The Money-Smart Business Launch
Stop worrying about the IRS and start building. Learn how to separate your finances, claim the right deductions, and handle taxes like a pro from day one.
Like Duolingo, but for The Money-Smart Business Launch. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 12 levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes end to end, roughly 5 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Setting Up the Pipes and Keeping What You Earn. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in The Money-Smart Business Launch
- The IRS defines a business by intent to profit rather than immediate success
- Operating in a business-like manner signals intent
- Initial losses are common and don't automatically disqualify you as a business
- Maintaining a separate log of hours worked on the venture
- Keeping a dedicated folder for receipts and invoices
- Documenting changes in your strategy to increase profitability
- Identifying the specific records that prove business legitimacy
- Business losses can offset other income sources
- IRS defines business by intent
- Hobby expenses are not deductible
- Profit motive test for tax loss
- Records that prove legitimacy
- Safe harbor rule
- Safe harbor and burden of proof
- An EIN acts as a 'social security number' for the business
- Understanding the tax implications of the 'profit motive' test
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives The Money-Smart Business Launch the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
Which of these actions most clearly signals to the IRS that you are running a business rather than a hobby?
Get it right to open this lesson and 11 more in the app.
How to learn The Money-Smart Business Launch, step by step
Go in order. 12 short levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
Setting Up the Pipes
- The 'Business vs. Hobby' Line
- The Two-Wallet Rule
- 2
Keeping What You Earn
- The Art of the Write-Off
- Surviving Your First Tax Bill
2 sections · 4 units · 12 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about The Money-Smart Business Launch
How do I learn The Money-Smart Business Launch?
Go in order: start with Setting Up the Pipes, then Keeping What You Earn. On Tomo that's 12 short levels, about 24 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for The Money-Smart Business Launch?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. The Money-Smart Business Launch is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is The Money-Smart Business Launch free?
Yes. The Money-Smart Business Launch is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn The Money-Smart Business Launch?
12 levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start The Money-Smart Business Launch?
No. It's pitched at a beginner level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
The Money-Smart Business Launch is taught in the Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start The Money-Smart Business Launch today.
Download Tomo, search The Money-Smart Business Launch, and play your first lesson in under a minute.