December 13, 2023 • 32 mins
Running a business on the road as a digital nomad can be incredibly rewarding, but also confusing when it comes tax time. Our guest today, Heather Ryan aka The Tax Queen, breaks down key tax tips for nomadic entrepreneurs.
Heather discusses making the leap from full-time RVer to international traveler, all while running her own business. She explains crucial mistakes that nomadic business owners often make when first getting started, like not tracking expenses properly or failing to open a separate business bank account.
Heather shares surprising write-offs she’s seen clients attempt, clarifies rules around deducting travel expenses for content creators, and offers advice on business entity structures. She also provides suggestions for affordable bookkeeping software to use.
Whether you’re a blogger, freelancer, or solopreneur, this episode sheds light on handling finances and taxes for your nomadic enterprise. Tune in to pick up Heather’s best tips!
Links mentioned in this episode:
Nomad Business Academy
Follow Heather:
Facebook
Instagram
Connect with Kristin Hanes and The Wayward Home!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
When I first started the Wayward Home back in 2017, I
had no idea how to run abusiness, especially as a
digital nomad.
But I started treating mytravel blog as a business right
away, opening business bankaccounts and tracking my
expenses with QuickBooks.
But going from a full-time jobwhere someone else manages your
taxes to doing everything onyour own can be really
(00:20):
overwhelming, and it was for metoo.
Our veer, heather Ryan, aka thetax queen, runs her own
business on the road too, andher entire goal is to help other
digital nomads learn how to runand maintain a business on the
road.
Let's go.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Welcome to the Wayward Home podcast all about
van life, boat life and nomadicliving.
We'll bring you tips,interviews and stories from the
road and on the water.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Now here's your host, Kristen Haynes.
Hey there, I'm Kristen Hayneswith TheWaywardHomecom, and I
spend half the year in mySprinter van and half on my
sailboat in Mexico, and I hopeto inspire you to live your
nomadic living dreams as well.
So I run my own business on theroad called the Wayward Home, a
travel blog, and at first itwas really hard for me to figure
out exactly how to do this.
Tracking expenses is tedious.
(01:04):
I had no idea how to do taxesand I just felt lost.
So that's where today's guest,heather Ryan, comes in.
Heather is a former full-timeRVer, now part-time RVer, and
world traveler, and she's knownas the tax queen, and she has so
many tips about starting yourown business and finances and
everything, and I'm superexcited you are here.
Thanks for joining the podcast.
Yeah, thanks for having me.
(01:26):
Great.
So let's just go back to thevery beginning.
You started full-time RVing in2016, so let's talk about why
you started doing that and whatthat looked like for you.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Sure it feels like forever ago now, but my husband
and I both worked from home, sowe were sharing an office, so an
extra bedroom in our house, andI kind of said, why are we
doing this?
We're already in this tinyspace, spending pretty much all
day in it together.
Why can't we do this and traveland see things?
(01:59):
I had lost a parent at a youngage who never saw retirement.
We had just lost his aunt toALS and it was kind of like,
well, what if we don't make itto those?
What if that happens to us?
Let's just jump in and livelife now.
And so there we were, sellingthe house and diving full time,
(02:22):
dove right into the deep end andthere was definitely a learning
curve, as we all know.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Yeah, definitely for sure.
And so what were you doing forwork before you started RVing
and how did you make thetransition to being on the road?
I know that can be challenging.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Sure.
So I was doing bookkeeping fora local company in person so I
would go to their office, but Iwas also doing tax work on the
side, so that was mostly workfrom home.
I did rent an office during theheight of season so clients
could come in, and when we hitthe road I had to make the hard
decision to no longer havein-person appointments and lose
(03:03):
those clients.
Some people did transfer tobecome virtual clients with me
and some people decided to leave.
And as we hit the road we metup with Heath and Alyssa, if
you're familiar with them, andwe went to the RV Entrepreneur
Summit and I just started tomeet other people like-minded
business owners and travelerstrying to make it work, and I
(03:26):
just realized that those werethe people I could serve, like I
could answer all theirquestions.
So I pivoted my business andthat's history.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Here we are.
Yeah, that's fantastic, andwhen I was chatting with you
earlier, you said you lost someof your business at first,
before you were able to regainit.
What was that like, goingthrough that process?
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Really hard.
It's really really difficult tosay goodbye to clients even
though they've been good clientsand make that decision for your
business.
But I think it's super, superimportant to stay true to your
philosophies in life values andreally design your life and your
business around your lifestyle.
(04:09):
So if they weren't like, in theend right, I look back and I
say, well, that was actually thebest decision I did, because I
jumped in to a different nicheclients.
But it was not an easy yeah,it's really not easy.
There's no other way to say it.
You have to trust in yourself.
I guess is.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Yeah, yeah, totally.
And you also have to go throughsome of those maybe downturns
or loss of income before you'reable to pick it back up, and I
think that's also difficult forpeople.
I know in my professionblogging I just had a huge
downturn due to a Google update,and these are things we just
have to deal with as businessowners.
But what was that like for you,going from that stability to
(04:52):
suddenly you're like, ah, how amI going to make ends meet?
Like what was that?
Sure, well, it's scary.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
I mean, there's no way around it.
It's scary.
There's definitely ways to cutcosts.
When you're our being, you canbe more of a boondocker.
You can eat in all the time andnot eat out.
You can find plenty of freethings, of hiking and things to
explore.
So there's way to save moneyand be able to still live the
(05:19):
lifestyle and I think that'sactually why some people choose
this lifestyle.
Is can be less expensive, lesspressure to earn money.
I also had, thankfully, ahusband who was earning earning
living doing consulting work, soI did have that to fall back on
.
But it's hard, I'm not gonna.
Yeah, it's, it's um, I don'tknow how else to say it, but
(05:45):
it's a difficult thing.
You have to just agree to sayhere's my budget and I'm going
to make this happen.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Yeah, totally.
One thing that was good for mewas that I was living smaller.
I'd been laid off as a newsreporter in San Francisco and
suddenly I was living in myboyfriend Tom's sailboat, which
is kind of beat up and hadreally cheap rent or docking
fees.
That's what gave me theopportunity to be able to start
a business was having such lowexpenses.
I think that's one good thingabout how you were RVing or I
(06:17):
was living in the van or theboat that that gives opportunity
to cut back on our expenses andpursue something.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
I guess there's always the fallback.
I knew I could do camp hostingor some other kind of work
camping work for Amazonseasonally.
I knew that those opportunitieswere there.
If the situation became to thatpoint where I really just
needed cash to help pay billsand put food on our table, that
also, I think in the back ofyour head says, okay, well, I
(06:46):
could still go get a job if Ineed to.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
That's so true.
That's such a good thing forpeople to remember who are
interested in starting their ownbusiness, because you aren't
going to be profitable.
At first I did freelancewriting on the side and I sold
articles as I was building mywebsite.
I didn't fully go all in on it,I was doing side work.
It's good you mentioned thatsometimes you might have to do
that or have backup plans, butthere's a lot of things that can
(07:08):
be there for people as they'restarting their business.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Yeah, there's so many ways.
