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Year-End Tasks for Entrepreneurs
Being your own boss means you wear a lot of hats, and when it comes to bookkeeping, it’s easy to let things slide until tax season. But with just a little preparation before the year closes, you can save yourself major headaches in April.
In this focused 2-hour online workshop, professional metalsmith and longtime bookkeeper Kristin Mitsu Shiga will walk you through an easy-to-follow checklist of the essential year-end tasks every self-employed maker should do. From assessing the value of your inventory and organizing mileage logs to reviewing your expenses and income, you’ll learn how to tidy up your records, minimize your liability, and make sure nothing falls through the cracks. Kristin will share practical, maker-friendly strategies to streamline your financial picture and keep your business on solid ground.
This workshop is designed for artists, jewelers, and other independent makers who want to spend more time creating and less time worrying about numbers. Think of it as two hours of financial self-care to set yourself up for success in the year ahead.
Please note: This presentation and workshop is designed for self-employed makers categorized as Sole Proprietors, who are required to file a US Form 1040 with Schedule C for their business. While many of the principles apply to businesses of any kind, the focus will be on US Federal tax prep. City, State and County laws vary widely, so check with your CPA for guidance in your area.
For more information about virtual courses, visit our Virtual Course FAQ page.
Meet the instructor
Kristin Mitsu Shiga (she/they) is a maker, educator and small business owner with more than 30 years of experience currently living and working in rural Oregon.
Throughout her career, Kristin’s desire to balance her individual studio practice and working as part of a larger team allowed her to build an unusual skill set that includes everything from nonprofit arts administration and bookkeeping to armature-building for stop-motion animation studios. From a long line of educators, Kristin is passionate about teaching and has shared her knowledge with students at venues all over the US including Penland, Arrowmont and Haystack Mountain schools of craft, along with programs she established in New York, Oregon and Hawai’i.
Kristin believes that service is a crucial component of any career and has served in a variety of volunteer roles and on numerous nonprofit boards since 2001. She currently serves on the boards of the Hawai'i Artist Collaboration and Frogwood Artist Collaboration, and is in her second term as Secretary of the Board of Directors of the American Craft Council (ACC).
Kristin has shown her work internationally, and is included in several notable collections, including the Kamm Artful Teapot Collection and the Permanent Collection of the White House. You will find her work published in numerous books and magazines, including Art Jewelry Today, The Art of Enameling, Metalsmith’s 2017 Exhibition in Print, and several of Lark’s 500 Series books. Learn more about Kristin’s past work on Oregon Artbeat (segment originally aired in 2010).
Materials & Tools
This workshop does not require any supplies or materials. We recommend having materials for note-taking. If you have Microsoft Excel or Numbers on your computer, they can be helpful, but all templates will be available as Google Sheets. The instructor will also be discussing the use of QuickBooks software for bookkeeping. Student participation during or in-between class sessions is strongly encouraged but not required - observers are welcome.