479. The Biggest Money Mistake Podcasters Make

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Good morning podcasting, Morning
Chat.

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Today is Monday, March 23rd,
2026, and today it's our first

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Money Mondays with Ralph Estep,
and we're taking a closer look

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at a money issue many creators
overlook until it starts

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creating bigger problems over
time.

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So if you're listening live on
Clubhouse, hit the share button,

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bottom left hand side of the
screen and share it.

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However, Clubhouse lets you.
And if you're catching us via

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podcast, YouTube, LinkedIn,
etcetera, please share this with

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a fellow podcaster.
And now give us about 30 seconds

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and we'll get things rolling.
Thanks for being here.

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Podcasting Morning Chat is
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creators build real business

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behind their content.
Good morning again Podcasting

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Morning Chat.
Thank you so much for being

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here.
I am your host Mark Ronick and

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currently on stage with me.
We have a full house.

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We have Dr. Faye, Jonathan
Howard, Alex Baelish, Ralphie

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Steps, Sid Meadows and also oh,
Nick Naulback and also BC

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Babbles and then Tim and Tide
has joined us from the audience

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today.
I was just putting in the chat.

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I was a little moderator button
heavy this morning.

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I just started making everyone
moderators of the clubhouse

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room.
So enjoy that green bean and you

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know what that means if you are
on Clubhouse and welcome to our

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live video streaming audience as
well.

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Today we are getting into a new
series and it does not mean that

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obsession Worthy podcast is
going away.

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It just means we're trying some
new things out with the

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podcasting morning chat and
Ralph is going to every so often

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take the lead on Money Mondays
appropriately.

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So 1st, a couple of quick
housekeeping items for you that

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I think as a podcaster content
creator, this is all stuff that

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is important to you first if you
are in the DC area.

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Thursday March 26th, I'm hosting
a meet up at Pinstripes in North

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Bethesda.
I'm doing this with my friend

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Christina Vitovic.
She is from Women Getting

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Visible.
This is a free event to attend.

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It starts at 5:30 PM Eastern.
It's a happy hour networking

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type event.
Will meet a lot of cool content

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creators there.
Come join us and you will find a

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link in the show notes.
And just a quick reminder again,

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Obsession Worthy podcast does
return March 30th, that's next

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Monday.
Jonathan Howard will be breaking

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down an episode of the podcast
20,000 Hertz and their episode

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Hamilton.
It's episode 36 to be specific.

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And again, that will be in the
show notes as well.

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But you can also go to
podcastingmorningchat.com/OWP to

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get that information and listen
to other episodes we've done

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with Jonathan.
And finally, I will say this,

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evaluation episodes are coming
back a week from this Thursday.

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And if you want to apply to have
an episode of your podcast

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evaluated by this friendly team,
I say that because I don't want

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anyone being scared to do this.
I have come across some

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podcasters that say they want to
do it, but they're hesitating

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because they're very fearful of
putting themselves out there.

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But I promise you we are gentle.
We are honest, but we are gentle

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at the same time.
So check the show notes for that

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link or go to
podcastingmorningchat.com/eval

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EVAL.
All right, so today we are going

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to be talking with Ralph Estep,
A licensed accountant, a content

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creator and as many of you know,
he runs Content

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creatorsaccountant.com.
And I know that we are going to

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discuss these money mistakes and
probably your biggest one that

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you see Ralph working with lots
of content creators.

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So with that, I will hand the
baton to you.

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Go for it.
Good morning, Mark, and thank

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you so much for having me here
today on this beautiful Monday

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morning.
So we're going to start with a

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simple question for the room.
And this is what I do for a

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living.
So I want to get the feel from

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everybody else, and how many of
you currently have your creator

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income landing in the same
account that you use for

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groceries and everyday spending?
This is in a judgement zone.

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I'm telling you right now.
This is extremely common, but I

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just wanted to hear from
everybody.

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Where are you currently doing
this?

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I'll start, but I do want
everybody to chime in here.

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And I guess what you're talking
about here, Ralph, is like, for

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example, if we have a credit
card, are we using that credit

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card for both groceries and
buying the new sure microphone?

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Absolutely.
That's exactly what I'm talking

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about.
It's a fancy word in accounting

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lingo called commingling.
But basically what that means in

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accounting lingo is that
everything is in the same

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bucket.
But that's what I'm questioning

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right now.
How many people are doing that?

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Raise your hands and come up on
stage and let's hear from you.

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So for me, I will say that the
vast majority of my expenses and

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I'm hesitating because Ralph is
my accountant.

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So I'm ready for him to at least
behind the scenes to me, like

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Mark, what are you doing?
But I think the vast majority of

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my charges are separate.
I do have a dedicated card that

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I use for my business expenses.
Now where why I'm hesitating is

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because I fully admit there are
times that I'll go to that

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business card for a personal
expense and vice versa.

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So I don't, I can't say I'm
perfectly 100% clean separation

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of those two cards.
But yeah, I'd say for the most

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part that's me.
Now, Sid, I saw you with the

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thumbs down and that surprises
me.

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Is that true?
And again, like Ralph said, no,

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not, no judgement here 'cause I
do that all the time, right?

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But I'm curious about you, Sid
'cause you gave us the thumbs

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down.
Good morning.

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Good morning, everybody.
So my thumbs down was, I think

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the question was how many of you
have everything commingled?

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And my thumbs down was, no, I
don't have them.

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Like, Nah, that's bad.
OK, that's.

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OK.
Yeah, no mine, yeah, no, mine

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are all separate.
All all of my businesses versus

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my personal account are all
separate.

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Gotcha.
OK, cool.

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Yeah, that's what I just kind of
assumed with you.

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Sid DRI saw you wanted to chime
in.

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Go for it.
Good morning.

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Good morning.
So yeah, true confession time.

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I was commingling pretty heavily
up until January 1st, when, you

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know, this is Ralph's influence
on me being on this show and

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hearing Ralph speak.
I made a promise to myself that

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I would stop the commingling and
so far, so far so good.

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Nice.
OK, so you have now 2 separate

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cards, one for personal, one for
business.

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Cool.
Anybody else want to chime in?

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OK, Ralph.
Now I want to talk about why

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this is so important because,
you know, it's one thing to say,

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hey, you should do this, but I
want to get into a little bit of

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why this is so important.
I want to talk today about when

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you should start separating
because I think maybe, Mark, we

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go there first.
Actually, a lot of people say to

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me, Ralph, because I work with a
lot of content creators and

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they'll say Ralh, yeah, once I
get that brand deal or once I

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start monetizing, once I start
doing this, once I start doing

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that, and my position is once
you start is too late.

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And I understand that there is a
difference between those of us

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who are business podcasts and I
mean business from the

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standpoint of operating it as a
business and others who are

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operating it as a hobby.
But even if you're going to

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operate it as a hobby, I was
asked on the show a couple weeks

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ago, they said, when should you
start doing this?

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I said before you start your
podcast.

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And they said, wait a second, we
don't even know what we're going

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to do.
I think you start before that

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point.
And the reason you start before

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that point is because you never
know when something's going to

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happen.
You don't know when you're going

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to get that brand deal, when
you're going to get that

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sponsorship, when all of a
sudden you have the ability to

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monetize.
And then what happens, Mark, for

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all the time, somebody will get
that dreaded 1099.

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Now, I'm a jargon here a little
bit.

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A 1099 is a form that someone
sends you when they pay you

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money.
Sorry, I had to do it.

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Didn't mean to interrupt your
flow there, but I had to do it.

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But it's a valid point because
I'll and I call me out today if

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I use any jargon terms.
I try not to, but a 1099 is

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basically someone way of saying
I paid you during the prior

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year.
So they have to report that to

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the state.
They report that to the IRS.

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And what absolutely happens all
the time with creators is they

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get this 1099 in January or
February.

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With some of my other clients,
they don't quite send them out

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on time, but that's OK.
They send them out and then all

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of a sudden the person starts to
panic and they say, Ralph, what

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do I do with this?
I wasn't expecting this guy and

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I, we were just friends and I
did some work for him.

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He did some work for me.
The problem is now you've got a

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situation because now the IRS is
looking for, and I'm going to

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throw Mark under the bus here.
If Mark got one of these 1090

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nines, the IRS is looking OK.
Mark, are you going to put this

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on your tax return?
Well, if you wait until March or

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April to go back and say what
happened last year, you're going

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to struggle.
And I see that.

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That's why I think you need to
start separating these things

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out at the front end basically
as you're starting.

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And the problem is so many
people learn this the hard way.

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They learn it the hard way
because somebody like me says to

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them, hey, guess what, Mark, you
owe $10,000 in tax this year and

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you go Ralph that, wait a
second, I don't even have

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$10,000 in the business anymore.
It was spent here, was spent

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there.
I was like, OK, that's fine, but

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where was it spent?
And that's why it's so important

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to start that out at the
beginning.

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The other side of this, and I'll
get into this a little bit

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deeper later, the IRS loves
commingling.

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The reason they love commingling
is that is their biggest audit.

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They, when they see that, they
go after you because here's the

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problem.
If they see it one time, they

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just assume it's pervasive.
So I'm going to ask the room a

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question now.
Did anyone today say, well, I've

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never heard of this, I don't
have even thought about

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separating it.
Does anybody want to talk about,

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hey, this is news to me Or has
this already sort of been out

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there?
Everybody kind of knew what was

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going.
Well, I know for me, I've always

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attempted it that way.
But yeah, Dr. go ahead.

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I knew what was going on.
It's just hard.

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Once you start commingling, it's
hard to break that habit.

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And yeah, I knew that it was
wrong or that I should not have

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done it, but things came up and,
you know, I've hopefully,

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hopefully I've corrected it as
of January 1st.

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I know that sometimes some
people just, they don't think,

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oh, well, maybe I wouldn't
qualify to get a business card,

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right?
Like I need an actual corporate

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card.
But I think that's just not the

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case, right, Ralph?
No, absolutely.

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And that's what I want to answer
Nikki's question in the chat

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also, because I think those two
things go hand in hand.

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I am.
I'm not saying that you need to

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go get a business card or a
business checking account.

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If you can.
I think that's a great thing to

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do.
I think it sets you up for

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success.
But if you don't have those

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things, you can go get one of
your credit cards out of your

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wallet and say this is the
credit card I'm going to use for

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business.
This is the credit card I'm

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going to use for personal.
I'll tell you a funny story.

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I had a client a few years back
and I may have shared this on

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the show.
He was a plumber and every year

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he would come in and I might
say, dude, look, we need to

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separate your finance.
He goes, oh, but Ralph, I'm out

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shopping or out doing this and I
just grab whatever card I can

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grab.
Mark, I said hand me your cards

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and I took 2 little sticky notes
and I wrote AB for business and

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00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:58,640
AP for personal.
And I've I've stuck them to his

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00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:00,800
cards.
And to this day when he comes in

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00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:04,000
and sees me, he's got him, he's
got him cellophane taped on the

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00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,160
front cellophane, but that's an
old term I haven't used forever.

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00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:08,880
But it's got he's got it taped
to his car because he doesn't

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00:12:08,880 --> 00:12:11,840
want to mix that up.
So Nikki, what you were talking

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about Mark, first of all, to
answer your question, no, it

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doesn't have to be a quote
corporate account.

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00:12:15,680 --> 00:12:17,760
It doesn't have to be a Co
corporate checking account.

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That's great if you can do that.
I think that's a good thing to

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do.
But Nikki, the issue is this.

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The IRS comes in and they want
to make sure there's separation.

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00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:29,800
Give you a great example, Let's
say that you go to Best Buy and

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you want to buy a new microphone
for your recording.

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00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:35,160
That's fantastic.
That's clearly a business

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00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:38,720
purchased, but at the same time,
you go to Best Buy and maybe you

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00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:41,040
buy a game console or you buy
something like that.

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00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:43,480
Then all of a sudden the IRS
says, well, I see you've got all

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00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:47,040
these Best Buy charges coded as
business expenses, but how do we

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00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:49,320
really know that they are
business expenses?

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00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:50,680
And it's kind of like one of
those things.

