Financial Planning for Content Creators

You are part of the newest iteration of the entrepreneur. You are a proud business owner.

As a content creator, you have imagination and are impressively skilled at delivering people the content they want while getting well compensated for what you do.

It is not an accident that you are successful at what you do. You have a mind for business and you have been rewarded for it.

Now, what are you going to do to ensure that you stay successful and make certain that you are maximizing the money you are earning today?

Here are some things financial planning things you should consider as a content creator.

Treat your career as what it is, a business.

You run a business. You provide a service that people pay their hard earned money for.

If you are reading this, you are probably pretty damn good at it too!

You have to treat this like a business.

What are some things that you should be thinking about as a business owner"?

Taxes

Not the most fun topic to start with, but you have to pay taxes. It seems easy to do whatever with large chunks of money that come in, but the government wants their cut. It is important that you set aside an adequate amount of money to poay your taxes, which are due quarterly.

The IRS has virtually unlimited power to come after the money you owe them, and can make your life a nightmare if this gets neglected. Make sure you are setting aside this money first.

Accounting/Business Entity

It is generally going to be a good idea to set up an entity any business you have. Part of it is the liability protection, which is nice. Mainly, though, it helps with accounting and gives you more freedom to set the terms on how you will get paid and track expenses.

Are you tracking your expenses to write off against the income you bring in? Every dollar you spend for your business can be deducted from your income. You can also even deduct portions of your mortgage/rent if you have a dedicated space for your work!

Bonus points for automating payments for your self and bills, let’s spend as little time as necessary on the things that don’t make you money.

Retirement Plans

If you are really earning a nice income, then opening a retirement plan for your business is a good way to save money and reduce your tax burden today.

You can use SEP IRAs and Solo 401ks (assuming it is just you, no employees) to save for retirement. One added benefit is that you can use this investing strategy to reduce your taxable income for this year. Assuming that when you retire you will make less money than today, that could represent big marginal tax savings over the long term.

You have to save for the future, which leads us to…

Pay your future self first!

The world of content creation has just absolutely exploded in recent years. Never before have we had the opportunities that are out there now for you to just start up your profile and make money from a variety of social media platforms.

It could happen one day though, that it no longer is as rewarding financially as it is today. It is likely more of a probability than not.

You have to start paying your future self.

Nobody knows what the future brings. Platforms come and go, compensation methods change, life happens. One day you may decide to do something else which may mean you are making less money.

As opposed to someone who works a normal 9-5, you should consider saving a higher portion of your income.

Having money in the bank provides you freedom. It gives you the opportunity to work doing the things you want to do, instead of taking a job again because you have to. It could give you the opportunity to preserve the kind of lifestyle you are building without having to worry about the day to day of money.

This kind of saving should of course include traditional investing (business retirement plans, IRAs, simple brokerage accounts, high yield savings accounts, etc.), but what else? If you have the appetite for it, it would be good to find other ways to put your money to work.

Do you want to own rental properties? That can be a good option if you find someone that knows what they are doing to help you, or even a good person/company to manage it for you.

Is there another business you have thought about starting?

There are endless possibilities, but it is important that you are always thinking ahead and saving and preparing for that.

Have a Financial Plan

You need a Financial Plan.

You need a framework that you follow so that you know what you are doing with your money as it comes in. Having one allows you to put the money to work where it needs to go, and frees you up to focus on your brand and doing the things you want to do.

The point of Financial Planning with us is to make your financial life as simple as possible so that you can spend your time doing things that make you money and/or make you happy. It is about getting the hard work of organizing and prioritizing done now, so that the day to day becomes as easy and automated as we can make it.

A Plan helps you to make sure that you are getting the most out of your money. Taxes, Risk Management, Cash and Debt Management, Estate Planning, and Investment/Retirement Planning are all things we focus on. It’s about much more than just your investments. It is about the entire picture and making sure that all of your money is being put to work to achieve your goals so you can live the kind of life you have worked so hard to build.

Let’s ensure your hard work pays off forever!

All written content on this site is for information purposes only. Opinions expressed herein are solely those of Snowcap Financial, unless otherwise specifically cited.   Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources and no representations are made by our firm as to other parties’ informational accuracy or completeness.  All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska