In this Episode:

What was the motivation for starting bSolo?

• They noticed a trend and growth in the freelance workers in the United States.
• They began to interview freelancers, worked where they worked and began to hire them on the team.
• They learned that as a freelancer and soloist you take on a lot of jobs for yourself.
• Which includes jobs that traditionally an HR department would handle.
• More people are choosing to work on their own and do not want to go back to full-time employment in spite of the hassles of being on their own.
• bSolo then realized they wanted to tackle the biggest hassle that freelancers are facing- taxes.
• Freelancers have expressed that the quarterly tax deadline and the challenges around keeping cash available have been preventing them from saving for the long term.
• bSolo realized that if they help freelancers with their tax challenge, they can then be in a better position to help soloists in their other financial challenges.
• bSolo wants to encourage you to have a freedom lifestyle with less stress.

Who would be the perfect person for your services?

• Someone who is getting started is earning some income but does not yet have a system in place for their taxes.
• bSolo can serve a variety of people because they are able to help freelancers become ready to save for tax season.
• bSolo can eliminate the hassle of worrying about taxes and the time away that freelancers are putting to issues that are taking away their focus from their business.
• Individuals who want to have a freedom lifestyle.

What is the worst advice that a new freelancer can receive?

• There are many people who become freelancers without knowing where the money is going to initially come from.
• Always look for guaranteed sources of income to cover their essential expenses.
• Once the essential expenses are paid, you can work on business development.
• Having that steady income will relieve that stress that most people go through when they are starting freelance work.

Having a steady income and steady savings as a freelancer.

• When you have a 9-5 your employee will have steady payment for you without you having to think about it.
• The research they have done in fidelity is that when people are auto-enrolled in retirement without having to think about it, the savings behavior is better.
• bSolo wants to create that same kind of system for freelancers.
• Having a steady income and savings will allow you to have a freedom lifestyle.

What do we need to do in order to be prepared for our taxes?

• You must be organized, know where your income came from over the course of the year.
• bSolo makes it easy to track all of it because it automatically detects when you receive 1099 income and then sets a portion of it aside for your taxes in the future.
• Make sure you work with a CPA or tax preparer to file for taxes.

How affordable are the services that bSolo are providing for freelancers?

• bSolo is $12.99 a month for both federal and state tax savings and tax payments.
• For states only paying federal for states who live without an income tax, it is $9.99 a month.
• bSolo is running a free trial where your first quarter is free – go to bsolo.com/offbeat to get the first quarter and 3 months for free!

What has been the proudest moment you’ve had so far at bSolo?

• Hearing the feedback from clients about the services that bSolo provides.

What is the question you wished people asked you more of?

• Do I have to pay taxes?
• There are a lot of people who are not aware of quarterly taxes.

What are you currently working on that you are excited about?

• Growing bSolo into other savings goals and allowing freelancers to have a steady income. 
• Aside from taxes, bSolo wants to help freelancers save for the long term.

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