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I’m a freelance writer. I’m a business owner. I set my rates, I decide what services to offer, and I decide which clients to work with and what projects to take on. I’m not an employee. Neither are you if you freelance — in writing, design, consulting, or any other area. Yet I see freelancer after freelancer still using resumes to try to land gigs. What’s worse is that I see clients occasionally demand them in job ads, making it clear they don’t quite grasp the difference between working with employees and contractors.

My advice for freelancers is to bury that resume. Stop sending it out and start acting like the business owner you are. You can land better gigs and get more respect as an independent professional when you stop starting business relationships giving people the impression that they can treat you like a traditional employee. Why are resumes a potential problem? Let’s talk about it.

Why Resumes Aren’t the Best Option for Freelance Professionals

As a freelancer, you are not an employee. You should not be treated like one. You’re a business owner. You have freedom and flexibility employees don’t have. And in exchange for that you take on added responsibilities like paying more taxes and business expenses which saves clients money. Clients also can’t treat you the same way they treat employees. For example (in the U.S. specifically) clients of freelancers generally can’t determine basic things like when or how you’ll work or what tools you’ll use. You’re the business owner. Those things are up to you.

When you start that relationship with something like a resume, you put yourself in line with employees. That’s not the image you should start out with. All a client needs to know to make a hiring decision is that you’re qualified to do the job and what you plan to charge for it. They can get that information in other places without insisting on kicking off the relationship in employer-employee style.

Benefits of Focusing on Portfolios Instead of Resumes

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Your professional website and portfolio are pretty typical ways to handle things as a freelancer. Your portfolio can be either online or offline. Here are some of the main benefits of focusing on portfolios instead of resumes:

• You focus on what matters — samples of past work or case studies for those offering consulting services — rather than often-irrelevant things like where you worked as an employee ten years ago or what your GPA was in school. Resumes are more for people and jobs where real results aren’t easily shared and where it’s more about long-term commitment to an employer than specific projects and results. As a freelancer, you’re generally being hired for the latter and samples in a portfolio establish more credibility than a resume ever could.
• You present yourself as a business owner up front rather than an employee-like worker, which can make negotiations on rates and other contract terms easier. When you hire an accountant or plumber they don’t give you a resume. As a freelance professional, you’re just as much a business owner. Businesses don’t send resumes. Their websites, case studies, past work examples, and testimonials do the talking for them.
• You put the emphasis on your best work and don’t have to worry about gaps in your employment history or other negatives often highlighted by resumes which are often irrelevant in freelancing. When timing is relevant (such as showing you’re up to date on the latest technical trends if you’re a freelance programmer or designer), you still have the option to highlight that.
• No emphasis is put on how long you stayed with each previous client or employer in a portfolio. In freelancing it’s very common to take on one-off projects and very short contracts. Resumes traditionally focus on longer-term employment. Hiring parties who are used to those traditional resumes and the implications of leaving a company after a brief period could paint you in a negative light, even if only subconsciously. That’s just one more risk you have to take.

If you’re prepared to treat your freelance career as a business in other ways — paying extra taxes, marketing your services, dealing with negotiations and collections, etc. — there’s no good reason not to do the same when trying to land gigs. Resumes are for employees. Build a solid portfolio instead and start your next professional relationship off on a higher level as the business owner you are and not as if you’re some temporary employee stand-in. And remember that if a resume is requested, it’s okay to say “no” (tactfully) and offer a portfolio. I’ve been taking on independent gigs for over a decade now, and rarely have I refused to provide a resume and had a prospect balk (and if they do, these days I walk rather than letting clients start things off by treating me as an employee, and sometimes they still come back) . Most have been perfectly happy with a portfolio instead. But when you’re dealing with new business owners or people used to traditional HR practices, often they just don’t know to ask for it.

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Consistency, consistency, consistency — if you hear about anything being vital to a successful blog, it’s consistency. But what happens when you need a break? What happens if you need time off for personal reasons or reasons beyond your control? Will your readers go elsewhere or unsubscribe if you take time off from blogging?

Fortunately there are things you can do to keep your readers happy while you take time off from your blog, whether you have a lot of time to plan or have to make a sudden schedule change.

Blog Consistency Doesn’t Have to be Crippling

The point of consistency in blogging is that you let readers know what to expect. That’s a good thing. But you also don’t have to be obsessive about it. A missed day here and there in a schedule where you usually post several times per week isn’t likely to cost you readers. If you post infrequently (like once per week or once per month) it might be a bigger problem. The longer the break between posts, the easier it is for readers to forget about you.

