Raise your hand if you have a clearly defined budget and a strategy for investing in yourself as a small business owner in the year ahead.

I don’t see a lot of hands up. Let me rephrase...

Raise your hand if you’re not quite sure what to budget for, business-wise, or where to make minor shifts and adjustments to invest in yourself and your creative business.

Okay, more hands are up now.

When it comes to business budgeting, most people keep on keeping on with what they’re doing without making time for this type of assessment.

However, budget planning is for anyone and everyone. It doesn’t matter how much income or revenue is flowing through your business, large or small.

Think of a budget as a wishlist. And what a perfect time of year for creating a wishlist.

Start by thinking really BIG and expansive. Then get down to the nitty gritty numbers to figure out what’s essential and where to start.

For example, your 2025 wishlist might include heavy duty equipment. Okay, great. What’s that going to cost? Is that something you can plan for?

Or if your 2025 wishlist sounds anything like mine, there are mostly small budget items that are more about deciding to use different digital tools.

This is a great time of year to put a business budget together.

Here’s why:

• • Budgeting now gives you a chance to invest in yourself and your business in a smart way because there’s typically money to be saved through Black Friday and Cyber Monday discounts
  • Typically before people start their annual planning and strategic plans for the year ahead
  • Your budget gives you a baseline to make more realistic goals for the year ahead
  • Basically tells you what essentials / must haves need to be in place to operate and function as ideally as possible

I’ll walk you through what’s on my list and why. This is sure to inspire you, so take notes and get your 2025 business budget going!

Next Steps:

1. Find more information at www.HeatherAllenOnline.com.
2. Buy a copy of the book "Let Your Creativity Work for You: How to Turn Artwork into Opportunity" by Heather Allen, MGIM-MBA at www.HeatherAllenOnline.com/book.

When you’re in business for yourself, wearing so many hats, doing everything yourself or delegating to a few reliable individuals, everything depends on your energy, your focus, your drive, and your ability to create.

Creative small businesses ask a lot of their creator.

Which is why we’re diving into one of the biggest contributors to distraction, lack of focus, underlying stress, and overstimulation according to many, many studies.

We’re talking about the clutter and distractions that are begging for your attention – demanding attention constantly. We’re also talking about the different types of junk drawers you can clean out in order to be ready for abundance.

Next Steps:

1. Find more information at www.HeatherAllenOnline.com.
2. Buy a copy of the book "Let Your Creativity Work for You: How to Turn Artwork into Opportunity" by Heather Allen, MGIM-MBA at www.HeatherAllenOnline.com/book.

Let’s say it’s Monday morning and you open your inbox to find not one, not two, but three emails from customers who want to hire you for a commission of original artwork. What do you do?

Do you know how to get those new customers from their commission inquiry email all the way through your process to the final product?

Is there a customer service or communication layer built into your creation process that keeps clients informed along the way? Are you keeping communication in mind to instill THEIR trust and confidence in the process? Do your clients have a sense of when their piece will be ready and available for them to take home?

Today, we’re talking about the client, customer, and commission communications that will set you apart from amateur to professional.

I’m sharing a model I use almost every day in the management of creative projects with my team. It’s a great model to use for your client communications, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it.

Next Steps:

1. Find more information at www.HeatherAllenOnline.com.
2. Buy a copy of the book "Let Your Creativity Work for You: How to Turn Artwork into Opportunity" by Heather Allen, MGIM-MBA at www.HeatherAllenOnline.com/book.