vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
"This is not an end-all answer but it'll get you started I have been through accounting courses in college as well as worked as a contractor (files as sole proprietor) for a few years but IANAA (I am not an accountant). Following @MasonWheeler's answer, if you're making that much money you should hire a bean counter to at least overlook your bookkeeping. What type of business? First, if you're the sole owner of the business you will most likely file as a sole proprietorship. If you don't have an official business entity, you should get it registered officially asap, and file under that name. The problem with sole proprietorships is liability. If you get sued, not only are your business' assets vulnerable but they can go after your personal assets too (including house/cars/etc). Legally, you and your business are considered one and the same. To avoid liability issues, you could setup a S corporation. Basically, the business is considered it's own entity and legal matters can only take as much as the business owns. You gain more protection but if you don't explicitly keep your business finances separate from your personal finances, you can get into a lot of trouble. Also, corporations generally pay out more in taxes. Technically, since the business is it's own entity you'll need to pay yourself a 'reasonable salary'. If you skip the salary and pay yourself the profits directly (ie evade being taxed on income/salary) the IRS will shut you down (that's one of the leading causes of corporations being shut down). You can also pay distribute bonuses on top of that but it would be wise to burn the words 'within reason' into your memory first. The tax man gets mad if you short him on payroll taxes. S corporations are complicated, if you go that route definitely seek help from an accountant. Bookkeeping If you're not willing to pay a full time accountant you'll need to do a lot of studying about how this works. Generally, even if you have a sole proprietorship it's best to have a separate bank account for all of your business transactions. Every source/drain of money will fall into one of 3 categories...
"The answer is, there are a lot of answers! It always seems so daunting to start saving when you're living paycheck to paycheck and anticipate more bills on the way (kids are expensive!!). Start small, and make it automatic if you can. If you can take $25 out of every paycheck and put it into a savings account, and do this automatically using your bank's Bill Pay system, that will go a long way. It's about setting up a new habit for yourself, and increasing as you can. One way I've heard it phrased is ""Pay yourself first"". Don't set unrealistic expectations for yourself, either. You need to start building a savings account to cover emergencies, not just future purchases. If something happens and you can't get a paycheck for a week, a month, 2 months, how will you pay your bills? Set up a savings account just for that purpose and don't touch it unless it's a true emergency. There are several banks out there that will let you set up multiple savings accounts and mark them for specific purposes, like CapitalOne's 360 accounts. Set one up for the emergency account that gets your automatic per-paycheck deposit, then set up another one for ""fun money"" or ""new home fund"" or whatever else you want to save up for. Starting the savings process is hard, no doubt about it. You need to learn how to budget with the money you have after ""paying yourself first"". But the important part is to stick with it. Consider your savings account as another ""mandatory"" utility. You have to pay it $25/mo or risk...I don't know...a smack on the back of the head. If you wait until the end of the month to see what you have left after everything else, you'll find you don't have anything left. If you can set it up through your bank so when you get your paycheck it automatically puts $25 into a savings account, then you'll never have that $25 burning a hole in your pocket.
"This might sound harsh, but the first thing I would suggest is to stop making excuses. I wasn't able to continue due to pressure from college and family The college I went to was horrible. Employers can very easily hire foreign work-force for very cheap; for example as a citizen if I work $10 an hour, they can get someone from outside to work for $5 per hour There's no guarantee that the project will succeed. I cannot really work and at the same time develop software on my free time. Despite my failures in the past, I was not the main person that's responsible for those failures. Even if all of this is true, it's not helping you move forward and it seems to be getting in the way of creating a good action plan and motivating yourself to succeed. If you believe (based on past experiences) that you are doomed to fail, then you are indeed doomed to fail. You need to take a step back and re-evaluate your current circumstances and what you can do to reach your goals. You have a couple of things working in your favor here. It's great that you are debt free. That already puts you ahead of a lot of your peers. You have the option of living with your parents. Presumably for no rent, or at least much lower rent than you would have to pay if you move out. This is worth literally thousands of $/£/€ for every year you stay. Now, onto your questions: 1) Should I quit regular programming for a normal job because I never monetized programming so I can move out of my parents' home? Are you being paid for this ""regular programming""? If so, are you being paid more than minimum wage? If not, it's perfectly acceptable to consider alternative ways to spend your time and generate income. However, this doesn't have to be at the expense of living with your parents. Have you thought about getting a new or second job while still living with them? If you absolutely must move out of your parent's home, consider renting a room in a house with other people to keep the rent costs to a minimum.
