<p>I want to start a small UC personal statement editing service; probably advertised through my friends at CCCs and craigslist. In any case, I would like to provide a sample edit/critique to potential clients upon request. Sooooo, if you guys send me your personal statements for the upcoming UC application I may choose to edit it depending upon its 'editability'. Whether or not I use it, I will still try to give some initial feedback. So yeah, only send it to me if you would not mind me possibly showing it to others.</p>
<p>Also to the aspiring Haas + Stern + Wharton students on this board:</p>
<p>Has anyone had any experience starting up something similar to this? (I would like to know for instance how to disavow myself of any legal responsibilities so they can't like sue me (is this even possible?), whether to request payment before or upon completion (I plan on using Paypal to collect), and basically anything business knowledge you think I should be aware of.</p>
<p>And to all UC applicants:</p>
<p>How much do you think is a reasonable price to charge to edit all three UC personal statements (about 1,000 words)? And by 'edit' I just don't mean just giving cursory comments but really tearing the essays up to make the best possible essays out of them (i.e. eliminating verboseness to improve concision, rephrasing sentences, restructuring ideas so the piece flows, suggesting better more powerful word choices, cutting out cliches and replacing with fresher approaches...)</p>
<p>Cardinal - it's difficult I think depending how you want to classify it. I think your best bet is to just start off with those around you who you know (which is your plan thus far). There must be an income threshold where you MUST declare yourself as a small business. I dont' know the guidelines that well to be honest but I would check this out for tax filing purposes. Additionally, I would prob. have a payment system set up where someone needs to pay half in advance and half upon completion. It's difficult, if you are small and not legally registered as a business, then you may have difficulties getting money off people if they refuse to pay up. I think half is fair for the time being and starting out. I wouldn't invoice people yet seeing as you are so small and the aforementioned possibility of people not paying. Keep it small and local to start with but I definately definately think that you are addressing a niche market that needs to be filled.</p>
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Cardinal - it's difficult I think depending how you want to classify it. I think your best bet is to just start off with those around you who you know (which is your plan thus far). There must be an income threshold where you MUST declare yourself as a small business. I dont' know the guidelines that well to be honest but I would check this out for tax filing purposes. Additionally, I would prob. have a payment system set up where someone needs to pay half in advance and half upon completion. It's difficult, if you are small and not legally registered as a business, then you may have difficulties getting money off people if they refuse to pay up. I think half is fair for the time being and starting out. I wouldn't invoice people yet seeing as you are so small and the aforementioned possibility of people not paying. Keep it small and local to start with but I definately definately think that you are addressing a niche market that needs to be filled.
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<p>Thanks for the advice megtfs... :D I never even thought about the tax thing; but I'm assuming I would have to be pulling in quite a lot of money for me to be required to file taxes for this (haha, that'd be cool if I got that big though) Correct me if I'm wrong? Also, yeah a half up-front, half following completion thing sounds like the best idea =]</p>
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to be honest, you can't charge that much/command prices because you don't have any credentials.</p>
<p>just tutor if you want money.
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<p>yeah, I was thinking about tutoring once again (I did at my CCC) but I would really prefer to be working from home. Also, how much would you consider 'not that much' ? Also, hope UCLA is going well HobofromDT :)</p>
<p>Anything over $500.00 you have to pay taxes on Cardinal. Also as far as how much to charge, you should look at the websites that offer these services now and charge a fraction of the price. You would still make money but it would definitely be difficult/impossible to charge the same amount as the Ivy grads that do this.</p>
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Anything over $500.00 you have to pay taxes on Cardinal.
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<p>Ahhh, I see. </p>
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Also as far as how much to charge, you should look at the websites that offer these services now and charge a fraction of the price. You would still make money but it would definitely be difficult/impossible to charge the same amount as the Ivy grads that do this.
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<p>I'll probably do some research this weekend. But if anyone would like to throw some figures out there, that would be great. </p>
<p>Cardinal - you will have to report your income and pay taxes. You may need to consult a tax preparer, or you may use TurboTax or whatever. But if you already file an income tax return due to summer jobs, etc., you will report this as income as well. Usually, these kinds of things are Schedule C - self-employment income. But you should not take your tax advice online, but from reading a tax preparation guide or speaking with a professional.</p>
<p>Basically it is not worth the trouble if it is under $500.00. While you could still file you would not exceed the standard deduction and as a result would not end up paying tax. For instance if you worked as an employee they would automatically take the money out of your check. In this case you would want to file in order to get a refund. If you are freelance then you would never pay it to begin with so you would not need a refund.</p>
<p>sweet, how much refund am i entitled to if i don't make that much and work full time for aobut 5 months? i'm getting taxed about 18% right now...</p>
<p>Well $5,000 is the standard deduction. They actually have a form you can fill out on the IRS website that tells you exactly how much should be coming out of your paycheck. They of course assume that you intend to work the full year. You really need exact amounts and status to determine an estimate for a refund or a payment. There are so many other factors. Try looking up an income tax calculator. Those will give you a rough idea of where you will land. Sorry I can't be of more help but I am not a professional and I can only speak for myself personally.</p>
<p>well, i don't make much and i'm only going to be working full tiem for about 5 months (started July)... i mean they can't tax me that much right?? 18 % is too high for what i make...</p>