Ready to Rock Your Summer?

May 22, 2017 | 0 comments

Summer is here! It is easy to let summer slip by and not make the most of it, especially as sales slow. But not this summer. We have a plan for you: The Rock Your Shop Summer Challenge!

This FREE course for product based biz owners will help you handle the slow summer months with checklist, worksheets, podcast episodes, and a playlist to keep you motivated to stay on top of your shop this summer.

We know it’s easy to slack off at the beach, but the effort you put in now will effect you in 4-6 months so make sure you are putting in the work! The holidays are always just around the corner if you are ready or not, so why not be ready this year with a refreshed, rockin’ shop!

Don’t let the summer slow down kill your buzz.  Get our FREE course and ROCK your shop this summer!

My Shift into Podcast Producing

May 1, 2017 | 0 comments

Caroline here! Have you ever thought about starting a podcast? Maybe the technical stuff just overwhelms you to your core? Kelly and I were totally that way when we started our own podcast baby. I quickly discovered how awesome and amazing the process actually is and I fell madly in love. Podcasting has changed my life. It has given me a voice, confidence and a new found skillset that gets me excited whenever I sit down to the computer. I really hope to be doing this for a long long time.

In our episode this week, Kelly and I chatted about shifts we have made and are making in our businesses. My biggest shift this year has been downsizing my shop and wholesale and adding something that truly makes me excited and want to get out of bed in the morning.

As I shift my business, I am now going to be offering podcast editing and producing services.

For me, the podcast process is so much more than simply recording and editing. I want to make sure that from start to finish, your podcast episodes look, sound and are delivered the way they should be. This is what I do with Creative Biz Rebellion and I love every second. I am super excited to begin helping others achieve their podcasting dreams.

Don’t worry, I’m not closing my shop and will continue to create designs and products featuring my hand lettering. I believe it is important that your work brings you joy and invigorates you. Hand lettering and podcasting is my jam and I can’t wait to see where this next phase of my business takes me.

You can check out more about my services on my website.

Later rebels!

Quick Guide: Blog Post Ideas for Your Product Based Business

Mar 23, 2017 | 0 comments

Oh blogging. I mean, like we need one more thing to add to our to do list. But it’s SO important! Having a blog on your website is not only great to create to engage customers, but blog posts are perfect for SEO (another dreaded word!).

With everything going on in our businesses including filling orders, there never seems to be time to blog or create content. But blogging doesn’t have to be scary or time consuming.

Here are some quick steps to getting started with your blog:

1. Create a plan and jot down ideas. I love to start with pen and paper and blogging is no exception. Write down ideas and themes. Start keeping a running list of things you might want to talk about on your blog. Remember to think about your customer and what they would want to read. Also, try to think of new ways to get people excited about your product.

2. Schedule! Start creating a schedule and stick to it! How often are you going to blog? What days? Once a week is a great amount to aspire to. If that seems too much, maybe try every other week. Create a spreadsheet or calendar and plan out blog posts for the next few months. We of course plan ours in Trello. You can always move things around later, but at least they are scheduled and on the calendar.

3. Plan your steps! Do you need to take a picture or create a graphic? Incorporate these into your timeline so you can always stay on top of things. Take it a step forward and schedule all the steps that occur after you hit publish (see below).

4. Repurpose your content. Writing blog posts creates tons of content that can be used in other places to reach your fans and customers. Use your content in your newsletter, social media posts and on Pinterest. Link back to your blog and start driving traffic to your website!

Writing blog posts for your product based business should be a priority for your marketing strategy. The best way to get started is to come up with some blog post ideas and I’ve done that for you!

CLICK HERE to grab your free blog post ideas list + some blogs to check for inspiration!

Cheers!

Less Financial Stress for Your Biz: Three Things You Can Do Right Now!

Feb 23, 2017 | 0 comments

We’re almost two months in to 2017, but now’s the perfect time to put some processes in place to make your life so much better this time next year. I’m sharing three simple things you can do right now to make 2017 super successful when it comes to your business finances.

Make bookkeeping “business meetings” with yourself for every month of 2017.

Choose a date for each month and create an appointment for yourself. Treat this like a client meeting. You wouldn’t cancel last minute on a client or keep pushing the meeting back. When the meeting time arrives, go to your office or a coffee shop and get your bookkeeping done for the month.

By scheduling the bookkeeping meetings before the year starts, you’ll be mentally prepared to set aside the time needed. After a couple months, it becomes old habit and just another thing on your to-do list. If you keep pushing your bookkeeping to the bottom of your list, it will snowball and feel unmanageable.

Set up monthly folders for your receipts (digital and physical).

I don’t know about you, but when I get home from a business lunch meeting, that meal receipt has a 50/50 chance of getting lost in the depths of my purse or making it up to my office. To increase my odds of rescuing receipts from my purse, I labeled 12 envelopes with the months. I keep the current month’s envelope in my purse or in my kitchen so it’s a no-brainer when I get home and have receipts to file.

For digital receipts you can set up folders in your email where you can save receipts as soon as they hit your inbox. Since the IRS accepts digital or paper receipts, don’t feel like you have to print out every emailed receipt.

Every month, when you have your bookkeeping date, make sure you export your emailed receipts to PDF format and save in a secondary location. I’ve heard horror stories of emails being hacked or history being deleted and then losing all of that important documentation. While it’s an extra step to save your documents in another location, it will give you peace of mind.

Create a separate savings account to save for taxes.

The key is “out of sight, out of mind.” By creating a completely separate account from your day-to-day business operations account and transferring a portion of your profit to this account, you’ll be less likely to spend the money that you’ll need to pay for your taxes.

This concept can be used for sales tax that you collect from customers as well as setting aside money for income taxes.

Setting up the account is simple. Go to your current bank (or do it online!) and let them know you want a business savings account. Make sure the account has a limit on transfers out so that you aren’t tempted to take money out for personal use, only for tax payments.

This will set you up for success when it comes to saving for taxes and help ensure you never have to feel that awful feeling of not having enough cash when it comes time to pay your taxes.

Catch Amy on our latest podcast episode!

Amy Northard is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) who has a passion for working with creative entrepreneurs all over the US and making the tax and accounting side of owning a business less stressful. When she’s not getting nerdy with numbers, she loves to knit and take Instagram pictures of calculators.

WHERE TO FIND HER

website :: youtube :: instagram :: facebook
Be Your Own CFO