Learning to be Legit

Elevated Presence has been growing in my mind for years. 

I have made and given away tons of things under the moniker-- but 2022 just hits different. 

We have our intentions set on Legitimizing our efforts. 

Lucky for me- My partner is an entrepreneur who has been focusing getting his business correct as well. We have been learning a ton and I am lucky to have him as inspiration and mentor. 

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A few years back I registered Elevated Presence as an LLC in Michigan- 

I didn't really know why I did it-- I had just heard that that was the next step.  I didn't really do much with it-- but it felt cool to know it existed. 

In 2018 I moved to Colorado and registered my LLC  in CO. I did this online through the secretary of state website- it costs $50.  There are plenty of services out there that will charge you and arm and leg to help you set up your LLC. I choose to research and learn as I go. Unfortunately working to survive took over my life and Elevated Presence was still just in LLC dream stage. 

Fast forward to 2022 and here we are ready to jump into creating the life I have always dreamed of. 

When I checked on my LLC through the secretary of state website I found that my business was not in good standing through the state.  This was due to the fact that I had not turned in a periodic report on my business (+ $10). I was not aware of this process but it seems that the way to you learn how to entrepreneur is to make mistakes-- learn and move forward. 

I did some googling and found out that all I had to do was pay a fee and my good standing would be reinstated.  Note to self a Periodic report must be turned in yearly. Keep an eye out for letters from the state. 

Once my LLC was in good standing with the state I registered for a Federal EIN number (sort of like your business's social security number)- This was free and done online through the IRS website. I learned about this through some other entrepreneur friends. The process was super quick and easy and I had the EIN number in minutes. 

Next up. 

Banking-- Goodness there are a lot of options out there. I googled, I nerdwalleted, I Facebook entrepreneur grouped.  I ended up going with Huntington based on a friends good experience.  It was  a process-- I suggest going in person and not applying for the account online. The online process extended the timeline. 

Once the bank account was in place I was able to separate my PayPal account so I not have a personal one as well as a Business one to help with bookkeeping. 

With banking in place I started with QuickBooks to keep my bookkeeping in order. They offer a lot of awesome easy to understand graphs and charts to keep you in the know on your business financials.  I'm still pretty confused on taxes... but I am going to set aside 30% of sales for taxes and hope that once tax time comes I can afford to have someone help me with my excellently kept records through QuickBooks. 

I started following small business Instagram's and trying to sponge up as much info as possible. 

Learning from others experience- It is a lot easier (and less expensive) to start ligament than it is to get ligament after the fact. 

Learning as I go is vibe. While understanding that this is part of the process can belike eating a saltine with cottonmouth-  I am grateful for my community, my partner and my mind for the opportunity to explore, expand and legitimize. 

Feel Free  to reach out if you have advice or questions!