Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Sultana
I understand, but I wasn't truely wanting specifics and figures, I guess I want opinions as to whether owning your own business is a good thing, in general...should I pursue it?
|
I've owned a couple of businesses outside of my main job, so obviously I'll be telling you to go for it. There are lots of benefits, but also lots of headaches.
I can tell you that for our Illinois-based fencing academy, we've been able to write off trips to Poland and the UK when we took kids over there to train. That's Illinois tax law, though, and may or may not translate. We've gotten away with some things that I thought were pretty hokey up front, but our accountant, who's pretty conservative about write-offs, is positive that we're fine. Since I own this business with 2 close friends, we've been able to take our wives out to "planning dinners", complete with wine, lobster and steak.
Then again, we've had immigration issues for coaches, disciplinary issues (tough when you're dealing with kids) and paperwork problems. Small business ownership is not for everyone, so do your research up front.