She Owns It

Celebrating, Connecting, and Supporting Women Entrepreneurs

6 expenses solopreneurs should track for taxes

by 1 Comment

by Paul Koullick

As a solo-entrepeneur, you’re juggling a lot of balls at once — sometimes flaming torches — and so expense tracking often falls between the cracks. It isn’t until April 14th at 11 pm that you really start kicking yourself because “I’m sure I’m forgetting something!”. At Keeper, we’ve helped thousands of freelancers through tax time, and we’ve seen some patterns. Last tax season, Keeper ran a study to discover the most often missed tax write offs.

The resulting list, below, represents the tax write offs that are most often forgotten. The smart thing to do is to keep track of during the year, so that when tax time comes around, you’re not giving Uncle Sam more than he deserves.

 

Rideshare trips

Uber / Lyft rides on the way to a work event are considered tax deductible transportation expenses. Unfortunately, since these services offer no physical receipts, it can be difficult to keep track of them during the year. At tax time, remembering whether a particular ride 8 months ago was work-related is near-impossible. That’s why marking trips down when they happen is critical and will save you a huge headache at the end of the year.

 

Software expenses

Like rideshare trips, digital purchases often don’t leave a paper trail. That means it can be hard to keep track of them. Whether it’s buying a stock photo, paying for a domain hosting software, or other work-related software purchase, it’s important to keep track of it so that you can get a discount at tax time!

 

New phone or computer

With the pace of technology updates, most people buy new electronics every year. Whether it’s a phone upgrade or a new laptop, these are large expenses that are also easy to forget about at tax time. Think about it this way: by remembering to claim it on your taxes, you’re effectively getting a 30% discount. That’s a lot!

 

Home office expenses

Many solo-preneurs work from home but forget to claim the home office deduction. You don’t need a separate room in your home to claim this massive tax deduction. Also, it’s important to record actual home expenses rather than just relying on the “standard” square footage method. The vast majority of solo-entrepreneurs will save more on taxes by claiming actual home expenses.

 

Business meals

You don’t need to be eating filet mignon at a white tablecloth restaurant in order for a meal to be considered a “business” meal. As long as you discuss work and learn something valuable for your work, you can write it off on taxes. Over the course of a year, it really adds up!

 

Miscellaneous car expenses

When it comes to getting money back on your car expenses, there are two options: you can track miles, or you can add up your actual car expenses. If you don’t already have a mileage tracking habit, the easiest thing to do is to just track miscellaneous car expenses and then go back and add in gas expenses at the end of the year. Maintenance, registration, parking, tolls, and so on are all tax deductible expenses!

 

————————————————————————————–

Paul is the co-founder and CEO of Keeper, a service which automates expense tracking for solopreneurs. In his free time, he loves running marathons, and spending time with his family in San Francisco.

How I gave up my corporate marketing career for world travel an entrepreneurship by @symphonyvas

by Leave a Comment

For seven years, Stephanie Conway worked in public relations and marketing for powerhouse brands like Samsung, Audi & T-Mobile at agency level in both the US & UK. Corporate life gave her everything: financial stability, an enviable Instagram feed, Glamorous party invites, Sleepless nights.. Until eventually, the lifestyle caught up with her and at just 28, she felt burnt out. So in 2019, she quit her stable agency career to give into her wanderlust and explore the world.

Now, the Northern English girl with both UK & US passports has rebranded herself as a marketing virtual assistant and digital nomad, currently residing in beautiful Bali. Her IG handle @symphony.va, has over 5 thousand dedicated followers and a feed that shouts #travelgoals. Here, Stephanie tells us how she learned to quit her 9 to 5 and live her best life on her own terms.

I grew up in the UK, then at 18 got accepted into a university in Los Angeles. After graduation, I loved the weather and lifestyle so much that I forged a career for myself in brand marketing and events, working on global marketing campaigns for brands and celebrities.

I spent several years living and working in LA living my best life, eventually became a US-citizen. But a death in the family brought me back to the UK to support my family whilst everyone emotionally tried to get back on their feet. I had such a strong resume that I managed to secure a marketing job within the first week of coming home. But after living in constant sunshine for so long, the English winter weather really slowed me down. I woke up in darkness to go to work, then came home as the sun was setting. I felt like a vampire and my body went into shock from the lack of vitamin D.

“Why not me?”
Through my job, I worked on campaigns with top influencers, securing brand partnership deals, helping them make a ton of money to travel and be fabulous. I was constantly watching social feeds filled with beautiful digital nomads living their best lives on beaches whilst I was stuck in an office with unflattering fluorescent lighting, wasting away. “Why can’t I be where THEY are?” I constantly thought to myself.

