This guest post is brought to you by Outright.com, the easiest way to track your business finances online.Trying to keep your tax tasks in order? You should make a small business tax calendar! To get you started, we’ve collected some dates you should add ASAP. They range from quarterly tax due dates to filing extension dates, and should get you on your way to a successful – and timely – 2012 tax year.January 17, 2012Are you self-employed or otherwise need to pay quarterly tax payments? Then January 17, 2012 is the day you need to have that payment ready and sent off. Usually it’s on the 15th, but this year that falls on a Sunday and the following day is a federal holiday, so you get two extra days to get your final 2011 quarterly estimated tax payment together!January 31, 2012If you work with PayPal, you may be getting a brand spanking new form, the PayPal 1099K, in the mail at the end of January or early February.  If you made over $20,000 through 200 transactions or more, you qualify for the tax form, which basically reports your income to you.Keep in mind this form only reports income and not any business expenses you want to use for deductions. Also, this is the first year PayPal has attempted this, so it’s best to keep your income records in order rather than relying on PayPal’s numbers, just in case they goof up.April 17, 2012Of course this is the day that everyone fears – the big dance when it comes to tax time! If you haven’t applied for an extension, then your 2011 taxes need to be all figured out and sent off by this day. If you need to file for an extension, make sure it’s in by April 17th, 2012 (Important caveat: Filing a tax extension is free and easy, but it only allows you to extend the time you have to file your tax paperwork. Vexingly, the money you owe the IRS is still due on April 17th, 2012, no matter whether you have your paperwork together or not).For the self-employed, this is also when your first quarter 2012 estimated tax payment is due. Make sure to get everything sent off by this date to avoid fees and other issues.June 15, 2012Fancy a guess what this date is for? You got it – time for another quarterly tax payment to be sent off.September 17, 2012Go ahead and mark this one too. After this payment, though, only one more to go, and that’s not until 2013!October 15, 2012If you filed an extension in April, your time to procrastinate is now over. October 15th, 2012 is when you need to have your taxes done and sent off. Otherwise, you’re going to be hit by fees and other possible consequences from the IRS.December 31, 2012What tax stuff could possibly go on this date? Well, it’s not so much anything is due, but this is the date you should have all your tax information ready to go. Not necessarily tax forms filled out, but organizing documents and taking pictures of current stock and office setups should be done by now. It makes your life much easier when everything’s in order – especially taxes!Is this your first year selling online?  Outright.com has created a wonderful tax guide for first year online sellers (this guide uses Etsy as the sample platform, although it's applicable to sellers using any online platform, including Meylah).  Download Free Tax Guide!Worried about tracking your expenses? Outright automatically imports your financial information from your bank account, PayPal, Meylah, Etsy and more. Sign up today for free Outright.com account through tax season 2012!Main image courtesy of Jason Dirks Photography

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Are you looking forward to next year?  Are you going to do anything different with your business?  With the end of the year wrapping up quickly, it's the perfect time to think about your 2012 business strategy.We're all looking forward to growing our businesses and the end of the year is a perfect time review the things that are going well and the things that can be improved.  With that said, we thought we'd share a few quick tips to get your business ready for the new year. 1. Make a list of the things you should repeat and the things you should change in your business to improve next year.2. Send your customers a thank-you note for their support this past year.  It's so easy and will definitely differentiate you and help build your brand loyalty...so take the time and say thank you.3. Start preparing for your taxes by gathering all of your revenue and expense information for 2011.4. Identify the shows and events you want to vend at in 2012 and outline your application process for each of those shows so you don't miss any deadlines.5. Research ways to improve or reduce your costs including your supplies, packaging and even shipping.  Decreasing your costs is a great way to increase your profits on each and every sale.6. Create a monthly publishing calendar to plan which days you want to list new products in your online store…being consistent and fresh is key to keeping your customers coming back!7. Set aside some time to read & catch up on the latest trends and news within your trade.  Knowing where the market is headed can provide you with a great opportunity.8. Reward yourself with a break...it's the end of the year so relax for a bit and enjoy your accomplishments in 2011.What are you doing to get your business ready for next year?Main image courtesy of eschipul

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We are so proud of the content we provide to all of you (our community) on a regular basis that we wanted to make sure you know that you can read it from several different sources...here are some of the options:1. The quickest way is to bookmark this page on your browser and then visit us regularly...also, this way you can view all the past articles in our Learning Center and search for specific topics like social media, blogging, online selling and more!2. You can also subscribe to our blog and read it in your email.  Just enter your email address by clicking on the email icon in the upper right hand corner of this page and you'll start receiving each post automatically in your email inbox. 3. Another way to subscribe is through an RSS feed.  Lots of people prefer to read blogs using an RSS reader...the benefit is that you can read several different blogs all in one place saving you lots of time from clicking between different web pages.  Once you setup your reader, just paste this link (http://feeds.feedburner.com/meylah) into it and you'll start getting all of our blog posts immediately.4. One of the more social ways to read our blog is by following us on Twitter or liking us on Facebook.  Thousands find this very convenient as each post is automatically shared on a regular basis across Twitter and Facebook.What's your favorite way to read our blog?