It's actually one of the thingsI love about my current clients
is that I learn all thesedifferent ways that people are
making it work.
Some people, yes, they haveover $100,000 of income.
Some people have $20,000 andthey're all making it work for
them and it's fine and they'reall happy.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Yeah, that's so interesting.
I feel like having one's ownbusiness while traveling
full-time is even better thanworking for someone, because you
can build in your ownflexibility and work when you
want.
I think it's easier than havingto show up for daily meetings
or doing whatever for a boss.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Sure, it feels pretty good when you know that you can
make a living and you don'thave to rely on someone else.
Like you said you got laid off.
There is no getting laid offwhen it's your company.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
That's so true.
If you have an income drop, youjust work harder and you get
creative and inventive.
I feel like just the sky's thelimit with how many ways you can
pivot and turn your business,and that's what you did too.
I just think that's truly thefun thing about what we do is
owning our own business thatallows us to travel.
It's really quite incredible.
Yeah, yeah Cool.
(08:23):
You did the full-time RVing andthen you transitioned
eventually to part-time.
What does your life look likenow?
Speaker 2 (08:32):
We bought a home base .
We have six and a half acres onthe western slope of Colorado.
We really like having it tocome back to.
We have RVers come and stayhere.
It just feels peaceful andquiet.
We know where the grocery storeis and everything else without
using Google Maps.
We split our time.
(08:52):
We are currently in the processof building out a van, really
downsizing from a fifth wheeland being a little more nimble.
We just came back from threemonths in Europe.
We started our internationaltravels and we felt like having
a home base allowed that tohappen a little easier.
We had a place to store ourthings when we were not relying
(09:15):
on the parking lot or somedriveway or something.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Yeah, that's so true.
That's really fun and you justcontinue to be able to do your
business anywhere in the world,right, yeah, fantastic.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
I think also the fun thing about traveling this kind
of a side note is that we've metso many people through RVing
who have now switched to havinghome bases or have switched to
international travel.
We actually got to meet up withRV friends while in Europe.
It's very satisfying.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
For sure, no matter what kind of travel you do, it's
kind of in your bones, whetherit's RVing or van life or
boating or just staying in anAirbnb in a foreign country.
It's all just travel and it'sexciting and there's so many
ways that you can do it whilehaving your own business.
Yes, yeah, that's super cool.
You work with a lot ofdifferent people now a lot of
nomads, a lot of RVers.
(10:07):
You do mostly taxes andbookkeeping for them.
Is that how your current workis now?
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Sure, I do tax prep, so tax preparation and tax
planning are really my focus.
I do have some bookkeepingclients, but I'm currently
closed full there.
Really, I also just wanteducation and I want to make
sure that those who are new toowning a business really
(10:37):
understand their finances,understand what you can deduct
we call it, like a lot of peoplecall it write-offs, things like
that.
Can they take their travel?
That's really my goal is tosupport and educate as well.
I have a course and aneducation side of my business
and then I'm working withclients for consulting and tax
prep.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Very cool, and so are you finding out that, in this
community that are being, or thenomad community, that a lot
more people are startingbusinesses in order to fund
their lifestyle?
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Absolutely.
It's a also freedom of timeright so you can choose to
travel travel days.
You can take a day off if youneed to.
You can sit maybe the personwho's not driving the passenger
can be on their computer andworking.
So that flexibility and thattravel lifestyle really lends
itself to being a business ownerand not a W2 wage earner where
(11:32):
you're having stuck in it evenif you're at your home office on
like a 9 to 5, monday throughFriday type of scenario.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
So I do find that yeah, and what types of
businesses are people tending tostart?
You see any trends, or does itrun the gamut, or what are some
examples of businesses thatyou're seeing?
Speaker 2 (11:50):
So it's all over the place.
There's blogs similar to you orother influencers, things like
that.
Families I've seen, you know,tech people, so maybe computer
programming, things like that.
Designers, writers I'm tryingto think.
I mean you name it.
It's like it's all overBookkeepers.
I actually work with somebookkeepers and helping them
(12:13):
understand their tax deductionsand things.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
And do you find that some of these people did not
have businesses before andthey're brand new self-employed
business owners?
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Many of them have not had businesses.
They're new to it.
They get surprised by things ifthey don't research and learn
ahead of time, and that's justall part of the learning curve,
as well, of owning a business.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
Yeah, so true.
And also I'm curious are youseeing people a variety of ages
starting businesses, or are youseeing kind of more one age
group?
Are you seeing retirees startbusinesses to bring in a little
extra money?
What are you seeing there?
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Sure, I definitely see some retirees starting side
hustles and that is helping themto make ends meet, because we
all know social security is ohso great.
Or they're work camping.
So sometimes even work camping,you receive a 1099.
So they can get take expensesand things that way.
(13:12):
So it's all the way.
I think my average age ofclients is really in 40s or 50s,
but I do have clients all theway down to in their 30s.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Interesting.
Yeah, that's so cool.
And what do you think are someof the main issues or confusion
that people have when they'refirst starting a business, like
what do you see people doingwrong right off the bat?
Speaker 2 (13:38):
So there's several things for just not
understanding expenses how totrack them, tracking them from
the get go and not gettingbehind on it, and then being
overwhelmed.
And then, once you're makingmoney which we hope is happening
sooner rather than later pinkself employment taxes is a huge
surprise to many people, inaddition to those income tax.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Yeah, that's very true.
That was a hard pill to swallow.
When I started, I hired someoneoff the get go, actually
because I have no idea how to domy own taxes.
Sure, and yeah, do you see thatpeople are hiring people, or
are some people trying to dotheir taxes on their own and
they're getting really confusedabout it?
Speaker 2 (14:20):
It's some of each.
I give props to anybody whowants to do it themselves.
I encourage you if you feelcomfortable.
I don't now have a problem withthat, but there are plenty of
people that feel overwhelmed orjust feel that safety and
security of having someone backthem up and do the return for
them.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
Totally, and a lot of people, I think, as travelers
or if they start a travel blogor a YouTube channel or, as you
mentioned, an influencer, maybeInstagram.
What kinds of surprisingwrite-offs have you seen in that
space?
And it seems like it's hard todetermine what's a write-off,
you know.
Is that kind of some points ofconfusion out there?
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Sure.
So there's definitely points ofconfusion when someone is given
something.
So let's say, you're in an RVand you get like a new set of
disc brakes or something from acompany I'm not even going to
name any companies because I'mnot an influencer and but that
doesn't that actually counts asincome.
So you're receiving somethingas income and that's so
(15:23):
surprising to them.
Now they have to includewhatever $10,000 for those
brakes that they just receivedon there, fifth wheel or
whatever, and that that's hard.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
So yeah, yeah, I felt like that was yeah.
That was surprising for me too,because I did receive a lot of
free products.
I know, when I was talking tomy tech Sky, he's like, yeah,
that's all income.
And I was like, oh my gosh,that's a lot of income, but you
know it is what it is and that'show it you know, being a small
business owner.
