Working Tuesday: Tax time...

For those of you thinking about starting a home-based crafting business, I have a couple words of advice. Please note, this isn't legal advice, nor should it be in any way construed as "tax preparer" level advice. It's just a couple practical suggestions from someone who wishes she'd known some things.

1. Keep all your receipts in a designated location. Sounds pretty basic, right? You'd be surprised how difficult this can be for "artist types." I'd much rather get on with making something than thinking about whether or not I've stored my receipts in the proper place. When tax time comes, however, I'm so glad that I HAVE stored my receipts in a central location!

2. Keep good records of your sales. So the notification comes that you've got a sale on Etsy and you're focused on packaging and packing and shipping. I get it. You want a happy customer. But you're also going to want a happy tax man and keeping good records of sales makes the tax man happy. If you're doing a show, this might be just a simple receipt book that lists the item sold, the cost of the item and the tax collected. With Etsy, it might just be printing out the sold orders page and putting it in that central place I talked about above. Either way, work ahead to avoid frazzles later.

3. Go to IRS.gov and familiarize yourself with the expenses in the Schedule C when you start your business. It may open your eyes to new receipts you should save or mileage you should keep and how to notate those expenses. Again, the tax man frowns upon guesstimates. Plan ahead and save some grief.

4. Ask for help if you are confused. There are a myriad of "small business" entities that can probably help you answer your tax questions. I know I've tapped my state resources when I've needed help. That's their job and they're usually happy to help unless there's some legal reason they can't.

That's it. That's my wisdom. It may not seem like much, but I wish I'd done some of these things when I first started a home based business those many years ago! And now, I've gotta get back to doing those taxes....

Working Tuesday: A for Attitude.

In my world, having a "business on the side" usually means the last thing that gets attention is the business. And having a passion for making things along with a passion for photography doesn't necessarily translate into having a passion for taking photos of said handmade objects and listing them on my online market of choice, Etsy.

That's where the "a-word" comes into play. I may be dead tired and trying to cram too many tasks into too short a time, but I've found sometimes it's my attitude that makes things happen. I can give up, sit down and give in to the tired or I can get up and see if I can cram just one or two more things into my day. It's a little game I play with myself. I'll work just 30 more minutes and then I can sit down. I can list these things while I "rest" and watch a TV show. Some days I'm more successful than others, but I believe that's one of the things that defines an entrepreneur - the "I think I can" attitude that drives you to do just one more thing, try just one more combination, make just one more item before you sleep.

Now if I could just put this into practice EVERY day my shop would be jam packed full!

Working Tuesday: Selling your creations

You've found your passion. Maybe it's gluing bottle caps into a wreath for Christmas? Maybe it's crocheting flowers into lapel pins? Possibly hand sewing together tiny little pocket books for use as a journal? Whatever it is, it's your passion. And your passion is rapidly piling up in your living room, your spare room, in boxes under your bed? Or maybe your friends have started to ask you if you'll make them a bottle cap wreath for their doors? Then, comes the dreaded phrase, "You should SELL these!" And the idea starts to grow in your head. And you start dreaming about ways to help finance your passion rather than using up your entire $10 a week in spending money every. single. week.

Yeah, I've been there. I get it. You have that need to create. You see designs where other people see piles of tchotchkes (yes, I had to look up the spelling of that too). But you have a passion and you have to create. So what's next?

We're lucky. In this day and age, there are many options open to us online that weren't available even 10 years ago. And the easiest and best known way I've found is etsy.com. Etsy - I pronounce it et-see (like set without the s and then like what you do when you use your eyes) - makes it ridiculously easy to set up an account. They have easy to follow directions available at the site.

Before you set up an account, however, think about a couple things. Most importantly? Your name. What's in a name? Your identity. This is what gives people an idea of what you sell. It's a way to convey a feeling about who you are and what you do. It's called branding. And though this may change in the near future, you can't change your name once you've picked it. So think long and hard about your name. It'll stick with you for a while.

For me, I wanted a name that conveyed timelessness while provoking emotion. I created a list of names, passed them around to friends who knew me and my work and asked them to vote on the name they thought fit me best. I even got several suggestions that were great. It's like doing market research without paying for a fancy focus group. I decided on the word Swoon because I like what it conveys - a flair for the dramatic, a bit of romance and - I admit it - it's also the name of an Imogen Heap song so the word was top of mind. And if Immi is using it, it's got to be cool, right?? Studios was both easy and difficult. We tried "designs" or "creations" - one was taken and another didn't fit. I ended up with the alliteration of Swoon Studio, that when I looked for the URL, it was taken. And thus Swoon Studios was born.

In the next couple weeks, I'll focus on the process of how and where you can start to sell your creations. In the meantime, start thinking about your name!

*Non-Swoon photos property of NewPrehistory, TheBroochBoutique and Zipper8Design, all etsy.com sellers. Click on the pictures to see their shops!

Falling behind?

It's been a couple weeks since I've posted and I guess it's because I've been falling behind. I'm not sure where the time goes and I'm really not sure how others manage to carve out the time it takes to run a business on the side and keep up a blog.

Since I'm behind on the business, I figured I'd share what I HAVE been doing the past few weeks. I work for an advertising agency. We do what's called issue advertising, which means I don't sell toothpaste, I sell ideas or concepts. Usually we're advocating for a piece of legislation, sometimes it's a candidate, sometimes we're helping a company with their branding or reputation. Theoretically, I should be better at branding myself, but I have found it's somehow harder when YOU are the product. Anyone with me?

I've spent most of the day working on a TV spot. This is pretty much the sexy stuff in advertising. I do a ton of print and quite a bit of online, but most of my days are spent just making sure the wheels are turning in the right direction in a campaign. So when I get to work on a TV spot, the day gets a little more exciting.

Because we're advocating for a piece of legislation, this particular spot is to tell legislators their constituents support the legislation. It should also let people know why we're advocating for this position so they can join our group if they're so inclined.

That meant going out with a video camera a couple weeks ago and shooting what people had to say on our issue. We had about 8 people who were willing to get on camera and talk about this issue - mostly just telling us what they think about it. We went through about an hour and a half of tape looking for exactly the right clips that would tell the story we need to tell in 30 seconds. This can become difficult if people are long winded because, quick fact, it usually takes 30 seconds to say 70 words.

Did I mention I've learned to liberally edit my writing in this job?

So today I spent many hours in a room with an editor sorting through the clips, trying to find just the right combination that would lay out the problem and the solution for our issue all ending with a rousing call to action. We're heading back tomorrow to finish what I think - at this moment - is very close to telling the story I need to tell. Sometimes, though, you have to look away from a piece in order to figure out how the puzzle will eventually fall into place as it should.

It made me realize that this is what I love about the creative process. You can start with a pile of random stuff and end up with something that makes sense - if only to you. And if you're lucky, you'll make a thing of beauty.

I'm probably justifying myself, but I think sometimes it's okay to fall behind. Because creativity can't be rushed. And the laundry is going to be there tomorrow.

I hope you'll be here tomorrow too.