This was the year!
You took the bold step of making your side hustle your day job.
You had a decent year, you may not want to live on the income you made for very long, but you made it.
Pat yourself on the back, raise a glass - you are a bonafide entrepreneur, welcome to the club!

That was yesterday; then you filed your taxes.
I remember this day well... "I have to pay what!?"
If you have been an employee all your life, you likely have grown to expect a tax return, not to have to return your hard earned money to the government. You may have even expected to pay a certain sum, after all, everyone has to pay taxes but hoped that your other deductions would offset enough that it wouldn't hurt too much. We can't help it, not everything in our mind makes the switch from employee to a business owner in one year.

Don't give up.
It may feel like there is no point in owning a business if it is always going to be an uphill battle to get ahead.
Here's the thing, that is not how it has to be, and you have choices to solve this problem now.
So many times I see entrepreneurs fail to thrive because they think there are only two choices; to succeed or fail. There are always more than two choices; you just have to stop, think, strategize and decide.

Stop
Stop all the doomsday scenarios running through your brain how you are not going to make it because you're ruined, and allow your mind to open to the possibility that there is not just one way, but many around this.

Think
Think differently, as any life coach will tell you, change your mindset, and you change your life.
It goes a little something like this...
Everyone has to pay taxes, so, so do I. If I didn't know how much more I would have to pay as a sole proprietor or small business owner, now I do. Lesson learned. Now is probably a good time to hire an accountant for next year so I can plan ahead.

This is a sign of my success. I rocked the shit out of this year! I just need to get over this hump, and I will be on my way.

Strategize
Now that your mind is in a better place, it is time to figure out how you are going to pay this year's tax bill while still growing your business. I highly recommend hiring a financial planner. Most small business owners think that they can't afford one, this simply isn't true. There are two business professionals you can not afford NOT to hire, an accountant and a financial planner. They both can save you more money then you will ever pay them by educating you on deductions, tax savings and damn good ideas you're in the wrong industry to come up with yourself. Don't settle for the first one you google, interview and ask questions to make sure they can see things with a big picture strategy and that your best interest is at heart. 

(The following brainstorming example is not to take the place of a financial professional's advice, or your own good sense. Only you and the professional you choose to entrust the knowledge with, know your true financial situation and how these ideas would impact the overall picture.)

Do you have resources of which you are unaware? What about:

• That 401K you still need to roll over - a financial advisor can help you decide if there is a way you can borrow from yourself to pay your taxes and how to do it with the least amount of tax penalty the next year.
• Do you have equity in your home? Maybe a home equity loan is an option.
• You may qualify for a personal loan, choosing one with the lowest interest rate and best terms is important. (enter the financial advisor again)
• Did you know that IRS offers a monthly payment plan for federal income taxes? You could qualify, it is very easy to apply, and you find out instantly - learn more here.
• The CRA in Canada also has its own version of payment arrangements - learn more here.
• You could ask your father-in-law for money. (I just put this one in here to make sure you are still awake) No really, depending on your relationship, you could ask your mother-in-law to ask your father-in-law for money.

Part of your plan should be how you are also going to pay next year's taxes. Hiring an accountant to project your quarterly taxes and show you how to pay them can then be part of your immediate strategy for paying your taxes now.

Decide
There are more solutions to consider, and it may take employing many ideas to make it work. But, you do not have to choose to quit. If you choose NOT to quit, then more decisions need to be made to move forward. The important thing is to move.

Happy Tax Day! You Earned It!
Pat yourself on the back, raise a glass - you are a bonafide entrepreneur, welcome to the club!

​Rebecca LeClaire is a Start-up Business Coach and Online Marketing Consultant who helps small businesses build a brand presence and grow.

I recently watched an interview with Sarah Silverman on "Inside the Actor's Studio."  I find her to be not only a comedic genius, but a genius in general, so I was riveted to learn about her life and career. She said something very profound when asked about her advice on the writing process by James Lipton. She said, "write the bad version first." She went on to explain how you can get writers block trying to make your piece perfect, but if you just write the bad version, try it out and edit it over time, you will end up with something good.

I began to think how this can be applied to so many things in life, in particular the entrepreneurial process. There is a reason why we all love Nike's slogan "Just do it" - because everyone has dreams and goals and being given permission to shoot for the moon feels good. But, few "just do it." That's why I love tweaking this mindset to "just do it badly, then do it better."

