Onstartups.com Brings Value to Your New Business

GUEST BLOG by Sheryl Hunter, Hunter Law Tampa Bay
www.hunterlawtampabay.com

One of my favorite internet websites is www.onstartups.com. While its focus is on technology start-ups, the content is of value to every kind of start-up. Go there for advice, solace from other start-up founders, and for pure educational entertainment. And here’s a link to a list of top start-up blogs on the web: http://topblogs.onstartups.com/

Every Business Owner Gets The Blues!

Do you remember how you felt when you first decided to open your own business? What an incredibly feeling of excitement! Did you keep a notepad at your bedside for those nights when you wake with a great idea or drive down the road trying to find a pen and something to write on? What about your energy? You start with so much energy, passion and drive in the early days.  You could hardly wait to start each new day. And then… the routine of day to day operations starts to linger and chip away at your excitement. This is NORMAL... for everyone! However, it’s how quickly you respond and what steps you take that matter most! 

Unfortunately, motivation is tricky and not always easy to sustain. And, on top of that, the influx of new customers (or an unhappy customer) can be erratic. You can forget that there are times when you forget that there is a natural ebb and flow in all businesses. It’s easy to become anxious and discouraged. Even if you have a steady flow of customers, routine begins to set in, and you may feel that you have lost your edge.

If you are currently in a “slump,” be reassured that there are ways to re-energize yourself. Below we have identified some suggestions, but we’d also like to hear how overcame this temporary state of slumpiness (my word)! 

STAY MOTIVATED AND STAND OUT!

• Set specific goals that are achievable and can be tracked. For instance, as you create your long-term goals to direct the growth of your business, also set short-term goals to keep you moving forward. Write them down and revise them periodically if necessary. Staying on track gives you a feeling of accomplishment. It may not be the initial excitement like you felt at the beginning, but at least you know that you are not stagnating. And it does not hurt to enjoy rewards along the way. It can be as simple as having lunch with a special friend after meeting a goal or taking the afternoon off to go fishing!
• Routinely network with other small business owners. Sharing ideas can help freshen business approaches and help you feel more confident in the path that you are taking. Don’t forget to attend social networking events for small business owners as well. A little fun can go a long way to minimize the effects of a temporary lag in motivation.
• Take breaks during the day. If you are a type-A personality, you might work from sun-up to sun-down during a slump, not realizing that you are draining your own energy. Get some fresh air. If you don’t your days repeat themselves where you feel like Bill Murray in the movie “Groundhog Day.” (Great movie!) Take a walk or ride a bike for 30 minutes… even if you have to set a “reminder” on your list of daily tasks to give yourself permission to EAT, at least!  I can’t say enough about building leisure-time into your day. Some of my best inspirations come when I’m taking a long walk by myself…I call it “meditation in motion.”
• Remember what you love about your business… what was your original inspiration? Think about all the benefits that go along with small business ownership. If you are independent by nature and you once worked for a highly structured company, you can probably remember the thrill of breaking away from some of the bureaucracy and constraints that often go hand in hand with large businesses. Do you remember those early feelings of freedom? How about the time gained from eliminating commuting to and from your job in traffic?... Priceless!
• Be conscious of the difference between personal habits that create success and those sneaky habits that can sabotage success. For instance, stay organized and don’t procrastinate. Procrastination is a slippery slope and can lead toward an eventual feeling of incompetence. However, being organized doesn’t mean to never shake things up. Periodically take a fresh look at your standard processes to see if you can infuse new ways of thinking and approaches. Rely on trusted allies to offer new ideas and perspectives.
• Get inspired! Think about offering a temporary “added-value” to your best customers for no cost as a thank-you for their business. It’s a nice customer service gesture, and your customers may find that they want to pay for it as a continued feature.  A grateful client who values your work and verbally praises your efforts can be a big boost to both your self-esteem and your level of motivation.
• Consider mentoring someone who is just starting out as a small business owner. Sometimes focusing on someone else’s business helps you look at your own business in a fresh way. It’s also a great way to connect to peers in a very positive way.
• Attend seminars that help support and encourage business owners, read or listen to motivational CDs (The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey is a great one!).
• Journal your feelings, both positive and negative. The simple act of writing down how you feel and seeing the words in black and white is immensely powerful.
• One last tip we recently learned is to start the year off with a jar of thanks. Place a small note of any accomplishment or kind words that made you happy in the jar and at the end of the year read them all. It can be as big as a new business venture or as small as seeing a rainbow in the sky that made you smile.

These are just some ideas, but if you have other ideas that have worked for you, please share them!! We would love to learn about your experiences…and other readers will as well!

Get on the right TAX Track for 2013

2012 IS OVER and many small businesses are still smell the fumes as they scurry to collect and organize their records in preparation for tax filing. You’re one of the lucky ones if you have maintained accurate records and tracked expenses all year long for a smooth 2012 filing!  If not, today you can begin anew by implementing procedures and practices to avoid this pain for 2013. While it may be too late for 2012, you can better plan NOW for 2013.

The IRS recently announced that in 2013 it intends to increase the number of audits conducted on small businesses in order to help close the $450 billion tax gap. So, keep that in mind when reviewing those questionable expenses that you think may cause doubt and critique. No need to bring Uncle Sam’s posse into a fray!  Understand the deductions to find out which ones you can qualify for or ask a tax professional for help (my preference and recommendation)!!

Small Businesses Audits Expected to Increase in 2013

• The IRS intends to focus on small businesses that claim a total income of $1 million or more and will closely scrutinize noncompliance issues associated with international business transactions.
• Small businesses that they have 25 or fewer employees and if their employees earn an average of $50K or less will be able to qualify for a tax credit. There is also a “qualifier” related to the portion of healthcare costs paid.
• Small business owners who work from a home office will use a simple formula for 2013 tax returns. You will be able to write off $5 per square foot of home office space (up to 300 square feet and with a maximum deduction of $1,500). No more 43-line form to figure out this deductible. Yay!
• The IRS will examine how small business owners classify the people who work for them. If you use independent contractors, you are not required to pay Medicare or Social Security taxes, healthcare or retirement benefits. Be careful! The IRS will be looking for those businesses that are not accurately classifying their staff in the attempt to reduce their taxes or avoid taxes by misrepresenting fringe benefits that they offer their employees.

Some Deductions That You Don’t Want to Overlook

---If you use your car for business, you can deduct some of the costs to maintain it. There are two ways to claim vehicle expenses.

• actual expense method - you need to keep accurate records of your actual business-related expenses connected with maintaining your vehicle.
• standard mileage rate method, you may deduct the standard mileage rate per business mile driven (2013 standard mileage rate increases to 56.5 cents per mile).

---If you are in the process of launching your business, you can write off up to $5,000 in startup costs and another $5,000 in “organizational spending” during the first year that your business is launched if you have less than $50,000 in expenses for either category.

---Books that you purchase to help you conduct business without the services of legal or tax professionals are fully deductible. Alternatively, services from lawyers, tax experts or other consultants are deductible.

---If you entertain current or potential customers, you may deduct 50% of what you spend as long as it is related to your business.

---If someone doesn’t pay you for a product he or she has purchased from you, the cost of product is deductible. However, if you provide a service and your client doesn’t pay, you can’t deduct the value of the time you spent on the client. Ouch!

---If you take out a personal loan for business purposes or use credit for business purchases, the interest and carrying costs are fully deductible.

---If you must move because of your business (or job), some of the moving costs may be deductible. However, the new workplace must be at least 50 miles away.

---If your business is an LLC or partnership, your business can make a charitable contribution, and you are allowed to claim it on your individual tax return. If your business is a corporation, your corporation deducts the contributions.

Best Practices

• The best way to prepare for your taxes is to meticulously track your expenses and income all year long. To minimize the risk of an audit, use a professional tax software (like TurboTax, TaxCut, H & R Block) as a tracking tool and save all related documentation (receipts, mileage logs and repair tickets).
• Consult with a qualified tax professional, especially complex returns!
• Maintain your business records separate from your personal records.
• File your returns on time.

Resources

• IRS Small Business section: http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Small-Business-and-Self-Employed-Tax-Center-1
• Virtual workshop hosted by the IRS (to help small business owners navigate some of the complexities of filing taxes) http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Small-Business-Self-Employed-Virtual-Small-Business-Tax-Workshop

Taxes are inevitable, and they can be a headache if you don’t take the time to track all expenses related to your business practices. If you feel that filing taxes is becoming too complicated for you, don’t hesitate to hire a professional to help you prepare them!! It’s well worth the investment to ensure that you are taking advantage of all tax benefits currently afforded to small businesses!

Partnerships

As the owner or manager of a small or medium-sized small business, you may sometimes feel as if you are working in isolation. The market seems increasingly competitive; money is tight; and your days are busy. It’s hard to set aside time to network, much less develop strategic alliances with other businesses. However, business alliances have been proven to strengthen companies and lead to their growth. Many companies are using this strategy to access a larger slice of their target market and also provide their customers with a wider range of complementary resources.

Whether you call it a partnership, an alliance or collaboration, this kind of arrangement can be described as a mutual agreement where participants work together to advance their common interests. Instead of spending time trying to beat their competition, business owners are embracing a more visionary approach that assumes that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” It is a great strategy that combines the resources, talents, ideas and goals of more than one business in a plan for mutual success.  If you are a small business, it is well worth taking the time to explore this strategic path.

