What happened when you started making some serious cash?

Not meaning to derail the thread.. but for understanding..
What does SOL mean in this context?

Thanks,
::emp::
 
Good point about the accountant. I need a new one. My current accountant does the taxes and files what needs to be filed on time but thats all she does. I'm looking for a UK based accountant who can also advise on tax efficient ways to operate a business.

Seriously though if anyone on here has a genuinely good UK accountant who knows how to optimise your taxes please PM me details
 
@emp My first guess would be its already to late for them to make a tax payment and you have a large tax payment to pay along with penalties and associated fines since you didn't make payments throughout the year. An accountant/bookkeeper can help you forecast what your tax liability will be for the current year by how much money you are making thus advising you to make X amount of payment to the taxman throughout the year. This will avoid any penalties for not paying taxes throughout the year, and more importantly, a large tax burden when you figure out how much you owe them. Its easier to pay taxes quarterly than a huge lump sum at the end of the year. (well at least for me)
 
OK maybe I wasn't clear on the level of my stupidity.
What does SOL mean when used like "he was SOL".
English isn't my first language, and while I'm fluid, some things especially lingo still trip me
 
Well it looks like I have a bit different way talking about earnings with friends and family. When I decided to pursue that online marketing "dream" they thought I'm crazy, stupid, lazy and childish. Some said I should get a "real job" and stop wasting my time following that "american dream" lol. When I discovered how much money can be made online without a huge budget I got really excited about it. In just couple of weeks I became obsessed with becoming successful online. So naturally I wanted to share my enthusiasm with my people.
As you can imagine I was talking a lot about online business and possibilities. And the more they were against it the more I have talked about it to prove my point.
Unfortunately (or fortunately), it turned out against our relationships because to them my plan and a new way of life was just impossible to handle. Most of my old friends and family members are 9-5 middle class workers who love "safe" life from paycheck to paycheck. They are scared to death just by thinking about taking risks.

So when I first started to do some things online they were like "get a real job dude and think about life seriously" (not everyone, one person was with me because he always wanted more from life also). So it was like that for months and years and eventually my professional life became a taboo. At the same time I have lost interest in my old friends and distanced myself from family (and that was a very good move).

Once I started generating income that was good enough to support myself at first they couldn't handle it. I think they still don't want to fully acknowledge that my "stupid online things" as they used to say actually make me money, and that they were simply wrong. Such is the power of commitment and consistency.
So is it better to shut up and do not talk about online earnings and business? Hell no! If people around you don't want to listen or at least respect your passion, go and find someone who will. It's much healthier than staying in toxic relationships.
 
Andrewkar said:
So when I first started to do some things online they were like "get a real job dude and think about life seriously".
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That was probably the thing that annoyed me the most when I was making good money. A lot of people simply can't think outside of the box, and many of them feel like there is a mold you must fit into. They think you MUST work a 9-5 job. You MUST graduate from college and get a degree. You MUST work really, really hard (while they fail to understand the importance of working SMART and hard, vs. doing things the hard way). And worse yet, they think that if you do these things and you fit that "mold", that one day by pure luck you will be rewarded with amazing levels of income. Although there is occasionally a degree of luck to some people's success, luck is the biggest fallacy there is. Success is earned, not handed out like a gold star for good behavior. You have to TAKE that shit, even when others are trying to hold you back. Sometimes you have to be ruthless to do so.

Many years ago, I was working a tech job in the networking industry. This was around the time of Obama's first presidential campaign (don't even get me started on that communist douchebag). I was talking to a coworker one day, who clearly had the "entitled" mentality. We were discussing wealth. Her position was that, "Rich people have so much money, and they don't need all of it. They can afford to give up some of it to give money to those less fortunate." Obviously, I knew I was fighting a losing battle with a mental midget, but I guess I'm a masochist like that. :wink: I tried to explain that, just because someone has money does not mean they did not work extremely hard to earn that money, and how would she feel if she built something herself, worked her butt off, and then had other people trying to take everything she earned away from her? Her response? She DOES work really hard, and she "deserves" to be rich. My response?

You're.
Nothing.
Special.

ANYONE can do your job, just like anyone can work at McDonald's! You have to work smarter than that if you expect to get anywhere in life. I still don't know why I even attempt to argue with these types of people, as many if not most of them are beyond all hope of understanding basic economic and business principles.

