After days of something akin to agony, I put the finishing touches on a first draft of an about page for a dear client of mine… and the whole thing got me thinking about my process, so I thought I’d share.

When someone new engages me to write for them, the first thing that happens is that Nita sends out a bit of homework, a questionnaire. Then, in the days before our project chat by skype, I sit with those questionnaire answers. 99% of the time, I read them and intuitively and immediately have a sense of the direction we’ll go. There are phrases and feelings that will jump out to me and I will feel the beginning stages of communion with this person I haven’t met yet (and yet we have met – because I believe you can meet through words).

Before our first meeting, I meditate and I pray. I ask that our connection be for the greatest good and the highest service. And then we chat and I ask lots of questions so I can get a really strong feeling of what it would be like to be vulnerable with this person, how they make that safe. That is what I’m always looking to convey in my writing for others – how it feels to be with someone.

With a notebook full of thoughts and scribbles from our interview compiled, I take at least a day away (and often three) from the project. There is percolating to do and this space, I’ve come to discover, is essential for me.

When I am ready to write, I open up my laptop and my notes and I think about the person I’m writing for and her intended audience and, again, I pray. I ask that I be a channel and that what I create – what I write – be used to connect my client and those who need her in the most loving, peaceful and healing manner. That might seem over-the-top but because my clients are all – on one level or another – healers, I think the responsibility of words is great. I’m not thinking that because I pray, every draft I write is perfect, but I do think it sets an intention and my hope is that in reading that first draft, my client feels heard and understood.

Intention set, I put my fingers to the keyboard. Sometimes the first sentences come out with ease. Sometimes, there is so much flow. But it always eventually stalls. Always. There always comes a point where things get sticky and gritty and I think I have no business being a professional writer. I doubt I can ever find the words to match the beauty of my clients’ work. I procrastinate. I muck about Facebook or answer a few dozen emails. I close up for the day, discouraged.

And then, the next day – or the day after – I get back at it, smooth all the rough spots of the first run, find a few phrases that I really love (“Hm, maybe I did get a thing or two right..”) and I complete my first draft. Along the way, I’ll be stopping to research and to consider and to think, too, lest one think all a writer does is type.

Sometimes, I have to go through the I’m pathetic/I’m okay cycle a few times in order to get that first draft out. But after 13 years as a professional writer, I’m getting more comfortable with this gritty part of the process. (Familiarity will do that.) I used to think I could skip it, but I can’t. Now I just plod through it, not stopping to lament too long. I know now that there’s always something else on the other side of the grit. And it’s usually pretty good.

First draft complete, I go through once more and clean up anything that doesn’t sing for me. I cull and cut and add and refine. I play with words. This is when it’s fun again. Actually, even the grit is fun… because it’s part of a whole that makes me feel creative and productive and vital and alive. Of service.

The next morning, the draft gets one more read and one more polish and then it makes its way from me to my client. I blow a kiss as I click Send.

