Money Monday: e-Filing 1099s With QuickBooks Is Finally Easy!

"Money Monday" at Tin Shingle is all about earning, spending or donating money from your business. Share your Money Monday experience or tip by submitting your idea here for consideration to be featured on Tin Shingle's blog.

Money Monday gets a gold glitter ball this week.

Every year, when prepping the books for taxes, I am so tempted to e-file the 1099s to our contract workers via QuickBooks instead of having our accountant prep them. Not that I don't love supporting another business owner! But he's going to get 3 sets of taxes to file from me, so this is chump change. The benefit, really, is the ease of use, and quickness of filing those 1099s.

QuickBooks has had an e-file 1099 option, but it's never been seamless enough for me to try. I'm error-prone, so if there is more than a 10% room for error, I abort and put it in the hands of the professionals. This year - and maybe it's just me - maybe QuickBook's platform has been the same all of these years, it's just me who grew more confident - I did it. I e-filed the 1099 through QuickBooks!

Took all of 5 minutes, after the prepping of each vendor - which consists of the following and is the same as if the 1099s were being submitted to the accountant:

• Checking for their social or EIN number.
• Updating their address and email.
• Checking money totals against the actual bank transactions.

I take that back. There is one step that was new, and that was selecting the number of Accounts and Vendors that would be included in this pull for 1099s. "Accounts" means that there are different reasons that you spend money, and when you do, you select an Account to attribute how that money was spent. That part didn't take long, it was just new for me, which made me nervous, and made me remind myself not to over-create Accounts and get too nitty-gritty, but I shouldered through and selected the correct Accounts. I checked the money totals against the bank transactions, and got matches.

Once all of that was complete, QuickBooks has you review your information before entering your credit card to pay. And the price of filing is quite affordable. Not only was it pricier with my accounting firm (again, I don't mind supporting my local firm), but I didn't have to drive there to pick up and sign my approval for them to e-file (not that I mind seeing my local firm either!), and stamping them and putting them in the mail. QuickBooks puts them in the mail!

The step of filing of 1099s is often a forgotten one done at the last minute. So this is a way to help businesses not need to file extensions, and start the tax year off right!

Snow Day! Snuggle Up With Editorial Calendars

I stepped a booted foot here in the office as it began to snow just a half hour before our school’s canceled After School Program (translation: Early Kid Pickup) and probably a school snow day tomorrow!

Had to at least set foot in the office before the bump in the road, but I did hear from a Tin Shingle member, after we sent out the email alerting everyone to the rescheduled TuneUp on SEO,  which made it all better, because we are all in this together! She said: “I had three contingency plans today for no early dismissal, no after school sport and early dismissal – we got early dismissal 😃”

So Happy Snow Day everyone! We knew this was going to happen - snowdays slowing everything down for business in January. We talked about it during the TuneUp on Hibernating Your Business in December. Use this day to browse through the content ideas in Tin Shingle’s Editorial Calendar Database. What are editorial calendars? Here's a whole entire article on it, and even an article about how to pitch a magazine based on an editorial calendar, but in short, they are the yearly projections of what a magazine is working each month for the coming year. It is a general declaration, like "In June, Men's Health will be working on the Best Grills issue!" Things like that. They are a great resource to get your wheels turning. We research dozens of magazines for these editorial calendars, and put each one into Tin Shingle's private database that only our All Access Members can search through at any time.

We have PLENTY of Editorial Calendars for you to browse and get dynamite ideas for! Log in to get in our private collection. You’ll need to All Access Pass of Membership to get them, which you can learn about by clicking the Membership tab on the website.

Cheers to your hot chocolate today! 

Martin Luther King (MLK) Day - How To Recognize As A Brand

In recognition of Martin Luther King Day, we are encouraging our retail friends to put out a message encouraging equality and humanity, and to not put out a Monday holiday sale.

This move was inspired by two things: some national retail chains like RIE who closed on the traditional Black Friday Weekend after Thanksgiving in order to encourage employees and people to focus on the reason for the holiday, and to get outside and enjoy nature. The second inspiration is from the musician and activist Pete Seeger, who was extremely active in raising awareness to civil rights and enviromental issues in my current home town of Beacon, NY. According to The Beacon Free Press publication this week, Pete felt that the day was being forgotten as a day to raise awareness and instead was a day of sales, and worked with the Southern Dutchess Coalition to start a parade march followed by ceremonies celebrating youth, adults and a service. Of course it’s always nice to use a three day weekend to go on a mini vacay, but you get the idea.

So instead of running a sale on Martin Luther King Day, step into a Baptist Church, one of Martin Luther King’s homes and inspirations, and do something out of your regular habits, extending kindness where you might otherwise have overlooked.

Peace and love today.

