Ean Murphy’s Bookkeeping for the Uninitiated class at 3rd Ward is probably one of the best deals for young artists. Really. If you’re an artist who never took that finance class during undergrad (all of you) and you want to start marketing and selling your art, check out 3rd Ward’s stock of Professional Development Classes. In the three-hour course Bookkeeping, I found myself repeating “so that’s what that means” in my head.
Ms. Murphy, a Certified Quickbook’s Pro Advisor and founder of Moxie Business Solutions, uses her natural humor and dualistic intellect to educate the numerous artists and entrepreneurs in my class. There is a woman involved in a fledging architecture business, a jewelry maker, a photographer and a woman running a tutoring service. Most were sole proprietors of their small businesses, and most were women (work, gurrrl).
Ms. Murphy grabbed the bull by the horns and we delved into the black abyss that is IRS paperwork. But before I knew it, we were smiling and learning about those tax cuts they keep talking about on the Daily Show (so that’s what that means). Taxes weren’t scary at all, and the government seems, it turns out, to be willing to cut some breaks for small businesses. Of course, we did get into what the big ccorps get out of creative taxation (and yes, I know what a ccorp is now).
When do I take my beloved little LLC businesses and incorporate? What is incorporation? When do I hire other employees, and do I really need to hire an accountant? How do I follow the revenue as it courses in and out of my checking account/shoe box. And why should I keep my business receipts? Ms. Murphy covers all of these embarrassing snippets you were too afraid to put to your colleagues.
Go to the 3rd Ward’s website or stop by Morgan Avenue between Meadows and Stagg to find out more about their other Professional Development classes including Professional Practices for Artists and the Business Plan Workshop, a eight week professional boot camp starting December 3rd.