And then await feedback, which is another post entirely.

~~~
Writer Carrie Klassen is a green tea enthusiast, author-in-progress, fine point pen aficionado, INFJ Scorpio, and chief creatrix at Pink Elephant Creative, a website writing and design boutique for inspired entrepreneurs. She also writes workbooks and teaches workshops at Pink Elephant Academy for Entrepreneurs.

A friend of mine, a fellow writer by the name of Kathe Lieber, wrote a Facebook post this morning that nestled its way right into my self-employed heart. To paraphrase, she wrote that it was thirty years ago today that she left her steady  job to “try out” freelancing and that she’s still “riding the rollercoaster.” I love this. I love that she has had the tenacity and endurance and courage and TALENT to keep at self-employment for three decades (and that she knows the anniversary date!).

Especially, I love her honesty in saying it’s still hard. There are still ups and downs – sometimes elating and sometimes harrowing.

Where you are right now, dear entrepreneur, whether in a high or a low… it’s all okay. It wouldn’t be a rollercoaster otherwise. You have permission to be in a dip and not feel stuck there. Dips are part of building momentum too, even if they don’t feel that way at the time. You, dear business owner, have made of your life a certain amusement park. That’s going to feel weird sometimes.

Another dear entrepreneurial friend confided last week that he was afraid I’d be disappointed in him when I found out he was interviewing for a salaried job. He also described his business as a “failure” as in its first 18 months, it hadn’t been able to support him. Please, everyone, know this: taking the leap into self-employment is the success. THAT is the mark of bravery and uncommon faith. That is what I will applaud every chance. Where it goes from there is in so many ways, to me, irrelevant.

But here is the other piece that really needs mentioning: most businesses don’t sustain their owners comfortably until five years in. Not having a mansion and regular tropical holidays (or just the bills paid on time) at year two isn’t failure; it’s normal. It’s part of the process. It’s one of the dips.

You know what else isn’t failure? Choosing to do something different, leaving a business and taking a job with a paycheque. My buddy thrives when surrounded by other people and the energy of that. He shouldn’t be working from home. That would be such a loss for all his future co-workers.. what a gift he will be to them. There is no shame in deciding life would be more comfortable with predictable income. You know best how to nurture your spirit and how to nurture your family. And you can do your Great Work at your kitchen table or in someone else’s boardroom just as gracefully. This I know for sure.

So as I sit here at my antique desk, sharing my seat with a sleeping cat, I’m so grateful to Kathe and to my unnamed buddy because I’m full up with admiration for them. They are both way-finders, and that is what the world needs. Their examples are blessings in my life. Thank you to you both for your creative, courageous spirits.
~~~
Writer Carrie Klassen is a green tea enthusiast, author-in-progress, fine point pen aficionado, INFJ Scorpio, and chief creatrix at Pink Elephant Creative, a website writing and design boutique for inspired entrepreneurs. She also writes workbooks and teaches workshops at Pink Elephant Academy for Entrepreneurs.

Dana Boyle LaPointe is a relationship coach and lawyer in my circles. She’s also one of my favourite Facebook friends for the beauty of her posts. This morning, I found this Hafiz quote she shared especially stirring: “Ever since happiness heard your name, it has been running through the streets trying to find you.” So perfect! I wanted to roll around in those words. (And, at minimum, turn them into their own happy pink badge for sharing.)

I haven’t always been happy and I don’t actually know anyone who hasn’t struggled with depression. Some of my friends who seem happiest also carry within themselves great pain and darkness. I think it’s part of being aware, of being sensitive, of holding the sorrows of others too. Of being human.

I don’t talk about this often, not for shame, but because it feels so far away now, so distant from who I am truly… but in the darkest days of my own, old struggle with depression, I (insincerely) tried to end my life. I’d been through a particularly painful chapter and while I didn’t actually want to die, I did want to stop feeling the way I was feeling. It was in the hospital that it became most clear that “This isn’t me.” (It would take many more years to begin to find out what was me, though.)

Just as I believe, as feeling people, we’re all susceptible to unhappiness and depression, we’re also all given an antidote. Mine is Beauty. Because that is my pathway to reconnect with my own spirit. Depression is a symptom of disconnection. We forget we’re wonderful and lovable and divine and perfect (under all the other stuff we’ve piled on that isn’t real). We forget we come from the same Source that made the perfume of spring lilacs or the paint strokes in Botticelli’s Venus. For me, I have to turn my awareness to Beauty in order to remember what is true; that that is in me too. That is real. Eternal. Unchanging.

For some, Pleasure is their antidote to depression. For others, Silence or Community or Creation or Travel. If you think back to a time when you felt pure joy, what were you doing? That will give you a hint as to what your own spirit loves, what your truest nature is, and what will turn you towards Happiness.

Because Hafiz is so perfectly right. Happiness is running for you. Skipping and hopping and cartwheeling through the universe, just hoping you’ll turn around and open your arms. It’s that easy. As quick as a choice. A blink, a wink. In any moment. I know it now.

