Gawain/Blake Book Giveaway (Mixed-Up Music); Neubauer's Scribble One Exercise; 20Q w/Dawn Kotzer; Somatics; Gratitude, Purpose, Faith. Read more...

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Spring is just around the corner, I can feel it. It’s time to celebrate with flowers and rainbows, especially with St. Patrick’s Day coming soon. So today we are having fun with paints, creating a few swirly rainbows. We’re using paper plates and coffee filters to capture the pretty colors. Supplies for Rainbow Painting Craft: [...]

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As creative entrepreneurs, there are a million and one items on our to-do lists.  We create our product, cultivate a target market, and grow our brand.  We’re the salesperson, producer, marketer, photographer, packer, shipper, social media manager, customer service rep…need I go on? This can be dangerous territory - burning the candle at both ends can lead to major dissatisfaction.  When did the thing we were so passionate about become the thing that caused us so much stress? When did the hours spent in the studio creating turn into an endless to-do list for the business?You can easily navigate the growth of your business by remembering one very simple, but essential, truth:  you are, at your very core, a creative.You were made to imagine, to make, to design, to sketch, erase, and sketch again.  You need to feed this aspect of your being in order to be productive in all the other areas of life & business.  Your mind will tell you when your creativity is under-nourished...it comes in the form of procrastination, frustration, restlessness, or anxiety. We don’t need hours per day to feed our creative brains, or complex projects to challenge our artistic goals.  We just need a little shift in our mindset to restore the balance between the left and right sides of our brains.  Here are a few easy tricks to try during your work days this week:1. Just Do ItWhen was the last time you drew, created, made, designed just for fun, with no goal in mind? Playing can be one of the greatest paths to fresh, new ideas—giving ourselves permission to play can be a big challenge, but it’s actually a great way to give your productivity a major boost.2. Think Like a KidChildren are a great inspiration for any creative brain.  One of their best qualities is their complete and total lack of fear. They’re willing to try anything & don’t get too caught up in what “could” happen.  They just try.  Get out of your own way just once this week and try something new—see how it feels.  I bet you might like it.3. Find a New Way to Connect the DotsThe cornerstone of the creative mind is the way it sees things—always a little bit different.  Use that asset to its fullest.  Look for new ways to connect the dots in your product or other areas of your business; can you find a new way to market your design, or produce a cool promotion that boosts your social media presence, or refine your website. Look at it all through a different lens, ask questions, and listen to feedback.  It’s all going to help you grow.Give yourself the opportunity to expand on your own creative vision this week.  I’d love to hear what comes up!  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.Main image courtesy of kenteegardin

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Two Creativity Triggers to Jumpstart Idea Generation. Read more...

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The 14th has come and gone, but it’s still the Month of Love. Unfortunately for my husband, I’ve got Baby on the mind. (Our little Zoë was born December 7th). So it seemed fitting to explore a few keys areas on being green with baby. Not surprising, we’ll focus on what occupies a newborn’s time: namely [...]

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Hello friends! Hope everyone had a great weekend! I saw these mini chalkboards at Jo-Ann’s recently and thought they would look so cute on my children’s door. Now that my son is learning more about words, I thought it would be fun to make him his very own name board. This is a great activity [...]

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This guest post is brought to you by Outright.com, the easiest way to manage your business finances online.In an earlier post, we briefly covered the brand new tax form 1099-K. Basically, we told you that it exists, and could be a headache for ecommerce sellers around the world.But the more we cover the 1099-K, we notice we still get a ton of comments and emails from Outright users who have just heard of it.  Furthermore, they seem really confused about what precisely is on the thing and how to use the information on the 1099-K when filing their taxes!So, we’re back to settle the score with the 1099-K. Hopefully after reading this post you’ll have a better understanding of this mysterious document and whether it will really affect your business.What Exactly is Reported on the 1099-K?The purpose of 1099-K is simply to report to the government income earned by U.S. Citizens via electronic means (i.e. PayPal, Amazon, eBay, credit cards, etc.).  But, income is literally all that it tracks.If you’re wondering if the form tracks business expenses – it doesn’t. Or PayPal fees – nope, none of those. What about refunds and returns? Uh-uh. The figure found on your 1099-K simply reports how much in income you made through PayPal (or whatever electronic payment processor issued you the form).Because of this, the amount reported on your 1099-K might seem a little higher than you expected. But that’s okay. If you have kept track of all of your business expenses – fees, refunds, cost of goods sold, office supplies, advertising, etc. – then you won’t be hit with a huge tax bill. Just remember that it’s your job to show the government your expenses when filing your taxes.Where do I Report the Amount from my 1099-K when doing My Taxes?Another source of confusion is where to enter the figure found on the 1099-K into your taxes.  For self-employed people and LLC’s, there is a specific form, the Schedule C, that’s used to report to the IRS. But the wording on this year’s Schedule C has some people thrown off.You do indeed use Schedule C for entering the information. And this year, there’s a dedicated line for the 1099-K...line 1a. But wait! The instructions next to it say to enter “0” for 2011 no matter what. So what gives, pal?The reasons are mysterious, and may serve just to get people ready for the 1099-K’s prolonged existence. But whatever the case, go ahead and mark down that “0” on line 1a. The line you want this year is line 1d, which lets you give total gross receipts for stuff like credit card transactions. But one caution: the IRS still receives your 1099-K this year. If the 1099-K shows you made $50,000 while you report a mere $20,000 in income, you are going to hear from the IRS with some very pointed questions. Once again, that’s why it’s so important to include ALL of your income on Schedule C line 1d but to then track your expenses.That’s really about it! But one more time, make sure you remember to track and record your own business expenses and deductions, as again the 1099-K doesn’t take ANY of that into account. But hopefully the mystery has been taken out of the process and you can put your taxes behind you soon and concentrate on selling once again.If you have any more questions or concerns, head over to our Tax Resource Center!Worried about that Schedule C? Create a free Outright.com account today and make tax time less taxing!

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There are days when the writing muse holds an author’s hand and directs her to create wonderful masterpieces. Then there are the dreaded other days when nothing comes to mind. Read more...

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Creative writing with word tiles and cryptograms. Day 37 writing prompt from The Write-Brain Workbook. Read more...

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Feeling thankful can take practice. Five suggestions for writing your way towards gratitude. Read more...

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