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00:12:50,680 --> 00:12:53,520
Once they sense blood in the
water, I know it's a horrible

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00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:57,480
analogy, but they go after it.
I have had so many clients that

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00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:00,640
made one mistake or just didn't
do a good job of separating

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00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:02,800
things.
And once they did that, the IRS

250
00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:06,040
said, so as an accountant, as
I've been doing this for 30

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00:13:06,120 --> 00:13:08,160
years, professionally licensed
and all those sort of things,

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that is like the biggest thing
when I was teasing today's show,

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00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:15,240
the biggest money mistake that I
see content creators doing and

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00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:17,720
small business people creating
is this not keeping tough

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00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:19,520
separate.
Now, the other reason it's

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00:13:19,520 --> 00:13:21,800
important to keep it separate is
you want to know how you're

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doing.
One of the things that I hear

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00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:26,520
content creators all the time,
I'll say to them, how are you

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00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:28,800
doing with your business side of
content creation?

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00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:31,840
Rafael, I'm not really sure.
If you don't know, how do you

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00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:33,640
measure success?
You know, we talk on the show

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all the time about your why for
podcasting, how you're going to

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00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:39,320
measure success.
Well, if you're doing it for a

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00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:43,160
business purpose, if your goal
is, I want to be a good side

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00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:45,280
hustle, I want to be this a
replacement for my income.

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If you're not measuring that,
you're never going to know how

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00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:51,320
well you're actually doing
because a lot of people get

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00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:53,480
stuck on, well, there's money in
the bank.

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00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:56,160
I have revenue dollars coming
in, but I ask people all the

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00:13:56,160 --> 00:13:57,960
time, OK, what was your take
home?

271
00:13:57,960 --> 00:13:59,560
What was your net profit last
month?

272
00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:01,800
And I hear crickets.
So I, I don't want to talk the

273
00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:03,240
whole time.
I want to open this up to other

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00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:06,040
people's questions and ideas.
But you know, I this is, I see

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00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:09,080
this all the time and so many
content creators behind the

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00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:12,160
scenes, it's a tornado and
tornadoes just lead to

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00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:13,280
destruction.
Yeah.

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00:14:13,280 --> 00:14:16,080
So I don't know if you have a
question or not, Ralph, but I'll

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00:14:16,080 --> 00:14:19,360
ask you.
I mean, you've been, I know you

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00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:21,200
work with a lot of content
creators.

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00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:24,720
So what have you actually seen?
I know you probably have dealt

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00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:29,280
with audits as well, right?
So what have you actually seen

283
00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:32,000
in audits when people don't keep
their business and their

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00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:34,680
personal finances separate?
I'll give you an example of

285
00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:35,560
that.
I was, I'll give you a quick

286
00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:36,800
story.
I was working with a content

287
00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:40,200
creator, had a successful
podcast, and he had sponsors

288
00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:41,520
coming in.
He was actually selling

289
00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:44,720
merchandise.
He had a Patreon site and

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00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:46,760
everything looked great.
But like I said, behind the

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00:14:46,760 --> 00:14:49,520
scenes, his money was a tornado.
And I say it was a tornado

292
00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:50,960
because everything was mixed
together.

293
00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:54,000
His personal, his business, his
mortgage came out, his

294
00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:55,640
groceries.
Amazon.

295
00:14:55,800 --> 00:14:57,280
Don't let me get started on
Amazon.

296
00:14:57,280 --> 00:15:01,000
Amazon is a brutal one because
so many people buy so much stuff

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00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:02,040
on Amazon.
But yeah.

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00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:04,440
And I'm going to stop you right
there too, Ralph, with the with

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00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:08,720
the Amazon thing that drives me
crazy is that they don't provide

300
00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:12,040
really any reporting.
You have to actually just go

301
00:15:12,040 --> 00:15:16,840
into your order history and go
through each and every day that

302
00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:20,600
you've made a purchase and then
on your own, decipher whether

303
00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:22,920
that was for your business or
personal.

304
00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:26,080
And it gets really tedious
really quickly, especially if

305
00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:28,920
you're waiting until tax season
to do that and.

306
00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:31,040
That's one of the reasons I
don't know if you know this or

307
00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:32,240
not, Mark.
You can actually set up a

308
00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:34,440
separate Amazon business
account.

309
00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:36,880
And that's one of the things I
recommend people to do.

310
00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:38,000
If you buy a lot of stuff on
Amazon.

311
00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:40,080
Look, Amazon stops at my house
three times a day.

312
00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:41,920
Like the guy goes in the
withdrawal if there's not, if

313
00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:43,240
he's not stopping here on the
farm.

314
00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:46,280
But you can actually set up a
separate login.

315
00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:49,240
And I really recommend that.
Set up a separate login and

316
00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:52,320
track all of those business
expenses through that so that

317
00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:55,760
you could say with certainty,
yeah, if I spent money on Amazon

318
00:15:55,760 --> 00:15:57,960
for the business, it went
through this account.

319
00:15:57,960 --> 00:15:59,880
You can tie a separate credit
card to all that.

320
00:15:59,880 --> 00:16:01,440
But that's a brilliant
observation, Mark.

321
00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:04,240
And it's it's one of the ones I
see auditors are having a field

322
00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:07,600
day because they know all,
everybody's buying stuff through

323
00:16:07,640 --> 00:16:09,880
Amazon and Target and
walmart.com.

324
00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:12,080
And I'm, I'm not trying to throw
Amazon or the bus, but it

325
00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:15,360
happens everyday, Mark.
So, so yeah, that's interesting.

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00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:19,360
So is there any other advantage
besides keeping the two accounts

327
00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:22,080
separately?
What are there any advantages

328
00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:25,960
for creators to open up a
separate Amazon business account

329
00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:27,680
other than keeping things
separate?

330
00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:30,760
Yeah, there's reward programs
too there and I get pushed these

331
00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:32,880
all the time.
They're spending rewards is how

332
00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:34,760
much you spend rewards, all
those type of things.

333
00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:36,960
There's definitely a lot of
things and that's where, and I

334
00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:40,560
know Jonathan Howard put in the
chat, he says love my rewards on

335
00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:41,920
that thing.
Yeah, absolutely.

336
00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:45,080
And that's the other benefit to
having a separate credit card is

337
00:16:45,080 --> 00:16:47,280
you can use that for rewards.
If you're doing travel, if

338
00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:51,240
you're going to go to Empower
podcasting #3 hey, charge that

339
00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:53,480
on your credit card.
Put your hotel on there, put all

340
00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:56,240
your reservations and all your
meals and all that stuff on

341
00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:57,720
there.
But that's the problem, Mark, is

342
00:16:57,720 --> 00:16:59,520
that people don't do that from
the front end.

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00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:01,560
Then when you go to put it
together, Mark, you nailed it.

344
00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:04,520
What did I buy on Amazon?
Oh, these kids expenses, the

345
00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:08,079
groceries and the problem is
they all get buried in the same

346
00:17:08,079 --> 00:17:09,319
account.
And then you have to ask

347
00:17:09,319 --> 00:17:11,680
yourself, OK, what was this for?
What was this for?

348
00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:13,560
And the the problem is then you
get audited.

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00:17:13,839 --> 00:17:16,319
OK, and then you think, and, and
here's another sidetrack.

350
00:17:16,319 --> 00:17:19,000
A lot of people think, well, if
I've got the credit card receipt

351
00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:20,640
or credit card statement, that's
enough.

352
00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:22,800
Well, guess what?
Spoiler alert, that's not

353
00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:25,839
enough.
The IRS wants receipts.

354
00:17:25,839 --> 00:17:27,920
They want the receipts.
They want to see a receipt for

355
00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:29,520
what you bought.
They want to see the time, they

356
00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:31,400
want to see what it was for.
So here's a little key take

357
00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:32,440
away.
Here's something you can take to

358
00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:35,160
the bank today.
When you spend money for your

359
00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:38,000
show, you take your phone.
Everybody carries phones now.

360
00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:40,800
Take a picture of that receipt
and then put some notes on

361
00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:43,040
there.
This was Mark and I had lunch,

362
00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:45,800
talking about the podcasting,
morning chat, something like

363
00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:47,640
that.
That way, a year from now when

364
00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:51,120
somebody like me says, hey,
Mark, last March I saw you went

365
00:17:51,120 --> 00:17:53,120
to such and such restaurant.
What was that for?

366
00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:56,800
You can say, oh, I got that.
I've got a folder over here by

367
00:17:56,800 --> 00:17:59,680
year and by month and I can go,
Oh yeah, that was lunch with

368
00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:00,920
Ralph.
We talked about such and such

369
00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:03,040
because here's the problem, like
this creator was talking about,

370
00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:06,200
everything was mixed together.
So this particular audit, she

371
00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:07,920
said, Ralph, I'm just going to
disallow everything.

372
00:18:08,120 --> 00:18:09,680
She goes because I don't believe
any of this.

373
00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:14,400
Now, the truth is by the end of
the audit, he had lost $8000 in

374
00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:16,240
deductions.
Now, it wasn't because he

375
00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:19,080
cheated on anything.
He didn't lie about anything.

376
00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:21,880
It was just that everything was
mixed together in this big old

377
00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:24,040
salad bowl.
And the IRS says, look, I don't

378
00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:27,400
see any records here.
I don't see any cohesiveness to

379
00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:30,240
your records.
And so it costs that particular

380
00:18:30,240 --> 00:18:33,600
creator $8000 in deductions.
Do some quick math.

381
00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:35,720
Let's just assume they're in the
30% tax bracket.

382
00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:39,560
That's $2500 out of your pocket
in real dollars.

383
00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:40,640
Wow.
Yeah.

384
00:18:41,160 --> 00:18:43,760
And I'm looking here in the
chat, by the way, Tim, right on.

385
00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:47,000
I love that you say I'm using my
business checking account to

386
00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:50,160
travel to Empowered Podcasting 3
and pay for the hotel.

387
00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:52,720
So that's right.
Exactly what Ralph was just

388
00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:54,680
referring to.
And also I think Tide has

389
00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:56,160
something as well.
Go ahead, Tide.

390
00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:58,800
Had a question.
I knew someone who got audited a

391
00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:03,120
few years ago and they didn't,
the IRS didn't just check their

392
00:19:03,120 --> 00:19:06,200
bank accounts and all of that.
They actually actually wanted to

393
00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:10,040
see the person's agenda, their
calendar.

394
00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:12,960
So if anybody keeps like a
notebook where they're writing

395
00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:16,360
down dates of important events
and appointments and things like

396
00:19:16,360 --> 00:19:19,080
that, they wanted to see that.
And I was like, really?

397
00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:20,560
They didn't just want to see the
receipts.

398
00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:23,120
They wanted to see like your
Google Calendar.

399
00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:24,680
And they were like, yeah, they
did.

400
00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:26,800
So I don't know, Ralph, if you
had any experience with that or

401
00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:29,320
heard of that happening?
I do and I'm going to add two

402
00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:31,920
things to that, Nikki.
Number one is they will always

403
00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:34,440
ask for business and personal
records.

404
00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:37,000
They're going to ask you for
your business account, they're

405
00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:38,960
going to ask you for your
personal account because they

406
00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:41,080
want to see is it working in
both directions.

407
00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:44,160
Because sometimes a creator will
say, you know what, I have this

408
00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:47,280
separate account set U, but I
don't really want to report this

409
00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:48,640
income.
So I'm going to deposit this

410
00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:50,120
check over to my personal
account.

411
00:19:50,120 --> 00:19:52,280
So the IRS looks at that.
But what Nikki is really getting

412
00:19:52,280 --> 00:19:55,760
at is a different question.
It's the same thing, but it's a

413
00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:58,360
different question.
And that is, is there a for

414
00:19:58,360 --> 00:20:00,400
profit motive for this business,
Nikki?

415
00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:01,840
That's why they're asking you
for that.

416
00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:05,000
They want to see how much time
and effort you're putting into

417
00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:07,440
this because a lot of content
creators, and I'm sure it's

418
00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:10,280
nobody here, do this so they can
write off a bunch of expenses.

