The Times, They Are A'Changing

As tech advances, marketing shifts are needed. Email remains one of the strongest ways to connect with your audience, but recent advances in AI and email servers are challenging how to get noticed. 

MailChimp reports according to a study on its behalf: 

• 95% of marketers agree email marketing has excellent ROI
• 4 in 5 customers prefer email over other forms of communication

Forbes shared December 31, 2025 that "email dominates as the most effective channel (72% of brands)".

What's Changed?
AI is increasingly impacting our inboxes. Pretty much all email servers have some sort of spam filter to "helpfully" set aside items you may consider junk or ads not worthy of your time. When those spam filters work, they're extremely useful and I'm glad not to see those messages! However, we've all had plenty of instances of "losing" emails our server identifies as spam that we actually want to see. It feels like it's more work clearing through multiple folders email is sifted into to either truly delete, actually read, or try to train the AI system what we want in our inbox - repeatedly - as identifying what we want to see never seems to stick.

Google shared in this January 8, 2026 blog post the impact their AI, Gemini, will have in inboxes.  The post reviews a variety of features—some may thrill you, others not so much. The generative AI options of helping you compose and edit may help some folks; summaries and search functions may be useful. As a marketer and the point of this article, there are concerns about Gmail "helpfully" re-ordering our inboxes to prioritize what it thinks has deadlines and dates (not always accurate) as well as prioritizing email from those it sees you interacting with more often. Interaction with emails is being picked up as someone you trust and relate to, someone you want to hear from. This reordering also messes with date/time order of messages you see. This omeda article from January 12, 2026 indicates Apple is going to the same email format beginning Fall 2026. 

How Do We Address These Changes?
This post was inspired by listening to a series of podcasts from Yale Keon, episodes 146, 147, and 148, which can be found here. Episode 148 is especially enlightening as she addresses email filtering and opening with the impact of AI. I definitely recommend a listen—15 minutes well spent. 

I've rounded up a number of articles with helpful suggestions as we consider getting eyes and opens on our emails. These are great if you have time for a longer read.

• cmercury offers a number of actionable bullets in their post.
• Forbes offers a number of suggestions.
• knak has an extensive review of the matter. 

Get to the Point
Let's get to some actionable highlights of ways to maximize your email reach as it will remain the best way to connect with your customers. 

• Engagement is key: Elicit open, click, and reply
• Focus on priority over creativity: Create a clear call to action, deadline date reference, no vague language
• More text/less images: Rethink placing your logo at the top—try to look more like a personal friend than a brand.
• Personalize your domain: Invest in a service to send as [email protected]
• Clean your email list regularly of those not engaging in 90-180 days: The more emails unopened or without engagement, the more email servers will begin to treat you like spam.

Where Do You Begin?

Anything discussing AI (Artificial Intelligence) can be quickly overwhelming. It's so BIG - where do you even start? Do I even want to deal with AI personally, let alone for my nonprofit? How safe is it, especially when we're talking about donors and our organizational data? What about those "hallucinations" you hear about? Is it already too late to start? 

​There are seemingly more questions than answers. You are not alone. 

The suggestions presented here are aimed at a basic start as surveys suggest nonprofits aren't using AI at all yet. Many tools nonprofits use or purchase have AI embedded in them. Those are topics for another day along with more advanced organization use of AI.

​Is it really worth it?
If I were writing this 6 months ago, I'd have likely said "It depends." Now I offer "Yes - with caution and training."

My nonprofit focus has always been the little guy—small nonprofits, from just getting started to finally able to afford salaried staff. This is my area of expertise. Mid-sized and larger nonprofits have been our front runners testing out AI in nonprofits and blazing trails for the nonprofit world. Even so, studies indicate while many think AI may be valuable, it's not really as heavily used in nonprofits as you may think. This recent study indicates AI is not in high use for fundraising. This survey reflects how little AI is being used in general in nonprofits at this time. 

