Business Discussions

I am about to open up an online boutique. The platform I am using for my website is squarespace. Is it possible for me to link quickbooks to it so I am not having to go back and check off the inventory again? Also, I am based out of Florida, I only need to track Sales Tax from FL right? my last question is, if quickbooks was linked to my website, would it automatically input the sales tax at the Checkout page or would I have to manually do that myself?

There are lots of ways to keep on top of the tasks we have to do everyday. If you keep lists, tell us what kind you prefer. If not, what other methods to you employ to keep it all straight? Share away!

I'm starting a new editing and writing business and have begun working on my website. How can I get paid from my website? Is there a button I can add so that clients can click it and pay me once I have invoiced them? I have synced QB and Paypal.

    Claudine Hellmuth started her business after a varied career in the craft industry, including features on TV shows and launching a range of instructional DVDs.  Here, she explains to us how she adapted her business to focus on just one product in her Etsy store and what she learned after 14 years in the business.   Name: Claudine Hellmuth Business: Illustrator and Artist, Owner of Claudine Hellmuth Etsy Shop Started: 2007   How did you create your awesome job? I've wanted to be an illustrator my entire life. I majored in illustration at the Columbus College of Art and Design before transferring to the Corcoran College of Art and Design in DC to study fine art.  When I graduated, the Internet was just taking off. I learned how to code and took a job as a website designer. It wasn’t right for me, though, so when I was laid off in 2001, I was relieved that the decision was out of my hands.  After that, I started teaching mixed media collag

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Hi, I'm Ajay the CEO of Fresh Mind Ideas, a strategic and creative branding agency. I help businesses to brand well and achieve their goals. Here are some top questions that I ask my clients, let me ask it to you.   1. What's your business goal? 2. Do you think you are going on the right path? 3. Do you own a brand or just a business? 4. Show me your website: 5. Are you getting enough traffic on your website? 6. Where you want to see your business in next 2, 3, & 5 year time?   I would invite each of you to answer these questions and then I'll spend time for you to position your brand! Let's go...

The first time Bethany went to Guatemala, she had no idea how much it would affect her life, forever. While there, she fell in love with the people living in the La Limonada slum community who had amazing skills, talents and abilities, but were limited by the opportunities available to them. Bethany decided to change her course after several more visits and she started The Root Collective, selling gorgeous women's shoes crafted by a former gang member in the community. We chatted with Bethany about the challenges of pricing a product (and paying her makers fairly) and how she uses hashtags to increase her Instagram following. Name: Bethany Tran Business: The Root Collective Started: November 2013 How did you create your awesome job? My background is in marketing and content development, and I was working in that space when a friend invited me to Guatemala, where she was living at the time.  Visiting the slum communities helped me understand that poverty is extremely cultural

When Glen Paramenter lost his job in Idaho, things seemed pretty bleak. But after relocating to Texas, he started working for a company that printed graphics on apparel for colleges and corporations. It wasn’t long before Glen had a business epiphany: I could do this myself! One Etsy store and a few domain names later (ruggedtents and mrhoneypot, to name a few), Glen was on his way to running Majestic Expressions, his eclectic company featuring printed clothing, outdoor and sporting goods, plus a line of natural honey-based products. Name: Glen ParamenterBusiness Name: Majestic ExpressionsFounded: 2016   What has been the biggest challenge of starting your own business?I didn’t have a balance when I first started, and it was pretty difficult. I tried to do everything and anything, with no real sense of direction. I’d be working on my business at the same time as I was trying to spend time with my family. Eventually I had to dial back and really focus on setting

me and my husband just started a business and got a business license. i am a little confused is to how the taxes work. what documents i need to keep track of and im afraid im not doing this right. i dont want to have to owe alot of money at the end of the year because i wasnt prpoerly educated. if anyone has some advice then that woud be helpful im sure. we r just a small business and we dont charge our customers tax nor do we give our employess paychecks...we pay them cash. will this affect our taxes??

I am looking for recommendations on business podcasts in general, but bonus points for those aimed for the bookkeeping audience. Thanks in advance. Steve Chase

  

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Meet QB Community member — Miami-based photographer Pascal Depuhl!  After falling into shooting images on a whim as a teen, Pascal honed his art over a number of years before starting his own company about a decade ago. Now he boasts an impressive lineup of clients, including National Geographic, SeaRay and Mars thanks to constant hard work and dedication to his craft. We chatted with Pascal about the first big job that launched his career, how he learned to stand out in a saturated industry and the secret sauce for keeping your happy customers coming back for more. Read on to hear his story!     Name: Pascal Depuhl Business: Photography by Depuhl Started: 2004 How did you start your business? I've been getting paid for my photography since my late high-school years. I began assisting and apprenticing after college for four years and got my first full-time job in 1996, but I only launched my company in 2004. I honestly don't know

What's your secret weapon for staying on-task -- and keeping your head on straight! -- when you're juggling a million different things each and every day?

