Business Setup and Hosting Questions.

[Vertigo]

In my quest to get into this business I have many questions, but I'll start here.

The first two mainly revolve around US based Affiliates.

1. How do you have your business accounts set up?

Do any of the other US affiliates utilize off shore or over sea's bank accounts for any reason? If so, Why?

II. Have you incorporated or set up a LLC for your business?

C. Hosting? Who do you use and why? and what do you pay / what level of services do you get (storage, bandwidth, transfer...etc.)

Thanks all!

 

[Guard Dog]

1. How do you have your business accounts set up?

Do any of the other US affiliates utilize off shore or over sea's bank accounts for any reason? If so, Why?

When I first started, it was a sole proprietorship (like, I believe, most affiliates). I used a US bank account (still do). Some do use offshore accounts, but I don't know the reasoning - maybe someone else will fill you in.

Now, I have set up a corporation for tax purposes and a business checking account where all funds are deposited. Still US banking.

II. Have you incorporated or set up a LLC for your business?

Yes, but not for the first 3 years. See above (S-Corp for me)

C. Hosting? Who do you use and why? and what do you pay / what level of services do you get (storage, bandwidth, transfer...etc.)

I have used many over the years. I found LiquidWeb to be the best for me with their incredible support team. They are not the cheapest, but definitely the best support I have seen so far.

In the past I have used: Hostgator, Resellerhost, SLHost, and 24-7Host. SLHost was the best out of those, but it was also the only VPS out of the 4.

 

[WagerX]

Gaurd Dog,
Good topic, I was hoping you could explain why you set up a corporation. Even though I live in Costa Rica I've been paying taxes on my affiliate income just as if I lived in the US (less foreign income exclusion) . I have been considering setting up a Corporation, but can you please explain the advantages of setting up a corporation? Do you save on taxes, or is it easier somehow. I though it would be harder to file both your own personal taxes and that of the corporation.

 

[Guard Dog]

Gaurd Dog,
Good topic, I was hoping you could explain why you set up a corporation. Even though I live in Costa Rica I've been paying taxes on my affiliate income just as if I lived in the US (less foreign income exclusion) . I have been considering setting up a Corporation, but can you please explain the advantages of setting up a corporation? Do you save on taxes, or is it easier somehow. I though it would be harder to file both your own personal taxes and that of the corporation.

It is simpler as a sole proprietorship, that is for sure

However - I wanted to protect personal assets from libelous companies, so forming a corporation was the way to go.

For taxes, I like the fact that I now have a payroll system in place. This allows me to determine taxes properly and pay the government as necessary. Previously I just paid whatever the heck I felt I might have owed At the end of the year, I was either wrong and owed money or wrong and got some back. It makes it difficult to budget for a family when you have no clue what's going to happen come tax season.

S-Corp has some tax advantages as well, but I am no CPA so can't really discuss without sounding completely ridiculous.

I hope that helped... that was the reason for me. If I were not worried about my personal assets, then sole proprietorship is the way to go and makes taxes simple.

 

[WCD Admin]

If you are an American, I would suggest taking the high route, too. We looked for tricks but they all seemed to me to be breaking the law (tax evasion) or conspiring not to pay taxes (tax avoidance) <- that's the reason a lot of people do offshore stuff. It also takes a bit more motivation for Uncle Sam to pry into non-American banks (but not much!). The best bet is not to gamble on this one. If you live here they can get you so you might as well just do everything on the up and up.

GuardDog is right. Setup an LLC or a Corp to protect you and your family's bank accounts and belongings in case of a legal case where you are being sued.

If you pay yourself all of your earnings (via bonus or whatever) your company can make ZERO each year, and thus you have ZERO corporate taxes. That's the biggest LEGAL loophole. Its hardly a loophole though, cause you'll still have to claim 100% of your income on the personal taxes. Just not as much as the corporation would have paid. *corporate taxes are high compared to personal taxes.

 

[affcorner]

Good questions

@wagerdog

Im also In Costa Rica, And I think a SA corp is a good first stop for your money. As far as taxes, good thing you do what you need to.

LLC in USA good, but if justt one person, do a S-corp

This way you can legally write off a lot of expenses, AND protect your income for frivilous lawsuits

PS wager, if you ever want to meet for a beer to chat about this in person, im around !!

 

[Nicolas-Johnson]

Be careful not to overpay

Hi,

Both with hosting and setting up a SA in Costa Rica, prices vary wildly.

For SAs in Costa Rica, I know some lawyers charging anywhere from $3,000 to $200. Make sure you don't pay more than $300-400 tops.

For hosting you get what you pay for, but in the beginning you wont need much anyway (kinda like you don't need a Ferrari to learn how to drive). I just paid for a hosting account today, it cost me $14.60 for one year. Not much bandwidth/disk space, but for your average beginner site, simple and cheap can be best + you can always upgrade when needed. Use your money for getting content and links, not expensive hosting/SAs/designs/whatever.

 

[LionSlots]

This way you can legally write off a lot of expenses, AND protect your income for frivilous lawsuits

Couldnt agree more with this. If you look at this like a serious business, make sure you are protected. The last thing you want is your properties being sued by anyone (and I mean any user at all), which in turns effects you.

You need to have that seperation between person and business.

For instance, I have a business setup for investments, another for business, and then there is me.

If my business is ever sued, I know I have "some" protection for my investments, and myself as it is my business which is being sued, and not me and my investments.

 

[slickrick]

I went the route of having a managed dedciated server for my major websites. You can pay anywhere between $50+USD here a month. Find someone with decent support. Don't waste time with time wasters - because your time = $$$.


I also have a reseller hosting account where I can add unlimited domains, and have cpanel access. This is on a shared hosting server - but its great to build little farms of websites.


If you are new, and not technically minded, I think doing something with a Plesh / Cpanel admin as an introduction is good. More often then not, you'll find them under shared hosting services then a dedicated server.

 

[affcorner]

One other thing

for hosting, some programs provide it free! They make you push their program, but who cares to start? If you don't see it ask.