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Death and Taxes · Divas That Care Network

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's Divas that Care Radio.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: Stories, strategies, and ideas to inspire positive change.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Divas That Care, a network of women committed to making our world a better place for everyone.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: This is a global movement for women, by women engaged in a collaborative effort to create a better world for future generations.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: To find out more about the movement, visit divas that care.com after the show.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Right now, though, stay tuned for another jolt of inspiration.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: Namaste, and welcome to the Divas That Care Network.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: I'm your host, Gia Raquel Rose, owner of Airs Above Yoga, and you are listening to Above the Ground Podcast.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: If this is your first time tuning in, our network is going into its 16th year and is listened to in over 30 countries.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: I'd like to personally thank you for giving me the gift of your time.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: As always, it is my honor to hold space with and for you.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_01: And today I am super stoked because we have a very dear friend of mine and a woman who is whose brain works in a way that mine will never have the capacity to.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: And so I am grateful to her for joining us today.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, the wonderful Mrs.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: Susan Goodhand, CPA.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: So for all of the wonderful women out there who are entrepreneurs and wanting to start businesses, deaf and taxes is what I'm going to roll with.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: And Susan is here to give us her sage words of wisdom so that we can best prepare ourselves for the inevitable, which is going to be April of the upcoming year.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: So, Susan, would you please share a little bit about your business, how you got started, and um we'll dive into anything that might be able to help fellow female and male entrepreneurs because taxes are for everyone.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_01: They do not discriminate.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_02: Taxes are for everyone, and they don't need to be terrifying.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_02: You um you can plan ahead and have your ducks in a row and be ready for tax time, as well as keeping your ducks in a row throughout the year helps you plan better for your tax business.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_02: You know, not your tax business, for your business.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_02: So um, how I got started, I went to college and studied accounting, and I worked for um a medium-sized regional firm for a bunch of years, and then I switched off to corporate accounting and did some, you know, assistant controller work.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um but I always kind of kept my foot in the public accounting, and I have had a number of clients over the years, you know, that I've had some of them for 30 years.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_02: And um I just enjoy, have always enjoyed helping people, especially helping to empower women in their businesses.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_02: And by keeping it simple and staying steady with your, you know, what you're doing, you can understand what's needed and have the valuable information for your business.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_02: So for instance, you know, say we're just someone's just getting started in a business, you know, you are gonna need to determine if you're gonna do an LLC, a C Corp, an S Corp, or just stay as a sole proprietor.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_02: And the main driver behind that really is a legal matter.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm an accountant, CPA, I'm not an attorney, a lawyer.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_02: I do know that you know LLCs are very popular and they do afford protection, and they're a simpler way of getting that protection than becoming an S Corp or a C Corp.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um, obviously, if you have partners, you know, you're you're gonna need to look at things a different way than if you're just a sole proprietor.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna assume that for the most part, most of the people that we're talking to today are just individuals that have a business that, you know, maybe they have employees, maybe they have contract employees.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, that's actually saying it wrong.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_02: Contractors, independent contract.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know, the 1099s of the world.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we do have to be really careful about talking about employees versus independent contractors, because um really the state of New Jersey is the agency who cares the most about that.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um they're really looking out for the employees, they're looking to see if uh employers are skirting an issue of making someone an employee when you know they don't want to carry workers' comp.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_02: They don't want to carry uh, well not carry, they don't want to pay half of the Social Security and half of the Medicare and the New Jersey unemployment and disability.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_02: So it's really, you know, the state of New Jersey is the one who has the most to say about whether someone's a contractor or an employee.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_02: Or right.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_02: And it really comes down to a matter of control.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_02: Are you like, say for instance, you have a retail store, and the retail store is open from you know nine to five, and you need somebody to work from nine to one o'clock every day.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_02: Well, you're exerting a fair amount of control over their schedule, you're exerting a fair amount of control over what they do.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_02: Say, for instance, in my case, I have an accounting client and they say, I just want it done.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_02: They don't care when I do it, they don't care how I do it, they just want to know that it's done and that at the end of any particular period, we can look at the financial statements.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_02: There's a huge difference in those two scenarios I just described.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_02: So one is an independent contractor and one is a controlled employee.