How Do We Start?
This article by Wendy Clow offers some great ideas and a beautiful graphic for 10 steps. For the small nonprofits I assist, this is still more advanced than many are ready for. We're going to dial it back even further. For as little as AI is being utilized in nonprofits, these suggestions may be a practical path forward no matter the size of your organization. 

• Education: Learn about AI and the variety of things it can do. Start personally with your own life and uses. Hopefully more than one in your nonprofit are interested so you can share ideas to benefit your organization. Consider ways it may be useful in your nonprofit starting in small ways. There are loads of free education resources available to guide your AI literacy. I highly recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show podcast, emails, and free webinars offered by SmarterX. Google, OpenAI, and Microsoft also all offer free education in how to use their AI tools. 
• Create AI Policy: Now that you're familiar with AI and the potential for what can be done with it, your team should set some guardrails and guidelines about what's acceptable in your organization. While AI can do a lot, your nonprofit holds sensitive information about your donors, volunteers, and board members. While it's easy to wave a hand and think "it's all public knowledge anyhow" - it's not.
  • How much access will you give AI to your files? (I suggest it's very limited to a shareable file and not your full computer.)
  • Consider tools or software you may purchase, the information needed to do what you need, and their AI policies. Sharing personal information is a huge legal concern.
  • How much will your team be able to use the nonprofit AI for their personal use, and how much might they inject into the organization's system? What's acceptable and what are hard no's? 
  • Find templates: There's no reason to reinvent the wheel on this one. Do searches for a version you like that's adaptable for your organization. Community IT Innovation offers one with nonprofits in mind. 
• Identify 2-3 easy use cases: How might AI make your nonprofit time faster, better, or more efficient? Look for the easy wins to start. 
  • AI as note taker: This may make your Recording Secretary's job easier to build minutes. AI may even create a draft of your minutes using past minutes as examples. (note I said draft - human review before posting is always recommended) There are AI tools that are free or cheap, possibly built right into your smart phone, that can record conversations that can be shared with the team. (with permission, of course)
  • AI to create emails: Emails can be time intensive, especially if you feel like you're repeating yourself. You will still want some way to personalize messages before you hit "send." Your nonprofit may also need to put into words or policy what your "brand voice" is to create consistency between people in the organization, let alone to train an AI tool. 
  • AI as a thought partner: Generative AI can help you flesh out fundraising ideas, organization strategy, or event planning with generally more details in less time than you would do on your own. These chats have results more advanced than the basic "search" option but not as in depth as research assistant level. This is often very conversational by typing or voice.
  • Research assistant
    • NotebookLM: This Google tool lets you upload docs, pdfs (including entire books/manuscripts), videos, audio, slides, websites, and more to help you learn about topics with a variety of outputs - quizzes, "podcast" with two voices "interviewing" each other about the topic, and more. This is specialized in using only the materials you provide as its source material, reducing "hallucinations."
    • Deep Research: Another Google tool using Google Gemini (Google's AI system) in "Deep Research" mode. (you can select different search modes depending on your project needs) Deep thinking can use your prompts, or ask it to interview you to create a best prompt to go deep into any topic. This often returns pages of content and sources on the order of a major analytic paper. While significant content is created, it is then up to the human to confirm and validate the information and sources returned. This is often a barrier for users with big ideas but short on time to vet the information before running forward with it.

Have You Used AI in Your Nonprofit?
Love to hear how you're incorporating AI into your nonprofit or what's holding you back! Let's Chat or find me on LinkedIn or Substack!

How Do You AUDITION Goals?

Full credit for the concept to Jon Acuff! He's a man on a mission about goals! He's written numerous books on the topic. I've mentioned him before on this blog here, here, and here. Jon has a new 30-day program beginning February 1, 2026 if you're reading this before it starts.

(I receive no affiliate bonuses or anything for shouting out his resources. He's just an awesome resource that may interest you.)

Try Out 1-3 Goal Ideas - Audition Them!
That's all - test out your goal ideas for 30 days to see if they're solid enough and whether you can commit to them. This can be done anytime in the year. Here we are after Quitters Day and talking about starting goals for the year!