Whenever I’d have a bad day at work, I’d fantasise about taking off to Bali, sitting on a beach and enjoying a refreshing coconut. Eventually, the living in constant darkness pushed me over the edge. I asked myself, ‘Why don’t I just bite the bullet?’ I had no dependents, my family were all doing well and I didn’t need to be in the UK. So I began to learn about how to translate my marketing skill set to working freelance for small business and entrepreneurs. This would enable me to live a laptop lifestyle and travel to whichever country I desired. I had already moved to the US by myself. I just knew I could do it again.

I knew that people would try to talk me out of it. I didn’t tell anyone I’d quit until I booked my one way ticket to Bali—only a couple of friends at the time knew. I was the most nervous to tell my mum. I worried that from the outside looking in, what I was doing seemed crazy and irrational. Tears welled-up when I told her, but she was so supportive. She always has been, and I don’t know where I’d be without my mum’s love and support. She’d witnessed the burnout happening and knew I wasn’t happy. With a mumsy, “Well, you’re still young and it’s your life” she approved.

Since setting up @symphony.va, I have made my way around different countries within South-East Asia. My personal favourite is the Indonesian archipelago for the pristine beaches and ease of access to fresh coconuts! Plus there’s such a low cost of living, which has allowed me the time and space to grow my company authentically and organically.

Travelling around South-East Asia has taught me a lot about other cultures and I’m constantly overwhelmed by the hospitality and kindness of the local people that I meet here. There’s such a beautiful sense of community that I’ve never experienced before here, and I can only hope that it has made me kinder.

As I navigate this new life, however, I’ve made some adjustments. When you leave something that’s as stable as a regular pay-check, you take a risk. It’s scary, but you have to have faith in yourself and your ability to build your brand. I’ve also had to find ways to make new friendships while maintaining the ones back in the UK & USA. I’ve even started weekly #girlboss meet-ups to help fellow digital nomads meet up and set goals to hold one another accountable and make new friends. I’ve also learned to be patient as I’ve realized that creating a brand, while trying to live off my passions of traveling and marketing, takes hard work. Plus being in Asia, you never know what’s around the corner, which is always so exciting.

Most importantly, I’ve learned that I don’t have to follow in anyone else’s footsteps to consider myself successful. It’s better to try and fail than to spend your life wondering “what if?” Our successes and failures are all part of the rich tapestry of life!

—————————————————————————-

Stephanie Conway is a digital nomad who gave up her 7 year corporate career working on global marketing campaigns for powerhouse brands like Samsung, Audi & T-Mobile for world travel. She founded Symphony Virtual Assistant Studio, which provides marketing virtual assistance for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Stephanie currently resides in South East Asia, runs a goal-getter meet-up for digital nomads in Bali and was recently featured in Forbes for her journey to becoming a digital nomad. When not living the laptop lifestyle, Stephanie loves yoga, diving and surfing her current tropical home of Indonesia.

How to Slay Blogging Overwhelm by @marissamonline

by Leave a Comment


Photo by Eugene Chystiakov from Pexels

by Marissa McDaniel

So, you decided you’re going to start a blog and you are pumped! Blogging seems like a great way to express yourself and maybe you’ll even make a little extra money with your blog. You start your blog, thinking it’s going to be super easy and fun and then it hits you.. Blogging is hard.

You start with the web hosting and before you know it you’re dabbling with web design, branding, actually writing and coming up with blog post ideas, email marketing, affiliate marketing, legal disclosures and your to-do list of blogging tasks is suddenly extending all the way down the street. At this point you’re wondering what you got yourself into. You realize you have no idea what you’re doing and you’re seriously thinking about throwing in the towel.

Believe me, I’ve been there and so have thousands of other bloggers! I’m here to tell you not to throw in the towel just yet. There is hope and there are ways to combat the overwhelming feeling that you can’t seem to shake.

Check out these 4 easy ways you can start slaying the overwhelm today!

 

1. Goal Setting

 

One of the biggest ways to combat blogging overwhelm is to create monthly or even weekly goals. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you have a massive list of to-do’s but by breaking these to-do’s down into goals with a specific time frame, they can become manageable. Try setting realistic social media goals, writing goals, traffic goals and income goals. This will help you assess exactly what you should focus on, what progress you are making and what areas might need a little extra help.

 

2. Automation

 

Thankfully there are some ways you can automate your blog and social media processes. For starters, you can automate all of your social media posts with a variety of social media scheduling tools like Tailwind, Hootsuite and Buffer. With the help of scheduling tools, you can schedule your social media content for a week or even a full month in the matter of a couple hours. This is a great way to save you tons of time while creating a social media presence and increasing blog traffic.

As for email marketing, you can also create autoresponders and email sequences that will be sent out when someone purchases a product, downloads a freebie or joins your email list. This is a great way to introduce yourself to new email subscribers, to provide an offer and build trust with your audience. Autoresponders are also a great addition to sales funnels if you have any products you are aiming to sell. Once you your email marketing set up, you can create unique sequences, automations and more to create a unique experience for each subscriber.

