Wallet Squirrel is now an LLC
Believe it not, but registering Wallet Squirrel as an LLC was pretty freaking easy.
Personal Goal – I’ve always wanted to be a business owner and now is the moment. Wallet Squirrel is legit!
My fear – I was always terrified that registering a company would put a spotlight on me by the IRS to rummage through everything I’ve ever done and hunt me down like a hawk. Perhaps that’s a little extreme, but it’s something that kept me up at night. I’ve finally got over that fear because of two reasons. First, I just have to register it if I expect to earn any income from Wallet Squirrel I need to have it separate from my personal assets. Second, I’ve finally become comfortable knowing that Wallet Squirrel doesn’t make a lot of money, it’s not going to be a ridiculous tax bill.
Why now? – Mainly because Wallet Squirrel continues to see more and more growth. So if Wallet Squirrel plans on making money, I should really file that separately from my own tax documents. PLUS as Wallet Squirrel continues to make a name for itself, I need to have that name protected. Look forward to my trademark post coming up.
How to Set up an LLC in Colorado?
I will breeze through this part because it’s pretty simple.
- Check to see if your company name (name + LLC) is available in the naming database. Check here.
- If your name is available. Start here to enter the name you want to use.
- Fill out your address like 4 times and the rest of the form.
- Pay $50 and you’re done.
That’s basically it. I received an email notifying me that Wallet Squirrel is registered as an LLC in Colorado.
Conclusion
I’m super excited to be a legit business owner now, but still have some details to finalize like obtaining an EIN (Employer Identification Number) so I can set up a business bank account for Wallet Squirrel. That’s about it though, I just wanted to share with everyone how EASY it is to set up an LLC and say that Wallet Squirrel is officially legit!
Wallet Squirrel is a personal finance blog by best friends Andrew & Adam on how money works, building side-hustles, and the benefits of cleverly investing the profits. Featured on MSN Money, AOL Finance, and more!
Next step, Setup a Solo 401k 🙂
Wait, I can do that? Is that a thing, have you done that?
-Andrew
Just found your site through a comment you left on Making Sense of Cents. Love your blog and will totally be following along.
Congrats on setting up the LLC. That is awesome. It sounds like setting up an LLC in Colorado is a way easier, less costly endeavor than setting up an LLC in California.
Yes, you can do that. Probably want to have some income from the business first, because there are fees associated with setting up a Solo 401k. It’s probably the easiest and quickest way to a self-employment retirement plan, since the SEP and SIMPLE IRAs would leave you in limbo for a bit.
Hey Mike H!
I’m totally looking into this over the weekend. =)
Don’t get me wrong, I’m still banking on living off my dividends, but this is an interesting idea to test out. I’d be cool to have an insane employer match.
-Andrew
Hi Cody!
I just checked out your blog as well! We have a pretty similar story of a couple of 30-something (I just hit the big 3-0) trying to gain financial independence with a couple of failed start-ups. We will keep learning from our mistakes. In fact, I have a couple of side businesses I’m starting with the lessons learned of those start-ups in the next couple posts. I hope they help!
-Andrew
Congrats on the registration as an official company! I wasn’t aware that as a website owner that got adsense income that this was necessary?
Thanks Diligent Dividend!
Because I’m starting to generate revenue in numerous different ways beyond Google Adsense I wanted to list it. I also did a Sponsored Post recently and they listed Wallet Squirrel as the company, so I thought I might as well make it legit. It least paves the way for me to earn additional income.
According to TurboTax, if you make more than $600 with a side-job/gig you need to report that. I’m being optimistic for 2017!
Thanks for checking out my site, Andrew. Yeah, we definitely have some similarities in our stories. I look forward to those posts. Have a great week. – Cody
Love the blog! I too am just starting out with my dividend portfolio, I also use Robin Hood and Loyal 3 to save on fees since I can only afford a few hundred a month to invest. Keep up the great work!
Thanks Jamieson!
I spend A LOT of time on here, so that’s always nice to hear. I know many people who use both Robinhood and Loyal3 as a combination to invest and save fees. I’m glad it’s working for you!
I’m the same way, I can only afford a few hundred a month, usually around $120 per month. It all adds up though and I feel so adult when I tell people I’m contributing to my stock portfolio regularly. Keep up the awesome work, let me know how it continues to grow with that combination of Robinhood and Loyal3!
-Andrew
Hey Andrew and Adam,
First time visitor to your site here. I really like the way you’re coming at things. General in terms of side hustles, but a specific way for passive income. Very interesting. I’ll definitely be following your journey.
I’ve setup LLCs in the past. One for another financial site I started years ago that never went anywhere. Think I registered it in Wyoming, but we live in PA. Heard it was a great state to do so in. Second one was for our real estate sales business. We had our CPA do that one for us.
My wife had a solo 401(k) set up for herself as part of the business. I still work full-time, so I have my own retirement plan. I don’t think it was that difficult for the CPA to do and it’s similar to a normal 401(k) per the IRS guidelines: https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/one-participant-401k-plans. Love to know how it works out!
Hey Dave!
Thanks for stopping by and the great comment! We’re still refining our niche, but really like the concept of side hustling for investments. We’ll nail this down soon. =P
I was so tempted to pay someone on LegalZoom or a CPA to set up my LLC. However after talking to people, it’s so easy. However for larger businesses like a real estate sales business, I’d probably go the professional route, good choice.
I’m checking out this link tonight, thanks for sharing this! I wonder if I can have a work (full time job still) 401K and a Wallet Squirrel 401k. I’m sure this link will help. Thanks for sharing this. I’d love to have a post soon talking about how I set this up.
PS. I checked out your site for a hot second. I like the concept! I’ve run a couple marathons and always been a long distance runner. Soon running the BolderBoulder in Boulder, CO. Your blog basically sums me up as a lover of finance and running. Thanks for sharing!
-Andrew