UPDATED: 2018 Content Planner Contains Page For Ideas Not Ready For Calendar Yet

Tin Shingle's 2018 Content Planning Calendar has been updated to include a sheet for capturing your ideas that you aren't ready to assign to a month or week yet. This page in the calendar is called "In The Hopper" and it is the last page. If you have purchased the calendar, you can revisit it here when logged into your Tin Shingle account, and click the link to download the file. The most updated file will download to your computer. If you are an All Access Member of Tin Shingle, this file will automatically be available to you to download. Get to it!

GirlBoss Launches New Podcast: Self Service - A Witchy Listen of Self Care

GirlBoss editor Jerico Mandybur has announced the new podcast for the girl empowerment source: Self Service, the self described "cosmic comfort zone, an 'inner-beauty school' where self-care is celebrated, where getting real with emotions is a treat, and an interest in thoughtful, funny conversations, weird wellness and astrology is unabashed. It’s where being a little self-indulgent isn’t just a shame-free act of self-love, it’s a necessary launchpad into a life that’s wholly ours, in a world where we feel good about taking up space. Here, we serve our hearts. We rant. We grow. And we tune the eff up."

In her email announcement, Jerico defended the astrology angle. Not that she needs to, but it does set the podcast apart from other self-care mediums. She explained that her family belief system included "a strong belief in superstitions, messages sent through dreams, and evil eyes." Further, she finds that it is core to how someone can provide self-care to themselves, yet it is considered "woo woo" and brushed off or punished.

"Witchy stuff has been historically demonized (I believe)," Jerico explains, "because it’s a feminine system that threatens the dominant power. Mid-wifery, being a single woman in possession of land, healing using old plant knowledge; these are all things women suffered for that are now being reclaimed."

Being that had a midwife for my third child, and am reading the second book in the Outlander series, Dragonfly in Amber, where the memory of the heroine's near miss with being burned at the stake because she knows how to heal people with plants is fresh on my mind as she hunts down the other time traveler that did meet her fate at the stake in that book (the cross-over in time is so fascinating!), I'm drawn to this message of normalizing knowledge that women tend to get shunned for. Like, why does a woman's credit score plummet when she gets divorced? Why is that normal? Does a man's? I'll need to look into it. If you know, please chime in below in the comments.

So I'm looking forward to the podcast, and looking forward to seeing which of you business owners find a story angle to pitch to them, so that maybe I'll hear you on the air with Jerico!

Meanwhile, we are adding it to Tin Shingle's Media Contact Database in our new Podcast section, so that you can more easily browse for relevant podcasts to listen to, get to know, and pitch if a great fit for your message.

The Case of the Broken Bobby Pin

As you reflect upon how to make change in the beginning of this new year, there are obstacles or bad habits you'll need to clear from last year. How will you know what those are? Let this analogy shed some light and help you make change...

In the dish it sat, bent open looking like a special comb that was used to secure a special hair bun that I don’t know how to twist. My fingers flicked it out of the way to get closer to the closed black bobby pins that would hold my bangs back in an instant for the day. Wish I knew how to use that wide open bobby pin, I thought to myself.

But wait - that’s no special bobby pin - it’s a broken bobby pin that I keep staring at and moving aside. Why is it here? Why am I allowing it to clutter my dish? Gone - to the trash it went! To clear the way from clutter and help the mind see clearly. Reclaimers - don’t try to talk me out of it! I keep enough things with the intent of someday reusing them. This bobby pin dish must be clear!

This is the breakthrough moment I’ve mentioned on TuneUps before, when you’re looking for paths to clear, or new designs to improve an online sales funnel, but you’re blocked as to what needs fixing. You know there is a problem, but you can’t put your finger on it. Chances are, you keep staring at it, but your mind has justified it, so it doesn’t stand out as a problem.

To train your mind to find the problem areas in your business, watch for these simple opportunities around your house or office.  Once you spot them, clear them, and then return to the area of your business that you are trying to improve. Look at it with fresh eyes, and pinpoint the part that bothers you. As pretty as it is, what’s its deal? If it’s bucking a feeling, it needs tossed and/or replaced.

Need a fresh set of eyes from an outsider? Try Tin Shingle’s Private Training Services. An outside perspective can change a direction in a snap. 

Hoda Kotb Replaces Matt Lauer as Co-Host on Today Show, Keeps Co-Host Seat with Kathie Lee

Well a good morning and happy first day of the New Year 2018 to you as well, Today Show!

With Hoda and Savannah sitting in the middle of the Today Show's Twitter cover photo, and their first live taping wrapped up, many rejoiced at NBC's selection of Hoda as Matt Lauer's replacement during the 7am-9am hour after he was fired from the show for sexual misconduct. Hoda will remain as co-host with Kathie Lee in their 4th hour together which they have done since 2008.