 

3. Schedule

 

It can be so easy to get wrapped up in creating as many blog posts as possible when first starting out, but this can make the overwhelm even worse! Instead of trying to publish a ton of content, create a content calendar. If you want to publish blog posts twice a week then make it a point to publish a blog post every Tuesday and Thursday. Come up with a schedule for your blog posts and content so you know exactly what you need to be working on and when. This will also help your readers know exactly when to look for new content on your blog and can promote returning visitors.

 

4. Connect With Other Bloggers

 

Other bloggers can be a great resource! They’ve all been through the process and they understand how overwhelming blogging can be. Communicate with other bloggers, ask them how they solved certain problems or handled a certain situation. The blogging community is extremely supportive and is always willing to help out whenever they can. Not only that, but many bloggers are always looking for ways to save time and make life easier so connecting with another blogger might allow you discover a new product or tool that just might change your life.

By setting goals, automating your processes, scheduling content and connecting with other bloggers, there’s no reason you can’t slay the blogging overwhelm! These strategies will also save you time and help you create some clear blogging plans so your blog can grow and thrive.

How do you slay blogging overwhelm? Do you have other suggestions? If, so share them in the comments!

 

—————————————————————————————-

Marissa McDaniel is the founder of Marissa McDaniel Online LLC which is a blog and online business focused on helping women ditch their 9-5’s and create a life of financial freedom. She frequently writes about blogging tips and tools, online money-making opportunities and offers her very own online course to help other bloggers create passive income streams using online courses, sales funnels and affiliate programs.

Marissa resides in the Denver, Colorado area with her boyfriend and two hiking cats. When not spending time on the lake, she’s likely reading a motivational book, eating a snack or working on her next business endeavor.

How To Run Your Business Like a Pro… in One Step by @lindsaybgomez

by Leave a Comment


Photo by Humphrey Muleba from Pexels

by Lindsay Gomez

Your business is real, right?

So start acting like it.

Act as if you’re building a global enterprise or an 8-figure organization… something that feels slightly scary and out of reach but also gets your heart fluttering with excitement.

Yes, you know the feeling.

Follow it and get clear on what your business vision is. What does that clear, specific roadmap look like?

Once you know where you’re ship is pointing, there’s only one step for you to conquer to reach that next level.

Your One and Only Step – Get Control of Your TIme

Time is the one finite resource for everyone. The one thing we all have in common. There are 24 hours in the day for every single person on the planet.

 

1. Know what is taking up your time.

 

Tasks, projects, appointments and priorities – get them all down in a list. Paper, Google doc, it doesn’t matter. Just get it all into one place where you can see it all.

Next, move each item into one of three buckets:

  • Keep it: these are the items that need to be done by yourself and no one else on your team, such as 1:1 client sessions, sales calls, podcast interviews
  • Delegate it: these are the items that can be delegated to those on your team, such as scheduling your weekly newsletter, updating your website, creating graphics for Pinterest and Instagram
  • Eliminate it: these are items that don’t align with your business vision, so why are you doing them? Permission to ditch ‘em granted!

 

2. Set your priorities for each day, week, month, quarter and year. And, review them regularly.

 

In order to aim where you want to go, you need to assess what you’re doing along the way, to know what to keep doing more of and what to adjust for better results.

This part of often overlooked because it isn’t sexy to review your numbers.

But it is the game-changer and what separates those with an expensive hobby from those business owners who are all in.

You want to look and assess for what you should be paying more attention to, what isn’t working, what could be done better, what’s missing, what important goal might have slipped through the cracks and where your time is really going.

 

3. Get good at saying “No.”

 

That would be a solid, confident “no” to opportunities that don’t support your business vision, to complicated success, to extra steps.

If you need to practice your “no” response to get good at it, go right ahead.

 

4. Get comfortable knowing that good enough is good enough.

 

The very concept of perfect draws visions of something being complete. But in business, when we’re continually growing and pivoting, nothing is ever truly complete.

Embrace good enough and give yourself permission to let go a bit.

5. Get great at making quick decisions and move on.

 

So much time and energy is wasted on decisions that don’t move our business needles.

Should I use this image of a woman at her MacBook for my next blog post or this image of the woman at her desk?

It really doesn’t matter, so give your assistant the direction and move on.

Better yet, delegate the image selection and decision to her.

 

6. Check your email no more than three times per day.

 

This idea sounds ludicrous, right?

The inbox is a time and energy drain. When there’s 24 hours in the day and only 5 to 6 are optimal for focus and action, spending an extra hour each day will start to impact your business (and not in the way you’re dreaming).

The sky will not fall if you get back to your client in 5 hours instead of 5 minutes. Promise.

