Starting self proprietorship

[Bob Smith]

Freelancing for two entities in California, both in the same county. A newspaper and a news group. Trying to start a self-proprietorship. I have an EIN and I am filed under my own name. Does anybody know what else I need to do ... file something with my city or county and place an ad in the paper?

This you-can-only-write-24 stories per year thing ... wow, who keeps track of that? Are there freelancers and/or newspapers out there who are just ignoring it?

 

[Danwriter]

It's 35 articles (or photos) a year, per publication.

You probably should keep track of it, but the penalties fall on the publications, not the freelancer, so you know they will.

I've freelanced for 33 years and I've never had to declare myself as such other than on tax returns. But it sounds like you might be trying to portray yourself as a vendor, versus a freelancer. (Byline: by Bob Smith, Inc.) It might work. Just make sure you send an invoice for every article.

 

[The Big Ragu]

I am curious now, how that works logistically. Does setting up as a sole proprietorship rather than as an LLC or corporation get you a business to business exemption under that Cali law?