419
00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:14,200
But there is absolutely 0
intention of this ever being a

420
00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:17,320
profitable venture.
So the IRS calls that a hobby

421
00:20:17,360 --> 00:20:21,160
and hobbies are great, but you
can't take a hobby as a loss on

422
00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:23,200
your tax return.
So Nikki, the reason they're

423
00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:26,480
asking that is they want to know
how much skin you have in the

424
00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:28,400
game.
They want to know, are you, are

425
00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:30,760
you out there doing this?
How much time are you spending

426
00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:33,680
doing this?
So Nikki, great point because

427
00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:35,840
that is something I think all of
us should keep.

428
00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:39,520
I do this every day in my own
life for two reasons.

429
00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:41,960
Number one reason is for audit.
Second reason, so I can build

430
00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:45,040
clients, but I keep track of
every 15 minute interval of my

431
00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:46,240
day.
And of course I'm anal

432
00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:47,080
retentive.
I get it.

433
00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:52,760
But if the IRS said to me on
Tuesday, March the 28th of 2025,

434
00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:55,040
who did you meet?
Mith, what did you talk about?

435
00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:57,280
What was it?
How was that business related?

436
00:20:57,280 --> 00:20:59,680
I can go back to my calendar
just like Nikki said and say,

437
00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:02,640
yes, I met with this person.
I met with this person, I

438
00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:05,040
traveled here, I traveled there
again.

439
00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:06,880
Here's what I like to do when I
work with an auditor.

440
00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:10,320
I want to overwhelm them with
information because the truth

441
00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:12,200
is, look, and I'm not throwing
auditors under the bus.

442
00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:14,360
They have a job to do.
And if you can help them do

443
00:21:14,360 --> 00:21:16,520
their job easier and audit goes
great.

444
00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:18,120
I've had this happen so many
times.

445
00:21:18,120 --> 00:21:21,680
Or in order to come in to me and
I'll say Ralph, I am so happy to

446
00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:24,880
be working with you because you
have all your IS dotted, your

447
00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:27,120
T's crossed, you got everything
ready for me.

448
00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:29,320
I'm ready to go.
I never want to be in that

449
00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:31,800
situation where an auditor says
to me, Ralph, I don't see

450
00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:34,000
anything here.
I don't see any records because

451
00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:37,080
I guarantee that auditor is
going to go find something and

452
00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:39,160
what they're going to find is
going to hurt you.

453
00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:42,280
So if you have more information
than you need, that's better

454
00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:44,480
than having less information
than you need.

455
00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:46,440
So Nikki, I hope that answers
your question.

456
00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:48,680
But that's the reason they're
asking that question is they

457
00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:51,280
want to see, is there a profit
motive for this?

458
00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:53,920
Now, profit motive is in the eye
of the beholder.

459
00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:55,800
How much time are you putting
into it?

460
00:21:56,120 --> 00:21:58,600
Are you advertising?
Are you promoting your business?

461
00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:00,120
Are you on LinkedIn?
All those type of things.

462
00:22:00,360 --> 00:22:02,760
Keep track of all that stuff.
It's what we kind of call, you

463
00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:05,520
know, in podcasting, we talk
about telling a story.

464
00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:07,920
Well, your accounting records
should be a narrative.

465
00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:11,360
They should tell a story of
where you were, what you did,

466
00:22:11,360 --> 00:22:13,680
what you did it for.
And when you do that, you're

467
00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:15,560
dealing with a person just like
you with the IRS.

468
00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:18,280
These are not bad people.
They're just trying to do a job.

469
00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:21,280
They've got a job to go out
there and and the big word says

470
00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:23,920
a fair administration of tax
law.

471
00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:27,160
Now we could argue fair
administration, but that's their

472
00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:29,040
goal.
And if you're doing the right

473
00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:31,600
things, if you're not being
ridiculous, then you're not

474
00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:34,000
going to have a problem about.
People get so scared of audits,

475
00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:35,560
but there's really nothing to be
scared of.

476
00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:39,760
If you have an intention from
the front end to keep your books

477
00:22:39,760 --> 00:22:40,960
in order.
That's the key.

478
00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:43,040
And start it before you start
your podcast.

479
00:22:43,120 --> 00:22:45,480
And like Mark said, you can set
up a separate account.

480
00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:48,200
You can use a credit card that
you already have, but just keep

481
00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:50,440
it separate and be regimen into
doing that.

482
00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:52,120
Hey, I wanted to go to Jonathan
real quick.

483
00:22:52,120 --> 00:22:55,320
Jonathan is sharing a little bit
in the chat and responding, I

484
00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:56,880
think, to some of the things
you're talking about.

485
00:22:56,880 --> 00:22:59,520
And Jonathan, I just, I'd like
to hear, I'd like the rest of

486
00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:01,520
the audience to hear what you're
saying.

487
00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:04,600
So would you chime in please?
I was just saying I hope to the

488
00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:08,080
IRS does not need to see my
personal calendar because that's

489
00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:10,560
mostly.
Post it notes on my desk or

490
00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:13,320
sometimes my mom calling me and
saying hey, don't forget to go

491
00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:16,680
to your cardiologist
appointment, you know, tomorrow.

492
00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:19,800
And yes, I know I'm 45 and I
should know these things.

493
00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:20,280
But.
You know.

494
00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:24,640
Hey, that's OK.
Accountability can come in at

495
00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:27,360
all ages.
Having an accountability partner

496
00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:29,840
can be very helpful.
So that's the way I'll choose to

497
00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:32,760
look at that for you, Jonathan.
But yeah, Ralph, any thoughts?

498
00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:34,160
Any response?
No, I agree.

499
00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:35,840
And unless you ask a bigger
question, unless you ask the

500
00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:37,640
room, this one, why do creators
mix their money?

501
00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:40,080
Let's go there.
Let's talk about those folks who

502
00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:43,120
have struggled with this.
Why are you mixing your money?

503
00:23:43,120 --> 00:23:44,680
And, and again, this is not
judgement.

504
00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:48,120
I I have a heart to help people.
My goal here is to help you.

505
00:23:48,120 --> 00:23:50,880
So let's talk for a few minutes
about why you're mixing your

506
00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:52,080
money.
Is it convenience?

507
00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:54,960
What is it lack of knowledge?
Let's hear from the room and see

508
00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:57,360
whatever the people are doing,
why they would mix their money

509
00:23:57,360 --> 00:24:00,480
in the first place.
I mean, for me, I think it would

510
00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:04,240
be more about convenience.
I think that, yeah, just like I

511
00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:07,720
was saying earlier, you know,
not even maybe it's also not

512
00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:11,480
being educated, right?
Not realizing that, yeah, I can

513
00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:15,680
take out a personal card, but I
can dedicate that just to my

514
00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:18,200
business expenses, right?
So I think it could be a

515
00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:21,440
combination of both.
I also, look, I think that maybe

516
00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:24,400
sometimes people are mixing it
because they're kind of hoping

517
00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:26,840
they can get away with
something, right?

518
00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:29,720
Like, you know, maybe the this
personal thing, maybe I can

519
00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:32,800
write it off, you know, and just
kind of slide it in there.

520
00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:35,640
But that obviously can be very
dangerous.

521
00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:38,040
Nikki wanted to chime in on this
one as well.

522
00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:39,960
Go ahead, Nikki.
For me, I think those are all

523
00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:42,360
really great points too, Mark.
And I was just going to say that

524
00:24:42,360 --> 00:24:45,120
for me, when I first started my
different businesses, I didn't

525
00:24:45,120 --> 00:24:48,160
have any money.
I was just a teacher, you know,

526
00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:51,280
I was spending money from my
personal account to start my

527
00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:53,520
business because I didn't have
any business funds.

528
00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:58,520
So a lot of the expenses got put
into the personal account

529
00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:01,400
because I didn't have any
business money to to utilize to

530
00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:03,160
buy the things that I needed.
Yeah, fair enough.

531
00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:05,760
Go ahead, Ralph, And then let's
hand it off to BC.

532
00:25:05,760 --> 00:25:07,280
Who wants to chime in.
Ralph, did you want?

533
00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:09,600
You're muted.
I'm sorry, Nikki, I was going to

534
00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:12,760
say you do like everybody else
does, absolutely accurate.

535
00:25:12,760 --> 00:25:16,560
So the how you solve that, no
Nikki is now what you do is you

536
00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:20,960
go create that business setup
and you reimburse yourself for

537
00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:23,800
all those personal monies that
you put into the business.

538
00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:25,880
But you're absolutely right,
Nikki, and I think that's one of

539
00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:29,320
the big things that operates
this is that people don't see

540
00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:32,560
this as a real business yet.
They don't have any money in the

541
00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:34,640
account.
And it's a little bit of, you

542
00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:37,040
know, gymnastics with money when
you first start out, Nikki.

543
00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:38,880
But I think you've nailed, I
think that's a really good

544
00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:40,760
reason for why you feel that
way.

545
00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:42,440
But go ahead BC I know you want
to make a comment.

546
00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:44,000
Yeah.
And I wonder this, this might be

547
00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:46,320
a combination of just not being
educated, but I think there's

548
00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:53,000
also for people who've had a
long term desire to see their

549
00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:58,640
content show potential to be
something that can allow them to

550
00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:03,040
maneuver themselves or, or
depart from maybe a typical

551
00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:06,080
function that they've wanted to
depart from for a long time.

552
00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:09,720
And then to see, wow, this is
actually beginning to work.

553
00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:12,520
Let me not lose as much of this
as I can.

554
00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:16,640
Let me try to keep as much of
this as that as as possible and

555
00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:20,400
then hopefully reinvest it and
make this bigger so I can

556
00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:24,160
finally depart from this 9 to 5
whatever function I've wanted to

557
00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:27,920
leave for years and finally live
this kind of dream career.

558
00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:31,960
But again, also being a mix of
lack of education, this is not

559
00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:34,440
how it's supposed to work.
But they don't know that there's

560
00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:38,680
a, there's a level of, of, of
desperateness and trying to

561
00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:42,080
really hope this thing works.
And that kind of prompts this

562
00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:44,760
not best decision making when it
comes to their money.

563
00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:47,640
Yeah.
And I want to go to Nick and Tim

564
00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:49,920
and made some comments in the
chat, Mark, but I want to go to

565
00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:52,440
one more place and then we'll go
right to that question because

566
00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:54,360
it's I'm going to nail it.
So we've talked a little bit

567
00:26:54,360 --> 00:26:57,080
about not mixing your money.
I want to really lay down,

568
00:26:57,200 --> 00:26:59,600
there's really 3 problems that
this causes.

569
00:26:59,960 --> 00:27:01,720
Number one thing, we've kind of
beat this to death.

570
00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:04,440
Deductions get challenged.
The second thing, and I want to

571
00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:07,200
spend a minute here, is you lose
financial clarity.

572
00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:10,520
And I think we don't want to
just overthink this because you

573
00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:12,800
really need to understand.
I'll give you an example.

574
00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:15,200
I had a person in last week,
this was not a content creator.

575
00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:16,640
This was somebody in a regular
business.

576
00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:19,360
I say regular business that
sounded harsh, but a different

577
00:27:19,360 --> 00:27:21,880
business in content creating.
And I was looking at their tax

578
00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:23,800
return.
And they said to me, Ralph, how

579
00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:25,360
am I really doing with my
business?

580
00:27:25,360 --> 00:27:28,440
And I had to have one of those
difficult discussions.

581
00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:30,600
And I said to this person, I
said, what's let me ask you this

582
00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:33,280
question.
How many hours a week do you

583
00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:35,600
spend in your business?
And she says, Ralph, she says,

584
00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:37,000
I'm really working hard at this
thing.

585
00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:39,200
I really want this to grow.
She says, honestly, I'm spending

586
00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:41,200
about 60 hours a week in my
business.

587
00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:42,360
I said, I commend you.
That's great.

588
00:27:42,360 --> 00:27:43,840
You're, you know, you're doing
the hard work.

589
00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:47,440
I said, but when I look at your
numbers, you made a $20,000

590
00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:49,520
profit last year.
And I'm not going to do math for

591
00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:52,560
here on the show, but it worked
out to be about $4.00 an hour.

