Freelancers know how important it is to save for retirement, yet many put it off. Perhaps you don’t know how to start, you’re tempted to put that money back into your business, or you just can’t spare a substantial amount at the moment. Whatever the case, today’s guest can help change your mindset and give you the tools to start investing in your future before it’s too late.
Moshe Amsel is a tax consultant, personal finance coach and business strategy consultant with 20-plus years of experience in the information technology arena. He is also the host of the DreamBuilder Financial Podcast, a program aimed at simplifying and enriching the financial lives of individuals and small businesses. Listen in as he explains the tax benefits available to entrepreneurs and tactics that will help you start saving small to facilitate sustainable change. Making the right decisions now can have profound long-term effects, so let’s get started!
Key Takeaways
The significance of saving for retirement early on
Moshe’s tips for getting started
Retirement plan vehicles for solopreneurs
The benefits of hiring a professional to assist with retirement planning
Moshe’s advice for balancing the competing priorities of debt vs. retirement
Resources
Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
Todd Herman’s 90-Day Year Videos
Connect with Moshe Amsel
Struggling to balance business and baby? Many new parents choose entrepreneurship because it allows them the freedom and flexibility to spend more time with their children, but it can be challenging to juggle business obligations with time to watch Elmo and read picture books. If you’re looking for scheduling hacks to help you grow your business while you’re home with a baby, you’ve come to the right place.
Julienne DesJardins, owner of DesJardins Digital LLC, provides strategic support for entrepreneurs and small businesses. A Digital Marketing VA and Certified ConvertKit Expert who specializes in email and social media marketing, Julienne loves to blog about her favorite business tools and tips for work-at-home parents. Listen and learn how she went from side hustle to full-time solopreneur in just one year, why she chose to niche down, and what opportunities exist for VAs in the realm of email marketing. Julienne also offers guidance on developing retainer packages and setting priorities on days without child care.
Key Takeaways
The value of online networking
Julienne’s tips for niching down
Why email marketing continues to thrive
Characteristics of an email marketing guru
The email marketing tasks a VA might perform
Julienne’s advice for balancing business and baby
The advantages of offering retainer packages
Julienne’s guidelines for pausing a retainer
Resources
Free 5-Day Course: Balance Biz + Baby
Connect with Julienne DesJardins
Though tax season is a stressful time for many freelancers, we avoid asking for help or even talking about money. But the subject of finances shouldn’t be taboo – nor should it be a source of anxiety for you as an entrepreneur. In fact, today’s guest will teach you how to karate chop that stress and get your finances in order.
Melissa Whaley is a licensed tax professional, financial strategist and California mama of three. If profit is not a word you use to describe your business, then Melissa will work with you to build systems and make that dream a reality. As the owner of Whaley Bookkeeping and Tax, she helps solopreneurs and small businesses get their finances on the right track via virtual bookkeeping and tax consulting services. Listen in as Melissa shares strategies for tracking expenses and calculating quarterly estimated taxes, and get her advice regarding the free online tools available. Now is the time to stop feeling overwhelmed and get the deductions you deserve!
Key Takeaways
The difference between revenue and profit
How much should freelancers be setting aside for taxes
The deductions freelancers deserve but often miss
The importance of creating a system to track expenses and income
The necessity of establishing a relationship with a tax professional
Melissa’s top tip for new and aspiring online business owners
Resources
Connect with Melissa Whaley
Christine Morris is the founder of FabulouslyBalancedLife.com, a venture committed to helping busy entrepreneurs implement systems to support a successful business and a balanced life. She is a business mentor and productivity coach who has worked her way through the online business world, beginning as a virtual assistant who quickly built a multi-VA team before transitioning into the in-demand Online Business Manager and systems expert she is today, supporting six- and seven-figure business owners in managing their teams and creating strategies for growth.
Throughout her career, she has proven her ability to overcome adversity and use it to create opportunities for other entrepreneurs. In 2014, Christine’s family experienced a devastating fire 30 days out from a live event she was coordinating for a client. With systems in place, the event went forward as planned and Christine was able to outsource her work and take the time off she needed to recover. She used this opportunity to reflect and realize what was truly important to her and what didn’t fit for her family. Christine designed FabulouslyBalancedLife.com to share her passion for helping others create a life that is more in line with both their personal and professional goals.
On this episode of the podcast, Christine shares strategies for landing clients as a VA/OBM, developing systems for your business, and establishing effective working relationships. Listen and learn when to outsource and how to own your expertise!
Key Takeaways
Christine’s strategies for landing clients
The difference between a VA and an OBM
The importance of creating systems that are documented and centralized
Christine’s guidelines regarding documenting systems
Christine’s advice about determining what to outsource
The 90-day dating period you should expect after hiring a VA
The significance of owning your expertise as a VA/OBM
Resources
Christine’s Workbook http://fabulouslybalancedlife.com/workbook/
International Virtual Assistants Association http://ivaa.org/
Connect with Christine Morris
Allison Gower is the President and CEO of Allison Evelyn, Inc., offering content, media and marketing services to a variety of local and global clients. She helps business owners find their voice and establish their online presence through content writing, blogging and landing placements in the media.
After graduating from San Diego State, Allison landed a job in marketing and sales with a video production company. In her role there, she discovered a love of writing. Fascinated by getting to know the client’s brand and how they defined their voice, Allison started freelancing in this capacity on the side, and eventually, one of her freelance clients offered her enough work to quit her day job.
