by Solange Lopes | Nov 4, 2016 | Start Your Business
Disclosure: Please note this post contains affiliate links.
So you decided to start your own business…You’ve thought about it long and hard, and are ready to set it up! Now all you need to get started are the right tools. As a side hustler myself, I’ve learnt from other successful entrepreneurs and have been using a few essential tools to run my blog and business on the go.
Here are my 5 most recommended tools to build your business on the go:
Bluehost
If a website is anywhere part of your business strategy (and it should), then you should look into a reliable web hosting solution. Bluehost makes it very easy to get your site up and running, and have WordPress installed in just a click. Bonus: You can host multiple domains on one account, so whenever you’re ready to start another website, you’re all set!
You may have heard that building your email list is crucial to a successful business. Mail chimp allows you collect the emails of people subscribing to your offers and/or business updates, and keep in touch with them through email campaigns. Great tool!
Ever seen one of those great lead pages used to promote products, or announce events? Many of them are created through Leadpages. I use it to build promotional pages for my products and offers, and collect emails through them. Bonus: it can easily be integrated to Mailchimp, among other applications.
Need business cards that stand out from the crowd? I love the originality of Moo’s business cards, which you can customize to your own taste. There’s nothing like leaving someone with a card that makes them remember you…
Want to learn about business and entrepreneurship on the go? There are so many great podcasts you can easily access through iTunes! I became hooked on podcasts after starting my own side hustle, as I could just grasp a ton of business tips while working, driving or even at the gym!
How about you? What are your favorite tools to build your business on the side?
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
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by Solange Lopes | Nov 2, 2016 | Start Your Business
Disclosure: Please note this post has affiliate links.
Whatever your career path or the kind of business you’re creating, branding holds a special, if not crucial place, in establishing yourself. From getting to know yourself in terms of your “why” and business motivations, to articulating your brand message and mission statement, determining your brand identity is a necessary and challenging process we often skip altogether.
In her #LaunchLove Brand Identity Workbook, Amanda Spann of Spann & Company, co-founder of tiphub, an investment manager built around a community of entrepreneurs in Africa and the African Diaspora as well as the Founder/Co-founder of a few apps including Alchomy, TipOff and ChatArt, aims to help you do just that. Amanda is an expert at branding, being a former publicist herself who now specializes in marketing & ecosystem development for new and emerging brands. She’s been honored as one of Business Insider’s 30 Most Important Women In Tech Under 30, Walker’s Legacy 2016 Power50, Rolling Out’s 25 Women you should know, BET’s Blacks on the Brink of Greatness, as well as one of the 5 future leaders in technology by Black Enterprise Magazine.
As a career woman and an entrepreneur, I particularly enjoyed the simplicity and straight-forwardness of this excellent workbook. Through expertly framed questions, Amanda leads you to shape your own brand purpose, message and mission statement. I love that this workbook walked me through thinking about, and writing down all of the crucial elements necessary to discover and refine my own brand.
You can use this workbook whether you’re working in the corporate world, building your business, or doing both. While there are some elements that specifically apply to building your business (like identifying your tagline, or defining your target audience), most of the items discussed and developed in the workbook can be applied to any career or business path.
Overall, I think this is a powerful tool to brand your career and/or business, whatever field you may be into. I highly encourage you to get it and make the time to go through each and every one of the steps to implement your very own branding strategy.
Click HERE to get your copy of the #LaunchLove Brand Identity Workbook!
PS: Don’t forget to check out all the other #LaunchLove products by Amanda Spann as well! Click HERE for the #LaunchLove e-store.
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
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by Solange Lopes | Oct 24, 2016 | Make More Money
Our “Ask A CPA ” feature answers everyday (and not so everyday) questions you may have around personal finance and accounting topics, from a Certified Public Accountant (moi!). Please note that you should always seek professional advice for more personalized advice. Got something on your mind? Email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
We’re a few months away from the dreaded tax season. And while you may be busy wrapping up the year at work and getting ready for the holidays, the Phantom of the Opera Tax Season may be hanging out in the back of your busy mind. So, is there anything you can start (or stop) doing now to prepare for tax season?