There is no shame in being in that cave, under that dark cloak, in being sad, but what I want you to know for sure is that, no matter what, Happiness hasn’t deserted you.

~~~
Writer Carrie Klassen is a green tea enthusiast, author-in-progress, fine point pen aficionado, INFJ Scorpio, and chief creatrix at Pink Elephant Creative, a website writing and design boutique for inspired entrepreneurs. She also writes workbooks and teaches workshops at Pink Elephant Academy for Entrepreneurs.

Today is the full Strawberry Moon and that feels so perfect, not only because it’s pink and juicy but also because, as a result of a little personal announcement I shared recently, I cannot get enough organic strawberries these days. (For an exquisite treat, slice and mix them with pieces of watermelon and the juice of a lime – oh, goodness!)

There is something about a full moon that makes everything feel softer, rounder. Gentler. Our hearts feel bigger, I think. All the creative energy warms our blood. And it’s in that energy that I’m sitting right now, thinking about birth in all its senses.

Sometime around November’s Freezing Moon, I will understand birth in a new and profound way, with the arrival of our little peach. And my independent spirit is realizing – maybe for the first time – that there’s no more going it alone from here on in. Not only is there an extra little person for company but the challenge is such that it requires a circle of support. Over the coming months, because I have been so blessed by Pink Elephant that it is its own circle of generous, kind-spirited, conscious people, I will be inviting you to walk this walk with me too.

“We’re all just walking each other home.”Ram Dass

Because I don’t, just yet, know the way home. Life right now is following a path of beautiful lit candles, flickering. Many of you are mamas and papas and you know the turns I don’t yet. And while our walks will all be different, I know that there is wisdom and encouragement to share. And I want in on it!

Right now, my second trimester is a glorious surge of creative energy. (Not to be salesy here, but if you’ve been thinking about website writing or design services, this would be a good time to channel this other-worldly force!) I have visions of how Pink Elephant will shift and shape and – except for a sacred post-birth babymoon – I will still be providing the same care and services for clients. I even considered not mentioning this pregnancy here because the changes for my clients would be so imperceptible thanks to my wonderful team and the processes we already have set-up… but, really, it just feels too big to keep under wraps. I need you all in on it. And I want you all in on it.

So, dear mamas and papas, I have a request. What kind, encouraging words could your wiser self now give to your back-in-time four-months-pregnant self? What do you wish you knew? Would you be willing to share in the responses below?

~~~
Writer Carrie Klassen is a green tea enthusiast, author-in-progress, fine point pen aficionado, INFJ Scorpio, and chief creatrix at Pink Elephant Creative, a website writing and design boutique for inspired entrepreneurs. She also writes workbooks and teaches workshops at Pink Elephant Academy for Entrepreneurs.

That’s what I learned again in New York City last week. There were deadlines and to-dos (as ever) but I closed up my Pink Elephant email account and hopped a plane so that I could see the cherry blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Almost three years ago, I was going through wedding magazines while planning our wedding and I tore out one of the most beautiful pictures I’d ever seen. Blush linen tablecloths were draped over tables set beneath the cherry blossom boughs. White chairs circled them. Prettiness on top of prettiness. I thought, “I want to go to there.” So I pinned it to the vision board above my desk and waited for the opportunity.

The invitation came, indirectly, through one Ms. Danielle LaPorte. She was launching her book, The Fire Starter Sessions, last Wednesday. I bought two tickets and then the rest fell into place. (The JetBlue flight out of Buffalo was ridiculously cheap and I used my HotelTonight app to score a $159 hotel downtown!!)

But back to selfishness. There was no true practical need for this trip. And there were lots of other things I SHOULD have been doing (like, say, my taxes). When I got there, though, I realized, those shoulds were (as ever) lies.

