Accounting and tax, your new melody.

If you think tax is boring you are not alone, but understanding taxes is very cool, don’t you think? Let’s dance to the rhythm of tax-saving wisdom together.

My client asked me to hold a “Seminar for Newbie Freelancers.” I am not a tax accountant, but as a freelancer for 17 years, it would be to my advantage to speak from a mixture of experience and knowledge.

With the help of ChatGPT, I created a three-hour agenda for a seminar on the financial knowledge freelancers should possess. Based on that, I gathered the necessary information from the Internet and YouTube and compiled a 60-page guidebook on the tax knowledge essential for freelancers.

With the knowledge compiled into a single guidebook, I decided to freely discuss my 17-year journey dealing with money. When I first started out as a freelancer, my focus was solely on increasing sales, and it wasn’t until recently that I came to understand taxes and deductions. Therefore, I now know exactly what I wish I had known before becoming independent. My approach was to first share my experiences and provide a holistic image. Then, I proceeded to discuss financial knowledge.

At the beginning of the seminar, I checked how much knowledge the participants had. What percentage is income tax? How is tax determined? How much do you pay for social insurance? When I threw out these questions, none of them were able to answer. It was a moment when my presentation skills were tested — to see how much these participants, with their current understanding, could change in three hours. The following are some actual feedback.

★1

Thank you very much for your valuable talk. I was surprised at how much knowledge I could gain just by listening to Hitomi’s story about how she became a freelancer and how she managed her business. For me, building a business is just the beginning, but I think it was great to go from not being able to see it at all to being able to have a vague idea of what it is like.

★2

Thank you very much for your talk today. Your talk, combined with your experience, made me think that money and taxes, which are somewhat difficult to understand, sounded like something I would enjoy. Just like when I am a student and I dislike the subject or the teacher I dislike, I felt that whom from and how is important to learning about money. This time, I was able to solve the longstanding mystery of “expenses,” and I was able to broaden my perspective on how to circulate money and how to contribute to society. I feel that I will be able to come up with many ideas. I immediately purchased a document file. I would like to record the receipt and the cost of today’s seminar as opening expenses.

★3

There are many youtube videos and books on money, but tracing the paths taken by our predecessors around the theme of “money” was very useful for me to imagine the paths I will take in the future. You also generously shared some of the points that were stumbling blocks and points to be aware of. The three-hour lecture seemed to fly by, as I was both braced for and looking forward to what I would experience in the future. The small size of the group and the proximity to each other allowed me to ask questions and talk with everyone, and I was able to quickly find out what I wanted to know.

And at the end I realized something. I had been vague about keeping track of my business expenses and sales, so I didn’t realize how much I was contributing to society. This led to a lack of confidence and a lack of professionalism. I realized that I could be more OK with myself if I had proper control and grasp of the situation. This realization may have been the most fortunate thing for me this time. I look forward to doing my tax return together next year with the people I learned with! Thank you very much!

★★★★★

It seems the participants’ understanding and perception of money have changed completely. If their worries about taxes have been alleviated even a little, and they now have more room to focus on their business, that is more than I could ask for. I hope they can use their earnings from the business, based on the correct tax knowledge, to pay the appropriate taxes to contribute to the country and to save taxes, and circulate it to self-investment for their future selves. I hope this journey will be fantastic for them and for all the people they interact with.

To wrap things up, I’d like to share a poem made by ChatGPT, titled “The Song of the Freelancer.”

Shed your suit, embrace the new,

Leap towards the dawn, the morrow you pursue.

Swim through the sea of paper files,

Run through the forest of numbers,

Accounting and tax, your new melody.

Like a bird soaring in the sky of freedom,

Dance to the rhythm of tax-saving wisdom.

Choosing your path, that’s the freelancer’s tale,

An adventure unique to you, a journey without fail.

Sure, it might be scary,

But the challenge is worthy.

Knowledge is your light, experience your story.

The art of tax saving, your melody,

The rhythm of accounting, your harmony.

From a salaryman to a freelancer,

To you, charting a new course,

Sing your own song, be the source.

Even in the face of difficulties, relentless,

Keep on walking, it’s your song, it’s your essence.

Now, play a new melody,

Ride on the winds of liberty,

Let your song resound globally.

ChatGPT