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Here’s How We Help Our Clients Manage Their Creative Businesses /  by Paco de Leon

A Christmas Carol tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge’s redemption. Our main character, Scrooge, starts as a cranky old man who hoards his wealth, treats his employees like garbage, and bums people out with his bad vibes and lack of generosity. Throughout the story, we bear witness to Scrooge’s transformation. He is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and what is yet to come. These spirit guides help Scrooge slowly gain clarity on who he has been and wants to become.

Through these visions, Scrooge recognizes the error of his ways, and by the end, old Ebenezer finds the willingness to change. If you haven’t read Charles Dickens's novella, I’m sure you’ve seen some version of it. Some old 90’s sitcoms have used this same framework to help the hero of a story emerge on the other side a better, more aware version of themselves.

Weirdly, the work we do at Hell Yeah Bookkeeping is a bit like this story. Thankfully, our clients aren’t cranky old misers. Instead, they tend to be insightful, creative business owners. And they need our help to become better, more aware captains of their company. In perfect conditions, we take our clients through a similar, but less dire, Scoorge-like journey where the ghost of business-past, business-present, and business-future all help our heroes have clarity and inspire a change to be better business owners.

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What My Clients Taught Me About Pricing and Building a Sustainable Business /  by Paco de Leon

Here are all the lessons I’ve learned from all the business owners with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working. They helped me build my sustainable business first by being paying customers, but I’ve also had the unique viewpoint of watching them grow their businesses from the inside out. Watching and playing a tiny, supporting role in other people’s success has been really fun.

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What Is In Store For 2024? My Predictions and Outlook On Creative Businesses In the New Year /  by Paco de Leon

Here are my predictions for what’s in store in 2024 and what that means for creative businesses. They’re a result of reflecting on the last year, observing larger trends and chatting with folks across various creative industries, from creators who make money on social media to to small business owners, artists, and folks in the podcasting industry. A lot of this may be anecdotal, but some of these patterns are worth paying attention to. Let’s dig in.

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The Lazy Person's Guide to Building Wealth (Part 2): Investing for Beginners /  by Paco de Leon

Welcome to part 2 of “The Lazy Person’s Guide to Building Wealth.” If you missed part 1, get caught up here. If you’ve ever been curious about investing in the stock market but are honestly puzzled about how to get started, this guide is for you. If you question whether investing in the stock market is a realm reserved only for Wall Street moguls or the already rich, this guide is also for you. By the end of it, you’ll have everything you need to know to start investing.

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The Secret to Managing Money as a Couple: Split the Check /  by Paco de Leon

Navigating the intersection of love and money can be tricky, especially if one partner is more of a spender than the other. There is one method of managing finances that can help every couple find the balance between working towards the same financial goals, while also maintaining some level of autonomy. It’s called “splitting the check.”

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Five Financial Rituals to Adopt in the New Year /  by Paco de Leon

We don’t always get what we give. At least, that’s what the Italian economist and sociologist Vilfredo Pareto discovered in the 1800s while harvesting peas from his garden. Pareto observed that 80% of the peas came from only 20% of the peapods, demonstrating an unequal relationship between inputs and outputs. Wondering if this pattern would repeat itself in other areas of life, Pareto began to look at different data sets to confirm his findings. 

While this principle might skew and not always hold one hundred percent of the time, the general principle that 80% of effects result from 20% of causes holds. Less than 10% of the population owns 80% of the stock market. Few social media accounts are responsible for most misinformation across platforms. And we’ve recently seen, in a pandemic, that roughly 20% of the most infectious individuals are responsible for 80% of the transmission.

Knowing 80% of your success and results come from only 20% of your efforts; you can apply the 80/20 rule to your financial lives. Here are the five financial rituals you can focus on that will impact results the most. 

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How to Have a Year-End Personal Money Review /  by Paco de Leon

The end of a year is a time for reflection. As you plan your end-of-the-year celebrations and start to plan your new year resolutions, you may want to consider taking some time to take a closer look at your finances. A year-end personal money review can help you reflect on the choices you made over the previous year and help guide you to make better financial choices in the new year.

Let’s take a look at what a year-end personal money review is and how it can help you have a better relationship with money:

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How Much Does It Cost Your Business to Earn Each Dollar? /  by Paco de Leon

Do you know how much it costs your business to earn each dollar it makes? Unlike traditional employees, when you're a self-employed service provider, every dollar you earn has a cost beyond your time and energy. How much do you need to pay for employee payroll, taxes, operating costs like marketing and insurance, profit, and personal pay?

Even if you’re a one-person freelance practice, understanding how much it costs you to earn each dollar in your company is a valuable shift in perspective that can help you build a sustainable, efficient business.

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