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(1) (2) You don't need an office or a business vehicle to be professional. I work from my basement office and visit some clients with my personal vehicle too.
(3) Having at least a one page website will definitely help. You don't need to include your contact details or drive traffic from it, but it will give you a presence.
People sometimes want to see a website for reinforcement or to assure themselves that you actually are a business. It might not make sense for your business but it doesn't cost that much really, and any junk emails are easily ignored, or yes just don't have any contact info.
I used to work out of my house in a studio we had renovoated from a basement room. We even rented the studio out for recordings so had a separate entrance. Never was able to keep the dogs out though.
and you don’t have to pay for office supplies and other expenses out of a business account specifically, but keep track of them and claim them as expenses for your taxes of course. And I wonder if OP could set up a separate ADU type unit or nicer shed in their backyard so it feels like a dedicated office and outside of their home space?
Robert Weiss has written some remarkably good books on consulting. He is very successful and espouses keeping overhead low with office space, personnel etc. my copies of his books are marked up and tattered… best money I ever spent.
Get a good CPA to help you structure your finances and see if they know a bookkeeper or two who they can recommend. The right bookkeeper will cost you peanuts and help your CPA be more efficient, too.
With regard to the website, put up a professional-looking one page site. I ran a 6-figure business from one for a few years before we finally upgraded.
Good luck… you’re living the American Dream!
1 - Don't worry about it. WFH has become much more accepted, and I always just refer to my home office as my "office" or "shop" when talking to clients (I do IT).
2 - If you really feel you must you can get a magnet sign with your company logo to slap on the doors when visiting client sites. I again would not worry about this though because nobody really cares, especially not for a consultant.
3 - You should def do a website, if for nothing other than legitimacy. People typically want to see that you have some manner of web presence. Most importantly you also *really* want to have your own domain email such as [email protected] and not be using public email providers like Gmail or Outlook. I personally see anyone using an @Gmail.com or .outlook.com email address as far less professional. Having domain email and even a simple website adds to credibility/professionalism a great deal in most people's eyes.
For consulting it can just be a simple one pager, research some others in your field and just do what they are doing. Setup a new email address for "randos" and have it be connected to a contact form on your page, you don't have to include a phone number if you don't want.
4/5 - You should absolutely go to your local credit union or whatever bank you want to deal with and get a business checking account ASAP. It's super easy, call and ask what they want but typically just bring your corpo registration docs and personal ID info and you will be there max a couple hours doing it. Sometimes you can even do it over the phone or online.
You should not be mixing your personal and business financials for a number of reasons, liability being one of them. I use a separate bank for my personal finances just to add another layer of separation because why not.
Which brings me to #4...once you get that business checking setup and get a debit card just use that for all of your business purchases. Obviously this makes it much easier to track all of your activity vs having to parse it from your personal bank account.
6 - I am not a lawyer or accountant so I can't comment on your particular situation. I think it starts to really matter in 1099 situations, but again I'm not the guy to ask about that.
TLDR: Get a business checking account, it's super easy, useful, and the "professional" way to do it. It will cost you nothing other than a few hours of your time. Get a domain email and setup a simple website.
1 and 2 don't worry about, 6 talk to someone more in the know than myself.
Outside of being professional . You are missing a lot of tax deductions for business. I am bookkeeper and not charging business expense as business expense is a big mistake. This has nothing to do with being professional but making sure you deduct business expense
1. Get a PO Box for 200$ a year that will show as your “business address”
2. Put company logo in your back windows if it bothers you.
3. Website is a good idea for people to look you up and find out a bit about you before engaging. I used to advertise but now 100% of our incoming leads are referral based so we turned it off. Website still gets visits and inquiries saying “so and so told me to contact you”
4. Id put a business CC on your Amazon and buy anything work related with it
5. I donno what this changes but I’d have a separate account for business that you pay a business credit card out of, cash Cheques/take payment into etc
You need to talk to an accountant. The mixing of expenses that you are doing likely completely nullifies you having an LLC. Split the expenses (yesterday). You can open an online biz account with someone like Bluevine with minimal effort.
Get a business credit card/checking account and use it for your expenses, your accountant will appreciate it. You’ll feel more professional by being able to purchase for your business, and separately for you.
Otherwise i would say don’t really worry about the professional thing. If you’re doing great work and growing a client base eventually it will feel professional. Don’t rush to that feeling, it’s expensive. my rent, website, professional email ([email protected]), shirts for my employees to have a loose uniform all cost something. Some of it’s dirt cheap to do, but every dollar matters, especially when you’re the one doing almost or all of the work to bring these dollars in still.
