We recently had the chance to connect with Hannah Cole and have shared our conversation below.
Hannah, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned about your customers?
Every single person I talk to thinks that they are the one who’s behind on money stuff, and that everyone else knows it all.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Hannah Cole, a longtime professional artist (20 years) and branding/design nerd. I went back to school to study accounting because I was so mad at being treated like a dilettante by my dad’s accountant. Now, I’m a licensed tax expert who specializes in working with self-employed people, especially creative and mission-driven ones. I’m here to help people feel less alone, less scared, and more of the real capability they already have as creative people, because I know how resourceful and incredible creative people really are. My specialty is accessible tax and money education, through my Money Bootcamp program, tax workshops from Florida to Alaska, and on the Sunlight Tax podcast. My forthcoming book, Taxes for Humans: Simplify Your Taxes and Change the World When You’re Self-Employed, is the most funny and empowering tax guide you’ll ever read. I am the founder of Sunlight Tax.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I knew I wanted to be an artist since I first held a crayon.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
I’m a great teacher because I’ve screwed everything up. I’m not teaching tax literacy from a place of superiority, I’m teaching from a place of having been so confused, so dismissed, and so deeply in trouble. I’m not here to judge, I’m here to show people that if a screw-up like me can get organized and on top of taxes, that you can, too. And I also really care that know how much your creative work is important in this world.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
I want people who are passionate about their work–whether that is creative work, non-profit work, or a mission-oriented drive to help a specific community–thrive when it comes to money. I wrote a book on taxes (a really funny, practical and empowering one!), and I want to get it into schools, so the next generation doesn’t suffer the way that I have. I think taxes are civics, and it’s bananas that we don’t all get a tax education in school. I am working to change that.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
That creative people are doing some of the most important work of our time. Creative people are the empathy muscle of our culture, and they create change by making people see things they otherwise miss, feel things they otherwise don’t and build back the community connections that are fraying right now. Creative work is important. Creative people need money so they can keep doing their important work.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sunlighttax.com/
- Instagram: @sunlighttax
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/hannah-cole-3775561/?skipRedirect=true
- Youtube: @sunlighttax
Image Credits
Nicole McConville, for the 3 headshots.
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
