Posted on 08/04/2022 1:56:12 PM PDT by ealgeone
A little fussing.
I'm trying to start a side gig doing auto detailing. I like to do this while a lot don't. I'm guessing around one or two customers a month.
I'm trying to do this the right way....register with the state, the irs, etc.
Went to the local county business office to get the license and that's when the train begins to come off the tracks.
Have to meet with the water and then the planning department. The person at the planning dept said they'd never had anyone ask about this before.
Know why....????? Everyone else is doing it under the radar.
Haven't met with the water dept yet. If they object and say it's too much water or you don't have a drain system I'll note I own four vehicles.
I will wash each one everyday. As Rush would say, for those in Rio Linda that's 28 car washes a week...1,456 a year.
Watcha gonna do about that?
The state is ok with this, the irs is ok with this, the insurance company is ok with this.....but bureaucrats at the county are about to screw things up.....and it's supposed to be a conservative county in a conservative state.
I may have to remind folks it is an election year.
It is the only place Everybody can do business.
I suggest you open your auto detail business out of an unmarked van, and advertise to the Black Market customers, they are more honest than any Government Employee.
I have no doubt a lot are doing just that. Still waiting to hear from the county.
Why would you ask the Government for Permission to earn a living and feed yourself??
I’m asking myself the same question. However, from any potential tax liability issues or otherwise I want to be able to say I’ve legally done everything correct.
Good luck!
“The person at the planning dept said they’d never had anyone ask about this before....Know why....????? Everyone else is doing it under the radar.”
I am sorry you are being burdened for opening a simple “lemonade stand”. I wonder if God sometimes expects us to stop playing the fool before an ever-encroaching system and just act freely? Does a simple car washing gig qualify for governmental approval and oversight? Maybe under the radar in small things is the obvious thing to do before God, rather than being IN the radar of a government that’s ungodly and greedy and will turn to YOU (the honest citizen, because you’re on their books!) to rectify their financial malfeasance?
Being a by-the-book’er myself it’s hard to know the answer.
I’ll update when I hear from the county. Gubmint.
Asa former city/county PW director for 30 years I will offer you my take.
Are you washing the cars at the customers house or yours?
If you are doing them at your house, then that would explain the reason why you had to meet with the City Planners as your place might not be zoned for home business that generates traffic. Also, if you are doing it at your house, they may require you to get a business water account.
You should have just kept flying under the radar. Had you come into my department, that is what I would have advised you to have done. It takes more time on everyone’s part than any revenue you may generate for the city
Some observers have commented that another name for the “Black Market” (or maybe a more accurate one) is the Free Market.
Cash only
Your observation and that of "some observers" is valid, ... as long as the whole story is told.
The Economics of the Marketplace are well researched and recorded, and a Free Market Marketplace is extremely rare.
Almost all Marketplaces have outside forces acting on the Market that render the Marketplace no longer a "Free Market".
It is the knowledge of the existences of these forces and their effect on Supply, Demand, and Price that is the whole story, and what determines the quality of that Marketplace.
Be Aware, and Beware.
True story:
I took an engineering job as a remote employee with dept HQ in Burlington Vermont ( 1993 ). First visit, I thought it was a nice town. Driving in town, I tuned into the local radio station to get a sense of the town and heard a concerned group discussion ( could have been a city council meeting or chamber of commerce ) about how hard it was to start a small business. Someone had counted that it took navigating the red tape of 27 government approvals. The solution they proposed and agreed to take forward was to establish a ( 28th) department to go to to help you with the other 27 department approvals.
Of course.
It's the obvious solution.
.
“”As Rush would say, for those in Rio Linda that’s 28 car washes a week””
I love it! Good luck - it can be daunting but don’t give in, don’t give up.
“I’m trying to do this the right way...”
That’s the mistake. Be like Spotify or Uber, start out as a pirate, make a bunch of money, then when he government comes sniffing around you can pay your fines and go legit, and they will happily give you licenses because they want their cut.
“from any potential tax liability issues”
The IRS doesn’t care where the money comes from as long as you pay up.
You’re probably right!
kinda wondering that myself.
The business isn't going to generate enough to warrant a business water account.
I don't see the difference in washing cars for a side gig or washing my own cars.
I have four cars. I don't have a special account for those!
LOL!!! Good one and it makes perfect sense for gubmint to respond that way.
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