FOR A WHILE NOW, I HAVE BEEN WANTING TO START A WEEKLY BLOG SERIES COVERING DIFFERENT TIPS AND TRICKS THAT I HAVE LEARNED OVER THE COURSE OF MY CAREER. I DON’T CLAIM TO KNOW EVERYTHING, AND I ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT THE WAY I DO THINGS MAY BE VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE WAY OTHERS MAY DO THEM. I HAVE HAD YEARS OF RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS, AND HAVE PICKED UP A FEW THINGS THAT I HAVE LEARNED THE HARD WAY. I HOPE BY SHARING A FEW THINGS WITH YOU, IT WILL HELP YOU RUN YOUR BUSINESS IN AN EASIER AND POSSIBLY MORE EFFICIENT WAY.

FIRST TOPIC OF DISCUSSION, MILEAGE. WE ALL DRIVE. WHETHER YOU ARE A BAKER RUNNING DELIVERIES, AN EVENT PLANNER MEETING CLIENTS AT THE OFFICE, OR A PHOTOGRAPHER LIKE ME, MOST LIKELY YOU’LL DRIVE FROM TIME TO TIME. WHEN YOU DO, YOU NEED TO KEEP TRACK OF YOUR DRIVING EXPENSES. I SAY DRIVING EXPENSES BECA– USE NOT EVERYONE DOES IT THE SAME. I PERSONALLY LOG MY MILES TO AND FROM A LOCATION, BUT SOME MAY CHOOSE TO SAVE THIER GAS RECEIPTS TO KEEP TRACK.

YOU MAY BE WONDERING WHY YOU SHOULD BE KEEPING TRACK OF YOUR MILEAGE, AND THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE. TAXES. EVERY ESTABLISHED BUSINESS HAS TO FILE TAXES. INCOME VERSUS EXPENSES. YOU WANT TO KEEP TRACK OF YOUR EXPENSES, AND GAS IS ONE! IT COSTS YOU MONEY TO TRAVEL ANYWHERE, SO YOU’LL WANT TO KNOW JUST HOW MUCH YOU’RE DRIVING. FROM A SIMPLE TRIP ACROSS TOWN TO THE POST OFFICE TO AN EVENT THAT’S THREE STATES AWAY, IT ALL COUNTS IF YOU’RE SPENDING YOUR MONEY TO TRAVEL THERE.

FOR THE FIRST FEW YEARS IN BUSINESS, I KEPT A PHYSICAL LOG. IN A NOTEBOOK I KEPT IN MY GLOVEBOX, I WOULD WRITE THE DATE, MY STARTING ODOMETER NUMBER, AND THEN WHEN I GOT HOME, WOULD WRITE MY ENDING NUMBER ALONG WITH THE NUMBER OF MILES TRAVELED, AND WHERE I WENT THAT DAY. IT WAS A LOT, AND I’M THE TYPE OF PERSON THAT WOULD FORGET TO WRITE DOWN A DAY OR TWO, SO THEN I WOULD HAVE TO TRACK BACKWARDS FOR DAYS TO COUNT MY MILES. THEN AT THE END OF THE YEAR WHEN I FILED MY TAXES, WOULD HAVE TO SPEND TIME ADDING UP EVERY SINGLE MILE THROUGHOUT THE MULTIPLE NOTEBOOKS I KEPT, BECA– USE I WAS CONSTANTLY LOSING THOSE THINGS AND STARTING NEW LOGS IN NEW NOTEBOOKS. I’M STILL FINDING NOTEBOOKS TODAY.

THEN, I WAS TOLD ABOUT THE MILE IQ APP, AND MY LIFE CHANGED FOREVER. MILE IQ IS AN APP THAT WILL AUTOMATICALLY TRACK YOUR MILES FOR YOU. NO MORE LOG LOST IN THE TRUNK OF YOUR CAR, IT’S ALL ON YOUR PHONE. IT’S A ONE TIME FEE OF $59.99 AND WORTH EVERY PENNY. I PROMISE, AND IN NO WAY AM BEING ENDORSED OR PAID TO SAY ANYTHING. IN THE APP, YOU’LL SEE ALL OF YOUR RECENT DRIVES (TRACKED WITH THE GPS ON YOUR PHONE) AND LATER GET TO CLASSIFY EACH DRIVE AS PERSONAL OR BUSINESS. THERE ARE A FEW OTHER FEATURES TO HELP FURTHER CUSTOMIZE YOUR TRACKING (IF YOU OWN MULTIPLE BUSINESSES OR HAVE DIFFERENT PURPOSES YOU NEED TO TRACK MILES FOR) BUT I ONLY — USE IT FOR THE BASICS. THEN, AT THE END OF THE YEAR, YOU LOG IN ONLINE (IN WHICH YOU CAN DO ANYTIME) AND REQUEST YOUR MONTHLY OR ANNUAL REPORTS. YOU’LL THEN RECEIVE AN EMAIL WITH ALL THE DATA YOU NEED FOR TAXES AND YOU’RE DONE. IT’S SERIOUSLY GOLD PEOPLE.

IF THERE IS A CERTAIN TOPIC OR TIP YOU WOULD LIKE FOR ME TO SHARE, LEAVE A SUGGESTION IN THE COMMENTS!

I LOOK FORWARD TO SHARING MORE WITH YOU!