So somebody in my day job office wants to know how to make an "online business" in order to get tax write offs, because they are taking too much from her paycheck for taxes.

I already am familiar and have made the mistakes, such as going for S Corp when all I needed was a DBA - or realizing that a seller's permit isn't necessary because I'm providing services only - or that my purpose of business can be generalized.

In my package, I would include the usual upsales for business cards, branding, website, hosting, bla bla bla... and show her a couple affiliate products that she could 'make money online' with, but, really its all about taxes.

So, generally I charge $400 - $4000 for a website, usually $400 for a simple wordpress type of deal.

However, she is looking specifically to save on her taxes, and if she acts now, I'll throw in the PLRs on writeoffs

My question is: How much do I charge her for showing or setting up a business like this?
(Obviously 15% from legalzoom, hosting money, and vista print commissions are not going to cut it )

Edit: I know 'as much as possible' is the correct answer. My attorneys in the family will do nothing unless it has 3 zeros behind it - that may not be the answer though for this...)

I would list all of those services out that you plan to provide her, and put a dollar value on each one in terms of how much you think it's worth to her. Then add them up and charge that much.

There really isn't a perfect answer.

The real answer to HER question, though, is that she can do just about anything including by one useless ebook and claim that she's making an "effort" towards starting an online business. This allows her to start claiming all sorts of deductions.

Originally Posted by PlatinumPi4u

So somebody in my day job office wants to know how to make an "online business" in order to get tax write offs, because they are taking too much from her paycheck for taxes.

I hate to break the bad news but unless she runs her business at a LOSS she is not going to save on any taxes. The IRS does not look kindly to small Mom and Pop businesses running at a loss every year.

The write-off's she is going to take have to be BUSINESS RELATED and not personal stuff like groceries etc ... now she can write-off entertainment related expenses, but she better have talked business and not just a night of drinking flaming shots with you at the bar.

As far as what to charge ....

$300 for a DBA + filing and advertising fees
$500 for a LLC + state fees

That is what I charge to get it done.

JQ

Well, I think running the business at a loss was the whole idea in the first place. Now as to being able to keep it up for more than a couple years, that may be more questionable. But hey, maybe after she reads that ebook she'll start having some ideas and really have a business after a while

You need to know how much she is going to make in a year if she follows you. If shes not going to make money then charge her 150 dollars and be done with it. If you want to make a business of this then you should charge according to your expenses, and value of services.

YOu should look at how much time it takes you to do everything, then find out how much you want to make an hour and multiply it times the hours it will take you.

Make sure to show her how much she will be saving every single year/long term. It may seem hard to charge her so much more than necessary, but you need money too, so put 3 zeros behind it and write down all the things she will receive.

I would charge $1,000 flat rate this would be for the Web Design and for your consulting advice.

You can get a BAD ASS theme for around $15 from Theme Forest.

To capitalize on this more you can money on Affiliate Links for EVERYTHING SHE NEEDS.

Web Hosting Affiliate Link - $100
Aweber Email - $5 a month (I think)
Business Registration LegalZoom - 15% of total sale. ~ $65
Business Phone - RingCentral : $75
Business Cards - Vista Print : 12% to 25% + $3 per order
Business Credit Card?? ~ $100


All other BS "get rich quick" ebooks through Click Bank, I'm sure you can think of some other stuff.

You can prob bank another extra $500 easy just through Affiliate Links

And theirs always trust Amazon
Amazon - 5% of Anything

You can get this on lock in a week. Site done in 3 days after revision, and another couple days to apply to all the affiliate programs and create a master email list that has all of the links.

One important thing, if you send an email with your links make sure you don't reveal the service name in the anchor text of the link.

So, don't say Vista Print Business Cards because there is a possibility she might just google Vista Print and get the cards without clicking through the link.

instead, just make the link say Cheap Quality Business cards.

do it like construction companies, cost + a little add on for your services. go easy on her tho, most lawyers do some pro-bono work.

also do what cascade said, your affiliate links dont cost her anything but you end up with some nice chunk of change

I would charge at least double of what it is going to cost you to develop a complete package for her.

Originally Posted by remac22

Well, I think running the business at a loss was the whole idea in the first place. Now as to being able to keep it up for more than a couple years, that may be more questionable. But hey, maybe after she reads that ebook she'll start having some ideas and really have a business after a while

But she still will be able to get the tax breaks as long as she can show proof that she is trying to make a profit. I think it's about 7yrs