Community Insights for Impact
Financial Planning
The Lead Spectrum: Identifying and Cultivating Hot, Warm, Cool, and Cold Client Prospects
Understanding and nurturing client prospects is essential for freelancers and small business owners looking to grow their business. This blog breaks down the four types of leads—hot, warm, cool, and cold—and offers tailored strategies to engage and convert each. Hot leads require quick, personalized responses, while warm leads benefit from ongoing engagement and relationship-building. Cool and cold leads demand strategic nurturing and outreach, emphasizing the importance of patience, value-driven communication, and consistent follow-ups to move prospects through the sales funnel.
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Planning for Taxes as a Small Business Owner
Heather shares her personal journey with taxes as a small business owner, detailing her evolution from dreading tax season to developing a strategic approach to managing tax obligations. Through years of experience, she learned to set aside some of her business income for estimated taxes, make regular contributions to retirement, and work closely with an accountant to calculate safe harbor payments. For other small business owners, she recommends understanding tax deductions, using bookkeeping software, deciding between self-filing or hiring an accountant, and consistently setting aside money for estimated tax payments.
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Putting the "Life" Back in Work Life Balance
My son has a half day of school today, so we are signing off early and going camping with a number of other families. This is the "balance" I was looking for when I started freelancing full time. Balance doesn't mean 50/50 (and likely never will), but the autonomy to decide to shut down and venture into the woods with my family is one of my driving purposes for freelancing full time. 2023 was a learning year where I didn't allow space for my personal needs and priorities. I'm still learning, but this year is better!
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