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INTRODUCTION

Years ago, I broke away from the traditional, nine-to-five world and started working for myself. I wanted to do fulfilling work in my own way without having to fight layers of bureaucracy or fill my calendar with company meetings. I desperately wanted to use my skills, make the rules, define my future, and earn a great living.

If you too pine for the freedom and flexibility to do truly gratifying work and wake up every morning excited about your job, you can do what I did. All you need is a good idea or subject-matter knowledge, plus some hard work.

But the barrier to starting a profitable business may not be a lack of determination or a good idea. What may be holding you back is that you don’t know how. You may not know the answers to basic questions, such as “Do I need to form a corporation?” or “What expenses are tax-deductible if I work from home?” or “Will I need a business license?” When it comes to being self-employed, there seem to be more questions than answers. That confusion can easily discourage you from striking out on your own.

Since I began hosting the popular weekly podcast Money Girl in 2008 and published my award-winning book Money Girl’s Smart Moves to Grow Rich in 2011, helping listeners and readers like you get answers to personal and business finance questions has been an important part of my life. My mission is to make sure you get the knowledge, resources, and inspiration you need to manage money with confidence and create a richer life.

Money-Smart Solopreneur is for anyone who is or wants to be self-employed. It will explain what you should and shouldn’t do in plain language. You’ll learn how to protect your finances as you start a business and outline a step-by-step process for getting your venture off the ground. We cover how to decide what to charge your clients, manage money when your income is unpredictable, choose the best tools, avoid common business mistakes, pay taxes, run a homebased business, and build a solid, self-employed benefits package.

If you’re an artist, consultant, freelancer, or on-demand worker who earns money on the side, you may not even realize you’re already a business owner. If you have a solo business, you’re in great company. According to the SBA, there were more than 30.7 million small businesses in the U.S. in 2019. That’s a lot of entrepreneurs! But what’s interesting is that 85 percent, or about 26 million of them, have no employees. The nickname that’s caught on for these one-person ventures is solopreneur.

Many people think you can’t start a business unless you went to business school or have an advanced degree. I have an MBA and can promise you my formal education hasn’t been required to run my solo business. I know many other successful solopreneurs who have no formal business education at all.

So it doesn’t matter what type of work you do or how much business experience or education you have. I’m glad you’re reading this book. Your questions will get answered here. I can’t promise that being a solopreneur will be easy, but I can tell you from decades of personal experience that it’s worth it.

Whether you plan to work for yourself full time or keep your day job and build a solo business on the side, the easy-to-digest information in this book will set you up for success. You’ll have the knowledge you need to help make critical decisions and create a business that works for you.

You have a lot to offer. It’s never too late to put your skills, ambition, knowledge, and relationships into an exciting new venture. And you’ll have the best boss ever: you.