The Creator Business: Contracts, Money and Taxes
Running a creator business in the US: sole proprietorship, LLC or S corporation, contract anatomy, rights clauses and redlining, invoicing and collections, bookkeeping and cash flow, budgeting and pricing for profit, income tax, self-employment tax and estimated payments, sales tax nexus and 1099s, gifted products and cross-border income, managers and agents, insurance, IP protection, Solo 401(k)s and IRAs, and a capstone business plan.
CRE-330 Year 3 3 credits 12 lessons · 5 h 45 min
Offered by HSM University · Content Creation
This is the American version of this course. See the Canadian version.
What you'll learn
- Treat a creator practice as a business, separating finances, keeping records and assembling the right professional team
- Compare sole proprietorships, LLCs and S corporation elections in the US and decide when a change pays
- Explain how contracts are formed and identify the scope, payment, warranty, indemnity, termination and general provisions of creator agreements
- Evaluate rights clauses covering licenses, assignments, name and likeness, exclusivity, morals, confidentiality and artificial intelligence
- Review, prioritize, redline, sign and manage contracts using a playbook and a contract register
- Invoice correctly, set payment terms, manage currency and platform payouts and run a collections process
- Keep accurate books, treat capital purchases correctly, read financial statements and forecast cash
- Build a budget from target take-home pay, calculate break-even points and set prices that guarantee profit
- Estimate income tax, self-employment tax and the QBI deduction and plan estimated payments and filing deadlines
- Apply sales tax nexus and collection rules and Form 1099 reporting, and handle gifted products and cross-border income
- Assess management, agency and network agreements, choose insurance and protect copyright and trademarks
- Pay yourself sustainably, use tax-advantaged retirement accounts and produce a complete creator business plan
Course content
12 lessons · 5 h 45 min total · final exam
- 1 Running a creator business: from hobby to enterprise 29 min · quiz
- 2 Sole proprietorship, LLC or S corporation in the US 26 min · quiz
- 3 Contract anatomy: scope, deliverables, payment and termination 29 min · quiz
- 4 Rights clauses: licenses, assignments, exclusivity, morals and AI 27 min · quiz
- 5 Reviewing, redlining and signing contracts 27 min · quiz
- 6 Invoicing, payment terms and collections 30 min · quiz
- 7 Bookkeeping, cash flow and financial statements 28 min · quiz
- 8 Budgeting and pricing for profit 32 min · quiz
- 9 Income tax, self-employment tax and estimated payments 27 min · quiz
- 10 Sales tax, 1099s, gifted products and cross-border income 30 min · quiz
- 11 Managers, agents, insurance and protecting your IP 32 min · quiz
- 12 Paying yourself, saving for retirement and capstone business plan 28 min · quiz
- E Final exam 20 questions
Requirements
Recommended background. You can start any course at any time.
Description
Running a creator business in the US: sole proprietorship, LLC or S corporation, contract anatomy, rights clauses and redlining, invoicing and collections, bookkeeping and cash flow, budgeting and pricing for profit, income tax, self-employment tax and estimated payments, sales tax nexus and 1099s, gifted products and cross-border income, managers and agents, insurance, IP protection, Solo 401(k)s and IRAs, and a capstone business plan.
Part of the Film & Photography stream, typically taken in year 3.