Content creators and influencers typically receive payment for their work. It’s an exchange of goods and services. The brand pays them, sometimes in cash, other times in product or other valued items. In turn, the creator creates. The influencer recommends, and so on.
The nature of that exchange of goods and services means the government is going to want their share. Whether you’re in the United States or most other countries around the world, you as content creator, or those that you work with, are going need to treat what you do like a business.
Did you know the number of solopreneur businesses … those where the owner is the only employee … have risen 65% since 1997. The Internet and Social Media have fueled the individual business owner, in our case, content creators and influencers. 
Now, I’m not here to tell you that starting a business from a legal standpoint is all that difficult. I’ve done it a couple of times in my career as a consultant. But the legalities and requirements of anything can be confusing. So it helps to have legal counsel. Which I have turned to. And I’ve still run into tax issues over the years … nothing major … but it’s cost me more money than I’d care to recall. 
Mike Fiffik is an attorney with LegalShield. He operates out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, one of my favorite cities. Mike knows the ins and outs of the legalities of setting up a business and helping content creators and influencers navigate those waters. He also has an eye on the most recent legal perspectives on other topics creators need to grapple with .. intellectual property.
I asked Mike to come on the show and share some wisdom with us. So you content creators out there had an easier path to follow than if you didn’t hear a lawyer tell you how to do all this. For those of you on the brand or agency side, the conversation is super relevant, too. Not only do you need to hear the running-the-business perspective of your creators, but the intellectual property issue is something you need a good grasp on as well.
We’re getting smarter about the law today.
Winfluence is presented by Cipio.ai, the Community Commerce Marketing Platform. See how influence marketing, without the 'r', comes to life in creating raving fans to grow your business from your brand's community – influencers, employees, customers and beyond. Sign up for a demo or the free influence discovery platform at jasonfalls.com/cipio.
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