• 6:37
  unknown: Right.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_02: Now, if you have an employee, I'm not, I keep using misusing the word, if you have someone who works for you and they're paid on commission only, which is based on sales or some other measurable thing, which I can't imagine what else it would be other than sales, right?
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you you know, you don't necessarily exercise the same amount of control, you know, as an employee.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, you want to be careful how you set yourself up in terms of when you're starting a business.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_02: And you want to keep it as simple as you can, but you also want to, you know, stay legal.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_01: Now the And I would imagine they also have some sense of consistency too, right?
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: Like there's an element of, you know, getting, I would imagine, lost in the weeds if you start, if you're starting a business and you start to pick and choose a little bit which direction you're gonna go.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: And it really makes the most sense to be a little more cohesive for your purposes, I'm assuming, once people get to that point of reaching out to you, um, and for their own mental well-being as they're wrangling all the things that go into a business to start it out.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I will say that for me, I have talked to so many people, and especially women, mostly women, but I've talked to so many people before they get started in a business.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_02: The time to really have these conversations is before you start your business.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_02: And it doesn't matter to me.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_02: I'm happy to talk to someone for an hour, an hour and a half, even if they never use me as an accountant, just to have the conversations about, you know, pitfalls and kind of what you need to consider in advance of starting a business.
• 8:19
  unknown: Right.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_02: You know, like insurance, for instance, um, you know, whether you need to get, you know, general business insurance.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um do you need your employees to be bonded?
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_02: You know, is there a lot of cash?
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_02: Is there, you know, concern of that?
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_02: Do you need tenant insurance if you're renting a space?
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_02: Do you need do you have inventory?
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_02: Do you need your inventory specifically insured?
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_02: So it's really a matter of talking to all the professionals and finding out, you know, what's needed.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_02: Because you know, just a conversation is gonna trigger other things that maybe as a new business owner someone wasn't thinking about.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_02: But having the conversation, you know, that's why when when someone asks a tax question, it's it's almost always like, well, that depends.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_02: And I know that's not the answer anyone wants to hear, but it really does depend on the rest of your situation.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you have nothing else except a business, and your business is you know doing well, fine, then that's all you have.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_02: But if you have a spouse who has a W-2 who has no withholding, then all of a sudden come the end of the year, you guys are gonna have a tax bill.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_02: If you have a lot of medical expenses one year, you could get a deduction for that.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um it's there's you know, there's just so many variables.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: And so what I'm hearing is it's very nuanced, obviously.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I think we all know that.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like that's just, you know, like a captain obvious statement, but I think that, you know, it's true.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's every taxes are as individual as literally almost anything, if not the most individualized thing, and they are completely situational.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_01: And so if you are, I know it's hard, and obviously, like we're talking, you and I are both in the state of New Jersey, but we're talking uh to people who may be in other countries, and obviously, you know, this is not gonna be for everyone.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: So disclaim big disclaimer alert, if you're out of the state of New Jersey, then you know, some of these are gonna apply for federal only, right?
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but it's still a good idea to talk about the startup of a business, getting your ducks in a row, making sure you have professionals that you trust and can count on and are reliable.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because as, you know, as you unfold the process and you kind of dive into it, what I found trying to run my own business is essentially things become contingent.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: So one aspect can't be completed or ticked off the list of to-do until this other aspect comes into play.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_01: And then the conversation becomes okay, well, once I talk to the insurance broker, then I have to have a conversation with my accountant, decide whether I'm gonna move towards W-2 or 1099 and how that may affect your bottom line, which at the end of the day, unfortunately, the business is only truly there to make money because you're not going to be able to continue to run it effectively and help people or offer support or do whatever service or retail or whatever it is that you're providing.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_01: If you aren't making any money, you will no longer be able to do it.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: So unfortunately, we are in a capitalist society, and that is that is kind of to I don't know where the movie it's from, but the way the cookie crumbles.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like it's a Jim Carrey movie, but the way the cookie crumbles.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um so I'd like to touch on if you were if let's say you were talking to someone who's like, I want to start up a business.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: Are there any can can we touch on the potential benefits and or you know, maybe deterrence of an LLC versus an S Corp versus a C Corp for someone who's just starting out?