My $0.05:
You know what they say, there are two things you can’t escape, death and taxes (plus those pesky extra pounds on your thighs after the holidays, but I digress…)So, like with all things you can’t pray, eat or bribe away, you should take every opportunity to prepare ahead of time. As in, don’t wait until April 14th to start looking for your tax documents…
Here are a few quick tips even the busiest corporate and business sister (or dude) can start applying today to get a head start:
Get Organized!
Have you been postponing going through your files and paperwork? Well, it may be time to put all that filing and paperwork organizing back on your schedule. Just grab a pint of sea salt caramel ice cream (you know, with the big spoon), put your curls in a pineapple, and get to sorting, digging and filling.
- Keep proofs of expenses and profits: As much as possible, try and retrieve as much proof of the expenses you’ve incurred and the profits you’ve been making. It will come in handy in case you get audited. If anything, it’ll make you sleep easier at night knowing that you have proof for what you’re claiming on your return.
- Create your own filing system: All the electronic records and paperwork can get pretty overwhelming. The best way to tackle your tax and financial information is to devise your own filing system. Only you know what works best for you, so pick a system that’s easier for you to remember and deal with. I’m a bit old school, so I like my good ol’ color-coded folders and labeled files. Whatever works…
- Save hard copies: Ok, I know y’all trust in the cloud and the almighty wifi. But as far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing better than having a hard copy in case you’re stuck in no wifi zone or your brain bails out on you when trying to remember your 125th password…Just sayin’…
Check Out Your Investments!
If you have any investments, it’s always a good idea to check them out frequently to strategically prepare for tax season. Look into reorganizing your investments into tax-favored accounts like 401K and IRAs, because this way, you can postpone taxes until you actually get the money distributed to you (which is until you’re 591/2, unless you decide to get an earlier distribution, in which case you will incur both taxes and a penalty).
If you have more complex investments, you should seek professional advice. In general, be sure to keep good records of your investments. This is especially important in case you make some reinvestments, so that you don’t pay too much tax on funds you were already taxed on when you received them.
Repeat after me: How Can I Reduce My Taxable Income?
Remember you’re always taxed on your income, so the more income you have, the more taxes you pay! The easiest and most straightforward way to bring your taxable income (and your taxes) down, is to invest in your 401K or other workplace retirement plan, allowing you to deduct contributions. This way, you can postpone paying taxes on your contributions, as well as on the earnings. In other words, you’re basically putting away money that compounds tax-free until you retire!
Very Important: If your employer matches your contribution, try to contribute enough to get the maximum matching contribution.
If you invest in an IRA and qualify for this deduction, you may also be able to deduct an IRA contribution (up to $5,000, or $6,500 for those 50 and older).
If you’re enrolled in a high-deductible health plan, consider setting up a Health Savings Account (HSA). Contributions to an HSA are deductible as well.
If you pay for health care or the care of dependents (daycare costs for example), check if your employer offers a flexible spending account. This will help you get a tax break too.
Be Charitable!
Giving isn’t just good for the soul, it’s great for your taxes too! Make donations until the very last day of the year to save on your taxes. So go ahead and make those donations!
If you want an extra benefit, give appreciated assets such as stocks or funds. For example, if you’ve owned appreciated securities for more than a year, you may be able to deduct the full market value of the securities and avoid paying tax on the appreciation since you acquired it.
What do you do to prepare for tax season?
PS: Got something on your mind? Email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
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by Solange Lopes | Oct 3, 2016 | Career, Start Your Business
You’ve heard the term “corporatepreneur” before…Basically, it’s just another term for “side hustler”, except said “side hustler” also happens to be doing the 9-to-5 thing in Big Corporate. Because, you know, bills gotta get paid, shoes bought, and some (shred of) sanity preserved…And that’s quite a few people out there, especially among 2o- and 30- something millennials who apparently are obsessed with the concept (what else are we not blaming millennials with these days, anyways?)