Taking action to implement any of the above tips, even if it is only one to start, will have you on your way to taking back control of your time and running your business like a pro.

 

—————————————————————————-

Lindsay Gomez is an organization and systems expert, who helps coaches create personalized, actionable business plans so they can build a streamlined, successful business that they love.

Before launching her own business, Lindsay spent over a decade in the office products industry in various marketing and management roles, including the development of consumer office supplies and oversight of national and private label product lines.

Her passion to help others reach their next level, through better use of their time, team, and technology was what drove Lindsay to make the decision to leave the corporate world and work with small businesses.

21 Things You Can Do to Turn a Summer Slump into a Super Productive Season to Move Your Business Forward by @MaikoSakaiBiz

by Leave a Comment

Photo by Loe Moshkovska from Pexels

by Maiko Sakai

Summer is slow for my business…”

I hear this a lot from entrepreneurs.

If this is you, I’m glad you are here because this post will help you take full advantage of the slow time. Instead of just feeling anxious or simply letting this opportunity slip away, you are going to be super productive!

I like anything simple. If you are like me, you would agree that a simple system or checklist allows us to take immediate action with clarity.

This is no exception. 21 items may sound like too many, but it’s broken down into 3 different categories. If I did my math correctly, this means there are only 7 items per category. Super easy!

That’s not all.

Most of these can be done anywhere, with or without WiFi. If you decide to pack your bags and go away with your family or friends, you can still do some of these.

Imagine what an immense impact you can create in your business this fall & beyond by turning a summer slump into a super productive summer!

Hope you are fired up!

Planning

How does taking the entire month of December off sound to you, for example? Fabulous, I’d say!

It’s totally possible.

The key to accomplish this is to start planning right now. By doing so, you are mentally prepped to make your shorter Q4 highly profitable.

Or, you don’t have to take all of Dec off. The point is this is the best time to reassess your overall business.

  1. Conduct a realistic Q4 revenue forecast.
  2. Find ways to either extend, renew, or upsell your current business offers to keep Q4 packed with meaningful projects.
  3. If you are considering podcasting, writing a book, or starting a YouTube channel or anything that requires consistency to help your business grow, start planning & making batches now to kick-start the new year with enough content.
  4. Sit down quietly and assess whether your annual goals align with your ultimate business vision and create quarterly milestones that’ll help you & your team achieve them.
  5. Plan your meetings with your accountant, insurance agent & attorney to bring them up to speed with your business goals.
  6. List who (or what roles) you need to hire that would help you save time & get there faster.
  7. Set aside the initial investment for those hires in Q4.

 

Active Outreach

I’d do more networking if I had more time!”

If you’ve said this to yourself once or twice before… well, this is your time!

Granted, many people go on vacation during this time, but that would be an excuse for you not to do it. Let’s be honest, not all of your contacts go on vacation exactly at the same time.

Building relationships & building trust take time (as they should). So, why not kick-start now?

Having time on your side is the ultimate leverage you can have when it comes to meaningful networking and sales.

Why?

Because you won’t come across desperate or pushy.

  1. Send hand-written thank you notes to customers, friends & past clients.
  2. Create a list of customers and vendors you want to send gifts to during the holiday season. Set aside funds for it (budget it). Imagine all you have left to do in late November is to simply execute the plan?
  3. Go down your contact list & send a quick note (email or messaging or… If you are ambitious, a short video).
  4. Take a long lunch with some close peers. Their summer schedule may allow them to leave early on Fridays.
  5. Create a list of people you want to talk to about doing business in Sept.
  6. Create a list of 50 people you’d die to meet. Be audacious. This will push you to get better with keeping your network fresh!
  7. Ask for testimonials from your past & current clients. Also, ask for permission to create case studies you can use to promote your business in the fall.

 

Consolidation / Clean-up

When no one bothers you…, OK maybe not no one, but when you have fewer distractions, it’s much easier to focus on decluttering tasks in your business.

  1. Digitize & get rid of papers.
  2. Merge or ditch accounts where it makes sense, such as personal your Twitter account & business account, your personal Instagram account that’s not doing much, etc.
  3. Create backups for important docs, written content, images, videos & sort them in a way that’s intuitive & discoverable.
  4. Consider incorporating tools to manage your email inbox better.
  5. Review monthly recurring expenses & cancel the ones you don’t use.
  6. List a handful of tasks you can delegate & create standard operating procedures preferably with video instructions.
  7.  Get rid of unused apps on your phone & review your notification settings.

Doing these 21 tasks will make you feel more in control of your business. No doubt you will be much less overwhelmed when your phone starts to go off in the fall.

Also, here’s the bonus. When you immerse yourself in doing meaningful work, surprise business opportunities start popping up right in front of you. Be sure to share your success stories!

