Sole Proprietorship

I started reffing when I was in junior high school, and given USA hockey requires that all refs work as independent contractors, that was also when I started my first business. I expanded after graduating high school earning regular summer work as a golf caddy.

You may not think of golf caddies or referees as business owners, but they are, just as builders who work as independent contractors and freelance writers are. This is different from employees, i.e. staff writers for the New York Times or a construction crew member of Kiewitt's.

This is not to say one is superior to the other, merely to clarify that there is a difference.

How important is clarifying within the US taxable system that what you are doing constitutes a business?

Within the context of identity it appears to be important, as securing a "TIN" allows you to file your taxes with it, as opposed to your Social Security Number. Reminds me of David Foster Wallace introducing himself as a character in "The Pale King" using his social as a way to indicate it was really him.

Is it akin to someone wanting work as an employe getting a college degree, in the sense you're "in the game"?

I think it is, in that without making the tax moves you cannot engage in business-to-business commerce. If you are able to engage in those type of transactions it makes it more likely your business will earn revenue and survive.

That said, returning to the question of "How important is clarifying within the US taxable system that what you are doing constitutes a business?" it does not mean you cannot build your business without clarifying. I have been doing that since I formalized my Teaching Laboratory this February and since December 2009 when I started selling The Uncertainty Principle.

The biggest obstacle to growth has not been my lack of codifying it as a business within the IRS's definition, its been allocating my own time to the businesses. Given I have been working full-time or doing independent contracting work to earn my living, the businesses have not had a cash priority for me, i.e. I did not need them to succeed for me to survivie economically.

So, all the time I've invested in them has largely been pro-bono so far, with the idea being they will grow into sustainable businesses in their own time. Given the lack of consequences for not working on them, my progress has been slow.

From what I have learned so far the best advice I could give someone looking to grow their own business is to get a website and then put as much time as you possibly can into it. Study successful entrepreneurs, AND don't quite your day job.

I haven't gotten to the point yet where I can pay myself a fitting salary for running my businesses, but hopefully I'll be able to, soon. At that point I can give advice about when to quit your day job.

How does this all fit into Paragogy? I think it fits, because I have learned a lot from my "peers" or other people who own businesses. While reading Adam Smith's "The Weath of Nations" would not qualify as an exercise in Paragogy, reading Warren Buffet's Annual Reports for Berkshire Hathaway does, I believe. Warren is making it up as he goes along just as all other business owners are, and while I cannot learn from him directly via the Report I can attend his Annual Meeting and ask him a question. Similarly, there are countless online resources I can read that give information about how to run a business and if the author is alive that can count as an exercise in Paragogy. Especially if I were to write some sort of column responding to their ideas and then they wrote one in response to mine, etc.

Owner's Deposit/Withdrawl Into a Sole Proprietorship

 * "You can interpret the amounts in the accounting equation to mean that ASC has assets of $10,000 and the source of those assets was the owner, J. Ott. Alternatively, you can view the accounting equation to mean that ASC has assets of $10,000 and there are no claims by creditors (liabilities) against the assets. As a result, the owner has a claim for the remainder or residual of $10,000." http://www.accountingcoach.com/accounting-equation/explanation/2
 * "To take money out of the business, you as an owner will want to set up an “Owner’s Draw” account." http://support.kashoo.com/customer/portal/articles/235032-recording-money-the-company-owners-put-into-and-take-out-of-the-business
 * "The journal entry to close the drawing account requires a credit to Eve Jones, Drawing for $24,000. The other part of the entry is a debit of $24,000 to Eve Jones, Capital. The drawing or withdrawal account is a temporary owner equity account, requiring it to be closed at the end of the accounting year. The drawing account is also a contra account to owner's equity, because the drawing account's debit balance is contrary to the normal, expected balance for an owner equity account." http://www.accountingcoach.com/blog/drawing-account
 * http://biztaxlaw.about.com/od/bizowners/f/How-Does-A-Sole-Proprietor-Get-Paid.htm
 * https://community.intuit.com/questions/374402-if-i-pay-for-a-business-expense-directly-from-my-personal-account-how-do-i-track-this-in-quickbooks
 * Sample accounting form http://www.accountingcoach.com/business-forms/statement-of-cash-flows-sole-proprietor-indirect

Separate Business/Personal Bank Accounts

 * http://www.legalzoom.com/business-management/running-your-business/are-you-still-using-your
 * http://www.legalzoom.com/business-management/running-your-business/are-you-still-using-your