Yet in more practical terms, without all the glam and controversy (or controversial glamour or glamorized controversy, pick your poison) of the perfect millennial who teaches fitness classes after defending criminals in court, or writes online after analyzing spreadsheets all day, there’s the less glamorous day-to-day side of it…The side of long hours, commitment, discipline and sometimes wanting to pull your hair (or eyelashes or weave) out, drop the whole thing and go back to being a normal 9-to-5er hanging out with the girls after-hours…
When I tell some friends I write on the side, without really much of a guarantee to make more than the cost of a Starbucks pumpkin latte any day, I can almost see the question marks popping up inside their heads. Like, why? Why the headaches, the long hours, the occasional rejection, when you still have to finish the laundry, check the kids’ homework and most importantly, sleep!
There are many reasons why so-called “corporatepreneurs” decide to hustle on the side, ranging from personal passion to the need to make extra money, to the persistent Dream that can’t seem to let go of its grip…
While the “why” may have very different origins and implications, the “how” of it all is almost always rooted in an indelible desire to do what it takes to defend and bring forth THE vision.Which for many a “corporatepreneur”out there translates into mornings kinda like this:
The Night Before:
If you’re a “corporatepreneur”, you know your day really starts the day before, at least mentally. You’re planning what has to be done the next day, excusing your lack of sleep by the fact that your best ideas come at 3am.
4 AM- Who invented alarm clocks?
Your best ideas came at 3am, and guess what happens at 4am? The alarm clock that you set up to wake you up at the crack of dawn because you were so motivated and eager to make this a spectacularly successful day, has become Public Enemy Numero Uno. That’s when you discharge all that pent-up energy from not having enough time to exercise anyways onto this tiny, innocent thing called the snooze button.
4:30 AM- Why are my feet so heavy and besides, who invented daily personal hygiene?
Now there are only so many times you can hit the snooze button before either breaking it it put your hand on administrative leave. This is where you actually exit the comfy sheets and your entrepreneurial feet officially hit the floor.
5AM- Prayer and Meditation aka “Get Your Mind Straight”
You wouldn’t be starting your day right without getting your mind straight. It may mean a prayer or meditation practice or just sitting in silence somewhere for q while (which when you have two kids, including a toddler, might as well count as your spa moment of the day).
If you can add to it some inspirational reading if you have more time, then you’re golden!
5:30AM – Work, Work, Work, Work!
This is when things start getting serious, and you realize you only have about an hour and change before chaos, aka the kids, breakfast, starting the car, begins. Rihanna’s tune starts playing in your head, and you leave your Instagram feed and go to town!
6:45 AM – Crap! Gotta get the kids up
Last finishing touches on the blog post, or the sales page, or the product before reality sets in. Save the work, send a last email, and get going!
7:45 AM – Where are the keys?
That last email had to be re-sent, which kinda set everything back. And now, of course, no one can seem to find the keys…as we’re standing outside and the front door’s locked…from the inside!
8:30AM- Why am I here again?
Sitting in your car in the parking lot, contemplating turning around and going back to finish that sales page, that product, or that blog post. Then you remember the mortgage is coming due next week, and that you’re working to create something…And oh, where are your keys again?
How’s your typical morning as a “Corporatepreneur”?
Love,
The Corporate Sis.
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by Solange Lopes | Jul 20, 2016 | Start Your Business
By the time Kenya gets to work by 9am, she’s already worked two hours on her side business, got her kids ready for school and dropped each one of them off. If you’d see her shuffling her three bags through the office front door, make-up intact and hair flying, you’d hardly ever guess this woman is stretching her daily schedule to include her day job, family responsibilities, and hustling on the side.
Kenya’s not alone in this…According to the “2015 State of Women-Owned Businesses”, women-owned businesses grew at the rate of 1.5 times the national average, which is about 74% between 1997 and 2015. Out of the 30% of businesses owned by women, African-American women own a whopping 14%, which equates 1.3 million businesses.
Yet, women, especially women working full-time, are increasingly busy. Our schedules are packed with family activities, work responsibilities, and maintaining our social lives. As full as our plates are, how do we create more time to hustle on the side? Do you skip sleeping entirely, or survive on caffeine, or keep your eyelids surgically glued to your eyebrows (whatever works, right?)…
As a “side hustler” with an overflowing plate filled with (time-consuming) blessings, I know what it feels like…And to keep it simple, I’ve put together a nice’n’easy Slideshare presentation with three essential tips to apply to effectively carve out more time to devote to your side hustle. Enjoy!
