Today we're talking about setting up accounting for your creative business. Yeah, it’s a little daunting, but it’s SO IMPORTANT because accounting for your business is super frickin’ important. And if you don't want to end up like me with a $10,000 tax bill, literally every time it's tax season, you should probably listen to or watch this episode.

Here’s what we’re covering:

1. Separate bank accounts - get a master business license for $60 in Ontario, this will allow you to get a bank account
2. Set up an accounting system like Wave or Quickbooks or Freshbooks
3. A way to track sales, either with your acting system or POS like shopify
4. Track every transaction coming in and out of your biz with categories
5. Keep a running tally of your profit, this is what you will be taxed on
6. Hire an accountant that is awesome and not stupid and KNOW what you’re supposed to be looking for

Check out Melissa Houston’s podcast The Business Society for more on your business finances https://thebusinesssociety.co/podcast/

My amazing accountant can be found here if you’re in need of one! https://www.mlhc.info/

That’s all for now! If you liked this episode and want to hear more, make sure you follow me on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts! You can also find me on TikTok and YouTube.

If you’re interested in starting your own creative business, in the new year I’m launching an exclusive program to help you get started! It’s limited to 5 people and I’m developing this program RIGHT NOW! FOR YOU! So if you’re interested, click here to sign up for more info!

Instagram: @the_ultimatecreative and @emily.milling

Today we are talking about the five essential things that you need for your creative business! And some of these might seem a little obvious but bear with me here… even the most obvious things are often completely skipped over!

So here’s what we’re covering today:

1. A product or service
2. A website & digital presence
3. Policies & processes
4. Proper materials and tools
5. A basic understanding of bookkeeping and taxes

Check out Monique Bryan’s podcast The Juicy CEO for more about your digital presence https://www.moniquebryan.com/thejuicyceopodcast

Check out Melissa Houston’s podcast The Business Society for more on your business finances https://thebusinesssociety.co/podcast/

My amazing accountant can be found here if you’re in need of one! https://www.mlhc.info/

That’s all for now! If you liked this episode and want to hear more, make sure you follow me on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts! You can also find me on TikTok and YouTube.

If you’re interested in starting your own creative business, in the new year I’m launching an exclusive program to help you get started! It’s limited to 5 people and I’m developing this program RIGHT NOW! FOR YOU! So if you’re interested, click here to sign up for more info!

Instagram: @the_ultimatecreative and @emily.milling

Today we're talking about escaping the 9-5 with a creative business! It's December 28th, and maybe you’re like, “Oh, my fucking Lordy loo, do I need to actually go back to my job?” And I don't want you to have to, honestly.

But like, if you're thinking about this, if you're ready to start a creative business and don't ever want to see your boss ever again, because you’re pretty sure I will throw up all over your brand new shoes and you don't want to do that because you like your brand new shoes, here are a couple of things that you can think about before you fully quit.

Because sometimes it's good to just take a quick breather with your old pal Em, and come up with a plan.

So I'm going to give you four things to help you figure out if you're ready to leave your 9-5 job and start a creative business, or maybe even like, can you start this creative business while you're at the 9-5 so that you don't lose money and your family doesn't like, lose their shit and be like, “what the hell are you doing with your life? Oh my God, I can't believe that you just did that. Why didn't you just quit your job?”

I'm telling you I've done it so many times. My family's used to it. AndI just want to help you not experience that.

So here’s what we’re covering today!

1. Why you’d want to start a biz - independence, freedom, time freedom, more money etc.
2. Make a plan before you leap
3. And then you actually have to leap
4. Know that it’s going to be tough but in time you will absolutely figure it out because you’re going to go into this with the right MINDSET!

That’s all for now! If you liked this episode and want to hear more, make sure you follow me on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts! You can also find me on TikTok and YouTube.

If you’re interested in starting your own creative business, in the new year I’m launching an exclusive program to help you get started! It’s limited to 5 people and I’m developing this program RIGHT NOW! FOR YOU! So if you’re interested, click here to sign up for more info!

Instagram: @the_ultimatecreative and @emily.milling

Today is the day that we talk about creative business planning! You need to have a plan in order to make your business happen. Otherwise you’re going to get stuck wishing you had a business while you keep on living life the way you have been! So this episode is SUPER practical and gives you a very high level jumping off point to plan your creative business.

I'm going to share with you four things, I don't know why I chose the number four, but anyway, for things that you need to have in order to get a really good foundational base for your creative business going. Let's jump in!

Here’s what we’re covering in today’s episode:

1. A vision - where the hell is this business going and why are you doing it? How will it help others solve a problem they have?
2. Business model - how will your business make money? What is the product or service? How do you deliver the product or service, how do you market it, and what is the pricing structure?
3. Policies! So important to not get fucked over.
4. Your CUSTOMER!

