We didn’t jump from hunter/gatherer to division of labour. In between was hundreds of years were people were effectively their own employers. The miller owned his mill. The blacksmith ran his own smith. Market traders had their stalls.

Having your own business has a longer history than working for the man for 40 years. Doesn’t make it any easier, but it does at least give self-starting a good pedigree.
Monevator´s last blog ..Researching moving abroad

Once I get my ventures up and going, I wanted to open up an LLC and shelter my assets in that, perhaps even funnel the income through the FTE.

But the richest among us certainly do not depend on government hand me downs…
Aury (Thunderdrake)´s last blog ..The 3 Cornerstones of Investing (The Dragon’s Hoard)

What he says is so incredibly true. I was just speaking with my mother about this very same thing yesterday. About how the “corporate” lifestyle is very modern, and that it’s not “stupid” not to have middle management aspirations.

If I make it through the rest of my life without going back to the man – even if it means living on a sleeping bag under a bridge – I’ll be a very happy camper.

p.s. I’m going to check out Greg’s book!

Rock On
Lee
Lee | Search Engine Viking´s last blog ..Weekly Rockstar Blog: June 11, 2010

Yes, starting your own business can be risky. But so is relying on one employer to take care of you for life and relying on that one source of income. With all the changes in the workplace these days, I doubt that’ll be a reality.

I don’t know if there’s ever a good time to start a business. When the economy is down, people will complain that it’s too hard. When the economy is up, people will rationalize that they can just work an easier 9-5 job. I think it’s better to just make plans and move forward.
Darren´s last blog ..Business Advice – What We Can Learn From Amish Success

I’m not arguing which is better – employee or self-employment, just trying to point out the author’s last paragraph was misleading at best.

“Arrange your business as an LLC or S corporation, and you’ll enjoy tax advantages that salaried and waged employees never experience. You can earmark much of what you buy and use in your daily life for exemptions and even credits. How this can be construed as worse than just having the same FICA deductions confiscated from your semimonthly paychecks is beyond us. Want to learn more? Modesty prevents me from telling you where you can, but someone wrote a useful book on the topic.”

To deduct expenses for a business, they must be business related. He seems to hint otherwise here. Also, S Corp shareholders who take salary pay FICA tax and LLC members pay S/E tax – which is 2 times an employee FICA tax since they are both the employee and employer. Bottom line, don’t go into business for yourself thinking you’re going to deduct everything, the IRS will have something to say about that.

The IRS allows you to deduct all business related expenses which include, but aren’t limited to, business use of your car, dues and subscriptions, offices supplies, equipment (including your cell phone, computer, etc), utilities and the list goes on and on. Most of these items can’t be deducted from your W-2 income despite the fact that most salaried workers have similar expenses.

You have to pay yourself a reasonable salary and that salary is subject to social security and medicare taxation. Since you’re both the employer and employee you pay the full (or as Kevin puts it 2X) amount BUT if you think the taxes paid ON YOUR BEHALF by your employer isn’t somehow calculated into your salary then I’ve got some real estate in Las Vegas to sell you.

Bottom line…The farther and the more often you step out of your comfort zone, the greater the possibilities you’ll see.

Betty
Betty Kincaid´s last blog ..If a Containment Dome Doesn’t Work, Try Screaming