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Your Biggest Freelance Finance Questions Answered by Dez Magelssen, CPA

Creatives In The Wild

Release Date: 09/05/2024

Your Business, Your Way: How to Design Your Work Around Your Values show art Your Business, Your Way: How to Design Your Work Around Your Values

Creatives In The Wild

What does it mean to build a business that truly reflects who you are?   Chereen Leong Schwarz of Smeeny Made Wild joins me to chat about how she integrates her core values into her maker business, including:   How to integrate your values into every aspect of your business The role of intentionality in creative entrepreneurship Giving yourself permission to do things your way The importance of community and connection in staying inspired Why creativity and business don’t have to exist in isolation     Creative business retreat meets all-women’s river trip in...

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Creatives In The Wild

Darren Josey is an outdoorsman, bird watcher, spouse, father of two, and the founder of First Seed Sown.   First Seed Sown is a sales and marketing agency serving fellow BIPOC-owned businesses, brands looking to improve their DEI initiatives, and municipalities with environmental justice communities who want to make the outdoors more equitable for everyone in their city.   Connect with DJ or join his "Marketing on a $0 Budget" class:   This is a longer episode than usual, but it's FULL of helpful perspectives for freelancers. Here are some timestamps so you can find parts to...

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Creatives In The Wild

What if the goal you set ends up being something you don't want, after all?   Chereen Leong Schwarz of Smeeny Made Wild joins me to share her winding path of entrepreneurship, including:   How dreams evolve and why alignment is a process, not a destination The challenge of letting go of past versions of yourself Making big career shifts and embracing uncertainty Recognizing when it’s time to realign your business with your values The power of community and support in creative entrepreneurship   Retreat update: We're pushing the British Columbia Retreat to 2026! Curious...

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Creatives In The Wild

Fear is inevitable, but you can work with it in your business, not against it.   Chereen Leong Schwarz of Smeeny Made Wild joins me to talk about fear and discomfort as a business owner, including:   Differentiating between fear and discomfort How outdoor adventures can help us build resilience in business Reframing fear as a muscle that can be strengthened Making bold choices in your creative career How to approach change and uncertainty with confidence   Retreat update: We're pushing the British Columbia Retreat to 2026! Curious about future retreats? Get on the interest...

info_outline Behind the Scenes of a Maker Business (and Announcing our 2025 Retreat!) with Chereen Leong Schwarz show art Behind the Scenes of a Maker Business (and Announcing our 2025 Retreat!) with Chereen Leong Schwarz

Creatives In The Wild

You're invited— I'm teaming up with Chereen to build an incredible this August 2025 in Squamish, BC!   Chereen Leong Schwarz (she/her) is the founder and chief-everything-officer behind Smeeny Made Wild. Chereen taught herself to knit with a pair of thrifted knitting needles and YouTube videos, and what started as a hobby quickly became a passion.   Today, Smeeny Made Wild is more than a brand; it’s a community of adventurous creatives, artists, and small business owners who are rewilding life and business by slowing down and reconnecting with nature, creativity, and what truly...

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Creatives In The Wild

Are you experiencing a slow season in your freelance work?   It can be scary, but remember, whether you're new or established in business, it's normal to face highs and lows in demand for work.   Business is cyclical— especially in the outdoor industry.   And you CAN create new business opportunities for yourself— that's a skill we can all learn.   Let's talk about the best uses of your time during slow seasons of work, including:   Rest intentionally. Get outside. Deepen your creative skillset. Work ON (not in) your business. Audit your business. ...

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Creatives In The Wild

Creatives often feel tension between honoring what a brand wants and respecting the authentic story of a person or community. How can you do both?   Sabrina Claros is a photographer, videographer, and creative director based in LA, creating stories at the intersection of adventure, environmentalism, and outdoor equity. Her work aims to create change and inspire more people to connect with the outdoors and feel called to protect our natural resources, while reducing barriers to who has access in outdoor spaces.   Sabrina has worked with brands such as Teva, Tough Cutie, Bedrock...

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Creatives In The Wild

2025 did not start out the way I wanted it to.   Many of my clients are also getting that "What's the point?" feeling with the state of the world.   Here's the twist: Actually answering the question of "What's the point?" thoughtfully is giving me hope.   We can control how we're showing up for our community. We have agency around the impact that we're able to make. We can invest in our values to shape a brighter future.   Here are four small but mighty actions I'm taking this month: Getting more intentional about social media usage Narrowing my focus to certain causes...

info_outline Building a Community to Empower Entrepreneurs through the Highs and Lows of Business with Katie Doherty of Founded Outdoors show art Building a Community to Empower Entrepreneurs through the Highs and Lows of Business with Katie Doherty of Founded Outdoors

Creatives In The Wild

What can freelancers learn from those founding product-based businesses?   Katie Doherty is the co-founder of Founded Outdoors, a company dedicated to providing resources, programming, and community for emerging outdoor brands.   She is passionate about driving inclusive change through entrepreneurship and combines her experience in the tech start-up world and her love of the outdoors by supporting founders from idea to launch.   With her co-founder Enhao Li, she has created a thriving community of outdoor industry founders and has supported more than 65 founders through their...

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Creatives In The Wild

Sometime around years 2 or 3 of freelancing, you can find yourself facing new challenges, often resulting from all the things you did well when you first launched your business. You hustled, you said YES to everything and everyone, and you made sh*t happen. But now, you probably have plenty of work and clients, but you're not doing the work or living the life you expected to. Learn the first steps I recommend for getting unstuck when you: Find yourself working too much Keep saying yes to the wrong clients Don't feel safe in your business Run into friction in your systems Have trouble honoring...

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Dez Magelssen is the founder of Alpine Ridge Accounting, where she helps women-led, service-based business owners get a grip on their finances so they can stress less and enjoy more of what they love. Dez has over a decade of accounting experience and is based in Bozeman, MT, though you can work with her remotely.

Dez is also a collaborator on the Money Clarity Course for freelancers! We teamed up to offer a module in the course specifically around freelance business money management, including legal entities, tax filing, bookkeeping, and more.


In this episode, we chat about:

  • Why and how freelancers should separate business and personal finances
  • Whether to form an LLC or another entity
  • Why to file quarterly taxes
  • Whether there's a difference between expenses and deductions
  • Figuring out what are qualified expenses when it comes to gear and apparel
  • How to pay yourself through your business
  • Saving enough for taxes and how much to anticipate

and more!

 

Enrollment is open for the Money Clarity program's Q4 cohort!

Most of us never had anybody teach us how to balance books or create a pricing model, and "unpacking money beliefs” probably wasn’t on the agenda either.

But just like you learned to be safe in the backcountry, take epic photos, or develop your craft, you can learn how to set up a practical and profitable financial foundation.

Address your money mindset and financial practices head-on, while getting accountability and resources to help you reach your financial goals.

We have live coaching calls every month plus lifetime access to the six sections of the course. We even have a certified accountant join in one module to give you the ins and outs of the financial system.

I believe this is the only money course you'll ever need as a freelancer.

We start October 1st and go through the rest of 2024, so you can kick off 2025 with the clarity and confidence you need to reach your financial goals while freelancing.

Learn about the Money Clarity Program at https://www.justawildthought.com/money.

 

Connect with Dez:

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