Following the Rabbit Trail (One Thing Leads to Another) – What I’ve Been Up to in my Private Life Lately
I don’t often do posts that are about my private life, but every time I come over to this blog to post something I’d like to post, I end up drawing a blank. The Sunday posts are easy because they’re from a book I already wrote. But it’s harder when I have to create something new and original. I’d love to do some more creative posts, but after struggling to do so for a month, I figure it’s time to just state what’s really on my mind and see if that helps break the dam that’s been holding me back.
So here we go… 
Getting Organized with My Writing Goals
The first thing that’s been going on is that I’ve been looking for ways to be more productive with the use of my time. I heard about Rich Habits by Tom Corley on the Dave Ramsey radio show while I was driving. Intrigued, I bought the book and really enjoyed it. Basically, it helps you figure out what your big goals are and breaks down daily and monthly steps you can take to get there.
It’s not easy to keep to the list. There are times when I want to say, “What can staying up one more hour hurt?” (One of my goals is to get at least 7 hours of sleep a night. Ideally, I’ll get 8.5 to 9.) Another is, “Only 1 hour of TV a day.” (And yes, I’ve fudged a little on this one but not too bad since I prefer writing to watching TV.) So while Rich Habits seems to be a financial book when you first look at it, I’m finding it more of a way to get more in shape in all areas of my life (sleep, exercise, diet, working smarter instead of harder, etc).
Going further down the self-improvement trail
After reading and applying Rich Habits, I then decided to get Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. Why? Because I do need to get a better handle on managing money. It’s not how much I’m making that’s a problem. It’s what I’m doing with it that’s the issue. As they say, the first step to change is to admit you have a problem. I wish I could say I have been managing money really well, but the truth is, I haven’t. And quite frankly, I’m sick of ending up in the same position at the end of every year wondering why I’m in the same hole I was in the year before.
But I was about halfway through the book when I read something along the lines of, “If you have a business and aren’t covered under an LLC, S-Corporation or C-Corporation, then you’re a sitting duck waiting for disaster.” Those are not the exact words, but it was the gist of it.
This part of the rabbit trail led me to my next book recommendation which was the book, Start Your Own Corporation by Garrett Sutton. So I started reading up on the stuff Garrett Sutton has been saying.
Which led me to register a business entity today
After being a self-published author since 2002 (I didn’t start writing romances until late 2007), I finally decided it was time to take the advice of two very wise and smart authors (Rose Gordon and Stephannie Beman) and form an actual business entity that is separate from my personal life.
Today, I have officially formed an LLC with an S-Corportion election. (All this means is that I have formed a business that is separated from me, and I think that sounds a little confusing by the way I stated it but I don’t know how else to explain it.) I decided to have an attorney familiar with business law do this for me because I want to make sure I get all the stuff taken care of. I don’t know about anyone else, but the whole thing intimidates me and I like having a team of people who know what they’re doing to help me out along the way. I still need to read Garrett Sutton’s book on actually running a corporation.
Then due to the wisdom of another author (Melanie Nilles), I am seeing an certified public accountant who is familiar with small businesses. My income varies widely. You can never tell from one month to another what the pay is going to be like. Some of you reading this who are running your own businesses might find the same fluctuation. With the accountant, I’ll finally be able to specify exactly how much I need to pay in taxes each quarter, which is something I need to help to get better control over the chaos that has been my financial life up to now.
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If you ever wondered what I do when I’m not writing…this is pretty much it. LOL I’m still a far way from being where I want to be with everything, but at least I’m on the way. And I don’t know if any of the links I posted will help anyone but they’re there in case they do.
