Dawn Fish Business Solutions, LLC

Celebrated 8 years this month!
So very grateful for my clients and biz partners who have trusted me for so many years! 😁
Still loving life every single day!
The quote by Confucius is so true!
"Choose a job you love,
and you will never have to work a day in your life."🥰

2022
It was one of the best and worst years!
🏡We bought our first home together and spent half of the year in renovation heaven!!
The back of the house has the view I’ve been envisioning for years!
💍Anthony got engaged in March to a wonderful woman from Northern Ireland. He studied long and hard and I’m proud to be the mom of an EMT. One step closer to firefighter!
🎭 Rachel performed in a bunch of shows this year, most memorable Chicago!!! One of my favorites! She also worked a bunch in the back of the house. She seems to have a knack for theatre tech. She took on a bigger role in the business. The clients adore her! 💜
🤕 Mark had aches and pains all spring until we found out he had a ruptured disc! Fingers crossed he is now on the road to recovery! His work implemented an in-house/remote schedule so he’s still working mostly from home.
🎊Holiday celebrations were still a bit weird this year due to Covid and the flu. I’m becoming a master of turning on a dime and replanning. At least I didn’t have to drive all over the state delivering gifts and surprises!!
I thoroughly enjoyed having more than one of each of the major holidays!!
📈dawn fish Business Solutions is stronger than ever. We had a record addition of businesses and busy individuals, all through referrals! We celebrated 7 years and surpassed our goals!
😢 A challenging year as we lost people near and dear to our hearts. The losses can be so overwhelming at times! Curl up in a ball and cry my eyes out overwhelming! I know they will be with us until we meet again. They are all deeply missed.
😔It has been 50 years since my father Ricky was killed in a trucking accident. 50 YEARS! OMG! That is a hard number to comprehend. I don’t have too many memories of my birth father. I was only 3 when he was killed.
I truly believe everything happens for a reason. A few years after my father’s death, my mother met a wonderful man. Together they gave me a sister who has given me a niece!! I am blessed to call him dad. If events hadn’t happened the way they did, who knows what my life would look like now?

So what has 2022 taught me?
~ Anything is possible!! You just have to focus on your vision and move your feet!
~ Traditions - Wonderful as they may be, there’s always room to try something new!
~ I am now the mother of two grown adults (when did THAT happen?). I need to give them space to grow in their own way.
~ Time is fleeting for some. The problem is we don’t know how much time we have to spend time with the ones we love. 😢

Welcome 2023!!
As I reflect on 2022, I look forward to the year ahead!
I am going to spend more time with family and friends. Make plans to travel to visit those far away. I am going to reconnect and be more connected! Isn’t that what modern technology is for?!!
I am going to prioritize self care! Water, regular exercise and improved eating habits!
I am going to spend more time visualizing my future. Create a new vision board for the road ahead. What does this next chapter hold?
I am going to complete more of the renovation projects without injuries this year. 🤞
I am going to design a plan for my new office space.
I am going to reorganize my biz to allow us to improve the support for our existing clients and make room to help more extraordinary people.
I am going to infuse JOY in all areas of my life. As my father, Ricky, said in his HS yearbook, Live life to its fullest!

May you all have a safe, healthy and happiest of New Years!

Sending love and hugs near and far!! 💜:D

Thank you to my grandfathers, fathers, uncles, cousins, friends and my sister for their service to this beloved country! It is because of your love and dedication that we are still able to call this wonderful country home!
God bless all of our active and retired military members! Thank you all for your love and dedication! May you all be blessed this Veteran’s Day and every day to come!
God bless the USA! 💜💜

It's National Cookie Day!
What's your favorite cookie?
I LOVE COOKIES! It's hard to pick a favorite ~ I would have to say either Oatmeal or Snowballs, but Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chip and Ginger are close behind. Oh, the list could go on. :p
Store bought cookies - Pecan Sandies, Oreos and Walkers Shortbread!!
Treat yourself to your favorite cookie today! :D

