You Are a Brand

It’s time to set up your business.

You need to set yourself up as a business, yes you. Whether you LLC, Incorporate or do an S Corp is up to you, do the research and make the best decision. You need to do this before you start doing projects, so you can start off the financial end of your career writing off your expenses. 

If you’ve begun doing projects, pause and ensure you’re saving yourself money rather than spending by setting up your business.

Get your money right.

Make sure you start a savings account, get a Roth IRA and some index bonds as soon as you can. These accounts do not need to be flowing with cash when you start. If you’re strapped for cash you’ll need to be strategic with which accounts you get first, but as soon as you’re financially able make sure you have a diverse portfolio. You will 100% need this if you’re going to work outside of the traditional entertainment systems. 

If you’re able to hire a financial planner, do so. If not, it’s time to get to work with tracking your expenses. Here’s a Google Spreadsheet to track your expenses, you can copy and paste it into your own Google Spreadsheet to get started with tracking expenses for tax write-offs. Another great way to track your expenses is through Intuit products like Quickbooks and Mint.

Set yourself up for financial success outside of the industry, so you don’t have additional stress.

Don’t let companies tether you with insurance.

Personally speaking, I hate dealing with insurance plans, but it’s a part of life. When you’ve never had anyone explain how health and life insurance work, it can be very difficult to navigate plans and choose what’s best for you. 

Why should your employer get to choose who carries your most precious form of insurance? And why should they get the tax deductions that come with it, instead of you? Corporates don’t care about you, they pick insurance companies that give them the best deal for their budgets. 

Having an LLC, S Corp, or some type of personal business will give you power. You’ll have the freedom to walk away from a bad work environment or try something new career-wise knowing your health and life insurance are already secured. No one can hold having access to health care over your head and you don’t have to worry about it if you get laid off or fired unexpectedly when you control it yourself.

You need insurance for other things too.

You need to get insurance for your home, your car (if you have one), your equipment (if you have any), and anything else that would be a total bitch to replace.

This is not an optional thing, don’t play yourself and hold off on getting insurance. You’ll feel dumb when your shit gets stolen out of your car or your laptop gets busted. Life is cruel, you’ll likely need your insurance at a very stressful time, don’t make things worse by not having it at all.