Simple Steps to Help You Turn Your Blog Into a Business

August 20, 2013 by Daniel Sharkov|

The following is a guest contribution by Amanda Green.

You’ve worked hard to build and monetize your blog. Now that you’ve got a steady stream of money coming in, it’s a good idea to explore the idea of turning your blog into a “real” business.

And why is that?

The biggest reason to consider legitimizing your “blogging business” is for tax purposes.

The IRS has very strict rules and regulations about the reporting of any and all income come tax time. If your blog is earning over a specific amount, you need to report that income on your taxes. This can affect any refund you might get (usually badly).

When you set your blog up to be its own business, you can file taxes separately for it. You can use the money you’ve put into your blog to help reduce the amount of money you have to pay.

You might also be able to qualify for loans and grants through the Small Business Administration that you can use to expand your business into a full time enterprise.

How to Turn Your Blog into a Business?

Turning your blog into a business is almost ridiculously easy. Most of the time all you have to do is register it with the state and you can declare yourself up and running.

Still, you don’t want to run the risk of making mistakes. Make an appointment with your local small business resource center.

Small business resource centers are non-profit organizations.

You can meet with a counselor for free and go over all of the paperwork that you’ll need to fill out to officially set up your blog as its own business. Your counselor will know which details deserve the most attention and help you put together a plan for “going legit.”

The Money Stuff

After you’ve filed all of the correct paperwork, you’re going to need to separate your finances. Your blog and You are officially separate entities. Sure you can use your personal money to run the business for a while but it’s better to set up independent financing.

Set up a separate (business) bank account in your blog’s name. You can do this with the same bank at which you have your personal accounts. Your bank undoubtedly has a small business consultant or advisor to help people who want to do exactly this. Use your personal credit to set up a business credit account (aka get a business credit card). Take time to click hereto compare credit card offers to make sure you get the best rates and perks. A good idea is to seek out a card that will give you cash back rewardson the purchases you make for your business. As your blog makes money use that money to properly manage your new business credit card. This is how you build up your blog’s own credit rating. That rating will come in handy later if you want to apply for a small business loan.Go Slowly

Starting a business is exciting! It’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of it and try to do too much too fast. For example, you might want to incorporate your business right away.

Resist the urge to run before you can walk.

It’s entirely possible that you’ll want to incorporate later or that you’ll want to turn your blog into full time income. For now, go slowly so that you’ll have time to learn. That way, when you’re ready to take the next steps, you’ll know what to do and how to do it.

Have you turned your own blog or website into an independent business? Share your story in the comments!

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