Posts by rapidotter11

Does Medicare cover any part of medical treatment abroad—like a few stitches and an X-ray at a hospital within the European Union—if I don't have a European health insurance card or travel insurance?

How many people die in this sport every year?

Bradley Smith88 said:I just sent my thanks, but if they can't even offer me a steady full-time position... then I guess we're done here..

Exactly.

Nathan Cox25 said:

Bills are jumping by 50% to 100% compared to what a regular household pays.

Nothing changed on my end—I'm still just on a standard residential plan.

LOL, things don't just fix themselves. You actually have to go down to the utility office and request the switch, otherwise you're technically breaking the rules. If they catch you, you'll be stuck paying the difference plus legal interest.

Bradley Smith88 said:That’s actually really helpful info, I was wondering about that. So, basically, you need at least $2333 just to break even and not end up making minimum wage. Thanks!
Since I’d be registering this sole proprietorship at my parents' house, I hope it doesn't mess with their utilities or property taxes or anything like that??
What a headache. I have to give them an answer by tomorrow too—only a two-day window—and I won't even know what the deal is with those small business startup grants from the unemployment office until Friday... total stress.

Thanks.

You either have to switch all the utilities to a commercial rate, or just that specific room if you’ve got separate lines—like a dedicated electric meter or something.

Henry Edwards33 said:I think you’re overestimating the overhead here quite a bit. 😉
The basic safety gear and first aid supplies he actually needs won't run him more than $133.
If I were looking at bare-minimum technical requirements—things like electrical inspections, climate control 🙂, and standard OSHA compliance for two employees plus a director—it would cost me less than $1667.
Then you've got the various taxes and fees for a small business owner, which sit around $583, plus those chamber of commerce dues (which run me about $40/month).
It’s usually cheaper to just work for a corporation where you can pick up a minimum wage job, though the upfront costs of starting your own thing are definitely higher.
In my book, you need a monthly take-home of at least 7k-$2667 to make this kind of venture worth the headache. That's just based on the logic of "better to be working than sitting on the couch."

Good luck.

Maybe I exaggerated a little, but not by much.

Compliance could easily hit $2,800—$1167—depending on which firm he signs with, plus annual maintenance and fire extinguishers. He could easily end up paying $1333 just for himself without even accounting for staff.

Utility bills are 50% to 100% higher than at home. It all depends on whether he needs a laptop, phone, data plans, or travel expenses since he'll be out in the field.

He might also have to pay for things like office TV or subscriptions if he wants them. Just extra overhead.

The first month is always the killer. He'll need a sign, he'll have to switch to a business utility rate (for example, Exelon might charge $250—$100) and so on. All that stuff makes the first month expensive.

Bradley Smith88 said:It’s not really direct textbook sales; it's more like lobbying within the school districts.
The contract doesn't have any clauses tied to specific numbers... since you won't actually see results for at least a year anyway.
The business cooperation agreement can be terminated by either side with just 8 days' notice, if they're looking to bail quickly. They didn't specify the exact gross amount, but I'm guessing it's somewhere around 5,500 or 6,000.

Some accountant can run the math for you to see if $2000 works if you stretch things out.
There are tons of overhead costs. For example, you'll drop $3,000 to $5,000 on business insurance the second you set up an LLC. Your utility bills will basically double since you'll be paying small business rates. I'm not sure if you have to account for property tax even if you own the space—check with the IRS on that. Bottom line: starting isn't cheap and the risk is high.

Not trying to rain on your parade, but who’s actually buying books? Americans just don't buy them like that...

Did you even look at the contract you'd be signing with them? There's probably a clause in there about minimum sales volume...

An eight-day notice period? That’s just not realistic.

To make any money running your own business, they’d need to pay you $8,000 $3.25 a month. I don't see how that's any better for them than just hiring you as an employee.

Ashley Mendoza6 said:Honestly, the bank fees for a business account should be the least of your worries.

