Image: Creative Commons License

Last week, when we did our post discussing the IRS rulings for contracted workers vs. employees there were a lot of questions and comments and ideas and thoughts and “what ifs”.  My response to all of this: talk to your tax accountant. Don’t have one?  Hire a good CPA with great references.  (If you need one in Washington state, let me know… I have a GREAT accountant there.)

Listen… we expect our clients to hire professionals, don’t we?  We constantly tell our clients:

  • Hire a reputable and experienced photographer or you will regret your wedding photos
  • Hire a capable and trustworthy wedding planner or your wedding will be disastrous
  • Hire an invitation designer or you’ll be tying ribbons on programs at 3am the morning before your wedding

Why in the world do we think that we can get away being tax experts, legal experts, graphic designers, financial experts, and so on?

We expect our clients to hire professionals to manage their wedding, yet we don’t hire professionals to help us with OUR BUSINESSES!  HOLY MOLY!  We have this all wrong.  We use our friends for legal advice when we should be talking with a lawyer.  We read blogs for tax advice without ever consulting a CPA.  We design our own logos in Microsoft Word.

Now, I realize all of these professionals can be costly.  But, a lawsuit is quite costly also… as is an IRS audit.  The cost of advertising is costly… especially if you lose business when the client gets to your website.

Here’s a few quick things I advise business owners to do at the very minimum:

  • Have a lawyer review your contracts
  • Have a CPA review your employee, intern, and contractor agreements
  • Discuss your bookkeeping procedures with a CPA
  • If you know your website needs work, talk to a designer

Like everything, prioritize your finances and find a way to work this into your budget in the next 12 months.  It can save you heart ache and dollars in the long run.