Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I do some occasional sidework for friends building websites primarily.  They write me a check and I claim it on my taxes.

Now I'm starting to get a fairly heavy influx of sidework opportunties, and I'd like to keep it going.  However, since I do this night's and weekends, I need some help.  A friend at work is going to help me do the work, and we'll split the income.

What I need to know, is how do we do that from a business standpoint? Do we need an LLC? Neither of us have a problem with someone writing me a check, and then me turning around to give her her fair share, but don't know how it all works.

It would be nice to be able to give a business cards to friends with a "company" name on it, but not completely necessary.  Also, we're talking a very low amount of money to start.  We'd like to take on $10,000 or so of projects next year in addition to our regular jobs.  Also, because right now we're primarily doing small jobs for friends and family, being held personally liable in a lawsuit is not something we're terribly worried about, especially since we're doing mostly graphic design work, but I'll defer to the experts.

Any recommendations on what we should do, and/or what the costs might be to do so would be great. Thanks!

I was wondering if you have ever looked into an internet marketing business?  I have owned both traditional businesses and internet businesses, and hand-down, the internet has outperformed anything I have ever seen.

Plus, there is MUCH less headache, stress, pressure, etc... and the investment back on your time is greatly increased.

And, I am able to effortlessly scale my businesses up to increase my income at anytime.

You should take a look at the website in my signature and see what exactly I'm talking about.

Wish you the best,

Stephen Clark

Weigh up the costs of all options. I think it all depends if you will be full time in the future.