What type of business should you be? + Margin Magic Masterclass + Mentor Monday recaps...
La Onda is a newsletter by Sandra Velasquez, founder of Nopalera, with actionable insights around brand building, selling, and a recap of the most asked questions during Mentor Mondays.
Hi founders!
It's been a crazy week and it's only Tuesday. You may have seen the announcement that I was accepted into the Target Takeoff Beauty Accelerator, a five-week intensive program where 10 brands get to learn from the Target team. I am also currently in the True Beauty Ventures Bridge Mentorship Program. All of this is on top of running my business!
It's intense and every minute of my calendar is booked for the next five weeks.
Even so, I am hosting the Margin Magic Masterclass this Sunday, March 13.
If you've already registered, I'll see you there. If you would like to attend, there is still room.
Register: here.
A few questions came in this week about what type of business you should be:
LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp?
I started as an LLC because it seems to be the default / go-to of what new small businesses do. At the end of last year I became an S-Corp at the advice of my former accountant. THEN I learned from other founders further along their journey than me that I should have become a C-Corp. Why? Because if you want to sell equity in your company (to investors) or provide employee shares, you need to be a C-Corp.
In short, it's complicated to switch from an LLC to a C-Corp (especially in the state of New York). If I could go back, I would have started as a C-Corp out of the gate.
Always consult your lawyer.
Here is a recap of topics covered in previous Mentor Mondays.
You can always visit my page and scroll down to see all posts and email that went out.
If you haven't yet read them all, do so. Lots of gems in each post.
How to find suppliers and co-packers in beauty: here
My short list of BIPOC bookkeepers/CPAs: here
Building your email list and outsourcing shipping: here
Trademarking your name: here
Building a team and Paid Ads: here
IF YOU ONLY DO ONE THING WHEN YOU LAUNCH MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A BOOKKEEPING SYSTEM AND IDEALLY A FINANCIAL MODEL TOO.
Every business needs a financial model.
If you aren't sure what that is, it's just an excel document that has all of your operating costs, COGS, salaries, and marketing costs.
I recommend hiring a professional to build you a financial model or contact your local SCORE program and ask to be paired with a finance expert to help you create one.
I got my first financial model from my SCORE mentor.
I use Quickbooks for accounting. My bookkeeper manages it as part of her service.
That's all for today!
Looking forward to see those of you registered for the Margin Magic Masterclass this Sunday!
Sandra