Choose ONLY 1-3. More than that increases your chance of giving up as "too much" or burning out. You likely already have some habits or goals to maintain. Control the overwhelm.

Dream, Plan, Do, Review
These are Jon's basic steps to goal setting with my take on them. 

• Dream
  • Create a Brag Table: What are your wins from last year? Make a list or get tangible—put items on a table to see your accomplishments. (a race medal, a granola bar, completed project)
  • Create a Lessons Table: What would you consider doing differently and lessons learned? These are not necessarily negative (what could have been better), but literally what did you learn - take any classes or read an inspiring book?
  • Envision you in a year or at the end of this year: Really get into it - how will you feel, think, or look? Get all the senses into it to really put yourself in that place. How do you feel 65 pounds lighter or after you ran that 5k or got that dream job?
  • Consider what (or who) to remove to achieve this dream. Too many projects on your list? Time to get firm with yourself so you can be firm with others. Every "yes" is a "no" to something later if your plate is too full. Toxic relationships in your life? This is where you prioritize your needs - self-care. Get off the hamster wheel of "too much."
  • Do this with a kind and curious eye, not a critical one. Just examine yourself and your schedule, your hopes and dreams. Dare to dream what could be! No judgements. 
• Plan
  • Who inspires you? Consider a vision board. Who is a role model? Anyone who can be an active mentor in your journey? Maybe a podcast or audiobook to have in your ears regularly?
  • What are you trying to accomplish? Make it measurable. How will you know DID IT!
  • Where do you envision yourself working on this goal? Mentally put yourself there, then make it happen. Have a comfy chair with a cup of hot tea? Gym vs mall walking or the local park for exercise?
  • When will you work on this goal? Make a calendar appointment with yourself and keep it - no shifting for a better offer. You are worth the time commitment! 
  • How? What action will you take and steps to make progress? 
• Villains impacting goals
  • Too vague: "Lose weight." "Do this better." Hard as it is, the specificity is the anchor. 
  • Too big: "Run a half-marathon" when you've never run a mile is tough to stick with.
  • Wrong season of life: You can only accomplish so much when you have multiple wee ones to raise for now. This season doesn't last long, but you can realistically do only so much beyond raising humans. Same if you're caring for parents or are a caregiver.
  • Lone Wolf syndrome: There is strength in community. It doesn't need to be Jon's group. Build your own accountability group or system! Share your progress on your socials. Find a few others with similar goals for regular check-ins and cheering.
    • A group of even a couple of others holds you accountable.
    • They see things you can't see clearly. (they tried to tell you that guy was a jerk, but you were too deep in the moment)
    • Per Jon, sharing "doubles the wins and divides the losses." The group magnifies and shares the wins while commiserating and reassuring about the losses. 
    • "Archive progress and hold the wins for you." The group will remind you you're doing better than you realize. 
    • "Hope, discipline, and joy are contagious."

Back to Basics
What will you be doing next year with your goal achieved? Attach a reward to it! 

• You've written that long-promised book: Indulge in a get-away with your spouse or family!
• You've lost the equivalent of a football player in weight: Plan on a swanky spa day when you reach your goal! 
• Focus on something FUN rather than a number on a chart or in your bank account!

What Goals Will You Audition?
I'd love to hear what you're working on! I'd also be honored to be your accountability buddy as we cheer for each other!

Let's Chat or find me on LinkedIn!

What is Substack?

Yes, another social media platform. We have a number of tools available in our social media arsenal: Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, and even YouTube are the big ones. There are a few smaller options out there as well. 

Substack indicates it's called "a media company, a newsletter platform, and a social media network" but instead calls itself "a subscription network." They boast "more than 50 million active subscriptions, including 5 million paid subscriptions." As a point of reference, LinkedIn boasts over 1 billion subscribers approximately 340 million actually using it monthly. 

