So, I did end up missing breakfast, the welcome session and the ice breaker.
We were staying at a different hotel last night and had to switch over to the Westin St. Francis where BlogHer is being held this morning. So no ice breaker for me. You’ll have to hear from someone else about that.
The first session I am attending is the What We Do: Taking Care of Business with @taxgirl (Kelly Phillips Erb), @linseykrolik (Linsey Krolik), and @mommyceo (Sabrina Parsons).
Linsey Krolik was up first and talked about defamation, fair use, and incorporation. If you don’t already know about creative commons, check it out. Plus, if you are running a business and want to protect your personal assets from liability, form an entity, such as an LLC or Corporation. If you aren’t sure what kind, contact Linsey or a Personal Family Lawyer in your neighborhood.
Kelly Phillips Erb is next. She’s a tax attorney and clearly loves tax. I loved tax law in law school. It’s like a game. Kelly makes it a fun game. Kelly discussed income and deductions. In case you are not writing off your BlogHer expenses, you should be! Keep your receipts.
Sabrina Parsons, CEO of Palo Alto Software, talks about how can I make money with my blog. How do I price proposals? How do I price my time? What can I do to bring in revenue and make this thing a revenue generating activity. If you are not paying yourself a salary, put it in the books as a loss. This is GREAT advice and often overlooked. She says the biggest mistake you can make is to devalue your time and your services. Create a plan! Where do you want to be in 1 year, 3 years, 5 years? Write it down.
Each of these sessions was absolutely consistent with my advice for small business owners. If you’d like to get a free mp3 from me about the insider secrets you need to know so you can take maximum business risk with minimum personal risk, go here right now and request it.