What’s new in life of Polish freelancer moving to KoreaTown in LA while dealing with Business and Legal troubles.
So this is something new I am trying; I don’t normally blog about my life and updates but figured maybe a few folks would be curious what’s been going on and keeping me rather hectically busy these past few weeks.
Game Release and Legal Crap
I recently released my political narrative-adventure game Postmortem playing an Agent of Death who must take ONE life in a conflict-torn country on brink of industrial revolution. YAY! Thanks to my marketing efforts I attracted some interested from several digital distributors and got through Steam Greenlight as well.
Awesome right? Well yes and no. Yes, cause my game is growing; no, because it means a whole slew of legal ramifications I’ve not quite prepared for. I didn’t expect the game to get to this stage, much less even be a sold product, but here we are. So amidst consulting an attorney for proper legal agreements, hiring an accountant to handle the complex finances, I already spent well over half the money earned from the game, and that’s only beginning of the steep costs… and don’t even get me started on trying to set up an LLC to protect my life savings in case I get sued to all hell, not unheard of in the gaming biz.
Business Discouragement
With my game’s success and growing my WebDev business I am considering setting up Limited Liability Company to protect myself from, well, liabilities (surprise!) And what I’ve learned so far – California absolutely hates small businesses. Between weird and limiting laws and greater taxes, it’s almost counter-productive to try to expand your business!
The process is quite arcane to – you need to inquire if an LLC name is available which can only be done.. via paper mail. Jesus, welcome to 1980s; waiting on the correspondence is taking it’s tme. Oh and I just found out that, on top of Federal and State tax, I also owe tax to City of Los Angeles too – because god forbid I actually make any profit. Peachy
Moving to KoreaTown
So if that stuff wasn’t enough, I recently moved to KoreaTown, which would have been awesome if it wasn’t for the fact that when I opened the door I was greeted with the working crew just glueing the tiles and painting walls…. yea. I wasn’t able to properly move in or unpack for over a week. Even now, 2 weeks later, my kitchenette is still half broken, windows lack screens, the sink leaks… you get it. And Ii still need to buy furniture and all that stuff!
OH and because my previous tenant never cancelled their service, I couldn’t get internet for over a week – kinda crucial for a Web Developer. Hello spending 6 hours at coffee shops for the free wifi… ugh.
But the one good thing about not being able to really stay or cook at home – I’ve been discovering a ton of delicious food places and relaxing cafes in my area. That’s the thing, I love my new location. If I walk 5 minutes in any direction:
West – Little Bangladesh, with indian stores and restaurants
East – Hispanic Pocket, with bomb taco trucks and cheap groceries
North – Hollywood with its night scenes and bars
South – Korea Town with good food, asian markets, and a convenient metro stop
Seriously, everything is here, and all within a 10 minute walk. It’s hectic and stressful now, but once all set up, my place will be bomb. And I got the best night view as well.
What’s up Ahead?
It might sound like most my troubles are over with, but sadly, the end is still far off. I’m only at the beginning of learning about LLCs, consulting attorneys/accountants, furnishing my place, buying basic necessities, catching up on work, getting health insurance (which ObamaCare is actually not making any easier for a freelancer), and many little other life-errands.
Busy and hectic times ahead. But at least, I got my Korean Ramen and Soju to take the edge off…
