Hey y’all.

Welcome to the Sidepiece Newsletter. I’m Grace. I’ll be slipping into your inbox each week with relevant tips, resources, and gig opportunities to help you reimagine work and money.

You Might Want an LLC

When I started my freelance business, I didn't make much for the first few months. At around the 11 month mark, I started making a “full-time” income.

I remember thinking, “This is kinda turning into a business…I should probably set it up like one.”

If you’re in a similar boat — maybe with multiple side hustles or managing several gigs — it might be worthwhile to register for an LLC.

An LLC is a limited liability corporation, which is a type of business structure. There’s a few reasons why it’s beneficial to be an LLC:

Tax Deductions. As an LLC owner, you can write off a number of expenses as business tax deductions. Things like advertising, supplies, and travel expenses are all tax deductible. More tax deductions = less you’ll owe to Uncle Sam.

Tax Flexibility. Without an LLC, you’re taxed as a sole proprietor or individual. As an LLC, you can choose from a few other tax designations (which can also save you $ come tax time).

Protection of Your Assets. Without an LLC, both your business and personal assets would be up for grabs in a lawsuit against your business. An LLC, however, your personal assets (like your bank account, home, etc.) are safe.

I’ll be honest, I thought having an LLC was frankly unnecessary. But I’ve got to say, it’s given me a lot of peace of mind knowing my personal ‘ish is safe.

Resources

How to Set Up an LLC

If you’re like me (a.k.a. the type of person that refuses to ask for help, then cries about the stress of figuring it out later), you can set up your LLC yourself. Collective has a detailed (yet easy-to-understand) guide on how to DIY it.

If you’d rather hand it off to someone else to figure out, there’s a few options:

Hit Up Your Accountant. If you have an accountant, you might be able to lean on them. Typically, they’ll have an attorney they work with who will take care of the filing process.

Use a Site Like Doola or LegalZoom. Doola is a financial tech company that will form your LLC for you. They’ve got packages starting at $197 + state fees, and they include all the documents you’ll need to be legally compliant.

LegalZoom is similar, although they offer a package for $0 + state filing fees if you’re comfortable preparing some of the documents yourself.

Not sure if forming an LLC makes sense for you? Check out this article from Forbes. It walks you through the pros/cons to help you decide whether it’s time to form an LLC.

Job Opportunities

Tired of digging for gigs? We’ll do the deep dive for you, then compile what we find here. Expect a few high-quality gigs in your inbox each week.

Freelance Designer at Bolt 

Requires motion graphic skills. Design for organic social. 20 hours per week.

Freelance Graphic Designer at Google

Mid-senior level. The client requests “killer design chops” and “no ego por favor.” Sounds like a sweet gig.

Freelance Writer at Southern Living

Getting paid to write about chicken-fried steak and biscuits and gravy? Sign. Me. Tf. Up.

Freelance and Permanent Front-End Developers at Tomorrow

Ideal if you have Shopify experience.

Freelance Video Editor

Small side gig that could lead to assisting with ad hoc projects.

Want to see a specific type of work? Just let us know.

And want more to see more job opps? Peep at the end.

Question of the Week

I just finished the book The Pathless Path last week, and this question was posed in one of the final chapters…and damn. The harsh truth is that, for most of us, getting ahead is the focus — especially when it comes to money and work.

Hobbies become jobbies. Passions become projects. But what if, instead of using every opportunity as a chance to move faster, we used it as an opportunity to do nothing?

I’ll see ya next week,

Grace