That’s all for now! If you liked this episode and want to hear more, make sure you follow me on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts! You can also find me on TikTok and YouTube.

If you’re interested in starting your own creative business, in the new year I’m launching an exclusive program to help you get started! It’s limited to 5 people and I’m developing this program RIGHT NOW! FOR YOU! So if you’re interested, click here to sign up for more info!

Instagram: @the_ultimatecreative and @emily.milling

Guess what? I'm frigging back! I took a hiatus because my body needed a little bit of a rest. And so did my brain and literally so many other things, and I've got really exciting news, I'm engaged! That is a very exciting thing for me to share with everybody. I'm so excited.

If you want to see how the proposal went down, you can find that literally everywhere. I post things because I'm so freaking excited to be engaged to Justin Decloux! You can also listen to him on past episodes, or you could find us on our Pineapple Skeleton YouTube page.

Let me tell you why I'm back. I decided first of all, that I still really enjoy doing podcasts for my clients. But the other thing that I really enjoy is helping people find a way to make money with their creative pursuits.

So I thought, why not share with you what I know about how to start a creative business? And today I'm going to start things off with an episode about choosing a creative business.

And I’ll be asking these questions to help you choose your creative business!

1. Can you picture yourself doing this creative thing for more than a few weeks, with sustained interest?
2. Do you have a background in this creative thing, or do you need to take a course to become proficient in it?
3. Is someone else already doing this? If so, how can you differentiate? (Bonus - the fact that someone else is already doing it means there’s a market for your product or service! This is a good thing!)
4. Does the amount of time it takes to do your creative thing equal out how much you want to get paid? Look at the current market and see how much people are paying for your product or service to get an idea of this.

That’s all for now! If you liked this episode and want to hear more, make sure you follow me on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts! You can also find me on TikTok and YouTube.

If you’re interested in starting your own creative business, in the new year I’m launching an exclusive program to help you get started! It’s limited to 5 people and I’m developing this program RIGHT NOW! FOR YOU! So if you’re interested, click here to sign up for more info!

Instagram: @the_ultimatecreative and @emily.milling

The Ultimate Creative Podcast is officially going on hiatus while I manage a particularly exciting new health diagnosis and figure out why the heck my joints don't want to be mobile anymore!

Thank you so much for following along and you can still work with The Ultimate Creative at https://theultimatecreative.com or get started with your own podcast with our signature course Podcast Rocket at https://theultimatecreative.com/podcast-rocket

DM me on Instagram at @emily.milling (@the_ultimatecreative is no longer monitored) and we'll get your podcast rocking and rolling!

Thank you! <3

On today’s episode of The Ultimate Creative Podcast, I’m chatting with the host of Strategize Your Business Online, Dee Boswell-Buck! Dee is an entrepreneur who focuses on helping other small business owners level up their digital presence, through social media, paid ads, SEO and LOTS of content strategy!

Tune in to hear:

• How Dee helps her clients create an amazing online presence
• How Dee promotes her podcast
• Whether Dee thinks paid traffic or organic traffic is better
• What many business owners are forgetting in their marketing strategies
• And... her upcoming conference - Strategize Your Business Online: Lessons From The Trenches!

Dee’s Links:

• Strategize Your Business Online Podcast - Facebook Ads Episode: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1750372/8276375
• Strategize Your Business Online: Lessons From The Trenches Virtual Conference: https://www.deeboswellbuck.com/conference
• Work With Dee: https://www.deeboswellbuck.com/contact

If you’re in need of help to launch your podcast, or possibly to revive it, my team can help you out!

1. Check out my new FREE masterclass, 5 simple steps to launch a podcast at https://theultimatecreative.com/simple-steps-to-start-a-podcast/
2. Podcast Production Production – Let us take all the extra stuff off your plate! We just opened up spots for a new offering which includes a more complete content strategy! https://theultimatecreative.com/podcasting

Be sure to follow The Ultimate Creative Podcast wherever you get your podcasts, and sign up for the newsletter to get new episodes directly to your inbox when they go live!

If your podcast doesn’t have these 3 things, nobody is going to listen!

Today on TUC Thursdays Live I dropped 3 key things your podcast absolutely needs to get more (or any) listeners.

👉 A Point - If no one knows why they should tune in, they won’t.

👉 Gear - You didn’t invest in a microphone or audio equipment, recorded on your computer mic, let every which way sound come crashing through your podcast’s existence

👉 A Marketing Plan & Distribution - You didn’t share the podcast with anyone

If you’re thinking about starting a podcast, this is definitely an episode to check out, because these are really the key elements of your podcast, and it’s a great teaser for my course Podcast Rocket where I give you the exact steps to accomplish all of this successfully!

If you already have a podcast, I’d highly recommend tuning in for a refresher, so that you know you’re taking the right steps to get the right ears listening into your podcast!