So I'm curious if you'veencountered people like you know
, if they're writing Itinerariesor if they're going somewhere
(15:54):
shooting a YouTube video on aspecific campground, like, are
those things that people canwrite off of there in the
content creation world?
Speaker 2 (16:03):
So content creation is is a sticky one, I'm not
gonna lie.
When you're full-time traveling, content creation is hard.
It's a very gray area.
It hasn't really been tested inthe tax courts.
So For my personal philosophy,I am on the air of caution and I
don't like to raise red flags.
So usually I say, if you'reparked at a campground and let's
(16:28):
say you have to drive a hundredmiles because you're going to
tour Yellowstone and you'refilming it for your, for your
YouTube channel, sure, take themileage.
You have concrete evidence,right, you've your video and
your Instagram posts and all ofthat.
So I don't have a problem withthat.
But getting from Denver, let'ssay, to Yellowstone, does not
count After mileage, if thatmakes sense.
(16:50):
The difference there?
Speaker 1 (16:51):
Yeah, totally makes sense.
And in terms of doing that, doyou recommend people keep like
spreadsheets with their expenseand then what they use it for?
Does that just get a little bittoo granular?
I know that's a lot of bookrecord keeping.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Sure.
So, yeah, travel log is reallyhelpful.
So a spreadsheet in thatrespect.
And then for mileage, for sureyou have to have written
Evidence, whether it's on paper.
If you're a paper person andyou want to just keep it in the
front with you in your driverseat, that's fine.
Nowadays we all carry phones,smartphones, so using an app is
also a really great idea.
(17:26):
There's one I can recommend,mile IQ, and it can record every
drive you take and you canliterally swipe right for
Business and swipe left forpersonal, or it could be the
opposite, I can't remember, butit makes it really simple, I
think, and you don't Think aboutremember to track it because
(17:46):
it's doing it behind the scenes.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
So yeah, with this gray area you know, travel and
content creation and everythingwas that Somewhat of a learning
curve for you as a tax preparerto look into that and figure out
how to advise your clients,moving forward, sure?
Speaker 2 (18:00):
I did do a lot of research.
I looked at court cases becauseI really wanted to know what
has been tested and what hasn't.
So I've done a lot of researchthere and I still continue to do
that, because I get new statesall the time and I'm always
having to learn new state rules,regulations and credits
available, things like that.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
Yeah, that is a challenge of being someone who
works with nomads, as you don'tjust focus on one state.
It can be like tons ofdifferent states and you're
learning so many things.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
Yes, yes, I filed.
I think it's like 33 states sofar.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
So yeah, wow, does that get overwhelming for you?
You know trying to learn allthis, or is that something that
you really like doing?
I?
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Really enjoy it because I like to learn and so
it keeps me on my toes and I,yeah, I like it.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Yes, what advice do you have?
Do you have any advice forsomeone who is looking to jump
into RVing or you're being anomad, and they Work at a nine
to five and they want totransition to owning a business?
Is there anything you wouldtell them about, like how to
figure out, like, what do I havea, what do I do for a business?
I know that can be hard, sure I.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
Mean it.
To me it's follow a passion.
Is there something you've beenpassionate about wanting to
explore?
Maybe photography is somethingyou've always loved and you want
to start selling your photos.
Lean into it and If if you'replanning less many people take a
year or two years to plan forthe hitting the road, start
(19:30):
taking pictures.
Start, start the business like,start doing it on the weekends,
at night, go to art shows orsomething, if that's your deal
on I'm just picking oneparticular.
But yeah, lean into yourpassions and just get going with
it and eventually you also saveup money if you know that this
is the path you're trying totake.
So, if you can and you haveextra income as you're working
(19:53):
your W2, maybe start to cutexpenses down and save up some
funds so you have a little bitof a nest egg to lean on as
you're growing that business.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
Yeah, for sure, for sure, and I know when I started
blogging or online business, Iknew nothing about it, like.
So one thing I did do is I tooka ton of courses and I'm still
taking courses to learn, becauseit's like getting another
degree.
So I feel like, with all thesethings, all these business
opportunities, are our ways tolearn and to really focus and
hone in on that Business.
Are you seeing people like dothat as well studying and
(20:23):
learning?
Speaker 2 (20:24):
Sure, there's some.
There's some of that.
I mean it again.
I have some people that will goto the RV inspection like
certification school and becomeRV.
You know inspectors and that'show they.
They open a business that wayand make ends meet.
So there's definitely thateducation component.
But a lot of people, if youthink about it, you have skills
right other than your, your job.
(20:45):
You have Likes and and passionsand skills and things that you
know.
If you've been alive 40 years,you've been probably doing for
30 of those years or 20 of thoseyears, and just just expand it
on that?
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Yeah right.
And what if somebody wants todo what you do and maybe start
out by becoming a bookkeeper, oror maybe eventually Doing what
you do and becoming a taxpreparer, like what?
What can they do to enter yourparticular field?
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Sure.
So there's bookkeeping school.
If you really want to learnthat, there's online courses to
learn bookkeeping.
I guarantee there's probablyYouTube, right, that teaches you
many things.
Just be careful there that it'sactual, accurate information
and you're learning from someonewho's a trusted source.
Yeah, there's definitely waysto do that and go you.
You can get also certified inusing QuickBooks, which will
(21:40):
help you just understand theprogram and the backend.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Yeah, right, then once someone does that, they
have to find clients For you.
How did you find those initialclients and how did you build up
your client roster?
Speaker 2 (21:55):
How did I find my initial clients?
It really was organic, I haveto say, just getting out there
talking about your business,meeting other travelers.
I started a blog I know itsounds silly, maybe to some
people I'm not talking abouttraveling, I'm talking about
taxes and it really took offbecause I found nobody else was
talking about traveling, rvingand taxes and owning a business.
(22:20):
That really helped just driveorganic traffic For me
personally.
I've teamed up a lot withEscapies.
If you're not familiar withthat, there's an RV club and I
speak at their events.
Yeah, it's also just word ofmouth.
Once you start getting yourfirst five or 10 clients
depending on how many you needand you serve them well, they're
(22:42):
going to start telling theirfriends or their family hey, I
work with Heather and she's beenawesome.
You should too.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Right, you did stumble into, or enter into, a
real niche in terms of taxpurposes Because, you're right,
nobody's talking about it.
I feel like people like toignore taxes and bookkeeping
because a lot of people find itnot exciting, but they have to
do it.
Yes, yes, it's a business owner.
I get asked this questionsometimes as someone starting
(23:13):
their own business.
What I did is I operated as asole proprietor for many years,
but when I reached a certainincome level, I became an S-Corp
LLC.
What do you recommend forpeople that are just getting
started?
When do they need that?
Do they even think about thatin the beginning?
What's your advice there?
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Sorry, Really, I don't like to send people down
that rabbit hole.
If you want to start a business, then just start the business.
If you want to market under acertain name, like a sketchy
name or something, you may needto file a DBA or doing business
as with whatever state or countythat you're based out of, to
(23:50):
use that name.
Otherwise starting a business,you can use your legal name in
the business and it's soleproprietor.