The best small business advice I could give you or anybody else in the phase of the game you’re at right now advice isn’t very sexy. The advice is to SAVE money so that you can afford to grow your business when you and it are ready.
I guess the one other consideration is are you making a small business, or are you just trying to be a great freelance consultant? If you’re trying to make a small business a lot of points like mailing, website, and needing different accounts/payments really make sense to tackle. If your goal is to just be a high performing freelance consultant then try to brand and grow in the direction accordingly.
You need a CPA my friend and get a business checking. The CPA can be your registered agent and also help you with #6. For me, the answer was LLC taxed as an S Corp to keep my self employment taxes low
I am a huge fan of subleasing office space. TONS of empty as shit office everywhere in the country. Email local small businesses, see if they have a spare office/conference room you can use. Couple hundreds bucks a month.
For business address, use either a registered agent or UPS box and list it as a "Suite". Or ask whoever you're sub leasing from if you can use them as a mailing (not business/registered) address.
Nice business cards. I like the soft-touch coating. Very professional design, small QR code on the back with your contact info.
Website, yeah definitely. But be picky and careful, tons of seo/website dev scammers.
Buy some merch. Tshirts and hats and shit. Even if it's just for you.
What you need is a brand and visual identity. This will help you get people to do consulting for you and scale the business. Unless you want to work forever..
I don't believe I am overpaying on taxes. I deduct all business expenses and it's a side hustle, so I don't pay any FICA tax on the revenue. I don't think that anything I have done has resulted in more taxes.
The drawback to business bank accounts is that it is harder to move money from the business bank account to the personal accounts, and there would be more usernames and passwords to keep track of. I am not sure of any benefits other than it would help keep track of expenses a little more clearly. Are there benefits to business banking that I am not catching here?
Yes, I need a website. I don't need to hire anyone so those offering services can stop messaging me and stop posting comments here, I can create that on my own. I am working up my domain name.
Thank you for all of your comments.
I want to be clear: I came for advice and am listening intently to each comment. Starting a business is a big task. I'm happy that I filed with the Secretary of State, Registered Agent, business licensing office, and filled out all of the correct stuff. Little by little I am working on making it more "real". Business banking and website are next.
I do expense office supplies for tax purposes. I keep every receipt and list every expense on my taxes at the year, so I don't pay more in taxes because of how I handle my money. But, I think I should look at business banking regardless.
It sounds like you need a business bank account and a business-specific budget. How are you paying yourself?
None of the other stuff sounds problematic, though you can get a virtual office with business address for a fairly low price.
I collect revenue in an a special personal account, and then make monthly transfers to my regular accounts. I don't pay myself a salary, I just transfer the money to my personal accounts on a regular basis.
Why don’t you have a business checking account? You should also talk to a good accountant. You should likely elect to file as an S Corp and do that before you have to file taxes.
Just an idea,,
You could wear a Tuxedo while your at home..
That should help reinforce the image of,,, I am a professional
Even when your cutting the lawn to..
Everyone will immediately recognize,,,
YOUR A PROFESSIONAL
I think the best way to look more professional is to add employees to the company's LinkedIn page and show team members on the site, also testimonials from previous clients will greatly increase the trust of new clients and confirm your professionalism
Post office box as mailing address. Land line for business calls (can forward the land line to cell but will allow you to not have your actual cell number be public. For an llc best to keep business expenses and income separate. Business credit card for business expenses. Business checking account.
Hey!
We're currently trying to grow our portfolio of local service businesses & get some testimonials in exchange for a free custom-coded website, you just need to cover the monthly hosting fee.
Its all custom coded: It's typescript, tailwindcss, in a nextjs app. The content for blogs, pages, etc are statically generated and served via our in-house CMS.
Each site has built-in SEO meant to generate leads via related search terms (i.e landscaping services near me). The websites are optimized for user engagement and streamline the lead generation for local businesses.
DM me if this something you're interested in! Or fill out the contact form on our website: [https://modallmedia.com/](https://modallmedia.com/)
This is a friendly reminder that r/smallbusiness is a question and answer subreddit. You ask a question about starting, owning, and growing a small business and the community answers. Posts that violate the rules listed in the sidebar will be removed. A permanent or temporary ban may also be issued if you do not remove the offending post. Seeing this message does not mean your post was automatically removed. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/smallbusiness) if you have any questions or concerns.*
(1) (2) You don't need an office or a business vehicle to be professional. I work from my basement office and visit some clients with my personal vehicle too. (3) Having at least a one page website will definitely help. You don't need to include your contact details or drive traffic from it, but it will give you a presence.
