How to Become a Freelance Writer in 30 Days or Less (and Make $4,000 a Month)
I don’t often focus on the fact that I’m a freelance business writer, but that’s how I started my entrepreneurial career. I’ve since leveraged that into a business that brings in more money than my accounting day job used to. If you’re thinking of diving into the freelance writing space, or have recently started down that path, this is without a doubt a viable way to make a full-time living. Since learning how to become …
How to Be More Productive: The Best Tools for Creative Freelancers
After spending several years as a self-employed solopreneur myself, and working with a team of 3-4 people, we’ve tested out lots of different tools and apps to help streamline our business process. This has helped us learn how to be more productive as well as earn more money in less time. From managing our financial goals, to working with clients, to balancing everything on the go, our desire is to work smarter not harder. Likewise, your big goals probably include growing your online business, building a bigger and…
How to Budget With Irregular Income When You’re Self-Employed
I was recently a featured guest on the weekly Money Crashers Tweetchat (#mcchat), where the topic was all about Budgeting With Irregular Income. I regularly get questions related to this subject in my inbox, and on all my social media accounts. It’s something we all deal with as freelancers and business owners. It’s tough to balance finding new work, getting paid, and figuring out where your money should be spent. The worst part about having irregular income is that you never know …
Make Tax Season Less Painful: 5 Things to Reduce Stress
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of E*TRADE for IZEA. As always opinions are 100{0e584ec94eaa64d073763ee1dc286a1f4d0f941424b1448bbfd01af7d90f9475} mine and never influenced by any brand. Tax season is a topic we love to hate. Nothing feels worse than working hard all year long only to end up with several hours of tax prep, followed by a large tax bill. As business owners our taxes aren’t quite as simple as they used to be when we were employees with a W-2 from our jobs. Our business and knowledge of success continues to grow and because of this we’ve become investors too (even if we’re in the beginning stages). We see the importance of investing in…
Quarterly Income Report: How I Made $17,655 From Blogging (Q1)
At the beginning of 2015 I made a decision to focus less on client work and more on turning my blog into a sustainable business. After months of dealing with inconsistent income and taking on a bit of business debt, I decided I needed to take back control of my income by leveraging this blog. Mind you that I didn’t say “pimp out this blog” which is what a lot of freelancers do in order to make a living online. I’ve carefully crafted this platform over the …
What Happens if You Miss the Tax Return Deadline?
This post is part of the TaxACT #BeatTheDeadline blog tour which shares tips on how to make tax time a smooth and easy process before the April 15 deadline. TaxACT provides the tools and guidance to help you confidently file taxes easy and fast. Do your own taxes today at TaxACT. You got this. The tax return deadline is quickly approaching, so if you haven’t filed your taxes yet, you still have a bit of time (but not much!). I’m basically reminding myself of this because I still haven’t filed my taxes yet. Gasp! I know right?! The main reason I haven’t filed yet isn’t for…
How to Choose the Best Business Checking Account as a Freelancer
As a self-employed freelancer, most of my financial business is done online or with mobile apps. But choosing the best business checking account can be daunting. Plus, you want to make sure you don’t spend extra money on fees. I’ve seen the benefits of technology and how going digital makes me more productive and streamlines my life. Oddly enough though, many consumers and small business owners (about half) still bank at traditional banks! It’s time you embrace technology and the benefits it offers, by finding the best business checking account. Some solopreneurs …
How to Find Affordable Health Insurance When You’re Self-Employed
So you missed the health insurance deadline and had to pay a penalty on your tax return? Don’t worry, you still have options — some of which are actually affordable. If you’re like me, you are probably procrastinating on applying for health insurance because you just don’t think you can afford the $400+ premiums per month. (Depending on your state and whether or not you’re single or married, your premium may be more or …
10 Business Lessons I Learned in Vegas at New Media Expo
At the beginning of January I attended New Media Expo (formerly Blog World) in Las Vegas. I went to learn more about taking my online business to the next level, and meet some of my favorite bloggers in person. I had an absolute blast — and even though I didn’t win big at the slots or tables, I did win big when it came to picking up some tips and tricks. Here are the top 10 business lessons from my trip to New Media Expo. 1. Your brand needs personal photos In the first session I attended, the awesome CC Chapman talked about how using your own photos for blog posts is essential for your online business. With the …