What do you think of these 3 tips? What has been your experience trying to carve out more time for your side hustle?
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
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by Solange Lopes | Jul 19, 2016 | Start Your Business
If you ever see my girl Kayla running out of work, sneakers on, hair in a bun, gym bag in tow, you’d think she’s racing to make it to the gym after-hours. And you’d be right too…Four days a week, Kayla leaves her 9-to-5 to go teach her usual fitness class. Under the gym outfit and the athletic demeanor, very few would guess Kayla’s a practicing attorney hustling on the side as a fitness instructor, and loving every minute of it…
Kayla’s just one example in a million, among millennials and other generations of professionals for whom the side hustle is the new normal. As it turns out, millennials are actually obsessed with side hustles, and not just for monetary reasons.
In the very often conforming and uniform corporate world, side hustles have become more than a way of making some extra bucks on the side. They’ve actually become our way of being who we really are, and for some of us, who we’ve always wanted to be, before the bills, the college loans and the kids’ tuition…
Yet how do you even start a side hustle when working full-time, in addition to caring for yourself, your family and having a semblance of a social life? Given how busy our careers are, how do we even stretch time to include a part-time occupation of any kind? And when you add kids, spouses, drop-offs and pick-ups to the whole mix, where do you even begin?
When I started blogging on the side, while working full-time in Big Accounting, it was to finally do what I’ve always loved doing, writing. As many millennials today, I was looking for a different way of expressing myself through work. Yet, like many, starting out was a struggle. From finding extra time to carving out a schedule for my side hustle, the process was far from easy.
With time and inspiration from other “corporatepreneurs” like myself, here are a few lessons I learnt over time about starting a side hustle when you’re still working full-time:
Start with a Passion
What’s your passion? What would you do if money were not a consideration? What would you love doing for the rest of your short, precious life? These are all questions many side hustlers ask themselves before starting their business. A side hustle is that opportunity many “corporatepreneurs” crave to finally delve into something they love, like food, travel, fitness, or for me, writing.
Identifying your passion is also how you garner the strength and determination to provide that extra effort required to pursue a side business. It’s how you keep yourself motivated and strengthened during the laborious first months when you strive to establish yourself and get a routine going.
What’s your passion?
Define Your “Why”
For me, it was important to understand why I was doing what I was doing when I started blogging on the side. Yes, I knew writing’s my passion. I knew I loved sitting at my laptop in the wee hours of morning and type endless words on the blank screen. Yet, it was also crucial for me to know my why.
In the first few months of my side hustle, my “why” wasn’t exactly clear. I was just enjoying what I was doing. After a while, after spouse and kids came into the equation and time seemed to compress away, I had to find my “why” in order to keep going. For me, it was the desire to live a more fulfilled life, to leave a legacy and show my children you can pursue what you set your heart to.
For you, it may be to change your lifestyle, to spend more time with your kids or elder parents, or to generate more income.
What’s your why?
Plan Your Schedule
I never understood the value of time as acutely as when I started side hustling. It became so important to define my priorities, and start scheduling my time as carefully as I picked my shoes (or my coffee flavor, you know, whatever floats your boat). Early mornings and late evenings, before and after everyone in the house started expressing their various needs (from chocolate to clean diapers), became my go-to hours…
Schedule your “hustle hours” outside of regular work hours, and stick to them. Whether it’s carving out some time on week-ends, or hustling after the kids go to bed, stick to a consistent and realistic schedule. Being all over the place at all times will only get you drained, frustrated, and more prone to giving up sooner than later.
Use Your Network
You do have a network. From your years working in the corporate world, to your circle of friends and family, your network is larger than you think. Unless your side hustle conflicts with your day job (in which case you may want to double check with your manager), it’s ok to inform your contacts of your new ventures.
Countless entrepreneurs were able to use their network to create more business opportunities for themselves. Your contacts may even become your first clients!
Are you capitalizing on your own network?
Collaborate, collaborate, collaborate!
Take every opportunity to collaborate with other side hustlers and entrepreneurs like you. Especially when starting out, collaboration is important and can help you establish yourself. It’s also comforting to know you’re not alone in this, and that others just like you have done this before you.
