Feb 23, 2010

Dealing with Rejection


We've all been there (at least I hope I'm not the only one) - you know, getting the rejection letter in the mail? Whether it's a grantwe didn't get, a show we got turned down for or a group we wanted to join says no. As artists we have to have pretty thick skin, because this can happen a lot.

Right now it's show application time. And in a few weeks we'll be finding out if we got in or not. It's also grant app time for the Ontario Crafts Council. People always ask me what shows I'm applying for this year. Do you know the number one way I deal with the possible rejection of not getting in? (healthy or not) - I don't tell anyone I applied until I know I got in. It saves face at least.

Here are a few other things I do / tell myself to keep a smile on my face:

1. Find something way more fun to do that weekend - like go camping or to a spa.
2. Take it as a learning opportunity and scrutinize who did get in to see how I can learn from them.
3. Commisserate with others in the same boat (if I spilled the beans that is).
4. Tell myself - they just don't understand what I do :-)

Feb 6, 2010

HST explained

I've been asked a lot lately and it got brought up again at the Kingston Arts Council workshop on Thursday night how the HST will work. Here's the simple low-down on how you will have to deal with taxes in 6 months time.

Basically it will be just like GST and no PST for business owners. If you currently are required to register for GST (revenue of more than $30,000 in the year) than you will be required to collect and remit HST. If you currently aren't required to and haven't registered for GST you will not have to.

PST will no longer be. You will not have a vendors permit, therefore you will not be tax exempt when you purchase supplies for resale, the tax amount will just become part of the regular expense of the item. You will not collect PST from your customers and therefore you will not remit anything to the government. So for a lot of artists this means that our prices will go down a bit in the eye of the customer! Yeah.

Sorry for the somewhat boring post today - we'll get back to more fun later this week.