 

————————————————————————————

Maiko Sakai is an NYC based business growth strategy consultant a.k.a. secret weapon, confidant, advisor & silent partner to her 7-figure clients who are visionary entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs with the desire to build a high-functioning, profit-generating machine.

As a self-proclaimed “Queen of Counterintuitive Strategies,” she provides effective but not-so-conventional strategies to boost sustainable profitability for her clients’ businesses by utilizing both quantitative & qualitative assessments.

Originally from Yokohama, Japan, Maiko considers herself a New Yorker, loves ethnic foods of all kinds, and is a sucker for ultra-contemporary design & exotic houseplants. She earned her MBA from Johnson School of Management, Cornell University.

How To Find Time To Start a Business While Having a Full-Time Job by @MaryLiu

by 2 Comments

by Mary Liu

“I wish I had the time to do that.”

This is a saying I hear far too often, and an excuse I used to always use. It’s so easy to say, but I realized that it was just an excuse so I could stay in my comfort zone. It wasn’t until last year when I decided to challenge myself and take action on a niche product idea that I discovered I actually had a lot more time in a day than I thought.

When I was in the initial stages of developing my product idea, I had to figure out how to balance this along with a full-time job. Because of this, I learned a lot about how to maximize my time, and as a result turned an idea into a product and launched it on e-commerce in 6 months.

Today, I still use what I learned about time management to balance a full-time job, my e-commerce side business, and still leave time for myself.

So, how did I do it? Below are 3 tips that worked for me in turning an idea into a product in 6 months while working at a full-time job.

Tip #1: Learn during times when you can easily multi-task

Here are some examples of what I mean:

  • Walking or commuting to places (e.g. work)
  • Waiting for an appointment (e.g. doctor’s appointment)
  • Meal prepping for the week (e.g. chopping/prepping food for an hour)
  • At the gym (e.g. running on the treadmill)
  • Shopping (e.g. buying groceries)

These are perfect moments to listen to podcasts, watch videos, or read articles. This was helpful for me in learning the next steps I needed to take on my idea.

In some of these instances, I had anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. However, all of these moments will add up, where finishing one article on my commute to work became 10 articles by the end of the week. And that was enough to help me understand what I needed to do next with my idea.

Tip #2: Find times when you can create instead of consume

We all have some sort of routine we follow. When I tracked what I was doing for a week, I realized that there were instances when I was spending a lot of time consuming.

It’s okay consuming content especially when it comes to learning, but I made sure that I still had time for creating.

For instance, here are some examples I found in my routine where I took some of the time spent on consuming content to work on my idea:

  • TV (e.g. watching Netflix for 2-3 hours after work)
  • Browsing the web (e.g. spending hours on YouTube)
  • Social media (e.g. scrolling through Instagram or Facebook)

Don’t get me wrong, I still do the above from time to time, but it’s all about moderation. Instead of spending hours watching shows, I would take a few of those hours to work on my idea instead.

Tip #3: Create a to-do list for the week with very specific tasks

What I found helpful in saving time during the week was creating a to-do list on Sundays. I would lay out everything I wanted to accomplish for that week in order of priorities and make the tasks very specific.

For instance, when I was developing my product, I wouldn’t put “build a product” as my to-do for that week. Instead, I would write “reach out to manufacturers” or “find a graphic designer.”

That way, I knew what steps I needed to take going into each week and I didn’t have to spend time feeling overwhelmed on what to do the day of. This was helpful for me to remain focused on the specific tasks I needed to accomplish just for that week.

Once I reflected on what I was doing each week and where I was spending my time, I was able to find opportunities using these tips to find time in my schedule and make progress on my idea. All of these small moments added up, and by the end of 6 months I had a business.

Now I can say, “I had the time to do that.”

And I want you to be able to say it too.

———————————————————————————-

Mary Liu is a marketer and business coach who has experience working on million-dollar brands and launching new-to-market products. She is passionate about using her experience to help female entrepreneurs understand how they can turn their product idea into a business. Learn more about Mary here and get her free guide on the 2 most important steps to take after you’ve landed on a business idea.

Solo-Entrepreneur? 5 things you should know about your taxes by Paul Koullick of @keepertax

by Leave a Comment

Solo-Entrepreneur? 5 things you should know about your taxes

by Paul Koullick

Whether you’re earning money in a side hustle, or have your own small business, it comes with some serious tax burdens. Many first-time self-employed don’t realize this and wait until the end of the year only to discover that they owe thousands of dollars to the IRS and forgot to keep expense receipts. In this guide, we’ll cover the basics of what you need to know to avoid getting slammed by taxes as a freelancer.

#1 No, taxes aren’t being withheld from your paychecks

If you’ve previously only worked as an employee (W2), it may come as a shock that the money you earn on a 1099 contract or invoice does NOT have taxes already withheld. That means you’ll need to consciously remember to set money aside throughout the year to avoid needing to take a loan out at the end of the year.

