In My Studio: Planning for the Year Ahead

Some of the tools I am using to plan for 2017

With the new year arriving I have been spending some time planning and organizing for the year ahead. I would love to share some of my new favorite tools to get the most productivity and creativity out of the year to come.

1) Many Moons 2017 Calendar from Cynla (top left) I love this calendar from our our Makers on Hudson teammate Cindy. Each month includes a beautiful illustration of the moon and dates of the moon phases are marked on.

2) 17 Actions and Insights for a Prosperous and Profitable 2017 (top right) e-book from The Merriweather Council  This is a really useful book to get you started with some easy actionable steps to help your small handmade business grow and prosper in 2017.It is written in a really straightforward no fluff manner with lots of  space for note taking. 

3) Get to Work Book (bottom left) from Elise Joy This planner is the planner of my dreams! As a prolific list writer this is the place I can corral all my lists and take pleasure as they are crossed off one by one. Full of inspiring quotes, pages for project planning and easy weekly layouts it has been a huge help in getting my work done.

4)  Etsy Seller Spreadsheet (bottom right) from Paper and Spark
I have been getting all my business paperwork in order from 2016 and these spreadsheets from Paper and Spark have helped enormously. They enable you to copy and paste all the relevant information from Etsy into a usable and legible document. Paper and Spark also includes video tutorials to walk you through many of the processes and has many free resources on the website for small handmade businesses.  

Here are some of the tools Patricia van Essche from PVE Design is using for planning her 2017

1) Spiral Organizer by Red Star Ink
Great for organizing your budget, paying bills and planning ahead.

2) Boxwood Maze Notebooks by PVE Design 
This stunning spiral bound notebook is wonderful for jotting down to-do lists, shopping lists or ideas for the new year ahead.

3) Small floral clipboards by Staples

Have a wonderful organized and prosperous 2017!
Good Luck and Good Making!

Sarah
So Handmade
  

"A goal without a plan is just a wish" Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Keeping Track Of Etsy Expenses With Outright

For a few years I've been devoted to my many Excel spreadsheets to keep track of money coming in and going out of my business.  Without fail, I always miss SOMETHING and I'm scrambling come tax time.   I tried software programs like Quicken and I just couldn't get it right.  I thought I was stuck with my 15 spreadsheet system until I learned about Outright.com and wanted to share this treasure with everyone.

Outright is all about helping small businesses succeed. They know that a lot of us dread dealing with the books so they're here to help.  Outright is a super easy application to setup and nothing needs to be installed in to your computer.  You just plug in your info and you'll be linked to all of your business accounts.  You'll soon be keeping track of all your Etsy sales, shipping costs, fees, coupon deductions and more.

I got a head start on prepping my expense reports and was able to generate reports based on Etsy Transaction fees, Etsy Renew fees, Search Ads, supplies purchased, PayPal fees and much more.  I can't tell you how excited I was to see everything so neatly on paper!

The best part about all of this is that it's FREE! No kidding! They also offer Outright Plus at $9.95 per month and get additional features but so far I think I'm doing fine with what's available free but the additional perks may benefits those with a 'bigger' small business.  Outright is a godsend and definitely worth trying out.

If you can make it down to Brooklyn, an expert from Outright will be leading a workshop at Etsy headquarters on Tuesday January 29th: The Lowdown on Taxes for Etsy Sellers