Book Review: The Joyful Business Planner

A little background:

The 4th quarter of 2016 my business took off. A few of you may know that I have a small business called NaturalTherapyPacks.  I create hot/cold therapy packs, sinus pillows, migraine pillows and kids heat packs loaded with lavender buds. I have a small shop on etsy and also sell locally on the air force base,  craft shows, thru 2 chiropractors offices, several shops and also via Facebook. I spent all of last fall sewing like crazy as I kept running out of product at my local shows. This happened 4 times between September and December!

I've come to the conclusion that I need to get more organized and I also need to start considering and praying about the future of my little business. I have for the first time started hearing back from customers that I've helped the last 3 years regarding how much my therapy packs have helped them with their chronic pain, migraines, allergies, etc.

The Joyful Business Planner

A Guesstimating Tool for Organizing your Small Business

by Kate Martin, CPO

ISBN: 978-1539141815

Paperback: $16.95

Recently I was asked to review The Joyful Business Planner by Kate Martin and while it's a small book I'm finding this book is exactly what I'm needing. I am not a organized person at all but the format of this book is carefully laid out with worksheets, calendars, tips and to-do suggestions. 

The book is set up in 5 sections:

Part One is your business overview

- Your business plan, yearly goals, business at a glance and policies/procedures

Part Two is Marketing

- How are you going to tell everyone about the services and products you have available?
Part Three is Yearly Tracking

- What is your actual budget for the year?
Part Four is Monthly Calendars. 

- Quarterly Reviews, see what went well and what you need to work on.
Part Five is Wishlists & Aspirations

- Worksheets showing customer wish list, my wishlist, website changes, etc... 

I loved that I didn't feel overwhelmed and that the information is presented in small chunks that are easy to read and understand even when I'm tired, my mind isn't functioning so well and/or I'm so busy I'm being pulled in 6 different directions. Another thing I liked about the book is that I can see how it would be helpful for tax time since everything will ideally be done at the end of each quarter and organized in a easy to find format. 

This book could easily be used for more than the Creative Entrepreneur. It will be helpful for anyone considering starting a business or already in business (and struggling like I am) & it will be useful for a variety of businesses.

Find Kate at: Organized Joy (her website) and on Facebook

Disclaimer: GivingNSharing was asked to review The Joyful Business Planner and provided a copy of the book. I did not receive any monetary rewards or other items. Thanks for reading GivingNSharing!