#2 Keep track of work expenses throughout the year

Everything you buy and then use for work, whether it’s a new phone or gas for your car you drive for work errands, is at least partially deductible. Trying to remember expenses from nine months ago at tax time is really difficult, so it’s best to track these expenses throughout the year.

Sometimes, what counts as a tax write off isn’t entirely intuitive but you can use online guides like this one to learn more about what expenses you should be keeping track of during the year.

#3 If you work from home, you can likely claim the home office deduction

Even if you don’t have a separate room dedicated for work, you may be eligible to claim this valuable deduction. As long as you have a workstation located somewhere in your house or apartment where you tend to do work (rather than entertaining guests or watching TV), you get to write off of rent, utilities, wifi and so on.

#4 All of this matters even if you’re only self-employed part-time

Even if The standard deduction does not trade off with itemizing 1099 work expenses. It’s additive – meaning that you can claim both! That means even if you have a full-time W2 job and only do limited part-time 1099 contracting work, neglecting to claim work expense tax deductions is like donating money to the IRS!

#5 If you earn more than $1,000 per year, file quarterly (estimated) taxes

If you earn above the $1,000 threshold from self employment work, you’ll need to file quarterly taxes. Also known as estimated tax payments, this is the IRS’s way of simulating a salary tax withholding so that you aren’t caught off guard with a huge tax bill at the end of the year.

The good news? It takes just 15 minutes. You can use free online tools like Keeper’s quarterly tax calculator to quickly estimate how much you’ll need to pay, and file online. It takes just 15 minutes, and allows you to avoid a nasty penalty from the IRS.

—————————————————————————–

Paul is the founder and CEO of Keeper, an app that helps freelancers and 1099 contractors save money on taxes. In his free time, he loves jogging, chess, and spending time with his family in San Francisco.

5 ways to profit from your creativity while climbing the corporate ladder. by @margaretolat

by Leave a Comment

by Margaret Olatunbosun 

People leave their jobs for different reasons. According to research, 43 percent of millennials plan to quit their jobs within two years (Deloitte Millennial Survey, 2018). Reasons cited ranged from millennials wanting companies to get excited about real social change to differing opinions about business’ motivation and ethics.

But another reason millennials leave jobs they truly love is because they can’t support themselves financially. Quitting to follow your truest passion doesn’t work either; you’re left with the big question of where to generate income to sustain yourself and your family.

So, what do you do when you can neither leave a job you love nor commit extra working hours to your current employer? The answer is to put your creativity to work.

 

Here are 5 ways to profit from your creativity while climbing the corporate ladder.

 

1. Offer to support online entrepreneurs.

You don’t have to leave the comfort of your home. A lot of entrepreneurs online are swamped with several actions that they need to perform to keep their businesses profitable. If you have administrative, organizational, or leadership skills, you could start your journey to becoming making money online by becoming an executive assistant or virtual assistant.

A virtual assistant can do anything from transcribing Livestream videos to text––which could be repurposed as blog posts, answering customer calls and processing payment issues, helping entrepreneurs find and secure PR opportunities for their brands, and making sure business systems work effectively.

The best thing about being a virtual assistant is that you can create retainer packages so that you can help them take their hands off what they don’t want to do while getting paid monthly.

2. Help experts create and organize live experiences.

Entrepreneurs, experts, and influencers are looking for ways to take their online connection to real-life meetings. However, most of these meetings take place in hotels, resorts, huge multi-purpose halls, and even international locations.

If you have the gift of dealing with several people, working with vendors, securing products/things for large parties and bringing them together, troubleshooting deadlines, etc…you can offer your services as an event planner.

 

So, how do you break into event planning in your local community? Here’s a simple way:

 

1. Look up current and upcoming conferences in your area.

Send the organizers an email and ask to be a volunteer to help with logistics. Once you get a couple of events under your belt, not only do you get to see the behind-the-scenes of what it takes to host live events, you add amazing people––who want to work with you again, to your network.

2. Teach people how to use a product.

Do you know how to use Microsoft Excel better than the majority of people you know? Can you take a smartphone and turn it into a magic video or image editing tool? Look for any product you love and figure out how people are not maximizing its use.

Start a blog and create tutorials with videos and screenshots. You could start a YouTube channel and upload your tutorials with a call-to-action to buy recordings of advanced strategies or you hire you directly. The goal is to teach anyone how to get advanced skills using products that they already have.

3. Be a writer.

Writing gives you the flexibility of building an engaged audience and monetizing your creativity. There are several ways to monetize your skill as a writer.

–> Become a freelance writer: A freelance writer is someone who sells his or her words to other companies or people in form of content. Organizations come to you to help them write blog posts, newsletters, sales pages, etc and you quote them a price on a project or monthly basis. You either specialize in writing on a specific subject area or be a generalist who commissions pieces on different subjects.