Who is the Audience?
The market is similar to LinkedIn but more broad. With their additional focus on podcast options and videos, that sets them up as TikTok and podcast platform competition as well. (Spotify, Amazon, and Apple are big podcast mediums)

What Makes It Different?
Substack's big difference from the rest is a paid subscription option. Readers can choose to pay for your content to read exclusive content or the ability to comment on posts which isn't available for free. Free content is perfectly acceptable as well and encouraged, certainly as you build your subscriber base!

Substack more sees the paid content as a way to build community - folks pay for the trust, recognition, and community of fellow commenters. You can choose (and adjust as you go) what folks will pay for your content, anywhere from $5-$75/mo, with an audience size of at least 50 on up. 

Substack is also based on the idea that subscribers are yours, the creator. You have access to and can download names + email addresses of your subscribers which you can then add to your personal email list off platform. Substack naturally encourages you to instead import your off-platform email list to Substack. However, if you're looking for an option to own names + email addresses for your personal email newsletter, this is the perfect way to have connections "off rented land." (not beholden to the whim of the social media platform) You may choose to simply hang onto the contact info should your access to Substack suddenly go away. If you have folks that you email that don't go on Substack, keep your personal email list going to them. 

As with LinkedIn, Substack publications are being indexed by Google and can be found on searches, broadening your reach on search functions. 

Key Differences Using Substack:

• Opportunity to be paid for writing, podcasts, or videos - far easier to achieve than any other platform.
• Names + emails you can keep - I don't know of any other social platform that enables that. 

Is It Easy to Use?
There is a bit of a learning curve for this one. 

Substack does have a wealth of Resources available to guide you with many links to blog posts and more to get you started. Hitting that link walks you through "How to Start," but you'll see a number of additional resources in the tab's dropdown menu. 

YouTube has a number of folks providing videos and information about how to get started on Substack. There are certainly Substack accounts happy to help you through the process - do a search once you create an account. 

Setting up the very basics is easy and similar to setting up your LinkedIn or other social profiles - banner image, personal image, name, and short bio. Once this is set, you can start reading and post content. 

Types of Content
There are 2 types:

• Notes: short content, text/image/link as you do on most social media platforms
• Posts: long content like blog posts or newsletters. Getting set up with your "newsletter" is its own separate set up as it is on LinkedIn. Basically each post is like an article or blog post. Not long or hard, but separate and additional. 

How to Connect with Others
Substack has a few ways to "follow" creators. The two basics are "follow" and "subscribe," but there are a couple of nuances as well. This is a fabulous Substack article describing the differences in more detail. 

• Follow:  you can see the short notes someone posts but not their longer content or receive email notification of new posts.
• Subscribe: paid vs free. Either way, you are on the creator's list for full content with notifications via email and the app of new posts. 
• Pledge: folks can pre-commit to pay for your content, ready when you do set up a paid option

Great - An Additional Social Option When I'm Stretched Thin
Not wrong. I'm a firm believer in focus for your energy, time, and sanity. But don't forget to simply repost or reuse your content to multiple platforms.

• Website blog: Start here as it's your property, not relying on the whims of the social platforms. This should be the basis or Ground Zero for your content.
• LinkedIn newsletter/articles: copy/paste your blog post with a little formatting time invested.
• Substack: copy/paste your blog post just as you did on LinkedIn.
• Facebook & Instagram: share a short message encouraging folks head to your original website blog post where you hopefully have a pop-up or buttons to subscribe to your email newsletter. Use the Meta platform to post the same message on both platforms. 
• X/Twitter: copy/paste what you posted on Facebook and the rest - link to your website blog post. 

Is Substack in Your Marketing Plan?
I hear a number of LinkedIn users are also heading to Substack as the audience and format feels similar. The benefits of Substack are pretty tempting. I anticipate a lot of growth on Substack in 2026 between the paid subscriber benefit and access to names + email addresses. There are too many stories of creators getting shut down, even temporarily, for no obvious reason on any other social media, having to rebuild completely from the ground up once service may be returned. 