Celebrating our 6th Anniversary!! 💜💜🥳

Here is my business vision board.
Using the technique described in Monday's post, I created a vision board for my business.
What is the vision you see for your business? Strategic planning begins with a vision.
www.dawnfish.com

One of the many things that helped me when I was just starting out was discovering who I was and who I wanted to be AND who I wanted my business to be. I highly recommend reading Danielle Laporte’s book, The Desire Map. It was the first book I read when thinking about becoming an entrepreneur. I really needed to get focused on what was important to me. Danielle’s book is a deep dive into who you are and what is most important to you. It was quite eye-opening.
Once I figured out the who and how I wanted to feel, I created vision boards to reflect those feelings.
Jenny Fenig, Business and Life Coach, introduced me to vision boarding. It is an awesome tool to focus your feelings and make them “come to life”. You can find other vision boards on Pinterest, plenty of tools online and check out Sarah Prout for ideas. Here’s my take:
 Gather materials (old magazines, pictures, Google and print images/words), large pieces of construction paper/cardstock/scrapbook pages/poster board, tape (double-sided) or glue and colored pencils, markers, etc.
 Find a comfortable spot to create your vision board.
 Take out your journal from last week’s post. Read your Perfect Day. Close your eyes and visualize your perfect day. Focusing on how you feel in each moment.
 Open your eyes and start thumbing thru your materials looking for inspirational words or pictures that evoke how you want to feel. Cut them out and set them aside.
 When you have gone through all of your materials, lay out what you have gathered on your paper of choice. Do a dry lay out first so you can move things around. Once you’re happy with the board, tact everything down. You can doodle or add your own personalization with colored pencils or markers. If you took my advice and read Danielle’s book, add your CDFs to your board.
 Once your Vision Board is done, take a picture with your phone so it is always on hand to look at.
 Hang your Vision Board where you will see it most often. Repetition is the key to faster manifestation. Visualize your Perfect Day with your Vision Board every day!
Get creative and watch the magic happen!!! 💜💜

Another visualization tool from Mike Dooley, Notes from the Universe, author of Infinite Possibilities and Playing the Matrix

https://www.tut.com/526-8-fun-ways-to-practice-creative-visualization/

8 Fun Ways to Practice Creative Visualization Here are eight creative things you can do to immediately start moving closer to your dreams. I’ve done all of these things, and many, many more. Are some silly and embarrassing? Yes. Is living the life you dream of worth it? Hell, yes. These tips below come from my book, Playing the Matrix, now in...

“Every thing is a thought before it is a thing!” ~unknown

Visualization is the formation of a mental image of something…anything! It allows you to picture an image or scenario not immediately in front of you or even realized by you.

I hope you have started playing The Prosperity Game, a great tool for visualizing and manifesting.
Here is another tool to boost your imagination and creative visualization.

I learned this technique from Fabienne Fredrickson, www.boldheart.com.

Get out your journal or notebook…close your eyes and imagine what your perfect day looks like.
Visualize living this day while your eyes are closed. Think about these things – notice all of the details.

“Where would you live, what would your house look like, what would you drive, what time would you wake up, what would you do in the morning, what would you have for breakfast, what would you spend the first part of your day doing, what would you have for lunch, who would you want to eat with, what would your friends be like, what would you do for personal fulfillment, what life purpose would you strive towards, what would your business be, what time would you start work, what would you DO at work, what would your clients be like to spend time with, what hours would you work, what is your relationship like, what would you do for family time, what would you have for dinner, where would you eat, who would you eat with, what would you do at night, who would you do it with, where, what would you thoughts be as you went to sleep?” ~ Frank Kern

When you open your eyes, write down in your journal or notebook every detail, every answer to each of the questions in Frank Kern’s exercise.
Repeat until you have all of the details…then close your eyes again and enjoy living your perfect day from beginning to end.
Keep your notes handy…you’ll need to refer to them for future posts.

