How do you figure it out?

So many perspectives. So many choices. So many avenues. Which should you believe? How should you decide?

Reason. There are those who hold that reason is only a production of logic. But, in the human condition, that is not the case. Because we are subjective beings; with emotions, and concepts beyond just perception, we have the ability to use our minds to figure things out. You are saying: "DUH !", but we don't all do it. When we step into the arena of anything emotional, sometimes we let rationalization rule instead of reason. We make excuses instead of finding solutions.

Recently, I made a decision to incorporate my business. There are three forms of organization available to me right now: Sole Proprietorship, LLC, and S-Corporation. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. I spoke with my accountant, who admitted she didn't know everything, and listened to her recommendation and asked why. I spoke with other trusted advisors, and I even asked my network on LInkedIn for suggestions, recommendations and reasons. Ultimately, I made my decision, and decided to become an S-Corporation. In order to decide, I had to prioritize my values and match them to the benefits / drawbacks of each type of organization. (btw: I also did traditional research on the difference between LLC and S-Corp. and found that the information available is ambiguous at best).

So, the biggest factor which put me in S-Corp territory is its formality in division. With an LLC, you are skipping the creation of an entity unto its own. This means that you are really just creating a more abstracted DBA and notifying people that this entity is exclaiming its independence from the individual who created it. However, the assets of an LLC belong to the individuals within as a percentage of their ownership. They do not belong to the LLC itself. This may seem unimportant, but it became the deciding factor for me because I value the ability to hold my company separate from myself. As time goes on, I may want to do all types of things regarding expansion, etc... and I want the company to stand on its own as that happens.

So, long story short, this is just a simple example of gathering information and then making judgement based on values. Both individuals and businesses should behave this way.