Running a Business Archives - Page 3 of 7

21May 2018 by Galen

Recording business mileage

We live on Twitch, we’re all hermetical shut-ins, right? Despite that stereotype, you likely do some driving that you wouldn’t normally do if you weren’t streaming. You may be going to a local meetup, a conference, or just taking a meeting that requires a bit of a drive. If so, you should document how many miles you travel. Why would I track miles? Considering it’s a bit of a pain to remember and actually log your miles, why would you do it? There’s an easy answer: if you drove somewhere you wouldn’t normally have because of your business you can get a deduction. That deduction will save you on taxes! For instance, this year I'm going to be driving to TwitchCon. That's several hundred miles and therefore several hundred dollars…

07May 2018 by Galen

Quarterly taxes: How and why

Running a Business, Taxes

Taxes, as always everyone’s favorite topic. Did you know that when you’re self-employed you’re supposed to pay them every three months (aka your quarterly taxes)? Unlike everyone else it’s not a once a year thing for you. Why do you owe quarterly taxes? There’s actually a good reason for owing quarterly taxes. When you’re working for someone else they’re taking a portion of what you owe out of each paycheck. This gets the IRS their money sooner and it prevents you from owing a huge amount come tax time. When you’re on your own well… you’re on your own on the taxes side as well! We’re a pay as you go tax system so you are supposed to pay your taxes as you make income. A common refrain in the…

30Apr 2018 by Galen

How to file a 1099 for contractors

Running a Business, Taxes

Hey want to know something important for business that basically no streamer does? You’re supposed to file a 1099-MISC for any contractor you paid more than $600 in a year. That emote artist? Yup. Your manager? Yup. Your lawyer? Yes, but on the 1099-NEC. Housekeeping EIN: Employer Identification Number. The thing you want to do a free filing for so you don’t have to give your contractors your Social Security Number. W-9: The form you should have sent your contractors to get their official information including Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), address, and legal name. When do you need to file a 1099 I kind of spoiled it in the introduction, but you’re supposed to file a 1099-MISC for any contractor you pay more than $600. You could also do it…

09Apr 2018 by Galen

Bookkeeper vs Accountant

Running a Business

Today we’re going to talk about the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant with the goal of showing you when you might want or need their services. Their work is extremely boring but necessary and helpful. Part of me takes a sort of sick pleasure in all of the moaning and groaning I hear from streamers around tax time. It’s an “I told you so” kind of thing. Is there a word for that? However, it mostly causes me pain. I don’t want you guys to suffer through tax time. It’s especially rough for streamers since so many people didn’t set out to run their own business. Additionally, you’re in an industry that the IRS has barely heard of so it can be hard to find resources to help…

26Mar 2018 by Galen

Earning like Ninja

Galen's musings, Running a Business

I think it's cool that Ninja's been doing so incredibly well. He’s on a roll with the awesome Drake co-stream, a phenomenal interview on CNBC, and just generally being a good guy while shattering records. Heck, I'm willing to bet that CNBC dramatically underestimated Ninja's monthly income when they said he's making $500k a month. I'll go into that in a sec. I also want to cover why while it's possible to make that much, it's hard to do. We'll go into the numbers on a couple of different scenarios. The critical thing to recognize with each of them is that even the smallest case I'll discuss is still easily in the top 1% of streamers. Streaming isn't an easy job. You work regularly 8+ hours a day ON CAMERA…

12Mar 2018 by Galen

Retirement Accounts for Streamers

Personal Finances, Running a Business, Taxes

Moblord's Mean Retirement Intro: Look, you're probably a great broadcaster. People like you. People sub and donate to you. But what I'm about to say is going to seem pretty harsh: You almost certainly won't retire as a career-long broadcaster. Really not a reflection on you personally as much as it is just a numbers game. Less than 1% of broadcasters are partners and less than 1% of partners made over $20k last year. It's similar to the kind of numbers from sports or acting, so not totally unique, but it's rare to hear anything but the winner's stories told. Those who don't make the 1% of the 1% go on to do other things with the rest of their lives and it becomes just a great story for the…

26Feb 2018 by Galen

Organization

Running a Business

This post was inspired by yesterday’s YourBrandYourBusiness show where PetraCat joined us to discuss organization. As we said in the show, with organization there’s an element of “I know it when I see it” but it’s hard to strictly define. That being said, it’s really important for a business owner and especially a streamer to be organized. Let’s cover some of the benefits of being organized plus some of the tools I use. Benefits of being organized The first benefit of being organized is that it reduces your stress. You know where things are, what you have to do, and by when you have to do them. You’re much less likely to wake up in the middle of the night remembering something that you didn’t do. It also helps you…

12Feb 2018 by Galen

Last Minute Tax Moves for 2017

Running a Business, Taxes

Did you know there are still some things you can do to reduce your 2017 taxes? You’ve missed most tax savings opportunities since they tend to have to happen within the calendar year. However, there are a couple that you can still do… and even an extra two available to you as a business owner! One really important note: I’m not a CPA and if you’re looking for specific tax advice you should talk to a CPA. I’ve sent folks to Ernest Jones before and he knows his Twitch… check him out. Additionally, you could check out our article on taxes here. Traditional IRA + HSA First, assuming your return shows under $72k Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) single ($119k married) you can get a tax deduction for contributing to…

22Jan 2018 by Galen

Mental accounting

Personal Finances, Running a Business

Mental Accounting We’re continuing our discussion on way to trick yourself into making smarter money moves. I think in particular the method we’re talking about today, mental accounting, can work really well for streamers. What is mental accounting? Mental accounting describes an interesting way that humans think. When we’re looking at some resource that we possess we tend to assign it to a specific category. Picture it like you’re saying that you only use the money in one particular account for one purpose and no other. Perhaps you have certain nicer things you keep to use only when you have company, like a nice bottle of wine. Just remember: mental accounting is assigning a resource to a specific purpose that isn’t necessarily its only purpose. When can it be bad?…

16Jan 2018 by Galen

Bet on Yourself for Accountability

Galen's musings, Personal Finances, Running a Business

I came across a really interesting personal accountability tactic while reading the book Nudge, a book with strong behavioral finance implications. If you’ve not read it before, I think it’s pretty interesting. Anyways, the basic idea is that you set up a meaningful bet that you will do something. That way, you are in control of the outcome. This could be an awesome tactic that helps you improve your stream’s consistency or your business’s operations. The book’s examples The author is a professor and part of his work involves mentoring PhD students during their thesis. His students have a strong financial incentive to finish their thesis as soon as possible because it leads to a promotion, increased pay, and increased benefits. However, one of the main ideas in the book is…

Category: Running a Business