Posts tagged income tracker spreadsheets
How to prepare for self-employment

There’s a certain allure that comes from running your own business and working for yourself. We’ve all been seduced by the supposed freedom that comes from this type of work and self-employment is regularly touted as the surest way to riches. The media glorifies this hustle and grind and it seems like everyone and their cat calls themselves an ‘entrepreneur’ nowadays!

Look, I get it.

This narrative isn’t wrong, per se, but the truth is that self-employment is also incredibly challenging, exhausting and exhilarating. The highs are higher and the lows are lower, which is undoubtedly part of the thrill.

If you’ve spent even a hot sec on an inspirational entrepreneurship Instagram account, you’ve come across the quote “Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.”

I’ve built my business to a stable and profitable place, but in all honesty I got here by trial and error. Looking back, there were definitely ways that I could have prepared ahead of time so that when I started out on my own, it wouldn’t have been so daunting and touch-and-go.

Today I’m sharing 5 tips for anyone who is considering making the leap into self-employment.

Whether you plan to start a services-based business or sell products (physical or digital), I hope that these suggestions give you something to think about before taking the plunge.

Let’s take a look, shall we?

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What should you be doing every week to grow you online business?

Entrepreneurs, freelancers, online business owners… gather round everyone, ‘cause this conversation applies to all of you!

Today we are going to go over the extra things you should be doing every week in addition to your regular tasks in order to grow your online business

Now, those of us who don't work a traditional 9-5 job will know that an outrageous amount of time spent working on our business isn't actually related to the products/services that we’re focused on.

For example, you'd think that as a web designer/developer I spend most of my time building and designing websites. LOL nope! While that's definitely how I spend a lot of my working hours, there's a whole lot more to my business than that. Think: content creation, social media, marketing, accounting, promotion, etc. That’s something that surprises many of us when we start out on our own, just how many hats we will have to wear in order to grow a successful business!

Obviously, you are going to do the work directly related to your business. This could mean delivering services to your clients,  creating/updating products, hosting events, whatever. But your work also includes marketing the business, content creation, continuing education, emails, etc. 

If you’re on my site and reading my blog posts, I’m guessing your goal isn’t just to stay afloat - you're here to thrive in business. That’s why it’s SO important to consider the other business related activities that will help you grow and reach new milestones as an entrepreneur!

These are things I do every week and they have been vital to my success in business so far. I consider them non-negotiables of the best sort and I'm excited to share them with you today!

Let's take a look.

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Here's what I learned from launching my second digital product

A few weeks ago I launched my second digital product, the Income Tracker Spreadsheets, and I wanted to share my thoughts, observations and lessons learned from this project.

I really enjoy reading these sorts of “behind the scenes” posts from other business owners and for me personally, it’s fun to look back on them a few months later.

First and foremost, I’m a web designer/developer but as I start expanding my offerings to include digital products, I want to write about my experience (while it’s still fresh) and fill you in on what it’s really like to take an idea and turn it into something that you sell on your website.

Grab a drink and get comfortable because this is a beast of a post. Let’s jump right in!

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How much does it cost to run a Squarespace website?

They say that the best things in life are free, but sadly that isn't the case for running your beloved website.

There are inherent costs associated with running, operating and maintaining a website and there’s no way around it - you've got to pay to play.

I get asked a lot about how much it costs to run a website and in all honestly, the answer is that "it depends". I know, I know! You were hoping for a set amount but I just can't give you that because there are so many variables.

What I can do, however, is share with you the set cost of running a Squarespace website (meaning : the expenses you can't skip) AND fill you in on the other expenses that you can expect to pay to keep your site up and running.

Many people are happy to talk candidly about the income their website earns (read : money in) but it's harder to get people to open up about the actual operating costs and expenses (read : money out). Lucky for you, I have no such hangup :) If you've been following my blog for a while, you know I LOVE talking about money (examples here and here) and giving you a behind the scenes look at how much it actually costs to run a website and have an online business, so let's dive right in! 

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