• Solopreneurs/freelances: Depending on where your ideal client hangs out, Substack may be a great format for you.
• Authors: If you're a nonfiction author, Substack may be a great option for you as with LinkedIn! Fiction authors may find more connection on TikTok (BookTok), Instagram (still growing in reach), or Facebook.
• Nonprofits: This may be a great option for your newsletters if you don't want the hassle or cost of a website for a blog. Nonprofits ARE beginning to find Substack as another option to share news. 

Where Are You?
What socials do you focus on? Let me know - love to follow you and cheer for each other! Have you given Substack a try yet?

Let's Chat or find me on LinkedIn! I'm on Substack but JUST getting started.  

Word of the Year as a Goal

How did the Word of the Year trend start? Turns out this is credited to English professor Allan Metcalf in 1990, then Executive Secretary of the American Dialect Society, eager to capture the spirit of the year with language, inspired by Time magazine's Person of the Year. Merriam-Webster began its lists in 2003 and the College English Dictionary in 2013. 

Over time, it evolved into a self-improvement goal concept. The Bright Balloon shares an extensive article about the concept. #oneword became a trend beginning in the 2010s.

The Power of One Word
It's not a bad idea. Goals are hard to come up with let alone to stick with. Quitter's Day is now a recognized thing - 2nd Friday of January. For the concept of New Year's Resolutions beginning 4,000 years ago, Strava conducted research in 2019 leading them to predict the 2nd Friday of January as when goal motivation begins to seriously drop. More recent research indicates about 2/3 abandon resolutions in the first month. 

Maybe a single word is easier to sustain than one or more goals! 

• One word can be a broad reference covering multiple aspects of your life. (for the skeptics in the house, admittedly something generic like a horoscope)
• Goals are more structured typically - think SMART goals which have Specificity and Time involved.
• Less pressure to achieve specific items which may lead to guilt and a sense of failure. 

Intention
I'll admit, I do struggle with the rigidity of goals, numbers, and specificity. I resonate more with the flexibility of an overarching word covering many aspects for my year.

Intention feels right for me this year.

• I'm beginning my 4th year in business as a solopreneur. I've explored a variety of paths, keeping myself open to clients and jobs that suit me, and sort of going where the wind blew me—my version of "vibe marketing." 
• It's time to be a bit more directed in my business, making a point to be where my ideal clients are, whether that's online or in person. 
• It's easy to be too flexible in a work-from-home solopreneur's schedule, especially when I have a family to tend to. Intention will help me prioritize client work and set specific daily minimum plans while allowing plenty of flexibility. 
• I do aim to set a few business goals - no more than 2-3 - in short time spans that are achievable (monthly/quarterly), where I can see the reference point and can keep moving the goal posts forward. 

Your Word of the Year
If you do Word of the Year, what's your word? I'd love to cheer for you to stick with it!

While Intention may not be your word this year, as a small nonprofit, solopreneur, or nonfiction author, do you approach your business with Intention? How do you hold yourself accountable and stay on track? Let's Chat or find me on LinkedIn!

'Twas the Night Before Break

Enjoy the full post by Robert Rose as shared on Content Marketing Institute! The video is fun but the words are what struck me. 





What Matters
The words that struck me in Robert's poem are this stanza:
"But as I looked round at the mess he’d left there,
A small folded note drifted softly through the air.
In Santa’s own scrawl were these words, warm and true:
'In chaos and metrics, remember what you do.
A story still matters; a connection still stays.
The work that is human outlives all the craze.'"

"The Work that is Human Outlives all the Craze"
Words I choose to believe and live by. This seems even more critical as the talk and noise has increased about AI - will it help, will it hurt, how painful will this adjustment be in an "AI Revolution."

These are words to cherish and hold dear for my nonprofits, fellow entrepreneurs, and authors. You, the person or organization - in your beauty, flaws, and all - are what makes living worthwhile and will make the difference in the end in the job market and appeals. 

