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By John Stillson MD

About John and Cheyenne

John is determined to form his own professional micro-corporation during residency and use it with moonlighting—and then will use it as the foundation for his professional life. I believe you as readers will enjoy hearing about his journey into this progressive space.

Here is a brief introduction to John and Cheyenne:

They have been married for nearly 5 years and they have no children yet. John is just starting his second year of family medicine training at JPS in Fort Worth, Texas. Cheyenne is an accountant and has worked for a few firms during John’s medical school at Indiana University and during his training in Texas. Like a lot of medical spouses-she has adapted to the nomadic medical training journey.

Both John and Cheyenne come from families who have operated successful small businesses and that exposure has already led to adding side businesses to their primary jobs. John owns and operates a cryptocurrency fund called Ascension Capital and Cheyenne has a few side hustles with her artwork at Chey Stillson Studio, a baking business called “little white apron” and she is regularly flipping/reselling items on Facebook Market Place. Since she comes from a long line of auctioneers and re-sellers, this is no surprise.

I think you will find their small business mindset interesting and inspiring—especially as you follow along on their journey to building John’s professional micro-corporation—all while they navigate through the trials and tribulations of residency training.

Starting My 2nd Year of Residency

Submitting the Licensing Application

This week I finished submitting the remainder of the documents I need for my Texas medical license. It seemed daunting at first but as I collected the documents they were quickly uploaded and approved. The last document that I need is my medical school Dean’s letter which is in the mail with an expected arrival date of today. After this, the documents will go through a review process to verify their authenticity before my license is issued. I will also have to apply for my DEA license in the next month. There are quite a few steps in this process, but I am thankful I prepared for them in advance. Preparation has allowed things to go smoothly. My moonlighting days get closer and closer.

Setting Up PC With A Lawyer

Additionally, I have an appointment in a few weeks to meet with a lawyer so that I can lay the groundwork to set up my PC or Personal Corporation for moonlighting. This is a special business entity the government offers for professionals such as doctors, lawyers, and accountants. This may cost me over $2000 to create. That is a lot of money in residency when each biweekly paycheck after withholdings brings in less than that. That is 285 lattes, 20 nice dinners with my wife, a few months of car payments, or an extra fluffy designer puppy. Is it worth giving those things up to create this entity? I think it will be, but we will not know for sure until we give it a shot. I plan to keep you updated with my real numbers as we go along. The theoretical numbers say it will work but we will see. I am working with SimpliMD on this because they have program(s) that support business competency for residents.

Why A PC?

How does a PC work and why is it beneficial? A PC allows me to be hired as a business entity rather than an individual when I land side gigs. This allows me to take advantage of the tax breaks afforded to small businesses in the U.S. For example, if I moonlight 8 times in the next 6 months and bring in $10,000 I will owe Uncle Sam approximately $2000 in taxes. However, this year I will have had significantly more expenses than that which I will be able to write off against my taxes as a cost of doing business. I am estimating $2000 or more to set up my PC and $2000 for all the elements of obtaining my Texas medical license. If I was just working as an individual that $2000 in taxes would go straight to the government with no recourse but since I am a business, I will owe minimal taxes as my expenses will outweigh my tax burden. How do you think large corporations like Disney, Amazon, and Facebook manage to pay minimal taxes? They leverage the same advantages of the tax code and write off their expenses against their profits. Some people see this as unfair or tax avoidance when in reality it promotes the growth of businesses which creates jobs, grows the economy, and helps American society to prosper. Why should I not leverage these same benefits for myself as a contributing member of society?

My PC Balance Sheet

I expect that in the 2024 tax year, my PC will be even more valuable to me as I spend more time moonlighting and running additional business expenses through it. As the actual numbers come in I look forward to updating you. For now, my balance sheet is listed below:

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