Speaking of basic economics and business principles, if anyone cares to learn more about those subjects, I highly recommend researching Ludwig von Mises and also searching for the Mises Institute website. I want to be reserved about what sites I'm linking to here but, a quick search will find it. There is a lot of great info out there on Austrian economics, which if you're here on BuSo, I think many of you will find interesting and enlightening for learning about business.
 
Funny...but oh-so-true. I literally got so lucky by not being audited in 2012 because my money management is that bad.

People need to realize that marketing online is a real-world business that needs to be managed like a real-world business. This means you need a solid understanding of basic business fundamentals, you need to know your numbers, and you need to set goals for the future.

It's going to be a great feeling when you hit $100k in revenue for the first time. Then you realize that your expenses were 60% revenues, leaving you with $40k. Then you have to give a third of that $40k to the government, and live/operate your business off the $27k left over for the next year.

So, how are you going to reduce your expenses next year? How are you going to increase revenues? How are you going to reduce your tax liability? How much bottom-line profit do you need to be "happy."

You should know all this stuff prior to making "serious cash."


Philip J. Fry said:
You call an accountant.

+192,493,490 for how many times I've meet people who were SOL (including me) the year after they started making serious cash.
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stackcash said:
It's going to be a great feeling when you hit $100k in revenue for the first time. Then you realize that your expenses were 60% revenues, leaving you with $40k. Then you have to give a third of that $40k to the government, and live/operate your business off the $27k left over for the next year
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That's so grim but true. I'm not making any serious money but I've day dreamed about it a lot. I know to never measure my success by revenue, but only by profit. That helps me dodge the first scenario altogether of being surprised by expenses. And I already anticipate just putting back 25-33% of all profit into a different checking account so when tax time comes around it's no problem to pay it. I've seen so many people scramble every time tax time comes, like they got surprised year after year. Then they freak out trying to figure out how to pay for it. Some are having their wages garnished to pay off the tax man from years ago still. Sad state of affairs it is.
 
Yup. Thanks Obama.

I put a third of every deposit into my savings account for taxes. I usually end up paying A LOT less in taxes than whats in my savings account...so I have a nice chunk of change every year that I can put towards a new project within the business or to give myself a little bonus.

Samwise89 said:
That's so grim but true. I'm not making any serious money but I've day dreamed about it a lot. I know to never measure my success by revenue, but only by profit. That helps me dodge the first scenario altogether of being surprised by expenses. And I already anticipate just putting back 25-33% of all profit into a different checking account so when tax time comes around it's no problem to pay it. I've seen so many people scramble every time tax time comes, like they got surprised year after year. Then they freak out trying to figure out how to pay for it. Some are having their wages garnished to pay off the tax man from years ago still. Sad state of affairs it is.
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I wouldn't say I make "serious cash" yet but I earn a decent living. Above what most my age (26) earn. I haven't worked a regular job since I was 20 and have supported myself (although barely at times) since then. I keep it close to the chest though. Like others, my family was never overly supportive of the idea when I first started, they've grown to accept it though. I pursued a degree while doing my online thing, so that kept them from raising too much of a fuss. Plus, I like school. I don't think it was too much of a waste of time or anything like that.

Mostly I would just say...fuck anyone's perception. Do what you want. You get one life - chase what you want to chase, especially while you're young. You have the rest of your life to work a 9 to 5. A lot of us can only realistically go for it when we're young, without a family to support.

But, with that said you need to prepare for failure as well. Even if you do find success - it might be fleeting. The Internet is essentially the Wild West right now, no one knows where it will be in 10 years, particularly with regulation and whatnot. So make sure you do some things to make yourself a worthwhile hire if you find yourself down and out, and don't want to go work at McDonald's should it all go to hell.

By that I mean;

1. Network and make connections. While it might seem ideal for us introverts to sit inside our house banking on websites, if it all falls apart your left with nothing. Get to know people. Go to conferences. Get involved in Skype groups. Meet local business owners. Go to Meetups.

2. Keep a portfolio. In building any type of online business you are probably using a lot of skills that would make you a worthwhile hire for companies - be it programming, copywriting marketing materials, designing, etc. Save the shit you build. You won't want to have to go out into the corporate world later without anything to show for your time on your own.

3. Develop new skills. Always be working to learn new things. Don't know how to code? Learn that shit. You work for yourself and have more time than almost anyone that works for a job. You have the time, build marketable skills.

And yeah. That's all I can recommend at this point. The tax suggestions were excellent as well.
 
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