Episode 38 – A Complete No-Nonsense Guide to *Legally* Setting Up Your Online Career ft. Sean Delaney

• [01:15] About Sean & his background working with Fortune 50 companies
• [02:53] Why consulting a lawyer isn’t as intimidating as people think & will save you time and money
• [05:08] “What are the basic requirements an independent contractor, like a Virtual Assistant, needs in order to set up their business legally in the United States?”
• [06:36] “Is all of this “setting up” going to take hours and hours?”
• [07:44] “How much would this cost for someone to set up for me?”
• [08:26] What the government classifies you as legally if you don’t do anything & why it’s a problem
• [08:58] The easiest & most simple corporation to form for independent contractors
• [09:11] Why you absolutely need to have corporate protection for yourself
• [10:06] Why LLCs are so advantageous for your taxes
• [11:41] “Should I have a corporation or an LLC?”
• [12:18] “What is an S-Corp?”
• [14:13] What 98% of the people listening to this podcast episode should form when working online
• [14:45] “Where and how do I register my business officially?”
• [18:25] “What should I name my business? What’s a DBA?”
• [22:35] Personal and corporate taxes for S-Corps vs. LLCs
• [26:16] “What is an employee identification number (EIN)? What does it allow us to do?”
• [27:32] Why you absolutely need a separate bank account for your business
• [32:18] “What’s going on for independent contractors in California with the California Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) Law?”
• [33:34] What is the ABC Test for the AB5 Law?
• [35:34] Why the AB5 Law does NOT apply to most online workers
• [39:06] “What’s the best way to collect late payments for work that’s already completed?”
• [43:40] How to prevent not getting paid by clients

Gems from this Episode:

• “The government is not looking to shut down small businesses. The small business is the engine for everything that happens in this country. They want you to succeed.”
• “Do not freak out. We cross no bridges until we come to them. You don’t have to see the entire road; you just have to see as far as your headlights shine in the dark.”

Here it is – all your questions about setting up your business legally online answered!

In this interview with Sean Delaney, we talk through all the nuts and bolts of ensuring you set yourself up legally in the U.S. including incorporating, taxes, registering, EINs, bank accounts, and more. Plus, we talk through the AB5 law put in place in California concerning independent contractors and who it matters for!

About our guest, Sean Delaney:

You can find Sean’s website here.

Sean J. Delaney is a Disaster/Pandemic Mitigation & Recovery Planning Expert who has consulted and worked with Fortune 500 companies for over 20 years. He helps them develop a strategic plan for mitigation and recovery so that their business operations are not completely derailed when a disaster or pandemic hits. Strategic responses and systems to unexpected disasters are the difference between survival and bankruptcy for a Fortune 500 company.

Sean specializes in strategic planning, organizational effectiveness, supply chain and risk management, and disaster and pandemic planning. He worked for MetLife for over a decade and helped navigate the mitigation and recovery of several pandemics including SARS, MERS, and H1N1. He has consulted with Johnson & Johnson, JPMC, AIG, Jet Blue, Uber, Nike, and a host of others, including companies of all sizes in every industry to get strategies in place for when a crisis occurs.

Sean is the CEO of Whadif, LLC and received a Juris Doctorate from Vermont Law School, a Senior Professional in Human Resources designation from SHRM, along with multiple certifications in Strategic Planning, Process Reengineering and Innovation from Harvard and M.I.T..

With his unique blend of knowledge, experience, wit and humor, he has helped businesses of every size strengthen their operations, innovate for the future, plan for disaster and spring back from crisis.

You can find Sean’s website here.