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it really, you know, everything that I've ever learned, read, et cetera, on it, it really comes down to your comfort level.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_02: Got it.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um an LLC provides a corporate shell.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_02: I think that's an okay term, and gives you the protection of your personal assets.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_02: And I mean, let's face it, it's a lit litigious world.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and things happen, you know, people get hurt, um, products don't work as intended.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, I think I think for most people, they're really they really are going with the LLC.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_02: It it and again, it really depends on if you have more than one person in the business.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_02: Got it.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_02: And why is that well because if if you have more than one person in the business, you're gonna need to have agreements, you're gonna need an operating agreement that includes starting the business, running the business, and you really do want to talk about how the business might end.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_02: And by that I mean like the buying out one person of another.
• 13:42
  unknown: Right.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_02: You want to talk about that before you even get started because you know, as time passes, people's expectations change.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_02: And you want to address a lot of that at the beginning so that you can understand it.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_02: And depending on your relationship with the person you're going into business with, you might want to talk about how decisions are made, you know, are how much leeway does one person have, or does everything have to be, you know, a group decision?
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_02: And especially once you get into having more than one partner, if you have three partners or more, you know, allegiances form, and you know, you just never really know.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, if you have a single member LLC, that is a disregarded entity for tax purposes, or I should say can be and mostly is.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_02: So you don't file a corporate tax return, you file a schedule C.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_02: If it's a regular business, you would file a Schedule C in your 1040 tax return.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um, if you have more than one member, you're gonna have to choose up and either be a partnership or an S-corp or a C Corp, but obviously a C Corp wouldn't be an LLC.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um and then if you're an S-corp, one of the big pitfalls of an S-corp people don't realize is that they have to pay themselves a salary, a double U2 salary.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_02: You can't take draw if you're an S-corp.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_02: Got it.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_02: And that's the law, like that's that's the IRS code.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_02: So um, you know, and again, I'm not really sure.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_02: I'm I haven't really done a lot of international stuff.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_02: I've done some, but I don't know about an international business, how they would go about filing within within the US.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, very interesting.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_01: So basically, if I'm an LLC and I want to pay myself, the money coming in is mine to do with as I please, as opposed to an S-corp where let's say, so what would happen if I decided I wanted to be an S-corp and I started my operating agreement and I said, okay, as a partner, as the potential the main person in the S-Corp, I'm gonna pay myself, you know, ten thousand dollars a month.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_01: Just let's just say.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: And then we start doing gangbusters, and I want to increase my pay rate.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_01: Is that how does that unfold or unpack with regard to I don't think that's a big deal.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_02: You just do it, you know, you would have just to make amendments and have an agreement.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_02: And when I say an agreement, I mean like just a conversation, and you might want to document it in you know, meeting notes.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_02: It's not a bad idea to document things in meeting notes.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_02: But say you have um, say you just have one partner, one business partner, and one of you has a full-time job somewhere else.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_02: And the person who's most working the business, the business is doing well, so it makes sense to give that person an increase in their salary.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, that makes perfect sense.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_02: There's no reason that you wouldn't do that.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_02: You know, they were willing to work for less until the business became successful, but now that the business is successful, they want to be paid.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_02: And you can also pay you know the other partner for their contributions to the to the business.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_02: Um you you just have to have to be in agreement.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_02: It has to be a reasonable for an S-corp, it has to be a reasonable salary.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_02: You know, like you can't pay somebody ten thousand dollars a year to work 40 hours a week.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_02: But if the business doesn't have the money, the business doesn't have the money.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_02: So Right.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_01: Circling back to the the nature of of business.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_01: And if you need, if you no matter what offer, what service you provide, if you're not making money at the end of the day, you're not gonna be providing much of anything.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_01: So um, that is the reality that we live in.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: So okay, good to know.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_01: And so if you are, let's say, starting off on your own, an LLC is probably not the worst idea for just an added layer of protection.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: It won't really make much of an effect on your taxes other than the addition of a Schedule C, but you're still filing as an individual, right?