The Prosperity Game
This is a fun tool designed by Abraham Hicks. It teaches you to think BIG and believe anything is possible. It is a powerful tool to use when learning about visualization and manifestation.
The key to this game is to connect emotionally, as though you are receiving and spending in your real life. Really FEEL what it would feel like to have this item.
In this game, you are not receiving or spending “real life” dollars! Remember – it’s a GAME – have fun!
You are going to journal your daily deposit and purchases. Write down each day how much you received and what you bought. I recommend you also write down how that item brings you JOY!
The basics:
On the first day, imagine you receive $100 to spend however you like. In your Journal, write DAY 1, $100.00, what you “bought” and how you feel.
On the second day, imagine you received $200 to spend however you like. In your Journal, write DAY 2, $200.00, what you “bought” and how you feel.
On the third day, imagine you received $300 to spend however you like. In your Journal, write DAY 3, $300.00, what you “bought” and how you feel.
And so on, increasing your daily amount by $100 each day for 30 days. The last day you will have $3,000 to spend in ONE DAY. It is harder than you think. You can purchase 1 item per day or multiple items, as long as you don’t go over your daily “deposit”. If you want to really stretch your creativity, add a ZERO – Day 1 $1,000, Day 2 $2,000, Day 3 $3,000 and so on, until you have $30,000 on your 30th day.
Abraham said “By playing this game, we begin reaching for new ideas and creating new vibrational set points from which to attract.” What you think about you attract.
Mark and I played this game earlier this year ($100 increments). I have manifested several items I “purchased” during the game. We also became much clearer about things we want in our lives, places we want to visit and charities we want to support.
You may discover you have blocks/limiting beliefs around money. That’s good! If you are having trouble, try these tools:
• Clear away your fears about money. Your past is not your present and your future can be whatever you believe you can have.
• Make peace with your current money situation. There is always something you can do to turn it around. There is a tool I can share to help you make more money.
• Refocus on the game. Remember – it’s a GAME…have fun!
If you are still having trouble, PM me.
Post in the comments your favorite purchase! Also, post when you manifest any of your purchases in real life.

Happy Fall, Happy October, Happy 4th Quarter!!
You may think visualization and manifesting techniques/concepts are too woo-woo for you. You may also think these concepts have NOTHING to do with business, especially your business. However, almost all strategic planning in business starts with visualization and includes steps for manifesting.
Over the next few months, I am going to elaborate on visualization and manifestation.
Come along for the ride with an open-mind and heart-centered viewpoint.

There are many ways to save money, whether you need to start living within your means, create a six-month emergency fund, you want to go on vacation or purchase a big ticket item. Here are a couple of tricks:
Do not spend your $5 bills. When you get a $5 bill in your change, set it aside in an envelope in your sock drawer (lol!). Check your wallet each time you come home for $5 bills. Do this for one month – see how much you saved by not spending your $5 bills. Start a savings account with your first month’s envelope treasure. Continue saving your $5 bills and deposit monthly into your savings account.
This last trick doesn’t work for the plastic king or queen. Here’s an alternative solution: Set up an auto-transfer from your main checking account to a savings account. The transfer should follow your pay schedule (ie. Weekly paycheck = weekly transfer, bi-weekly paycheck = transfer twice a month, etc.) The transfer amount can start as low as 1% - 5% of your take home pay. Ultimately, you want to increase your percentage to around 10%-15% or more if you can. Take baby steps to get there.
Start by looking at how you spend your money and you can find ways to save your money.
Email me to schedule a call to discuss how a bookkeeper can help.

Happy Gratitude Day!
The tradition originated in Hawaii in 1965. At an international gathering, the participants decided that it would be a good idea to have one day per year to formally express gratitude and appreciation for the many wonderful things to be found in the world.
Gratitude is a powerful tool you can use to change your mood, your view and your future.
Take the Gratitude Challenge!!
For 30 days, write down in your journal the following:
3 things you are grateful for today
3 things you wish for others
3 things you wish for yourself

I was given this challenge back in 2015 and it changed the trajectory of my entire life. I was in a bad place, down on myself and my situation. Not a happy person on the inside ~ perfectly fine to everyone on the outside, except my wonderful friend, Nan Spicer Eisen. She suggested this challenge and I am forever grateful.

