Fact check
It drives me crazy when I talk to entrepreneurs who are stubbornly attached to projects, ideas, services, blogs—without a clear path to meaningful results or revenue.

Yes, commitment is required to be successful. I'm just concerned that some of you (entrepreneurs in particular) are misdirecting your energy into activities that don't produce results.

I should know, I've been there. About a year ago, I was fixated on winning Divine Caroline's "Love This Website" award. I was convinced that going all out for this award would put DailyWorth on the map and result in a tsunami of traffic.

We asked all of you, dear readers, to vote for us repeatedly over a three-month period. The net net, after all that time and effort? Virtually no measurable results, no surge in traffic, nada.

Bottom line: It was a giant waste of time.

Know the value of your time
I did learn one invaluable lesson, however: Time really is money, and if the time you are putting into a project, product or marketing effort isn't yielding a measurable return or a clear path to results—cut your losses and move on, or reconsider your tactics.

Bragging rights: How has a change of direction boosted your project, job hunt or business?

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Tara Gentile is the blogger behind ScoutieGirl and the founder of her own boutique web design company.

Bye-bye retail
In the fall of 2008, when my maternity leave was over, I quit my dead-end retail job and decided to explore work of my own making.

A few months later, I was earning about $1,200 a month as a fledgling blogger and website designer.

Today, barely 18 months later, my income ranges from about $4,000 to $5,000 per month; I'm booking jobs weeks in advance; and every day I take another step toward the financial security and abundance I once believed that I didn't deserve—and might never achieve.

From starving to thriving
How did I go from making $14 an hour in retail hell to creating actual personal and professional prosperity? Believe me, I never thought I'd be the one to raise my hand and say I'd crossed the line from starving artist to thriving artist. Even now I feel nervous saying so.

But in the last few months, I've had a revelation about my own worth, and the worth of my work. And because DailyWorth was part of that, thanks to its trademark "kick in the pants," I wanted to tell you what happened.

I'll never forget when I was working 50 to 60 hours per week at a well-known bookstore chain, earning about $28,000 a year.

The company justified its low wages by providing "an ideal work environment." Being surrounded by books and cheap coffee everyday is indeed wonderful but it doesn't pay your bills, help you realize your dreams, or bring you a deep sense of self.

I've always had a high idea of my personal worth, but I didn't put a lot of thought into the worth of my work, my innate skills or the things that I can produce.

At one point, I said to my co-manager, "I feel like I should be making more." And I remember feeling ashamed and embarrassed. What did I have to offer? Y'know, other than experience, passion, skills, and a knack for sales?

I stagnated. I even started to believe that despite my education and experience I wouldn't be able to find another job. So when my daughter was born in July 2008, I took it as an opportunity to start fresh, learning about myself as I learned about her. I quit after my maternity leave was over and never second-guessed my decision.

I bought a business
I found myself drawn to writing and to my own creativity again. I began blogging, built a web presence, and learned web design. I learned everything I could about beginning a web business and I invested more time than my husband would have liked! Exactly a year after my daughter's birth, I bought an existing business, with a loan from our credit union and a huge leap of faith.

I now had a huge audience to entertain, edify, and enrich. I took those responsibilities seriously, and soon several business owners started inquiring about other services I might offer: web design, coaching, development.

You mean I have to charge people?
Then came the dreaded question: what is your fee?

Uh... um... Well, I know I'm pretty good at this, but I don't have much experience so how about $25 bucks an hour for me to revolutionize your business or $150 to do this whole website. Heck, $25 an hour is double what I was earning before, right?

I certainly don't begrudge the people that took me up on those rates. I appreciated the income and the experience. And my business grew.

By January of this year, I had more inquiries than I could handle. I also received a link from a friend that showed I was leaving about $1,200 on the table every time I worked with a client.

Rates-raising time
What's a girl to do who's been reading the DailyWorth daily for eight months? I raised my rates. At first, slowly. Then, steeply. I researched what others who were doing what I do made per hour, per project, per client and I decided to charge something much closer to that.

Guess what happened? I haven't lost clients. My client list continues to grow, and now I'm scheduling jobs six to eight weeks ahead. Not only am I making a lot more money, I'm securing my income. I'm putting money into our savings account. I'm reinvesting in my business.

Over at Scoutie Girl, I've been writing a series of posts on embracing abundance and making the "kick the door down" decisions that create financial opportunity. I think artists and creatives (and maybe you, too?) often need that extra push. We tend to think that anyone could do what we do if they tried. We think that because what we create is often a luxury, that others won't buy if the price tag is too high.

I've even found myself worried that my colleagues and peers might resent me, that my success might be unfair to other people. There is almost a stigma around earning more.

What I realized, through the constant prodding of DailyWorth, is that my skills are rare, and that people are willing to pay for them. My skills are valuable—in terms of the time, peace of mind, and return on investment—to business owners. What sense does it make to not charge the true worth of these services out of some unfounded idea that it's too high or not fair?

Despite my new and improved mindset, I still get a bit anxious telling you this story. I am proud of what I make and what I'll be making by the end of this year but, because so many women in the creative community are mired in a scarcity mindset, I am worried that they will look at my income as "not fair" or "not justified." I'm learning to move beyond that. And I'm also doing my best to empower the creative community to accept their own worth.

My success is your success—and your success reminds me that my own is possible.