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it just it kind of helps.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: And then you should also, if if that if we're having that conversation, then the LLC should have its own bank account.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_01: So let's talk a little bit about the preparation, like you said, um, for you know, for for yourself and then for for us as the business owners to kind of stay organized, keep on top of our own data as the year goes on.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: And then I'm I'm horrible about this.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_01: But so let's let's use me as the as the example of what not to do.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_01: Ideally you should keep your expenses for your business separate, right?
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: Like and different credit card or different account, but you know, keep track separate from your personal.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_02: So ideally, when you open a new business, you want to open a new bank account and you want to get yourself a credit card and you want to exclusively use that for the business.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_02: You want to deposit all your revenue, you know, all your income.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and so many businesses now take the cards.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_02: So you just link the credit card uh processor to your bank account.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_02: And then when you need to pay yourself, so to speak, you would just take the money out of that account.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_02: And and by that I mean you don't swipe for this or that.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_02: Take a draw.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_02: Take a thousand dollars a week, a thousand dollars a month, you know, two thousand, whatever, whatever you need and whatever the business supports.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_02: And you write a check out to yourself, you know, Gia.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and you say, you know, May just may draw, and then you take that check and you deposit it in your personal account and you do whatever you want with it.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_02: It has nothing to do with the business.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_02: So when you take a draw like that, that's a balance sheet item.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_02: So instead of it being a business expense, it's uh technically it's it's either going to become income on your schedule C.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_02: It's gonna remain as income on your Schedule C.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_02: And that's how your income gets reported.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_02: So at the end of the year, if there's money left in the business and your draw, that's really your income for the year that you would most likely pay self-employment tax on, which is social security, self-employment tax, and then personal income tax for federal and personal income tax for the state.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, okay.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um ideally, someone would be able to use something like QuickBooks or there's uh a number of programs.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_02: Zero.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_02: Um, if you're really intricate and complicated, you would buy, you know, um, oh my gosh, I'm having a brain drain about what they're even called because I haven't been in one in so long.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_01: One of them's TurboTax, right?
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_01: That's a big one.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_02: Well, no, this is TurboTax may have a bookkeeping module.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_02: But QuickBooks and um Zero and I can't even think of all of them because QuickBooks is just, you know, I hesitate to call it the gold standard because it's really a love-hate relationship with QuickBooks.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_02: Of course it is.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, of course it is.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but the nice thing about one of the really nice things about QuickBooks is that you can um have a couple of users, and it's mostly people are using the online version, and you can access it from anywhere.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_02: Again, you can link your bank accounts to it, your credit card to it.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_02: It does the downloads, you set up Rules, it accepts your transactions, and with not a lot of effort, you've got a pretty robust financial statement.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um it's really again, gold standard isn't the right word, but it's you know it's very widely used.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it also has pitfalls, one of them being that it's I find it to be a little expensive for a small business.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_02: I think it I think it's I think it's about$75.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_02: They might have like an entry level amount, but I think it's about$75 a month, which is a little prohibitive.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_02: So the other thing that I find works and helps with clients that have not a lot, not a crazy amount going on, is at the end of the year or periodically throughout the year, I'll meet with them, we'll go into their bank account on their computer, and I'll do a download of the activity into a Google Doc, a simple Google Doc.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_02: And then we mark everything that's revenue, we mark, you know, everything that's an expense, we would call it rent, we would call it um, I don't know, utilities, um supplies, whatever, whatever you have for your um for your expenses, you know, your contractor employees, if you I keep saying that, I keep doing it wrong.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_01: Your contractor contractors or your employees, yeah, your W-2s or your 1099s.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_02: And then you, you know, you you go from there and you have a clear picture.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_02: Now, if you get a credit card, you would also do the same thing for the credit card at at some point during the year.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_02: You would go onto your credit card account, you would download the activity, and you would um summarize it.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_02: And then come end of the year, and come the end of the year, you have all the details that you need to do your taxes.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_02: Now, for some people, this is like a crazy foreign idea.