You’ve got to factor in all those extra taxes and regulatory fees, not to mention hiring an accountant—unless, of course, you actually enjoy spending half your life staring at spreadsheets.

Just to give you a ballpark figure, expect your basic monthly overhead to sit around about $333 per month.😉

I.

Edit:

Keep one thing in mind: about 80% of those people drowning in lawsuits or facing bankruptcy are small business owners who got a little too cocky. They tried to cut corners by skipping the accounting help, thinking they could just "catch up" later. Don't let yourself become part of those grim statistics. When you run a sole proprietorship in the States, your personal assets are on the line, so please, be careful out there.

Taxes and payroll taxes hit around 2k, then you gotta scrape together another 3-4k for rent and all that other junk.

If he's planning on working with just one client, that’s a huge risk. If they miss a payment or start squeezing him on rates, he's stuck making way less than he expected.

cosmicsailor63 said:I can't shake this nagging feeling that all these government grants are just being wrapped up in pretty packaging when, in reality, they’re a total nightmare... kind of like dropping $0.33 on an iPhone. I've been scrolling through comments and reading about people who actually tried to go through the whole process, and man, they are so bitter about it. They got absolutely burned. What a wild west we live in... my godmother even runs her own small business over in Düsseldorf, and honestly, I still find myself doubting her whenever she tries to explain how organized things are supposed to be over there.

Then quit stalling and give us the details on how it actually works.

rustysurfer79 said:You won't even admit what kind of junk you're feeding your dairy cows if someone actually tries to help you.

It’s all fine and dandy until someone proves you’ve been feeding them contaminated scraps. Then suddenly you’re playing the victim and looking for a government bailout to save your skin.

It’s the exact same thing here in the States; just different packaging, same mentality.

I fed my printer original ink, so I'm pretty sure that wasn't the issue.

My Canon Pixma 210 is leaving horizontal lines all over my prints. What's the deal with that, and can I actually fix it? I tried running the "cleaning" cycle in the software, which worked for exactly one day before the same problem came right back.

Yeah, but can you change my username to rapidotter11?

Since it's just adding an "o," just reach out to Nice.

Brandon Phillips83 said:Hi everyone, I’ve been reading through a lot of your comments lately and figured someone here might actually be able to point me in the right direction. I’m currently out of the country, so I sent an email over to the Democratic Party to get some specifics, but man, they are painfully slow. It feels like days have passed and I haven't heard a peep...
Basically, my plan is to open a seasonal business at a beach resort that would only operate for about three months of the year. What exactly am I looking at here? All I know is that it should probably be registered as a seasonal small business... How much capital are we talking about, and how long does the whole process take to finalize? It drives me absolutely crazy that people working in government offices still don't seem to know how to check or reply to their emails.

Thanks so much in advance! ☕

In this country, don't bother emailing anyone. Just find a number and call them. Otherwise, you might be waiting forever.😁

Angela Johnson8 said:From the end of the draft to the rise of metrosexuality, we’ve watched a systematic decline in our youth—basically just turning people into easy targets for manipulation.
Knowledge? Who needs it when you've got a smartphone and Wikipedia. Physical fitness? Irrelevant, unless you count those weekend warriors who spend more time on their makeup than actually training. It just goes on and on. There’s no discipline left... and honestly, until we move past this entire culture of weakness, we aren't going anywhere.

That’s just the American model: breeding sheep that stay quiet and don't ask questions. What good is having all that information if nobody actually knows how to think?

Olivia Sanders24 said:To break it down at the start:

~$600 monthly for payroll taxes
~$100 quarterly for the Chamber of Commerce
~$113 annual flat tax for the business

Then you've got to factor in whatever your accountant charges you and all that good stuff...

So, if you're pulling in nearly $2,000 a month, a huge chunk of that just vanishes "immediately"...

How exactly do you calculate the corporate tax and the chamber fees?
I saw online that the business tax ranges from $300 to $667. As for the fees, I found a bunch of conflicting info, so I'm trying to figure out how to calculate this accurately.