We spent the first morning in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. I soaked up earth energies. I felt my spirit soar first seeing the cherry blossoms, and it somersaulted to smell the lilac grove (dear me, that was a religious experience). The azaleas looked like campfires – so red and orange and lit up in the sunlight. And the Japanese peonies were the size of my head. Ruffled petals in the thousands. To get to them, we walked under trellises of wisteria. I am a flower person (clearly) so this, this was my idea of heaven.

If there is a thing I love nearly as much as spring flowers, it would be modern art, so the next day, we hit MoMA, another of my spiritual homes. For me, seeing a Chagall is what it must feel like for some to bump into George Clooney. Every time I go to MoMA, there is a new piece to steal my heart. (I’ll tell you which did me in in another post.)

I left there, feeling lighter. And fuller. And that is the point. To be of service, we have to be full. We have to be. And you know this, dear entrepreneurs. This isn’t some secret wisdom I’m sharing. But in case no one has given you permission today to seek pleasure, let this be it. You MUST find your garden and your gallery if you’re to be successful.

You must, you must, you must. Because YOU are your cup. And you must runneth over. When you are joy, you spill over your life and all the people in it, and they’re better for it.

And everyone feels like they’ve skipped through a pink-treed pathway, grateful grateful grateful.

You MUST find your garden and your gallery if you’re to be successful.

~~~
Writer Carrie Klassen is a green tea enthusiast, novelist-in-progress, fine point pen aficionado, INFJ Scorpio, and president of Pink Elephant Creative, a website writing and design boutique for inspired entrepreneurs. She also writes workbooks and teaches workshops at Pink Elephant Academy for Entrepreneurs.

What is your garden and gallery, dear readers?

A few weeks ago, I was struggling with a decision. It wasn’t a major life decision; it wasn’t a crisis. But it was weighing on me. I’d found a retreat that seemed really inviting. There was lots about it that called to me. But I also felt resistance. Part of which was financial. It would be, for me, a pricey endeavor and would mean wiping out my savings and a little extra.

I wasn’t sure if my discomfort around saying “yes” was an irrational fear that I wouldn’t be able to make that money back, and thus an invitation to take the leap and trust. Or, if the discomfort was because it just wasn’t the right investment of energy for me. I’m sure many of you have been in similar positions.

I am, as you all know, wildly blessed to be surrounded by the likes of you. Healers and generous spirits, wise women and men who wonder about the same things I do. So, I posed this question on my Facebook page, and then delighted in the answers.

Q. How do you tell the difference between good you’re-stepping-out-of-your-comfort-zone-so-of-course-it-feels-weird fear and bad my-instincts-say-no fear? I’m trying to make a decision and my gut is too jumpy to let me properly check in with it.

Otte Rosenkrantz: My favourite response to that is “It’s called ‘Comfort’ Zone for a reason…”

The Communications Distillery: The last time I felt that fearful-but-should-I-anyway feeling, I didn’t go for it … and then I felt a little resentful when my friend DID and succeeded. In retrospect, I wish I’d looked at the potential future. Would you resent NOT doing it? Would you wish you had? What would the Carrie-you-always-dreamed-of-being do (aka WWTCYADOBD)?

Vivian Osal: When making a decision, I will ask myself “Is this a Truthful reflection of who I AM? Is this what I wish to Create for myself?” Remember to take deep breathes to calm your body and mind

Karl Gilmore: Flip-A-Coin

Laura Buchanan: What’s the worst thing that could happen? If you can live with your answer – go for it

Lisa Kelly: Like mentioned above — trying imagining yourself in the future and looking back. Would you have regret for not trying it?

Miriam Verhaar: Like some of the comments above, I ask myself ‘will I regret it if I _don’t_ do it?’ &/or ‘will I regret it if I _do_ it?’. Another question I might ask is do you want to be talked _into_ it? or talked _out_ of it? both sets of questions will give you an idea of the underlying current/feeling. & if there is so much fear that it is paralyzing you from taking action, then it’s probably not the right time to make a decision, or take action.

Jill Murphy: Get second opinions from two people close to you. Even the more clear guts need backup. And, whatever you choose can always be unchosen. Best!

