Tuesday Tastemaker #31:
How I burned it all down (and why)

You know that feeling when you finally do a government thing and it turns out to be wayyy easier and less time consuming than you were expecting?

Yeah. That just happened to me.

You are now looking at the proud owner of SKP Writing LLC, dba Indie Copy Studio!

For the past several months, I’ve been dismantling my old business, brick by virtual brick, and tossing it all into a giant stinking bonfire in my non-existent backyard.

Why?

Because my S-Corp had a stupid name that I always hated (it was just my name, Samantha Kate Pollack Incorporated. Very inspired.)

Because the only reason I even had that S-Corp is because I got bad advice from people who didn’t understand online business, and I hadn’t met my badass CPA Megan yet, who would have told me — I could have just formed an LLC that was taxed as an S-Corp, IF my business ever made enough money for that to make sense… which it didn’t.

Because some of the people who gave me that bad advice left a yucky taste in my mouth, and that taste lingered ever so slightly every time I saw my stupid business name in print.

Because I spent so many years and so much money building the Cult of Personality brand, but then the landscape shifted and I got older and none of it was right anymore.

Because I tried for a long time to play in the sandbox with big-time, outwardly successful, internet-famous personalities, all of whom were chasing a framework for wealth based on hoarding, hierarchy, exploitation, and questionable selling tactics who treated their email lists like ATM machines, and I finally just got tired of doing the mental gymnastics it required so I could sleep at night.

Because when I decided to shut down Cult of Personality, I didn’t feel the least bit sad or regretful.

I just… did it.

Because Cult of Personality was just the pearl inside the oyster.

And once I tossed out the pearl, the rest of the oyster felt crusty and unnecessary.

Because I got tired of paying the $10 maintenance fee on my checking account, and pouring money into unemployment benefits that I’d never get to use even though I’m the only person who works here, and driving to my old coworking space to pick up yet another letter from the IRS telling me my address changed by one hyphen.

Because I’m in my late 40s, and these are the kinds of unhinged things one does in one’s late 40s.

Was it hard to change my address with the IRS (again)? With Blue Cross and my SBA account and every bank account and credit card and subscription I’ve ever signed up for?

Yes.

It took forever, and I’ll never really know if it worked until I find out I never received a super important piece of mail. This was actually much harder than getting my DBA, which took ten minutes and was an absolute breeze.

Was it scary to change banks, knowing that there’s a very real possibility I missed something that might fuck up my finances next month?

Yes. Yes it was. But it was also exciting, because I found a no-fee, high-yield checking account that earns 1.5% cashback on my entire balance, and now I can send invoices directly from my bank to my clients — meaning I’ll get my money that much faster. (Thanks NerdWallet!)

In summation, I did a stupidly hard thing that did not really need to be done.

But it’s going to save me a bit of money, and I like that.

And it’s going to make my life like, 10% less annoying, which… fuck it, I’ll take that.

There’s something to be said for shedding shit you just don’t like anymore. Clothes, names, websites, friends, business models, dumb advice, maintenance fees.

If you don’t like it, get rid of it.

You can throw it in my bonfire and burn it like we burned my friend’s ex’s underwear that one time! 🔥🔥🔥

Anyway. Happy Tuesday.

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