AI can only do so much. AI needs human brains and insights to be worth anything, much as we're hearing otherwise. I envision a time coming where society will take a stand to define some boundaries around AI. 

Any human I chat with, including those who are proficient with AI, are quick to point out we must remain Human First in our approach to AI. You can hear more about this concept on a May 6, 2025 episode of The Artificial Intelligence Show podcast. 

Being Human Sells
I'm finding my client opportunities and best conversations are those I have in person or via zoom where I'm able to chat and interact with people. Words on blogs, profiles, or socials go only so far to help you decide on someone you wish to do business with, whether for your services, ideas, or connections. You really need to speak with someone to determine compatibility. 

My nonprofits are finding the same. More donations and memberships happen when they're affiliated with events and interacting with people. 

Storytelling is Key
Storytelling is a very human talent.

• Your conversations at events - you're sharing stories. 
• Your website and social media
  • You're sharing stories of impact if you're a nonprofit.
  • Referrals and recommendations share your impact as a solopreneur.
  • You're selling stories if you're an author. 

For better or worse, AI is improving at storytelling and images, making it harder to tell if a story is human or AI generated. More are considering the benefits of labeling work by percentage of AI or human creation. Studies note while it may be difficult to spot AI vs human created content, "moral disgust" impacts human responses per this study in ScienceDirect. 

Per this March 2025 blog post on Stryng: 
"52% of readers felt less connected to content once they realized AI was involved, and 26% linked AI-created web content with a lack of personal touch.

Consumers also prefer honesty. About 60% support disclosure of AI content, which helps build trust. These preferences highlight how much emotional tone and transparency matter." (emphasis as noted in original post)

How Do YOU Make a Difference
​I have no problem with AI and use it regularly - as a tool or thought partner. All work is mine and original. That is also the type of content that resonates with me. I appreciate it most when I meet and talk with creators to get to know them personally. 

I've been working through a number of certification courses through AI Academy by SmarterX and Paul Roetzer's team. They suggest there are 3 levels of AI use:

• Automation - what is basic enough you could delegate to a tool with slight oversight or review
• Augmentation - thought partner assistant, co-you
• Acceleration - how can you go beyond a 10% improvement to a 10x change

You Matter
Every step of AI use relies on human input and guidance - the human behind the machine. Each of us feels better getting to know the person behind any cause or endeavor. 

We need YOU to show up. To return to Robert Rose - "The work that is human outlives all the craze." 

Your Biggest Cheerleader!
If you'd like to talk strategy as we enter an AI-infused world, Let's Chat! I'd love to help ensure you can share your message and services with the world. You can also find me on LinkedIn. 

When a Hush Falls Over the World

I'm hearing folks are winding down ahead of Christmas and New Years a bit early this year. Many are sharing contacts are wrapping up online time this week, hosting final events, putting up the "out of office" messages the full week before Christmas, or at least moving toward a lighter work week. 

Many enjoy the week between Christmas and New Years as family time, travel time, or thinking time to reflect on the past year while preparing for a new year. With the holidays on Thursday this year, it's almost like bonus time in addition to the week between holidays!

Considering this the last full work week before the holidays seems a bit early, but many may be considering travel plans sooner as the airlines have price breaks ahead of the travel rush or can be more flexible in schedules and wacky airline schedules.

What Do I Do Now?
You may be on a roll and still highly active in your business - good for you! Here are some ideas to consider while you have energy and your contacts are heading offline. 

Share Gratitude
Wish past and present clients Happy Holidays with a heartfelt (specific/personalized) thank you!

• Mail cards: You may send cards in the mail on behalf of your family - you can just as easily do this for your business connections as well. Print content is getting more attention as mailboxes are now more full of ads than useful information. 
• Email or digital cards: So many of our connections are online. You have email addresses or can message through social media but have no snail-mail address. Go with what you have and keep it simple, for you and the recipient. 
• Stay top of mind: Simply getting on someone's radar at the end of the year puts you at top of mind for the start of the year. 

