Guest post by licensed Right-Brain Business Plan® Facilitator Cass Mullane

I recently wrapped up my “Build Your Budget” webinar series with ten RBBIZ Premium winners. As the attendees developed their budgets, several had some confusion over how to enter their numbers into their budgets. Turns out they were trying to make everything balance and were mixing up Budgeting with Accounting.

Let’s clarify.

Accounting is the process of making sure all your moola balances out to the penny. It is a double entry system that credits (adds to) one account and debits (reduces) another account for each and every transaction. Your balance sheet and profit and loss statement come from your accounting system. And, accounting normally deals with what has happened in the past.

Budgeting is the process of projecting income and expenses month by month over the course of a fiscal year and beyond. Its purpose is to take a close look at monthly cash flow (as in, do you have enough moola flowing in to cover what’s flowing out?) and to make predictions about what your profit will be at the end of the year. Budgeting is all about the future.

So how do they play together and feed each other?

When you create a budget, you make projections of what you think you will earn in income and spend in expenses, month by month into the future. Typically your projections are based on what happened last year and this information comes from your accounting system. So you look at what happened last year, then make your best guess as to what you think will happen this year. In your budget, these numbers are called your “plan” numbers (as in what you “plan” will happen each month).

Once your bookkeeping for the month is entered into your accounting system, you’ll then take those month end totals and plug them into the corresponding lines on your budget. If you spent $362 in office supplies, you would then enter $362 on the “office supplies” line in your budget. These are called your “actual” numbers (as in what “actually” happened each month).

While monthly numbers have to balance in your accounting system, they do not have to balance in your budget. You can even have some months that show a loss and others that show a profit. Obviously at the end of the year you want to be looking at a happy profit, but some individual months can come in at a loss. One cool thing about having a budget is that you can see in advance which months you’re predicting will have lower profits or even a loss (which probably means a cash flow crunch) and you can prepare for them.

Visit www.ProsperCreatively.com for a free ready to use, color coded budget spreadsheet. If you’re ready to get your budget done, click here for the next “Build Your Budget” webinar series and be sure to select the RBBIZ discount!

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Cass Mullane’s calm, comfortable approach consistently yields positive results for clients. Her business and personal coaching practice, www.ProsperCreatively.com, specializes in delivering solid left brain business skills to right brainers and creatives in a fun, visual way. Cass is is one of our licensed Right-Brain Business Plan® Facilitators.”

I wanted to let you know about an exciting opportunity for the next 72 hours to get your hands on some valuable resources, including my Right-Brain Product Development workshop, where I share my secrets for turning your teachings into products.

I’m joining more than 20 other creative leaders in a not-to-be-missed bundle sale that’s happening from NOW through midnight Thursday, May 16th.

The “Multi-Passionate Must-Haves” is designed specifically for those of you who have a LOT of different interests, projects, and creative pursuits in your life.

I couldn’t be more honored to contribute alongside these products from these amazing experts (some of whom you might recognize from past Right-Brainers in Business Video Summits):

• BYOB Build Your Online Business Guide by Natalie Sisson ($37)
• Pitch Perfect™ Pack by Dyana Valentine ($57)
• The Creative Ignition Kit by Melissa Dinwiddie ($37)
• Renaissance Business by Emilie Wapnick ($49)
• Productivity for Multipotentialites by Michelle Nickolaisen and Emilie Wapnick ($67)
• Operation: Creative Career Cheer by Michelle Ward ($37)
• Social Media Rehab by Tiffany Han ($59)
• Reclaim Your Dreams by Jonathan Mead ($47)
• Life is Messy Planners by Mayi Carles ($40)
• Creating Your Own Mastermind Group by Jen Louden ($100)
• The Declaration of You by Jessica Swift and Michelle Ward ($57)
• The Comparison Cure by Kylie Bellard ($15)
• Ethical Selling that Works by Pamela Slim ($97)
• Help, I Need More Time! by Bev Webb ($46)
• How to Describe the Indescribable by Alexandra Franzen ($17)
• The Art of Earning + The Art of Growth by Tara Gentile ($40)
• Spin Your Story by Amanda Oaks ($10)
• The Joy Equation by Molly Mahar ($147)
• 52 Weeks to Awesome by Pace & Kyeli ($52)
• The Right Brain Product Development Playground by Me! Jennifer Lee ($97)
• How to Take a Career Break to Travel by Alexis Grant ($29)
• Small Army Strategy by Srinivas Rao ($2.99)
• The Kick Burnout Kit by Michelle Nickolaisen ($17)
• The Yearly/Weekly Planner Bundle by Michelle Nickolaisen ($23)
• The Courageous Living Program by Kate Swoboda ($125)
• The Momentum Kickstart Kit by Charlie Gilkey ($47)
• Guerrilla Influence Formula by Tyler Tervooren ($49)

My left-brain tells me that the total retail price for all of these products comes to $1,379. But for the next 72 hours, you’ll be able to snag them all for only $97, a price I’m sure your right-brain will love

And because we feel strongly that the power of multi-passionates needs to be used for good, we’re going to be donating $10 from each sale to Michelle Ward’s team for the Avon 2-Day Breast Cancer Walk in NY. (Michelle was diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2011 and declared cancer-free in June 2012, and this will be the 2nd year she’ll be walking 39.3 miles with Avon over 2 days with her mother and bestest friends.)

Enjoy!

