My friends and family sometimes make me feel pressured about my SpIns. I’m very good at crafting/cooking/art in general and often develop SpIns around those talents. Usually, whenever I create something, my friends and family get excited and encourage me to launch a business centered around my creation. While I agree that it could be a good idea, they often move so fast that I get overwhelmed and lose interest. Do any of the mods/followers have tips for launching a business while autistic?
It can definitely be super overwhelming, especially when people are pressuring you to go too fast with things!
I currently run an Etsy shop and, a few years ago, some friends and I launched a business, so I have a bit of experience with this.
If you want to start a real deal business, there’s a lot of paperwork involved. I had to go to the county clerk and file various forms and pay some fees to establish us as a legitimate business. I had to file some forms with the IRS to get an EIN (employee identification number) as well as submitting quarterly tax reports.
If you want to take this path, I suggest doing A Lot of research. There is so much that you need to be aware of and some pretty big legal penalties if you don’t do the things you’re supposed to do, and the rules around this vary by state. If you’re able to, talk to a local business owner to get advise about the rules and regulations in your area.
If you just want to start an Etsy or something similar and don’t plan to make much money (at least at first), then it’s as easy as creating an account. As long as you don’t make too much money, you don’t need to worry about all the legal stuff.
With Etsy, you’ll need a paypal or similar to link your account to in order to be paid. Other than that, you’ll just need to name your shop and set it up then start listing things. I’ve found Etsy to be a really easy platform to work with.
The business I had with my friends ended up failing within the year. It was too much stress for all of us and we hadn’t made any money so we gave up.
My Etsy shop continues to grow and expand and is, generally, pretty low stress for me.
If you had any specific questions, feel free to message me on my personal blog, @strangerdarkerbetter, and I’d be happy to talk with you.