3 reminders for January. This month is the perfect time to set your creative business up for success.
1) Renew your company’s annual filing with your state.
If you’ve already formally set up a business with your state, you filed some paperwork to let them know about your company. Every year the state wants to make sure the information on file is correct, so you do an annual filing or annual report. It’s normally a quick process where you confirm, “Yes. Everything is still exactly the same.” or “Here’s some new info…” (i.e. Address update, new contact person for the company, etc.)
TCA is registered in Kansas. We do this every year the first week of January so it’s off our to-do list & we don’t have it hanging over our heads. It took less than five minutes to file and cost $53 over at the Secretary of State’s website.
2) Send 1099’s to sub-contractors by January 31st.
If you paid someone who isn’t an employee to do something for you last year they are often called sub-contractors. If you paid them more than $600 the government wants to know about it. The way you tell the IRS is by filing a 1099 form. The deadline to send out 1099s is January 31st.
In order to fill out the 1099 form you want a completed/signed W-9 form from the person you paid. This is the document where they tell you their SSN, address, etc. Have the W-9 info and the dollar amount you paid the person available when you fill out the 1099.
An accountant can do this for you. I recommend letting the accountant do it because it saves you time and your time is better spent creating.
3) Update social media.
What social media channels bring you joy & lower your stress levels? Which one cause you stress and anxiety? January is a great time to double down on the right platforms for you.
For platforms you love, update your message to make sure it’s consistent with the current stage of your creative evolution. Update your:
- Headers
- Bio
- Links
For platforms you abhor delete your profile entirely or update your header/bio to reflect you won’t engage with content there. Here’s an example of how Jessica did this.
Do you want to brainstorm more ways to set your creative business up for success this year?
Schedule a FREE one-on-one discovery coaching call and we’ll lend our expertise to your vision!