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  The most successful business owners have a crystal clear picture of where they want to be in three years and what they need to do today to get there. They also have a target "number" to track their progress.    You have your target "number," right?   If you are anything like me, you do not. A target number is one of those things that you keep thinking about doing right after you finish binge watching season three of Scandal.    The reality is that we're better at building these goals and financial targets in a network with other small business owners and self-employed professionals. That's why we we've created QB Community. It's faster -- and more fun -- to share our stories and remix the experiences of others into our own decisions.    This post is perfect for members who are ready to take their business to the next level as part of defining your Main Goal and launching your Morning Ritual.    Let's Get Started     For us

  Becoming successfully self-employed is no easy feat. However, after talking to so many of you about how you created your jobs and how you found your first customers, we passionately believe in the opportunity to tap this powerful community to successfully make the leap to self-employment.   Whether you want to hone your skills as an independent contractor, kick off freelance work, work from home or sell on Etsy, your fellow members and their stories enable all of us to learn faster and realize success sooner with fewer mistakes along the way.   As an easy way to get started, we've put together the following series to capture some of the most important stories and ideas throughout our community. Enjoy, and we can't wait to have you share your own story on the way to becoming a secret weapon in achieving everything you want to achieve.   The Handbook forHow to Be Self-Employed: Part One     1. What kind of self-employed job am I qualified for? Becoming s

  Jamie loved her 9-to-5 job, but she knew that she had more to give. After a frank conversation with her boss, she decided to throw herself into the deep end and turn her part-time project Kolorize into her full-time career.    Now that Jamie is successfully self-employed, we couldn’t wait to find out more about how she prices her products, what a typical day looks like in her world and what she's hoping to learn next from *you.*   Name: Jamie Kaczmarczyk Business: Kolorize Started: October 2011   How did you create your awesome job?   I started Kolorize on a whim after my son was born, as a side project alongside my full-time job.    I worked at Crate and Barrel for nine years as Lead Store Merchandiser in Kansas City. The job gave me a lot of creative control and opportunity, but I got to the point where I couldn’t keep putting so much effort into someone else’s business. I was ready for a change.    So, roughly a yea

  After seven years of studying French, Elizabeth Mack thought she was as good as fluent. It wasn’t until she traveled to France after graduation and tried to hold a conversation, however, that she realized how wrong she was. For years, Elizabeth felt cheated by the American education system, but now she’s taking matters into her own hands.    We spoke with the founder of the Freestyle Language Center in Austin, TX to find out what sets her classes apart from her more traditional competitors, the power of independent thought and the joy of watching a community come together with a common aim.     Name: Elizabeth Mack   Business: Freestyle Language Center   Started: November 2011   How did you create your awesome job?    I’ve always been a linguaphile. I studied 18th-century French literature at college and lived in Holland for three years where I learned Dutch. My first experience of combining my love of langua

  Everything Tasha Chapman does is influenced by the sea, from the aquatic themes that characterize her illustrations to how she found her husband.    After she created the small business of her dreams right from her beachfront home in Boca Raton, Florida, she learned a ton about how to price for wholesale customers and what her big goals are for her business.   We caught up with her to find out what a typical day looks like her in world and what she's hoping to learn next from *you.*    Name: Tasha Chapman Business: Chapman at Sea Started: 2012   What inspired you to create your business? After studying illustration at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, I became a freelance illustrator and graphic designer. I’ve always loved being in the water, and one of my biggest passions is scuba diving, which is how I met my husband.    A few years ago we made friends with some surfers who took me out, and I

   Everything Tasha Chapman does is influenced by the sea, from the aquatic themes that characterize her illustrations to how she found her husband.    After she created the small business of her dreams right from her beachfront home in Boca Raton, Florida, she learned a ton about how to price for wholesale customers and what her big goals are for her business.   We caught up with her to find out what a typical day looks like her in world and what she's hoping to learn next from *you.*    Name: Tasha Chapman Business: Chapman at Sea Started: 2012   What inspired you to create your business? After studying illustration at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, I became a freelance illustrator and graphic designer. I’ve always loved being in the water, and one of my biggest passions is scuba diving, which is how I met my husband.    A few years ago we made friends with some surfers who took me out,

    When Justin Nelson left the Marine Corps after serving in Afghanistan, he wanted to find a job that would allow him to spend more time at home. His new house in Oregon came with its own studio, so he dusted off his carpentry tools and set about creating a business that would give him the flexibility he was looking for.    Just five months after launching Fernweh Woodworking, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity presented itself — and Justin hasn’t looked back since. We couldn’t wait to find out how a hashtag on Instagram transformed his business.     Name: Justin Nelson   Business: Fernweh Woodworking   Started: January 2015   How did you create your awesome job?   I was a Marine for four years after I graduated from college. I wanted to serve in Afghanistan and was deployed to Helmand Province for a year, starting in 2012. I met my wife, who at the time was a nurse in the Air Force, while I was stationed there. We

  Sara's husband Dru traded in his career as a civil engineer for a life of entrepreneurship and brewing his own beer. But building a brewery from the ground up is no simple task.    Learning the ins and outs of small business ownership, targeting customers and creating an adaptive business model has taken serious effort on their part. We were lucky enough to hear firsthand how Sara and Dru are making it work when they decided to put everything on the line.    Let's hear their story!     Name: Sara Giuffrida    Business: Dru Bru   Started: Winter 2014   How did you create your awesome job?   Dru, my husband, used to be a civil engineer who loved home brewing. As his hobby became a passion and then a downright obsession, we went so far as to remodel the backyard of our townhouse to make room for his brewing equipment!    We were giving out beer to friends and family and hearing loads of positive f

 As a child, Jenna painted washcloths to use as quilts for her toys — and the desire to create comforting blankets never left.   Now that she's created her own business making beautiful custom quilts, Jenna shares with us the story of finding her first customer and how she's hoping to improve in her business next.   Name: Jenna Valoe Business: Rain and the River Started: August 2012   How did you create your awesome job? I always thought it would be really cool to be an artist. My family is also very creative, so they’ve always supported me. When I was younger, I didn’t necessarily want to own a business, but I knew I always wanted to use my art to make things that comforted people.   I worked as a seamstress while I went to college studying cultural anthropology and spent my spare time sewing for myself and making quilts for my family. I loved making things so much, but got to the point where I realized I had to do something more with my items