This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
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When it comes to money recommendations, you're trying to figure out your side hustle. What do you do about money? Well, first of all, you make it. That's one good thing. But secondly, don't forget to set aside money for taxes.
That's also important. You start making money, you need to pay taxes on it eventually. So sometimes people get into an issue where they have forgotten to set aside money for taxes, they end up making a good profit, and then all of a sudden it's kind of a big chunk that they have to pay at some point. So that's important. What else?
Oh, just kind of a big one here. Keep your business finances separate from your personal accounts. So how do you do that? Well, ideally you need a separate bank account. That is the simplest and easiest thing.
It's not usually that difficult to get set up. It should be free or close to free. And there also isn't usually much red tape or hoop jumping that you need to do to open this account at most banks or credit unions. And this is true in lots of different countries. But that said, a listener has encountered a problem.
Their bank is giving them a hard time. Their bank is not excited about them separating their personal and business money. So what do you do in this situation? Is this common? I think that's what they want to know.
How do they resolve this and move forward? Are they doing something wrong? Well, that's a detailed question. My answer is coming up in just 30 seconds. And by the way, welcome to side hustle school.
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Hi, it's Ben from Montauk. So here's a weird one for you. I thought it would be a good idea to have a separate business account for my side hustle. But I ran into a problem when I went to the bank. After waiting nearly an hour to talk to someone, they said that I didn't qualify because my business wasn't registered properly.
I thought you don't need a license for most simple businesses like mine. Now I'm annoyed at the bank, but also a little worried that I've been doing something wrong. Have you heard of this happening before? What would you suggest? [Music]
Hey, Ben, thanks for the question.
So yeah, short version here, try again. Basically, maybe with a different bank. This doesn't seem super common. Obviously the laws can vary depending on your jurisdiction, your country, your state or province, maybe even county or city. But for most of our listeners in most places, like I try to make this podcast for a global audience, I'm pretty familiar with small business rules in different places.
It really shouldn't be that difficult. So if you do need to be registered, it typically is with the state or province, that's the most likely. It's also typically something that can be done online for less than $100. Sometimes it's free. I think I pay something like $50 a year for my business license.
And again, it's done online, super simple. If you really are unable to open a different account at first, like if for whatever reason this continues to be difficult, then I would say use a spreadsheet or bookkeeping software in the beginning to make sure you keep up with business expenses and sales separate from your personal funds. And then as soon as possible, open that other account. But if you're like me and not super into bookkeeping, having a separate account will help so much. So you really wanna do that.
I'm not sure why it was difficult, but it shouldn't be. So as I said, try again, you're not doing anything wrong. Check the local laws of course, but it should be very simple. So good luck, let us know Ben, how it goes. Listeners, if you've got a question, something you're trying to work through and your quest to make extra money without quitting your job, sidehustleschool.com/questions.
We continue to feature them every week, along with case studies, tips, stories, all kinds of good stuff. We make this program for you every single day. My name is Chris Guillebeau, this is Side Hustle School. [Music]
from the Onward Project.
