Episode 004 Show Notes
How do you put together an invoice and what does that invoice need to have on it? You spent the time and effort doing the work, so you better get paid and you want to get paid ASAP.
We waste millions of hours worldwide chasing invoices. These aren’t reasons to not start a side hustle or business, but there are definitely ways to make the process easier, and to make it more likely that you’ll get paid and on time. I also suggest some ways that you could earn money and skip invoicing altogether.
If you sign up for a free trial or purchase via an affiliate link below, I earn a commission at no extra cost to you that goes towards the running costs of producing all the free content across the blog, podcast, YouTube etc.
Previous Episode: HTSLAB 003: When Is It Worth Paying More?
Catch up on all the episode resources in the Episode Index
About The Show
How To Save Like A Bear helps first-time buyers and savers with big goals make the changes they need to succeed. Use these strategies to spend better on essentials, make more money, and think outside the box so that you can improve your future rocket fast.
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Today’s Questions
How do you create invoices?
How can you make money by invoicing less?
Should I rename the podcast or create a second podcast?
And most importantly:
Who goes to salsa bars to listen to country music?
Email subscribers can submit money and side hustle questions to the podcast… Subscribe in the form at the bottom of this page to get a bonus ebook too
Related Content
Epic Ways To Save For A House (re: extreme savings)
How I Saved Half My Wages While Renting In London
How To Save Like A Bear In August
HTSLAB 001: 3 Ways To Save Money On Shopping Fast (for more on pricing tiers)
Recommendations In This Episode
Ivory Mix is a good example of an upfront membership (I’m an affiliate). Kayla offers a package of stock photos and marketing resources so that busy entrepreneurs have the power to quickly create content that boosts their traffic, leads and profits:
Kayla does offer free stock photos for anyone shy of investing in the future just yet. Or it’s possible to buy individual bundles of her photos from the Ivory Mix Stock Photo Shop. Kayla breaks these into categories, so that it’s easy to just buy stock photography for business and finance brands for example.
If you do any freelance custom work, I’d pay close attention to Ivory Mix. Study how you might create a shop of bundles of your work instead of endless invoice chasing for one-off commissions.
As I explain in the episode, a membership that takes the pressure off you offers your services as convenient plug and play solutions. The Ivory Mix membership includes readymade social media graphic and caption/writing templates and Kayla’s entire paid stock photography library. It also includes Scene Creator PNG Files so that you can make your own photo scenes, and just about every other type of template you can think of from ebooks to presentations.
Kayla has added to this so that VIP members also get live on-demand workshops monthly, member perks and a private Facebook group. If you’re just starting out providing services, don’t try to copy this level of features.
On the flipside though, the membership is suitable for beginner creators. You may want to get a membership yourself to accelerate your efforts, and see how a membership works from the inside before trying to start your own.
I also mentioned in the episode turning services into on-demand courses. Not all memberships include courses too, but the Ivory Mix membership has all the bells and whistles, so it includes Kayla’s full course catalogue also.
If you’re wondering how she managed to create all that… it wasn’t done overnight. But she’s also demonstrating what I say in the episode about leveraging templates for the activities you do repeatedly in your business, not just to give to clients, but also for your own tasks.
Scroll down to Recommended Tools if it was ConvertKit (my email service provider) that intrigued you instead.
Regards my comment about platforms making life much easier for creators, another service I’ve been impressed with is Headliner. I used them first to create free audiograms for the podcast, but think I’ll be using their editor a lot more going forward for the Save Like A Bear YouTube channel also. (Subscribe to the channel now for more on today’s episode in future, as I’ll definitely do a related video).
Mr MoneyJar on Instagram: saving versus “money off”. Just remember to put what you don’t spend on your Ivory Mix membership in a savings account or investment!
Speaking of investments, email subscribers can of course email me for a Freetrade invite; financial advice not included.
There’s no Buffy quote at the end this week, but who knew Gilmore Girls was really a briefer on running a business, eh? As with Buffy, I think Lorelai and co’s DVD boxset are a value for money swap if you’re cancelling Netflix:
Gilmore Girls: The Complete Series & A Year In The Life on Amazon
Again, existing Prime members already have this at their fingertips. If you want to watch before you buy, get a free trial of Amazon Prime Video. Make Rory’s reading list your own and treat Lorelai’s fun times at the Dragonfly Inn as Business 101 and you’ll be 10x smarter and richer this time next year. Probably. If not, you’ll at least feel warm and fuzzy in the meantime.
Further Reading & Resources
You can read more about upper limit problems in Jay Papasan and Gary Keller’s classic The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results.
You know I can’t resist a good audiobook version. Apparently podcaster Amy Porterfield listens to the audiobook while reading at the same time to make sure she takes in every word. That’s probably the kind of focus I need.
A free trial of Audible is always yours if you want. Book lovers can also take advantage of the free trial of Kindle Unlimited, or if you’re a Prime member, don’t forget you have access to the Kindle Owners Lending Library.
Try Prime for free for 30 days first if needed.
Students can get a six month free trial of Prime.
I design notebooks for fun if you need to commit your plans to paper
Side hustlers and full-time entrepreneurs can get a free Amazon Business Account, so that you can order all your best value supplies in one place.
Share & Follow Save Like A Bear
YouTube – videos coming very soon! Subscribe now so that you don’t miss those.
If you enjoy the episode, why not take a screenshot and share it out on Instagram or wherever you hang out online? Tag me @savelikeabear so I can see your comments, and perhaps give you a shoutout.
Recommended Tools
If you need a microphone whatever your profession or hobby, I use the Samson Q2U.
If you’re interested in podcasting, I use Spreaker for my hosting.
The mailing list functions thanks to email service provider ConvertKit (affiliate link).
I invested in the annual plan (which nets a discount on paying monthly). This is because when I start a project, I like to commit to seeing my goal through, so paying upfront ensured I wouldn’t quit emailing blog readers after a week!
You can start with a free plan though if you’re really not sure where you’re headed, or you’re technology shy (affiliate link). I find ConvertKit very easy to use though despite setting up automations and sequences and all that fancy jazz.
Let me know if you want to know what else I use to run the blog besides what’s mentioned on the Bear Resources page, or if you have questions. What do you need help with in your side hustle or business?
If you’re serious about investing in podcasting equipment to sound as professional as possible, this page has recommendations for every budget:
Go forth!
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