Tara Gentile is the blogger behind ScoutieGirl and the founder of her own boutique web design company.

Ask a question or leave Tara a comment below.

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Today’s DailyWorth is for entrepreneurs.

Put on your thick skin. It's time to get down to business.

A model approach
As a successful entrepreneur, friends regularly approach me to share new business ideas.

Can I be honest? I'm not that interested in your idea, or even how fabulous your product is. What I care about is how your business will make profit.

Don’t start throwing your hard-earned dollars into product development until you clarify your financial model.

1. Get real on costs.
   All products cost money: e.g. materials, labor, shipping, and some portion of your overhead (rent, utilities, taxes). As production costs rise, your sales margins drop. So let's consider the price.


2. Pick your price carefully.
   Price is a core issue, notes Megan Auman, CEO and founder of CraftMBA.com, and the author of a new ebook, released last month.
   
   "Too often, entrepreneurs fail to grasp the difference between wholesale and retail price," she says. Auman's rule of thumb:
   
   Wholesale price = Cost of materials + labor + expenses + a markup for profit


3. Calculate customer acquisition cost
   Calculate what it costs you to acquire each new customer, advises David Ronick, founder of UpStartAdvisors.com. Whether you're selling a product or service, "Pick a time frame, like three months," he says, "then figure out how many new customers the company attracted during that time, and what were all the expenses involved in acquiring that customer?"
   
   Your expenses divided by the number of customers yields the cost of acquiring one customer. Ronick adds that the margin (i.e. what you pocket) should be about three times the acquisition cost.

Bottom line
Love your idea, love your model more. Share your small business success stories here.

Read more...

Power point presentation
If you felt a blast of positive energy last night, either your tax refund arrived early—or you sensed the love emanating from the "Know~ing Your Worth" event, hosted by motivational guru Gabrielle Bernstein, author of "Add More ~ing to Your Life," featuring DailyWorth founder Amanda Steinberg.

Right on the money
We're banking on the love factor—because it was a night to remember. Gabrielle guided a group of over 150 women (many of you!) to find the source of their self-worth.

Amanda brought those lessons home with strategies for earning more, saving more and spending less. (MP Dunleavey and Jen Groover, creator of the famed Butler bag and author of "What If? & Why Not?" wrapped up the night.)

Know Your Worth
Amanda, Gabrielle, Jen and MP approached self-worth and net worth from all angles. Some highlights:

• Get clear about your worth. State it, repeat it, own it. "Don't mess around," Gabrielle said.
• Accept discomfort. Building a sense of self-worth can be challenging—even painful. Ask yourself, "Where does it hurt?", to learn what you need to work on.
• Earn more now. "Women earn 20% less than men," Amanda noted. Change your net worth now by earning more. Set lofty goals. Research your market value. Up your rates. Ask for a raise.
• Never believe your "limitations." Jen said: "When I got the idea to start a line of handbags, I said to myself, 'You can't even draw'." But she stuck with her vision, hired people to help her—now she's a wealthy entrepreneur.

How's your inner sense of self-worth? Tell us.

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Starting this Wednesday, personal finance advisor Galia Gichon is teaching a four-week teleclass for entrepreneurs. Use the code DAILYWORTH to get a 25% discount—and enjoy some of Galia's tips here.

Meeting your financial goals when you're self-employed can be tough—especially if your income is erratic.

Here's a WEEKLY exercise to help you get a grip on cash flow. If you have a life partner with whom you co-manage your finances, we suggest that you do it together.

Write down the following: How much is in your checking and savings accounts right now? What income do you expect to earn in the next 3 months? What are your monthly bills (including regular and irregular upcoming expenses) for the next 3 months?

By writing these numbers down each week, you'll gain clarity into the dynamics of your cash flow (got a white board?). The more you can anticipate dips, the more time you have to either earn more or cut spending.

How do you manage erratic cash flow?

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Back in May 2009, when DailyWorth was just learning to crawl, we published a post called "Sell Your Friends"—inviting our readers to promote their friends to the DailyWorth community.

Good karma. Good business.

It was such a success, we want to do it again. Let's take a break from all this talk of inflation, mutual funds and taxes to support and promote the women in our lives.

Reflect on the women you're already supporting...

Appreciate one who is helping you...

Think about who around you—at work or at home—could use some financial guidance, a job lead, or an entrepreneurial boost...

Now let's take it public.

We'll start. Here are some banners of women and organizations who have really helped DailyWorth grow by promoting us on their blogs and in the media. Thanks, ladies.

 

Your Turn!
Tell us about a woman-owned business that you love, and why. Links encouraged.

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Today's guest blogger Jenny Newcomer is a busy mom of 2 and the founder of LobotoME {eco-friendly organizational products} - For more information visit at www.LobotoME.com or Jenny's blog -- lobotomeblog.blogspot.com.

As an entrepreneur and mother of two young kids—and with college tuition of about $100,000 looming down the road—I realized last year that I needed to pay off the remainder of my own student loans, which have lingered like a bunch of forgotten junk in the basement.

Did I say forgotten junk? Right after the holidays in early 2009, a bell went off in my head. As I began the post-holiday cleanup, I realized how much STUFF we owned. Bags, shoes, DVDs, books, iPods, old laptops, old kayaks, skis that didn't fit, bikes that we no longer used, etc.