Budget Check
It's not unreasonable to politely ask if your connection has extra budgeted dollars looking for one last project to round out the year. It can be done in a non-threatening, non-pushy, non-icky way where you're simply offering to help someone see how their budget plans are finishing before end of year. You may be the right person at the right time!

Propose A Check-in Call - Schedule It!
Suggest time in January to meet to catch up and see if there are any needs you can fulfill, catch up, or offer helpful ideas to give a client a running start on the new year. They'll appreciate your time, care, and concern! The trick here is to schedule that January time now, in December. 

How Are You Wrapping Up?
How—and when—are you dialing back to begin the holiday? Have you tried any of the ideas noted in the past? Have other suggestions to add?

​Let's Chat or message me on LinkedIn! Love to add your ideas here!

Where Do I Begin?

For solopreneurs and authors—if you're going to create a business for yourself—there are a few key legal steps to put into place to start. Needs for nonprofits are a bit more involved but certainly critical before jumping into your mission of service. These suggestions are based on business and tax structure in the United States - your country may vary.


Special thanks to Julia Taylor, Founder of Geek Pack, for an email newsletter reminding me of the value of these basics that are by no means intuitive. 

Choose Your Business Structure
LegalZoom would love to have you hire them to set your business up. There are a variety of services out there happy to do so. For many, the steps are basic enough you can really handle them yourself. 

Basic options to choose from. Click on the tabs of each type on the LegalZoom website for a quick reference of what may suit you. 

• LLC (Limited Liability Company): For many solopreneurs or authors, an LLC is sufficient.
• Corporation: Those with employees, hiring subcontractors, or generating sufficient income to want tax breaks, paying yourself a salary, and funds available for retirement savings, a Corporation or S-Corp may be beneficial. 
• DBA (Doing Business As): DBA may be useful if you may create a few businesses under the umbrella of an LLC. 
• Nonprofit: Organization based in giving to society much of what is taken in; eligible for grants and funding resources not available to others. Tax breaks and even tax exemption are available but there are many strict administrative regulations to be compliant. 

Register with the State
Once you select your business style, it's time to research legal requirements and where/how to file for that business structure. For an LLC, the fees are fairly small with possibly a bit of additional small cost if you decide to also register a DBA. You may benefit from hiring assistance for a Corporation or Nonprofit. 

I was able to do an easy search for what agency in my state handles these matters and follow pretty straightforward prompts to create an LLC and DBA. My LLC is LMA Services and DBA is Read. Write. Engage. This gives me the option in the future to create a different business under my LLC. All of this information becomes public record. 

Get an EIN
For those of us in the U.S., an EIN (Employer Identification Number) is a number unique to your business for tax purposes and separate from your personal information. You are able to use this number to refer to your business rather than your social security number for a bit of privacy and separation. You will typically be filing separate tax documents annually for your business. The business structure creates a little liability buffer from your personal finances. This process is through the IRS.

Open a Business Bank Account
This further creates a buffer between your personal family finances and your business finances. You are better able to track purely business income and expenses. It legitimizes your business practice. There are some tax deductions available under the business umbrella. This gives you a way to bill for your services, deposit income, and make purchases that are strictly for your business. The U.S.'s IRS has deemed 3-5 years as reasonable for your business to be seen as a business endeavor making a profit vs a "hobby." They also want to make sure your business isn't being used as a way to deduct loss for years, encouraging you to make an effort.

Job vs Business
Lowell Rex, Founder of Epic Business Mentors, has defined a "job" as something one person does where the business is entirely reliant on the effort put in by that one person. If work is not done, there is no income. This typically is something most will never sell to a different business or pass to a family member in inheritance as a complete business or at least client list.

A "business" grows larger to hire others and can support itself or grow without the owner being the one to necessarily do the daily work. 

How is Your Progress?
If you're considering creating a business for yourself, hopefully these basic points get you started. If you created a business some time ago, any suggestions to add for those starting out? 

I look forward to answering questions or walking through the process if useful - Let's Chat or message me on LinkedIn!