I would be inclined to back the 'tip jar' weblink idea, this is very prolific within the Twitch community, as a method of tipping and thereby supporting content creators. I know that there are numerous tutorials on how to set up 'tip' sites for such usage, so that may point you in the right direction. Also you could turn to crowd-funding opportunities, such as Kickstarter and others, however I am not sure on the ruling of these companies and whether you have to offer the completed project as a reward for backers (it tends to be the done thing). And depending on how serious your friends are in helping you as a fledgeling indie developer, you could investigate in setting yourself up as a limited business. This would allow your supporters to purchase shares in your business, turning them into true stakeholders, but whilst retaining the limited status of the company. However, I must stress, on this point I know very little and may be wrong (I am actually hoping someone else contradicts this so I can learn).
First - get a professional tax consultation with a NY-licensed CPA or EA. At what point do I need to worry about collecting sales taxes for the city and state of New York? Generally, from the beginning. See here for more information on NYS sales tax.  At what point do I need to worry about record-keeping to report the income on my own taxes? From the beginning. Even before that, since you need the records to calculate the costs of production and expenses. I suggest starting recording everything, as soon as possible. What sort of business structures should I research if I want to   formalize this as less of a hobby and more of a business? You don't have to have a business structure, you can do it as a sole proprietor. If you're doing it for-profit - I suggest treating it as a business, and reporting it on your taxes as a business (Schedule C), so that you could deduct the initial losses. But the tax authorities don't like business that keep losing money, so if you're not expecting any profit in the next 3-4 years - keep it reported as a hobby (Misc income). Talk to a licensed tax professional about the differences in tax treatment and reporting. You will still be taxed on your income, and will still be liable for sales tax, whether you treat it as a hobby or as a business. Official business (for-profit activity) will require additional licenses and fees, hobby (not-for-profit activity) might not. Check with the local authorities (city/county/State).
Diversity of risk is always a good idea.  The cheapest equity-based investment (in terms of management costs) is some form of tracker or indexed fund.  They're relatively low risk and worth putting in a fixed amount for long-term investment. I agree with Ngu Soon Hui, you're going to need a lot of cash if you decide to start your own business.  You may have to cover a significant amount of time without an income and you don't want all your cash tied up. However, putting all your money into one business is not good risk management.  Keep some savings where they can be a lifeline, should you need it.
Secondly, what can you do between now and when interest rates do start going up in a few years: Try to put more saving away to increase your safety net from 6 months to 12 months or more, or make extra repayments into your home loan so that you are ahead if things do go wrong. If you are worried that you could lose your job, what can you do to reduce your chances of losing your job or increasing your chances of getting a new job quickly if you do lose it? Improve your current skills, get new skills, become an invaluable employee, or look at possible opportunities to start your own business. Do your own research on the types of houses you are looking at buying, the more houses you look at the better prepared you will be when the right house at the right price comes along, and the less chance that you will be rushed into buying what might be an overpriced house. So to sum it up; do as much research as you can, have an understanding of what your risks are and how you are going to manage those risks.
Hey a project I'm working on is collecting data on people like you.  If you have a great idea that's been bouncing around in your head for ages, this is the time to make it a reality. If you don't have an idea but want to pick up a side project that could turn into the next big thing, this is also the place.  Here's how it works.  **If you have an idea**  1. Fill out [this Google form](https://goo.gl/forms/vD4iUY16GYoNsBTm1). The form asks about your idea, as well as your skill set (only one is required, but the more the better) and a couple questions about your interests. 2. We will reach out to you in the near future to connect you with a group of likeminded individuals with complementary skillsets who can help you launch your company. This information will be emailed to you.  **If you want to join a project**  1. Fill out [this Google form](https://goo.gl/forms/GAAiX93RVu9xvRpY2). The form asks about your skill set (only one is required, but the more the better) and a couple questions about your interests. 2. We will reach out to you in the near future with ideas you might be interested in and people with similar interests but complementary skill sets. This information will be emailed to you.  Thank you for your input, we hope to be in contact soon.