OK, I acknowledge that doesn't work in every scenario if we are talking about selling something sub-standard. But perhaps your just do it poorly is trying your idea out on some friends and family for FREE until you have perfected your service, or creating your first prototype. Expect to fail, and expect to improve. You might just surprise yourself coming out of the gate.

When you are ready to turn that idea in to a viable business, let's talk!

I turned 40 a week ago. If you've turned 40 already, you get it, it's a big deal.
Generally for women it can either be a time of despair at the aging process, or for most of the women I know, a time to celebrate coming into one's self, knowing and being happy with who you are, and taking on a new chapter in your career and personal life.

I found myself in a predicament a few months back as I was planning my birthday festivities.
I was enjoying one of the most rewarding years of my career and planning to expand in a new territory of services. I was feeling whole in every aspect of my personal life and enjoying a schedule that balanced my family's needs and my aspiring goals.

And then it happened...

I found out I was pregnant. Pregnant for my 6th child at 40! Can you say TIRED? I had finished having children 6 years ago and was relishing my second year of school day hours solely devoted to growing my business. Not only that, my husband and I had decided that the market was right to put our house on the market and finally build on our dream plot of land. Morning sickness, house showings, blueprints, moving into a much smaller temporary rental and added hours of extra school drop off/pick up ensued. I found my entrepreneurial energy draining.

I could have panicked, had I not learned a very valuable lesson in my early days of start-up. Back then I was balancing 4 toddlers/babies, 2 with special needs, and an urgency to create income for their uncertain futures. And that lesson is one step and one day at a time. It is what I call "little by little". It may sound cliche, but sometimes you have to make a plan as to how you are going to carry it out for it to really manifest.

What is it that is overwhelming you? Do you have extenuating circumstances in your personal life or unexpected set backs in your business? Does this have to mean you abandon your goals because they are now impossible?

Ask yourself these questions:

• Before IT happened, were my goals a reasonable path for building my business?
• If time were not an issue, would I still be able to achieve my goals given the resources I still have?
• Is my great idea, still a great idea even though IT happened?

If your answer is yes to these questions, read on...

Little by Little
It comes down to mathematics really. Your goal for your business may now take a longer time to achieve, but if you break it down into denominators for each day you will have a plan to make it happen.

Example 1: Let's say you need to launch a new service or product, and you know that you need to grow your contact list to reach a particular demographic about it. First, choose the best platform for reaching that audience, let's say it is LinkedIn. Now, every day, just make 3 connections on LinkedIn with your target market. (If you need help developing a strategy for LinkedIn email me for my Top Secret method of making meaningful business connections with people you don't know) In 4 weeks you will have made close to 84 connections, give or take for those who ignore you, but perhaps even more given how social media site connecting snowballs.

Example 2: Maybe your idea hasn't materialized yet. Allow yourself 30 to 60 minutes a day to research implementation. The rest of the day is devoted to working the business you already have and taking care of your new responsibilities/extenuating circumstance. When you have exhausted research and are ready to start implementation, do just one thing day, or take one day a week to do one thing if they are significant tasks, that will get you closer to launching.

Make Contingency Plans
When your startup stands on uncertain ground, but you are still committed to making it work, exercise the skill of filling in the blanks of this sentence:
If _________________ happens, I could do this __________________ or I could do this _________________.
Anticipating different scenarios and knowing what step to take next without displaying shell shock will allow you to still appear to be in control to your current clientele however small it may be.

Always keep in mind, on average, businesses make more money from repeat sales than new sales. Maybe another "little by little" could be how can you make slight improvements to the experience of your current client base, they may be just the people to buy into or cheerlead your next level of business.

by Rebecca LeClaire - Website Design Company Consultant and Startup, Online Business, SEO & Marketing Consultant 

On May 12, 2013 "Cochran", someone who may have been considered the most unlikely threat on the reality t.v. show Survivor, won a Million dollars. If you are fan of Survivor, you saw John Cochran in his first season being bullied by other contestants and too self-conscious to take his shirt off. This year's season he came back with a vengeance baring skin and taking no prisoners - becoming the second player to ever play a "Perfect Game", receiving no votes against him at Tribal Council and winning the jury vote unanimously. He still appeared to be the same red-headed, pale, skinny, Harvard law student, but something had changed from his last experience. In his words - "I feel like last time people thought I was worthless and I started to believe I was worthless, but now I am feeling more confident... the fact that I was able to succeed was remarkable to me."