592
00:27:52,560 --> 00:27:54,360
And I had to have a difficult
conversation with her.

593
00:27:54,360 --> 00:27:58,600
I had to say to her, is your
hour worth more than $4.00?

594
00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:01,480
And that was hard because, you
know, I felt so bad at the time.

595
00:28:01,480 --> 00:28:03,040
I was like, but you know what,
It's interesting.

596
00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:06,040
Her response to me was I never
thought about it that way.

597
00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:07,480
I said, well, see, that's the
thing.

598
00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:10,720
If you don't have that financial
separation, if you don't have

599
00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:13,120
that clarity, you don't know
what your profit is.

600
00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:15,200
You don't know what your
expenses are, you don't know

601
00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:16,880
what your taxes are.
That could be coming because we

602
00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:18,440
could have had a completely
different discussion.

603
00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:21,760
We could have been at the end of
the year and made $100,000

604
00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:23,440
profit.
And I say, Chris, yeah, great,

605
00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:25,840
fantastic.
But now you owe a ton of money.

606
00:28:25,920 --> 00:28:27,720
Here's the third thing.
And this is what leads into what

607
00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:29,720
Nick was talking about.
A lot of people say to me,

608
00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:32,160
Ralph, well, I set U an LLC, I'm
good to go.

609
00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:36,280
I I saw the gurus online and
Reddit told me go set U an LLC.

610
00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:39,440
That's great.
But an LLC is not an accounting

611
00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:42,480
or tax strategy.
An LLC and I'm not an attorney,

612
00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:45,400
it's a legal strategy.
But here's the problem.

613
00:28:45,400 --> 00:28:47,880
A lawyers will tell you this.
If a lawyer can prove, if the

614
00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:50,960
IRS can prove that you mixed
your finances, they will argue

615
00:28:50,960 --> 00:28:53,240
that LLC is nothing more than a
shell.

616
00:28:53,240 --> 00:28:54,760
And if it's just a shell,
they're going to do what's

617
00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:56,280
called Pierce the corporate
veil.

618
00:28:56,560 --> 00:28:58,920
Once they Pierce the corporate
veil, it's like you didn't have

619
00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:03,080
your LLC at all, which means
that your personal expenses are

620
00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:05,520
exposed.
And what Nick put in the in the

621
00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:08,880
chat is I think sole proprietor
or single member makes it easy

622
00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:11,920
to blend business and personal.
He's absolutely right because

623
00:29:11,920 --> 00:29:15,080
there is no distinct separation,
which leads me to Tim's question

624
00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:17,280
and Tim said, let me find it
here.

625
00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:20,360
Tim says what's a good way to
pay yourself from your business

626
00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:22,080
account?
Brilliant observation, Tim.

627
00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:25,160
This is one of the things when I
work with content creators, you

628
00:29:25,160 --> 00:29:27,560
need to set up a routine for
yourself.

629
00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:31,520
A lot of us get regular W2 jobs.
We get a pace, we get a

630
00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:33,280
paycheck.
You're used to that.

631
00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:35,760
You get it weekly, you get it
biweekly, you get it monthly.

632
00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:40,440
If you're operating a content
creation business, you need to

633
00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:42,400
start thinking about the same
thing.

634
00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:45,160
What is the interval that you
pay yourself?

635
00:29:45,160 --> 00:29:48,080
One of the things that I
recommend people to do is have a

636
00:29:48,080 --> 00:29:51,440
money meeting every week to talk
about your finances.

637
00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:55,640
You can then look at, OK, how
much came in, how much went out,

638
00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:57,920
how much should I put aside for
taxes?

639
00:29:58,160 --> 00:30:01,400
And yeah, how much should I put
aside so I can pay my bills

640
00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:03,800
because I got to pay rent, I got
to pay mortgage.

641
00:30:03,800 --> 00:30:05,160
The car payment would sure be
nice.

642
00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:08,240
And my wife would really like it
if I helped her out with some of

643
00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:10,280
the household bills, paid some
grocery bills.

644
00:30:10,960 --> 00:30:13,360
O Tim, one of the things I think
you're saying there, and I love

645
00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:16,960
it, is you're saying, how can I
be intentional in this?

646
00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:20,200
And what I suggest you do is go
to multiple accounts.

647
00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:21,720
Now we're taking it a whole
other step.

648
00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:23,520
And that is we have a tax
account.

649
00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:27,000
It's what I call a tax vault.
And every week, whatever came in

650
00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:29,880
that gross number, you put X
percentage in the tax vault.

651
00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:34,160
You do the same thing for your
own spending money, because then

652
00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:36,520
you start to pay yourself.
You nobody told you when you got

653
00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:39,160
into content creation that you
were going to be a marketing

654
00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:42,960
whiz, a technical engineer, an
accountant, and a payroll clerk.

655
00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:46,200
But guess what?
You are, and I can help you with

656
00:30:46,200 --> 00:30:47,560
things like that.
There's a lot of people that can

657
00:30:47,560 --> 00:30:49,960
help you with things like that.
But Tim, you just absolutely

658
00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:52,440
nailed it.
And that is to start thinking

659
00:30:52,440 --> 00:30:54,520
intentionally about paying
yourself.

660
00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:56,080
Now, I want to open up the
questions because I've done a

661
00:30:56,080 --> 00:30:58,960
lot of talking there.
But you know, let's talk about

662
00:30:58,960 --> 00:31:00,280
this.
For those of you who do run it

663
00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:03,400
like a business, what systems
are you using and what's working

664
00:31:03,400 --> 00:31:05,720
for you?
Before we get to that, Ralph, do

665
00:31:05,720 --> 00:31:08,480
you want to answer Tide AKA
Nikki?

666
00:31:08,480 --> 00:31:12,520
She in the chat asked about
quarterly taxes and where do we

667
00:31:12,520 --> 00:31:16,160
go to pay those.
That is a complicated question

668
00:31:16,160 --> 00:31:17,840
because it depends on your
situation.

669
00:31:17,840 --> 00:31:21,880
And Nikki, if you're asking me,
if you're just a regular federal

670
00:31:21,880 --> 00:31:25,240
tax filer, then you would go to
irs.gov and you can actually

671
00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:27,600
make payments there.
But don't lose sight of the fact

672
00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:32,520
that all of us live in states as
well, and some states have taxes

673
00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:34,360
as well.
So you may need to pay state

674
00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:37,440
taxes.
Some of us live in places where

675
00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:40,040
there's city taxes.
Nashville's a great example of

676
00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:43,840
that, where Dr. is Nashville has
city taxes.

677
00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:47,480
O this is the time to invest.
Go meet with an accountant.

678
00:31:47,480 --> 00:31:50,520
Go meet with somebody who
understands the industry and

679
00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:52,360
find out the things that you
don't know.

680
00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:55,080
But that is a very good point,
Nikki, because here's what

681
00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:56,320
happened.
A lot of people don't know this.

682
00:31:56,320 --> 00:31:59,640
The IRS wants to get paid as you
go, just like the state wants to

683
00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:01,440
get paid as you go.
When you work for somebody else,

684
00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:04,240
your employer, every time you
get paid, send some of that

685
00:32:04,240 --> 00:32:07,640
money to the taxing authorities.
Well, the IRS wants it the same

686
00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:08,880
way.
They don't want you to pay at

687
00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:10,440
the end of the year.
A lot of people think you can.

688
00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:11,640
Here's what happens if you
don't.

689
00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:15,080
They will, they will send you a
penalty and those things are

690
00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:17,440
ugly.
They will penalize you from what

691
00:32:17,440 --> 00:32:18,720
you should have paid throughout
the year.

692
00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:22,240
But to Nikki, to really answer
your question, you need to start

693
00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:24,800
at a very minimum.
Like I said, I believe in a tax

694
00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:26,320
vault approach, which is this
simple.

695
00:32:26,560 --> 00:32:30,320
Once a week, what came in the
door after expenses, take that

696
00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:32,960
and multiply by whatever your
tax percentage is and put that

697
00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:35,080
money aside.
Once you do that, then you need

698
00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:37,400
to think about, OK, do I need to
make quarterly payments?

699
00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:39,680
Yes, the IRS wants you to pay
quarterly, but if you don't have

700
00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:41,880
a big profit, if you're not
going to have a big tax bill,

701
00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:43,720
you're not going to get a
penalty at the end.

702
00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:45,720
Now I'm going to say this, it
depends on your situation.

703
00:32:46,080 --> 00:32:48,640
I cannot give you personalized
advice without knowing your

704
00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:50,440
particular situation, Nikki.
I probably should have said that

705
00:32:50,440 --> 00:32:52,520
at the beginning so I don't get
myself in trouble with the

706
00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:54,480
people that I have to deal with
compliance wise.

707
00:32:54,480 --> 00:32:57,280
But if you at least set it
aside, then you don't have that

708
00:32:57,280 --> 00:32:59,320
surprise moment.
So I love the fact that you

709
00:32:59,320 --> 00:33:01,600
asked that question, Nikki,
because it tells me that you're

710
00:33:01,600 --> 00:33:04,000
already thinking through this
and that there's another step to

711
00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:06,120
this.
And yes, there is another step

712
00:33:06,120 --> 00:33:08,840
to this, but you don't want to
just go out there and try to do

713
00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:12,640
this on your own because there
you can get yourself all kinds

714
00:33:12,640 --> 00:33:14,280
of tied up backwards.
Because here's the other side of

715
00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:16,120
that, Nikki.
Let's say that things are going

716
00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:18,600
really well now.
You just landed a big content

717
00:33:18,600 --> 00:33:19,920
deal.
You've got a brand deal.

718
00:33:19,920 --> 00:33:21,920
Everything is going great.
And you say, well, you know

719
00:33:21,920 --> 00:33:23,720
what, I better set aside some
money, let me send it to the

720
00:33:23,720 --> 00:33:25,560
IRS.
What happens at the end of the

721
00:33:25,560 --> 00:33:28,440
year when things aren't going as
great and now you've got a

722
00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:31,400
editor to pay or you've got some
things you need to do?

723
00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:34,120
Well, now that money's sitting
at the IRS and you can't get

724
00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:36,840
that back until you file your
tax return in the next tax

725
00:33:36,840 --> 00:33:38,680
season.
So I'm one of these guys.

726
00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:43,280
I'm sort of a rebel in my field.
I'm not a huge fan of quarterly

727
00:33:43,280 --> 00:33:45,840
estimates.
Unless you really know what your

728
00:33:45,840 --> 00:33:49,520
income is year after year, I
would much rather you park the

729
00:33:49,520 --> 00:33:52,600
money over in the tax vault and
just be ready for that.

730
00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:55,440
That way if something happens,
you, and because I've had it

731
00:33:55,440 --> 00:33:59,400
happen so many times where an
opportunity came up or there was

732
00:33:59,400 --> 00:34:02,880
a downturn in the economy and
people had to live off their tax

733
00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:04,680
vault.
Listen, if it comes down to

734
00:34:04,680 --> 00:34:07,960
survival, you can use that
money, but if you've already

735
00:34:07,960 --> 00:34:10,800
sent it to the IRS, you're going
to be wondering, hey, how's

736
00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:13,480
these are the people that are in
to see me, Mark on the 15th of

737
00:34:13,480 --> 00:34:15,920
January saying I need to file, I
need to file, I need to file me.

738
00:34:15,920 --> 00:34:18,080
I can't even do it yet because
the software is not available.

739
00:34:18,639 --> 00:34:20,239
So Nikki, there's a blend here
of hope.

740
00:34:20,239 --> 00:34:22,600
I've addressed your question,
but there's a nuance to this.

741
00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:25,080
Thank you, Ralph, and thanks for
the question, Nikki.

742
00:34:25,080 --> 00:34:28,199
I think Dr. has something.
And then after that we'll answer

743
00:34:28,199 --> 00:34:32,000
Ralph's question around what
systems that we're using to keep

744
00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:35,320
all of this together.
Go ahead, Dr. Well, I kind of

745
00:34:35,320 --> 00:34:40,920
feel vindicated now, validated.
The bank that I'm using for my

746
00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:46,199
business is Sofi and they have
it set up to where you have

747
00:34:46,199 --> 00:34:51,239
these bolts and you could call
them anything, tax, new car,

748
00:34:51,239 --> 00:34:53,080
mortgage, you know, you can call
them anything.

749
00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:57,080
So I have one that is set up for
tax and every month I have like

750
00:34:57,080 --> 00:35:03,080
$250 taken out and put into the
vault and it's strictly just for

751
00:35:03,080 --> 00:35:06,160
taxes at the end of the year.
Now my husband and I, we, I

752
00:35:06,520 --> 00:35:10,400
don't even know how to say this.
We do our taxes, you know, for

753
00:35:10,400 --> 00:35:14,960
the household and my business
like all in one.

754
00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:17,600
I have a feeling I'm going to
get reamed for that.

755
00:35:19,160 --> 00:35:21,040
Now, Dr. Let me jump in there.
So you're OK.

756
00:35:21,760 --> 00:35:25,600
What you're really saying is you
don't have a separate legal

757
00:35:25,600 --> 00:35:28,200
entity for your content
business, and that's OK.

758
00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:31,040
What you're talking about is I'm
getting a jargon wheel again,

759
00:35:31,040 --> 00:35:40,120
Mark, if you want to hit it.
So what Dr. is talking about is

760
00:35:40,120 --> 00:35:43,760
she's reporting this on a
Schedule C on her personal tax

761
00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:45,960
return.
And that's fine, Dr. I'm not a

762
00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:48,400
big fan of that long term
because it's not the best tax

763
00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:50,520
structure.
We can get into that discussion

764
00:35:50,520 --> 00:35:52,600
robably at another time because
that would be an hour discussion

765
00:35:52,600 --> 00:35:55,320
about self-employment tax.
But no, you're not wrong, Dr.

766
00:35:55,800 --> 00:35:58,400
It's not the best strategy, But
Dr. is absolutely right in that

767
00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:00,080
it's all kind of going on the
same place.

768
00:36:00,080 --> 00:36:01,840
It's all kind of feeding each
other together.

769
00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:03,240
Sid, you've got something.
Go ahead.

770
00:36:03,280 --> 00:36:05,280
Oh, Sid.
Oh, sorry, good morning.

771
00:36:05,320 --> 00:36:08,440
Sorry, I have an Internet outage
issue or an Internet issues.

772
00:36:08,760 --> 00:36:11,280
I'm not always hearing
everything.

773
00:36:11,400 --> 00:36:14,240
OK, so I didn't hear you call.
No problem, sorry.

774
00:36:14,720 --> 00:36:18,880
So I have two comments.
So for Dr. Ralph chime in.

775
00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:22,400
OK, setting up an entity for
your business is not that hard.

776
00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:25,440
You can do it at LegalZoom and
other places.

777
00:36:25,440 --> 00:36:28,280
You can hire an accountant or an
attorney to help you do it and

778
00:36:28,280 --> 00:36:31,240
pay a little bit more.
But it does certainly just give

779
00:36:31,240 --> 00:36:35,240
you this like Peace of Mind.
I mean, I have 4 different LLCS

780
00:36:35,240 --> 00:36:36,600
because I have 4 different
businesses.

781
00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:39,600
Each one of them has their own
bank account, Each one of them

782
00:36:39,600 --> 00:36:41,280
has their own QuickBooks
account.

783
00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:43,200
Each one of them has their own
credit card.

784
00:36:43,200 --> 00:36:46,000
And it can get confusing at
times because I bank at the same

785
00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:47,680
bank.
So everybody's, I mean each

786
00:36:47,680 --> 00:36:50,280
business's bank account is at
the same bank.

787
00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:53,040
It's just easier for me.
But it does get confusing at

788
00:36:53,040 --> 00:36:55,040
times.
But it's really not that hard to

789
00:36:55,040 --> 00:36:57,200
set up an entity for your
business, is it?

790
00:36:57,320 --> 00:36:58,960
And then I have a follow up
question comment.

791
00:36:59,280 --> 00:37:01,440
All right, Sid, I love you
brother, but I'm going to tell

792
00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:04,960
you that it may seem like it's
not that hard, but if you don't

793
00:37:04,960 --> 00:37:07,280
do it right, it doesn't really
help you.

794
00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:09,000
And that's where I was going
down the road.

795
00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:13,360
Sid, if you've just setting up a
single member LLCS, then that

796
00:37:13,360 --> 00:37:17,400
doesn't really give you the
legal protection and the tax

797
00:37:17,400 --> 00:37:20,480
benefit that you could get by
setting up something different

798
00:37:20,480 --> 00:37:23,760
that comes off of your personal
tax return and is really treated

799
00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:25,760
separately.
I agree with what you're saying

800
00:37:25,760 --> 00:37:28,120
said there are places online
where you can go and do it for

801
00:37:28,120 --> 00:37:30,560
$199.
But I say this to clients all

802
00:37:30,560 --> 00:37:32,680
the time.
You get what you pay for and you

803
00:37:32,680 --> 00:37:34,400
want to make sure you set this
up correctly.

804
00:37:34,400 --> 00:37:36,480
It's kind of like when you build
a house, you don't want to

805
00:37:36,480 --> 00:37:38,960
scrimp and save on the
foundation of your house because

806
00:37:38,960 --> 00:37:41,200
if you don't put a good
foundation, your house is going

807
00:37:41,200 --> 00:37:43,360
to fall over.
So Sid, I commend what you're

808
00:37:43,360 --> 00:37:45,560
saying, but I don't want to
just, I don't want to leave the

809
00:37:45,560 --> 00:37:48,840
impression that it's this simple
thing to go set up this LLC

810
00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:52,040
because I see those all the time
and I fix those all the time.

811
00:37:52,040 --> 00:37:53,280
But you had a follow up question
too.

812
00:37:53,280 --> 00:37:55,760
Sid and also I just want to
chime in, you know, somebody

813
00:37:55,760 --> 00:37:59,520
like Sid who's been an
entrepreneur, a business person

814
00:37:59,520 --> 00:38:03,840
for many years now, he might be
somebody that's educated enough

815
00:38:03,840 --> 00:38:06,920
in knowing the insurance and
outs of filing, right.

816
00:38:06,920 --> 00:38:10,560
But for a lot of content
creators, yours truly included,

817
00:38:10,560 --> 00:38:14,880
I hate doing it myself.
I don't trust myself one bit.

818
00:38:14,880 --> 00:38:18,280
And that was one, that was the
first thing that I ended up

819
00:38:18,280 --> 00:38:22,080
doing with Ralph as far as
working together was I asked him

820
00:38:22,080 --> 00:38:25,000
to do that for Empowered
Podcasting because for the

821
00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:28,720
longest time, well, for the 1st
2 plus years, it was under my

822
00:38:28,720 --> 00:38:32,400
business's umbrella.
And for now, what we've decided

823
00:38:32,400 --> 00:38:35,160
is to separate it and make it
its own LLC.

824
00:38:35,320 --> 00:38:39,440
And I did not trust myself
whatsoever to do that.

825
00:38:39,440 --> 00:38:42,960
So yeah, I think it also depends
on your expertise, your

826
00:38:42,960 --> 00:38:45,360
knowledge and your confidence
doing it yourself.

827
00:38:45,680 --> 00:38:48,200
I think it's still probably
important to have somebody look

828
00:38:48,200 --> 00:38:50,400
it over, even if you are doing
it yourself.

829
00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:53,480
Yeah, and don't be afraid to
spend a little money to protect

830
00:38:53,480 --> 00:38:56,280
yourself.
It's not an exorbitant amount of

831
00:38:56,280 --> 00:38:59,080
money that you have to spend to
at least have a consultation

832
00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:01,520
with somebody and say, hey,
Ralph, here's what I'm thinking

833
00:39:01,520 --> 00:39:03,840
about doing.
What do you think I might say to

834
00:39:03,840 --> 00:39:05,880
somebody like Sid?
Sid, man, you got it all figured

835
00:39:05,880 --> 00:39:07,400
out.
You're an excellent businessman.

836
00:39:07,800 --> 00:39:10,720
I wouldn't change a thing.
But if you don't know what you

837
00:39:10,720 --> 00:39:12,400
don't know, that's what gets
people in trouble.

838
00:39:12,400 --> 00:39:14,000
And that's when we have an issue
later on.

839
00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:15,520
But I think Sid had a follow up
too.

840
00:39:15,600 --> 00:39:17,000
Yeah.
And then Dr. So go ahead.

841
00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:19,560
Sid Yeah.
Well, so for clarity, I don't do

842
00:39:19,560 --> 00:39:22,000
crap when it comes to this.
I have an accountant and I've

843
00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:26,280
had the same one for 15 years.
He files everything and he's a

844
00:39:26,280 --> 00:39:28,760
pain in my butt.
Ralph, you guys all are in that

845
00:39:28,760 --> 00:39:33,200
category, right?
And but he does everything and I

846
00:39:33,200 --> 00:39:35,760
just follow the rules is what I
do, right?

847
00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:38,320
But I, the young lady that's
been working for me for

848
00:39:38,320 --> 00:39:40,240
marketing, when she started work
for me, I was paying her

849
00:39:40,240 --> 00:39:42,080
personally and I'm like, why
don't you have a business?

850
00:39:42,080 --> 00:39:45,080
You need a business.
And so I told her to find an

851
00:39:45,080 --> 00:39:48,240
attorney and find an accountant.
And Ralph actually sent her to

852
00:39:48,240 --> 00:39:51,280
your YouTube channel to consume
some of your content.

853
00:39:51,640 --> 00:39:55,520
And she texted me on Saturday
and said I thanks for kicking me

854
00:39:55,520 --> 00:39:58,520
in the butt.
And I talked to an accountant

855
00:39:58,520 --> 00:40:00,680
and an attorney and I now have a
business.

856
00:40:01,040 --> 00:40:04,400
So I sat down in front of
TurboTax the other day to help

857
00:40:04,400 --> 00:40:09,440
my son file his taxes because
his summer job, he got a 1099

858
00:40:09,440 --> 00:40:11,760
that showed up and she was paid
cash during a summer job.

859
00:40:11,760 --> 00:40:14,040
So who knew that the guy was
going to file a 1099 on him?

860
00:40:14,440 --> 00:40:18,320
So it's the most frustrating
thing I've ever done because.

861
00:40:19,160 --> 00:40:22,040
He got a penalty.
He's only $99.00 for not paying

862
00:40:22,080 --> 00:40:24,760
taxes.
He did make a decent amount of

863
00:40:24,760 --> 00:40:27,800
money for a young man working
three months in the summertime

864
00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:31,960
laying sod.
And he is being hit with to what

865
00:40:31,960 --> 00:40:36,320
you said, self-employment tax.
And because he doesn't have a

866
00:40:36,320 --> 00:40:39,000
business, but he's being forced
to pay self-employment tax.

867
00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:42,320
So it was so frustrating and I
felt bad for him because he's

868
00:40:42,320 --> 00:40:45,440
got a decent tax bill he's going
to have to pay because he

869
00:40:45,440 --> 00:40:48,760
doesn't have any deductions to
go along with it or at least any

870
00:40:48,760 --> 00:40:50,720
that he tracked because he
didn't know he was going to get

871
00:40:50,720 --> 00:40:53,640
this 1099.
But if you, they're going to hit

872
00:40:53,640 --> 00:40:55,360
you.
I think we lost the last part of

873
00:40:55,360 --> 00:40:57,520
what you said there, Sid.
They're going to hit you

874
00:40:57,520 --> 00:41:00,240
anywhere they can.
And the self-employment tax was

875
00:41:00,240 --> 00:41:02,400
a surprise.
I wasn't prepared for him to

876
00:41:02,400 --> 00:41:06,040
have to pay self-employment tax.
He's going to have to pay, but

877
00:41:06,040 --> 00:41:09,320
he's got self-employment tax,
penalty tax and then whatever

878
00:41:09,320 --> 00:41:12,000
percentage they want to take of
what money he made this summer.