Sometimes that fear of being forgotten (or losing subscribers and income) makes us paranoid about a change in our blogging schedule — especially if blogging is an important part of our businesses. But sometimes it’s also out of our hands and the time off isn’t optional; we have to take it. Whether you’re leaving your blog behind for a mental vacation or something came up and you have no choice but to go quiet for a while, here are some things you can do to keep your blog active and keep readers coming back for more.

How to Take Time Off While Giving Readers What They Want

1. Pre-write blogs posts. Schedule them to go live during your time away from blogging. This keeps your original content posting even when you’re not there. This is the best option if you know well in advance that you’ll need time off.
2. Bring in a comment moderator. Get a trusted friend, colleague, or employee to monitor comments for you while you’re gone. Pre-scheduling posts is a good start, but you can still stifle conversations if no one weeds out the spam and approves new comments. Only ask someone to help with this if you trust them enough to give them administrator access to your blog though. If you don’t have anyone like that, just let readers know ahead of time that comments may be delayed slightly.
3. 

   If your blog is stressing you out, bring in help. - Credit: BigStockPhoto.com

   Feature guest posters.

   People often guest post on other people’s blogs to promote themselves and their businesses. That doesn’t mean they write marketing drivel and publish it to your blog. They write informative articles for your audience, and you give them a short bio with a link or two at the end of the blog posts. You can line up one contributor who will fully manage and write for your blog while you’re gone (although again you’ll need to give them administrator access to post and deal with comments). Or you can get early submissions from several guest posters and schedule them to go live while you’re gone. The former is a good option if you need someone to fill in quickly, and the latter works better if you have time to plan and solicit contributions.

4. Hire a freelance blogger. Another option is to hire a professional blogger to manage your site when you can’t post to the blog for a while. Just be sure to find someone who writes in your niche and who has a style that won’t turn off your usual readers. The benefit of a freelancer is that they should already be fully trained in all blogging basics — the platform, how to write effectively for the Web, how to deal with comments, etc.
5. Post an announcement. While it’s a last resort, you also have the option of posting a short announcement letting readers know you’ll be gone. Ideally if you know you’ll take time off ahead of time you’ll respect them enough to schedule things in advance. But in the case of an emergency, readers can be very understanding if you’ll be silent for a short amount of time. Some people don’t like the idea of announcing it, but I think it’s far more courteous than just disappearing (although I’ve been guilty of both on various blogs I’ve run in the past).

Overall, stop worrying. You won’t lose most loyal readers just because you need a break or have to deal with more important issues for a while. Consistency is great, but it doesn’t have to be completely flawless. Hold yourself to high standards, but not impossible ones. If you need time off to refresh, take it. You’ll come back fresher and more enthusiastic than ever, and that’s good for your readers as much as it is for you.

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Has someone asked you to write a LinkedIn recommendation for them? Are you not sure where to start, or just looking for tips to write better LinkedIn recommendations? Let’s take a look at why LinkedIn recommendations are important to the people asking for them, and therefore why it’s important for your recommendations to shine. Then I’ll offer a few tips for how you can write a better LinkedIn recommendation whether it’s your first or your fiftieth.

First, let’s look at why you should put some thought into every LinkedIn recommendation you write instead of just jotting down the first thing that comes to mind.

Why It’s Important to Write Great LinkedIn Recommendations

LinkedIn recommendations are an example of “social proof.” Social proof is basically word of mouth marketing. When people you know are talking about something, raving about it, or recommending it you might take it as proof that it’s worth your time (or money). In the case of LinkedIn recommendations that social proof is about a person’s credibility. If you want to hire someone, for example, you might give serious weight to recommendations from people in your own network. The trust you have for the reviewer could translate into some level of up front trust for the professional being reviewed.

Because your LinkedIn recommendations and other social media referrals can have a real impact in that way, it’s important that if you take the time to write one, you write a great one. There’s another side to it though. LinkedIn recommendations are really just referrals. And when it comes to referrals the more you give, generally the more you get. So taking the time to write great LinkedIn recommendations for contractors and colleagues you’ve worked with might lead to them offering that same kind of social proof when it comes to you or your business.

Example of a LinkedIn Recommendation on a Profile Page

If you want to improve the effectiveness of the LinkedIn recommendations you write for others, here are a few tips to help you out.

5 Tips to Write Better LinkedIn Recommendations

1. Be specific.

It’s not enough to say “So-and-so was great to work with.” That’s nice, but it doesn’t tell the reader anything significant. Maybe the two of you simply clicked, or maybe you were friends before working together. Give details. Tell people why someone was easy to work with. For example, maybe it was their scheduling flexibility that made things work out, or perhaps they were easy to work with because they were good about keeping open lines of communication. Let others know what they can expect if they work with that person in the future.