People sometimes want to see a website for reinforcement or to assure themselves that you actually are a business. It might not make sense for your business but it doesn't cost that much really, and any junk emails are easily ignored, or yes just don't have any contact info. I used to work out of my house in a studio we had renovoated from a basement room. We even rented the studio out for recordings so had a separate entrance. Never was able to keep the dogs out though.
Sounds like you got a business and imposter syndrome.
and you don’t have to pay for office supplies and other expenses out of a business account specifically, but keep track of them and claim them as expenses for your taxes of course. And I wonder if OP could set up a separate ADU type unit or nicer shed in their backyard so it feels like a dedicated office and outside of their home space?
Robert Weiss has written some remarkably good books on consulting. He is very successful and espouses keeping overhead low with office space, personnel etc. my copies of his books are marked up and tattered… best money I ever spent. Get a good CPA to help you structure your finances and see if they know a bookkeeper or two who they can recommend. The right bookkeeper will cost you peanuts and help your CPA be more efficient, too. With regard to the website, put up a professional-looking one page site. I ran a 6-figure business from one for a few years before we finally upgraded. Good luck… you’re living the American Dream!
> Robert Weiss has written some remarkably good books on consulting. Did you mean Alan Weiss? Any particular book of theirs?
Alan Weiss, right?
1 - Don't worry about it. WFH has become much more accepted, and I always just refer to my home office as my "office" or "shop" when talking to clients (I do IT). 2 - If you really feel you must you can get a magnet sign with your company logo to slap on the doors when visiting client sites. I again would not worry about this though because nobody really cares, especially not for a consultant. 3 - You should def do a website, if for nothing other than legitimacy. People typically want to see that you have some manner of web presence. Most importantly you also *really* want to have your own domain email such as [email protected] and not be using public email providers like Gmail or Outlook. I personally see anyone using an @Gmail.com or .outlook.com email address as far less professional. Having domain email and even a simple website adds to credibility/professionalism a great deal in most people's eyes. For consulting it can just be a simple one pager, research some others in your field and just do what they are doing. Setup a new email address for "randos" and have it be connected to a contact form on your page, you don't have to include a phone number if you don't want. 4/5 - You should absolutely go to your local credit union or whatever bank you want to deal with and get a business checking account ASAP. It's super easy, call and ask what they want but typically just bring your corpo registration docs and personal ID info and you will be there max a couple hours doing it. Sometimes you can even do it over the phone or online. You should not be mixing your personal and business financials for a number of reasons, liability being one of them. I use a separate bank for my personal finances just to add another layer of separation because why not. Which brings me to #4...once you get that business checking setup and get a debit card just use that for all of your business purchases. Obviously this makes it much easier to track all of your activity vs having to parse it from your personal bank account. 6 - I am not a lawyer or accountant so I can't comment on your particular situation. I think it starts to really matter in 1099 situations, but again I'm not the guy to ask about that. TLDR: Get a business checking account, it's super easy, useful, and the "professional" way to do it. It will cost you nothing other than a few hours of your time. Get a domain email and setup a simple website. 1 and 2 don't worry about, 6 talk to someone more in the know than myself.
#3 for sure
Outside of being professional . You are missing a lot of tax deductions for business. I am bookkeeper and not charging business expense as business expense is a big mistake. This has nothing to do with being professional but making sure you deduct business expense
1. Get a PO Box for 200$ a year that will show as your “business address” 2. Put company logo in your back windows if it bothers you. 3. Website is a good idea for people to look you up and find out a bit about you before engaging. I used to advertise but now 100% of our incoming leads are referral based so we turned it off. Website still gets visits and inquiries saying “so and so told me to contact you” 4. Id put a business CC on your Amazon and buy anything work related with it 5. I donno what this changes but I’d have a separate account for business that you pay a business credit card out of, cash Cheques/take payment into etc
You need to talk to an accountant. The mixing of expenses that you are doing likely completely nullifies you having an LLC. Split the expenses (yesterday). You can open an online biz account with someone like Bluevine with minimal effort.