You don't have to do anythingspecial.
That's to me, the easiest wayto get started.
The biggest thing I do stress,no matter what you do, if you
have an LLC or just irregular noregistrations is have separate
(24:12):
bank accounts.
Make sure that, even if it's apersonal account, you only run
business expenses and incomethrough there and nothing
personal and they're separate.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Right.
That's a good thing people doimmediately.
I know that's.
One thing I did right away isopen a business checking account
at Chase.
It's business stuff, businesscredit card, it's all separate.
Sure, I'm glad I did that atfirst, then probably people need
to get on QuickBooks and juststart immediately tracking their
expenses Right.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
Yeah, you can use QuickBooks.
A lot of people feel it's achallenge.
It's just another thing tolearn and keep up with.
They're not a numbers person.
They don't want to deal with it.
Using a spreadsheet, especiallywhen you're small and starting
out, I don't see a problem, aslong as you're keeping up with
it.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Yeah, yeah, very true Good advice.
Quickbooks can be a little bitoverwhelming.
Lots of numbers.
I still do my own bookkeepingand it just makes me pull my
hair out sometimes, especiallyif you get bigger and more and
more.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
It's also an expense If you're not making money.
To justify spending more moneyis hard.
That's why I say there'snothing wrong with a spreadsheet
as long as you use it.
I will give a tidbit.
If you want to use the program,wave, accounting is free.
That one is almost as good asQuickBooks.
I say it's pretty comparable.
(25:28):
You can use that from the startfor free.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
Yes, very true.
Keeping expenses low whenyou're just starting to make
money or not making money yet isreally important.
Yeah, does somebody have?
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Oh sorry, I wanted to just address needing an LLC.
An LLC is a state legal entity.
It's actually not a tax entity,which is a lot of confusion.
A single member LLC is just asole proprietor for tax purposes
, like you said.
You mentioned that you have anS-Corp.
If you're thinking yourbusiness is going to grow and
(26:04):
you want to move towards that,then start the LLC from the
start and then you can make thatS-Corp tax selection when
you're ready.
But the entity has to be therein order for you to make the
election.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
Gotcha.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
I hope that's clear.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
Is that something that you help people go through
that process as well?
I?
Speaker 2 (26:22):
do.
Yeah, I work with my clientsand they ask me about this all
the time.
Llc is the most misunderstoodterm, I think.
Yeah, yeah totally.
Speaker 1 (26:33):
That's why it's good to ask a professional.
Yeah Cool.
So I want to talk a little bitabout your course, because not
only do you do taxes, but youhelp educate people on all of
these aspects of owning abusiness, which that just
doesn't really exist in thespace.
So much.
So what made you decide tocreate this course and when did
(26:53):
you launch it?
Speaker 2 (26:56):
Sure, so I the idea basically came to me because
everyone is asking me the samequestions and I'm saying well,
if this person and that person,everyone's asking me this
question, then how about I justhave this place that people can
come and buy this informationand learn from me and I don't
have to answer every single oneseparately?
(27:16):
I can do it on a bigger scale.
So I actually launched I can't,I think it was 2020.
And then we all know whathappened in 2020.
And the tax law changed likecrazy during COVID and the
pandemic and I had to kind ofpush the course aside because I
(27:37):
was struggling to keep up withlife and tax law changes and
everything else.
And I just relaunched in thispast fall and that was really
exciting and I took a lot of mystudent feedback from two or
three years ago and made it, Ithink, bigger and better.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
So, yeah, very cool, congrats, and what are some of
the things people can expect tolearn in your course?
Speaker 2 (28:03):
So I go every over everything like entity choice.
So we're just talking about LFCand S Corp election.
What are all those things mean?
Just giving clarity around thatand I also give you places to
get registered, the best statesto pick.
Then we get into using a bankaccount and bank recommendations
of banks to work with as anomad bookkeeping.
(28:25):
So how to use QuickBooks.
I do kind of quick walkthroughsof QuickBooks and Wave.
Those are the two I reallyrecommend.
I go over expenses in detailand write offs you can take.
So yeah, self employment taxes,you name it.
It covers all of it.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Very cool.
And yeah, and people are goingthrough your course now and is
it helping them prepare theirown taxes or do they still
mostly hire you to do taxes?
But they're learning all thisbackground information as well.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
I do not walk through how to prepare your tax return.
Many of them will choose to doit on their own.
That's fine.
Some will hire me.
I don't have the course outthere as a hey, you have to hire
me for tax prep.
That is not the reason why Ihave it.
It's really to teach you how totrack what, to track what's
deductible, things like that,and to stay on track.
(29:16):
So I give calculators so youknow kind of how to calculate
your self employment taxes,things like that.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
Oh, that's really helpful and like that also helps
people with their budget,because quarterly taxes is
another thing we didn't talkabout.
That surprised me when Istarted the business, like, oh,
I have to file quarterly taxes,how do I do that?
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Sure that can be overwhelming.
Well, that coincides with thewhole self employment tax item.
It kind of is a bundle to me.
So when you're self employedpaying self employment taxes,
you do have to pay quarterly taxto keep up with that
responsibility.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
Yeah, right, yeah.
So many things to learn whenyou're moving in from the world
of having full-time employee tobeing your own boss.
This is just so many aspects.
So it's really cool that you'vefound this niche and you're out
there teaching and helpingpeople.
I think that's really fantastic.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
It's been fun and I did launch it.
This time it comes withcoaching, so you get monthly
coaching with me to come andbring your questions, and I also
like it because the fellowentrepreneurs can kind of teach
you as well.
So they're asking a question,maybe they're a little ahead of
you and they're asking thisquestion, and you're like, oh my
gosh, I should be thinkingabout that as well.
Speaker 1 (30:27):
Or I didn't think about that.
It comes with a communityaspect where people can interact
with each other.
Yeah, cool, fantastic.
So it sounds like the course isclosed for 2023, but when are
you expecting people to be ableto join it again?
Speaker 2 (30:42):
I'm hoping to launch again next.
Like spring or summer, so Mayor June.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
Yeah, awesome, so great, and the show notes below
will definitely have a link toyour waitlist so that people can
jump on there and be notifiedwhen you open your course, and
then we'll have links, of course, to your website.
If people need help with taxesand you said you do tax
preparation and do you also doconsultations, like if someone
wants to call you and have ameeting, do you do that as well?
I do.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
I've done a lot of just one-on-one consultation to
answer a few questions.
Sometimes even I will teach youbookkeeping so we could do a
one-on-one call.
We open up QuickBooks and justkind of answer your questions
there.
So I do do that as well.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Fantastic Well, heather, thank you so much for
coming on the podcast.
Is there anything else wemissed that you wanted to share?
I think we covered a lot, so Ifeel pretty good there.
Totally it's been fun.
Yeah, it's been super fun, andI hope more people are inspired
to start their own business andlive life on the road, and it
sounds like both you and I areliving these amazing lifestyles
that we want to live.
(31:43):
We're not trapped in an office,and I just think it's so
inspiring to hear all the waysnomads are making money, because
it is possible.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Totally, I totally agree.