And I decided to sell it. All of it. And here's how I did it—and made $15,000.

1. Gather the goods. Go through your house, basement, attic, garage and make an inventory of items you could sell (smaller items can be gathered into a pile as you go). The majority of the items I sold were clothes, handbags, shoes and sporting goods. Also consider tools, small appliances, craft supplies, kids toys, etc.


2. Take pix. Assuming you already have eBay and PayPal accounts (and know how to use a computer), the next step is to take digital pictures of your first 10 items. The better the picture and description, the better the price. Ebay charges if you upload more than one image, but I suggest adding at least one additional picture as buyers like to see different angles and details.


3. Keep records. While taking pictures, jot down the size, measurements, materials, and any additional details of the item you are listing. Then, get an accurate estimate on shipping costs online at www.usps.com or www.ups.com. Generally, I ship things via Priority Mail flat rate boxes (as its easy to figure out what to charge). For example, a large handbag fits in a large flat rate box for $12.95.


4. Set your price. Anytime I list an item, I search eBay first for successful sales on similar items. This allows me to set a fair opening price (and also get good ideas for describing my item).


5. Sell it! Log on to www.ebay.com and click on the Sell an Item tab and list the items, one by one. Once I got into the rhythm, I could post 10 items in an hour. Also, be sure to check your ebay account frequently for messages, bidding questions, etc. Once the bidding has ended and the buyer has paid for the item, promptly ship it.

Here is the key part: Resist the temptation to use the money that you just earned to buy MORE crap! Transfer the money immediately from your PayPal account to your bank account and send a check off to pay off your debt or stash it in savings.

Here, some related links that I found helpful from Ramit Sethi and the folks on 43things.

Jenny Newcomer is a busy mom of 2 and the founder of LobotoME {eco-friendly organizational products}- visit www.LobotoME.com or Jenny's blog -- lobotomeblog.blogspot.com.

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Readers, please note that DailyWorth is retracting the section below on the home office deduction, owing to the complexity of this particular tax rule. We will post a correction soon, and a lengthier post explaining this deduction. Please check back.

"Tax time is serious business for anyone, but it's especially tricky if you're self-employed or run your own company," says Roni Deutch, author of The Tax Lady’s Guide to Beating the IRS.

Here, Roni Deutch's 10 tax tips to save you stress—and some money.

Small Biz Tax Basics:

1.	If you earned more than $400 in your business in 2009, you have to file a Schedule C, which is where you record business expenses, profit or loss. (If you made less than $400, the IRS may consider what you do a hobby, unless you can document otherwise.)
2.	If your business expenses are higher than what you earned, you can claim a business loss—which is good! Deduct the loss from your adjusted gross income on your personal taxes—which reduces the amount of tax you owe.
3.	To claim a loss, you must itemize your business expenses on Schedule C.
4.	If you claim a profit, e.g. if your income exceeds your expenses, you may owe self-employment taxes.

Money-Saving Deductions:

Deductions save you money because they reduce the amount of your taxable income—and thus the amount you owe.

5.

Office or Work Space. If you have a space that you used exclusively for business you may deduct: Part of the mortgage interest/ rent Part of the insurance Utilities Repairs Depreciation Deductions for a home office are based on the percentage of your home devoted to business use: e.g. if your office is 1/8 of your home, you would claim that percentage of your rent or mortgage as a deduction. If you rent space, you can deduct the full amount.

6.	Vehicle. If you use your vehicle for business, e.g. traveling to a convention or meeting, you can deduct a portion of your vehicle-related expenses.
7.	Utilities. If you're deducting a percentage of your mortgage/rent as part of a home office, you'd claim the same portion of utility bills.
8.	Materials. Deduct supplies and materials used to create your product or perform your service.
9.	Office expenses. You can deduct the cost of paper, printer and computer supplies, mailing or shipping expenses, internet-related expenses (web hosting, domain names, design, consulting, etc.) and subscriptions to business-related publications and websites. All office expenses are deductible if they are ordinary, necessary and related to your business.
10.	Meals. If you pick up the tab for entertaining clients, investors, you can deduct 50 percent of the cost.

But wait! There's more to deduct at the IRS website.

Need help? If you earn less than $42,000, you qualify for free tax help from IRS-trained volunteers. There are about 12,000 free tax centers around the nation.

Or use this Google Doc, published by the IRS.

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As seen on Etsy.com today!

2010 is almost here. How can you improve your business operations? One simple yet incredibly important financial step you can take is to separate your personal and business bank accounts. No more comingling of accounts, no more gray area, no more personal checks for business expenses.

Photo by mamaroots

Back in 2006, around tax time, I remember it taking me three days' worth of effort to separate my Quicken report into personal and business expenses. Opening a second bank account is pretty easy and, even better, free. Okay, so you have to buy checks. But the time it will take you to separate data “after the fact” is ugly. Think of it as time that you could be using to sell or make your services or products.

When Your Business is More than Just a Hobby

When you’re first starting out, it makes no sense to go overboard with new accounts or a dedicated credit card. It’s just a hobby, right? Wrong! Sales will start rolling in, and before you know it you'll have orders to fill and more raw materials to purchase. Suddenly, you need a website, an accountant, business cards and more supplies –- you even buy ad space on a few key websites. Do yourself a favor and open a bank account specifically for your business expenses.

Read more...

