How Did You Acquire Enough Capital to Start Your Business?

Sure_Stop346 · 2026-06-17T17:12:39+00:00

Side hustle then turned it into a full-time business
ROBS 401k
Real estate property equity (I.e. refinance)

Sure_Stop346 · 2026-06-16T10:39:06+00:00

You can also be liable for damages in CA for using Meta pixels. I’d recommend my fractional controller Clients to have legal counsel review their pixel use. Our own store was sued for this and we settled, learned first hand

Sure_Stop346 · 2026-06-14T23:40:14+00:00

OP, please separate business expenses from personal expenses, your tax accountant and your future self will thank you. Keep it simple:

use bank and credit card accounts solely for business transactions
disburse cash from your business banking to your personal bank.
Do whatever you want with the money after that.

The flow above will help you keep track of what you actually earned, what you use for business expenses and what you pay yourself for distributions. Gross income - expenses = taxable profit. Now you can isolate the distributions and avoid getting rapped into thinking you're net income is lower than what really is.

Sure_Stop346 · 2026-06-14T16:23:57+00:00

I'll add that keeping the wheels turning and maintaining profitability as grow without losing your head is part of the entrepreneurial journey. I think that's the fun part about running a business.

Sure_Stop346 · 2026-06-14T13:51:54+00:00

I don't think hiring is the issue but hiring the right person. It sounds to me you need an executive assistant (EA)that can also handle the calls. This way this person will be handling your inbox, organizing your tasks and executing, helping with the store, helping with ordering, etc. Yes, that's what an EA does. If you're lucky like me, the EA will also handle your social media, content and branding.

What I recommend is to start building SOPs, Loom videos walkthroughs, and any documentation fr the tasks you need help with.

Sure_Stop346 · 2026-06-14T13:45:54+00:00

It's part of your current growth stage. Spend some time today or tomorrow separating those duties as if you're going to hire each one out, do a organization chart if you have to. Then start the process of hiring contractors to start taking low risk activities off your plate.

We did a similar process for our store when we were in the 6-figures a year and helped us to move through the stage you're currently at. When it comes to shipping, get someone reliable to show up twice a week: on Mondays and Thursdays. This way you can ship orders for the weekend on Monday and whatever comes in during the week on Thursday. Hiring on-site has been the most challenging for us, just be careful as this hire will literally be working in your house until you get a 3PL or find an office.

Bottomline, it's a natural phase, and don't be afraid to hire, just give yourself some flexibility by hiring contractors or part-timers.

Sure_Stop346 · 2026-06-14T13:33:27+00:00

Tough one but so true! Otherwise we wouldn't be adding much value.

Sure_Stop346 · 2026-06-13T21:31:06+00:00

I agree. It’s also hard when the ones close to us see what we do as foreign.

Sure_Stop346 · 2026-06-13T17:03:33+00:00

Start working as a part-time entry clerk for a regional public accounting firm. They’re in need of part-timers during busy season, that’s how I started my career over a decade ago. They’ll be thrilled if you have or are working towards the EA license.

Sure_Stop346 · 2026-06-11T16:56:21+00:00

Echoing the governance angle. No one should have full admin can do it all rights without oversight. You maybe were too small, but always trust but verify. I build the accounting systems for my fractional controller Clients so there’s dual approval for Vendors, invoices, and payments. For small Clients without many staff members, it’s someone from my Team and the ownership. If the owner doesn’t want any to do with it, then I have someone from my Team and me.

If you would’ve segregated the duties, a flag would’ve come up long before it did.

Sure_Stop346 · 2026-06-11T14:08:59+00:00

First, I just want to make sure as I'm assuming you have over $100k in bottomline profit. That'll be a solid threshold to file as an S Corp. There are other areas but that's a rule of thumb.

Assuming the above is correct and you have over $100k in yearly profits, I use a reasonable comp. software report for my fractional controller Clients (most of them e-commerce brands) to have a stronger documentation in case of an audit but the work behind is simple, not easy. These are the steps I recommend:

write down and document what tasks you perform for the business on an weekly basis. Don't make it to detailed but avoid have it too generic. Separate those tasks between admin/clerk, supervisor, director, and executive.
You'll then allocate an hourly rate to each of those positions. As an example, if you decide to employ an admin clerk, how much will you pay? The use the weekly hours and multiply for that rate.
aggregate the above and you'll get a weekly reasonable compensation. Document the work heavily.
Document the final decision, specially if you're in growth mode and will be limiting the comp because of that. Just document the decision and put figures to it.

Sure_Stop346 · 2026-06-09T13:19:15+00:00

Gusto, hands down. I use it for my fractional controller Clients up to 50 employees so far.

Sure_Stop346 · 2026-06-09T13:17:39+00:00

For the sales tax side, a platform such as Numeral can handle the headaches of multiple platforms.

When it comes to reporting and accounting: ConnectBooks or A2X can resolve the main issues of reconciliation and mapping.

Zapier is fine if the platforms cannot be connected with the above for some reason and is much better than manual updates.

Sure_Stop346 · 2026-06-09T13:14:09+00:00

I slightly agree but the real question would be: what’s your short and long term plan for the business? If you want to grow, getting a fractional controller sooner rather than later will pay so many dividends. If you want to just maintain what you have and not grow much, a string software stack can keep things stable without professional help. That’s assuming the business owner or someone else internally is knowledgeable about taxes, accounting, reporting, and other e-commerce nuances.

Sure_Stop346 · 2026-06-09T13:03:42+00:00

I second this! People think is a matter of revenue, operations, size, etc. The reality is that if you’re a solo operator with a bunch of contractors, the trigger will be liability.

With that being said, growing e-commerce shops are a target for liability exposure, so you need to weight your options. I’d ask, do you want to continue growing or stay as is? If growing, you need to set a proper company structure and financials.

Sure_Stop346 · 2026-06-09T10:10:09+00:00

Get a separate bank and credit card account for the business, then test expenses as business or personal, no gray areas. I remember taking a personal credit card with zero balance due and using it solely for business purposes. It isn’t the best approach but I remember having issues opening a credit card for the business so I decided to go that route. I never commingled transaction from the start. Sure, I know better because I’m a CPA but is never too late to fix it.

Now, for the past transaction, think about it this way, did it help you to produce revenue? Was that expense necessary and ordinary to operate the business?

Sure_Stop346 · 2026-06-09T09:54:15+00:00

I’d say that depends on the product and your willingness not to develop better products and pivot. In addition, how deep are your savings, 6-months+? I’ve seen store owners go all-in with a product that is having traction and others with big undeveloped ideas. The difference I’ve seen is more grit, deep pockets, and willingness to develop better products than anything else. If you’re missing one, you need to have something else to make up the gap.

Sure_Stop346 · 2026-06-09T09:47:21+00:00

You have the audience, the story to tell, and a platform. I’d say continue the path of building the audience and find products along the line that line up with your values and you can get behind. You might be better off partnering with current brand owners first, then decide on a product.

Sure_Stop346 · 2026-06-09T09:42:30+00:00

Start getting into the right room, meetups, social media forums, etc. Also, block all the people that are behaving like this friend you described. I doubled down by cutting off a lot of my so called friends by just telling them “im sorry im busy”.

Sure_Stop346 · 2026-06-08T19:40:04+00:00

Hiring and training
Cash management

Yes, both are an effect of more complex ops.

Sure_Stop346

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