I thought it would be nice to sort of detail what I’ve done with Brad Kelly Enterprises since starting the company this past July. This will give you a better idea of where I’m coming from…it’s always nice to have the backstory, right?

The initial goal of Brad Kelly Enterprises when I filed the necessary papers with the state of Michigan was to separate eBay consignment (which I was already doing on a small scale) from my personal finances. Once you’re selling with some level of frequency and volume, it’s difficult to do your taxes and tell them it’s still just a hobby. I’m also fairly close to moving from one tax bracket to another as well. A few thousand dollars of extra income this year would be enough to push me into a fairly sizeable tax increase.

I’ve since moved away from small-scale consignment for individuals and turned my attention toward companies looking to clear out old merchandise. I still do some consignment for individuals, but really just friends and family. The advantages of dealing B2B merit their own post, and are outside the scope of this article; but it would suffice to say that it was a good move. This has allowed me to become a silver-level Powerseller in just a few months, and has comprised the bulk of BKE’s income to date.

While it is “active income,” that is, it requires a considerable amount of ongoing work, it can still be a fairly reliable way to generate some funds without much costs, either up front or ongoing. Currently, I’m just stockpiling that money in a high-yield account. Should I need it for any startup or project going forward, it’s there. By keeping it in the business, there’s no temptation to personally spend it (and have it count as income for me). That’s about where I’m at right now. If you’ve got any questions, please feel free to ask, as I’m sure I’ve glossed over a few details. Where do we go from here? I’ll cover that a little later.