I love the freedom to choose.
How's that?
Yes, freedom to choose.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Cool.
Well, thank you so much andhave a wonderful rest of your
day.
Thanks, I hope you enjoyed thisepisode of the Wayward Home
podcast.
If you know someone who wouldlike this episode, do me a favor
and forward it to them.
Word of mouth is one of thebest ways you can help me grow
this podcast.
Again, thanks for listening tothe Wayward Home podcast and
I'll see you next time.
When I first started the Wayward Home back in 2017, I
had no idea how to run abusiness, especially as a
digital nomad.
But I started treating mytravel blog as a business right
away, opening business bankaccounts and tracking my
expenses with QuickBooks.
But going from a full-time jobwhere someone else manages your
taxes to doing everything onyour own can be really
(00:20):
overwhelming, and it was for metoo.
Our veer, heather Ryan, aka thetax queen, runs her own
business on the road too, andher entire goal is to help other
digital nomads learn how to runand maintain a business on the
road.
Let's go.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Welcome to the Wayward Home podcast all about
van life, boat life and nomadicliving.
We'll bring you tips,interviews and stories from the
road and on the water.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Now here's your host, Kristen Haynes.
Hey there, I'm Kristen Hayneswith TheWaywardHomecom, and I
spend half the year in mySprinter van and half on my
sailboat in Mexico, and I hopeto inspire you to live your
nomadic living dreams as well.
So I run my own business on theroad called the Wayward Home, a
travel blog, and at first itwas really hard for me to figure
out exactly how to do this.
Tracking expenses is tedious.
(01:04):
I had no idea how to do taxesand I just felt lost.
So that's where today's guest,heather Ryan, comes in.
Heather is a former full-timeRVer, now part-time RVer, and
world traveler, and she's knownas the tax queen, and she has so
many tips about starting yourown business and finances and
everything, and I'm superexcited you are here.
Thanks for joining the podcast.
Yeah, thanks for having me.
(01:26):
Great.
So let's just go back to thevery beginning.
You started full-time RVing in2016, so let's talk about why
you started doing that and whatthat looked like for you.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Sure it feels like forever ago now, but my husband
and I both worked from home, sowe were sharing an office, so an
extra bedroom in our house, andI kind of said, why are we
doing this?
We're already in this tinyspace, spending pretty much all
day in it together.
Why can't we do this and traveland see things?
(01:59):
I had lost a parent at a youngage who never saw retirement.
We had just lost his aunt toALS and it was kind of like,
well, what if we don't make itto those?
What if that happens to us?
Let's just jump in and livelife now.
And so there we were, sellingthe house and diving full time,
(02:22):
dove right into the deep end andthere was definitely a learning
curve, as we all know.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Yeah, definitely for sure.
And so what were you doing forwork before you started RVing
and how did you make thetransition to being on the road?
I know that can be challenging.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Sure.
So I was doing bookkeeping fora local company in person so I
would go to their office, but Iwas also doing tax work on the
side, so that was mostly workfrom home.
I did rent an office during theheight of season so clients
could come in, and when we hitthe road I had to make the hard
decision to no longer havein-person appointments and lose
(03:03):
those clients.
Some people did transfer tobecome virtual clients with me
and some people decided to leave.
And as we hit the road we metup with Heath and Alyssa, if
you're familiar with them, andwe went to the RV Entrepreneur
Summit and I just started tomeet other people like-minded
business owners and travelerstrying to make it work, and I
(03:26):
just realized that those werethe people I could serve, like I
could answer all theirquestions.
So I pivoted my business andthat's history.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Here we are.
Yeah, that's fantastic, andwhen I was chatting with you
earlier, you said you lost someof your business at first,
before you were able to regainit.
What was that like, goingthrough that process?
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Really hard.
It's really really difficult tosay goodbye to clients even
though they've been good clientsand make that decision for your
business.
But I think it's super, superimportant to stay true to your
philosophies in life values andreally design your life and your
business around your lifestyle.
(04:09):
So if they weren't like, in theend right, I look back and I
say, well, that was actually thebest decision I did, because I
jumped in to a different nicheclients.
But it was not an easy yeah,it's really not easy.
There's no other way to say it.
You have to trust in yourself.
I guess is.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Yeah, yeah, totally.
And you also have to go throughsome of those maybe downturns
or loss of income before you'reable to pick it back up, and I
think that's also difficult forpeople.
I know in my professionblogging I just had a huge
downturn due to a Google update,and these are things we just
have to deal with as businessowners.
But what was that like for you,going from that stability to
(04:52):
suddenly you're like, ah, how amI going to make ends meet?
Like what was that?
Sure, well, it's scary.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
I mean, there's no way around it.
It's scary.
There's definitely ways to cutcosts.
When you're our being, you canbe more of a boondocker.
You can eat in all the time andnot eat out.
You can find plenty of freethings, of hiking and things to
explore.
So there's way to save moneyand be able to still live the
(05:19):
lifestyle and I think that'sactually why some people choose
this lifestyle.
Is can be less expensive, lesspressure to earn money.
I also had, thankfully, ahusband who was earning earning
living doing consulting work, soI did have that to fall back on
.
But it's hard, I'm not gonna.
Yeah, it's, it's um, I don'tknow how else to say it, but
(05:45):
it's a difficult thing.
You have to just agree to sayhere's my budget and I'm going
to make this happen.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Yeah, totally.
One thing that was good for mewas that I was living smaller.
I'd been laid off as a newsreporter in San Francisco and
suddenly I was living in myboyfriend Tom's sailboat, which
is kind of beat up and hadreally cheap rent or docking
fees.
That's what gave me theopportunity to be able to start
a business was having such lowexpenses.
I think that's one good thingabout how you were RVing or I
(06:17):
was living in the van or theboat that that gives opportunity
to cut back on our expenses andpursue something.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
I guess there's always the fallback.
I knew I could do camp hostingor some other kind of work
camping work for Amazonseasonally.
I knew that those opportunitieswere there.
If the situation became to thatpoint where I really just
needed cash to help pay billsand put food on our table, that
also, I think in the back ofyour head says, okay, well, I
(06:46):
could still go get a job if Ineed to.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
That's so true.
That's such a good thing forpeople to remember who are
interested in starting their ownbusiness, because you aren't
going to be profitable.
At first I did freelancewriting on the side and I sold
articles as I was building mywebsite.
I didn't fully go all in on it,I was doing side work.
It's good you mentioned thatsometimes you might have to do
that or have backup plans, butthere's a lot of things that can
(07:08):
be there for people as they'restarting their business.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Yeah, there's so many ways.
It's actually one of the thingsI love about my current clients
is that I learn all thesedifferent ways that people are
making it work.
Some people, yes, they haveover $100,000 of income.
Some people have $20,000 andthey're all making it work for
them and it's fine and they'reall happy.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Yeah, that's so interesting.
I feel like having one's ownbusiness while traveling
full-time is even better thanworking for someone, because you
can build in your ownflexibility and work when you
want.