2. Highlight measurable results.

Numbers sometimes speak louder than words. Let’s say you hired a copywriter for your last sales letter for example. You loved the finished product. That’s great, but what really matters is whether or not the sales copy converted into actual sales. That’s the kind of information you should include in a LinkedIn recommendation. It’s okay if you don’t want to give out your exact sales figures. You could give ballpark numbers, just the initial sales (such as the first week), or even general yet measurable information like “his sales letter copy tripled our product sales in the first month.” The more specific the better, but any numbers are better than none.

This is the form you use to submit a LinkedIn recommendation for a contact. - Credit: LinkedIn.com

3. Be honest.

Don’t write LinkedIn recommendations every time someone asks for them. Only put your name behind someone if you’re truly comfortable vouching for them. It gives the recommendations you do write more weight. You might set a personal rule, for example, where you’ll only write a recommendation after completing three projects with someone or only if they’ve worked with you for a certain period of time. This way recommendations are based on a pattern rather than just a one-time success that might not be repeatable.

4. Keep the focus on the other person.

An important element of things like LinkedIn profiles is personal branding. By keeping the focus on the person you’re talking about, you help build their personal brand rather than emphasizing yourself or your company. Mention their name throughout the referral rather than just once at the beginning. Instead of giving details about your project, detail how the person influenced that project. The review should focus on them and the results they helped you achieve more than anything else.

5. Keep it short.

No one wants to read about every element of your relationship with the person you’re referring. Get to the point and highlight only the reasons you would refer them to others. Readers don’t need a lot of background about how you met (or everything involved in the project). Give them what they want and let them move on to other recommendations for a more well-rounded view.

What other tips do you have for writing better LinkedIn recommendations? Are there specific rules you like to follow about who you’ll write recommendations for? How important have LinkedIn recommendations been to you or your business? Share your thoughts and stories in the comments below.

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With me “credit” is (almost) a dirty word. I don’t take out loans. I don’t use credit cards. And (shocker here), I’m perfectly happy! I’m not the only person I know who stays away from buying on credit either. And interestingly, those I know living cash-based lifestyles tend to be the happier folks financially — less stressed out, fewer bills to worry about, less buyer’s remorse, etc.

Now I’m not going to say that a cash-based lifestyle is for everyone, and I don’t judge anyone else in a negative light because they choose to finance things. It’s just not for me. And given the state of the economy and how many people got in way over their heads in part because they couldn’t manage credit, I’d say it’s not for a lot of other people too. So today let’s look at the other side of the coin — surviving without credit, and why it’s not as bad as some people make it out to be.

Reasons People Give for Buying on Credit

People tend to give the same few reasons for why they think credit is a great thing. And not a single one of those reasons applies to everyone, including me. Here are a few:

1. Credit cards and loans give you more buying power. — To that I say, not everyone should really have more buying power. What happened to living within our means and buying what we could actually afford to pay for? That’s precisely the mentality that leads to people charging more than they can handle or buying more of a house than they can afford to pay for. Is that true of everyone? No. Some people are incredibly responsible with lines of credit. And to them, I say go for it! But sadly many are not. And they’re the ones who should re-think this reasoning. Personally when I want more buying power, I find ways to make more money. I do more than fairly well for myself and I can afford most things I want. I know not everyone is at that level right now. But I wasn’t always either. It comes down to determination and hard work, but once you get there, you might never want to look back.

2. Credit cards are convenient. — To that I say, so is your debit card. A cash-based lifestyle doesn’t mean you have to physically carry cash around with you. It just means you only spend money you actually have.

3. Credit cards are an emergency funding source. — To that I say, try building an actual emergency fund instead. You’ll be amazed at the peace of mind that comes from knowing you could get by for several months or more even in a worst case scenario like a medical disaster or losing a job. And your real emergency fund won’t charge you interest when times are already tough.

Misconceptions About the Cash-Based Lifestyle

Like I mentioned, some people can responsibly use credit, and they choose to do so. And there’s nothing wrong with that. The cash-based lifestyle that I prefer is just one option. And there are plenty of misconceptions about that option that I feel drive some people away before they really get to understand it or try it for themselves. Here is the biggest misconception I’ve come across:

You won’t be able to afford anything, or what you can afford won’t be nice.

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Not true. I know someone who’s paying $400 per month for their car payment. My cars are paid for in full — I’ve never paid a car payment in my life. That means I have hundreds of dollars in my pocket each month that she doesn’t have (meaning while her “extra” money goes to the bank to pay down the car loan I can afford to save it, buy play tickets, take weekend trips away, etc. that she would love to do but can’t). But we both have cars that we love. Given, mine’s much older, but she’s in pretty good shape and has years’ of life left in her I’d say (I’ve learned not to be the kind of person who abuses their car or who insists on having a new one every few years just to say I have a new one).

