Max Riffner

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How I Became the President

{Click above for larger beard action.}

Shawn asked if I could detail how to start a business after last week’s announcement. I’m not going to get into business structure, business plans, investors, or anything like that in this post. Here’s the short answer:

Get a lawyer.

Seriously, it is about that simple. A lawyer will recommend how the business should be formed. They’ll fill out the necessary paperwork for you and file it with your Secretary of State. They will also get the IRS to assign you a EIN. Which leads me to the next step:

Get an accountant.

All of this costs money, so have some ready. Truthfully, it isn’t too hard to do the paperwork yourself if you get into it, but me, I know that I would worry myself to death about missing a tiny detail, and I would much rather focus on running my business and making my ideas come to life. However, it is cheaper to DIY, just be careful to dot your ‘i’s and cross your ‘t’s.

Now, onto the “why.” I wanted legal separation and protection of my ideas and intellectual property, plus any income derived thereof. Separating all of this out makes it easier for me to track. Not to mention that my ideas are my lifeblood. I live and die by them (not to mention my family). Why wouldn’t I want to protect my assets as best I can?

Also, this is a commitment, one that I never, never thought I would make. Especially when I see myself ten years ago, a dumb high school kid who just wanted to do nothing but draw, never mind how to make a living doing it. I just thought that would work itself out somehow, but you know what? It doesn’t work out like that. Nothing works out like that. You want it to work, then goddamn it, you got to do it yourself. And everyone has heard that song and dance for years, “one day when I hit it big.” Really? How are you going to hit it big? Talking about it isn’t going to get you there.

What are you going to do about it?

If you have a dream, take it seriously.

This business will aggravate me for years on end, I’m sure. It will be, by my most optimistic calculations, at least a year until I see a profit of any kind. On top of that, it will be at least five years until I get close to my goal on where to grow this thing.

But it is mine, and it’s real, and it is happening right now.

And I gotta get back to work…

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