Heather Gray: when I am in that confusion space (of not knowing what the inner guidance is telling me) I go for a walk in nature, drop the mental thinking about it, wait until I feel peace-filled, then I ask anew

Allison Rice: While the surface-level feelings for both sides are the same, I find that, for me, the deep inner voice always knows which it is. I have to take time and create space to check in with myself — and to remove barriers (like feelings of inadequacy or fear of letting someone down) to make the wise/bold choice.

Darryl Patterson: As my biz partner likes to say, “You have a 100% chance of failure if you don’t try.”

Nita Apple: I’m all for following your “gut”, but don’t forget you’re just recovering from the stomach flu, it (your gut) might be sending some physical messages that are left over from the flu. I’m with Heather Gray, create a peace-filled space and ask anew.

Marie Mikkonen: For me the comfort zone version always has an element of YES to it, it can feel like excitement, warmth or passion-fire. The instincts-say-no-fear always reduces my energy in some way. When I go with the fear it usually always includes an element of trying to please someone & I end up wasting both of our time. [just happened recently] Good luck with the decision ♥

Hazel Bissky: Check in with the energy in your body and feel if its heavy or light – heavy is likely a no… if you can’t get centred that’s a sign you’re freaking out about some aspect of what you are doing based on some past memory – try tapping it out – speaking your truth out loud like… I feel scared and I don’t know if this is me or someone else’s fear or if I’m afraid or excited and ( do you know the tapping points? ) if not just tap your crown chakra and third eye and throat centre… while you speak the truth of your confusion and see what comes out – this can be very freeing. Alternatively I feel there is a belief that if you step out of your comfort zone something bad will happen. This is your old belief that is holding back the forward movement – pay attention to it make sure you get to the source of the old memory and then clear it.

Water the Universal Healer: If it isn’t going to hurt you physically or morally, try it, you can always change your mind after

Bettina Goodwin: If there is a sense of peace behind it, then it is your intuition telling you to back away. If it seems more irrational and is full of thoughts swimming around in your head then it is fear that you need to walk through. Try this – picture a door and on the other side of it the decision. Walk up to the door and open it – how do you feel? Step over the threshold – what’s there? You’ve just stepped out of your comfort zone. The ego will never give you a straight answer, only long lists of pros and cons. But the source/connection to Divine, heart/soul will always give you a definitive and right answer.

Nysha Dahlgren: I ask the question before I fall asleep and let my unconscious do the talking!

Radical Creative Sanctuary: Well well Carrie, you are surrounded by some seriously intelligent heart warriors! The most effective method for me was suggested by The Communications Distillery. I know if I imagine the future, or someone else choosing this path, would I be regretful or jealous. Bam. It’s there.

I made my way through this list of inspired suggestions (thank you, all!) and at the end was quite sure my resistance actually had nothing to do with the cost; it was that I didn’t believe I would get the answers for myself that this retreat promised. Not because the retreat wasn’t what it purported to be, but because I wasn’t the right fit. At least not right now. It’s funny how the mind can get in the way, throwing irrelevant, old muck into the mix.

Because I wanted to be absolutely sure about this decision, I doubled-back to Jill’s tip – ask trusted advisors for advice. One of my most trusted advisors is my wise woman psychic intuitive business and life coach Laurie Anne. No one can help me cut through my own muck more quickly, and by the end of our session, she had me feeling very clear that this opportunity wasn’t for me right now. I expected to feel disappointed but, you know, the truth is always liberating, isn’t it? The “no” to this experience washed over me like the sweetest relief.  And I smiled to have been brought just a little closer to my own inner wise woman. The one who knew all along and was patiently waiting for me to hear her. (We just needed a little help from my friends.)

If there’s a decision you’re mulling or there’s any area of your life that could use a zap of otherworldly clarity, I simply cannot recommend Laurie Anne enough.

How do you make decisions when you’re feeling of two minds?

