SF's 2015 Small Business Week - The sharing economy: knowing what's right for you
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Transcript of SF's 2015 Small Business Week - The sharing economy: knowing what's right for you
Space sharing
Transportation
Small-scale manufacturing
Personal services
Food
Education & professional services
Airbnb, VRBO, ShareDesk
Lyft, UberX, Getaround
Etsy, Shapeways
TaskRabbit, Instacart
KitchenSurfing, Mealsharing
Udemy, Upwork
Work flexibility
Income diversity
Creativity
Connection
Supplementary income
Career building
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WHY?
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Denise cheng tristan zier sam witherbeesandra garselE
innovatesf.com@SFMOCI | @hiDenise
SF Mayor’s Office of Civic Innovation
MIT Center for Civic Media
CEO/cofounder, zen99
[email protected]@zen99
tryzen99.com
Hilliard Management
hilliardmg.com
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Freelance Consultant
» Know that there’s a diversity of peer-to-peer platforms
» Understand the different dimensions that would affect you as a provider in the sharing/peer economy
» How to get the most out of any time and efforts you choose to invest
» The blurry line between being a 1099 and small business in SF
» Feel confident that you can make an informed decision
GOALS
Increasing income potential while minimizing opportunity cost (aka “Is it worth it?”)
Tristan Zier CEO & Cofounder, Zen99
tryzen99.com
Income / earnings the total amount you earn (“gross”)
- Expenses the total spent on business expenses
= Profit / margin the amount you really earned (“net”)
Expenses above are actual dollars, and don’t include: • Non-billable time (e.g. time prepping food for Feastly) • Opportunity cost
A quick economics lesson
Opportunity cost
A value that must be given up to acquire something else • “How much do you value your time?” • If you drive on Uber, you can’t work elsewhere This is not reflected in your profit
Step 1: Find where to make that income
Websites
Peers.org Opus (opusforwork.com)
Craigslist / Ads
They’re trying to find you – FB ads and Craigslist in particular
Friend referrals
Great source of extra income!
Use them!
You’ve probably used Uber yourself at least once
Part 1: Increasing your income
Bad Good
Uber Driving at 1pm on a Tuesday Driving on Friday night
Etsy Selling something low quality
Selling something you’re good at making, and that
there’s demand for
Feastly You don’t know how to cook
You love cooking and do it anyway
Step 2: Be smart when making that income Part 1: Increasing your income
Let the platforms help you • Example: Airbnb and local events • Example: Uber surge pricing Some tools are starting to appear: • Example: Airbnb pricing through PriceLabs • When in doubt, look to others who have similar
situation on the platform
Part 1: Increasing your income
Step 3: Determine your pricing
Part 2: Minimizing your costs
Step 1: Know how much you’re really making
Whole Foods Uber
Gross earnings (4hrs) $48 ($12/hr) $80 ($20/hr) Business expenses $0 $35 Profit $48 $45
Taxes $11 (15% income tax, 7.5% FICA taxes)
$14 (15% income tax, 15% SECA taxes)
Commute $10 (BART + bus) $0 (busi. expense) Take home $27 $31
Zen99 helps with this! tryzen99.com
Track business expenses à reduce your taxable income à pay less in taxes Example for Etsy seller: • Cost of materials (cost of goods sold) • Facebook advertising Example for Uber driver: • Car expenses (use Standard Mileage Rate) • Cell phone • Snacks for passengers
Both: • Services like tax software or business bank accounts
Part 2: Minimizing your costs
Step 2: Minimize your taxes
Companies are now negotiating discounts • Uber Momentum: discounts on cell phone bills, maintenance • TaskRabbit Perks: similar discounts Find your own discounts • If your largest expense is car expenses, get a credit card with high
rewards for gas purchases
Part 2: Minimizing your costs
Step 3: Utilize discounts
Part 2: Minimizing your costs
Step 4: Utilize existing skills/assets/time
Sell something on Etsy you’re already good at making
Teach something on Skillshare you already have skills for
Don’t finance a nice new car Drive a Prius instead of an
Escalade to save on car expenses
Keep in mind your opportunity cost; how do you value: • Sleeping • Spending time with family • Working elsewhere • Commuting in order to work (either on these platforms or for
your other job) These are all costs you need to factor in • If Friday night is the only time you see your spouse, that time is
valuable • If Friday night is spent watching reality TV, you could make money
in that time
Part 2: Minimizing your costs
Step 5: Be aware of your opportunity cost
Tools you can use
Taxes
Zen99, Outright, Quickbooks Self-Employed
Analytics
Zen99, SherpaShare
Finding Work
Peers, KungFu, Opus, HireReady
Managing Work
Pillow
Boring/outdated: Excel, IRS website, box of paper receipts
Some resources… Zen99 www.tryzen99.com [email protected] Tax Guides www.tryzen99.com/learn www.tryzen99.com/1099-tax-guides
Thanks!
Financial Necessities
• Recordkeeping (Income, Expenses, Statements)
• Tax Preparation• City Business License/Tax • Accounting Systems
» Know that there’s a diversity of peer-to-peer platforms
» Understand the different dimensions that would affect you as a provider in the sharing/peer economy
» How to get the most out of any time and efforts you choose to invest
» The blurry line between being a 1099 and small business in SF
» Feel confident that you can make an informed decision
GOALS
tristan ziertryzen99.com | @[email protected]
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Denise cheng@SFMOCI | @hiDenise [email protected]
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2sandra [email protected]
3sam witherbeeFreelance [email protected]
Lifestyle - Stability v. flexibility is the main choice between w2
and 1099
Take into account the expenses you might not think of, like
opportunity cost
Be smart about when and how you work
QUESTIONS?
What you need in order to do business in SF
Sales tax, responsibility for taxes, and record keeping for
taxes
On-demand (time) v. marketplace (skills) - How to
best choose your options
tristan ziertryzen99.com | @[email protected]
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Denise cheng@SFMOCI | @hiDenise [email protected]
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2 sandra [email protected]
3 sam witherbeeFreelance [email protected]
How to get the most out of any time and efforts you
choose to invest
Understand the different dimensions that would affect
you as a provider
Know that there’s a diversity of peer-to-peer platforms
QUESTIONS?
Feel confident that you can make an informed decision
The blurry line between being a 1099 and small business in SF