–> Start a blog: Starting a blog gives you the ability to choose your own topic, your audience, develop a posting schedule, and eventually a monetization model.

–>Write your own book: Becoming an author is on the list of so many people. However, it all starts with doing the actual work: writing.

Want to master the art and business of writing? Read blog posts on writing or join Facebook groups for writers. These are inexpensive ways to start your writing journey while you think about your career options.

4. Help small businesses by becoming a consultant.

If you have people skills and are able to solve specific challenges brands experience in the marketplace, you can package your skills and pitch yourself as a consultant.

Here’s an example: if a small business in your local community doesn’t have any online presence, you could position yourself as a Social Media Consultant. Your work could include teaching them how to build an audience, optimizing their Facebook content, and creating an editorial content calendar so that they can grow their following and increase their profit.

Kimanzi Constable, a former bread seller is now a multi 6-figure entrepreneur who consults with national and international companies, teaching several topics in digital marketing and personal development. One of his most popular consulting topics is teaching companies how their employees can develop an entrepreneurial mindset.

Conclusion
Remember, it’s not about quitting your current job. It’s about giving a platform to your creativity and profiting from it so that you can have the mental clarity to think about your long-term goals.

————————————————————————–

Margaret Olatunbosun is a writer, creative coach, and a rebel against society’s prescription of a dream job. She shows you how to thrive at the intersection of creativity, passion, and profit so your career becomes the greatest expression of your creative interests.

Her thoughts on career and entrepreneurship have been featured on Lifehack, Elephant Journal, TEDxLincolnSquare, Thought Catalog, Addicted2Success, Thrive Global, The Huffington Post, Career Contessa, and many more. She has also been featured as a career expert on Albert’s List, a community of 15,000+ members that connects recruiters and job seekers with the power of referrals.

Women in eCommerce: They Nailed It, Can You? by Veronika Vaghina of @x_cart

by Leave a Comment

Women in eCommerce: They Nailed It, Can You?

by Veronika Vaghina

“C’mon, you’re a girl, leave it for men”.

Every woman has heard this kind of phrase at least once in her life. That’s why every time a woman comes to our company to create her own eCommerce business, I’m proud both for women and the place where I’m working.

Today I’ve collected 5 examples of successful women-owned e-commerce businesses to inspire women looking forward to starting an online store but hesitating to make the first step. That’s right, I’ve put “successful” and “women-owned e-commerce businesses” together.

Pitimana

Anne Catherine Scelles started her business after the birth of her third (!) child.

She has always been interested in all DIY stuff so she analyzed the market and noticed that thousands of people liked it, too. After three years of blogging, Anne finally decided to monetize her blog with the help of X-Cart. This is how her “hobby” turned out to be the #1 French .

Anne proves that everything is possible, and it’s a good idea to turn your hobby into an online business. Being a mother of three doesn’t mean you can’t be a successful businesswoman. Anne succeeded in both fields.

Wilderness Sea n’ Ski

Leanne Garske is one of the owners of Wilderness Sea n’ Ski, a snow ski, water ski, surf, and scuba diving online store in Australia.

The business started over 40 years ago: a few friends enjoyed the snow and water-based sports and they realized they could actually supply the equipment. This is another great example of a hobby turning into a business.

For now, Leanne and her business partners have been selling the equipment online for 12 years.

The Pajama Company

Ellie Badanes, the owner of The Pajama Company online store started her career as a retail buyer in the dress market. But pajamas have always been her passion. In 2004 Ellie started her own e-commerce business, and the business has been growing from year to year ever since.

What can you learn from Ellie’s experience? If you know there’s something you’re interested in but you’re not sure how things work in the niche, don’t hurry. Find a job in a related sphere and learn the basics before you become a business owner yourself.

BFC Creations

Suzan Makalinaw started a website thinking of it as a hobby. And she was amazed when 6 months later it became her real job. It happens with those who are passionate about what they’re doing, have you noticed?

Later Suzan and her son who she works with created designs for machine embroidery and sold them online. People downloaded the designs as digital files and then uploaded them to their home embroidery machines.

In 2011, Suzan founded her own brand of Machine Embroidery Thread.

Suzan was busy all the time, and three years ago she finally realized that an eCommerce store is a must – this is how she reached a wider audience and found more business opportunities.

Suzan’s story shows us that hard but dream work brings you unexpected results like creating your own brand.

 

Hope I inspired you and you found the answers to your questions. The main answer is “yes, it’s time to make the first step towards your dream”.

———————————————————————————

Veronika is a Marketing Manager at X-Cart. The company provides X-Cart, an open-source eCommerce platform, along with the full range of services for online business. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking and reading.