While the number of women-owned businesses has increased exponentially over the past decade, we're not raising venture capital to grow our businesses.

What is venture capital, and why should it be on your radar?
Venture capital (VC) is a type of funding designed to help small companies become big companies; it's usually hitched to some form of "exit strategy," such as sale to a larger company. A business owner seeking traditional venture capital has to show the potential for rapid growth and extraordinary returns.

Consider this: “In 2006, only 4% of venture capital-backed companies had female chief executives, and those companies with women as leaders received just 3% of the total dollars raised from VC.” (source)



Just 4%? Why?

1. Women aren't starting “VC-worthy” companies projecting rapid growth
   and exit strategies. We want to run small
   companies, and avoid the headaches
   of leading large ones.
   
   
2. We're so resourceful and skilled when it comes to
   bootstrapping that we think we don't need VC.
   
   
3. We struggle, more than men, when it comes
   to asking for money.
   

Is this yet another glaring example of under-earning, or merely a reality in the innate difference between men and women?

We need to build networks
According to Amanda Clayman, a psychotherapist specializing in financial wellness, women are still limited by "trying to do it ourselves" and lack networks needed to grow our businesses. "Women, for the most part, still operate outside of the traditional power structure. It's time we direct more energy toward establishing our own power networks. In order to grow, we need to learn how to ask for resources, support — and investment — when we need it."

Please share your opinion below.

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Today's guest blog post by Danielle Maveal was first posted on Etsy.com's The Storque: How-To blog. Thanks Danielle for letting us feature this golden nugget of start-up goodness.

Want to get a shop started on Etsy? Don't know where to start? This guide will help you find the help you need to get your shop up and running!

What to Sell
First things first: you need items to sell! Make sure your items follow the Do's and Don'ts on what can be sold on Etsy before you get started. Need some inspiration? Check out this great article on Finding Your Etsy Niche by tortillagirl. Littleputbooks (one of our top sellers) has a great blog post about Making a Great Product.

Coming up with a Name
Piddix has a great blog post on Picking Your Etsy Name. And our own MaryMary has a great Storque article on deciding on a shop name here. I have one more tip for you: Make sure it's "Google-able!"  Sure the name "FriedChicken" might be memorable, but if you go to Google and search "Fried Chicken," your shop will be a needle in a greasy (yet delicious) haystack!

Banner and Avatar
Your banner and avatar can help you brand your shop, so try to make them beautiful! Here's a how-to on Making A Banner that I wrote a while back. If you are just getting started with photo editing you might want to try our magical Bannerator! You can do an Alchemy request for a custom banner. Or search "banner" on Etsy to find a talented seller to make you a banner!

Your avatar should be eye-catching and clear. (This is sometimes difficult because of the size of an avatar, so keep it simple!) Try showcasing your most beautifully photographed product!

Need more help? Try the Help guides here and here.

Your Profile
Buyers on Etsy want to know about who they are buying from. Make sure you tell them a bit about yourself in your profile, as connecting this way with a buyer will encourage them to support you and your craft, so don't be shy! SarasTextureCrafts has a detailed article on Crafting Your Profile Page, so read up! The profile is also a great place to share your shop policies (soon Etsy will have a separate spot for your policies). The EtsyWiki has a whole section devoted to shop policies.

Listing Your First Item
Listing an item is an easy four step process. This help guide will take you through each one. Here are some articles that can also help you with this process:

• Making the Most of Your Descriptions
• Guidelines & Tips: Tagging on Etsy
• Writing for an Online Audience: How-To
• The Art of Pricing
• Budgeting Advice for New Craft Businesses
• Shipping Pointers
  

Photography
Photography is the most important part of your shop (in my opinion!). If you don't have crisp, clear and eye-catching photos, your sales will reflect this. The more professional and cohesive your photos look, the more confidence buyers will have in your shop. You may think you need a super-duper-top-of-the-line camera, but believe me, you don't. Images on the internet must be 72dpi (i.e. not top printable quality!), so even a $150 digital camera will be just perfect! Photography takes a lot of practice, time and research, but once you get it right you will see your shop really blossom! Here are some articles to get you started:

• Staying Sharp: Achieving Clarity and Crispness in Your Photos
• Give Props: How to Style Your Photos
• Shop Makeover Series: Makeover Your Listings with Color
• Shop Makeover series: Photographing for Success
• Your Shop 101: Photograph Your Way to The Top!
• On The Level: Make Your Photos Pop with Histograms and Levels
• Bright Light, Big Color: Using EV and White Balance to Make Your Photos True to Life

Your First Sale
Now what? First things first, celebrate. The first sale is so exciting! Now once you have calmed down, check out the transaction page and make sure your buyer has paid. Package up your item and get it ready to ship (a hand written thank you note is always good customer service!). Send your buyer a quick little convo (or conversation)  thanking them for their purchase and letting them know when you are going to ship. Ship your item, tick off the checkbox by your sold item, leave your buyer feedback and you're done!