When it does come time to buy another car, I don’t plan to finance that one either. A friend’s boyfriend recently said to me that he wouldn’t want to do that because he wouldn’t want to be stuck buying a “beater.” And there’s the misconception for you. He assumed that paying for a car outright meant I’d have to buy crap. But no…. I’d simply save enough to buy the car I want, and pay for it without interest accumulating. If you plan ahead, you can buy any car outright that you would otherwise buy through financing.

Frankly I can afford to do just about anything I want with my time, while many of my credit-reliant pals cannot. It goes back to putting the emphasis on making enough money to live the life you want rather than relying on someone else to lend you the money so you can buy now and pay later. When you do that, you run the risk of “paying” for the rest of your life.

How You Can Get Started

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Now look. I know I’m “lucky” to some degree because I make a nice living and can afford to do the things I want to do. I know not everyone is in that same place right now. But I was in their shoes at one point too. I remember when credit cards had to cover basic expenses when I graduated and was looking for work (lousy job market at the time where I wanted to work, similar to the lousy job market now). And I don’t begrudge anyone the ability to do what they need to do to get by in the short-term.

But no matter how tight things seem now, there are small things you can do to get you on a more self-reliant path where you don’t have to rely on banks for financing all the time. If you’d like to move in that direction for any reason, here are some things that can get you started:

1. Re-evaluate your budget. — Look for ways you can trim expenses so you’ll have some money to set aside in a real emergency fund to stop relying so much on credit cards. For example, decrease your cable subscription, make sure you’re getting the most cost-efficient mobile phone plan, and plan your meals out in advance so you can take advantage of sales and coupons. Every little bit you can save now helps.

2. Build that emergency fund. — Put away any little bit you can into an emergency fund. First aim for a small emergency fund of $1000 — it might cover unexpected car repairs or something so you don’t have to finance them. But ultimately aim for an emergency fund that would cover your living expenses for several full months. This gives you a cushion if someone in the family were to lose their job.

3. Sell things you don’t need. — This can be a quick way to build a small emergency fund or get cash to pay off some of your existing debts. Plus, de-cluttering can be a relief in itself.

4. Look for part-time work. — If the real problem is that you don’t have enough money coming in, then start there. Take on part-time work, even if just for a few months, so you can get those debts paid down or start saving. If a traditional part-time job isn’t realistic, consider freelancing part-time if you have any marketable skills. You can do a lot of freelancing online these days — writing, design work, programming, marketing, etc. And despite the fact that you’ll see a lot of very low paying work advertised, keep looking. There’s plenty of high paying work around too if you contact companies directly. I’d know. I make my living entirely online as a freelance writer, blogger, and Web developer. Look for freelance-related sites that can give you advice on getting started.
5. Stop using your credit cards — slowly. — If you have a lot of credit cards, stop using just one of them for now, and work on paying it off. See if you feel any better when it’s gone. If so, keep working on other cards, dropping them one at a time until you’re credit-free. If you find that you really can’t live without them, well, that’s okay too. A cash-based lifestyle is definitely not for everyone. The key is to not try to go cold turkey. It’s about replacing one habit with another.

I’m not saying moving to a cash-based lifestyle is the easiest thing to do. But for many who do it, it helps to eliminate a lot of stress and it’s more than worth the initial work. For others, buying on credit will always be a part of their lives, and that’s okay too. There is no “right” or “wrong” way as long as you’re responsible. It’s just about knowing your options and choosing the one that’s right for you.

Do you think you could ever live without buying on credit? Do you already live a cash-based lifestyle. While in general the one exception to my own personal “rule” is mortgages, I have to admit that I’d like to bypass that as well when I’m ready to leave the rental world to settle down. Have you done that, or anything similar? Share your thoughts and stories in the comments.

Photo credit: SqueakyMarmot

These days it seems like everyone is looking for a way to pay off debt without actually understanding debt and considering the best way to pay it off. Believe it or not, some debt is considered “good” debt. Debt that has long-term value combined with reasonable interest rates that you can sustain for a long period of time and still be better for it is often considered “good”. Examples of this debt include student loans and mortgages.

Other debt, the kind that offers no financial betterment over the long term and has a high interest rate that prevents you from setting enough money aside for savings is “bad” debt and should be paid off as soon as possible after it is accrued. To many this seems like an impossible task but learning how to pay off debt isn’t hard it just takes discipline and dedication.

Step 1: Determine what your debt is.

 

In order to pay off debt, you must first know what your debt is and what the interest rates are. On a piece of paper write down the names of each of the credit card companies or banks that you owe money to. Next to each, write down the reason for your debt with them, the amount of the debt and the interest rate.

Step 2: Highlight the bad debt.

