:16:57.080 Fearless Fabulous You came up the podcast because I wrote 319 00:16:57.080 --> 00:17:00.759 a book by the same name called Fearless Fabulous You, 320 00:17:01.440 --> 00:17:04.920 Lessons on living life on your Terms. And I decided 321 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:09.839 that rather than higher expensive marketing public relations people I 322 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:12.880 am that I have a background, that I would create 323 00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:18.440 my own voice and become part of the message, which 324 00:17:18.440 --> 00:17:22.079 is why I created this podcast. I felt very passionate 325 00:17:22.119 --> 00:17:25.279 about wanting to help women, and I had a book 326 00:17:25.279 --> 00:17:27.720 that I was selling and it's still out there. You 327 00:17:27.759 --> 00:17:30.799 can buy it on Amazon and many other sites, including 328 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:33.960 my own Melanie Youong dot com. And I had another book, 329 00:17:34.279 --> 00:17:37.359 Getting Things Off My Chest, A Survivor's Guide to Staying 330 00:17:37.400 --> 00:17:40.440 Fearless and Fabulous in the face of breast cancer. So 331 00:17:40.599 --> 00:17:45.240 this show became my platform to connect with women and 332 00:17:45.440 --> 00:17:48.119 help them. And I have been asked as a business 333 00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:53.240 consultant often to help women ideize, idealize their business to 334 00:17:53.279 --> 00:17:57.039 help them move forward. I do not have tax expertise. 335 00:17:57.200 --> 00:17:59.680 I do not have legal expertise. I am not an 336 00:17:59.680 --> 00:18:03.559 ins and specialists, and I'm not a technology specialist. But 337 00:18:03.640 --> 00:18:05.440 I have worked with all of them to set up 338 00:18:05.559 --> 00:18:08.480 my businesses, and I know what mistakes can be made. 339 00:18:08.680 --> 00:18:11.720 And when Aaron talked about and I talked about registering 340 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:15.119 the name of your business, that is a good smart 341 00:18:15.279 --> 00:18:18.559 step to trademark the name of your business. It will 342 00:18:18.599 --> 00:18:23.160 cost you, but it is worth it. All the documentation 343 00:18:23.400 --> 00:18:25.559 you need in the paper trail is worth it because 344 00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:29.759 you do not want to get into tax snaffoos, as 345 00:18:29.839 --> 00:18:31.960 I was very clear about. When I moved from New 346 00:18:32.039 --> 00:18:35.519 York to Tennessee to now New Orleans, I had to 347 00:18:35.559 --> 00:18:38.039 deal with the New York state tax people and get 348 00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:41.720 a CPA involved because I was penalized for not filing 349 00:18:42.079 --> 00:18:44.400 sales tax in a state I no longer lived in 350 00:18:44.440 --> 00:18:47.480 because I was so busy bopping around being a digital nomad. 351 00:18:47.960 --> 00:18:52.279 So think as you move and realize every step you take, 352 00:18:52.440 --> 00:18:55.039 every move you make, there will be a tax implication 353 00:18:55.559 --> 00:18:57.680 that you need to think about. So have a very 354 00:18:57.720 --> 00:19:01.559 good tax advisor and a very good attorney that you 355 00:19:01.599 --> 00:19:05.640 can call on. My home based business is very simple. 356 00:19:06.440 --> 00:19:08.480 I am not paid by any of the companies that 357 00:19:08.920 --> 00:19:14.119 I mentioned, but I registered all of my domains through 358 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:18.880 go Daddy. I like their service. They have saved me 359 00:19:19.000 --> 00:19:22.680 a lot of money. I was using another couple of 360 00:19:23.279 --> 00:19:27.200 domain registrars before I just moved everything to go Daddy. 361 00:19:27.480 --> 00:19:30.720 It was simple. I've been very happy with them. I 362 00:19:30.799 --> 00:19:35.759 get no commission on that. I have a wonderful website developer. 363 00:19:35.880 --> 00:19:39.759 She's very reasonable. I do get referral bonuses. The name 364 00:19:39.839 --> 00:19:43.079 is webbing w E B E n E dot com. 365 00:19:43.119 --> 00:19:46.599 Her name is Monica. If you write me at Melanie 366 00:19:46.599 --> 00:19:50.119 at Melanie youong dot com Melanie M E L A 367 00:19:50.279 --> 00:19:52.599 n I E at Melanie Youong dot com, I am 368 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:55.839 more than happy to connect you with Monica. She is awesome. 369 00:19:56.400 --> 00:20:00.359 She has designed both Theconnected table dot com and you 370 00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:02.680 dot com, and many of my friends have used her 371 00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:06.680 because she is reasonable, fast, smart, and I also pay 372 00:20:06.759 --> 00:20:10.319 Monica to just go in and clean things up and 373 00:20:10.599 --> 00:20:14.039 monitor my website for me. Go Daddy does that from 374 00:20:14.079 --> 00:20:16.279 one end, but Monica kind of goes in at the 375 00:20:16.279 --> 00:20:19.640 other end to make sure that there's no weird things happening, 376 00:20:19.759 --> 00:20:21.839 or when I do something really dumb like try to 377 00:20:21.960 --> 00:20:25.039 post something screw up the design. I know I can 378 00:20:25.079 --> 00:20:29.200 contact Monica to fix it because I can't. Go Daddy 379 00:20:29.240 --> 00:20:31.400 has been really great as well when I've had some 380 00:20:32.440 --> 00:20:36.160 malware issues. I mean, you know, listen, spend the money 381 00:20:36.200 --> 00:20:39.440 to get all the you know, different products to protect 382 00:20:39.440 --> 00:20:43.920 your website, whether it's askimat or anything about malware. Again, 383 00:20:44.400 --> 00:20:46.680 Go Daddy is a great source to recommend for that 384 00:20:46.720 --> 00:20:49.160 you don't have to use all their products. Monica has 385 00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:52.119 been really helpful in advising me as well. What I 386 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:56.000 bottom line, make sure you have a trusted technology partner 387 00:20:56.400 --> 00:21:00.480 to help you with your website and your email and 388 00:21:00.680 --> 00:21:03.400 also setting up your social media. You're going to want 389 00:21:03.440 --> 00:21:06.119 to have a really great social media page for your 390 00:21:06.160 --> 00:21:10.920 business with what we call a CTA, a call to action. 391 00:21:11.400 --> 00:21:14.799 The call to action is contact us, let's do business, 392 00:21:15.079 --> 00:21:19.759 Email me, here's our phone, buy it now. It's the 393 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:25.200 activity you want your fans, listeners, potential customers to do 394 00:21:25.359 --> 00:21:28.680 to take the next step. Make sure you've got all 395 00:21:28.759 --> 00:21:31.319 that information set up so if they're ready to try, 396 00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:36.359 buy or sign, you've got the paperwork, you've got the shopify, 397 00:21:36.559 --> 00:21:41.319 You've got all the detail you need to seal the deal. 398 00:21:42.359 --> 00:21:45.440 As a consultant. I mind, it is very simple. I 399 00:21:45.480 --> 00:21:48.680 have a contract. I had it vetted by a lawyer. No, 400 00:21:48.759 --> 00:21:50.880 I have not had it vetted lots of times. I 401 00:21:50.920 --> 00:21:54.359