~~~
Writer Carrie Klassen is a green tea enthusiast, novelist-in-progress, fine point pen aficionado, INFJ Scorpio, and president of Pink Elephant Creative, a website writing and design boutique for inspired entrepreneurs. She also writes workbooks and teaches workshops at Pink Elephant Academy for Entrepreneurs.

Do you want to know an embarrassing secret? I sucked my thumb until I was double-digits. (I was a sensitive kid… still am.) Want to know what happens when you’re such an effective self-soother? You get crooked teeth. It’s something that’s always bothered me. Not in a dramatic way but in a gee-I-wish-I-could-do-something-about-this way.

So, at 35, I’ve been shopping for orthodontists. And braces, my friends, are expensive! In shelling out this money, what’s been a surprise delight is the business schooling I’m getting.

Often, clients confide they know they should raise their prices but they’re afraid that no one will be able to afford to hire them if they do that. It’s a completely natural fear – especially when you’re not yet bringing in the revenue you need to feel comfortable. But here’s the truth – as learned through braces shopping – people who want things will find a way. I “cannot afford” to be getting braces but I’m going to, because this is a solution I really want.

You know what else is crazy (but not)? I chose the most expensive orthodontist. There was another who lectures extensively, who was quick to show off an impressive portfolio, who I could tell was very, very good at what he does – but I just didn’t feel a connection. I could pay less money but I knew I wouldn’t enjoy being in his office. I wouldn’t love the experience of it. Instead, I chose the equally qualified but more pleasant (to me) orthodontist. And because I had such a positive interaction with him, it made me happy to pay him a little more. Truly. (And, trust me, I love a deal.)

Do you ever worry when you send out an invoice that it ruins your client’s day? Think of me, smiling to write a cheque for my soon-to-be-straighter teeth. My smile is how your client feels.

And that’s the other thing… I’m grateful to my orthodontist. I’m excited about the work we’re about to do. Do I wish it were a lot less money? Yup. Sure. But my focus is on the outcome. He is going to help me with a problem I am so looking forward to having solved. I am a willing spirit. If your clients have chosen you and you’re doing work for them that they need (and why else would they have called on you?), then they are willing spirits too. Don’t get mired in guilt or shame (“who am I to charge so much for something others really need? I could go without a nice dinner out this week to make my services even more affordable… I could go without…”) and overlook what is truly true: your client isn’t feeling the angst you’re projecting.

I have had clients tell me that they decided to work with Pink Elephant before they even saw the service menu. It just felt right. The same was true for me with my orthodontist. I knew he was the one I wanted to work with before he printed off his estimate. This isn’t a rare phenomenon for me or for the very fine Dr. Newton. It’s how most women make important buying decisions (and over 80% of buying decisions are made by women!).

We only make choices based solely on price when we aren’t that invested in the outcome. Are those the clients any of us want? The ones who are neither-here-nor-there about what we’re doing together? Nope. We want enthusiasm and care and commitment. We want orthodontic clients who will wear their retainers properly because they want the best result. And we want website design clients who are passionate about details and how their businesses are presented in the world (because they’ll most appreciate beautiful work). We want clients who really, really want to get fit and will show up for the workout. Or who are serious about following the meal plan, or who will come in for that 6-week check-up because that’s what their care requires.

