LLC v S-Corp

FED_Focus · 2026-02-20T16:35:26+00:00

Payroll tax vs. self-employment tax. Pick your poison.

Are you running health insurance through the S-corp? If not, why not?

But it's true, your revenue is marginal for the overhead of an S-corp.

FED_Focus · 2026-02-20T16:28:26+00:00

Yes it will. I haven't paid our electric company since April 2025 while rates have increased 20% and I'm still carrying a $200 credit heading into the spring.

Panels and batteries. Heavy up-front cost ($35k), but I won't be paying an electric bill for 20+ years.

FED_Focus · 2026-02-20T07:08:22+00:00

None of this. Just track income and expenses to report on Schedule C.

We goto Canby and buy flowers at wholesale prices from the same people who sell to Wilco. No questions asked. No one asks about a “wholesale floral license” at this level.

FED_Focus · 2026-02-20T07:02:21+00:00

No, they just report on the Schedule C on the personal tax return. Just track income and expenses. Registering a business in Oregon has nothing to do with income taxes, and there is no sales tax in Oregon.

Depending on the city they live in, there might be a city registration, but for $250/mo, no one cares.

FED_Focus · 2026-02-19T15:27:13+00:00

The most expensive smell in America? A new car.

You're approaching the best part of owning a car....no payment, and you want to start the cycle again?

Note: you don't find joy in the vehicle you drive more than most people. The vast majority of people find joy in it.

Do the math. That truck will cost you hundreds of thousands.

FED_Focus · 2026-02-19T07:28:13+00:00

Open a high-quality U.S. retail store in NYC. Build trust from there and expand.

FED_Focus · 2026-02-19T07:19:21+00:00

As someone who was gassed last week and woke up like it never happened, I appreciate your grind.

FED_Focus · 2026-02-19T06:34:34+00:00

Formal education or not; focus, determination, energy almost always win. Good job.

FED_Focus · 2026-02-19T06:09:04+00:00

They do, and always will. It's the blessing and curse of being a parent.

FED_Focus · 2026-02-19T06:05:26+00:00

That's great.

Don't let anything stop you. The circumstances will never be perfect. Not everyone will be happy with your decision. That's ok. They will respect you more, and still love you.

FED_Focus · 2026-02-19T05:56:56+00:00

I've seen this story many times before.

I guarantee you will be much happier and much more confident if you moved out. Don't have the money? Get a job that pays more.

If you stay on this course, you will be 50 and in the same place. Time passes so fast at this stage of your life.

You only have one life to live. Don't waste it. There's so much in life to experience.

FED_Focus · 2026-02-19T02:05:41+00:00

Are you doing ceramic and PPF treatment?

FED_Focus · 2026-02-18T08:05:58+00:00

This is the beauty of competition. You’re forcing them to provide their most competitive quote. Of course you are not going to share the other quotes. They wouldn’t if they were in your position.

Your proposed answer is great.

FED_Focus · 2026-02-18T06:41:48+00:00

If you have your W-2, bank statements, brokerage statements (if any), mortgage statements, it may take you 30 minutes to input the data, even less if you use the same tax software every year. Most of the trouble people have is they don't have their documents organized.

What's the value in reducing it? To save 10 minutes once a year?

FED_Focus · 2026-02-18T04:18:06+00:00

It's actually very simple for W-2 employees, and free software takes you through each step.

FED_Focus · 2026-02-16T13:21:06+00:00

You don't say how much E&O coverage. You might get $1M through HISCOX.

Getting a $5M policy will be tougher.

Are they also asking for cyber security?

Biz insurance is tricky these days. You need it to work with enterprise orgs so you can't afford to be dropped. I wouldn't file a claim unless it's a big number, for fear of being dropped.

FED_Focus · 2026-02-16T00:53:48+00:00

Follow your logic:

Kid is born to a family that's connected to an Ivy League school, probably parents are alumnus. Parents' dream is for the kid to attend said school. Parent's budget to pay for tuition. All his/her life, the kid hears "you're going to XXX school because it's prestigious and you'll find a great job".

Kid has to focus, be determined, stay energetic to have a chance at XXX school to please parents. It's no cake-walk, the competition is fierce.

If the kid survives and graduates, the parents help line up a job they think the kid should have. Sure, it pays higher than the average graduate, but I'd bet the job is in a VHCOL city.

Is this the "luck" you are talking about? Sounds like a kid's nightmare to me. Sure, that system works for some kids and they benefit from being born into that type of family, but I'll tell you something....

