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Heather's Dish

Heather's Dish

The Business of Blogging: Organizing the Business End

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The Business of Blogging: Organizing the Business End || HeathersDish.com

I had such a great response to my “This IS My Real Job” series that I thought I would continue to share my experience of blogging for a living. I’m by no means an expert yet, but I think there’s a lot to say about the learning process and I’m just happy if this helps even one of you guys out there!

 

Today I want to focus on how I’m organizing the back end of our my blogging business. I actually have a SUPER fun new business in the making, and once it’s ready you guys will be the first to know, but til then I’m really working to hone my self-employed skills with Heather’s Dish. We are going through the process of buying a home here in Arkansas and last week had to spend a long night organizing all of the pay stubs, receipts, direct deposits and PayPal account information to give to the bank. Up until now I’ve kept all of my information in great big envelopes with zero organization, which is great to know that I HAVE it but really hard to find motivation to organize.

 

HOWEVER.  With tax season coming up and the fact that last year was my first full year of only having my income from blogging it became very apparent VERY quickly that I need to find a better way to get all my income information together.

 

I’m a hybrid when it comes to ways I like to organize my information; I love the ease and accessibility of online systems, but when it comes down to it I’m kind of obsessed with all things paper. I have a Google doc that I share with Nate to track my income and upcoming projects, but in the end this binder is going to be the meat of tracking anything I bring in.

The Business of Blogging: Organizing the Business End || HeathersDish.com

I’m all about action steps – I’m going to share more about that tomorrow – so I want to share in list format what I’ve got in my folder as of today. The great thing is that this process is an ever-changing one, so there’s always room for improvement. These are the basics though, and I already feel so much better about how my business will run based on these alone.

  1. BUY A PRETTY BINDER + SUPPLIES. This is SO not a have-to, but I find that if I have a pretty and fun way to get my life together then I’m much more likely to stick to it. I went to Target and got this pretty little number (it’s a 1.5-inch binder), two sets (so 10 total) of tabs, and two 3-ring velcro-closure pouches. Made putting it together fun!
  2. THINK THROUGH WHAT’S IMPORTANT. What are you buying these supplies for? Are you needing to track income and expenditures? Or are you wanting to track inspiration? What are the things that apply to your business? I made a list of everything before I bought the dividers, and made sure that I had a few extras for anything that might crop up in the future.
  3. TO-DO. This is my running list of things I need to do. I also have 2 separate planners that I use for this as well (overkill? Whatever – it works!), but checking it off of a physical list really helps me to push forward. This is blog-specific and mainly has to do with the business side/technical side and nothing to do with recipes or grocery lists.
  4. PROFIT + LOSS (P + L). This is the big thing that we realized I should be doing consistently at the end of every month. Calculating all of the profits and losses monthly makes it easier to see success or a need for improvement. It also helps me hone in on what needs to be changed, and gives us an idea of what to plan for in coming years.
  5. CONTRACTS. Pretty self-explanatory, but I have a lot of freelance contracts and want to keep physical copies with all the rest of my business stuff.
  6. INSPIRATION. Kind of like a personal and physical Pinterest board, but just for me. This has a lot to do with design and color and food styling, and is focused at helping my business evolve.
  7. SPONSORED. A running list of sponsored posts just to keep my brain from exploding 🙂 Also helps with creating updated media kits and promotional materials!
  8. ASSETS (not pictured). This is a running list of assets that I use for my business – computer, software, camera, lenses, kitchen appliances, etc. Helps with the end of year profit + loss, and lets me know what I actually have and actually use.
  9. MILEAGE (not pictured). Mileage for work-specific things (conferences, trips to the store, networking events, etc) is one thing that I need to track more often and don’t. It’s not anything that’s going to make a crazy huge difference in my P + L , but still want to make sure I get into the habit of tracking even the small things.
  10. RECEIPTS + CHECK STUBS. Can I be honest and say that I was the most excited about these 3-ring pouches where I could store all of my check stubs and receipts? I just love things with pockets, and getting rid of the worn old envelopes was a big relief. They’re reusable for years to come, and they do a great job of helping me keep all the paper in one spot!

The Business of Blogging: Organizing the Business End || HeathersDish.com

Getting the back end of my business more organized is fantastic for so many reasons, but the main one has to be that it helps clear my mind to be more creative. When the paperwork and the receipts and all the clutter is taken care of, then my mind is free to think outside the box. So here’s to a year of being set up for success!

 

Any questions you’d like me to answer about the business of blogging? I will certainly do my best to give honest and actionable answers!

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Comments

  1. Kim says

    February 13, 2014 at 5:39 pm

    This is a great organization system. I use digital everything myself. I’m a spreadsheet nerd!

    Reply
  2. Courtney @ Neighborfood says

    February 4, 2014 at 11:58 am

    This is so motivating for me. Right now I’m in the in-between. I’m working part time at one job and doing blogging part time. I’ve always been struggling just to keep up with posting on a regular basis, but now that I’m giving this blogging thing more of my time, I REALLY need to get organized and start tracking things better. Plus, I’ll take any excuse to stock up on cute organizational tools at Target. 🙂

    Reply
  3. Monica says

    February 4, 2014 at 3:13 am

    Oh I am SO inspired, thank you! I’ve been dreading getting my stuff together for taxes, b/c I have a couple different things going on, and haven’t started any system yet. I’m w/ you–computers are great, but I DO love me a paper system as well.
    I’ll be using many of your ideas. Look forward to what is coming as well!
    aloha

    Reply
    • Heather says

      February 4, 2014 at 9:51 am

      The paper system works great for me to track all the “stuff” but I love that I can set up reminders with my email to get the day-to-day stuff done!