Guest post by licensed Right-Brain Business Plan® Facilitator Laura Burns

We often hear people talk about core values, but honestly how often do you sit down and really think about them?

An integral part of who you are, your core values dictate what you want out of life and how you will go about getting those things. Found deep down in your inner self, your values will change over your lifetime depending on how you grow and evolve. Your values are your opinions, beliefs, things that speak to your heart and mind, or things in life that you find attractive. They get to core of who you really are.

Values are the feelings and activities which make you feel most like yourself –
connected, excited, and effortless.

Too often we build our lives around values that do not actually represent what our inner selves truly hold most dear. We may spend our lives trying (consciously or unconsciously) to honor our core values, only to stop short of discovering what they actually are. By defining and honoring our values we find clarity and are able to move forward in our lives in a way that feels authentic and noble.

It can be difficult to stand firm and interact with the world according our values – there’s a lot of pressure coming at us from people who want us to follow their lead. The following affirmation can be a helpful tool to remind yourself that your core values are integral to your life and happiness. I like to start my mornings out with an affirmation and then keep it in mind throughout my day.

Core Values Affirmation

Today I step into the world with purpose – to honor my core values in every decision and interaction.

I am awake, aware, and awed by the authenticity I find when I connect with my inner self’s core. I am filled with the knowledge of what my mind and heart both value, and today I am lifting these values up to celebrate and appreciate their existence.

I will not drift along, undefined, to be lost in a sea of other people’s expectations. Instead I will stand strong, feet planted, rooted in the knowledge of my core values. Today I will face challenges and decisions with joy in my heart, and allow my core values to act as a compass and guide me in my true direction – to happiness, peace, and the work life of my dreams.

I help heart-forward businesses create thoughtfully crafted plans for growth and sustainability. I love to inspire people to think critically, dream big, and clear out the cobwebs to let in the light and the joy! Wanna leave your soul-crushing job to start your own business? Check out my new book, Work Life Revolution! Laura Burns is one of our licensed Right-Brain Business Plan® Facilitators.

Woohoo! The Right-Brain Business Plan® got mentioned in the Wall Street Journal this week! It’s a great article about online business courses, including my Right-Brain Business Plan® workshop with creativeLIVE.

And if that weren’t cool enough, the article right next to this one features Tara Russell, a fabulous fellow Bay Area coach who focuses on life sabbaticals and long-term travel. I’ve known Tara of Three Month Visa Coaching and Consulting for several years now and she’s also a cohort in my Mentorship Program. So, you can bet it was a super exciting day for both of us. Yay, Tara!

Guest post by licensed Right-Brain Business Plan® Facilitator Amy Egenberger

In business we are attentive to our customers, of course. We care about them and do our best to stand in their shoes, to see their point of view. We aim to satisfy. And when clients choose and experience our products and services, we listen to their feedback.

Before seeking that external input, however, we must find true approval elsewhere.

When we get overly focused on seeking approval from others, we can veer off track from our own inner guidance and true creative path. Yes, we have mentors, advisors, researchers and our customers to inform our decisions. But when it comes down to making business choices to navigate your way, you are the one who must approve.

What does it mean to receive your own stamp of approval?

Recent headaches have taught me about this. My chiropractor wrote out a surprising prescription with this affirmation from Louise Hay: “I love and approve of myself. I see myself and what I do with love.”

That got me wondering. What is it to really see myself and what I do with love? And how does that apply to business? I’ve come to see at least 3 varieties of love that roll into a biz stamp of self-approval:

1. Kind, compassionate love that is forgiving toward our shortcomings and missteps.
2. Encouraging, supportive love that marvels at our courage and applauds our progress.
3. Tough, strident love that tells us the truth, helps us get over ourselves, points to problems that need to be solved, and prompts us back on track when needed.

Authentic self-approval must be value-based and wisdom-led. This is not about blindly wielding our rubber-stamp or giving a thumbs up. Instead it is about accepting and appreciating ourselves and our business process with eyes wide open.

To see who you are and what you do with love, that is approval.

Nor is it about handing the stamp to the inner critic who does not readily approve of who we are, and frankly never will. Stingy with approval, the shadowy inner saboteur heralds perfectionism, rule-following, and fear of making messes or displeasing others to strangle our creativity.

This is where the love comes in.

Ordinary business tasks call for your creativity and thus a sprinkling of approval. Getting the webpage worded well, formatting an ad for a local paper, delivering a product, extending a service. What you put out in the world and how you choose to do that sails more smoothly with the energy of your loving “okay.”

Despite all the ways that our work could be improved, perfected or made agreeable to more people, what matters is that we practice trusting that we are doing the best we can. And we learn to trust that our best is good enough.

Far from apologizing, giving self-approval means acknowledging, accepting and appreciating the value of who you are and what your creative business offers the world.

And that is most certainly deserving of your approval.

Making way for creative action, Amy Egenberger, MEd., CPCC, is proud to be a Licensed Facilitator of the Right Brain Business Plan®. She is a seasoned educator, life coach, artist and founder of Spirit Out! Coaching. Amy helps people find the courage and clarity to get moving on their creative path. A book, a business, a project, a change… your creative spirit gets out! Amy is one of our licensed Right-Brain Business Plan® Facilitators.

Join Amy on May 10-11, 2013 for fun & focus to make your biz plan real. Right-Brain Business Plan® Workshop
Minneapolis, Minnesota http://spiritout.com/classes/rbbp