So often in our day to day activities, we are all go and never take the time to stop and evaluate. It’s ok and it’s not to late to stop for a second and take inventory. A big part of my inventory process is to take about an hour or so to go over my numbers . It’s easy to think about how much money you’ve made, but it feels even better to know for a fact where you stand. Today I took some time to look over my reports in Quickbooks.
I haven’t looked at my numbers since June, so I had transactions to review and quite a few transactions that i needed to import, categorize and organize. I can’t lie, I got a little overwhelmed and frustrated. I simply did not want to do it. I wanted to put it off until tomorrow, or better yet , wait until it’s time to submit taxes. Once i got started, I felt better. I got a chance to see all of my income sources, top customers, and get a feel for how much I spent and where it was spent.
The process doesn’t have to be that difficult. If you don’t have an accounting system set up , I would encourage you to use the steps below to get set up quickly in Quickbooks.
Sign up for a Quickbooks Self-Employed account. If you have employees, please choose the plan that works best for your needs.
2.) Add your Bank Account(s)
3. Organize your transactions . You can separate your business and personal transactions and also organize them by category.
If you start to get overwhelmed or already feel overwhelmed at the thought of taking on the task of facing the numbers and getting organized, it’s totally normal. Take a breath and take one step at a time. If you need additional direction and support, take a look at the video below that will help you get set up for success.
I hope this helps you find the time and energy to face the numbers. If you need some help, don’t hesitate to contact me.
When I first started my business, I thought that I had to know it all in order to offer the service. I had quite a few clients that needed services that I didn’t offer because I didn’t have the training or time to offer it. Luckily I found out about the power of outsourcing and hiring help. That’s how I lucked up and found Fiverr.
One service that I offered was logo design. I would do the hard work of interacting with clients and gathering requirements, then acting as the middle woman between my client and the contractor. I’ve had the pleasure of working with quite a few really great contractors, but I found a really great graphic design couple that specialized in simple signature logo design. Here are a few logos that they created for me in the past:
The process was simple. I created a logo design questionnaire for my clients, they filled it out and we chatted via video if necessary, then I reached out to the contractors, paid them and waited for the results. Once the design was delivered, I made sure that my clients were happy before closing out the project with the contractors.
One thing that I liked about working with them is that they were very good at translating my requirements and delivering a great design in a short time. If you are need of a new signature logo or want to check out more services that they offered, you can find them here: Signature Logo Service
Fiverr isn’t just limited to graphic design services. You can find services such as :
Last time I spoke with you all, I had just created a new site for Comedian Lance Thompson. Since then, he has booked more shows and he’snow ready to start selling t-shirts and DVD’s both in person and on his website. So what’s the solution? Should he build a new site? Sign up with Shopify or another E-commerce platform, or should he build on the site that we already created?
We decided that the best solution is to extend the site that he already has. In order to sell products on his site, we must add a shopping cart and connect it to a payment processor. We will also give people the option to download a digital version of the DVD or have a hard copy shipped directly to them. It sounds like a lot of work, but wit the help of WordPress, Woocommerce and Paypal/Stripe or Square, we can make it happen.
The look of his site won’t change much. We will add a shop section that will include a picture and description of the product and an add to cart button. The customer will purchase their product and receive a receipt. Easy peasy….
Stay tuned for the end results. In the meantime, comment below and let me know your thoughts on the chosen solution.
Meet Comedian Lance Thompson. Lance is a clean comedian who’s been hitting stages on the East coast since 2006. I recently created a new website for Lance. His new site is a simple one-page layout that he can easily add to when a new section or page is needed. Today I’m going to show you the different e-commerce revenue streams that Lance can tap into as a comedian, host, and poet.
Currently, Lance gets income from paid comedy, hosting, and poetry gigs. I won’t go into the exact amount, but he charges a set rate depending on the length of time of the performance. There’s no way Lance can clone himself so that he can perform, multiple shows at one time, so his best bet is to diversify his streams and be open to some e-commerce solutions.
Selling DVDs– Lance has professional-quality video footage of his performances that he could package up and sell-through his website as a digital download or as a hard copy.
Selling t-shirts/Hats/Mugs – Comedians are known for having witty lines and catchy phrases. Lance can create a line of t-shirts, hats or even mugs and sell them through his website. This would be a great way to make more money and grow his brand. The beautiful part is that he wouldn’t have to manage any inventory. The products can be ordered and shipped directly to the customers.
Teaching online comedy courses– Lance has spent years studying his craft which would make him a great resource for how to be a comedian, how to write jokes, or maybe even teach others how to be confident. He can create a course on Thinkific and students can pay to take the course at their own pace.
Writing poems/ material for others– Not everyone was blessed with the gift of comedy or poetry writing, and that’s ok. Lance could always generate income as a comedy writer for small businesses, movie scripts, plays, etc….
There are other options for Lance, but this would be a great start for him. Do you have any additional solutions to add to the list? I’d love to hear them! Comment below and let me know.
Do you need some help with finding solutions for your business/brand? Contact me for a 1-on-1 Strategy Session or send me a quick email.
Creating posts for social media doesn’t have to be difficult. I want to share my strategy for creating a quick on the go social media post. Today I’m going to show you how to quickly create a post that can be used on Instagram or Facebook.
Step 1: Start with a picture
I always always always start with a picture or create my graphic in Canva first. It works for me because I am a very visual person. If you don’t have a picture to use, you can create an Instagram post sized graphic using your logo, brand colors, and desired font. Regardless of what you decide, keep it simple.
Today I’m going to use a recent picture of my daughter Journey and her big brother Kweli.
Step 2: Write from a space of inspiration
Use your own voice or your brand voice and write. What does the picture say to you? What message or lesson are you trying to teach? Is it meant to inspire or create laughter? You don’t have to overthink it or try to get it right or perfect. Just speak/write freely and edit later.
Here’s my caption for the demo post :
My brother came to visit this weekend and as usual he just won’t get out of my face . I appreciate the love , but can a baby breathe?
Step 3: Hashtag and tag it up
This part is easy. What hashtags are in alignment with your industry? I use tailwind’s Hashtag finder to find relevant hashtags. I have a pdf of 300 Instagram hashtags that you could use to get you started. For this particular post, I’m going to use comedy-related hashtags as well as any baby hashtags.
