EINs and Your New Business
Legitimate affiliate networks are networks that have dozens to hundreds of merchants who are more than ready to let you sell their stuff. You can sell just about anything that is a passion of yours. And if you can’t sell exactly what your passion is, you can get pretty close by selling your expertise and some accessories.
The thing is that when you sign up for a LEGITIMATE affiliate network, you have to give them information. Instead of being scammed to give them your money, they are actually going to ask for your physical address so they can send you a check when you earn money or they might want bank information IF YOU WANT a wire transfer. Google will provide this service along with other very legitimate online companies, if you are game enough to input your bank information.
Some companies are stepping up their game by offering paypal payments. And if you are going to be in business online for long, I would say get a paypal account and make it easy on yourself to transfer and receive payments. The one thing that throws people off is when they ask for a tax identification number.
For most people, this is your social security number. Normally, this makes new people weary. In fact, normally this makes everyone a little weary.
First of all, you are entering your social security number into an online form. Most people DO NOT want to do that. There are too many hacker risks and other such dangers.
Second of all, there’s always the question of abuse. Will the people you are giving your SSN to treat that sensitive information with respect? Will they abuse their right to have it?
Well, you really don’t have to worry about that at all. You don’t need to give any business your SSN. You are only entitled to give government entities your SSN when they have a need for it and that includes if you want benefits or if you are entitled to enter a program…etc.
So, how do you get around giving an affiliate network your SSN? If you are a sole proprietor doing online business exclusively, you are entitled to apply for an EIN from the IRS.
There are other reasons you can get an EIN. But for most of the people who will be reading this article, you are entitled to an EIN if 1) you are a sole proprietor and 2) if you are doing online business exclusively.
This process takes 5 minutes. And when I say 5 minutes, I mean 5 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) 5 minutes. You can do it online and you get your EIN immediately. You can even get your EIN Notification Letter immediately if you have Adobe Reader. You can get it in PDF format that you can download and print at your disposal. It costs nothing at all. IRS - Apply for your EIN
Now you can open a bank account with your EIN. Start a business line of credit with your EIN. There are plenty of things you can do, but especially you can dodge the SSN risk by having your EIN ready and giving that to legitimate affiliate networks as your tax identification.
**Be careful when trying to start a business line of credit. It’s going to be difficult at first. But when it gets started, you will only be able to use it in a business capacity for the things you need to run your business. I’m sure there are loopholes you can find. But, those loopholes can get you in trouble if you are not safe. Read my Article about EINs.