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When it comes to New Year’s Eve, I’m generally so worn out from Christmas, that all I want to do is curl up in bed with the husband, watch a few episodes of Parks and Recreation on Netflix, and fall into a deep slumber…by 9:00.  Oh, and somehow the 5 kids are all in bed [...]

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Somehow I felt I could not do it with words or with my camera. I looked around me and found sheets of paper and a pair of scissors. I began to cut. I kept cutting for a week. More...

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It’s been quite the adventure. A very happy childhood in Vietnam, which effectively ended with profound experience as a refugee in camps in Indonesia during the 80’s, followed by settlement and integration into a western lifestyle. More...

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The New Year is right around the corner and I am sure some of us are already thinking about healthy eating. If healthy eating is one of your New Year’s goals, make this Sweet Potato Kale Soup. It is easy to make and good for you. The soup is colorful thanks to the orange sweet [...]

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The end of 2011 is coming up fast...the holiday rush is over and 2012 will start brimming with possibility.  Are you and your business ready to take full advantage of it?  Planning for a new year is always a little daunting & stressful, especially since you’re coming off of your busiest time of year.So, the first thing you’re going to do after the holiday rush is spend a couple days relaxing with your family & friends, putting your feet up, and drinking a few glasses of wine.  You’ve earned it!Once you’re feeling rejuvenated & ready to tackle your 2012 business plan, we’re going to jump right in with both feet.  The first step of setting up your 2012 strategy is actually not about projecting sales, or constructing marketing plans, or designing new products.  Really—it’s all about reflection.Taking the time to reflect on the past year’s achievements and opportunities forces you to recognize and acknowledge where you need to work, and celebrate your major wins...do it.Give yourself a solid 3 hours of time with no interruptions, no distractions, no other tasks to take care of.  Just you & your journal (or laptop, or just a pen/paper)...ok, let’s get to work.First, we’re going to list 10 things (big, small, or in-between) that your business accomplished in 2011.  Here are a few questions to get you thinking:Did you meet your sales goals? Marketing goals?Were there any specific launches during the year?Did you add/remove any products, income streams, etc. that enhanced your business?Did you get any major press or publicity for your business?Second, list 10 things that were a challenge or opportunity for your business in 2011. They can be as big as a catastrophic product launch or as small as a dispute with an unhappy customer.Third, let’s talk about you.  (I know...but you need to do it.) What were your major wins of 2011?  Did you launch an awesome product, have an awesome entrepreneurial development, or do something that made you feel really awesome about yourself?  Let’s hear it.Did you take any classes, read any books, or attend any events that broadened your entrepreneurial horizons?Did you change any of your business processes for the better?Were there any initiatives (like a social media campaign or product design) that you really knocked out of the park?What are the specific areas of your business that you really excel in?Did you end the year feeling satisfied & proud or anxious & stressed out?Finally, where do you feel like you could’ve done better?  Knowing your own limitations is a sign of a truly successful entrepreneur—we can’t be perfect at everything.  There is always something to revise, improve, cut out, and add in.  We couldn’t call ourselves creatives if we didn’t think that way!Ok, now walk away from the exercise for a few hours—you just did a lot of work.  See if anything pops up when you come back to it. Once you feel like you’ve got the full picture of 2011 written down, we can get started on building your strategy.  In truth, all of the information you just pulled together IS your 2012 business plan—you just need to formulate it into action steps and here are 2 places to start:1. Look at your major accomplishments of 2011 and see if you can you use the same approach for other areas of your business.  No need to reinvent the wheel if you’ve discovered something that really works for you, keep on using it.2. Rank the top 5 opportunities (for either your business or yourself) by how they impact your bottom line financials or how they might inhibit the growth of your brand—these two things that can quickly kill your business if you don’t tackle them.  What can you do to fix them in both the short & long term?These two steps are the foundation for creating all your actions, plans, and development for 2012.  Ok...ready, set, go!Megan Gallagher is a small-business strategist working with creative indiepreneurs at Method & Madness.  She talks business development, creative vision, and indie lifestyle through one-on-one strategy sessions, e-guides, and the Method & Madness blog.Get set up for success in 2012! Megan has a sweet new eCourse launching January 2, 2012 called Leap: 2012--create awesome alignment for you, your business, and your mission in the coming year.  Check out the details here.Main image courtesy of stefan.erschwendner

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It’s been quite the adventure. A very happy childhood in Vietnam, which effectively ended with profound experience as a refugee in camps in Indonesia during the 80’s, followed by settlement and integration into a western lifestyle. More...

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