Promoting Your Shop
Once you have your shop set up with at least a page of items, now is the time to promote! Here's great article to start with: Pimp Your Shop for 2008. Don't forget to try some offline promotions, too!  Here are some more links to help you get started:

• Trends: Promoting through the Sampler
• DIY PR: Local Press
• How-to Network Offline: Increase Online Sales in Five Easy Steps
• Dispatches from B-School: Marketing Communications, Part 1
• Dispatches from B-School: Marketing Communications, Part 2
• Don't Order Another 1,000 Business Cards
• The Art of the Press Release

Need More Help?
You're not exhausted yet? Well, OK! Here are some more great resources from the forums:

• The Ultimate Newbie Guide - 1 year anniversary edition
• NEWBIES ~ Here's a few Etsy tips for you
• Newbies - Etsy Tips For You
• Tips for New Sellers...

In addition, the Etsy Success Stories are always filled with inspirational tales and tips galore from prosperous sellers.

Read more...

LLCs, or Limited Liability Companies, are relative newbies to the business structure world, but they’re all the rage. Key among them is the limited liability. An LLC’s members (think of them as shareholders) are not personally liable for the business if it goes belly up. In addition, members pay taxes only once — on their earnings — rather than ponying up twice (corporate and individual taxes), which is what happens in a regular (C) corporation. And when tax time does come around, filing is easy if you’re an LLC. If you’re the only member, just follow a Schedule C with a 1040 form. If there are two or more members, the LLC files Form 1065 (an information return) with the IRS, and the members then report their share of income and deductions on their personal returns.

And the downsides: You'll have to cough up income taxes on your profits, and you’ll also have to pay self-employment tax to cover both the employer and employee share of Social Security and Medicare taxes on your net earnings. In other words, make money, and you’ll pay for it. The other hitch is that since LLCs are relatively new, how they’re taxed at the state level can vary from state to state.

 

***

Barbara Weltman has been a tax and business attorney since 1977. Browse her list of published books, including J.K. Lasser’s Guide for Tough Times: Tax and Financial Solutions to See You Through and The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Starting a Home-Based Business. If you're starting or running a small business, you may want to sign up for her Idea of the Day (sm). Like DailyWorth, they're concisely written business and tax tips for the busy entrepreneur.

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Amanda Steinberg, the founder of DailyWorth, and I have been close friends for almost a decade. Today she turns 32. For her birthday, I wanted to share with DailyWorth readers a bit of the story behind DailyWorth.

Exactly two years ago, Amanda was one of thirty women exploring women, wealth and self-worth at a workshop I co-hosted called Shattering the Glass Ceiling. The premise of the event was that women can have it all: careers we love, great families, abounding wealth and lives of contribution. Amanda listened intently – and silently – to the presentation and discussions. She left thoroughly riled up.

Six months later she was blowing up my inbox with statistics on women’s earnings, the viability of online ventures, and her vision of women everywhere (herself included) having it all. For the next three months she texted me and called me and altogether harassed me with the same message: Women need to be encouraged to generate wealth, and focus on their net worth. Every day. By email. Two months after that, she was building the DailyWorth web site. And as you’ll see below, she’s clearly still riled up. Here's the interview I did with her yesterday:

Lea Endres: You’ve had a big year, birthday girl! What are you most proud of when looking back over your last 365 days?
Amanda Steinberg, DailyWorth: I gave birth to my daughter, Maya, and launched DailyWorth in the same week -- obviously not on purpose! Staying graceful and present through those first few weeks in January is a huge source of pride.

LE: What helped you remain graceful & present?
AS: Giving birth to a daughter totally reinforced how passionate I am about DailyWorth’s mission to help women in their relationship to self worth and net worth. A few weeks ago, the New York Times Magazine declared “Why Women's Rights Are the Cause of Our Time,” and how the health of the world is profoundly connected to the health and well being of women. It’s so clear to me that until we are able to know our own worth, we won’t be able to earn as much as our male counterparts, and the studies show that money in women’s hands is absolutely crucial for the health of our communities, children and world. Take this quote from the same New York Times Magazine issue:

WHY DO MICROFINANCE organizations usually focus their assistance on women? And why does everyone benefit when women enter the work force and bring home regular pay checks? One reason involves the dirty little secret of global poverty: some of the most wretched suffering is caused not just by low incomes but also by unwise spending by the poor ― especially by men. Surprisingly frequently, we’ve come across a mother mourning a child who has just died of malaria for want of a $5 mosquito bed net; the mother says that the family couldn’t afford a bed net and she means it, but then we find the father at a nearby bar. He goes three evenings a week to the bar, spending $5 each week. ~ The Women's Crusade, New York Times Magazine, August 27th, 2009

Through DailyWorth, I want to put more money in the hands of women by enabling them through knowledge and networks.

LE: One year ago, DailyWorth was just an idea. How did you go from idea to thousands of subscribers?
AS: A. Lot. Of. Work. (Laughs.) There’s no other way to put it. Constant execution. Trying not to second guess myself and just publishing, every day, without hesitation. It was so many hours every day, late nights, with two small children and a husband. There was definitely not a lot of fiction read in the last year!

LE: What kept you going?
AS: 50% of our subscribers open DailyWorth emails every day. Having been in the business of email marketing for 10 years as a Web developer, I know that 17% is the average, so I can see that DailyWorth is something women want and need. And I get a constant stream of positive feedback and thanks from readers.

LE: What are the 3 most important things you did to start this business that others can learn from?
AS:

1. Know how you’re going to make money from the beginning. Define your business model. I'm amazed how many entrepreneurs don't do this.
   
2. Keep costs really low.
3. Delegate and decentralize! The more I spread the work and make DailyWorth team effort, the more I’m freed up to innovate and work on things that will impact the business three months down the line.