I will write a really big (for me) cheque in a couple weeks when I pick up my aligners (I think that’s what they’re called), and then, I strongly suspect, I won’t think about that money again. After the trade, I will be too busy dazzling in the possibility of a really great smile (from all angles!).

~~~

Writer Carrie Klassen is a green tea enthusiast, novelist-in-progress, fine point pen aficionado, INFJ Scorpio, and president of Pink Elephant Creative, a website writing and design boutique for inspired entrepreneurs. She also writes workbooks and teaches workshops at Pink Elephant Academy for Entrepreneurs.

When I worked a corporate job, I rarely looked at my pay stub to see the taxes being deducted. Up here in beautiful Canada, it’s a big chunk so I was content to focus on what was actually making its way into my account. Let the government (and my fellow citizens) have what is the government’s.

When I became self-employed, however, things changed. There was no longer a payroll person doing the math for me every two weeks, which meant I had to figure it out. I’m not really one for reports and tracking so for the first years in business, I just winged it. I guessed at what I might owe in sales and income taxes and hoped that I had enough in my account. And while my guesses did end up being close, having to guess brought with it a vague and constant feeling of dread. The unknown tax bill hung like a cartoon safe over my head. Will I be able to pay it?

There’s so much more peace in knowing.

So last year, I implemented a new system for tracking revenue and taxes I would eventually owe. It was a binder system and while it was quite a clever thing in theory, I still let the receipts pile up all over the place until the end of the year instead of slipping them into the binder envelopes I’d made. For me, if a process is going to stick, it has to be SO easy. And I think that’s what I’ve got heading into 2012.

I bought an accordion folder (with high recycled content, of course) and named each section based on what I need to report to my accountant come next spring. (If you need inspiration, here are the forms our Dimitris asks us to fill out – they’ll show you various categories. Your accountant can help you refine yours.) I leave it open where I barely need to stretch from my seat to drop something in. Simple, simple. But that doesn’t mean every time I have a receipt I drop it in. Nope. I let them pile up in my pockets, purses and wallet. The printer tray is another great spot. And that’s okay. It’s part of my process. I let them build up and then, on the last day of the month, I sort them.

I don’t total any of those. I might do that quarterly or at the end of the year. I should do it monthly (and, smarter, should hire a bookkeeper to help) but, for now, my profit and loss statements are simple enough that I feel comfortable being inexact and intuitive. Because I don’t like the stress of surprises,  I do approximate what I will owe in sales and income taxes.

To figure out a rough number to set aside for taxes owed, I run two quick reports. I use Blinksale for Pink Elephant Creative invoicing so I can easily see what invoices were closed in a month and what amount of sales tax was collected. (We have to charge the harmonized sales tax – HST –  to fellow Canadians who hire Pink Elephant, and at different rates depending on which province they call home. We don’t  charge tax for clients outside of Canada.) The second report I run is through e-Junkie because it tracks sales for Creative’s sister business (this one), Pink Elephant Academy for Entrepreneurs. I add up the amount of sales tax from each report and then I move that amount from Pink Elephant’s chequing account into a business savings account. If I were really on the ball, I’d subtract the total I’ve spent in HST for that month’s business expenses before moving that amount over – since the government requires us to pay what we bring in minus what we pay out – but, as discussed, I’m being casual – I save the exact HST math and return for year-end. This way I have more in the account than I will need. And I like the way that feels.

The next bit of math I do is to total the  revenue (excluding any sales tax collected) from both of the reports and I figure out what 20% of that total is; then I move that into the savings account. That is the money I’ll use to pay my income tax bill next spring.  My tax rate at the end of the year likely won’t be 20% (it will be higher) and doing the math this way doesn’t take into account my business expenses – which will eventually be subtracted from my revenue to show true income – but I’ve found, for my business, that setting aside 20% of monthly revenue ensures there’s enough in the pot at the end of the year to comfortably write that tax cheque. If there’s extra left over, then that’s a trip to the spa (or somewhere more exotic!). You can figure out your own estimate by looking at last year’s tax bill and figuring out what percentage of last year’s revenue it worked out to be. Make sense?

