I say Part 2 because I am finally getting around to another live post in the series of things that can be disguised as other things – but you can catch up HERE: Disguised As ___, Part 1
This is mainly for my #smallbusiness and #soleproprietor friends and clients:
➡️ RECAP: all cashapp platforms have to report payments to the IRS beginning in 2022, and 1099s WILL get issued.
THIS is why I’ve been telling you to use these payment platforms ONLY for gifting, reimbursements, and buying goods – NOT for paying individuals for services rendered – AND to help me make sure we keep good records!
Otherwise, both your Accountant and Tax Preparer will hate you, you might miss out on deductions, and the IRS finds out and considers it taxable contract labor anyway, so it’s a lose/lose/lose trying to pay people who did work for you with cash apps.
I know, I know. It’s easier.
But I promise it’s more work later on everybody, especially you.
I won’t get started on the whole ‘cashless society’ business right now – but the only way cash is really cash anymore is if it is REALLY cash.
Just like the only way to keep a secret is to REALLY keep a secret (but I won’t start THAT here, either).
✅ Don’t wait until tax time when it’s too late, and make me use #MyAccountantVoice – talk to me now about what to do instead!
I am literally paid to help others devise strategies that work best for them to get their desired results, and then to apply practical, real-life experience and expertise to help implement and execute those strategies.
That sounded fancy.
I also have a pretty successful track record.
At least for those who listen.
Even when it’s like THIS
You know what, though? It doesn’t feel fancy when your input is ignored and problems continue, or when you have to find a way to tactfully tell the one paying you that they are, in fact, the one causing said problems.
Cue repeat.
It actually feels more like THIS:
Because NEWS FLASH: Not everyone takes that information well.
Yeah, I know. Shocking, huh?
THEN let’s add in the fun of watching these same humans go through mentor after coach after consultant after expert…..who all provide nearly identical input, but with no positive changes, because you know, THAT person has to be wrong. And that one, too.And that one…..
I love what I do. All of it. And I have worked hard to learn and become what some consider to be an Expert (blush!) in my chosen fields.
I also truly love my clients and want to help them get what they need as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
And I know I am not the only one who usually feels fulfilled by the job(s) and satisfied with the results but occasionally feels frustrated and undervalued since it is all part of understanding human nature.
We do work with humans, after all. So I feel stabby some days, too.
It would be so nice if said humans knew exactly what they needed and how to specifically ask for it so that reality can match expectations and avoid unnecessary frustration a lot sooner, wouldn’t it?
Why, YES! Yes, it would.
If you kept asking for spinach so I kept handing you spinach although you REALLY meant to say bacon…who is really to blame here if you didn’t get the bacon you REALLY wanted and ended up with a pile of spinach?You are.
Yes, YOU.
How about if you ordered bacon but were only willing to pay for spinach?
Yep, still you.
AND you still end up with no bacon!
*I should probably also add that anyone who does not already know the difference between spinach and bacon is probably a dangerous psychopath who is way beyond my ability to help anyway.
SO…..
Here are some advicerecommendationsreminderstruths basics that will help you stop getting kale when you want bacon:
DON’T be surprised when the old “you get what you pay for” fundamental turns out to be true as we have literally been taught this for most of our adult lives
DON’T expect the knowledge, expertise, and results of a senior-level Accountant or Advisor if only willing to pay for an entry-level Bookkeeper (as one example), or expect a General Practitioner holding a scalpel to perform brain surgery as well as a board-certified Neurosurgeon would (as another)
DON’T think you have to know everything ~ but DO know enough to know what you don’t know
DO learn to be specific about what the need is and how to get it, as well as who should help
DO what you are really good at and enjoy doing, and leave the rest alone
DO take in the advice of a proven expert, especially when it has already been paid for
DO continue being the badass you were truly meant to be!
Ok, rant officially over. Back to the fancy stuff.
*If I have not completely scared you off yet, and you/your business have needs I can assist with or help you get more specific about, feel free to schedule a consult HERE: https://calendly.com/qbpaige
If you are interested in any more explanation on why I started this than the image + caption below, you can catch up on my first post on it (that includes some good links on stuff to watch) HERE:My WHY (A Blog About The Blog)
Because I have NEVER liked being told what to do
(or think, or say, or pretty much anything else)
and never will.
Spoiler Alert: I still don’t.
THIS blog site opened in 2019.
While many people are using countless platforms to communicate and a good old-fashioned blog can seem like something ‘old people’ do, I’ll tell you my main reason for choosing it (aside from the fact that I AM old in a lot of ways!), which is this:
Everything here belongs to me and I own it forever and it’s ALL MINE.
And we should definitely listen to him because he clearly knows things.
Sammy has been having a good time.
Let’s be more like Sammy 😆
As a matter of fact, let’s listen to him right now. Then come back to me.
You’re welcome.
Ahhhh…wasn’t that fun?
I was talking to a young-ish (early 30s) adult the other day and he came up. Can you believe she didn’t know who that was? She clearly wasn’t raised right, poor thing.That’s what made me think of this now. Welcome to my brain.
Back to the point.
I have social media. I understand the purpose and agree that it can be useful. I mean, I CAN be found HERE:
What I don’t agree with is how we are spied on. It’s getting even creepier, too.
If you really want to get in the know, or at least more informed, watch “The Creepy Line” or “The Great Hack” (both documentaries, both on Netflix), or “Shadow Government” on Prime (this one was released in 2008, so you can only imagine the advances since then but it was infuriating enough).
I also don’t agree with the control the platforms have over what we see and how and when we see it, and the constant algorithm changes. Since most are “free” (although there is no such thing), we have to agree that they can do whatever they choose however they choose to do it with our information.
I don’t know about you, but I prefer to make my own choices for myself, thankyouverymuch.
And now there is SnapChat and TikTok and specific sites just for rants, just for pics, just for promoting your business. They’ll keep changing and I’m exhausted.
Remember Classmates and MyLife and MySpace? Neither do most other people. Those are where social media started, and NO ONE uses them now.
So a blog could be my main hub from here on out. Things can always be shared from it to other sites, but what is mine stays MINE. I paid for it and it is all copyrighted and there is no worry about algorithms and changing platforms and readers can see whatever they want, whenever they want.
Do you ever wonder why people aren’t communicating and can’t find real connections?
I used to, but I have figured out at least part of it and now I’ll tell you…..
Sometimes it’s because of made-up words and bad usage of real ones.
“Yeet” is not a word and “fire” is a noun, not an adjective.
And yes, that hurt just to type that.
The below was taken in abstract from my writer friend Kellie who, once she was able to unroll her eyes, quoted an actual post she saw somewhere:
“Mmz, I need somwhere I can take my bf too bcz mentily he there but physcly he aint. I been trying to fake my vibes wit him but no he just wanna lay back fr me to do the gettin.”
Yes, someone actually thought that.
Then typed it out.
Then posted it in public for people to see.
That hurt you too, didn’t it? I know it did.
Sorry, y’all.
I wouldn’t know how to help that girl, I don’t even understand her! I THINK I know what she meant, but I would have to spend a whole extra 3 minutes just interpreting that garbage, every time she spoke.
Do you know what is a better use of that 3 minutes? Literally almost anything else. Just ask her what that boyfriend could do with 3 extra ones.….
Wouldn’t you agree that anyone old enough to worry about an O with a boyfriend is old enough to use adverbs, pronouns, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions, and contractions properly? Or at least old enough to use tools like spellcheck and maybe Grammarly or has at least heard of a dictionary, even in passing?
“Hello, my name is Paige and I WILL judge your intelligence and level of commitment to quality and excellence based on your terrible spelling and grammar and the fact that you were too lazy to even consider spellcheck.” And I am #notevensorry about it.
Am I really just telling my age, or does that kind of thing drive you crazy, too?
I know some of y’all have kind of weird interests, too (I am looking at YOU, Dr. P!mp|eP0pper-watchers!), so I thought you might find this interesting.
You know you want to see it.
It IS pretty gross, though, so if you are not one of those weirdos like us, you should go away now.
You will get plenty of text as scrolling ‘ground cover’ to give yourself a chance to run away before then, but if you decide to continue…..consider yourself as having been officially warned.
So I was in the hospital last week (and ICYMI or you got here from somewhere else, you can catch up on itHERE).
I had so much abdominal pain that I couldn’t sleep one night, and by morning, I had had enough already.
Now, I’m a pretty tough cookie about most things, most of the time, but I knew this was not normal and was not going to fix itself.
I also have no patience for wasting time, so I raced off on the journey of discovery to find out wtf was the problem.
The entire day was somewhat of a debacle (and believe me, I will have plenty to say about thatsome other time), but fast forward to where I get to tell you I was admitted to a surgical center and scheduled for an appendectomy first thing the next morning.
Thankfully, my surgeon was not only amazing but also a weirdo like us, and seemed to know somehow that I would enjoy seeing full-color photos of my insides.
So she took some.
And I did!
And so will you, if you’re still here.
So THIS one is just for the weirdos who want to see it.
Are you ready for this?
This is what an appendix looks like, with some necrosis.
Blech.
So, who wants chicken for dinner? NOT ME. Maybe never ever again, now.
Time lapse of being diagnosed, admitted, operated on, released, and discharged from the hospital to home to recover = 30 hours.
The speed was probably a direct result of my being such a godawful patient but I’m #notevensorry about it, just wait until I tell y’all about it.I’m pretty sure you’ll be on my side.
I am still pretty sore and swollen from the surgery, but to those of you who called, texted, prayed, sent well wishes – thank you! I got them all and felt the love.
Back at you! From me AND the smiling swollen belly scar.
Excuse the nails, no polish allowed during surgery
I swear, I USED to have abs. Maybe they took those instead of my appendix?
Have you ever had your appendix taken out? If so, how long were you in the hospital and how long did it take you to fully recover?
So my last post talked about how “that’s quite enough, thanks” (and in case you got here from somewhere else, you can catch up on it HERE), right?
Well, that’s what I get for thinking…..
Literally within the next 72 hours of publishing it, I was:
Presented with a new business opportunity
Admitted to the hospital for a (surprise!) appendectomy
Involved in some very loud, tense arguments with several members of the hospital staff that spanned hours, by the end of which I was threatening to burn it all down (and meant every.effing.word.)
Through surgery, released (still on time to make my mani-pedi) and almost fully recovered
Working my way through $10k+ worth of projects that amassed while I wasn’t looking
But I’m fine. Really.
The scary thing is…..I look like this right about now, too.
Usually, this is where I want to know how you’re doing, and get your input – but I’m afraid the universe is listening and will take it as an invitation to show me more crazy, so maybe later…..
Everything you say yes to means you have to say no to something else, and vice versa.
It really IS ok to establish healthy boundaries, set realistic expectations, and politely decline opportunities for relationships that seem destined to fail. That is the only way to have availability and resources for good ones! This also applies to client partnerships.
Clients deserve the best service provider for their needs, even when it’s (gasp!!) not us (at least at that time). If I know right away that we are not a good fit, or that I won’t be able to deliver the service and attention they need and deserve, I have no problem with saying so and genuinely wishing them all the best in their search for the next service provider.
I will also have those straightforward discussions to try to salvage a challenging relationship before we have no choice but to break up. Sometimes I am the problem. Sometimes not. The only way to find out is to have that difficult conversation! No one likes them, but they are necessary and are healthy, if done right. They key is to not be so afraid of them that you procrastinate and create some real damage.
My reputation for being a tough and demanding taskmaster comes honestly enough, I admit – and I am not the only one!
It is becoming more common for professionals to understand and better provide more value for the clients who are a good match when they are more strategic about their partnerships. Clients are generally more satisfied, too, because then their pro really is good at what they are really good at!
Someone else was waaaaay ahead of all of us, though……
We DO kind of have to give at least a little damn, she clearly does not
QUESTION: What are some of the criteria you use to evaluate client or service provider relationships? What is something that is not a dealbreaker, but troublesome enough to cause concern or frustration and trigger a discussion?
So I was asked to do a thing. Then I agreed to do said thing. Then I had a full-on, proper flipout.
Yes, I just saw you shiver with antici……pation.
I started feeling something totally foreign to me (I have since been told the word for that is nervous), so then I got all question-ey:
Why did I agree to this?
Whose bright idea was this, again?
Who talked me into this?
Can I really do it?
Should I get out of it? What if I bomb?
What if famine and pestilence ensue?
What were we thinking?
Then I remembered who I was and promptlygot rightover it.
Nope, #notevensorry about it.
Part of the problem was that I STILL don’t have this shirt! Even I need the reminder once in awhile.
You see, I invented the term #badassery.
There are things I know nothing about and things I know just enough about to stay far away from and leave to their experts and things I reallywant to be good at (but just aren’t) and things I do well enoughwhen I haveto do them….
THEN there are things I am one of the best there is at doing and THIS IS ONE of those.
So at least there is that.
After providing support as the answer-master for the BIG BOSS’ webinars, we decided it was time for me to host my own! That may not be a big deal to most, but I take everything I do seriously and put in the work to do a GREAT job. So this is kind of a big deal!