      Reply
  4. Urban Wife says

    February 3, 2014 at 11:17 pm

    Sounds like you’re off to a great start already! I geek out over all things organization (the Container Store…seriously, heaven!) and having a pretty system just makes it so much better.

    Reply
    • Heather says

      February 4, 2014 at 9:49 am

      I HEART the Container Store too! It’s such a haven…

      Reply
  5. Debby says

    February 3, 2014 at 8:14 pm

    A woman after my own heart:)–way to go! I know what you mean–I cannot even think if my work area or anything else around me is a mess. When I taught I could not leave until my desk was neat.

    Reply
    • Heather says

      February 4, 2014 at 9:49 am

      Hmmmmm…I wonder where I could have got that from? 🙂 It makes such a huge difference!

      Reply
  6. kimberly says

    February 3, 2014 at 4:03 pm

    Ok – seriously we just need to have a coffee date – even here at the house so the boys can play upstairs where it is safe. Since I’m starting to do photography for a business and get some sponsored posts, I want to make this all easy on my hubs when he does our taxes each year – and know how much to save out to pay taxes!

    Reply
    • Heather says

      February 4, 2014 at 9:48 am

      I promise we will soon! Life is NUTSO for me right now but once it slows down even a teeny bit we’ll make it happen. Really the biggest thing is keeping everything in one spot and keeping it in order if possible!

      Reply
  7. Ashley says

    February 3, 2014 at 12:38 pm

    I’m pretty sure #1 is the most important step (well, for me). I don’t make enough money blogging to put on my taxes yet, but decided to start keeping track this year. I’m curious to see my P:L…

    Reply
    • Heather says

      February 4, 2014 at 9:48 am

      You may be surprised how much you actually did make! And yes, step #1 is TOTALLY most important 🙂

      Reply
  8. Catherine says

    February 3, 2014 at 10:43 am

    With Tax season coming, this is making a lot of sense to me! I’ve been split between tracking with excel, and an envelope stuff full of receipts 🙂 Your P&L idea is excellent. And your organizing system is SO cute. That’s got to make it more satisfying, eh? 🙂

    Reply
    • Heather says

      February 4, 2014 at 9:46 am

      DEFINITELY makes it easier to get motivated. Who doesn’t love playing with pretty things? 🙂

      Reply

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- 1 cup water
- 1 cup frozen pineapple
- 1 cup frozen kale or spinach
- 1 scoop vanilla protein
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Real real: I hate when people are all, “you can cook food in the same time it takes to grab takeout.” That is not always true, and sometimes it’s just about not wanting to try. Effort is hard, amen?!

Today I’m thankful to have had the energy and want-to to cook something a little healthier and save a little money. That’s not always the case, but today it was and I’ll count it as a win!

In the bowl: 3/4 cup black beans, 1/4 cup corn, 2 big handfuls of spinach, and two eggs. Seasoned it all with salt, pepper, garlic and smoked paprika!

Any wins y’all feel like sharing today? Let’s hear it and celebrate!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Oats! (AKA the thi Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Oats! (AKA the thing I’ve been eating on repeat all week):

- 1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 cup water
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- 2 tablespoons brewed coffee (optional)*
- 2 tablespoons powdered peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
- 1 serving unflavored collagen peptides
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- 1 tablespoon chocolate chips

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*I love to add a little coffee to mine to help enhance the chocolate flavor, but you do you!
And sometimes this is what it means to “work fro And sometimes this is what it means to “work from home.” 😂
Mentioned this yesterday in the ol’ stories, but Mentioned this yesterday in the ol’ stories, but thought it was worth sharing here too. When it comes to how I plan out meals, I look for 3 things:

🥗Whole foods. Not like the store (that’s called Whole Paycheck, right?), but meaning foods that haven’t been minimally processed. Fresh veggies, lean protein sources, whole grains, etc. I do have a few processed things on hand (protein bars) just in case I’m in a place where I need something SUPER quick, but that’s it. 

🥗High fiber. There are so many reasons we should be getting in plenty of fiber (Google is your friend here guys), but if I’m being honest I just feel better when I’m getting plenty of it. Leaner, more regular, more satiated. The list goes on! Besides the obvious fresh produce, I also eat plenty of legumes, whole grains (rolled oats, farro, quinoa - even though it’s a seed), flax and chia seeds.

🥗Hit my protein goals. Again, an essential nutrient. I have composition goals, and for my muscles to recover from my hard workouts I have to make sure I’m getting in enough protein. For me this means chicken, fish, and the occasional beef or pork.

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It’s Friday, which means a myriad of things:

1️⃣Weekend vibes! Think soccer games, yard work, church, family time. Love it!
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3️⃣Sleeping in. HALLELUJAH.
4️⃣A chance to set up next week to be a great one!

It’s going to be a fabulous weekend y’all. What are you up to?!
#brinner to the rescue tonight! I could just kick #brinner to the rescue tonight! I could just kick myself for not showing y’all how orange these yolks were. 🍳 Eggs are one of the foods I spend a little more on because the flavor and nutrient density are worth it!
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Pictured: seared mushrooms, roasted baby broccoli, bacon and 2 eggs. Not pictured: another parfait like last night’s because 😋.
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