MO MONEY MO PROBLEMS…unless you’re Desirae Odjick, of course.
Or unless you’re lucky enough to have stumbled upon this small business finance interview.
Cause those problems are about to be solved, my friend.
Introducing Desirae
Desirae is a personal finance writer at Half Banked, a stress-free money management blog for millennials. And as a major bonus (for me, anyway), Desirae lives right here in Ottawa, Canada and I am lucky enough to be her pal IRL!
Now, before we get into this, let me share that I am NOT a money person. I did NOT know what I was doing when I first started my new business in terms of the finance aspects that came with it. Luckily for me, Desirae came into my life and I have since taken full control of my personal and business finances. But… full disclosure: when I say “I have taken full control”, what I’m really saying is that I hired a bookkeeper.
And there’s nothing wrong with that. So if you’re like me, don’t write that option off.
But for now, let’s assume you want to tackle this on your own and get right into it.
“No one is born knowing this stuff. Everyone has to learn it at some point.”
-Desirae Odjick
Money is a hard topic to talk about… but lemme tell you… Desirae is a breath of fresh air and explains everything in an easy to understand manner without making you feel like a complete dodo bird.
If you’re thinking of starting a business, you’ve recently started a business OR you’ve started a business and you have no idea what you’re doing financially, then take out a piece of paper and pen because you’re about to get educated.
In this interview, Desirae literally gives us the “start here, go there” information you need for getting started with your small business finances.
Not only does she cover money/expense tracking tips, phone apps you can download, and how to divide your money to best prepare for taxes… but she even touches on how to determine if you could potentially quit your full-time job!
I will do my best to give you a quick breakdown, but you SERIOUSLY need to watch this for yourself. I’m not saying you will go to jail if your finances are screwed up (ideally) but… UGH, I wish I’d seen this video before I got started. It woulda saved me SO much time! Get your money done right THE FIRST TIME.
The links below may be affiliate links where appropriate. This means that your purchase through these links may result in a few cents in payment to me, to support creating further resources like this one! That being said, I will never suggest supplies that I do not personally use and fully recommend.
So someone wants to PAY YOU REAL MONEY for your product or service? TADAAAAA, you are a sole proprietor! Welcome to the land of business, my friend.
Here are some of Desirae’s tips for getting your business finances set up properly right away.
1 – Start tracking and keeping a record of your expenses and income. Seriously. This is important. Do this. DO IT NOW. (Overwhelmed? Literally just grab a shoe box, and put all of your receipts in it.)
2 – Separate your bank accounts: one for personal and one for business. This can be as simple as asking your current bank to open you a second “chequing” account, or you can go so far as to open a totally new bank account (even at a different bank!) so that you reinforce keeping your accounts totally separate. Not only will this will help you get a better understanding of how much you’re actually making, since it’s not intertwined with your personal money, but it will make things waaaaaaay easier to differentiate when it comes tax time.
3 – Start tracking and keeping a record of your expenses and income.
5 – Figure out your systems. How do you want your money and expenses to run through your business? There are many accounting softwares, apps and systems you can implement to help organize your accounts and make things easy. Freshbooks and Quickbooks are two great examples, and used by us!
5 – Did we mention to start tracking and keeping a record of your expenses and income?
7 – Get a bookkeeper if you can afford to.
8 – Check out the book “Profit First” by Mike Michalowicz. Get it. Read it. Implement it. (In the video Des goes into better detail on how this book helped her divide her earnings, and it makes SO. MUCH. SENSE!)
And those tips are just the tip of the iceberg. Desirae gives us so much more and answers REAL questions from YOU GUYS! And you remember when teachers used to say “There is no such thing as a dumb question”? Well, none of these questions are dumb and I guarantee you’ll want to know the answers! You’ll have to watch the interview for the rest of it, but it’s worth it. Especially if you’ve been afraid you might be sent to jail ?.
I really hope you enjoyed this interview! Make sure you’re subscribed to The Happy Ever Crafter TV to catch the rest in the series! And one last HUGE thank you to Desirae!
You can also join the Facebook group, where these Q&A’s are hosted LIVE, so you can submit your own questions for future guests!
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