M5 Industries used to be a regular modeling shop for movies and television productions. Mythbusters started out as a sideline. But the series has become so big that M5 no longer does any other work besides Mythbusters.
As far as I can tell, my state doesn’t require any license to be a travel agent or a life coach. And I assure you I’ll pay all the appropriate taxes each time money changes hands in exchange for my services; if ever I should fail in that, or start practicing medicine without a license or whatever, then, sure, yeah, evict me for the offense and charge me with a crime that very afternoon – but until my first client hires me, which I’m sure will happen any day now, what haven’t I done?
Around here (NYC) it’s not that wierd for “antique stores” to be open by appointment only. They sell to interior decorators and the trade, and they’re not interested in doing retail business.
The fire hazard stuff is a whole other kettle of worms.
How would a place like this stay open? Did they sell a lot of food, or charge by the hour, or what?
There used to be a place in a small town near the big city where I live that was a combination book store, soda fountain, and gamer’s paradise, KWIM? It closed a while back; I met one of the owners once, and I think he was massively coked up, although I hope I was wrong.
We have on in Fresno, they have a monthly membership system. Its $5 a night to come play or $25/mo. A GM membership allows you to reserve tables for like $40/mo. Anyone can use an unused table but GM’s get priority. They also sell various snacks, sodas, photocopies, etc.
Why would the wealthy person want to do this?
Easy: Legal tax write-offs. Real estate is one of the easiest ways to say you are working without having an income, only expenses. All of your business expenses (licensing, fees, gas, supplies) can be deducted. You can canvass neighborhoods handing out your cards and claim and deduction.
In reference to having an office, in my state of New Jersey, only the broker has to maintain one. An agent can just hang the salesperson’s license there and claim to be working.
Both of these things are perfectly legal.
But that’s just throwing money away. Each dollar you spend that way would only take maybe 20-30 cents or so off your taxes. A net loss of 70-80 cents.
Where I see people doing this, it is money they woulda spent anyway. You drive to the grocery store, but “look at the homes you pass” while driving, so deduct the car/gas/time/etc.
Basically, you can’t claim side expenses except against a profit. If you buy $1,000 worth of supplies that go into, say, lace doilies you sell for a net $500, you can claim the cost of goods expense - but you would need to be very careful writing off office rent, phones, travel etc.
And that, of course, is perfectly illegal. (Not to say that people don’t get away with it.)
We spend too much time in antique malls and on several occasions I’ve seen booths that seem to be justifications for hoarding. Merchandise packed so tight nothing can be examined, prices missing or way out of proportion to actual value (we call it the Crazy Grandma Price Guide syndrome, in that they are always over-charging for something and claiming that this is what “the book” says it’s worth, well, “the book” is the Crazy Grandma Price Guide) and if you do happen to wrest something out of the hoard and try to actually purchase it, first you’re given a lecture on how you’re merely going to take this valuable item and sell it on eBay. It’s obvious that commerce is merely an afterthought for some of these “dealers”.
I’m on a waiting list at a large mall that has several booths like this. The items aren’t even on display; they’re simply dumped and piled waist-high. :rolleyes:
And when they call me, I’m going to decline, assuming the place is still open, because I live in a city where we’ve had extensive flooding in recent days, and this mall got water several feet deep.