Go through the list of debt that you just created and highlight in yellow all those debts that are “bad.” This will include anything that does not create long-term value to your bottom line either through a valuable asset or improved pay in the workforce and that also has a high interest rate. Then, with a green highlighter, highlight those debts which would be considered “bad” but that have a low interest rate. One example would be credit card debt that is currently enjoying a low or no interest introductory rate.

 

Photo credit: kahle

Step 3: Plan to pay off debt with high interest first.

 

Look at the debts you highlighted in yellow, choose the one that you are accumulating the most interest on and work your budget around paying higher than required payments on that debt.

As you set your sites on one debt account and make aggressive payments on it, do not neglect to at least make the minimum payments on your other debt accounts. If you do not, you could actually increase your debt and ruin your credit by accruing late and over-the-limit-fees.

Remember—your highest interest rate is not necessarily the debt account you pay the most interest on. You must consider the amount of your balances and the interest rates applied to them to determine which accounts have the most interest expense.

In general, you should pay off your high interest rate debt first. However, if you want a sense of instant gratification and you have a low interest debt that could be paid off completely with one or two aggressive payments, then you can attack that debt first. Each time you pay off one debt cross it off the list and focus on the next.

Once you have paid off everything highlighted in yellow move on to those debts highlighted in green. Be sure to cut up all credit cards so that you are not able to accrue new debt. You may be tempted to close the credit accounts all together, but that could have an adverse affect on your credit score.

Eventually, as you pay off all your bad debt you can move on to aggressively paying off your good debt so you can enjoy all the perks of a debt-free existence. At that point you’ll no longer be asking how to pay off debt, but you will be learning how to enjoy financial freedom.

You may also enjoy How Freelancers Can Plan for Retirement and 25 Businesses You Can Start From Home (With Little to no Money).

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Financial planning is the process of completing a comprehensive overview of your current financial situation, developing and determining your future goals, and then creating a workable financial management plan that puts you on the right path to actually achieving those goals.

In order to get a true, comprehensive plan with advice that helps you work toward wealth preservation and investing according to your risk tolerance and time line, you should work with a certified financial planner. However, to do a brief financial plan at home you can use this guide as well as the free, financial planning worksheet included.

Step 1: Review your current financial position.

Making an honest assessment of your current financial position is the first step in any financial planning process. To do this, complete sections 1-5 of our financial planning worksheet.

Your current financial position includes your assets, your liabilities, your net worth, and the efforts you have made to protect your net worth with insurance policies, tax-qualified accounts, trusts and a will.

Lastly, you must review your current monthly income and expenses. This will help you to determine whether or not your current income and expenses are appropriate for realizing future goals.

Step 2: Find and fix immediate issues.

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You would be amazed at the problems you can find in your monthly budget and overall financial position once you complete your financial planning worksheet. Some aspects to consider:

• Is your debt to income ratio too high?
• Do your liabilities far outweigh your assets?
• Are you under or over insured?
• Are you taking advantage of tax-qualified retirement accounts?
• Are your retirement savings diversified? (You may need a professional planner’s assistance with this.)
• Are your non-retirement savings diversified? (You may need a professional planner’s assistance with this.)
• Do you make enough money to continue saving to achieve your goals?

There are many other important points to consider in this stage and you must be ready to do a little digging to find them. For instance, on the surface you might look at your debt to income ratio and be comfortable with the amount of debt you have but when you consider the amount of interest you will be paying out over the years to cover that debt does it change how you view the ratio?

Step 3: Determine financial priorities and goals—be specific.

Photo credit: tutu55

In part 6 of the financial planning worksheet, you have a section for goals. Your future goals are the purpose for financial planning because the planning process allows you to review the financial decisions that you have already made, fix any problems, create a more financially efficient system and make your goals achievable.

There are 3 different types of goals to consider:

• Short-term goals: These are goals that you would like to realize within the next 3-5 years. Your age will help determine what they are. For instance, someone who is 60 may have a short-term goal of retirement whereas a 25 year old may have a short-term goal of buying a home.
• Mid-term goals: Your mid-term goals are those goals you would like to achieve within the next 5-15 years.
• Long-Term goals: Long-term goals are those goals you would like to achieve within 15 or more years.

When you write down your goals, you must be specific. Goals must have a deadline and a dollar amount in order to be planned for.

Next, you must prioritize your goals. Determine which are most important and make a commitment to focus your plan around realizing them. Prioritization is an overall activity, not something done within certain time limits so you may find that your long-term goals are much more important to you than your short-term goals.

Step 4: Determine whether your financial actions are supporting your goals and how to change.

