On Your Mark… Get Set… Jump…

When Matt and I started Jones House Creative four years ago, we leaped confidently off of a cliff from this wonderful place of assurance and strength. We had a lovely reserve in savings, a retirement fund that was growing, college savings for our kids, and I had confidently written a blog on finance for the past three years. Matt and I had a plan.  We had a word from God in the direction of the business.  We knew it would be hard, but we were also excited about the adventure of it.  Like Abram setting out from Ur, we had …

Finding the Balance When You Are the Boss

Cynthia emailed me this question a few weeks ago concerning the unique needs of trying to set up a budget when you own your own business or are on a commission based income. I have already written a few blogs on this subject ( Feast or Famine , Finally Breathing , Your Business , The Power of Percentages ) but I felt like this question is so relevant to so many people that is bares revisiting. Cynthia wrote, “We desperately need a budget and it has been difficult for us to budget because we own our own business. I need …

The Power of Percentages

“Deride not what I say because of its simplicity. Truth is always simple. I told thee I would tell how I built my fortune. this was my beginning. I, too, carried a lean purse and cursed it because there was naught within to satisfy my desires. But when I began to take out from my purse but nine parts of ten I put in, it began to fatten. So will thine.” ~from “The Richest Man in Babylon” by George S. Clason. OK, I love this book so much that (although it is not Christian) I’m just going to say… You …

Your Business, Your Freedom, and Your Responsibility

Self-employment can be a liberating, extremely rewarding way to earn your income. Many people who are self-employed are doing exactly what they love and want to be doing. They are their own boss, set their own hours, and consequently have a lot of flexibility. However, it can be a very difficult venture when you are first getting your business going, and also when you are laboring in a business that may not go very far. When you are at the top and a huge contract doesn’t go through, or they are late on payment, it is you and your family …