Reply #13: How do they do make it hard. I've started at least 10 businesses

[MineralMan]

in my life. Only two required any paperwork at all, and that was only because the state wanted me to pay sales tax. The rest were handled with nothing more than simple bookkeeping and getting paid in my own name. I never had any problem with any government agency with any of those businesses. My sales tax return got audited once, because they didn't believe I hadn't sold more inside my state than I had. A nice man came to my office, looked over my records, then told me I should refile to get a refund of about $25. I told him that it wasn't worth the time required to refile. We had a cup of coffee, then he left.

I've always paid the taxes I owe and almost always missed a few deductions I could have taken. It all worked out very well, with a minimum of paperwork and a minimum of hassle.

One of the first tricks, it turns out, is to always do business in your own name and operate without employees. When you create a business name or hire someone, you create paperwork. If you don't the Schedule C is your friend.