Financial planning isn’t just about looking at your bottom line and understanding where you are in relation to where you want to be, it’s about creating a workable plan to get you from where you are to where you need to be according to your goals. This is the most difficult part of financial planning, especially if you are attempting to do so without the help of a professional planner because you might not be familiar with all the questions you should ask and all the investment and tax-efficient vehicles available to you.

Some points to keep in mind:

• Will aggressively paying off your debt help you achieve your goals?
• Do you need to cut your expenses in order to save more money?
• Are you saving money in the wrong types of accounts? For instance, if your most important goal is to create a lush retirement savings, then putting more money into a taxable brokerage account and not maxing out your IRA and 401k is a bad idea.
• If your goal is to retire in a short amount of time, are your retirement savings invested properly to help you do so? Are they invested to aggressively? Are they invested too conservatively?
• If your highest priority goal is the passage of wealth from you to your heirs, are you properly utilizing the tax-advantaged and creditor-safe trust options available to you? Have you created a will?

Step 5: Determine how to support your goals by creating your plan.

Photo credit: gracey

The last step is to create your plan for effecting change. To do this:

• Make a list of the accounts you need to open to start saving properly for your plan.
• Adjust your monthly spending in order to create more room in your budget for debt repayment, savings, or higher insurance premiums.
• Open the appropriate trust accounts for tax savings and wealth preservation.
• Work with an attorney to create a will.
• Open the appropriate college savings accounts for your children.

It is important that this guide does not undermine the level of assistance a certified financial planner can give. We cannot give advice about what type of risk tolerance you have, what types of retirement accounts or investment accounts you should open, and what type of trust best suits your financial plan.

You may also enjoy How to Budget.

If you are wondering how to budget, don’t worry—you are not alone. Many people don’t know where to begin when it comes to budgeting and controlling their spending. By following the instructions below and utilizing our free budgeting worksheet, you won’t just know how to budget, you will understand why budgeting is so important to a successful financial future.

Step 1: Determine your income.

The first step in any budget is making note of income.

Using the worksheet: In Section 1 of our downloadable budgeting worksheet you will find a place to record your income. Make sure that you include all income sources.

Step 2: Record your expenses.

Next, we have to look at where your household income is going in order to better determine how to budget it. If you truly want to understand your current financial situation, then you should pull out your last 3 or more bank statements and use the spending history reflected on them to determine your average monthly spending.

Using the worksheet: Record the amounts in the appropriate category of the first column in Section 2 of the budgeting worksheet. If you have expenses that we did not include in the budgeting worksheet then use the fields marked Other to record these expenses. Be sure to type in exactly what the expense is so that you do not forget.

Step 3: Analyze the difference between income and expenses.

The difference between income and expenses is the first important point in any budget because it reveals both over-spending and under-spending issues.

Using the worksheet: At the very bottom of your budgeting worksheet, you should now see a number in the Difference between income and expenses field. If the number is red, then you are consistently spending more than you make. This often means that you have little retirement or other savings and consistently increasing credit card balances. In order to get your finances back on track, you must begin to reduce your expenses. You also have the option of finding additional income but often it is much easier to just reduce your spending.

If the number in the Difference between income and expenses field is black, then that means you spend less money each month than you make and you deserve a pat on the back. But wait—you aren’t quite done yet because spending less than you make is great but it doesn’t mean that you are spending your money wisely and building up your savings as much as you should be.

Step 4: Change your spending.

Changing your spending allows you to create more effective spending and saving patterns. It helps you fix over-spending, correct under-spending and stop digging yourself into a financial hole.

Photo credit: tdenham

Using the worksheet: Use the second column of Section 2 to adjust your spending numbers. The first expenses you can attack are those that are completely changeable like shopping, dining out and personal care. Often, the money spent on these categories could have better been spent reducing debt and increasing savings. If you are spending more money each month than you make then these areas are the first that you should cut or reduce.

If the cuts and reductions you are able to make in those categories do not reduce your spending enough, it’s time to review your grocery expenses. While you can’t cut food out of your budget altogether, you can research inexpensive recipes and switch to store brand items in order to reduce your spending.

The next category to review is your insurance expenses. It may be possible to reduce some of your coverage limits if you are over-insured. You can also talk to your insurance agent about increasing your deductibles to reduce your premiums but this is not a step to be taken lightly. If you raise the deductibles too high you could have trouble making yourself whole after an insurable incident and if you make your limits too low you might not get fully reimbursed for claims.

By this point, you should have some extra money in your budget so you can increase spending toward debt repayment and savings.  Your first priority should be paying off bad debt because every month that you pay interest on bad debt you are wasting money.

Once you have planned your attack on bad debt, review your retirement, college and other savings accounts and determine whether or not you are saving enough money each month. If not, manipulate the numbers on the budgeting worksheet to correct that.

