Hi Reader!

Come summer, many creative businesses start thinking about bringing on help.

Maybe it’s so you can step away and work less while your children are out of school for the summer.

Maybe it’s so you can travel and visit some of your bucket list destinations.

Maybe it’s to rest up and restore yourself before you dive into the busy holiday season.

But one piece that’s often missing is laying the groundwork to make it easier for your new team member to hit the ground running.

Of course, if this is your first hire (or if you don’t have any team members currently), there’s a whole list of legal hiring to-dos that you’ll want to go through.

You’ll need to:

• If you don’t have an EIN, get one.
• If you’ve never registered with your state’s employment division, register.
• Get workers’ compensation and disability insurance when your state requires it.
• If you don’t have a payroll service, sign up for one.
• If your employees will work in your space, put up the required posters. If they’ll work outside your space, create a shared folder that they’ll have access to.
• Collect a W-4 from each employee (your payroll service might help you with this!)
• Collect an I-9 from each employee (again, your payroll service might help)
• Report all new hires to the employment division.

But legal tasks aren’t the only thing you should tackle. You also should lay the groundwork to make it smooth and easy for their new team member to contribute.

👉 Your action item: If you are thinking of hiring in the next year, what systems and tools do you need in place before a new team member starts? What should you get in place now so they can hit the ground running?

I'll be sitting at my computer until about 9:30 AM Pacific and I'd love to know if you run into any roadblocks in completing this week's task. (And if you are reading this after then, please reply! I'll get back to you ASAP.)

Chat soon,

There’s nothing small about your small business. But legal red tape — especially around permits, licenses, and sales tax — can feel like it’s only for “big” companies.

Here’s the truth: If you’re making money, this stuff matters. And yes, it’s totally figure-out-able.

Join me on Monday for our next live challenge: For Real: The “Do I Need a Permit for This?” Edition

You’ll get clear answers without being overwhelmed on what licenses, sales tax registrations, DBAs, and other permits apply to your business.

Want to join us? You can join by purchasing a monthly membership to the artist’s Courtyard ($45/month) or by getting the standalone challenge for $67. Join us here.

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Have a creative business friend who would benefit from this challenge? Share this with them. (It’s also the place where you can see all the nitty-gritty details of what’s included in the challenge.)

How can I find an attorney for my creative business?

Finding a lawyer is no different than finding any other service provider. You want to find someone you know, like, and trust.

In this blog post, I break down:

• the three places you can start your search
• why you’ll likely need to find someone in your state
• questions to ask potential attorneys
• an email template you can use to start the conversation with a potential attorney

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❤️ Easy to understand legal resources should be available to every creative, regardless of their financial situation. If one of my resources has helped you and you would like to say “thank you”, you can make a contribution here. ❤️