879
00:41:12,840 --> 00:41:15,160
And Sid, the problem that you
and I don't know if you want to

880
00:41:15,160 --> 00:41:17,720
go here or not, the problem is
his employer didn't do it

881
00:41:17,720 --> 00:41:20,400
correctly.
I have no doubt that your son

882
00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:22,240
was not an independent
contractor.

883
00:41:22,720 --> 00:41:25,000
And that's the thing.
See, a lot of business people

884
00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:27,400
want to skate the system and
they say, well, I'll just send

885
00:41:27,400 --> 00:41:29,280
you a 1099 because I want to pay
you cash.

886
00:41:29,400 --> 00:41:32,600
That's not fair because the IRS
is very clear of who is an

887
00:41:32,600 --> 00:41:34,480
independent contractor.
I want to go here for just a

888
00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:35,560
second, Mark, because it's
important.

889
00:41:35,560 --> 00:41:38,480
An independent contractor is
somebody who has their own tools

890
00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:40,880
and equipment.
Sid, I don't think your son was

891
00:41:40,880 --> 00:41:43,600
using his own truck, his own sod
laying stuff and all that sort

892
00:41:43,600 --> 00:41:45,480
of thing.
They also have their own license

893
00:41:45,480 --> 00:41:49,240
and insurance and they don't get
directed on on when they're

894
00:41:49,240 --> 00:41:50,880
going to work start time and end
time.

895
00:41:51,080 --> 00:41:54,640
And see the problem is a lot of
quote employers say, well, I'll

896
00:41:54,640 --> 00:41:56,280
just send you a 10990 the end of
the year.

897
00:41:56,280 --> 00:41:58,560
So they don't have to pay the
they don't have to pay the

898
00:41:58,560 --> 00:42:01,800
self-employment tax portion.
They're supposed to pay Sid and

899
00:42:01,960 --> 00:42:03,600
they don't have to pay workers
comp.

900
00:42:03,600 --> 00:42:05,320
They don't have to have
insurance and all those sort of

901
00:42:05,320 --> 00:42:07,480
things.
I get where your son's at

902
00:42:07,480 --> 00:42:09,600
because your son's like, but I
had a good job, I made good

903
00:42:09,600 --> 00:42:12,680
money, but they're kind of
sticking it to him on the on the

904
00:42:12,680 --> 00:42:17,400
tax side because it's not your
son's fault, it's the employer's

905
00:42:17,400 --> 00:42:18,720
fault.
Because I suspect your son

906
00:42:18,720 --> 00:42:20,800
probably figured he was getting
paid under the table.

907
00:42:21,080 --> 00:42:24,040
And when the 1099 came, I was
like, I wasn't expecting this.

908
00:42:24,480 --> 00:42:27,800
Now here's what you could do,
Sid, since you asked, since your

909
00:42:27,800 --> 00:42:31,120
son was treated as an
independent contractor, he could

910
00:42:31,120 --> 00:42:34,400
go back and take a deduction for
any mileage to and from any of

911
00:42:34,400 --> 00:42:38,960
the jobs, any of the tools or
equipment, clothing that was

912
00:42:38,960 --> 00:42:41,720
used just for business.
If he's doing sod, he probably

913
00:42:41,720 --> 00:42:43,840
buys gloves.
He probably buys work boots.

914
00:42:44,240 --> 00:42:47,080
All those things would reduce
some of that tax, would reduce

915
00:42:47,080 --> 00:42:49,080
some of that income, which would
therefore reduce that sub

916
00:42:49,080 --> 00:42:50,440
emloyment tax.
Let's talk about sub emloyment

917
00:42:50,440 --> 00:42:53,920
tax for just a minute.
It's 15.2%.

918
00:42:54,200 --> 00:42:55,880
We're not talking about a small
amount here.

919
00:42:56,520 --> 00:43:01,680
So if you're making $100,000,
that's $15,000 in extra tax.

920
00:43:01,680 --> 00:43:03,840
So Sid, I hope that address your
question.

921
00:43:03,840 --> 00:43:06,600
But because I get so frustrated
when clients come in and say

922
00:43:06,600 --> 00:43:09,240
well, you know, I had an
employee, but I didn't pay

923
00:43:09,240 --> 00:43:10,840
employee wages.
I'm like, well then you didn't

924
00:43:10,840 --> 00:43:13,720
have an employee or you didn't
and it's a whole discussion.

925
00:43:13,720 --> 00:43:15,240
But here's the content creators
take away.

926
00:43:15,240 --> 00:43:19,240
If you are paying someone to
work with you in your content

927
00:43:19,240 --> 00:43:24,280
creation, if you pay them more
than $600 a year, you as the

928
00:43:24,280 --> 00:43:27,440
content creator have an
obligation to collect their

929
00:43:27,440 --> 00:43:30,440
information.
It's a form called a W 9 form.

930
00:43:30,680 --> 00:43:34,440
So before you pay anybody
anything I say he didn't have

931
00:43:34,440 --> 00:43:36,640
the gold makes the rules.
As you're giving them their

932
00:43:36,640 --> 00:43:38,960
money, say ha, I'm going to give
you your money, but you're going

933
00:43:38,960 --> 00:43:42,560
to fill out this form for me.
Because that W9 form is going to

934
00:43:42,560 --> 00:43:45,400
capture their name, their Social
Security number or their EIN

935
00:43:45,400 --> 00:43:47,920
number, business ID number, and
their address.

936
00:43:47,920 --> 00:43:51,080
So that somebody like me or
Sid's pain in the neck

937
00:43:51,080 --> 00:43:55,880
accountant is going to say I
need W9 forms from you so I can

938
00:43:55,880 --> 00:43:59,000
keep you out of trouble with the
IRS and send these to you.

939
00:43:59,640 --> 00:44:02,320
So long answer, but it's very
important that you do that.

940
00:44:02,320 --> 00:44:05,160
Thank you.
Ralph OK, I know Dr. had a

941
00:44:05,160 --> 00:44:08,400
question and I think BCI saw
something he had put in the chat

942
00:44:08,400 --> 00:44:10,920
that I want to hear out loud, so
go for it Dr. OK.

943
00:44:10,920 --> 00:44:13,920
So I had two questions.
The first question is about the

944
00:44:13,920 --> 00:44:18,080
LLC.
I know the pros of having an LLC

945
00:44:18,080 --> 00:44:20,840
is that they can't go after your
business, they can only go after

946
00:44:20,840 --> 00:44:24,360
you personally, right?
But I don't what are the cons of

947
00:44:24,360 --> 00:44:26,680
having an LLC.
So, and I'm going to answer

948
00:44:26,680 --> 00:44:29,680
Tide's question at the same time
it answers yours VR.

949
00:44:29,680 --> 00:44:32,960
So the cons to it is you
definitely need to keep things

950
00:44:32,960 --> 00:44:34,800
separate.
The other side of this is going

951
00:44:34,800 --> 00:44:36,840
to cost you a little bit of
money upfront if you're going to

952
00:44:36,840 --> 00:44:39,720
do it correctly because you're
going to have to file and create

953
00:44:39,720 --> 00:44:42,200
this LLC.
Most states charge what's called

954
00:44:42,200 --> 00:44:45,080
a franchise tax for the sake of
having a separate.

955
00:44:45,240 --> 00:44:47,640
So when you set up an LLC,
you're actually creating a

956
00:44:47,640 --> 00:44:51,360
separate legal entity.
That legal entity has to have a

957
00:44:51,360 --> 00:44:53,400
governance underneath of it.
It has what's called an

958
00:44:53,400 --> 00:44:56,120
operating agreement.
So it's going to cost you a

959
00:44:56,120 --> 00:44:57,840
little bit of money.
For example, and I'm going to

960
00:44:57,840 --> 00:45:01,480
put it right out there for
setting up LLCS, my firm charges

961
00:45:01,480 --> 00:45:03,400
$1000.
And the reason we do that

962
00:45:03,400 --> 00:45:05,160
because there's a lot of things
that go into this.

963
00:45:05,280 --> 00:45:07,640
We have to get your EIN number
with the IRS.

964
00:45:07,640 --> 00:45:09,520
That's a number like a Social
Security number for the

965
00:45:09,520 --> 00:45:11,680
business.
We have to file your certificate

966
00:45:11,680 --> 00:45:13,760
with the state.
We have to write operating

967
00:45:13,760 --> 00:45:15,120
agreement.
It's a whole bunch of stuff that

968
00:45:15,120 --> 00:45:16,760
goes into a making it done right
now.

969
00:45:17,400 --> 00:45:19,400
Nikki also asked.
The question is how much do I

970
00:45:19,400 --> 00:45:23,200
charge for consulting services?
Nikki Ioffer a free 15 minute

971
00:45:23,200 --> 00:45:27,920
discovery call if you go to
contentcreatorsaccountant.com/help

972
00:45:27,920 --> 00:45:30,080
me.
I would rather start there.

973
00:45:30,080 --> 00:45:32,560
Let's understand what you've got
going on That is absolutely

974
00:45:32,560 --> 00:45:34,320
free.
Don't charge a dime for that and

975
00:45:34,320 --> 00:45:36,160
then we can talk about what
works best for you.

976
00:45:36,720 --> 00:45:40,560
Getting back to DRS question the
cons, really Dr. is keeping

977
00:45:40,560 --> 00:45:43,360
things separate.
If you do it the right way, it's

978
00:45:43,400 --> 00:45:46,400
actually going to be put on a
separate tax return, either on a

979
00:45:46,400 --> 00:45:50,080
partnership return or I love
subchapter S corporations with

980
00:45:50,080 --> 00:45:52,520
an LLC to save on that
self-employment tax.

981
00:45:52,840 --> 00:45:54,720
So Dr. those are the big two
things.

982
00:45:54,920 --> 00:45:57,560
It's going to cost you money
upfront and it's going to cost

983
00:45:57,560 --> 00:45:59,760
you money annually if you do it.
But here's the deal.

984
00:46:00,240 --> 00:46:02,280
Well, we just talked about that
self-employment tax.

985
00:46:02,760 --> 00:46:07,960
Once you have net income in your
content of about $8000, it pays

986
00:46:07,960 --> 00:46:10,920
for itself in the tax savings
you're going to have on the

987
00:46:10,920 --> 00:46:12,640
self-employment tax.
I'm not even talking about the

988
00:46:12,640 --> 00:46:15,840
liability protection, I'm just
talking about the real tax

989
00:46:15,840 --> 00:46:17,560
numbers.
I hope that answers your

990
00:46:17,560 --> 00:46:18,640
question to you.
It does.

991
00:46:18,640 --> 00:46:25,560
The second question I have is
regarding so I have a team I

992
00:46:25,560 --> 00:46:28,600
have and it's offshore.
I've talked to you about this

993
00:46:28,600 --> 00:46:31,280
before, separate on on, you
know, through Adm.

994
00:46:31,800 --> 00:46:34,600
Now, I know you told me that we
don't have to worry about

995
00:46:34,720 --> 00:46:39,960
claiming them, but is this
something that I can write off?

996
00:46:40,080 --> 00:46:41,960
Do you know what I mean?
Like as a deduction.

997
00:46:42,000 --> 00:46:45,680
Yeah, if they present you with
an invoice and you pay them from

998
00:46:45,680 --> 00:46:48,960
an invoice, then that's like
you're buying from anyone else.

999
00:46:48,960 --> 00:46:51,200
Now, I will take back a little
bit of that doctor.

1000
00:46:51,480 --> 00:46:55,040
It depends on where their home
base is. the US government has

1001
00:46:55,040 --> 00:46:58,520
tax treaties with the multiple
countries where that's on them.

1002
00:46:58,520 --> 00:47:00,280
They have to worry about
reporting the income.

1003
00:47:00,280 --> 00:47:03,120
They have to worry about it.
But in general terms, if you're

1004
00:47:03,120 --> 00:47:05,480
getting an invoice from them,
it's just like you're going to

1005
00:47:05,480 --> 00:47:08,000
the store and buying something
and just like you're subscribing

1006
00:47:08,000 --> 00:47:10,920
to Captivate or you're
subscribing to one of the

1007
00:47:10,920 --> 00:47:12,360
platforms.
As long as you've got an

1008
00:47:12,360 --> 00:47:14,920
invoice, yes, you can take a
deduction for that.