As handy as this how to budget tutorial and worksheet may be, there is one thing it cannot do–make you stick to your new budget. Unfortunately, financial discipline is something that only you can control and practice. Without financial discipline your budget is just another piece of paper but with it, your budget is the key to a financially sound future.

If you’re constantly on the go, you know just how tiring and stressful business travel can be. If you aren’t careful, you can find yourself burned out while on the road. Needless to say, that’s not good for you or your business.

So, what can you do to make sure you stay sharp while constantly traveling for business? Here are some tips that will keep your mind sharp and your body refreshed while you’re on the road.

• Eat right—When you’re constantly running, it’s easy to fall into the habit of grabbing some fast food or munching on some snacks. While this might satisfy your hunger, it won’t give you the energy you need to keep performing at a high level. In fact, it does the complete opposite.

                That’s why it’s so important to eat right when you’re traveling. Make sure you enjoy plenty of fruits and vegetables as these are great brain foods that keep your mind sharp. You should also limit the sodas you drink, and make sure to drink plenty of water, as a hydrated body is more energetic.

• Give yourself time to rest off the plane—A lot of travelers make the mistake of just trying to catch a little bit of sleep during the flight. A quick nap on the plane won’t recharge your body like a good night’s sleep in an actual bed will. Make sure you get a good night’s sleep at home (or in your hotel) before you get on your flight. This way, you can devote the time on the flight to other tasks, and you won’t get off the plane looking like you just rolled out of bed.
• Get rid of the clutter—If you travel a lot, it can be easy for your briefcase to start filling up with a bunch of papers, folders, CDs, and other junk. Physical clutter leads to a cluttered mind. It causes you to be disorganized and stressed out. So, before you travel, take the time to clean out your briefcase, getting rid of anything you won’t need for your trip.
• Replace papers with digital documents—This goes hand-in-hand with the last tip. Reduce your clutter by replacing papers with digital documents whenever possible. You can store a lot of information on a tiny USB drive, saving you space and helping you stay more organized.
• Read a book—Reading stimulates the mind. It’s like a mental workout. It also allows you to kind of get away from the real world for a little while, taking your mind off the things that are stressing you out. Spending a little time during your flight reading a book can strengthen your mind and make the flight go by a little faster.
• Engage in a conversation—Brain fitness experts also say that interacting with others stimulates the brain and keeps it sharp. So, while you’re on your flight, you might try striking up a conversation with one of your neighbors. This will keep your mind sharp, and you could even make a new friend or a business contact.

Do you travel a lot for business purposes? What do you do to stay sharp and to avoid burnout? Share your best tips by leaving a commen

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Let’s say you’re in the U.S. You’re about to start a new business. You need to come up with the perfect business name for your new software development company. Oooh, I know! “Microsoft!” No, wait. We can’t do that, can we? That would be trademark infringement. Shoot!

You can’t simply go in and use the name of another company in your industry, or one that could be confusingly similar. A key element of trademark law is that your business name and other branding elements shouldn’t confuse consumers into thinking you’re someone else. In other words, you can get a free ride off of another company’s reputation.

Okay. That’s oversimplifying, but I’m not a lawyer and diving into the deeper realms of trademark law isn’t within our scope today. Instead, let’s talk about conducting a simple trademark search to see if you’re really free to use that great business name you came up with.

What is a Trademark Search?

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A trademark search is just the act of checking up on a business name or other potential trademark to make sure it’s not already being used in a confusingly similar way. There are registered trademarks — those officially registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). However, a trademark doesn’t have to be registered. It’s all about first use in business. Therefore a thorough trademark search would have to go beyond searching the USPTO’s database.

How to Conduct a Basic Trademark Search

While it’s always a good idea to hire an attorney specializing in intellectual property law before investing a lot of time and money into branding a new business venture, you can at least rule out some potential business names on your own. It’s relatively quick and easy. Here is the process:

1. Visit the USPTO’s website (http://uspto.gov/).
2. Click the link in the Trademark column that says “search marks.” This will take you to the Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS).
   

   Credit: USPTO.gov

3. Click on “new user form search (basic).” This takes you to the basic search form pictured below.
   

   Credit: USPTO.gov

4. Enter your search term and click the submit button. Enter “Microsoft” just to see an example. You’ll see a list of registered trademarks involving the word “Microsoft” (or whatever you typed in). Let’s look at an example with no trademarks registered — BizAmmo (a project I launched a few years ago). You’ll see there are no registered trademarks.

Yay! You found a name with no registered trademarks. Don’t get too excited though. Remember, a trademark holder doesn’t have to register their mark with the government for it to be valid. There’s still the first use issue to contend with. Here’s how to move on to the next step of your simple search.