I think it's easier than havingto show up for daily meetings
or doing whatever for a boss.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Sure, it feels pretty good when you know that you can
make a living and you don'thave to rely on someone else.
Like you said you got laid off.
There is no getting laid offwhen it's your company.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
That's so true.
If you have an income drop, youjust work harder and you get
creative and inventive.
I feel like just the sky's thelimit with how many ways you can
pivot and turn your business,and that's what you did too.
I just think that's truly thefun thing about what we do is
owning our own business thatallows us to travel.
It's really quite incredible.
Yeah, yeah Cool.
(08:23):
You did the full-time RVing andthen you transitioned
eventually to part-time.
What does your life look likenow?
Speaker 2 (08:32):
We bought a home base .
We have six and a half acres onthe western slope of Colorado.
We really like having it tocome back to.
We have RVers come and stayhere.
It just feels peaceful andquiet.
We know where the grocery storeis and everything else without
using Google Maps.
We split our time.
(08:52):
We are currently in the processof building out a van, really
downsizing from a fifth wheeland being a little more nimble.
We just came back from threemonths in Europe.
We started our internationaltravels and we felt like having
a home base allowed that tohappen a little easier.
We had a place to store ourthings when we were not relying
(09:15):
on the parking lot or somedriveway or something.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Yeah, that's so true.
That's really fun and you justcontinue to be able to do your
business anywhere in the world,right, yeah, fantastic.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
I think also the fun thing about traveling this kind
of a side note is that we've metso many people through RVing
who have now switched to havinghome bases or have switched to
international travel.
We actually got to meet up withRV friends while in Europe.
It's very satisfying.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
For sure, no matter what kind of travel you do, it's
kind of in your bones, whetherit's RVing or van life or
boating or just staying in anAirbnb in a foreign country.
It's all just travel and it'sexciting and there's so many
ways that you can do it whilehaving your own business.
Yes, yeah, that's super cool.
You work with a lot ofdifferent people now a lot of
nomads, a lot of RVers.
(10:07):
You do mostly taxes andbookkeeping for them.
Is that how your current workis now?
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Sure, I do tax prep, so tax preparation and tax
planning are really my focus.
I do have some bookkeepingclients, but I'm currently
closed full there.
Really, I also just wanteducation and I want to make
sure that those who are new toowning a business really
(10:37):
understand their finances,understand what you can deduct
we call it, like a lot of peoplecall it write-offs, things like
that.
Can they take their travel?
That's really my goal is tosupport and educate as well.
I have a course and aneducation side of my business
and then I'm working withclients for consulting and tax
prep.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Very cool, and so are you finding out that, in this
community that are being, or thenomad community, that a lot
more people are startingbusinesses in order to fund
their lifestyle?
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Absolutely.
It's a also freedom of timeright so you can choose to
travel travel days.
You can take a day off if youneed to.
You can sit maybe the personwho's not driving the passenger
can be on their computer andworking.
So that flexibility and thattravel lifestyle really lends
itself to being a business ownerand not a W2 wage earner where
(11:32):
you're having stuck in it evenif you're at your home office on
like a 9 to 5, monday throughFriday type of scenario.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
So I do find that yeah, and what types of
businesses are people tending tostart?
You see any trends, or does itrun the gamut, or what are some
examples of businesses thatyou're seeing?
Speaker 2 (11:50):
So it's all over the place.
There's blogs similar to you orother influencers, things like
that.
Families I've seen, you know,tech people, so maybe computer
programming, things like that.
Designers, writers I'm tryingto think.
I mean you name it.
It's like it's all overBookkeepers.
I actually work with somebookkeepers and helping them
(12:13):
understand their tax deductionsand things.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
And do you find that some of these people did not
have businesses before andthey're brand new self-employed
business owners?
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Many of them have not had businesses.
They're new to it.
They get surprised by things ifthey don't research and learn
ahead of time, and that's justall part of the learning curve,
as well, of owning a business.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
Yeah, so true.
And also I'm curious are youseeing people a variety of ages
starting businesses, or are youseeing kind of more one age
group?
Are you seeing retirees startbusinesses to bring in a little
extra money?
What are you seeing there?
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Sure, I definitely see some retirees starting side
hustles and that is helping themto make ends meet, because we
all know social security is ohso great.
Or they're work camping.
So sometimes even work camping,you receive a 1099.
So they can get take expensesand things that way.
(13:12):
So it's all the way.
I think my average age ofclients is really in 40s or 50s,
but I do have clients all theway down to in their 30s.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Interesting.
Yeah, that's so cool.
And what do you think are someof the main issues or confusion
that people have when they'refirst starting a business, like
what do you see people doingwrong right off the bat?
Speaker 2 (13:38):
So there's several things for just not
understanding expenses how totrack them, tracking them from
the get go and not gettingbehind on it, and then being
overwhelmed.
And then, once you're makingmoney which we hope is happening
sooner rather than later pinkself employment taxes is a huge
surprise to many people, inaddition to those income tax.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Yeah, that's very true.
That was a hard pill to swallow.
When I started, I hired someoneoff the get go, actually
because I have no idea how to domy own taxes.
Sure, and yeah, do you see thatpeople are hiring people, or
are some people trying to dotheir taxes on their own and
they're getting really confusedabout it?
Speaker 2 (14:20):
It's some of each.
I give props to anybody whowants to do it themselves.
I encourage you if you feelcomfortable.
I don't now have a problem withthat, but there are plenty of
people that feel overwhelmed orjust feel that safety and
security of having someone backthem up and do the return for
them.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
Totally, and a lot of people, I think, as travelers
or if they start a travel blogor a YouTube channel or, as you
mentioned, an influencer, maybeInstagram.
What kinds of surprisingwrite-offs have you seen in that
space?
And it seems like it's hard todetermine what's a write-off,
you know.
Is that kind of some points ofconfusion out there?
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Sure.
So there's definitely points ofconfusion when someone is given
something.
So let's say, you're in an RVand you get like a new set of
disc brakes or something from acompany I'm not even going to
name any companies because I'mnot an influencer and but that
doesn't that actually counts asincome.
So you're receiving somethingas income and that's so
(15:23):
surprising to them.
Now they have to includewhatever $10,000 for those
brakes that they just receivedon there, fifth wheel or
whatever, and that that's hard.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
So yeah, yeah, I felt like that was yeah.
That was surprising for me too,because I did receive a lot of
free products.
I know, when I was talking tomy tech Sky, he's like, yeah,
that's all income.
And I was like, oh my gosh,that's a lot of income, but you
know it is what it is and that'show it you know, being a small
business owner.
So I'm curious if you'veencountered people like you know
, if they're writing Itinerariesor if they're going somewhere
(15:54):
shooting a YouTube video on aspecific campground, like, are
those things that people canwrite off of there in the
content creation world?
Speaker 2 (16:03):
So content creation is is a sticky one, I'm not
gonna lie.
When you're full-time traveling, content creation is hard.
It's a very gray area.
It hasn't really been tested inthe tax courts.
So For my personal philosophy,I am on the air of caution and I
don't like to raise red flags.