6 Traits That Characterizes The Essence Of Being A Strong Woman @SheinBusiness

by Leave a Comment

by Aakanksha Srivastava

Since the History Books state it, the Governance of the Civil Laws mean it and the Society in general follows it, have we, as 21st Century Citizens ever tried to figure out the epoch where we began to consider women to be the members of the weaker sex?

NO! Not Really!

But Seriously! Did God send us with an attached label that bracketed us to be the debilitated being of the genus?

So, why do femmes all around the world still have to prove their power and strength in regards to whatever field they boot up for?

They absolutely shouldn’t.

And there shouldn’t be any urge for you to do the same. A strong, confident woman portrays her robust and fierce characteristics with her captivating demeanour, her stark wit and compassionate vehemence.

The vibe around such woman makes her stand apart. And you should too try to imbibe the same characteristics in your personality as well.

Remember: Whatsoever, the weight of the truth your speech expressions might sustain, Your Acts would always manifest what your words cannot!
So Shall I or Shall I not?

No! No! No! No! No!

(Apparently, there is going to be a good count of No’s in the article, so, you should better try to perceive it as an adamantine word of honor)

Now, retorting to the specific question, you must understand that you do not, at any point of time have to self-doubt yourself. As females, we are bestowed with the capability of 6th Sense and Intuition. We almost, majority of the times, know the road that could be taken for our goodness sake. So why shall there be a room for bubbles of incompetence? Go where your inner voice directs you to proceed! You should not even care to listen to the unwisely and negative opinions put up by others. This, subsequently, brings us to our next point:

Owning up to the Mistakes. Now, now, as per the majority: minority ratio, there are a few chances of us making the wrong decisions for certain things. And it is OKAY! As a strong woman, you should know how to battle out your tough circumstances. I mean, nobody has got their life sorted. And then Sorted often oughts to be kinda Boring!

And as the exceptional Author, Isabel Allende once quoted, “We all have an unsuspected reserve of strength inside that emerges when life puts us to test”, it should be our reverence to comprehend the depth of her writing.

The next point, is rather, a very complex and delicate one, and Mother’s Day being (a) round the corner, having an acknowledgement about the fact of the many a times our mothers, grandmothers, the wives, the daughters, sisters, girlfriends have performed to be the backbone during our tough times, it is a humble request for all of you, to Not to Unfollow your Ambitions and Life Goals for looking after the household. After all it is a matter about your career.

Now. Please try to understand this with a calm mind. Your family should be your priority. Undoubtedly! But you should remember to fulfill the purpose of your life. And do it at the most definite. I mean come on! Women can balance their work and personal life very well. Many have and so can you. And now when the whole world is going digital, you can take care of your family and look after your job and business while discharging your personal duties! You can start up your own business, pledging upon the burgeoning of your talent. And a Platform to Reform Digitally, ‘She in Business’ lays out exactly an opposite proposition for all the aspiring women entrepreneurs out there. Getting enlisted in the Ace Directory of the particular website could turn the wheels of your Business Goals, hence, affirming you the deserved progression of your Business. So, Register now with ‘She in Business’ Business Directory to observe success in both your professional and private life!

Now, according to facts stated by ‘Dove’, a Personal Care Brand owned by Unilever, 70% of women do not relate to how they are represented in Media & Advertising. It is the Foundation of Comparison that Ruins your Self-Esteem and Confidence. But Woman! You are definitely worth it! And you do not require a backing by the society for the approval of who you are, what you look like, where are you from. A single streak of credence regarding what an incredible woman you are, is just enough for you to get going. Do learn from others, but do not weigh up your life with theirs! Remember! Everybody is fighting a battle of their own! You are there to focus on your Goal.

So, Constant Challenge to Yourself Would Encourage You to Take Risks.Make sure as a Strong, Independent woman, you should embrace yourself to not to live in a bubble. Being exposed to tough situations could help boost your conviction towards your goals and yourself.
And lastly, keeping this point short and simple, always strive to Be Realistic. Do not overplay your strength. You do not have to unnecessarily give explanations to people for any act of yours. Be certain that Confidence is Silent. Silence is Classy. And Insecurities are Loud.

Therefore, wrapping it up, I would like to emphasize again_ you as a woman are not liable to prove your strength to any individual on Earth. All the traits mentioned are to be imbibed, not to be flaunted. Make sure of that!

Happy Empowerment to you!

 

———————————————————————

With her thirst for innovation, Aakanksha Srivastava devised a remarkable initiative of ‘She in Business’, a Prominent Feature Directory and Nexus Platform that could help in reforming the presence of Women Entrepreneurs Digitally. With a passion to uplift women, Aakanksha pulls out all the stops into her work. And not just limiting herself to that, Aakanksha transpires to be the Co-Founder of the ‘The Aspiring CEO’, a Digital Media and Marketing Agency as well. To know more about the strong-willed lady, visit SheInBusiness.Com