Corwin Hiebert Managing Creative People + Creative Projects

I’m kicking off a new series of posts that I think you’ll really like. They are focused on helping my fellow creative entrepreneurs question those seemingly simple decisions that in fact have a major impact on our potential and our productivity. With the cunning use of useless statistics (fake and stupid is probably a more accurate description) I’ll attempt to provide some insight and practical advice to help you enjoy a more successful work life.

The pie chart above (Silly Things Creative People Do) pokes fun at some of the strange financial decisions we creative entrepreneurs tend to make. Don’t worry, I’m not going to start dispensing advice about RRSPs, loans, or budgeting. But, I do want to highlight the value of fiscal restraint; in other words, helping you stop the silliness in your small business.

I had coffee with a friend and collaborator Dave Delnea the other day and we were talking about risk taking. I was telling him that I operate on a pretty even keel until I reach a big moment, an AH-HA! moment, and then everything changes for me. Those important moments (which often coincide with a sleepless night) define my life as a creative entrepreneur. I don’t think I’m alone in this. We love those big moments don’t we?!

When it comes to financial risk taking I hear small business owners say all the time that they need to spend money to make money—this scares me. Now, don’t get me wrong. For the most part it is true, spending money can be very necessary to grow your business; but I do feel it’s important to wait until you’ve got the vision and the action plan in place so you can make good on your investment. I’m all for creatives taking some financial risks in order to accomplish their goals, but if you’ve spent your way to that big moment you won’t be able to commit in the manner that’s required and you might loose out on your chance. With an attitude of caution, and of self-discipline, I believe our decision-making ability can be trained to make the right call at the right time. And that’s not silly at all.

Here are a couple things I’ve put into practice to stop the silliness with respect to the financial part of running of my small business:

1.    Spending. Earning money is a lot more difficult than spending money and we need to treat our spending decisions as serious business. I believe that the small things matter. Multiple purchases of relatively insignificant amounts add up to be, well, very significant. Purchasing magazines is a small example, prematurely upgrading to an iPhone is a bigger example, clearly the sky is the limit. When faced with the exciting decision of getting something shiny, interesting, cool, or even helpful I’ve trained myself to make a snap judgement – that I don’t need it right now. The reality is that in most cases I can find an alternative way to get what I need (borrow, search online) or I simply come back to it later. If I really need it then I’ll still need it tomorrow, next week, or next month and then I’ve at least had some time to properly evaluate it (maybe even save up for it – shocking). After practicing this for awhile now I’ve gotten to the point where I can ‘come back to it’ time and time again and still not purchase it. I believe we’re more selfish than we realize – we need to protect our future by spending less on the things that we can live without. My gut reaction now has less to do with the thing I want to buy and more about wanting to be successful down the road, keeping my money where it belongs is helping me reach my goal.

2.    Write-Offs. Earning money is hard work, giving it back to the government is even harder. Your taxation level may vary from mine but taxes take a big piece of the pie no matter where you live. The trap that many soloprenuers fall into is The Write Off. Again, I’m not the right guy to ask for specific help regarding taxes but let me offer up a friendly word of advice. Make it simple on yourself: Never, ever think of an expense as a write off. By removing that justification from your repertoire you’ll be protecting yourself from one of the most common excuses for spending money. Your decisions regarding your business spending should not be influenced by the minimal tax savings of writing something off. The reality is, your spending money now that you’ll need later. Sure, stockpiling money is always a good idea but my guess is that you still find yourself shocked with what you owe each Spring. Oh, and be organized and above board with your taxes – make this a non-negotiable (three cheers for Freshbooks).

Here’s the funniest clip of all time:

Twitter This

Usuario: Password: