February 2022 Message

February 3, 2022 • Newsletter

This Month’s Money Message: Gather

It’s the start of February, which means your mailboxes are likely overflowing with tax forms from 2021. After all, creative individuals often do independent work for a variety of clients, which means the stack of 1099s (plus the occasional W-2s) grows and grows. Add in some PPP loan reporting from your favorite financial institution, unemployment reporting from your state, and a letter about the child tax credit from the IRS and your inbox is probably full. More than full.

So we gather the forms. We gather total amounts paid, funds collected, and awards awarded. We gather records of works sold, clients served, and projects completed. We may even gather receipts, records, and credit card statements to round out the records.

…There is enough. You are enough.

The gathering comes first. Oh sure, we’ll get to sorting, organizing, and reporting the information on the forms later. But first we gather.

The gathering process may feel overwhelming, frustrating, and annoying. It may increase your stress, clutter your workspace, and overwhelm your senses.

Or it can feel abundant. Steven Covey talks about the abundance mindset, and while I’m pretty sure he never had tax forms in mind, I can’t help but think of the abundance that this moment of gathering can provide. Covey talks about abundance as being a state where there is enough to share – enough resources, enough projects, and enough success. It is that sense of abundance that I hope we carry through this year, well beyond tax season and whatever chaos the pandemic brings next. Because there is enough. You are enough.

Here’s what a “maintenance pause” might look like in terms of what to know, do, and believe this month:

Know: What forms you are expecting to receive. Remember, you’ll only get a form if the client paid you $600 or more. You won’t get forms for smaller jobs, sales of work to clients, or (some) emergency aid received. But you should still plan to gather that information.

Do:Sort the data. Sort the income into W-2 and 1099 income so you can track where it goes on your tax form. Sort it into categories of work you did (day job, teaching gigs, works sold, grants received). Add up the total income for the year and start thinking about what might continue into 2022…

Believe: In abundance. Steven Coven defines abundance as a mindset of enough: Enough resources, enough success, enough satisfaction. Gathering tax information can feel overwhelming. But it also can remind us of our abundant lives and careers.

What We’re Doing

This month we’re talking taxes, taxes, and more taxes. ‘Tis the season, after all. Elaine joins students from Juilliard, SVA, NEC, and NYU to talk about taxes in creative industries, and she joins working professionals from the Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston, Indiana Arts Commission, and Creative Capital to continue the conversation with practical time-sensitive tips.

And speaking of gathering, tomorrow the Professional Artist Institute is offering Minerva Clients an online training + Q&A called “5 Steps to Start & Grow the Business Side Of Your Art”. There are limited seats available in the live zoom session, so click here to reserve your free seat and let us know how it goes!

What We’re Talking About

Pausing. Who knew last month’s theme around pausing – giving yourself permission to not start the year with ambitious goals would resonate so much? It’s okay to pause, to filter, and to gather your thoughts right now.