Dear Ellen, My friend has a business plan that "passed muster" with her bank and she got a loan. How about if I just take her plan and customize it for my business? Sounds like a good short cut. What do you think? Sincerely, Vera Dear Vera, I like and don't like that idea. While [...]
Budgeting. UGH. I call it the "B Word" because so many people are resistant to the word BUDGETING. Nobody wants to Budget, right? Budgeting is all about deprivation and doing without. It's like...gulp...dieting. Budgeting doesn't have to be a soul-sucking, frustrating experience. The way I teach it is fun, easy and powerful. From Main Street [...]
“What’s the point of setting financial goals? I have no idea what will happen each day for sales. Unexpected expenses crop up all the time, too. If it’s just a ‘guess,’ then why bother?” That’s what one of my clients just shared with me. I appreciate his candor and [...]
Note: I am blogging on behalf of Visa Business and received compensation for my time from Visa for sharing my views in this post, but the views expressed here are solely mine, not Visa’s. Visit http://facebook.com/visasmallbiz to take a look at the reinvented Facebook Page: Well Sourced by Visa Business. The Page serves as a [...]
“I would willingly stand at street corners, hat in hand, begging passersby to drop their unused minutes into it." ~Bernard Berenson Our most precious commodity is time. You can always make more money. You only have so much time. In order to be successful in business, you must account for your time: the time you spend [...]
It’s one thing to tell your customers how great you are. It’s a much bigger, better thing to have respected community influencers tell your customers how great you are. It’s the thing that can ramp up your marketing to create immediate, measurable results. Here’s how… Make a list of 10 VIPs…Very Influential People…in your community. [...]
Me, “I’d like to buy this thing.” You, “Oh, I’m sorry. We don’t take credit cards.” Me, “Why not?” You, “Well, the credit card company adds 3% to every purchase.” Me, “Dang.” Bottom line: If you don’t take a credit card, or debit card, I am not going to buy from you. I haven’t carried [...]
Imagine…you discover the certified letter in your mailbox from the IRS, announcing you have been selected for an audit. No worries! Once upon a time, I made a “Slinky-knot” mess out of my QuickBooks™ file. Fear of an audit – and a growing pile of unpaid bills – encouraged me to get it sorted out. [...]
Business is pretty easy. I wish we taught accounting and finance basics in sixth grade. Alas, I didn’t even learn how to balance a checkbook during my high priced stint at a private college for a Business Administration degree. However, once I learned business basics – stumbling through our family business and with the help of great [...]
I’ve spent a lot of time over the last 20 years helping people clean up financial messes. The messy mess (the smelly smell for Sponge Bob fans) is payroll. Payroll entries are complicated. There is the expense to you and the cash requirements and the amount you withhold, then submit, for payroll taxes for you and [...]