Three years later, Allison has established her own company and continues to thrive as an entrepreneur, helping prominent businesses such as LaJolla.com and iPetitions connect with their audience. When not typing away at her co-working space in sunny San Diego, she is practicing yoga, hopping on a plane or facilitating video projects. On this episode of the podcast, Allison shares her approach to planning for trips that take her offline and several of her favorite travel experiences. She also offers advice regarding the business aspects of freelancing and the benefits of joining a co-working space.
Key Takeaways
The benefit of establishing a business
The challenge of doing solo work as a freelance writer
The advantages of joining a coworking space
Allison’s tips for freelancers interested in pursuing travel opportunities
Allison’s favorite travel experiences
Allison’s best tips for emerging entrepreneurs
Connect with Allison Gower
Kathryn Moorhouse is a Pinterest Expert and Social Media Strategist based in South Africa who helps high-performing female entrepreneurs grow their audience and income. As an entrepreneur herself, she understands the ins and outs of marketing an online business, and her passion for Pinterest has led to an expertise in that niche.
With degrees in Investment Management and Marketing, Kathryn began her career in the corporate world but soon realized the corner office might not be for her. Then she became an au pair and discovered a need for kids’ clothing compatible with outdoor activity, so she founded the handmade brand, Zoey and Logan. She sought strategies for growing that business through Facebook groups, and connections she made there led to VA work managing social media accounts for other businesses. Kathryn soon found that Pinterest was her forte, and she has narrowed her focus to a single platform.
She is an obsessive planner and organizer with a deep love for good coffee, doughnuts and going on adventures around the world. On this episode of the podcast, Kathryn communicates strategies for landing clients and the value of choosing a niche!
Key Takeaways
The secret to a successful business
Kathryn’s advice for landing clients
Kathryn’s parameters for niching down
The beneficial features of Pinterest
The value of focusing on a specific niche
Kathryn’s best tips for budding entrepreneurs
Resources
Connect with Kathryn Moorhouse
Athena Santora writes copy that (actually) sells for startups and small shops. She is the founder of Bevy, a courageous digital agency that builds websites for clients in the US, EU and Australia. Over the course of the last year, the company has grown to span five countries and to craft digital marketing assets of all kinds.
Born in the States, Athena now splits time between her hometown of New York City and her new town of Barcelona because she can’t bear to give up residency in either one. An Ivy League graduate and lifetime learner, she is driven by the idea that intentional design and savvy sales copy can meaningfully connect people, even through a screen.
On this episode of the podcast, Athena shares her approach to identifying ideal clients and pricing based on the value she provides. Learn to trust your intuition and get paid what you’re worth!
Key Takeaways
The pros and cons of platforms like Upwork
The value-based pricing model
The advantages of a value-based pricing model
The common pricing mistakes freelancers make
Athena’s principles of negotiating price
Characteristics of an ideal client
Athena’s best advice for new freelancers
Resources
Laura’s Ideal Client Blog Post & Workbook
Connect with Athena Santora
Jim Palmer is a marketing expert, business coach, entrepreneur, author and speaker. Founder of both the Dream Business Academy and Dream Business Coaching and Mastermind Program, he works to provide Smart Marketing and Business Building Strategies for growth-oriented entrepreneurs and small business owners. This mission extends to Jim’s hosting enterprises on Dream Business Coach TV, the hit weekly web TV show with an audience of thousands, and Stick Like Glue Radio, a weekly podcast that helps entrepreneurs take their business to the next level. Jim is best known internationally as ‘The Dream Business Coach’ and creator of No Hassle Newsletters, the ultimate ‘done-for-you’ newsletter marketing program used by hundreds of clients in nine countries.
The first step in Jim’s path to successful entrepreneurship began when, at age 41, his lucrative position as VP of Marketing was eliminated. With four teenagers and a mortgage, he sought another traditional job, but long-term unemployment and a cancer diagnosis inspired him to launch his own small marketing business in October 2000. Eventually, Jim learned about internet marketing and direct response, which led to the creation of his wildly successful coaching business.
On this episode of the podcast, Jim offers a mini-master class in time management and the real grit of being an entrepreneur. Listen in and develop the confidence to say ‘yes’ and grow your own Dream Business!
Key Takeaways
Jim’s definition of a Dream Business
The ‘bookend schedule’
The difference between an employee and an entrepreneur
Jim’s guidance regarding when to start building your business
Jim’s advice to entrepreneurs just getting started
The necessary mindset for fostering adventure
Resources
Stop Waiting For it to Get Easier: Create Your Dream Business Now by Jim Palmer
Connect with Jim Palmer
Laura is back to help you deal with losing a freelance client. On this episode of the podcast, she talks you through the necessary process of self-reflection and offers strategies for replacing lost revenue when a contract ends.
Learn from Laura’s experience as she shares mistakes she made early in her freelancing career. She was able to leverage those missteps into learning opportunities and develop a knack for replacing lost revenue quickly through a savvy hustle that includes capitalizing on established client relationships and expanding service offerings.
Laura also offers advice on how to recover from the loss of a client, emotionally and financially. Listen in and learn her practical three-step approach to rebounding when a client chooses to end a business relationship!
Key Takeaways
The reasons why a contract might end
Laura’s advice about learning from your mistakes
The need for clear, specific feedback from clients
Laura’s tips for replacing lost revenue
Resources
Laura’s Full List of Courses https://laurapennington.teachable.com/
Connect with Laura Pennington
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