So usually I say, if you'reparked at a campground and let's
(16:28):
say you have to drive a hundredmiles because you're going to
tour Yellowstone and you'refilming it for your, for your
YouTube channel, sure, take themileage.
You have concrete evidence,right, you've your video and
your Instagram posts and all ofthat.
So I don't have a problem withthat.
But getting from Denver, let'ssay, to Yellowstone, does not
count After mileage, if thatmakes sense.
(16:50):
The difference there?
Speaker 1 (16:51):
Yeah, totally makes sense.
And in terms of doing that, doyou recommend people keep like
spreadsheets with their expenseand then what they use it for?
Does that just get a little bittoo granular?
I know that's a lot of bookrecord keeping.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Sure.
So, yeah, travel log is reallyhelpful.
So a spreadsheet in thatrespect.
And then for mileage, for sureyou have to have written
Evidence, whether it's on paper.
If you're a paper person andyou want to just keep it in the
front with you in your driverseat, that's fine.
Nowadays we all carry phones,smartphones, so using an app is
also a really great idea.
(17:26):
There's one I can recommend,mile IQ, and it can record every
drive you take and you canliterally swipe right for
Business and swipe left forpersonal, or it could be the
opposite, I can't remember, butit makes it really simple, I
think, and you don't Think aboutremember to track it because
(17:46):
it's doing it behind the scenes.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
So yeah, with this gray area you know, travel and
content creation and everythingwas that Somewhat of a learning
curve for you as a tax preparerto look into that and figure out
how to advise your clients,moving forward, sure?
Speaker 2 (18:00):
I did do a lot of research.
I looked at court cases becauseI really wanted to know what
has been tested and what hasn't.
So I've done a lot of researchthere and I still continue to do
that, because I get new statesall the time and I'm always
having to learn new state rules,regulations and credits
available, things like that.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
Yeah, that is a challenge of being someone who
works with nomads, as you don'tjust focus on one state.
It can be like tons ofdifferent states and you're
learning so many things.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
Yes, yes, I filed.
I think it's like 33 states sofar.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
So yeah, wow, does that get overwhelming for you?
You know trying to learn allthis, or is that something that
you really like doing?
I?
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Really enjoy it because I like to learn and so
it keeps me on my toes and I,yeah, I like it.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Yes, what advice do you have?
Do you have any advice forsomeone who is looking to jump
into RVing or you're being anomad, and they Work at a nine
to five and they want totransition to owning a business?
Is there anything you wouldtell them about, like how to
figure out, like, what do I havea, what do I do for a business?
I know that can be hard, sure I.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
Mean it.
To me it's follow a passion.
Is there something you've beenpassionate about wanting to
explore?
Maybe photography is somethingyou've always loved and you want
to start selling your photos.
Lean into it and If if you'replanning less many people take a
year or two years to plan forthe hitting the road, start
(19:30):
taking pictures.
Start, start the business like,start doing it on the weekends,
at night, go to art shows orsomething, if that's your deal
on I'm just picking oneparticular.
But yeah, lean into yourpassions and just get going with
it and eventually you also saveup money if you know that this
is the path you're trying totake.
So, if you can and you haveextra income as you're working
(19:53):
your W2, maybe start to cutexpenses down and save up some
funds so you have a little bitof a nest egg to lean on as
you're growing that business.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
Yeah, for sure, for sure, and I know when I started
blogging or online business, Iknew nothing about it, like.
So one thing I did do is I tooka ton of courses and I'm still
taking courses to learn, becauseit's like getting another
degree.
So I feel like, with all thesethings, all these business
opportunities, are our ways tolearn and to really focus and
hone in on that Business.
Are you seeing people like dothat as well studying and
(20:23):
learning?
Speaker 2 (20:24):
Sure, there's some.
There's some of that.
I mean it again.
I have some people that will goto the RV inspection like
certification school and becomeRV.
You know inspectors and that'show they.
They open a business that wayand make ends meet.
So there's definitely thateducation component.
But a lot of people, if youthink about it, you have skills
right other than your, your job.
(20:45):
You have Likes and and passionsand skills and things that you
know.
If you've been alive 40 years,you've been probably doing for
30 of those years or 20 of thoseyears, and just just expand it
on that?
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Yeah right.
And what if somebody wants todo what you do and maybe start
out by becoming a bookkeeper, oror maybe eventually Doing what
you do and becoming a taxpreparer, like what?
What can they do to enter yourparticular field?
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Sure.
So there's bookkeeping school.
If you really want to learnthat, there's online courses to
learn bookkeeping.
I guarantee there's probablyYouTube, right, that teaches you
many things.
Just be careful there that it'sactual, accurate information
and you're learning from someonewho's a trusted source.
Yeah, there's definitely waysto do that and go you.
You can get also certified inusing QuickBooks, which will
(21:40):
help you just understand theprogram and the backend.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Yeah, right, then once someone does that, they
have to find clients For you.
How did you find those initialclients and how did you build up
your client roster?
Speaker 2 (21:55):
How did I find my initial clients?
It really was organic, I haveto say, just getting out there
talking about your business,meeting other travelers.
I started a blog I know itsounds silly, maybe to some
people I'm not talking abouttraveling, I'm talking about
taxes and it really took offbecause I found nobody else was
talking about traveling, rvingand taxes and owning a business.
(22:20):
That really helped just driveorganic traffic For me
personally.
I've teamed up a lot withEscapies.
If you're not familiar withthat, there's an RV club and I
speak at their events.
Yeah, it's also just word ofmouth.
Once you start getting yourfirst five or 10 clients
depending on how many you needand you serve them well, they're
(22:42):
going to start telling theirfriends or their family hey, I
work with Heather and she's beenawesome.
You should too.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Right, you did stumble into, or enter into, a
real niche in terms of taxpurposes Because, you're right,
nobody's talking about it.
I feel like people like toignore taxes and bookkeeping
because a lot of people find itnot exciting, but they have to
do it.
Yes, yes, it's a business owner.
I get asked this questionsometimes as someone starting
(23:13):
their own business.
What I did is I operated as asole proprietor for many years,
but when I reached a certainincome level, I became an S-Corp
LLC.
What do you recommend forpeople that are just getting
started?
When do they need that?
Do they even think about thatin the beginning?
What's your advice there?
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Sorry, Really, I don't like to send people down
that rabbit hole.
If you want to start a business, then just start the business.
If you want to market under acertain name, like a sketchy
name or something, you may needto file a DBA or doing business
as with whatever state or countythat you're based out of, to
(23:50):
use that name.
Otherwise starting a business,you can use your legal name in
the business and it's soleproprietor.
You don't have to do anythingspecial.
That's to me, the easiest wayto get started.
The biggest thing I do stress,no matter what you do, if you
have an LLC or just irregular noregistrations is have separate
(24:12):
bank accounts.
Make sure that, even if it's apersonal account, you only run
business expenses and incomethrough there and nothing
personal and they're separate.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Right.
That's a good thing people doimmediately.
I know that's.
One thing I did right away isopen a business checking account
at Chase.
It's business stuff, businesscredit card, it's all separate.