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_02: For me, if I sit down with you and we download your bank activity and then with you, or you tell me what everything is or put it in yourself, it's it takes me like 20 minutes.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_02: Whereas if you're gonna get out the paper and the pencil, you're gonna be there forever trying to figure it out.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_02: It's ours.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_02: It's easier to do these downloads.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_02: And again, if you're a big enough business, you're going to you're going to um need something like QuickBooks or Zero or a I can't again think of the word, um, you know, a general ledger package, something like that.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_02: But I feel like most of the people we're talking to are relatively small businesses.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_02: Um if you are going to have payroll, I highly recommend using a payroll company, not using a QuickBooks payroll company, the payroll company, QuickBooks, just using um, you know, either ADP Paychecks, Gusto.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_02: There's a couple more that are pretty popular.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_02: And the main reason is that while it's an expensive proposition to use them, all you have to do is make one mistake in doing your payroll.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_02: And you will have spent more than that fixing it and the penalties for not paying them on time.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_02: So it really is worth it.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, you can call paychecks and paychecks.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_02: I don't really love that company.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_02: You can call ADP and you can get a pretty sweet deal on processing your payroll.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and again, with the credit card, you get a credit card and you really only use it for your business.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_02: And then you don't have to think about if when I went to I don't know, Home Depot and bought something, was it to make a small repair at the studio, or was it you know, because I needed a lock on my front door at home?
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_02: If you if you stick to the rules, then it's just always easy.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_02: Um, one of the things that I really like is um if you have every month you can put in a plain vanilla envelope.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, all your stuff for the month.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_02: Um and then you just have it there, you know, or some other way of measuring things, you know, of um, you know, keeping things.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_02: My chair just slipped.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_02: Sorry about that.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_01: It's okay.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sitting on a yoga ball chair, and I will tell you, and more often than not, it tries to slide out from under me.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_02: You're already interpreting it.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_02: That hydraulic thing where it went with it.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I don't really understand it because sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_02: Um, yeah, so you know, we really just need to keep things in order as best we can so it's not a disaster at the end of the year.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and also then you can do some of the tax planning as the year goes.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_02: Like if you have no idea, you're like, well, I've got all kinds of money in the bank.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_02: That's an indicator that you're doing well and that you probably should make some estimated tax payments.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_02: If you have no money in the bank, but you've the but the reason you have no money in the bank is you've taken it all in draw.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_02: Well, that's the same as having income.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_02: So then you've kind of shot yourself in the foot a little bit in that you do need to make estimated payments, but you feel like you're broke.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_02: Well, maybe you're broke because you're taking too much out of the business and you need to leave a little more in.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, you really need to consider leaving, not either leaving or putting aside a quarter to a third of your income for taxes.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_02: Because that's a big number.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_02: It's a it's huge, it's a huge number.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_02: But you're gonna pay, you know, 11 to 12 percent in uh Medicare and Social Security tax for self-employment tax.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, that's big, it's a big chunk, plus whatever your tax rate is.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_02: And again, you have to consider that some of this, you know, if you have a spouse and your spouse is making money, your tax rate isn't gonna be 12%, you know, it's gonna be 20 something percent.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_02: So that's why.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_02: And there's the state tax, which again, if you're making um, you know, if you're making money, then you know, you really do need to allow for that because the last thing we want is the year end to come.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_02: And by year end I mean April 15th.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_02: And you're like, oh gosh, I've got a tax bill and I have no way to pay it.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 28:47
  unknown: Right.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_02: Because interestingly, the IRS doesn't love that.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_02: And neither does EJ.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_01: No one doesn't like no one, no one likes not getting paid.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so with the few minutes that we have left, I want to leave it on a happier note.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_01: So is there, is there so we've talked about LLCs, S-Corps, we've talked about W-2s, 1099s, we've talked about organization and keeping up tabs of things monthly as you're going through them so that you remember.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_01: I know for me at the end of the year, even though I keep, I have a Google spreadsheet, but even though I keep an I have an idea of my expenses and my income, I won't remember what a certain deposit that I made into my bank account may not have come from.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_01: If it came from like a paper check, right?