A partnership can be a formal or informal arrangement depending on the participants and their level of mutual trust. Formal partnerships have agreements that are enforceable by civil law and usually require a signed “Articles of Partnership.” These partnerships may even involve multiple ownerships with different lines of authority and roles. Informal arrangements may simply involve a memorandum of understanding between the parties. These informal, collaborative partnerships generally provide complementary services or products in order to reach out to and service more customers and are especially popular among small businesses. 
For instance, a small company that publishes books may establish a collaborative arrangement with a marketing company and an illustrator. Rather than hiring a marketing expert and an artist to his or her staff, the publisher uses these partners to increase the quality and range of services for his customers and also have increased access to potential customers.

There are also “competitive” business collaborations where two companies offering similar products or services agree not to establish a presence in locations where their partner is already present. Whether it is formal or informal, collaborative or competive, partnerships offer the opportunity to operate on a higher level than each company can do on its own. If you are considering a business collaboration or partnership, there are five important points to keep in mind.

---Make sure that all parties have a common understanding of the objective and vision so that expectations are clear and everyone has a specific role. Write everything down. Develop a simple and clear contract or memorandum of understanding. No question should be left unaddressed. 
---Once you are in a partnership, remember that collaborative thinking is the key to success. You are no longer thinking and planning in isolation. Make room in your mind for new approaches and new ways of conducting business. Embrace change. Keep the collaborative vision a daily focus. 
---Communicate freely and often with your partners. Be open and flexible. Establish a trusting relationship. Remember that each partner has different skills to bring to the table that should be utilized and celebrated.
---Find a partner that you genuinely like as a person. You will find that there is a lot of positive energy that comes from working with someone you like. Nurture this energy! And don’t forget to have fun!
---Attend conferences; join associations; be an active member in your community. The wider your network, the more likely it will be that you will find other small businesses that will be the perfect complement to yours.

Unfortunately, not all collaborative efforts are successful. In some cases, collaborations are started with the best intentions, but will fizzle out. Each partner needs to contribute something substantial that benefits the partnership. If one partner does not do his or her share or does not live up to expectations, the relationship will become dysfunctional, productivity will be compromised, and the collaboration will not be sustainable. This is why it is so important to work with someone who shares your personal values and work ethic. As awkward as it may feel, never hesitate to dissolve a collaboration that is not living up to the shared vision.

In the end, whether it is in a depressed or thriving economy, creating and leveraging relationships is a critical element in business growth.

"Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success."
            -Henry Ford

Why is it important to use a bookkeeper?

Hello friends! 

More and more business owners are looking for ways to lower their overhead costs and work more efficiently. Outsourcing back office operations, like bookkeeping, is one of the ways to operate smarter by cutting back on these expenses. So, what are some of the common tasks performed by a bookkeeper?

• Accounts payable
• Accounts receivable
• Account reconciliation
• Budgeting
• Payroll

… plus many more functions! A bookkeeper can help to identify and eliminate unnecessary spending, prevent cash flow challenges and help you stick to a budget so there are no unexpected surprises. Even if you are able to manage your books, hiring a third party to consistently handle, review and offer recommendations frees you up to focus on business development efforts! 

Here are five reasons why consider The Busy Buddy over temp agency, intern or employee? (1) We care about your success - if you succeed, we succeed; (2) Little to no overhead; (3) Our services are green. Our virtual services provide secure transmission of client documents which helps to reduce paper usage; (4) One of the greatest benefits is that our services are as-needed so there's no long term contract; (5) When you hire us, there is no revolving door of temporary help.

Let's discuss how we can manage your bookkeeping needs! The Busy Buddy is an on-site and virtual business support services business located in the Tampa Bay, FL area. Our experienced and friendly support team can help! We help busy people manage their tasks! When time is precious, we help you work smarter. We are a licensed, insured and bonded small business that proudly supports clients locally and nationwide with our virtual services! 

The Busy Buddy

Local 813-994-7332

Toll-free 888-571-9806

www.TheBusyBuddy.com

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Hooray! We're CERTIFIED!

It’s official!  The Busy Buddy has been certified as a Small Business Enterprise with the City of Tampa! This certification makes our small business eligible to assist participants and events surrounding the upcoming 2012 Republican National Convention (RNC) being held in Tampa, Florida from August 27- 30th.   Not only are we able to support local commercial and government entities, but we can also provide virtual (remote) business support services that will continue our partnerships well beyond the convention!

The Busy Buddy is excited to be a part of this incredible experience and we look forward to assisting local businesses and visiting delegates, media and tourists!

For more information about how we can help you, please visit our website (www.TheBusyBuddy.com) to learn about our business support services! You may also contact us at (888-571-9806) or email us at info [@] thebusybuddy.com.  We appreciate your small business support!