I have had many conversations with people who share with me their incredible talent or unbelievable ideas. I instantly start seeing dollar signs in front of them. As we begin to talk about how we could easily make a business out of that, I am often met with a very similar response. Suddenly, what I see as the small details of implementation appear like mountains to my counter-part. And then it is said, "I don't know who would even buy that anyway." I began to notice over the years that what separates this individual from the entrepreneurs I work with already in the trenches, is that they lack confidence... not necessarily in the idea, because they had enough confidence in it to create it... but, confidence in themselves. Entrepreneurs tend to personalize what it is they are selling and it becomes an extension of themselves, many times to the point of a parent-child or matrimonial relationship. So the anticipation of rejection of an idea or talent is akin to preparing for a break-up or great loss. Because of this many "pre-entrepreneurs" don't even start.

Does this mean that people who lack personal confidence or self-esteem cannot be entrepreneurs? NO! But, acknowledging this hurdle is one of the first important steps to success.

Often our weakness can be our biggest strength if we let it be.
Did you know that "Shark Tank" star and angel investor Barbara Corcoran, who admits to insecurity being a daily struggle, says that "the biggest challenge in business is not competition; it's what goes on inside your own head ... insecurity makes you run, what's wrong with it?"

So how do you start a business if you have a lack of confidence?:

1.  Think about your great idea, your incredible talent - What is it that you love about it? If it's a product or service, what problem does it solve or improvement does it make? If you can answer these questions then you should remember that this was YOUR idea, why are you doubting yourself now?

2. If you feel overwhelmed, understand that starting a business is a one-step-at-a-time process; everything doesn't have to happen at once. First step - make a business plan!

3. Believe in what you have to offer, concentrate your efforts on making it the best that it can be and partner with people who are good at the parts of business you lack understanding or are unsure about.
(I love to walk new entrepreneurs through this process and provide the services they need along the way so they can concentrate on what it is they want to actually accomplish)

4. Expose yourself to rejection - present your idea or sample to 10 - 20 people and ask them to be honest.
Don't ask family - they will either just tell you what you want to hear and you won't trust their praise or their criticism may make you feel resentful, in which case, you won't trust that opinion either.

I recently read an entertaining article "5 Reasons Why You Should Seek Rejection" by Robert D Smith about how at the point of almost giving up he turned his sales around by trying to get rejected 30 times a day, this exercise increased his sales to the point where it was hard to get a single "no".

5. Decide what your end game will be - I recall a story of two women trying to get a startup off the ground and after a year of trying to get financing, money was running out. One of them was working double shifts as a nurse to back the fund raising efforts. They were running out of options and facing failure. They made the decision to pick a goal and an end date. If they didn't have X amount of dollars by a certain date, no matter what, they would throw in the towel. They experienced incredible release once that decision was made and every phone call no longer felt like the thing that would make or break them. And yes, they met their goal! 

Since hearing this story I have applied the same metrics setting method to my tough decision making and have found the principle to ring true. It is no longer so personal. You try your hardest, you do the things you need to do and what happens on that date, happens. It is not a great personal failure, it just wasn't meant to be and you don't end up throwing more money out the window than you should. However, most of the time the relaxation that comes from knowing there is an end allows your mind to focus on the tasks to meet the goal instead of the emotional distractions.

I believe we all can make a comeback like "Cochran" in our lives, whether it is personal, business or both.
My favorite consultation calls are with entrepreneurs, who after an honest look at where they are at compared to the average startup, just need a listening ear and pep talk to keep them going. They often already know what they need to do next, but just need someone to give them permission to keep believing in themselves... it is soon after that the next big milestone is achieved!

Read more About the author Rebecca LeClaire HERE.
If you would like to schedule a consultation with Rebecca, you can do so HERE.

by Rebecca LeClaire - Website Design Company Consultant & Online Business, SEO & Marketing Consultant
This article can also be found on Simply Woman Magazine http://www.simplywoman.com/what-survivor-can-teach-you-about-confidence-in-business/

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