You may want to start a company for a few reasons, the main one would be liability, you don't want your friend to drop a weight on a foot and sue you for millions taking your house away. You'd need to pay taxes on the income, that's after you pay all your expenses, bills, mortgage interest, insurance premiums (!), equipment depreciation. So it's going to be a lot less than you collect from your friends. Whether you incorporate or not you have to pay taxes on your income. If it's $200/year IRS may not notice that, if it's $20K a month it would be very hard to hide. If you pay your friends more than some amount (check the laws) you'd need to tell IRS about it (issue 1099-misc), then your friends must pay taxes on that income.
Try asking in r/entrepreneur my friend did a pop-up fashion store to test the water before opening one full time. It was for 3-4 weeks each time and did really well.  The store was in between long term leases and my friend was able to get a good deal on it.   An escape room would have much higher setup costs and would need to be open longer term to make a decent return. Depends how easily you can setup and promote.
"It is your choice to have ""insignificant income"", and that has consequences.  One is that you cannot borrow money to purchase a home independent of your credit score.  In order to purchase a home you must also have the ability to repay in addition to a good history. IMHO your question suggest that you have a unrealistic outlook on life.  If you cannot come up with 10K, how can you afford a home?  What happens when the HVAC system goes out?  While I certainly hope you meet and exceed your goals, you can change your whole world by simply getting a job at a fast food restaurant.  When you are not working you can then do the entrepreneurship thing. Life is often a choice of priorities.  If you choose to ""back-burner"" the entrepreneur dream, for a time, and choose to focus on earning the best possible wage. Then perhaps you could afford to purchase a place of your own."
"Before filing your first business tax return, you will need to choose a taxation method, either corporation or partnership. If you choose a partnership, then it's moot - your business income flows through to your personal taxes via form K-1. Also, regardless of your taxation method, you should consult a legal expert, since having your business pay off your personal debt would almost always be counted as income to you, and may cause you to lose the personal liability protections provided by the LLC (aka ""piercing the corporate veil""). Having a single-member LLC with no employees, you have to be very careful how you manage the finances of the business. Any commingling of personal and business could jeopardize your protections."
You may also want to consider Delaware and Nevada as possible corporate homes.  They are common choices for out of state corporations.  You may find that they are better options.   Will earnings prior to forming the LLC have to be claimed as self-employment income? If so, would it be easier to wait until the next calendar year to form the LLC? Earnings after forming the Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) will probably have to be claimed as self-employment income.  See How LLC Members Are Taxed for more discussion.  In particular, read the section on self-employment taxes:   The current rule is that any owner who works in or helps manage the business must pay this tax on his or her distributive share (rightful share of profits). However, owners who are not active in the LLC -- that is, those who have merely invested money but don't provide services or make management decisions for the LLC -- may be exempt from paying self-employment taxes on their share of profits. The regulations in this area are a bit complicated, but if you actively manage or work in your LLC, you can expect to pay self-employment tax on all LLC profits allocated to you. As I read it, you actively work in the LLC, so it is unlikely that you can avoid paying self-employment taxes.  So it shouldn't make any difference when you officially start an LLC.  You'll have to pay self-employment taxes before and after creating the LLC regardless.   If you don't want to pay self-employment taxes, you may want to consider forming a Subchapter C corporation.  They don't have the same tax structure as Subchapter S corporations or LLCs.  You would be paid some kind of wage, salary, or commission and the corporation would pay the employer's side of the payroll taxes.   Note that Subchapter S corporations and LLCs exist because they usually pay less in tax than Subchapter C corporations do.  Even including the self-employment taxes that you owe.   A CPA should be able to guide you in making these decisions and help you with setup.   The one time that I started a corporation, I just paid a few hundred dollars to a service and they filed the paperwork for me.  That included state fees and notice costs.  The CPA probably has a service association already.
"My father imparted this advice to me when I was a teenager, and it hasn't failed me yet. > Pay yourself first What this means is that the first ""bill"" you pay should always be your savings. Preferably in a way that automatically comes out of your paycheck or account without requiring you to take an active step to make it happen.  I save a ton of money, but I am no more disciplined than anyone else. I just realized that over the years of progressing in my career that I gradually got higher and higher salaries, yet never had a substantial increase in the money I had leftover in my bank at the end of the month despite the fact that I make about 8x the money I used to live reasonably comfortably on. Therein is the point, we spend whatever money we see, so you almost have to hide it from yourself. First, participate to the fullest in your company's 401k if they offer it. After a while you will adjust naturally to the net take home pay and won't miss the savings you are accumulating. Absent that, or in addition to that, set up a separate bank or investment account and arrange an automatic transfer from your checking account every month. Then set up automatic investing in CD's or some other less-liquid-than-cash investment so you it is just enough hassle to get at the money that you won't do it on a whim. It sounds too simple, but it works."