I mean, I DO train/teach all of the time, and I definitely know the material. I guess if HE says I can do it, and is willing to risk his professional reputation by personally endorsing me, I have nothing to worry about, right?!At least, that’s my story now and I’m sticking to it.……….
So:
If we’re already friends, sign up and see if I’m as good as I try to be (and help me be better, if I’m not)!
If we’re not friends YET, we probably will be soon anyway and you should take advantageof a FREE session while they’re still free (b/c its my first time)!
If we’re just NOT FRIENDS ON PURPOSE, you’re probably a terrible person anyway who might enjoy the opportunity to MAYBE see me go down in flames after all of the bragging I do.
You know, one of those.
Whatever our situation, you can sign up for one of my current webinars below:
January 21, 2020 – Desktop / January 22, 2020 – Online
You should know that we don’t ALL ride horses or wear boots or live on ranches. MOST of us are polite (but can have road rage on I-35 like you’ve never seen), we are known for being friendly (but carry for when someone is not), and are rated A- in best public schools (but you’d never know it because you think we talk funny).
Yes, we ALL talk funny. And yes, we already knew that.
Speaking of which – I don’t know about you, but I never think about my having an accent until I hear myself recorded somewhere. My job(s) require a lot of talking, to a lot of people, a lot of the time. Tech Support calls come in from everywhere, many from the East Coast (I still stand by the opinion that THEY have the accent!), and they ALWAYS know I am some kind of southern but not necessarily Texan. Then BAM! One “y’all” gives it away every time, and you know what? I am so, so fine about that.
I love being Texan and can’t imagine wanting to live anywhere else.
Even when Mother Nature lets “Sybil” run the control switch…..
Its 40-something degrees today, y’all. Make the chili. Enjoy it while you can. Because next week we’re back in the 90s.
I love to know what is good when we travel! Comment your city/state and your favorite thing about living there!
Usually, when people mention the ‘C’, they are talking about cancer, but we are NOT talking about that right now.
I am not talking about the other c-word right now, either. I don’t say that one at all (other than the one time I did and it was totally deserved and I’m still #notevensorry about it, but that’s it, I swear).
So relax.
At our house, C is usually for cookie. Or cocktails. Or COOKIES AND COCKTAILS. My husband bakes AND shakes so we do our part around here to not appear ungrateful for those acts of service.
I am definitely not above using a cocktail to wash down a cookie. I know, because I’ve seen me do it.
What C is NOT supposed to be for is crisis, chaos, and especially not for crying. Unfortunately, we have had all of these at my house recently and every time it happened, they reminded me of why those last few are not welcome here.
I was also reminded to write about this, because it just keeps coming up…..
I AM NOT MUCH OF A CRIER.
I never was, even as a kid, but especially not by this point in life. I even have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to this, but for some reason, people are still confused.
(whew, missed it!)
While that is understandable, and a totally human response to handling stress and pain and I hope you feel free to do it whenever you need to – it also seems to me like it is the least productive way to deal with a sh!tty situation so it has never been my go-to response.
There is no instruction manual for the project of putting a shattered life back together after thewrongest wrong EVER. I am doing the best I can to cope. It is complicated, though. Some days are for caring for others and honoring commitments to my companies and serving my community while other days are only for crying and barely getting off of the couch, even just for coffee with friends.
You won’t hear about the days I know will hurt you too because you want to help me and you can’t, but I am NOT ashamed of ANY of those days.
I also know that there is no manual for loved ones trying to help. I get it.
Everyone seems to have differing advice on what healthy coping should look like and while that doesn’t surprise me (we’re all just winging it here), what DOES surprise me are these from people who should know better:
“You don’t have to be so strong all the time.”
“Its ok to ask for help if you need it.”
“You don’t have to pretend to be _______.”
“You really need to _________________.”
These make my inside voice comeback with things like:
Now, don’t y’all know I don’t know what else to be, since things still have to be handled even when I don’t feel like it?
Don’t you know that I have purposefully built as self-sufficient a life as possible, so that I can just want people and not need them?
That I don’t pretend anything, ever?
That if I need to do anything, it’s probably already donebefore anyone else thought of it?
Sigh.
I forgot how I originally wanted to close this, other than to say THANK YOU for caring about me, even when its not easy. I know you’re winging it, too. I have survived this far so there IS that, and I hope you never forget (because I don’t!) that so much of that is due to YOU.
Also – did you know that sharing is caring? Especially if you bring cake.
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