Ask HN: Starting Your Own LLC?
1) Doing taxes correctly as anything other than a sole proprietorship is a huge pain in the ass, especially if you're selling things across state borders, and doubly so if you're in California.  I recommend finding a tax professional to handle that for you (the time it takes to do it yourself is generally not worth it).  Also don't forget that if you're actually making money you'll need to pay estimated taxes quarterly.<p>2) Either learn basic accounting (if you don't already) and keep excellent records of all revenue and expenses business-related (ideally categorized into standard business categories) or find a CPA to keep your records straight monthly.  A huge number of people get burned simply because they didn't keep proper records and then ran into tax or regulatory trouble later.<p>3) Definitely keep your business finances as separate from your personal funds as possible.  Different checking account, different credit card, etc.<p>4) Think really hard before you hire anyone for anything, and if you do, make sure you're either doing 1099 correctly or get a professional to help with W2 stuff.  Again, this is something that often comes back to bite people.<p>And lastly, remember that most businesses fail and that failing at business is not something to be ashamed of.  If it's not working out, don't make yourself miserable and mortgage your future to try and save it indefinitely - walk away and try again with the lessons you learned.