Freelancing under Trump 2.0 & TWC course migration
Hi everyone!
I’m coming at you with a few updates to TWC, and some end-of-year business reminders:
TWC has migrated its courses (business basics, navigating and negotiating media contracts, and the Fresh Paint course) off of Teachable. If you didn’t know, Teachable charges an annual fee in the ballpark of $500 to host courses—even for small shops like The Writers’ Co-op— which is crazy. You can still find all the courses here, on our business website. For now ‘til the end of December, I’m offering 20% off these courses with the code: DISCO2024. (Offer only works on courses, not other resources)
It’s the end of the year, so it’s never a bad idea to audit your business. What went well? Where could there be room for improvement? How do your clients rank? Who do you want to bring along on your business next year? Here’s a worksheet to help you assess all this— and more.
Under the next administration, I strongly suggest you take the following actions to operate or legitimize your business.
If you haven’t yet incorporated as a sole-proprietor LLC, now is the time. Incorporating as a business means that what you do on a day-to-day basis will be seen as essential to your business. I know this feels prohibitively expensive in some states (California, I’m looking at you), but think about this as insurance. Get it done.
Once you’ve incorporated, or if you’re already incorporated, print out that certificate of formation and put it up in your primary place of work. You know how you step into some small businesses and see a business license? You’re going to want that somewhere visible now, as to show anyone that the work you’re doing supports your business.
You’ll also want to have an operating agreement for your business handy. You can find a template by searching the internet. For instance, this one is lawyer-vetted.
LLCs need to file a BOIR by January 1, 2025.. In essence, you’re registering your basis on a federal level. Yes , there’s an ongoing suit, but my attorneys tell me I should file, and I do believe there’s value in complying with what my lawyers are telling me to do (especially when they don’t even get paid as a result of this). Filing takes about 5 minutes, is free, and a one-time thing. Failure to comply, the government says, can result in fines on the order of $591/day or up to $10k. Who has the money for that?? Register here: https://www.fincen.gov/boi
Okay, that’s it! Many of you who have followed this newsletter for years know that TWC has come to an end with its episodes and programming, but I’ll occasionally hop back online here to share information about the business side of freelancing that is widely helpful for all.
TWC’s psychologically safe and moderated Slack community is still open, and members are still discussing the ins and outs of running a freelance business. You can sign up here! www.patreon.com/twcpod
Wudan