LE: How has your own self worth shifted going through this process?
AS: When I realized after taking your workshop that in spite of all my knowledge as an entrepreneur, I was still really screwed up in the areas of handling money, I had to accept that I was being incredibly irresponsible. Which meant … that I had to take responsibility. I still don’t fully have a grasp on how much my husband and I spend every month, and I know we overspend, but we're making a lot of progress!

LE: Where are you headed? Where will DailyWorth be this time next year?
AS: By this time next year, DailyWorth will have grown by a factor of ten. We will be a real force of women unified by a common mission. The fact that women still earn 30% less than men is ridiculous. I really want DailyWorth to be a force in obliterating that. Legislation won’t solve it. It will come from women recognizing their worth and knowing how to ask for more money.

Happy Birthday, Amanda! It's been amazing to see you turn an idea into reality in such a short amount of time. I can't wait to see what you do with DailyWorth in this next year. So, dear DailyWorth readers, I have a request for you. For Amanda's birthday, let's dedicate our Facebook statuses to DailyWorth to spread the word about this important cause and website. Here's a suggested status update for your Facebook page:

Happy Birthday to Amanda, the founder of DailyWorth. Ladies - sign up for
DailyWorth and learn how to manage your money:
http://www.dailyworth.com.

Lea Endres is a writer and human rights advocate currently living in Los Angeles. check out the book she co-wrote on women and money at wisewealthmanifesta.com.

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I have two kids and run two businesses. My kids are a 7-month-old girl and a 3-year-old boy. My first business, a Web consultancy called Soapbxx, will gross $300,000 in 2009 and employs eight people. The second company, an online finance publication for women called DailyWorth (this website), requires a team of four part-time contractors to operate.

The best news? I'm not mad. I have plenty of time to be with my kids. I even manage to find time to have a leisurely lunch or extended "me" time.

Here's how I do it:

7am: Our baby girl wakes all of us up.
8am: We're downstairs, dressed, eating breakfast and packing lunches.
9am: My baby is cared for by a nanny. This nanny shows up at 9am and I hand my baby girl off. My 3-year-old goes to preschool. My husband always takes him to preschool. Bottom line: even if we're running late, I depart for my home office (top floor of our house) at 9am sharp. This is critical to me. 9am. Work.
9am-11am: After I clean out my inbox, I focus on DailyWorth, my finance blog for women. We send out a daily email, and this requires about two hours of my day to orchestrate.

11am-4:00pm: I focus on Soapbxx, my web consultancy. The tasks I concern myself with include:


I don't worry about Soapbxx's internal performance or quality because I've learned over the years how to hire only the best people. My team is exceptional and as a result, I don't have to micro-manage them or worry much. This did not happen by accident. I have 10 years practice hiring and firing. I've employed or contracted to 40 people over the last few years and only a select few remain.

4:00pm. I shut down my computer, scoop up my daughter, and drive to pick up my son from preschool. It feels incredible to me that I can run two companies and finish my workday by 4:00. Having been raised by a single mom who was forced into a strict 9-6 corporate work environment, I vowed to set up a life where I could be there for my kids more than my mom was for me. I don't blame my mom for her absence -- she did what she had to do to earn what she needed to earn in the 1980s. But I hated that she couldn't drive me to school, or be there for me after school. I'm structuring my life so that I can run my businesses and be there for my kids before and after school. In 2009, working moms can have it all if we plan properly.

4:00pm - 9pm. Family time! We run errands (Target, anyone?), make dinner, take baths, read books and every other bedtime ritual that makes having kids so special.

9pm - 11pm. Here's the part of my life that isn't so ideal. I generally boot up my Mac and do more work at 9pm. I know my husband would rather that I curl up on the sofa and watch True Blood with him. Sounds dreamy, really. But the truth is, these days I feel pulled to run through emails that came in from 3:30 - 7pm (there are often many) and finish tasks I wasn't able to finish during the day. I look forward to a day when I can stop work at 3:30pm and not resume until 9am the next day. Until my babies and businesses are more self-sufficient and systematized, it's a sacrifice I'm making, and hope that my husband realizes it's temporary.

11pm. Bed.

The keys to my operation:

1. I delegate a lot to very precocious people. I have a very responsible, motivated assistant. Without her, I'd be mad. She loves having her hands in everything from accounting to project management, and I love her for it. If she chooses to leave me (which she will some day), I'll have a very hard time replacing her.
2. I'm obsessed with cash flow and work with a great bookkeeper/accounting team. For Soapbxx to operate, we need to deposit $25,000 into our bank account every month. I plan quarterly and manage daily when and from whom checks will arrive. My bookkeeper claims I'm one of the best cash collectors she's ever worked with, and I'm proud to have mastered the science of receivables. Just last month, I got our receivables down to $0.
   
3. Once a month, I'll stay up until 4am if need be to push through things I owe. Sometimes, you just have to.

Does my story seem impossible to you? You have to take into consideration my manic, tightly-wound character. I'm more work-obsessed than your average mom. I love my companies and have very ambitious financial goals for myself (tens of millions, thank you). I don't exercise. I'm generally not eating proper lunches (note above: no lunch break). I do experience exhaustion. I wish I had more time to just be with my husband. For now, I'm satisfied with my structure and recommend it to my power mom friends.

Check out Soapbxx.

