Are you struggling to set goals or planning how to achieve them? This article is for anyone who wants to create a robust personal management plan that is flexible. Even better, it’ll provide insights and help you improve the plan as you go. Here, I’ll provide a structure that will help you figure out how to be a good boss to yourself.
Read MoreThis article is for busy self-employed business owners struggling with doing too much. You crave identifying which operations in the business to streamline. Sounds like you need an Operational Plan! I'll help you clarify your priorities and help you feel less overwhelmed by your task list.
Read MoreYou're no dummy. You know a financial plan is a key part of business, even for a self-employed business that's just getting off the ground. You want to have reasonable financial expectations for your business. And it'd be great if you didn't have to overwork to get there. (But is that even possible?) This article is for anyone struggling with overwhelm when trying to understand the money side of their business. Here, I'll help by providing you with clarity and simplifying the mathematical process. This will help you to launch a business with a solid financial footing.
Read MoreMarketing is a big umbrella that covers many, many different things. When coming up with a marketing plan, it can be difficult to focus in on the aspects of marketing that you really need to learn about. This article is for any aspiring self-employed business owner who wants to do it right. This overview will help you to understand all that's involved with a marketing plan, and help you zero in on the stuff you need to learn about.
Read MoreIf you've never felt insecure when comparing yourself to others, this article isn't for you. For the rest of us normal people, we need to explore this and how it's impacting our current or future businesses. It's vital for self-employed businesses to understand their competitive advantages and disadvantages. But trying to understand this usually gets us stuck, demoralized, or frozen. Let me reframe competition and the dis/advantages of your business so that you can more easily succeed.
Read MoreYou're self-employment curious, but you're not even sure what your business is or does. It's not clear to you what your business does and what it means to know what it does. You want to have confidence in knowing the general form of your business. I'll help orient you to the basics of your business. This also addresses what's required of the Executive Summary and Company Description sections of a business plan.
Read MoreBusiness Plans. Are they archaic? Vital? Confusing AF? This is the first of a series of articles designed for self-employed businesses and people critical of capitalism. This series will go in-depth into each component of a business plan. This first article is an overview going through all the parts of a business plan. By understanding the components, it will become less monolithic. You might realize you know more than you thought, or that you've missed a key thing. Launch your business smartly with a solid plan!
Read MoreMaggie Karshner is a self-employment coach based in Seattle and Tacoma, Washington. She specializes in coaching solo entrepreneurs and owner-operated small businesses in industries such as real estate, mental health therapy, massage therapy, yoga, doulas, and non-profit.
Maggie's coaching practice encompasses one on one coaching, group coaching, and asynchronous learning via the member area of the website.
As seen on King5's New Day NW and in The Seattle Times.
Is your fear of failure holding you back from launching your business? This article is a pep talk to risk-averse, aspiring self-employed people everywhere. Here, I propose a different way of thinking about failure and a couple of strategies to practice this new way of thinking.
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Does it feel like your accountant is casting magic spells? You're not alone, and your finances don't have to stay a mystery. Accounting is essentially where your money comes from, where it goes, and what it all means. But in weird accountant language. I'll explain the five fundamental account types and the two key financial reports. With this, you can make smarter, more confident decisions about your business future. No accounting degree required.