If you own a business, especially if a portion of your prospecting is done online, you have undoubtedly been asked, “What do you do exactly?”. We’ve struggled with this question ourselves in the past, and used to find ourselves stumbling over our words, feeling like we needed to adjust our elevator pitches based on who we were talking to at the time. It’s easy to become a little frustrated, although you can’t show it, because even though you understand your business and your business model, not everybody else does. Plain and simple, people are not in your head. They don’t read everything you write. And they definitely have no idea what you’ve already said to other people.

When selling a product or service, you are automatically categorized. You might be the local boutique or the big-box name brand, but these are just categories. And once you’re in a category, people compare you to others in the same category. Instead of making yourself or your business what you “think” you are supposed to be like, make it more about YOU.

Woah! What a way to start the year. January was a total whirlwind. In just a few short weeks we launched a new program, started a podcast and Emylee adopted Penelope! We definitely learned a lot, pivoted and restructured a whole bunch — so read on to see all the strategies we started to implement in January of 2017.

Why we do income reports?

In an effort to be as transparent as possible in our own business we have chosen to make 2017 the year we showcase the good, the bad and the ugly. That means we talk about money on months we bring home the bacon and on months we’d rather not discuss finances. We hope you learn a LOT from these reports. Replicate and tweak our strategies to use in your own business. Get inspired, learn from our mistakes and grow your own online business.

Flashback 2 years. I was completely unhappy. I didn’t like what I was doing with my life. I didn’t enjoy work anymore. I was totally burnt out. I would fall asleep at 8 p.m. and I was still consistently (and constantly) exhausted. I knew I had to do something about it.

Since I could walk I have always been one to take action. If someone scraped their knee on the playground, I would run to get the nearest teacher. If someone was struggling in school, I would offer to help them through their problems. If friends are struggling with a dilemma, I listen and give advice. But the moment the tables are flipped and I am the one who needs help, I am typically floundering.

Owning a small business is challenging on so many levels, but taxes seem to be a big stressor on the minds of most creatives. While talking taxes is never glamorous, getting to know the basics of tax can save you time and money down the road. Here is a small list of the things you should consider when you’re thinking about your taxes.

Accounting for Small Businesses is oftentimes the biggest stressor for small business owners, especially creatives. Crunching the numbers can feel overwhelming. But without the proper preparation and tracking, not having the right cash flow clarity can be the difference between you being a thriving business and closing your doors.

Did you know that recent studies have shown that 50 percent of small businesses will fail within the first year? How about the fact that a staggering 95 percent will close their doors before they hit their fifth year of operation? That one seems a bit hard to believe, but in today’s economy it could be true. Here are some additional stats that may surprise you (source):

• 40% of small businesses are profitable.

• 30% break even.

• 30% are continually losing money.

Hiring new consultants, contractors, and team members is a big step in your business, but once you’re ready to take it your workload decreases and your business is able to improve in multiple ways, leaving you to work on your strengths and be the bad-ass lady boss you are (instead of the boss, chief bottle-washer and Jill-of-all-trades).

A blog editor may not have made the top of the list when you dreamed about bringing someone on to help you. But…

You only have twenty-six small letters and a handful of dots and dashes to wow, inspire, share, create, and convince. Surely you want to combine these in the best way possible?

I haven’t always been a podcast junkie. In fact, my Dad is the only reason I ever even found out that podcasts existed. As a teenager, I remember the endless hours he would listen to his favorite shows and swore I would never been as geeky as him. Fast forward to owning an online business, and it quickly became apparent that podcasts were a great alternative way to learn.

As much as I loved writing for our blog, reading other blogs just never really seemed to fit into my schedule. But listening to a podcast could happen in the car, while putting on makeup, doing the dishes, or cleaning the house. Basically, it made all the boring parts of my life way more interesting.

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. We know that heartfelt connections, strong relationships and soulful collaborations can transform a side hustle into a thriving small business. It’s hard being a solopreneur, and having someone to vent to, and brainstorm or celebrate with can help you accomplish twice as much. But taking the leap and committing to group work can be scary, so here are 5 conversations to have before choosing a business partner, so you can team up with confidence and success.

As creatives, we have a hard time taking time off. We compare our work days to those of the people we see online and think we should be working when everyone else is. But the truth is, we need rest and time off in order to create space for more creativity. We need to allow ourselves rest so we can better serve our clients and customers. In fact, this time off will give your mind a break from the stress and will allow you to grow your own creativity.

Today, we are going to talk about why taking time off is important for you and your business. In addition, we will discuss how rest can help boost creativity, when to take time off, how to make time for time off, and how to mentally prepare so you won't feel guilty during your time off!