1009
00:47:15,440 --> 00:47:16,160
OK.
Thank you.

1010
00:47:16,200 --> 00:47:18,120
I appreciate it.
Thank you, DRI Know there are

1011
00:47:18,120 --> 00:47:20,960
more questions and I just want
to throw this out because I want

1012
00:47:20,960 --> 00:47:24,120
to make sure we get it in time.
As far as systems that we use, I

1013
00:47:24,120 --> 00:47:28,280
use QuickBooks for ironic Media
and we're going to be using it

1014
00:47:28,280 --> 00:47:30,000
for empowered podcasting as
well.

1015
00:47:30,280 --> 00:47:34,080
QuickBooks, it can be a little
pricey for some people and it's

1016
00:47:34,080 --> 00:47:37,080
always made my life a ton
easier.

1017
00:47:37,080 --> 00:47:39,600
I can.
It really just helps keep things

1018
00:47:39,600 --> 00:47:42,240
very organized.
And of course, when I'm working

1019
00:47:42,240 --> 00:47:45,640
with Ralph and his team, he has
a bookkeeper that's also helping

1020
00:47:45,640 --> 00:47:49,480
me each month go through my
books and make sure that

1021
00:47:49,480 --> 00:47:52,360
everything is lined up properly,
right.

1022
00:47:52,360 --> 00:47:54,840
But QuickBooks for me has been
wonderful.

1023
00:47:54,840 --> 00:47:58,680
And I've been an entrepreneur
most of my adult life, so, and

1024
00:47:58,680 --> 00:48:04,760
I've always used QuickBooks for
at least when it came time that

1025
00:48:04,760 --> 00:48:08,080
I really recognized I would need
a system, I always would go to

1026
00:48:08,080 --> 00:48:10,440
QuickBooks.
I think there are times where I

1027
00:48:10,440 --> 00:48:14,000
would start business just
working with spreadsheets, for

1028
00:48:14,000 --> 00:48:16,160
example.
OK, let's go to Sid.

1029
00:48:16,160 --> 00:48:18,720
I know Sid had a question and
then I want to go to BC maybe

1030
00:48:18,720 --> 00:48:20,080
for the final question of the
morning.

1031
00:48:20,080 --> 00:48:21,560
We shall see.
Go ahead, Sid.

1032
00:48:22,400 --> 00:48:23,520
Well, I don't actually have a
question.

1033
00:48:23,520 --> 00:48:27,040
I had to follow up to doctor to
Ralph's question, which was

1034
00:48:27,760 --> 00:48:30,520
something about, I forget now,
but my response?

1035
00:48:30,640 --> 00:48:33,000
Is.
The reason that I think that

1036
00:48:33,000 --> 00:48:37,680
people don't set up LLCS and
they don't set up their business

1037
00:48:37,680 --> 00:48:40,240
the right way is they perceive
that it's complicated.

1038
00:48:40,560 --> 00:48:43,560
And it may be complicated to
start in the beginning to get it

1039
00:48:43,560 --> 00:48:45,840
all set up.
And at the end of the day, it's

1040
00:48:45,840 --> 00:48:48,720
really just, you're just running
a system the way you run your

1041
00:48:48,720 --> 00:48:52,320
personal life with bank accounts
and credit cards and things of

1042
00:48:52,320 --> 00:48:54,960
that nature.
But I think getting it set up is

1043
00:48:54,960 --> 00:48:57,200
what scares people because it's
easier to say, I'm just going to

1044
00:48:57,200 --> 00:48:59,200
put it into this account and
I'll just use it and then I'll

1045
00:48:59,200 --> 00:49:00,240
worry about it at the end of the
year.

1046
00:49:00,240 --> 00:49:02,480
That's the easy path.
But in business, especially for

1047
00:49:02,480 --> 00:49:06,160
people like Dr. where her
services are her primary core of

1048
00:49:06,160 --> 00:49:10,560
income, then you should set up
the appropriate systems in order

1049
00:49:10,560 --> 00:49:12,440
to run your business at the end
of the year.

1050
00:49:12,880 --> 00:49:15,760
That you don't hate people like
Ralph and free people like Ralph

1051
00:49:15,760 --> 00:49:18,320
don't hate you for not having
all your stuff together.

1052
00:49:19,800 --> 00:49:23,920
Thank you, Sid.
All right, let's go to BCBC.

1053
00:49:23,920 --> 00:49:25,840
You had a question.
Yes.

1054
00:49:25,840 --> 00:49:30,800
So how can content creators go
about preparing for taxes when

1055
00:49:30,800 --> 00:49:35,040
they don't typically start off
with any kind of reliable,

1056
00:49:35,040 --> 00:49:41,360
consistent income and assuming
that they see a growth over time

1057
00:49:41,360 --> 00:49:44,400
and potentially crossing
different tax brackets?

1058
00:49:44,720 --> 00:49:50,040
What is your best suggestion on
what to, you know, how to how

1059
00:49:50,040 --> 00:49:53,200
much to decide to put aside for
tax season?

1060
00:49:53,520 --> 00:49:56,320
And and you know, yeah, what,
what, what is your best

1061
00:49:56,320 --> 00:49:59,040
suggestion for that?
Great question BC it's a

1062
00:49:59,040 --> 00:50:01,160
question to get all the time
through the content creators

1063
00:50:01,160 --> 00:50:03,680
account and website.
What you're really talking about

1064
00:50:03,680 --> 00:50:06,800
is inconsistent income.
This month I have income next

1065
00:50:06,800 --> 00:50:08,280
month is crickets, the next
month I have.

1066
00:50:08,680 --> 00:50:11,320
It's very hard, I'm not going to
lie to anybody.

1067
00:50:11,800 --> 00:50:13,080
There's really two components to
that.

1068
00:50:13,160 --> 00:50:15,720
Number one is look at your tax
return from last year and look

1069
00:50:15,720 --> 00:50:20,040
at your effective tax rate.
At a very minimum, I would tax

1070
00:50:20,040 --> 00:50:22,120
vault whatever your effective
tax rate is.

1071
00:50:22,480 --> 00:50:24,720
So if you're filing a tax rate
in the United States and let's

1072
00:50:24,720 --> 00:50:27,000
just say you're in the in the
middle to lower tiers, you're at

1073
00:50:27,000 --> 00:50:30,440
the 22% tax bracket at the very
minimum, I put 22%.

1074
00:50:30,440 --> 00:50:33,080
Now, if you're starting to see
things increasing, maybe you you

1075
00:50:33,080 --> 00:50:37,280
cheat that up to 25 or even 30%.
The other side of this, and you

1076
00:50:37,280 --> 00:50:39,280
didn't ask, it's not a tax
related question, but so many

1077
00:50:39,280 --> 00:50:41,240
country creators get themselves
in trouble because they have a

1078
00:50:41,240 --> 00:50:44,000
good month and they go and spend
and spend and spend and then all

1079
00:50:44,000 --> 00:50:45,440
of a sudden crickets the next
month.

1080
00:50:46,160 --> 00:50:49,480
So one of the things that I say
is don't spend money until you

1081
00:50:49,480 --> 00:50:52,960
see consistency.
You know, what are your bare

1082
00:50:52,960 --> 00:50:56,160
minimum business bills?
Don't spend more than that.

1083
00:50:56,160 --> 00:50:58,560
It's what Dr. and I love what
Dr. said she goes, I have this

1084
00:50:58,560 --> 00:51:01,480
fund and that fund I work with a
company called relay bank.

1085
00:51:01,680 --> 00:51:04,480
One of the reasons I like relay
Bank is that we're able to set

1086
00:51:04,480 --> 00:51:07,640
up pay yourself first scenarios.
We're able to set up separate

1087
00:51:07,640 --> 00:51:08,760
accounts.
One of the things I like to do

1088
00:51:08,760 --> 00:51:11,200
with the content creators said,
oh, you really want to get some

1089
00:51:11,200 --> 00:51:13,360
new gear, don't you?
Great, here's what we're going

1090
00:51:13,360 --> 00:51:14,800
to do.
We're going to set up a new gear

1091
00:51:14,800 --> 00:51:18,080
fund and every we're going to
put X number of dollars in that

1092
00:51:18,080 --> 00:51:19,520
fund.
We're going to put so much in

1093
00:51:19,520 --> 00:51:21,440
the tax vault.
So BCI hope that answers your

1094
00:51:21,440 --> 00:51:24,400
question.
But at a very bare minimum, look

1095
00:51:24,400 --> 00:51:26,560
at your effective tax rate from
last year.

1096
00:51:27,240 --> 00:51:29,240
Understand whether you're going
to pay self-employment tax.

1097
00:51:29,240 --> 00:51:31,520
Like Sid and I have beat that
horse to death, I think today.

1098
00:51:32,240 --> 00:51:34,440
So at least have an
understanding.

1099
00:51:34,800 --> 00:51:37,400
You may a good news is like as
much as Sid wants to throw

1100
00:51:37,400 --> 00:51:41,520
accountants under the bus and
I'm just being funny, Sid, if a

1101
00:51:41,520 --> 00:51:44,360
client comes to me and they're
prepared, hey, I get a hug at

1102
00:51:44,360 --> 00:51:46,760
the end of the meeting.
Oh, Ralph, I am so excited.

1103
00:51:46,760 --> 00:51:49,200
You told me to put that money in
a tax log and now I can go on a

1104
00:51:49,200 --> 00:51:51,880
vacation because I didn't even
need to spend that much because

1105
00:51:51,880 --> 00:51:54,180
you set me up for success.
And that's really the key take

1106
00:51:54,180 --> 00:51:56,920
away for today.
The key take away for today is

1107
00:51:56,920 --> 00:52:00,440
the biggest money mistake that
content creators do is they

1108
00:52:00,440 --> 00:52:03,880
don't set themselves up for
success from the beginning.

1109
00:52:04,280 --> 00:52:07,640
So if you've not heard anything
else I've said today, set

1110
00:52:07,640 --> 00:52:11,920
yourself up for success from the
beginning and then you will you

1111
00:52:11,920 --> 00:52:15,400
will get the benefits from that
for years and months and going

1112
00:52:15,400 --> 00:52:18,920
on by setting it up with
intentionality at the front end

1113
00:52:18,920 --> 00:52:21,080
and.
I do have one tiny follow up if

1114
00:52:21,080 --> 00:52:24,160
we got a minute for it, Mark.
Now if we do see the growth like

1115
00:52:24,160 --> 00:52:26,960
you mentioned, Ralph, and we do
decide, oh, maybe I should move

1116
00:52:26,960 --> 00:52:30,560
up to this tax bracket for this
month, do we then need to

1117
00:52:30,560 --> 00:52:34,840
retroactively look at previous
months and take a little bit out

1118
00:52:35,120 --> 00:52:38,480
for those months, assuming at
the end of the year for next tax

1119
00:52:38,480 --> 00:52:41,040
season, The entire year is
treated as one tax bracket.

1120
00:52:41,040 --> 00:52:45,040
So if we end up upping how much
we put away further into the

1121
00:52:45,040 --> 00:52:47,840
year, do we have to
retroactively take care of that

1122
00:52:47,880 --> 00:52:49,840
from previous months?
Yes, the answer.

1123
00:52:49,880 --> 00:52:51,680
Quick question, quick answer,
yes.

1124
00:52:52,200 --> 00:52:55,960
And the way I think about it as
a cumulative thing, so as you're

1125
00:52:55,960 --> 00:52:59,280
accumulating that profit, if you
were let's say the beginning of

1126
00:52:59,280 --> 00:53:02,080
the year, setting aside 10%
first three months and then

1127
00:53:02,080 --> 00:53:04,400
March, April, then all of a
sudden May comes and man, you

1128
00:53:04,400 --> 00:53:07,120
landed amazing brand deal.
Now you may have to go look and

1129
00:53:07,120 --> 00:53:10,760
say, OK, well year to date now
that 10% isn't going to work so

1130
00:53:10,760 --> 00:53:13,480
I've got to go retro.
But honestly, if you think about

1131
00:53:13,480 --> 00:53:16,920
it in terms of doing it weekly,
biweekly, monthly, I think

1132
00:53:16,920 --> 00:53:19,640
you're going to be OK as long as
you're graduating that up.

