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1. DannyQ
   Member Profile

   Hey Everyone,

   You're looking at Seattle's NEWEST small business owner!

   I now proudly own "DQ Entertainment" at 23 years old.

   Monthly I have about 16 shows around the good old PNW and I have been paying cash to my musicians. Unfortunately that's clearly not the way to do it. For many other reasons, including deductions, after a year and a half of toying with this idea, I decided to apply for my own business license and get a business checking account.

   I desperately need someone who is accountant qualified (retired or active) who can guide this young man to make the right, faithful American decisions. I want to do this right and make my family proud as the first business owner to our knowledge, EVER!

   Please don't ruin this post people, I'm living on Cloud 9 right now! :)

   Posted 6 months ago #         

2. Talaki34
   Member Profile

   

   Congratulations!!! Pursuing a dream takes lots of courage. Take a little time to savor the moment now for there will be lots of hard work ahead and you may not have the opportunity later.

   I suggest that you keep a personal record of things that are working and not working for you. It is also a good place to go to review your thoughts.

   There used to be a program of retired businessmen that would donate time to new businesses. I don’t know if they still do this or not, but it is worth looking into. Look at local associations too that might help you network.

   The accountants I know are very busy, but I will keep my ears open.

   I am doing the dance of Joy for you and I hope all your dreams come true!

   Posted 6 months ago #         

3. JoB
   Member Profile

   "I am doing the dance of Joy for you and I hope all your dreams come true!"

   me too.

   Posted 6 months ago #         

4. miws
   Member Profile

   

   Congrats Danny!

   The mentoring program that Talaki suggests may be the SCORE Program of the US Small Business Administration.

   http://www.sba.gov/content/find-business-mentor

   Mike

   Posted 6 months ago #         

5. Sue
   Member Profile

   

   Danny, I highly recommend Seattle Score: http://seattle.score.org - they offer free assistance and also some paid workshops on everything you need to know about running a small business. When I set up my Butterfly Balance business, I knew how to do the business licensing since my day job is in corporate law, but the business running/tax aspect of it was new to me. They helped me navigate the system and were very helpful. Just know that if you set up the business already, you will need to file some business tax forms by (I believe) January 31st, which is independent of income taxes.

   Posted 6 months ago #         

6. hooper1961
   Member Profile

   Quickbooks is a decent bookkeeping software; good luck

   Posted 6 months ago #         

7. ghar72
   Member Profile

   Ann Ott with Bailey Davis is awesome. She's done our personal taxes the past three years (same-sex couple, kids, house...kind of tricky these days with the feds). My sister is a small business owner and Ann does her taxes for her.
   *
   Ann-Louise Ott, President
   Bayley Davis Associates, Inc.
   2850 SW Yancy St. PMB 214
   Seattle, WA 98126
   Ph: 206-937-7410
   Fax: 206-937-7416
   ann@bayleydavis.com
   http://www.bayleydavis.com

   Posted 6 months ago #         

8. DannyQ
   Member Profile

   You are all great! What amazing support!

   Since last night, I have spoken with multiple people and have read the thoughts on this thread. People have highly suggested to me to go through an actual accountant and pay the monthly cost at least for the first 3 months, then they suggest switching to Quickbooks in order to maintain my own business as there is little to no complexity.

   Posted 6 months ago #         

9. JoB
   Member Profile

   i think that is great advice
   setting yourself up correctly avoids all kinds of headaches later

   Posted 6 months ago #         

10. redblack
    Member Profile

    

    i have worked for a few small businesses in the construction industry, and here's my two cents:

    if you can afford the filing fees and such, you should consider incorporating - maybe as an LLC - in order to firewall your business expenses from your personal assets. if things go south with your business, you don't want it to adversely affect your personal finances. as i understand it, LLC can prevent your business creditors from seizing your home or your car or anything that's not directly related to your business. it also allows you to protect your business' name.

    congratulations, sir, and good fortune to you.

    hey! maybe you should consider advertising your shows on WSB. i hear the ad rates are very reasonable. :)

    Posted 6 months ago #         

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