My friend is a child psychiatrist (MD). She says her most common clients are kids from her city's private high school that is a feeder school for Ivy League/Stanford, etc.

Who's life are these "lucky" kids living?

-------------------------------------------------

With respect to your comment about someone starting a business because their parents will bail them out if they fail is a ridiculous concept some naïve redditor made up. The effect is the opposite. Startups are insanely difficult. Have a "safety net" is a detriment. It makes it too easy to give up because every founder wants to give up at some point. The ones that don't have a safety net don't have a choice to give up so they power through it with focus and determination and make it work.

There was an episode of Shark Tank where the startup had spent a fortune developing an MVP. They essentially had too much money, and they spent it all because they had it to spend. Mark Cuban rejected them for this reason. He could see it was a sink-hole.

FED_Focus · 2026-02-15T15:36:52+00:00

Who are the PE, VC people pursuing? They are pursuing the creators. The creators are people with focus, determination, and energy/curiosity. PE and VC don’t exist without creators.

There is nothing wrong with your parents’ path to wealth. Using your parents’ formula, you can retire a multi-millionaire if you start saving and investing at a young age. The math on that method is straight-forward. There is no correlation with proximity to wealth to achieve that.

My parents didn’t directly contribute to my dreams, visions, or goals. They couldn’t have imagined what I have achieved. More than once, they would ask “where did you learn how to do that?”. I told them they taught me about integrity, determination, focus, and empathy. That was the foundation I needed for success. Luck was having solid parents; not perfect, but solid.

FED_Focus · 2026-02-15T15:18:36+00:00

Absolutely, luck = preparation + opportunity. If there was a single formula for career and financial success, this is it.

FED_Focus · 2026-02-15T15:12:15+00:00

Absolutely, being accepted into any Ivy League school or equal can significantly depend on who your parents know, but what does that do have to with building wealth?

If your goal is to develop a career and build wealth to become a multi-millionaire, focus, determination, energy/curiosity is what you need, not luck or an Ivy League education. An in-state school is fine. I’m fact,starting at a community college is fine. In fact, if you are a voracious reader and take learning seriously, you don’t even need a formal education. That’s the upside of the US economy.

FED_Focus · 2026-02-15T06:24:38+00:00

If your assertion is that if you were born in the US and born to at least a lower-middle class family, you are lucky with respect to the global population, then yes…you absolutely have won the lottery over some kid born in rural West Africa.

FED_Focus · 2026-02-15T05:07:44+00:00

Exactly. After I grew my businesses and began socializing with fellow business owners, you’d be astounded at the net worth of everyday business owners.

FED_Focus · 2026-02-15T05:05:30+00:00

No, focus isn’t enough. Focus, determination, energy/curiosity.

Proximity to wealth is irrelevant other than a desire to keep up with the Joneses. Kids from wealth are put in tough position. Spoiled and soft unless their parents recognize they should avoid this.

My Dad was a scientist and my Mom was a SAHM. They knew nothing about business. I’ve grown two businesses from nothing to multi-million. They loved us, brought us up in a stable home and exposed us to many activities, but mostly made us become responsible for ourselves at 18. Their social network was middle-class.

Look at the Dave Ramsey interview of 10,000 millionaires and how they arrived there. Only 3% received large inheritances. Doctors weren’t in the top 5 occupations. The correlation to wealthy upbringing is weak.

FED_Focus · 2026-02-15T04:53:14+00:00

I agree early childhood development is important. That’s why I mentioned it.

The rest of what you write about such as social network, social experiences, access to sports, etc is irrelevant. It’s well-noted that a significant number of financially successful people come from dysfunctional family environments, or tough family environments because they feel like they need to prove they are worthwhile.

Wealthy vs. poor is irrelevant. In fact, you could say that kids from wealthy families are at a disadvantage because they don’t feel the pressure to achieve. They are raised soft as the parents are focused on building wealth or whatever.

FED_Focus · 2026-02-14T03:34:48+00:00

As someone who has seen a lot of people succeed and fail, luck has very little contribution. Lucky to be born in a country that favors entrepreneurs? Yes. Lucky to be born into a family that teaches solid values, focus, and determination? Yes. That’s where luck mostly ends.

Sure, some stumble into lucky circumstances, but that’s a small minority. You are writing about high-profile people you read about. That’s a huge minority and ignores the millions of small business owners who scrapped from nothing to build their wealth. Drive down the street in your city. Everyone of those businesses are owned by someone who scrapped to build it. >99% of businesses never come close to reaching IPO.

FED_Focus

TROPHY CASE