You can even ask for the guidance and mentorship of fellow “corporatepreneurs“. Send one of the influencers you follow an email or message through social media to pick their brain. If they’re local, invite them for a cup of coffee.
You can also join local associations of entrepreneurs around you, or start organizing meet-ups where you are. Anything that can help you collaborate more and be less isolated as you start your side hustle can go a long way…
Are you a “corporatepreneur”? How did you start your side hustle while working full-time?
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
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by Solange Lopes | May 24, 2016 | Career, Start Your Business
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
Remember when they asked you the question, as a young kid. And you’d let your mind wander, your eyes shining with anticipation as you imagined all the possibilities. Astronaut, circus clown, superhero, doctor, soccer player, pianist…
Then life happened, decisions were made, and you found yourself behind a crowded desk doing a “real” job in the “real” world . Yet you haven’t forgotten the original question/dream, and after years of “adulting”, you’re still going for it. Working nights and week-ends, rolling out of bed at the crack of dawn to try and make things happen…
Hence the new generation of “corporate entrepreneurs”, those countless brave souls building full-time businesses, going after their dreams, while working full-time, taking care of their families, and doing the rest of the “adult” thing…With so much on their plates, and so little time, they’re tempted to quit their jobs, jump ship and just go for the Dream. This is especially true for women who may be over the gender politics at work, or moms who may want more time and flexibility with their kids…
In the best case scenario, they’ve saved a bit of money to weather a few months, as in the example of ex-marketing executive Sonia Thompson who left her cushy corporate gig to build a business bringing in only a quarter of that. or are relying on their partners/families to help them out. Or they just may end up writing this type of post...In all cases, it’s never the easiest of decisions…
For a few years now, entrepreneurship has been the new Women’s Movement. Instead of flocking to corporations as happened in the 70’s, they’re now fleeing form the limiting prisons of corporations to build their own empires. Millennial women in particular, are burning out at work by the time they hit…30!
While research shows women will create over half of the new 9.72 million jobs by 2018″ from the comfort of their home offices/closets/smartphones, the question remains: Should you quit your day job to build your dream? Or should you do it while logging in your regular hours?
There’s a lot of advice out there telling you when to quit your job to start your business, or how to transition from your job to your business full-time, or what kind of tequila to buy in case things go south. And for women, especially those with families and children to support, the decision is never an easy one, no matter what Wikipedia may say.
And there’s no one-fits-all solution either, as every female corporate entrepreneur deals with their own very unique set of circumstances. Whether you’re divorced, married, single, with or without children, making the leap into full-time entrepreneurship will probably be one of the most nerve-wracking decisions of your life.
While no one but you can tell you what you should be doing, here are in my opinion, the 3 most important (albeit, unconventional) questions to consider as you sip on that tequila while contemplating the current state of your life:
- Are you happy? Ok, happiness may not pay the bills at first. Yet in the long-term, being satisfied and fulfilled can help you make more money. Ask yourself if you’re happy and fulfilled. If your career is among the factors decreasing your happiness, it may be time to consider a change. It doesn’t mean you have to turn in your resignation letter today, but it may mean you have to push the pedal towards turning your business into an alternative way to pay your bills.
- What does success mean to you? Is success intimately tied with your $200,ooo cushy salary? Or does success mean more time with your family? Is making a quarter of your salary but being able to travel and have more time off your own definition of success? Find out what being successful means to you, without any influence, interference or nagging doubts. That may lead you towards making the right decision for you, not for anyone else.
- What can you put up with? Of the 3 questions above, this one is by far the most unpleasant. There will be quite a bit of struggling involved in building your business, whether you decide to jump ship from your corporate job or hustle on the side. That’s not the question. The question is, how much can you put up with? What’s your resistance factor? Are you ok surviving on a quarter of your current salary? Are you ready to use whatever spare time, including nights and week-ends to build your business while working full-time?
Based on your answers to these questions, you’ll know whether you’re ready to tender your resignation or if you need more time to secure your bases. Or if the Dream has changed for you, or is very much alive…
So let me ask you this, should you quit your job to follow your dreams, or build your business on the side?
PS: Like this post? Click HERE to get The Corporate Sister’s career, lifestyle and entrepreneurship, bi-weekly updates.
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
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