Big Money...

"Big money make mistakes..."
This year as I was working on my taxes, organizing my dance income and itemized deductions I realized that I was, er, a bit unorganized, and I was scrambling to add up all the numbers at the last minute. Not good, particularly for something I could have spent more time on during the year to prevent tax time stress.

So, this year I decided to be way more on top of things. Way more.

Enter the power of Google.

I have been an avid fan of Google Docs and Spreadsheets, and I love that I can access my documents from any computer, anywhere... even from my BlackBerry. I write my class syllabi, workshop notes, contracts, and more in Google Docs. I especially love that Google Docs allows me to open Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint presentations, as well as save my Google Doc files as MS file types without having to install Microsoft Office on my Apple MacBook. (My computer is a Microsoft-free Zone, and I intend to keep it that way.) Why it never occurred to me to organize my finances in Google Docs before this year is beyond me, but this year I've made it a point to be more on top of my money.

Instead of just throwing all of my paper receipts in a folder (or worse, a pile on the kitchen table), I immediately enter my expenses into a Google Spreadsheet, on a page I've marked as "Expenses" (naturally). When I get home from a dance-related event, I immediately take the receipts out of my wallet and enter the numbers into the spreadsheet. Everything goes in that spreadsheet: gas money, plane flights, groceries and meals I've bought while traveling for dance, rental car and hotel costs... everything dance-related. I do the same for my earnings. The moment I get home from an event where I've earned income through dance, I enter the numbers into my "Earnings" spreadsheet. I've set up each spreadsheet to add up the numbers automatically, so all the work is all done for me. No more scrambling at the last minute with a calculator! I can also easily keep track of whether or not I'm earning a net profit (or operating at a loss!).

I'm not sure why it took me so long to realize how incredibly helpful this would be, but I hope that it will help me a lot next year, when tax time comes around again.

So, of course, I suggest to all of the working dancers out there... find a way to keep track of your expenses and earnings as they happen, rather than at the last minute. Maybe that's obvious, but for me, I thought I would be fine just gathering it all up right before tax time. Now I know better!

Dancers are Businesspeople too.

Some just haven't realized it yet. I was one of them.

Growing up, I was never the entrepreneurial type. I was never interested in money management, budgeting, or being frugal. That sort of thing was just too... practical.

Now, as I find myself in the throes of adulthood, I am finding that I probably should have cared more about how to keep track of my finances when I was younger. Because now, I am a small business owner. How did that happen?

I never imagined myself to be a small business owner, and yet, as a self-employed dancer and instructor I am, indeed, just that. I pay taxes on my earnings, itemize my business expenses, and own a BlackBerry to keep in better touch with anyone who needs to reach me regarding dance. I have to market myself, network with other dancers, send out contracts, manage my website, and even brand myself and my dancing.*

As artists, the business end of things is often the last thing we consider. We are so consumed with creating, capturing inspiration, improving our technique, and sharing our creations with others (often other artists) that we forget that we have a business to run. When I remember that dance is business, I am reminded of the following, some of which come naturally to me, and others which continue to be difficult every day:

• My promotional materials must be clear, informative, catchy, and without typos or spelling mistakes.
  
  
• My behavior in public, dance events or otherwise, must be professional, calm, and collected. I can be quirky and odd, but never displaying out-of-control anger or frustration.
  
  
• I must keep good records of my expenses and earnings.
  
  
• I must return e-mails and phone calls in a timely and prompt manner.
  
  
• I must consider those who take my classes, watch my performances, and hire me for workshops as clients. I am providing them a service.
  
  
• I must be open to changing my business practices, including how I teach my classes how I market myself, and how I communicate with my clients.
  
  
• Public criticism, regardless of its validity, is still better than not being mentioned at all.
  
  
• I must not take public criticism personally, but I should "try it on" to see if it fits (thank you Frank Gehry for that imagery). Unconstructive criticism reflects more about the one doing the criticizing than it does about me, my dancing, or my instruction.
  
  
• I must keep my eyes open for inspiration all the time, not only for my dance, but in how I present myself as a businesswoman.
  
  
• I must never ever make promises or commitments to others in the business (or anyone else for that matter) that I cannot or do not intend to keep.
  
  
• Most importantly, I must never forget that I am a businesswoman, a professional.
  

What does being a professional dancer mean to you?

*One of the reasons I chose the tagline "Modern Tribal Bellydance" is to give my business (i.e. me and my dancing) something that people could latch on to. Now every product I produce will have "Modern Tribal Bellydance"--business cards, my advertisements, my instructional DVD, my website--somewhere on it.