40 minutes each month is all I need. Finding all the receipts and sorting them into my accordion file took exactly 13 minutes this afternoon. To run the two reports, transfer them to Excel so I could save them in a folder on my computer and then add up the totals took 25 minutes. It’ll be quicker next month now that I have a proper process in place. To sign into my banking account and move the funds around took an additional two minutes. If you’re adding, that’s 40 minutes. And now I don’t have to worry about taxes!

Dear creative entrepreneurs: how do you manage your money each month? How do you keep organized? Share your tips for other entrepreneurs in the comments field below.

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Writer Carrie Klassen is a green tea enthusiast, novelist-in-progress, fine point pen aficionado, INFJ Scorpio, and president of Pink Elephant Creative, a website writing and design boutique for inspired entrepreneurs. She also writes workbooks and teaches workshops at Pink Elephant Academy for Entrepreneurs.

I am a fan of online dating. I am. It is such an easy way to meet people you might not normally cross paths with otherwise. Without Lavalife, I never would have bumped into my now-husband Keith. That thought alone is enough to make me want to sing the merits of online dating from any handy mountaintop. Imagine who you might not be meeting! (The hunky, mountain-climbing, woodworking, haiku-writing opera singer is taken, but there will be others just as enticing.)

I know how hard it can be to write that profile to get started, though. What to say? It’s one challenge to write content that markets your business when you’re so close to it but describing yourself? that’s really hard. And vulnerable-feeling, right? But as tender as this writing might be, it can also be playful. Happy. Fun.

Yes, online dating can definitely be fun. So in the spirit of fun, dear readers, I want you to have this workbook, A mini guide for writing your completely charming online dating profile . It’s a free, instant download. You don’t have to sign up for anything. Just enjoy! (And let me know when you meet someone wonderful.)

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Writer Carrie Klassen is a green tea enthusiast, novelist-in-progress, fine point pen aficionado, INFJ Scorpio, and president of Pink Elephant Creative, a website writing and design boutique for inspired entrepreneurs. She also writes workbooks and teaches workshops at Pink Elephant Academy for Entrepreneurs.

The day before yesterday, I launched a brand new workbook, Selling Sweetly: How to write your sales page (in truth, the actual title is longer but this is easier to remember) and afterwards, a friend wrote to ask, “How did your project launch feel?”

What an interesting question! It felt… a lot of things. I beta-tested Selling Sweetly before the full launch so I already had the benefit of knowing how it might be received. I got great feedback early on and I incorporated as much as I could into the finished workbook. So I didn’t feel that nervousness (although when I sent out the first draft I did – it’s always vulnerable to show people what you’re up to and to ask if they like it or not). I felt excited to share it finally, a different kind of anxious energy. When you sit on an egg for so long, you want to see what hatches.

I was a little nervous about technological glitches. With the beta-test, we found out that Apple changed something in their PDF reader and preview functions. So my beautiful Bistro script, used in headlines? It disappeared for the Apple readers (which made a lot of exercises not make sense). The final draft had to use Georgia. Which was fine. But the Bistro surprise made me wonder what other surprises might be in store. But so far, eJunkie and various PDF readers have all cooperated as they should. Phew! 

Relief was definitely part of the emotional mix. I felt relieved to be done the work and to be able to release it into the world. No more tweaking, perfecting, fiddling. It was done. I loved creating that workbook. It’s the kind of work for me that devours time. But after hitting Send on the announcement and not having more to do, I realized it’d been a long while since I’d taken a day off. And I was tired. Tuckered right out. Still am, because I still haven’t taken that day off. That’s the problem with doing work that’s so enticing. (A very good problem to have!)

But the biggest thing I felt was – without question – GRATITUDE. I received so many notes of encouragement, and so many notes of thanks from entrepreneurs who bought the workbook. Fellow entrepreneurs posted links to it, sharing it with their communities. Others wrote to ask how they could help me spread the word because they loved the work. I was delighted. I think I spent most of Monday with a look of happy amazement on my face.

I am a very, very lucky woman to have my business supported by such a generous, loving, caring community. And this week was one more reminder of that. Thank you, all. xoxo

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Writer Carrie Klassen is a green tea enthusiast, novelist-in-progress, fine point pen aficionado, INFJ Scorpio, and president of Pink Elephant Creative, a website writing and design boutique for inspired entrepreneurs. She also writes workbooks and teaches workshops at Pink Elephant Academy for Entrepreneurs.