By Kim Moore

Creating a budget (and sticking to it) is actually a very healthy exercise – for your financial future, yourself, and your family. It’s undeniable that lowering or even eliminating your debt will reduce the amount of stress that you feel. The less stress you feel, the happier and healthier you’ll be, and the more you’ll be able to be fully present for the ones you love. One of the best ways to lower your debt is to create a budget and to follow it. Here are 7 easy ways to create a budget that you can live with, and that will make you feel better.

1. Don’t use credit cards:

This is an easy one. We all know how damaging credit card interest rates can be to our financial future. Make a habit to only use your credit card in emergency situations. By choosing to live on only what you have in your bank account, you do two things. First, it will make you more mindful of what you spend your money on. (more…)

By Christy Schutz

The other day I took my morning commute (about 50 feet) to my home office, opened the door, and almost turned around and went back to my bedroom. The thought of crawling back into my cozy bed and pulling the covers over my face seemed WAY more appealing than tackling the stacks of papers, mail, folders, and stuff that was strewn across my desk. Let me clarify right now that I am not a neat freak. I enjoy organization, but can function in a little bit of clutter. But, my home office looked like “who did it and ran” and I knew I was going to have to take some time organizing and straightening if I hoped to be able to think straight and be productive.

My experience reminded me of something. It has been awhile since I’ve done some shopping for my home office. Surely we all NEED a few new accessories and/or nifty tools in order to really jump-start our productivity levels, right? Spruce up your office with some of these fresh finds: (more…)

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your entrepreneurial journey.

I have been studying and creating art of some form my whole life. After college at the University of Texas, I became an art teacher and taught 3-D art such as ceramics and metal-smithing. I always desired to start my own business because I spent many hours creating and turning  my ideas into art. I needed the flexibility of my own schedule to create spontaneously. After college I also took my first business course which was an online course with a woman from California. This helped me to learn ways to create my own income as an entrepreneur.

What did you do before launching your own business?

Before launching my own business I was an art teacher in public schools. I love working with children, but my real dream was to become self-employed and start my own jewelry business. I also traveled a lot and lived in other countries, and studied metal-smithing. I have also always been a photographer and created fine art images from my travels. These images later inspired some of my jewelry designs. (more…)

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your entrepreneurial journey.

I am married to an amazing man and I am the mother of two wonderful little boys. My older son has special needs and he works hard each day to overcome his delays. He and his little brother are my inspiration. I am the owner of Darceeshope.com an Internet Boutique based on sharing goodness through products, coaching and information. Darceeshope.com is the home of The Good Karma Campaign which is my mission to mail FREE, Good Karma to anyone who requests it. In addition to these roles I am also an Author and a Blogger. My goal is to remind everyone that there is always an up side.

What did you do before launching your own business?

I studied menswear design and have worked in several industries, including wholesale sales, retail sales, mortgages and beauty. I had been a stay at home mom for 3 months when I knew I needed a creative outlet. (more…)

By Carole Bennett

Recently, one of my clients made the decision to take their business offline for a while, and regroup. It’s always disappointing to see a small business take a backward step instead of making forward progress, but there are times that it’s actually a very savvy business move.

Here are some of the ways a small business can actually benefit from taking a pause:

1. Re-evaluate Your Resources

It’s the hallmark of most entrepreneurs that we tend to have a dozen really great ideas at any given time, and a huge amount of enthusiasm for each idea. Unfortunately, this can lead to being stretched too thin, and not giving any one concept enough focus to get it to a self-sustaining level of profitability. (more…)