You’re an influencer, creating content, promoting products, disrupting consumer habits. You could potentially earn thousands of dollars per post, depending on your number of followers and the platform. Clearly, there’s big money in sponsored content, affiliate links, selling products and growing your brand, but there’s also big potential for financial risk if you don’t have a business manager on your side.
If you don’t get your tax details right, you could be tomorrow’s top news story. And what if a viral video makes you an overnight sensation and a disgruntled employee threatens to sue you? Do you have the right business entity to protect your personal assets? Whether you’re a mega influencer or a nano swiping up to mega, your financial life is bound to get even more complicated as you gain exposure.
A business manager’s guidance is essential to help you avoid financial danger and build a thriving business. But what exactly do they do? Here are answers to some of the most common questions about how business managers help influencers like you protect your money and legacy.
Like any entrepreneur, influencers must make seemingly endless business decisions beyond what they sell or represent on social media. Should you register as a C or S Corporation or a limited liability company (LLC)? Should your video editor submit a W9 tax form — or be considered an employee? Should you pay workers’ compensation insurance for offsite freelancers? Do you have the right insurance to cover video and film crews and production, or for live speaking engagements?
Long term, can you continue to produce engaging content, gain followers and stay relevant? Can you adjust your business as consumer preferences, technological advancements and cultural norms shift? Can you build off-platform to open a retail, brick-and-mortar store? Or jump to another platform if TikTok gets banned?
While it’s an exciting time to be an influencer, these are just some of the many business challenges and risks you face. But you also have many opportunities for growth. A business manager serves as your go-to guide for both.
A business manager is your personal chief financial officer (CFO) who also acts as your treasurer and entire back-office accounting department. Simply put, the business manager is your right-hand person who helps protect your finances.
Your business manager handles your payroll and bill paying, determines how to allocate your budget and plan for anticipated expenses, and manages your revenue growth. They also help coordinate with your legal team on matters that may impact your income, such as rules regarding online reviews and social media endorsements.
Sounds like your agent or financial advisor, right? Not quite.
Your agent books your jobs and negotiates contracts. Your manager coordinates your brand and marketing. Your investment advisor handles your retirement accounts and helps you grow your money through investments. Your business manager, however, goes far beyond these functions, supervising and managing your day-to-day financial affairs and business concerns. They work hand in hand with your other trusted advisors, including your agent, manager, attorney, insurance agent and retirement plan administrator.
Yes. Let’s say you get an influx of cash. Maybe a sponsorship deal came through. Your business manager can help smooth out earnings and manage your cash flow if you earn your money in chunks. They can also set you up to make sure you have income for the long haul. They can even do financial modeling to show you how long you can live on the cash you have based on your current lifestyle. This way, you can make adjustments so that your money lasts.
Yes, that is one of the areas they focus on. A business manager is vested in your long-term business strategy. If you’re like many influencers, you may eventually go off-platform with a brick-and-mortar retail business or a philanthropic endeavor that aligns with your image. Some influencers open pop-up fashion boutiques, for example, or gyms, or spread their voice through foundations and nonprofits.
A business manager can ensure you use the correct business structure for tax efficiency. Plus, they can help set up foundations and nonprofits for philanthropy. In conjunction with your financial advisor, your business manager also will ensure you have a solid investment strategy incorporating retirement accounts and trust and estate planning.
Why influencers "subscribe" to them:
Yes. Your content may be around for a long time even after you’re gone. If your influence persists, you and your heirs could benefit financially. So, in addition to handling your present and future financial needs and financial administration, your business manager can coordinate legacy planning that will allow your heirs to earn money from your content long into the future.
In the long run, it’s expensive not to have a business manager. They set the foundation to make your money grow and protect you from any surprises or concerns related to taxes, staff, revenue or financial risks throughout your career.
Let’s look at some numbers: The typical fee structure for a business manager is 5% of your income. If you are running a full-scale operation, that is a low percentage of revenue to have an outsourced CFO and accounting department working for you.
You may be doing well, but are you being as efficient as possible and saving as much as you can on your taxes? Are you spending your valuable time doing this, when you could outsource it to a business manager so you can focus on your creative endeavors? The goal of a business manager is to bring you peace of mind, so you can work on bringing in revenue knowing your business affairs are being handled.
Has your hobby grown into a real business and potentially an enterprise? Then you need help — someone to set you up for continual growth, with such things as hiring more staff. Someone to take care of your taxes and compliance. Someone who can ensure you’re financially sound today and tomorrow. That “someone” is a business manager.
If you’re ready to take your influencer business to the next level, it’s time to “like” a business manager. Explore how our business management experts focus on your business and finances so you can focus on growing your brand and reputation.