"Entrepreneurship is the solution.  Everyone just wants ""a job"".  Why not make your own, then eventually provide jobs for others?  Stop thinking of life as a random string of jobs until you retire.  Create, invent, and provide something useful to society.  You'll have a happier life and you'll be bettering this world."
If you could find a breakdown, I suspect that it would show not just that they are self employed but own their own company. There are many people that are self employed, many of them make a good living at it, but are not millionaires.  My neighbour the plumber is a perfect example of this sort of self-employed and comfortable but not rich person. The key to wealth growth is to own (a significant part of) a company.  It one way to leverage a smaller amount of money to something much larger.  Plough your profits back in to the company to grow it, pay yourself reasonably for some time as the company grows.  After it is some size, you can afford to pay yourself more of the profits, if not sell it as a going concern to someone else. One last thought - I am assuming that your book is claiming that they made their money through self-employment, instead of choosing to become self employed  after striking rich somewhere.  If I were to win the lottery, I might then become a self-employed something, but in that case it was not my self-employment that got me there.
"Any kind of credit contract such as a mobile phone contract (could be SIM only or with a handset) would also help increase your number of accounts and demonstrate a track record of responsible management and repayments. If you have a Pay As You Go phone at present consider a SIM only contract with the same network, and if your parents currently pay for your phone consider if it would be worth switching it into your own name. Also make sure that you are registered on the Electoral Role at your permanent address and have at least a minimum payment direct debit set up on your credit card (even though you state you intend to repay in full) to make sure you don't forget a payment as this will disproportionately affect your score when combined with young age and few other accounts. Lastly ensure that you have a decent amount of ""head room"" on your rolling credit accounts like credit cards and aren't using more than 80% of the credit available to you through your monthly spending, if necessary by asking for an increased limit from your company (and then not using it)."
"There's plenty of advice out there about how to set up a budget or track your expenses or ""pay yourself first"". This is all great advice but sometimes the hardest part is just getting in the right frugal mindset. Here's a couple tricks on how I did it.  Put yourself through a ""budget fire drill"" If you've never set a budget for yourself, you don't necessarily need to do that here... just live as though you had lost your job and savings through some imaginary catastrophe and live on the bare minimum for at least a month. Treat every dollar as though you only had a few left. Clip coupons, stop dining out, eat rice and beans, bike or car pool to work... whatever means possible to cut costs. If you're really into it, you can cancel your cable/Netflix/wine of the month bills and see how much you really miss them. This exercise will get you used to resisting impulse buys and train you to live through an actual financial disaster. There's also a bit of a game element here in that you can shoot for a ""high score""... the difference between the monthly expenditures for your fire drill and the previous month.   Understand the power of compound interest. Sit down with Excel and run some numbers for how your net worth will change long term if you saved more and paid down debt sooner. It will give you some realistic sense of the power of compound interest in terms that relate to your specific situation. Start simple... pick your top 10 recent non-essential purchases and calculate how much that would be worth if you had invested that money in the stock market earning 8% over the next thirty years. Then visualize your present self sneaking up to your future self and stealing that much money right out of your own wallet.  When I did that, it really resonated with me and made me think about how every dollar I spent on something non-essential was a kick to the crotch of poor old future me."
Being a CTO is different than freelancing, obviously.  You have to ask yourself what you would more prefer to do! My initial recommendation would be to receive your normal freelance compensation for the freelance work you do AND separately deal with the issue of being a CTO.  At some point you will cease to be this project's freelancer should you become its CTO. Then again, by becoming the CTO immediately you should be able to negotiate a larger share of the company. Granted, my opinions should not be considered legal or financial advice and you should consult a professional before making any decisions.  Ja ja ja  ;)
I'll agree with the other commenter. There is a ton more to sales than speaking the language and being a decent public speaker. Unless you know what you're getting into and feel confident you can get it done (or you believe that the company is willing to help you learn and grow as a salesperson and that's interesting to you from a career development perspective), I'd recommend avoiding a sales role and encouraging your boss to hire an actual sales person who meets his or her criteria.   EDIT: Source: am startup founder with no sales background who is having to do founder selling right now and learning just how hard it is.