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"There's plenty of money in this world, and if I focus on what I need, I know I can access it."

~ Dana Bass Solomon, CEO of Hollyhock

Meet Dana Bass Solomon, a seasoned businesswoman who has turned a thriving multimillion dollar business into an engine for social good. Dana is CEO of Hollyhock, Canada's leading educational retreat center nestled between the forest and ocean on the southeastern tip of Cortes Island, British Columbia. DailyWorth sat down with Dana to get her thoughts on business, social enterprise and motherhood.

How do you define Hollyhock's success?
Hollyhock is a social enterprise, so we're not your typical bottom-line focused business. Social enterprises have both financial and social goals. Hollyhock runs about 100 educational programs a year, serving about 3,000 guests. Our financial statements do not tell our complete story. On an annual budget of $3,000,000, we are break-even. All money that is earned by Hollyhock is invested into staff wages, programs, our community and generating a lighter footprint.

What advice do you have for businesswomen on the rise?
In the 1980s, before coming to Hollyhock, I was a single mother of four kids. And I needed to make a living. So I started an architectural stained-glass company. Here's how I managed to run a company, and be a mom:

1. I made sleep a priority.
2. I made a date once a month with one of my children. This guaranteed I'd give each of them undivided attention. We'd always go out to dinner, and then do something cultural. They're some of our most treasured memories. By dedicating this time, I was able to focus more during the day on growing my business.
3. I consciously developed an abundant mindset by reminding myself regularly that there's plenty of money in this world, and I focus on what I need, I know I can access it.

Learn more about Dana's social enterprise, the Hollyhock retreat center.

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Money can be such a downer. Here's some reading to help you feel better.

Bored? Putting the Fun Back in Money by Galia Gichon
Ever notice how it seems like everyone else is going on an amazing vacation? And when you sit down at the end of the month and are trying to find those extra dollars for the vacation, you just can't seem to stretch that dollar enough. One of the keys to making it happen is putting the fun back in your money. How? Follow these easy steps. read more

Ashamed? Shame On You by Dr. David Steinberg
Very few emotions are as destructive to the self as shame. When children are raised by authority figures that use shame as a method of teaching or control, children do not necessarily learn the right way to do things, they learn the right way to hide what they truly feel, think and do in order to avoid directly experiencing the shame being projected onto them. Eventually, if you were raised with shaming parents growing up, you will learn to internalize the shame that they experience, and it becomes a veil not just between you and the outside world, but also between you and your inner self. read more {disclosure: David is married to DW founder Amanda Steinberg}

Sad? A little thing called happiness by David Ronick
When you start a new business, you are making a serious commitment. You'll be living, breathing, thinking and talking about it ad nauseum for years to come. So, be sure it's a fit with what makes you happy. Speaking of which, ever stop to think about what truly makes you happy? One person who has done a lot of thinking about happiness is Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of Flow. His last name may be rumplestilskinesque, but his ideas are clear as a bell. read more "

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Womenomics, a current bestselling book by Claire Shipman and Katty Kay, asks women to question our constraints at work, and to consider that we're entitled to more flextime. Hmmm. In the first chapter, Shipman and Kay highlight a recent study from Pepperdine University that ties a company's profits to the number of women it has in senior management. In sum: more women means more profits. The point? Women are supremely positioned in this down economy to reshape workplace norms to better support our need for more sanity and more time for our families.

We each need to step back and ask how can work work for me? And then move forward with a plan to negotiate for less time at work, and better pay for quality results delivered. No more hanging around the office until 5pm because you have to, especially when your son has a soccer game at 3pm. No more five-day work weeks when you really need a third weekend day to catch up with bills and DailyWorth emails (heh). We want assignments, we want to do them well, and we want to be compensated richly. We don't want to be stuck to a desk chair because it's how it's always been.

Womenomics is not just a manifesto for workplace transformation; it's a an instruction manual. Some noteworthy chapter headings include:

• Wired for Sanity
• Confronting the Feminist Ideal
• Recognizing a NO moment
• How to Change your Deal
• Promote Thyself
• Negotiate from a Position of Fact-Based Strength
• Use Economics to your Advantage

Buy it now on Amazon

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Hey would-be entrepreneurs. We've got a secret for ya. You don't have risk your house or go into debt to start a new business. Rather, you need to consider how you'll supplement your income as you build it. Rumor has it that only one in ten new businesses succeed, and that most businesses suck cash for years before they make any money. By planning for alternate sources of income, you can protect yourself from crippling financial damage. And that's a good thing.

Here's how to think about alternate income streams:

 

• Figure out what you need to make on a monthly basis. Factor in your business start-up costs, and maybe a latte or two. This is your number. Own it. Love it.
• Consider your need to secure a part-time job, or figure out how you can work as a freelancer. If you freelance, assume you'll only be able to bill clients for up to 20 hours of work per week. It's harder than you think to bill for more than 20 hours as a freelancer.
• If you're leaving a full-time job, set up a savings account six months before you announce your departure. Commit to adding to it regularly. Save as much as you can. While six months saved in cash is a pipe dream for many of us, it's a good north star to shoot for.
• Identify your most bankable skill. We don't mean what you love to do. We mean what can make you the most money, most easily. Period. Making money while you're launching a business need not be glamorous or fulfilling. It should be lucrative.
• Line up part-time work weeks or months in advance.
• Don't burn bridges! Your former employer might be open to hiring you on a part-time, hourly basis if you leave the job on good terms.