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_01: Something like that.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_01: It was a transfer in.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_01: And so I think the monthly thing, like it's while it's fresh in your mind, like that's a great idea.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_01: Go through your bank statement, anything that came in.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_01: What was that?
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, this is what it was.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_01: Make a note of it so that you kind of stay on top of it.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_01: Is there a happy tax tip or like a relief or an uh, like what's the opposite that you can share with us of 25 to 30 percent of your business income being given away to taxes?
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, well, I mean, I'm not gonna get this exactly right, but I remember years and years ago reading a quote by Malcolm Forbes.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_02: And Malcolm Forbes said, Why would you work 40 hours a week for somebody else when you can work 24 hours a day, seven days a week for yourself?
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_02: He, I mean, you can do anything you want in your own business.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_02: You can work it a lot, you can work it a little.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_02: You know, one of the things that I was going to touch on today was, you know, there's resources out there too for helping get started.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_02: I know that the some of the county colleges have resource centers, you know, there's um organizations that help women get started.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it's out there.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_02: We just have to take advantage of it and and you know, use it.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_01: So do your research, stay informed.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I love that quote, and I I I'm a firm believer in it.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I have worked for others and I and I've worked for myself, and I usually do a little bit of both.
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that that resonates very, very deeply.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Susan, before we wrap things up, would you like to share for people that are in the state of New Jersey, right?
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_01: Because that's where we are, that may want to pick your brain, have a business startup conversation or a a year-end tax call with you.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, now that this, now that your your busy season is slightly behind you, uh, please do share your contact information for for our listeners.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_02: So the best way to get in touch with me is to send me an email.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_02: And my email is uh sgoodhandcpa, and that's just at gmail.com.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_02: Perfect.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I don't always get back to people in a day, especially if it's not, you know, a client that is existing.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but definitely happy to have a conversation with pretty much anyone.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, no charge for a you know startup conversation.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um I'm really just like helping people in general, especially young people and women.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I definitely just really think knowledge is power, and we need to help people get it moving as best we can.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_01: Susan, thank you so much.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_01: Don't be afraid of your taxes.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_01: It's what we're gonna leave everybody with.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_01: And and Susan is here to help you and hold your hand through through the fire, if you will.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_01: But get up and face your fears, I think is the most important thing because it's not as scary as you can make it out to be.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's the most important thing to take away.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_01: Definitely not as scary.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_02: With a couple of tips and tricks, we can make it a lot more pleasant.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_01: So, with that said, I just want to share how much I appreciate each and every one of you for sharing this space with us today and ask that you please feel free to share the same with your loved ones.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_01: For more goodness, follow me on all the socials at Above the Ground Podcast and visit my website, airsaboveyoga.com.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_01: As always, don't forget to check out my other episodes and all of my amazing sisters at the Divas That Care Network.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_01: You can find us on Spotify, Odyssey, Apple, Amazon, iHeartRadio, or anywhere else you may feel guided.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_01: Again, my name is J.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_01: Raquel Rose, owner of Airsabove Yoga, and you are listening to Above the Ground Podcast, where every day is a good one.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_00: This show was brought to you by Divas That Care.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_00: Connect with us on Facebook, on Instagram, and of course on divas that care.com, where you can subscribe to our newsletter so you don't miss a thing.