Is financial planning right for you, right now? Find out by following my story.
We are thrilled to have open spots in The Profit Path. Which means that if you want to get a plan in place to become a financial rock star (like the ones we’ve been featuring here), now is the time to get on the list to find out how The Bottom Line can help you set up a system for major profitability.
What you may not know is whether this kind of program is for you.
That’s exactly where my story starts.
When Do I Need a Financial Plan?
This is extra weird because I’ve been working with The Bottom Line for quite a while now. I mean, I’m the one who does these interviews with Financial Rockstars. I’m hearing firsthand from business owners how getting a financial plan in place has revolutionized their lives.
So you’d think, wouldn’t you, that these stories would make me go “Yeah—I’m going to get on that and start making profitability part of my life!”
But instead, what I think is:
“Yeah…I’m going to get on that as soon as my business is big enough for it to matter.”
From Side Hustle to…What, Exactly?
The first thing you need to know about me is that I did not start my own business with anything like a plan. It happened almost by accident.
I was working another job and learned that one of my friends was starting a food truck. Since he had no marketing budget, I offered to write him a press release and send it out to local media. Word got around that I could help people with writing stuff, and soon I was writing copy for all kinds of local businesses.
One day I did the math and realized that all my earnings from the side hustle went into commuting to and from my regular job. In other words, I’d still break even if I just quit the regular gig and stayed home to write all the time.
So that’s what I did.
But I was terrified. And I definitely didn’t think of myself as a business owner until, oh, about three years into it, when someone helped me do my taxes and I realized how much I could write off as business expenses.
Only then did I say “Oh! I own a business. Rad!”
But What Do I Do Now?
I feel very proud of myself for all that I’ve learned in the past five years: finding my niche, marketing my services, crushing tight deadlines and, when necessary, breaking the kneecaps of clients who think they don’t have to pay me. (Just kidding about that one…but seriously, don’t push me.)
But one thing I haven’t learned yet is how to be strategic about this whole self-employment and Online business thing. No matter how much my business grows, I constantly find myself asking “What do I do now?”
The “Starving Artist” Myth
There’s this perception among people in the creative field that the best you can really hope for is getting by without too much worry that the landlord will come knocking. That the artist’s life is by definition a constant struggle. That you can’t have creative fulfillment and financial security.
But the truth is that creatives are no different from any other type of entrepreneur. And in case you haven’t heard, this is the era of the entrepreneur! There’s never been a better time to jump off the corporate hamster wheel and create a business around something you’re really good at. We’re all in a creative field, to some extent.
And The Bottom Line just happens to be really good at helping creative folks like me get our financial act together. They believe in people like you and me.
So when Jess suggested I join The Profit Path, I said sure.
Even though I wasn't sure at all whether my business really deserves a financial plan.
Even though I was…I’ll admit it…scared.
Are they going to look at my “books” (putting that in quotes because there really aren’t any books in this operation I’m running) and burst out laughing? Are they going to reveal a huge flaw in my business model? Will I be embarrassed? Will I be discouraged? Am I going to be the first person that The Bottom Line says “Sorry—come back when you’re a bigger deal?”
I don’t actually know. But I’ll let you know what happens next week! And maybe through my story, you'll find out whether financial planning is just what you need to make this your best year ever.