1. Go to Google (or your favorite search engine).
2. Type in the keyword or phrase you want to check. I like to use quotes around the phrase in this search to bring up exact instances. Search for BizAmmo as an example. Darn. It looks like it’s already being used for something.
3. If there are no results, try searching for very similar phrases (like a plural or singular or minor spelling changes). Make sure there is nothing too similar in use. If you did find results in your search, you can take a closer look. Are they in any way related to the industry, product, business, etc. that you wanted to use the name for? If so, it’s time to move on to the next idea. If not, you’re ready to consult with a trademark lawyer to determine if there’s a likelihood for confusion, or if you might be the first to use the trademark in your intended way.

Like I said before, I’m not a lawyer. This tutorial isn’t meant to provide you with a failsafe method of identifying trademarks and it isn’t meant to serve as legal advice. Keep in mind that trademark law is a complicated area and not all trademarks might be found in a Web search or USPTO search (think of a local competing small business that might not be on the Web).

Use this guide as a way to weed out business name and other trademark options with obvious infringement potential, and don’t assume that a lack of results is enough on its own to mean a trademark is yours for the taking. As mentioned, consult with an attorney who specializes in intellectual property law (or more specifically trademark law) when you’ve narrowed down your ideas before you invest a lot in your new venture, especially where international trademark issues might come up.

Credit: MychaelThompson

You must have seen several ads about how to get “free” money for your small business. Is there really free money available for your businesses?

While the government does offer grant money, it is not easy to qualify or receive as some may lead you to believe.  There are hundreds of scams out there that entice small business owners with the promise of free money, for a small fee.

These scams work by guaranteeing that you will get a small business grant or you will get all your money back.  They charge you a fee of about $50 for a packet with information on how to write your grant proposal and a list of organizations that can provide the grant you are looking for.  Unassuming business owners pay this fee and receive information with a list of organizations that don’t give any business grants.  When you try and get your money back, you find that the guarantee was just a hog wash.

Does that mean there are no small business grants?

There are, but are rare, and the information you need to find and apply for the legitimate grants is available “free” of charge. For businesses that qualify, there is a possibility of getting free grants from the county, state and city governments.  There are also some private corporations and foundations offering these grants.

Grants for Technology Startups

Businesses that stand the best chance of getting grants are technology startups. As long as they match the extremely stringent requirements, the federal government’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology (STTR) programs are there to help. They award more than $2 billion in grant funding each year.

Small Technology Focused Businesses

Many state and city governments offer grants for small businesses that focus on technology. In Ohio, TechColumbus offers grants to help entrepreneurs test their ideas and see if they can actually run a business. In Philadelphia, The Ben Franklin Partnership and in Gardiner, Maine, the Maine Technology Institute are just a few of the many organizations that help local tech companies out.

Credit: drsnapea (via Flickr)

Non-Tech Businesses

Small Business Certifications – Non-tech businesses may not find it as easy as tech-focused businesses to get a grant. But it is still possible if you do the needful. The first thing to do is to check if the business qualifies for special small business certifications, such as minority-owned, woman-owned, veteran-owned business or disadvantaged business. The state and federal governments usually give preference to such business owners.

Economic Development Agencies – You can then look at the economic development agencies or similar agencies in your local area.  Many of these agencies offer government-sponsored grants in an attempt to help with the expansion of existing businesses, help new businesses get started, train employees etc. For example, workforce training grants are offered by the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council for businesses in the counties.

Get Grant Information – The next step would be to sign up at Grants.gov and get information related to different kinds of federal grants.  It may not be easy to qualify directly, but it is certainly possible to get a part of the funding with a little innovative thinking and some networking.

Workforce Training Grants – Workforce training grants are a great source of funds. Many states have these grants and you can check out for grants within your state.  You will also be able to get more information through community colleges or workforce investment board.  Some states fund more than $10 or $20 million which helps hundreds of companies.

Foundation Grants – You can also look at foundation grants at the Foundation Center that provides you information on U.S. based foundations, public charities that give grants as well as corporate giving programs. While grants from these places are meant for non-profit organizations, you can make use of them intelligently by creating a non-profit front for your small business.  You can attach a non-profit section to your existing services or products business.  For example, a children’s theatre company can have a non-profit section that teaches after-school acting classes.

Irrespective of the grant you apply for, you must understand that the cash is usually meant for funding specific products or projects, not for companies.  If you are looking for free money, you must also be ready to fit into the requirements by making changes to your business structure as needed.

Apart from that, businesses that do obtain grants cannot spend the money as they please.  They will have to abide by the strict rules and regulations concerning how the money can be spent and the percentage of money that can be used for specific purposes. These requirements will have to be complied with.