Mint Your Craft

Notes and Guides

Practical reading for the business side of creative work

Short Notes that take one idea at a time, and step by step Guides you can work through. Six areas, the same six your Map shows.

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Getting Paid Doesn't Make It Less About the ArtMoney and creativity don't have to be enemies. Building a sustainable life around your creative work can be one way of protecting the work you love.Note · 6 min read

Money Visibility

Knowing what your creative work earns and what it costs, so the numbers stop being a guess.

The Money Behind the WorkYour creative work may earn in more ways than you realize. Start by seeing what comes in, what it costs to earn, and what remains.Note · 7 min read A Simple Monthly Money Check-InA repeatable thirty-minute practice for noticing what your creative work earned, what it cost, and what deserves attention next.Guide · 6 min read

Tax Readiness

Keeping records through the year so tax time is a morning of tidying, not a scramble.

The Job Paid $500. Not All $500 Is Yours to SpendA practical introduction to the tax side of getting paid as an independent creative.Note · 6 min read Building a Year-Round Tax Recordkeeping HabitA simple routine for keeping track of creative income, expenses, and tax records before tax season arrives.Guide · 6 min read

Pricing and Getting Paid

Setting a price, saying it out loud, and getting paid the agreed amount on the agreed day.

Before You Say Yes to the Job, Ask These QuestionsA few questions can make the difference between knowing the deal and hoping everything works out.Note · 6 min read What Belongs in a Simple Project Agreement?A practical way to put the important parts of a job, commission, or booking in writing before the work begins.Guide · 7 min read

Cash Flow Readiness

Living on income that arrives in lumps: a baseline to cover, and a way to smooth the months between.

Your Income Is Irregular. Your Life Isn't.Your creative income may change from month to month. Most of your bills don't. A little visibility can make that mismatch easier to manage.Note · 6 min read Finding Your Baseline NumberA practical way to estimate what an ordinary month needs to support when your creative income changes from month to month.Guide · 7 min read

Financial Systems

The structure underneath the work: accounts, agreements and the habits that keep them current.

When Your Creative Work Starts Acting Like a BusinessYou don't have to think of yourself as a business owner to benefit from putting a little structure around the money and work connected to your creative practice.Note · 6 min read A Simple Recordkeeping System for Working CreativesA practical way to keep the business side of your creative work organized without creating another job for yourself.Guide · 7 min read

Growth Readiness

Looking past the next project to the year after it, and what it would take to still be doing this.

Beyond the Next ProjectWhen your income changes from month to month, thinking years ahead can feel unrealistic. It can still be useful to give the future a place in your financial life.Note · 6 min read Thinking Longer Term When Your Income Changes Every MonthA practical way to make room for future goals when your income does not arrive on a predictable schedule.Guide · 7 min read