This is the third (and likely last) in a series about Gary Vee’s book, Crush It. (First one, 2nd one).

So you read the book, get a blog, start filming some video, writing some content. Now what?

The average blogger doesn’t make peanuts off Google Adwords, so that isn’t going to be your monetization strategy. Ads? Well, when you get to 25,000 page views per day, you can talk to sponsors about ads and CPM. So what does that leave?

One thing is affiliate product links.You can sell other people’s products on your blog or website to make some affiliate dollars.  [NOTE: Under new FTC rules, you have to identify that you are an affiliate now. ]  Some people do very well with this. Many do not.

The other is selling your own product or services. Ah! But you don’t have any. Right.

Also, do you have corporate structure set up? Do you understand the tex implications of being self-employed – even as an affiliate because you do have to claim that income. (The company paying you is claiming it pays you).

If you have your own product, how do you produce and ship it? What about accepting credit cards? Do you have Business Liability insurance? Does your Home Owners Association allow you to run a commercial business out of your house? Are their zoning laws or other county or state regulations that you need a permit or certificate for? How will you collect and pay sales taxes?

One of the reasons businesses fail is because more than half of running a business has nothing to do with the “FUN” part. There’s admin, bookkeeping, payroll, taxes, insurance, HR, accounts payable, accounts receivable, etc. When you had that W-2, there were other departments that handled all that. You just did your job. Now you are that company – every department – and it will eat up your day.

You know what else I forgot? Sales. You are now the Chief Sales Officer of Brand You. That’s probably not what you thought you would be doing when you got started.

Things to think about for certain.

Two resources: E-Myth by Michael Gerber and SCORE.org, a group of retired execs that help small businesses.

At IM Spring Break, the talk from attendees that hold a W-2 is that they want to be a freelancer. (What’s a W-2? An employee).

Do you want to be a Freelancer or an Entrepreneur? Big difference. A freelancer is, in the words of E-Myth, a Technician. He trades hours for money and has traded in his W-2 to have a job in his own business. An Entrepreneur is going to move beyond being a Technician, outsource work, manage projects and people, and some day convert that leverage for a beach location.

What freelancers forget is that as a W-2, other departments/employees handle customer service, IT, HR, sales, accounts receivable, admin tasks, payroll, etc. As a freelancer, YOU will be handling ALL of that stuff. It means you will spend about 35-45% of your time doing anything BUT those tasks you love. That becomes a bummer.

Straddling the W-2 means that you have a full-time job but you are taking in some freelance work until you can get enough of a base of work to leave your W-2.

How can you market your services? Many ways: blogging, slideshare.net, freelance sites (guru.com, ifreelance, elance.com, odesk), speaking, webinars, and other ways. Get started and see what happens.

One last hint: set up an LLC or S-Corp so that your payments go to a corporate entity and you get some tax benefits. A few other resources: your CPA (you have one right?), a financial planner, corporate lawyer, Board of Advisors, SCORE, and a Mentor). Good luck!

In this article from the Seattle PI, Leaders shouldn’t be silent in tough times.

1. Wise leaders understand that emotions are contagious.
2. Discuss relevant matters openly and appropriately.
3. Keep your people connected – Face-to-Face not all electronic.
4. Reduce physical and electronic clutter.
5. Offer skill development, coaching support and training for your people.

Overall, just manage by walking around and connecting with your employees. Be authentic and transparent if you can.