Artist File

Hey everybody, welcome back. Remember Joshua? Last episode, we explored the first part of his question: what are the pros of incorporating yourself as a business? (In case you missed that episode, I highly recommend going back and listening to it.) This time around, we’ll look at the flipside: what are the cons of incorporation? We’ll explore why you must not incorporate yourself.

Like it or not, all artists are businesses. From the moment we try to make a living from our art, we become entrepreneurs who must market ourselves, run operations and manage finances. So if we behave as businesses, shouldn’t we be businesses? Would literally incorporating ourselves help us create more healthy, sustainable careers, or would it be a tremendous waste of resources and time? For today’s episode, we’ll explore why you must incorporate yourself.

We feel the need to create, and we want to earn a living from our art – not to rely on survival jobs. And to accomplish that goal, we may choose to pursue multiple projects at once. But is it wise to accept everything that comes our way? Or should we be selective?

Exposure. Everyone wants it. Of course, it’s not easy to get – especially in the arts. There’re barriers to overcome, and it seems as if everybody’s trying to walk through the same door at once. So what do we do? How can we convince others to give us a platform to share our art with the world?

Ah, yes, the classic question: should I get an agent or manager? We all arrive at a point when we wonder if we could get better contracts or more work if somebody else represented us. But when should we do this? Too early, and we may needlessly fork over money to somebody else. Too late, and we may miss work opportunities. To grapple with this question, let’s think like economists, people who study tradeoffs.

We all want better contracts so that we can make more money and get better perks. Most of us don’t have agents or managers, though, so we have to negotiate for ourselves. Unfortunately, that makes most of us uncomfortable. We often lack experience doing it and rarely share tips with each other. So what should we do? How do we approach negotiations?

Most of us don’t have agents or managers handling our contracts, so that responsibility falls on our shoulders. Obviously, we want to ensure that we’ll be treated fairly, and relying on the honor system can be risky. But nobody wants to be that person who’s difficult to work with, and we fear that we’re replaceable. So what’s the best way to walk this tightrope and to demand a contract?

As artists, we write off many things for taxes. Many things. And we have to record it all – which can be a major drain on our time. So what can we do to be as efficient as possible when documenting our write-offs?

Many of us feel lost when filing taxes. The forms are complicated, and we hear contradictory advice from colleagues and friends. Add in the ebb and flow of life, and no wonder we become hopeless. So how can we gain more confidence? What one habit can help us get better at doing taxes?

Many of us feel that we’re messing up taxes. Between W-2s from day jobs and 1099s from artistic work, managing all of that paperwork is complicated. We assume that the rules between these forms are different. But how? Most of us are unsure, and Lord knows that the last thing we want to do is to get in trouble with the IRS.