"The power of gratitude is greater than any negative situation, and there are unlimited ways that the negative situation can change. All you have to do is practice gratitude and watch the magic take place!" ~ Rhonda Byrne

What are you most grateful for today, World Gratitude Day?

Track your spending for one month.
Where are you spending money frivolously? Do you need to stop for coffee every day or can you invest in a good travel mug, coffee maker, and your favorite coffee to make coffee at home? Thanks to an unexpected Christmas present, we really like the Contigo Stainless Steel Travel Mug.
Find ways to be more efficient with your money. Spend your money on experiences rather than conveniences. Are you eating out too much? Cook a special homemade dinner instead of ordering take-out. I make crab legs at home a few times a year. They’re much better than the restaurant and less expensive. We are able to make 4 dinners with 5 lb of snow crab legs, a bag of jumbo shrimp, and local corn on the cob. Voilá! Dinner is served for a fraction of what it would’ve cost in a restaurant.
An easy trick for “swipers” – Consider designating a separate checking account for incidental purchases and use its debit card. Alternatively, get a credit card with a low credit limit ($100-200). Only use that specific card for gas, entertainment, on-the-go food, etc. Replenish the funds in the checking account with your budgeted amount on a monthly basis or pay the credit card in full every month. If you don’t pay the credit card in full, you don’t have money for incidentals next month.
Pay attention to how you spend your money and you can find ways to lower your monthly expenses.
Find out how a bookkeeper can help with managing your monthly expenses. Email me to schedule a call today.

When should you hire a bookkeeper?
Ideally, you should hire a bookkeeper within the first few months of starting your business. Having a strong foundation from the start is the one of the keys to building a strong, long-lasting business. If you don’t have one now, you should hire one soon!

Hiring the right bookkeeper is crucial to getting the support you need for you and your business. There are many bookkeeping businesses out there. To find one, start by asking your Accountant, your business partners, other entrepreneurs or your customers for referrals.

Request at least the following information:
❖ How long have they been in business?
❖ Are they a solo-preneur or do they have a team?
❖ How many clients do they currently help?
❖ Do they work in person or remotely? If needed, can they do both?
❖ You may also have more specific questions pertaining to your type of business.

Review their website and social media.
Ask for references and follow up with them.
Ask your Accountant to meet with any prospective bookkeepers.

Rates may vary, so research the going rate for bookkeepers in your area or ask your accountant what they feel is a reasonable hourly rate for your business and Region/State/Country.

A bookkeeper is essential to the growth of your business. They become an integral part of your team and should support you in your path to success.

Is today the day you decide to finally hire a bookkeeper? Contact me to discover why “you need a dawn.”

Maintaining a good bookkeeping system is essential to the success of your small business. Unless your business is in accounting or bookkeeping, keeping financial records is probably NOT what you do best. A bookkeeper can lighten your workload. Hiring a bookkeeper allows you time to work IN your business rather than ON your business and more time to spend with your family and friends.

Here is what a bookkeeper will handle for you:
❖ Keep track of all your financial information accurately and timely. You'll never have to pull an all-nighter to get your books up to date before a deadline again!
❖ Organize your records so you can find what you need when you need it.
❖ Provide reconciled and organized information to your tax preparer/banker/insurance agent. This minimizes the time they have to sort through and review your financial data...saving you money!

You may be wondering, “I have an Accountant, why do I need a bookkeeper?” Bookkeepers and accountants work with the same financial information. Their jobs are complementary. Bookkeepers and accountants often collaborate to ensure your business finances are in good standing from every angle.

So, when should you hire a bookkeeper?
RIGHT NOW!!! Don’t procrastinate any longer! Contact me to discover why “you need a dawn.”