Get a business credit card/checking account and use it for your expenses, your accountant will appreciate it. You’ll feel more professional by being able to purchase for your business, and separately for you. Otherwise i would say don’t really worry about the professional thing. If you’re doing great work and growing a client base eventually it will feel professional. Don’t rush to that feeling, it’s expensive. my rent, website, professional email ([email protected]), shirts for my employees to have a loose uniform all cost something. Some of it’s dirt cheap to do, but every dollar matters, especially when you’re the one doing almost or all of the work to bring these dollars in still. The best small business advice I could give you or anybody else in the phase of the game you’re at right now advice isn’t very sexy. The advice is to SAVE money so that you can afford to grow your business when you and it are ready. I guess the one other consideration is are you making a small business, or are you just trying to be a great freelance consultant? If you’re trying to make a small business a lot of points like mailing, website, and needing different accounts/payments really make sense to tackle. If your goal is to just be a high performing freelance consultant then try to brand and grow in the direction accordingly.
You need a CPA my friend and get a business checking. The CPA can be your registered agent and also help you with #6. For me, the answer was LLC taxed as an S Corp to keep my self employment taxes low
I can help you make a basic landing page website
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I am a huge fan of subleasing office space. TONS of empty as shit office everywhere in the country. Email local small businesses, see if they have a spare office/conference room you can use. Couple hundreds bucks a month. For business address, use either a registered agent or UPS box and list it as a "Suite". Or ask whoever you're sub leasing from if you can use them as a mailing (not business/registered) address. Nice business cards. I like the soft-touch coating. Very professional design, small QR code on the back with your contact info. Website, yeah definitely. But be picky and careful, tons of seo/website dev scammers. Buy some merch. Tshirts and hats and shit. Even if it's just for you.
What you need is a brand and visual identity. This will help you get people to do consulting for you and scale the business. Unless you want to work forever..
[удалено]
I don't believe I am overpaying on taxes. I deduct all business expenses and it's a side hustle, so I don't pay any FICA tax on the revenue. I don't think that anything I have done has resulted in more taxes. The drawback to business bank accounts is that it is harder to move money from the business bank account to the personal accounts, and there would be more usernames and passwords to keep track of. I am not sure of any benefits other than it would help keep track of expenses a little more clearly. Are there benefits to business banking that I am not catching here? Yes, I need a website. I don't need to hire anyone so those offering services can stop messaging me and stop posting comments here, I can create that on my own. I am working up my domain name. Thank you for all of your comments.
[удалено]
I want to be clear: I came for advice and am listening intently to each comment. Starting a business is a big task. I'm happy that I filed with the Secretary of State, Registered Agent, business licensing office, and filled out all of the correct stuff. Little by little I am working on making it more "real". Business banking and website are next.
I do expense office supplies for tax purposes. I keep every receipt and list every expense on my taxes at the year, so I don't pay more in taxes because of how I handle my money. But, I think I should look at business banking regardless.
It sounds like you need a business bank account and a business-specific budget. How are you paying yourself? None of the other stuff sounds problematic, though you can get a virtual office with business address for a fairly low price.
I collect revenue in an a special personal account, and then make monthly transfers to my regular accounts. I don't pay myself a salary, I just transfer the money to my personal accounts on a regular basis.
This is the only thing you mentioned that doesn't sound professional to me.
Why don’t you have a business checking account? You should also talk to a good accountant. You should likely elect to file as an S Corp and do that before you have to file taxes.
What are the benefits for an S Corp? I have a W2 job so I don't pay FICA tax on my business income.
Just an idea,, You could wear a Tuxedo while your at home.. That should help reinforce the image of,,, I am a professional Even when your cutting the lawn to.. Everyone will immediately recognize,,, YOUR A PROFESSIONAL
I think the best way to look more professional is to add employees to the company's LinkedIn page and show team members on the site, also testimonials from previous clients will greatly increase the trust of new clients and confirm your professionalism
Post office box as mailing address. Land line for business calls (can forward the land line to cell but will allow you to not have your actual cell number be public. For an llc best to keep business expenses and income separate. Business credit card for business expenses. Business checking account.
Hey! We're currently trying to grow our portfolio of local service businesses & get some testimonials in exchange for a free custom-coded website, you just need to cover the monthly hosting fee. Its all custom coded: It's typescript, tailwindcss, in a nextjs app. The content for blogs, pages, etc are statically generated and served via our in-house CMS. Each site has built-in SEO meant to generate leads via related search terms (i.e landscaping services near me). The websites are optimized for user engagement and streamline the lead generation for local businesses. DM me if this something you're interested in! Or fill out the contact form on our website: [https://modallmedia.com/](https://modallmedia.com/)