The System That Worked
For years, Paulina and Cooper ran their production company as a single-member LLC. Which, because they're married, meant the IRS treated it that way even though they were full partners in every real sense.
One year they paid somewhere between $50,000 and $60,000 dollars in taxes.
"I was baffled," Paulina said. "Something here is not right."
A business coach pointed them toward S-Corp status. The change, she said, was significant. They've since invested in full-time bookkeeping and a monthly accounting retainer that covers both their business and personal returns, along with quarterly calls on tax strategy.
They also set up custodial accounts for their two sons, both of whom have appeared in commercial and documentary work for the company. The earned income stays in the family and helps reduce taxable income on the business side.
On the personal side, they operate mostly joint. Separate checking accounts exist mainly for S-Corp distributions. Everything meaningful, including a joint high-yield savings account and the real estate, is shared.
Real estate has been the primary engine of their wealth. In early 2020, living rent-free at Cooper's parents' home in LA, they aggressively saved and put their entire nest egg into a new-build townhouse in San Diego at a 3% interest rate.
The timing was perfect. Shortly after they moved in, Paulina discovered she was pregnant. A few weeks later, they booked the biggest job of their careers to that point.
"We just sort of sent it and did it," Cooper said.
From there, the strategy layered. The San Diego property appreciated enough to support a HELOC, which they used as the down payment on a custom-built home in Austin.
Renters now cover the San Diego mortgage. They plan to refinance the Austin home when rates allow, pay off what remains of the HELOC, and keep the line of credit open as a low-cost liquidity backstop.
Last year was their best year yet, their company crossed one million dollars in revenue.
