Protect Your Dream From Taxes

Last updated on April 2nd, 2012 at 01:11 pm

Happy April 15th! Did you survive your Tax Day?

Entrepreneurs don’t love doing taxes. Although that applies to most of us that aren’t in a number focused profession. That’s what makes a tax professional a vital part of any entrepreneurial team.

I remember when I kicked my business off way back in 2003. I had no idea what I was doing when it came to keeping the books. I picked up Quickbooks thinking that my knowledge of Quicken would get me through. Not so much.

That first year completing my business taxes was painful. It’s just a small business, not a ton of income in year one, how badly can I screw this up? I had no idea the amount of work it took to mess something up that thoroughly. And of course I had no idea how bad it was until the following year when we took everything into our tax professional. Thank goodness she has a sense of humor.

Getting through the financial stuff can be interesting, and things got much easier once I found the perfect bookkeeper to figure stuff out on a regular basis. But finances and taxes can be a small part of your dream. Your dream can be taxed in lots of different ways.

How are you protecting your dream from being taxed?

Are you taxing your dream by pushing too hard?

We all love the roar of the crowd as we pass the finish line. Or in the case of an entrepreneur, the pat on the back we give ourselves once we accomplish a goal. Sometimes those goals can be a gentle whisper, whiles others are constantly knocking us out of a deep sleep at 4 a.m.

Do you have something you have been pushing too hard too accomplish? It may be a big step, or maybe just a scary one. If it is something you need to do for the next step, take it in a smaller bites, but take it.

Is your energy taxed by working on your dream?

This past year there were several times I was pushing too hard on my dream only to have it push right back. This was a sign for me that I had headed the wrong way back at the fork in the road.

Ask yourself, are you are getting energy from your dream pursuit? If not, back off the accelerator and look around. You may find you just veered off the path for a bit.

When is the last time you performed a dream audit?

We keep track of numbers, bills and important paperwork for tax day. Who keeps track of your dream steps and accomplishments? Cath reminds us dreamers to do this all the time.

You may not pay attention to that one little thing you did last month on your dream path, but it will have an impact in the long run. How are you tracking your dream? Make sure you give your dream an audit at least every 3 months. You may be surprised at how much you are getting done.

This tax year may be almost over, but keep this year in mind and start protecting your dream from being taxed.

What changes have you made in your dream pursuit to protect it? Anything you had to rearrange, or give up? Share in the comments…

– Heather

Heather’s dream is to have multiple streams of income, starting with launching an e-commerce website that showcases her couture jewelry, which are crafted by her. You can find Heather online at For Your Adornment and Twitter And Beyond Dot Com. She also teaches Social Media tactics for business, besides being CEO of her own web design company. Heather’s post day is Friday.