Sure, I'm glad I did that atfirst, then probably people need
to get on QuickBooks and juststart immediately tracking their
expenses Right.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
Yeah, you can use QuickBooks.
A lot of people feel it's achallenge.
It's just another thing tolearn and keep up with.
They're not a numbers person.
They don't want to deal with it.
Using a spreadsheet, especiallywhen you're small and starting
out, I don't see a problem, aslong as you're keeping up with
it.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Yeah, yeah, very true Good advice.
Quickbooks can be a little bitoverwhelming.
Lots of numbers.
I still do my own bookkeepingand it just makes me pull my
hair out sometimes, especiallyif you get bigger and more and
more.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
It's also an expense If you're not making money.
To justify spending more moneyis hard.
That's why I say there'snothing wrong with a spreadsheet
as long as you use it.
I will give a tidbit.
If you want to use the program,wave, accounting is free.
That one is almost as good asQuickBooks.
I say it's pretty comparable.
(25:28):
You can use that from the startfor free.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
Yes, very true.
Keeping expenses low whenyou're just starting to make
money or not making money yet isreally important.
Yeah, does somebody have?
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Oh sorry, I wanted to just address needing an LLC.
An LLC is a state legal entity.
It's actually not a tax entity,which is a lot of confusion.
A single member LLC is just asole proprietor for tax purposes
, like you said.
You mentioned that you have anS-Corp.
If you're thinking yourbusiness is going to grow and
(26:04):
you want to move towards that,then start the LLC from the
start and then you can make thatS-Corp tax selection when
you're ready.
But the entity has to be therein order for you to make the
election.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
Gotcha.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
I hope that's clear.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
Is that something that you help people go through
that process as well?
I?
Speaker 2 (26:22):
do.
Yeah, I work with my clientsand they ask me about this all
the time.
Llc is the most misunderstoodterm, I think.
Yeah, yeah totally.
Speaker 1 (26:33):
That's why it's good to ask a professional.
Yeah Cool.
So I want to talk a little bitabout your course, because not
only do you do taxes, but youhelp educate people on all of
these aspects of owning abusiness, which that just
doesn't really exist in thespace.
So much.
So what made you decide tocreate this course and when did
(26:53):
you launch it?
Speaker 2 (26:56):
Sure, so I the idea basically came to me because
everyone is asking me the samequestions and I'm saying well,
if this person and that person,everyone's asking me this
question, then how about I justhave this place that people can
come and buy this informationand learn from me and I don't
have to answer every single oneseparately?
(27:16):
I can do it on a bigger scale.
So I actually launched I can't,I think it was 2020.
And then we all know whathappened in 2020.
And the tax law changed likecrazy during COVID and the
pandemic and I had to kind ofpush the course aside because I
(27:37):
was struggling to keep up withlife and tax law changes and
everything else.
And I just relaunched in thispast fall and that was really
exciting and I took a lot of mystudent feedback from two or
three years ago and made it, Ithink, bigger and better.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
So, yeah, very cool, congrats, and what are some of
the things people can expect tolearn in your course?
Speaker 2 (28:03):
So I go every over everything like entity choice.
So we're just talking about LFCand S Corp election.
What are all those things mean?
Just giving clarity around thatand I also give you places to
get registered, the best statesto pick.
Then we get into using a bankaccount and bank recommendations
of banks to work with as anomad bookkeeping.
(28:25):
So how to use QuickBooks.
I do kind of quick walkthroughsof QuickBooks and Wave.
Those are the two I reallyrecommend.
I go over expenses in detailand write offs you can take.
So yeah, self employment taxes,you name it.
It covers all of it.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Very cool.
And yeah, and people are goingthrough your course now and is
it helping them prepare theirown taxes or do they still
mostly hire you to do taxes?
But they're learning all thisbackground information as well.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
I do not walk through how to prepare your tax return.
Many of them will choose to doit on their own.
That's fine.
Some will hire me.
I don't have the course outthere as a hey, you have to hire
me for tax prep.
That is not the reason why Ihave it.
It's really to teach you how totrack what, to track what's
deductible, things like that,and to stay on track.
(29:16):
So I give calculators so youknow kind of how to calculate
your self employment taxes,things like that.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
Oh, that's really helpful and like that also helps
people with their budget,because quarterly taxes is
another thing we didn't talkabout.
That surprised me when Istarted the business, like, oh,
I have to file quarterly taxes,how do I do that?
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Sure that can be overwhelming.
Well, that coincides with thewhole self employment tax item.
It kind of is a bundle to me.
So when you're self employedpaying self employment taxes,
you do have to pay quarterly taxto keep up with that
responsibility.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
Yeah, right, yeah.
So many things to learn whenyou're moving in from the world
of having full-time employee tobeing your own boss.
This is just so many aspects.
So it's really cool that you'vefound this niche and you're out
there teaching and helpingpeople.
I think that's really fantastic.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
It's been fun and I did launch it.
This time it comes withcoaching, so you get monthly
coaching with me to come andbring your questions, and I also
like it because the fellowentrepreneurs can kind of teach
you as well.
So they're asking a question,maybe they're a little ahead of
you and they're asking thisquestion, and you're like, oh my
gosh, I should be thinkingabout that as well.
Speaker 1 (30:27):
Or I didn't think about that.
It comes with a communityaspect where people can interact
with each other.
Yeah, cool, fantastic.
So it sounds like the course isclosed for 2023, but when are
you expecting people to be ableto join it again?
Speaker 2 (30:42):
I'm hoping to launch again next.
Like spring or summer, so Mayor June.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
Yeah, awesome, so great, and the show notes below
will definitely have a link toyour waitlist so that people can
jump on there and be notifiedwhen you open your course, and
then we'll have links, of course, to your website.
If people need help with taxesand you said you do tax
preparation and do you also doconsultations, like if someone
wants to call you and have ameeting, do you do that as well?
I do.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
I've done a lot of just one-on-one consultation to
answer a few questions.
Sometimes even I will teach youbookkeeping so we could do a
one-on-one call.
We open up QuickBooks and justkind of answer your questions
there.
So I do do that as well.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Fantastic Well, heather, thank you so much for
coming on the podcast.
Is there anything else wemissed that you wanted to share?
I think we covered a lot, so Ifeel pretty good there.
Totally it's been fun.
Yeah, it's been super fun, andI hope more people are inspired
to start their own business andlive life on the road, and it
sounds like both you and I areliving these amazing lifestyles
that we want to live.
(31:43):
We're not trapped in an office,and I just think it's so
inspiring to hear all the waysnomads are making money, because
it is possible.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Totally, I totally agree.
I love the freedom to choose.
How's that?
Yes, freedom to choose.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Cool.
Well, thank you so much andhave a wonderful rest of your
day.
Thanks, I hope you enjoyed thisepisode of the Wayward Home
podcast.
If you know someone who wouldlike this episode, do me a favor
and forward it to them.
Word of mouth is one of thebest ways you can help me grow
this podcast.
Again, thanks for listening tothe Wayward Home podcast and
I'll see you next time.
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