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Today's guest blog post was provided by transition coach and writer Deborah A. Bailey (www.dbaileycoach.com).

So what happens when you have doubts about your business dream? You can see it...most of the time. Other times it seems much too difficult or too far away from your current reality to ever manifest. Perhaps people have told you that you're crazy, or that you aren't the type of person to take such risks.

You're juggling a day job with your business and feeling overwhelmed by both. At times like that you can wonder why you thought you could bring your dream into reality. What were you thinking? To be honest, if a lot of entrepreneurs knew what they were getting into, they might have run away screaming instead of starting a business. The thing is, dreams don't go away that easily. You may try to dismiss them, but they're always in the back of your mind.

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Eeny, meeny, miny, moe – how does your accounting system go? Well, you have a couple of choices. There’s cash-based accounting, which means that you record income once you have the cash in hand (or in your checking account). And you record expenses as you pay for them, like when you write a check to the photocopier repairman for his latest visit. Cash-based accounting is what most individuals use because it’s simple and straightforward. Small businesses also use it, but it can get a little tricky if you’re trying to collect on payables, if you extend credit to customers or buy on credit with suppliers.

In the accrual-based accounting method, you record income when you submit an invoice for the sale, whether or not you’ve been paid. Say, for example, you're an architect, and your new fab museum client, for whom your designing a new wing, cuts you a check up-front for half of your fee. It means you've received payment for work you haven’t done yet. By the same token, the museum may not pay you a dime until the project is done, but you still mark it down as income. Expenses are treated the same way; they’re recorded as expenses now, whether you pay for them right away or in 60 days.

If the accrual-based method sounds slightly confusing, that’s because the most of us use cash-based accounting in our day-to-day lives. But accrual-based accounting is generally considered to give a more accurate picture of a company’s financial status than cash-based accounting because it allows you to match up income (paid or not) with expenses (paid or not). With the accrual method, you usually record more transactions – for example, one transaction when you make a sale or close a contract, and then another transaction when the client or customer pays the invoice – which means more work for you. Then again, if you’re using accounting software to handle your books, the software will automatically take care of the grunt work.

Good Question

Last week, Laura Brown asked a question on our blog:

I think the vocab is totally helpful, although when i read the ones related to investments, i still am not sure how to take that information and make it work for me. do i call my 401k person? who is that? do i have to get an investor person? how do i know who to trust? these are my questions ...

Financial advisor and DailyWorth contributor Galia Gichon replied:

It sounds like you are ready to take the step of learning how to apply the vocabulary to your personal finances on a PRACTICAL BASIS.  If you want to do it on your own, there are some great books that boil it down to basics and make it work.  My favorites are: "Smart Women Finish Rich" by David Bach, "Get a Financial Life" by Beth Kobliner, "A Woman's Guide to Investing" by Virgina B. Morris and "My Money Matters" kit by Galia Gichon (that's me!).  

If you want to talk to a professional - which is a great idea as well - I would suggest an independent advisor -- specifically someone who doesn't sell investments, as the information they give you might be biased.  There are independent financial planners who charge an hourly fee, as opposed to getting a commission for selling you investments. Start by asking your friends and family who they know.

 

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Last week I scored a drool-worthy sales meeting for my Web consulting company. Winning this contract would add a blue-chip client to our roster and serious inflation to our bank account.

The night before the meeting, I was anxious. What should I wear? To sales meetings, I usually wear nice slacks, an elegant shirt and heels. This prospect, of dot-com fame,  was more likely to be casual, so perhaps jeans would be better. I texted a trusted male colleague to get his opinion.

Me: What should I wear? Tight jeans, hipster shirt + flipflops? Or dressy pants, fem shirt, heels?

Male colleague: Tight jeans.

That's it. Two words. "Tight Jeans." OK, I get it. Point taken. My ass sells. Five years ago, that wouldn't have been the case (see my earlier post on weight loss). I remember being harassed at a night club on 14th street in New York City for having a very large butt, and we're not talking J Lo butt. I was depressed about it for weeks. I'm currently and have been for about four years, quite slender, but the psyche of "fat girl" still follows me around.

So my web consultancy means a lot to me, and its income feeds many families in the U.S. and abroad. I enjoy selling large, high-dollar deals that allow me to pay myself and my deserving team of hard-working web producers well. So, if wearing tight jeans helps sell deals, why shouldn't I? I'm sure my mother read me feminist rants as bedtime stories, but I love putting on my size 6 jeans. And if that helps me beat out the competition, I'd really prefer to suppress my inner Gloria Steinem, thank you.

What struck me even more than my colleague's curt reply was the willingness and ease with which I climbed into my skinny jeans the following day. I strutted my little tush past my husband, looking for a compliment, which he willingly bestowed. See, my thinness is definitely a source of pride, revenge on that jerk who called me "fat" in a bar oh so many moons ago, and something I work hard to maintain. It does give me power, I feel worthy of more attention (as twisted as that is), and I get it.

In the end, my prospective client showed up in a classic Brooks Brothers suit and I sorely regretted my choice of clothing. I still don't know if I won this particular contract. Regardless, I think my brain power overall was the selling point, not my clothing, and I don't think I'll be wearing jeans to a meeting like this again.

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