The tone is already one of friendship and warmth. With People Magazine's cover story of Savannah and Hoda opening up about their feelings about the change, Today.com ran a story with excerpts from the article, including this memory from Savannah: “I remember reading something later that said I had grabbed Hoda’s hand, and of course that’s not something you plan. That’s just something you do because you have a real friend, and you need to hold her hand.”

Siri Daly's son observed: "Mommy there are more girls than boys!" With two women anchoring, how will the show's tone change? Already, maybe we have an answer. Hoda stated: "This is bigger than one person, it’s bigger than Matt, it’s bigger than me, it’s bigger than Savannah, it’s bigger than all of us."

I must confess: I don't watch the Today Show, aside from any research I do for Tin Shingle. TV distracts me, so I don't have it on in the background of anything. More notable, however, is my lack of interest in Matt Lauer. He never appealed to me, so the dynamic between him and anyone didn't interest me. Success is always in the people, so now, while ratings are soaring for the Today Show for the moment according to Variety, my interest is genuinely piqued.

I'm not alone, as who can forget that New York Magazine article for their 2013 story "Matt Lauer and the Decline of the Today Show" after Ann Curry left the show. From the article "The image of Matt Lauer trying to comfort her—and of Curry turning away from his attempted kiss—has become a kind of monument to the real Matt Lauer, forensic evidence of his guilt."

Perhaps this has been a move that has been needed for years, but NBC believed he was the key to the show. When change happens, it can be for the best, and can force your hand to do something that needed to be done long ago. We'll see how the ratings shake out, but here's how Twitter felt about it today:

'Historic and so deserved' Congratulations pour in for TODAY co-anchor @HodaKotb https://t.co/7hJXbPFd6d pic.twitter.com/qLjXcjRPEL

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 2, 2018

Congratulations to @hodakotb, who has officially been named the @TODAYshow anchor alongside @SavannahGuthrie.@LesterHoltNBC put it best: "She's awesome." pic.twitter.com/46xAemH84P

— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) January 3, 2018

I just downloaded the Twitter app on the top of a mountain in Montana to violate my week of no social media so I can say... Congratulations, @HodaKotb! Everybody's talking about the news here at 11,000 feet.

— Willie Geist (@WillieGeist) January 2, 2018

Oh this is going to be fun! There is no kinder and more generous spirit at the peacock. Congrats to my friend @hodakotb on a well-deserved promotion @TODAYshow https://t.co/ptRHe26XUc

— Craig Melvin (@craigmelvin) January 2, 2018

Media Monitoring: Variety Magazine for the New Year!

Taking a page from Victory PR’s  new postings of their #mediamonitoring on Instagram, we are showing ours - first read of the new year - Variety Magazine!

Top Secret: this subscription was actually a gift to my husband from Tin Shingle at Christmas because he’s a consumer of several paper magazines but also works in the film industry as a crew member. However, he, like most crew members, has movie making aspirations. As part of my New Years resolution to support his creative dreams, Tin Shingle lulled the trigger on this yearly subscription.

New subscription arrived already. Time to catch up on nominations and movie makers, and sleuthing for our own ideas for Media Contacts and article ideas.

What are you reading?

Start Writing! Tin Shingle’s 2018 Editorial Content Planner Released

When you have a killer idea for content, you need to save that! And publish it. Ideas for great content is half the battle to growing your brand’s digital footprint through blog articles on your company’s website and social media streams. But you have so many ideas, you can’t contain them all! Until now. Tin Shingle’s editorial Content Planner was created exclusively for business owners and marketers like you. Used by professional bloggers as well as service providers showcasing their expertise, as well as by product designers and shops who know they need content on the web to compete in a thick marketplace of Google searches. This editorial calendar template will solve your organizational problems and give you peace! You’re going to nail this.

All Access Pass Members of Tin Shingle get this planner for free. Not a member? Not a problem! Buy this template once and have access to all New Years in the future - free.

Download here: www.tinshingle.com/templatesuite

That’s a Wrap!

What a week! Launching this new corner of Tin Shingle’s Website, finishing pieces of private client’s branding websites and printed material for InHouse Design Media, and launching a new and intensive guide on our local news media site A Little Beacon Blog, this dry erase board was finally wiped clean on Thursday in anticipation of last minute gift collecting on Friday. What only could take shape on it was this Christmas tree, wishing anyone who looks through our office door a merry feeling. 

This week’s Training TuneUp will be posted soon, and with it the message of  hybernation, or squirreling away the core components of what your business needs right now. The message in the TuneUp focused on polishing your visual pieces that you use to attract customers or even to temp the media to cover your business. This first week of winter is your chance to enjoy the cozy and reflect on your brand to make fresh designs!

Happy Holidays everyone :)