1133
00:53:19,640 --> 00:53:21,560
But always, yeah, that's, I
mean, when I work with clients,

1134
00:53:21,680 --> 00:53:23,800
when we get closer to the end of
the year, we're looking at a

1135
00:53:23,800 --> 00:53:25,920
bigger picture.
When we're first starting off in

1136
00:53:25,920 --> 00:53:27,960
the first quarter, we're looking
at, OK, what happened the first

1137
00:53:27,960 --> 00:53:30,600
quarter, OK, is this really
going to happen all year?

1138
00:53:30,600 --> 00:53:32,320
Is it not?
But no, to answer your question,

1139
00:53:32,320 --> 00:53:34,880
yeah, I mean, it's going to be
cumulative BC so at the end of

1140
00:53:34,880 --> 00:53:37,360
the year, whatever that is,
that's what you're going to pay.

1141
00:53:37,360 --> 00:53:40,520
So yes, you may have to, but if
you have a fantastic, you know,

1142
00:53:40,520 --> 00:53:43,280
mid year and end of year, yeah,
you're going to have to retro

1143
00:53:43,280 --> 00:53:44,640
and go back and say, oh, you
know what?

1144
00:53:44,840 --> 00:53:47,080
The other thing here's a little
sneaky teeth take away too.

1145
00:53:47,840 --> 00:53:50,640
That's when you want to talk to
somebody like me and says, hey,

1146
00:53:50,720 --> 00:53:53,960
it's really hitting now, Ralph,
can we go back and fix this for

1147
00:53:53,960 --> 00:53:56,880
the current year?
And the answer is yes, there's

1148
00:53:56,880 --> 00:53:59,360
some things we can do to fix it
for the current year and

1149
00:53:59,360 --> 00:54:01,480
potentially cut down on that
self-employment tax.

1150
00:54:01,600 --> 00:54:03,640
You just got to reach out to
somebody that knows what they're

1151
00:54:03,640 --> 00:54:05,000
talking about.
Gotcha.

1152
00:54:05,120 --> 00:54:07,320
Cool.
Thank you Ralph.

1153
00:54:07,320 --> 00:54:11,400
Awesome and I think we are
really close to time here.

1154
00:54:11,400 --> 00:54:16,240
I know that Dr. chimed in the
chat said she uses Wave where I

1155
00:54:16,240 --> 00:54:18,640
use QuickBooks.
There are lots of different

1156
00:54:18,640 --> 00:54:20,160
ones.
I think Honey Book is another

1157
00:54:20,160 --> 00:54:22,880
one that a lot of content.
Yeah, BC is giving the thumbs

1158
00:54:22,880 --> 00:54:24,280
up.
A lot of content creators use

1159
00:54:24,280 --> 00:54:27,120
Honey Book as well.
There are lots of different

1160
00:54:27,120 --> 00:54:30,320
tools, but where do you want to
land this plane, Ralph?

1161
00:54:30,880 --> 00:54:33,760
So here's the thing.
Like I said, be intentional and

1162
00:54:33,760 --> 00:54:37,720
use what works for you.
If you love spreadsheets, use

1163
00:54:37,720 --> 00:54:39,960
spreadsheets.
If you love QuickBooks, use

1164
00:54:39,960 --> 00:54:41,760
QuickBooks.
If you love honey, if you love

1165
00:54:41,920 --> 00:54:45,320
Wave, whatever you're going to
use, I don't really care.

1166
00:54:45,960 --> 00:54:48,840
Use something.
But like I said, my I want to

1167
00:54:48,840 --> 00:54:51,080
land this plain on this
intentionality.

1168
00:54:51,560 --> 00:54:54,880
Be intentional in your setup, be
intentional in the use of it.

1169
00:54:55,080 --> 00:54:57,240
And like I said, like we said
today, you don't have to set up

1170
00:54:57,240 --> 00:55:00,120
something elaborate.
You can use a separate card.

1171
00:55:00,120 --> 00:55:02,240
That's quote not business.
I think as you grow, you're

1172
00:55:02,240 --> 00:55:05,240
going to grow into those things.
But it's really simple of trying

1173
00:55:05,240 --> 00:55:08,480
to intentionally keep things
separate so that by the time you

1174
00:55:08,480 --> 00:55:11,440
get to the end of the year, you
know, OK, here's what I can

1175
00:55:11,440 --> 00:55:13,240
expect.
Here's how much I've got set

1176
00:55:13,240 --> 00:55:17,320
aside for taxes and you don't
have that scary feeling like Oh

1177
00:55:17,320 --> 00:55:20,040
my God, April 15th again.
I hate this time of year.

1178
00:55:20,080 --> 00:55:23,880
If I can make you feel better
about tax time, then I've done

1179
00:55:23,880 --> 00:55:25,720
my job well.
And then people like Said won't

1180
00:55:25,720 --> 00:55:29,360
hate the accountants anymore.
Yes.

1181
00:55:29,360 --> 00:55:33,200
And I'm glad we have a content
creators accountant here on the

1182
00:55:33,200 --> 00:55:36,040
podcasting morning chat,
somebody who I think does make

1183
00:55:36,040 --> 00:55:40,760
it much more digestible.
I'll say that it's never fun

1184
00:55:40,960 --> 00:55:44,040
having to deal with your taxes
and your money.

1185
00:55:44,040 --> 00:55:45,920
And that's, well, it can be fun,
I guess.

1186
00:55:45,920 --> 00:55:49,000
But as far as keeping it all
organized and doing all the

1187
00:55:49,000 --> 00:55:51,560
things that we've shared today,
it can be challenging.

1188
00:55:51,560 --> 00:55:53,960
And Ralph certainly does make it
easier.

1189
00:55:53,960 --> 00:55:58,520
And remember to go to that URL.
If you want some more customized

1190
00:55:58,520 --> 00:56:02,760
advice from Ralph, go to
contentcreatorsaccountant.com/help

1191
00:56:02,760 --> 00:56:03,520
me.
Is that right?

1192
00:56:03,520 --> 00:56:04,760
You got it.
Just content

1193
00:56:04,760 --> 00:56:08,960
creatorsaccountant.com/help me.
I'll be happy to jump on a call

1194
00:56:08,960 --> 00:56:09,960
with you.
I got to be honest with you,

1195
00:56:09,960 --> 00:56:13,120
right now my schedule is super
busy, but as soon as we get past

1196
00:56:13,120 --> 00:56:15,560
April 15th, I love content
creators.

1197
00:56:15,560 --> 00:56:18,120
I'm happy to sit down with you,
do a Zoom call, 15 minutes, and

1198
00:56:18,120 --> 00:56:19,360
we'll talk about what's going
on.

1199
00:56:19,720 --> 00:56:21,840
And then as Nikki said, we can
talk about what that looks like

1200
00:56:21,840 --> 00:56:23,240
in the future.
I just want to throw one more

1201
00:56:23,240 --> 00:56:25,480
thing out there.
Dave mentioned about Canadian

1202
00:56:25,480 --> 00:56:28,280
taxes.
I don't do Canadian taxes, but I

1203
00:56:28,280 --> 00:56:32,120
do consult with people in Canada
to help them with that scenario.

1204
00:56:32,120 --> 00:56:34,200
I just don't prepare Canadian
taxes.

1205
00:56:34,200 --> 00:56:37,800
But honestly, Dave, most of the
time money is money and there

1206
00:56:37,800 --> 00:56:40,240
are some nuances to it.
But I can work with people all.

1207
00:56:40,320 --> 00:56:42,880
I have clients all over the
world that I work with in this

1208
00:56:42,880 --> 00:56:45,360
regard.
So I am the person to go to if

1209
00:56:45,360 --> 00:56:47,120
you find like, it's a good fit,
if you feel like there's a good

1210
00:56:47,120 --> 00:56:49,160
relationship here.
Awesome.

1211
00:56:49,360 --> 00:56:52,360
Thank you, Ralph, and thank you
all for this great conversation.

1212
00:56:52,480 --> 00:56:55,440
Sometimes when you know it comes
to taxes and organizing your

1213
00:56:55,440 --> 00:56:59,360
money may not be the most
engaging topic on a lot of

1214
00:56:59,360 --> 00:57:02,560
shows, but I think this today
was a very engaging discussion.

1215
00:57:02,560 --> 00:57:04,320
So thank you for bringing this
today, Ralph.

1216
00:57:04,320 --> 00:57:07,680
Looking forward to the next one
I want at some point, maybe it's

1217
00:57:07,680 --> 00:57:11,200
the next one, maybe it's one
upcoming, but I'd love to talk

1218
00:57:11,200 --> 00:57:16,080
more monetization secrets
strategies as a content creator.

1219
00:57:16,280 --> 00:57:19,040
So maybe we can talk a little
bit about that and see what we

1220
00:57:19,040 --> 00:57:20,480
can put together for the next
one.

1221
00:57:20,640 --> 00:57:23,560
We are back tomorrow at 7:00 AM
Eastern.

1222
00:57:23,560 --> 00:57:27,640
We are opening the mailbag I
will be hosting live from my

1223
00:57:27,640 --> 00:57:31,800
parents home tomorrow.
I'm going to visit my folks and

1224
00:57:31,800 --> 00:57:35,400
friends and family in Maryland.
So we'll see how all of that

1225
00:57:35,400 --> 00:57:37,600
works out.
I'm I've got a little anxiety

1226
00:57:37,600 --> 00:57:40,720
about putting it all together.
But remember, you can find out

1227
00:57:40,720 --> 00:57:43,280
all the ways to connect with us
at podcasting morning

1228
00:57:43,320 --> 00:57:47,840
chat.com/join us.
And I want to say this, please

1229
00:57:47,840 --> 00:57:51,440
come tomorrow if you are, if you
consider yourself a member of

1230
00:57:51,440 --> 00:57:55,680
this community, come tomorrow
because I have a what could be

1231
00:57:55,680 --> 00:58:00,400
considered a relatively big
question to ask you about this.

1232
00:58:00,400 --> 00:58:05,640
Show some thoughts I have about
possible changes possible.

1233
00:58:05,640 --> 00:58:08,880
But I don't like to make changes
without working with you, the

1234
00:58:08,880 --> 00:58:12,080
community first to get a good
understanding of how you feel

1235
00:58:12,080 --> 00:58:14,760
about any changes.
So don't be scared, but I want

1236
00:58:14,760 --> 00:58:17,840
you to come tomorrow so that you
can give your input.

1237
00:58:18,040 --> 00:58:19,400
Ralph, did you have something
else you wanted to?

1238
00:58:19,400 --> 00:58:20,800
Say before, I just want to say
one more thing.

1239
00:58:20,800 --> 00:58:23,120
If you're getting value from the
show, we'd love for you to

1240
00:58:23,120 --> 00:58:24,200
support the show.
You can go to

1241
00:58:24,200 --> 00:58:29,640
podcastingmorningchat.com/support.
Again, that's podcasting morning

1242
00:58:29,640 --> 00:58:32,440
chat.com/support and show us a
little love that you're

1243
00:58:32,600 --> 00:58:34,400
appreciating the show and where
we're going with the show.

1244
00:58:34,400 --> 00:58:37,120
So thank you, Mark.
And remember, all links that we

1245
00:58:37,160 --> 00:58:40,080
share with you during the show,
we will put those in the show

1246
00:58:40,080 --> 00:58:41,600
notes.
I know we've thrown out a lot of

1247
00:58:41,600 --> 00:58:44,200
them today.
So just go check the show notes

1248
00:58:44,200 --> 00:58:47,400
and you'll have your directory
of links to go check out.

1249
00:58:47,680 --> 00:58:49,520
So thank you all for a great
conversation.

1250
00:58:49,520 --> 00:58:53,240
We'll be back tomorrow.
And until then, make it a great

1251
00:58:53,240 --> 00:58:54,760
day.
Everybody, take care.