lets-talk-business

PayPal & Uncle Sam On One Accord

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 03:02:18 +0100

Starting in 2011, all US payment providers including PayPal will be required by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to report sales information to the IRS about certain customers who receive payments for the sale of goods or services through PayPal. We want to help you understand these changes.

Applies to sellers receiving over $20,000 in gross payment volume AND over 200 payments
Applies only for sales on or after January 1, 2011

If this applies to you, make sure your earnings are recorded on your tax return.

The Secret Is In the Sauce

Sat, 02 Oct 2010 23:33:40 +0100

McDonald’s has a secret sauce that made their Big Mac and the company successful.

Burger King told you that “you can have it your way” every time to get you to buy their burgers.

Now that I have your attention, what is the “secret sauce” that will solve your customers’ problem(s) better than anyone else?

Now I know that these are examples of food industries, but that does not mean that you can’t have your own recipe for your “secret sauce”. If you are a former news reporter that has the inside scoop on getting free publicity, you hold the recipe for getting your clients great publicity with your experience and insight. By the same token, if you are a successful ghost writer, who has the perfect recipes to get you published and listed on Amazon before your book is off the press, you hold the recipe for the “secret sauce” that you serve your customers to get them published.

The thing that made all of the above national companies successful is that they determined what their “secret sauce” was, made sure that everyone knew about it through their marketing.

Find out what your secret sauce is, make it known, make it known, and make it known in your marketing plan.

Don't Gamble with 7-Eleven!

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 19:32:08 +0100

Don’t Gamble with 7-Eleven Rule!

Today I attended a workshop given by Fred Pryor Seminars on How to Deliver Exceptional Customer Service. Bruce Mow, our facilitator showed us one of the most eye-opening but, “I already knew that” moment was this:

In 7 seconds of contact, a customer forms 11 impressions about you and your organization….

1. Clean?

2. Attractive?

3. Credible?

4. Knowledgeable?

5. Responsive?

6. Friendly?

7. Helpful?

8. Understanding?

9. Courteous?

10. Confident?

11. Professional?

……and they make one of three decisions:

· Like Us

· Dislike Us

· Indifferent

As small business owners, it is a good idea to access your ways of contacting your customers.

If it is your website, workshop, meeting, or some type of printed material, all of these top 11 impressions are applicable.

Now is a good time to do your 7-Eleven check for your business or company you work for.

The ABC 's Of Credit For Business Loans

Sun, 26 Sep 2010 02:33:29 +0100

Banks look carefully at borrowers, especially in the tough financial times, before they lend money. What bankers look for can be summarized in the following, termed the "4 C's of Credit":

· Character
Character refers to the financial history of the borrower; that is, whet kind of "financial citizen" is this person or business? Character is most often determined by looking at the credit history, particularly as it is stated in the credit score (FICO score). Factors that will affect your credit score include:

· Late payments

· Delinquent accounts

· Available credit

· Total debt

The fewer the problems, the higher the credit score. A high personal credit score (over 700) may be the most important factor in getting a business loan.

· Capacity
Capacity refers to the ability of the business to generate revenues in order to pay back the loan. Since a new business has no "track record" of profits, it is riskiest for a bank to consider. If you are buying a business, capacity is easier to determine, and a business that can show a positive cash flow (where income exceeds expenses) for a sustained period of time has a good chance of getting a business loan.

· Capital
Capital refers to the capital assets of the business. Capital assets might include machinery and equipment for a manufacturing company, as well as product inventory, or store or restaurant fixtures. Banks consider capital, but with some hesitation, because if your business folds, they are left with assets that have depreciated and they must find someplace to sell these assets, at liquidation value. You can see why, to a bank, cash is the best asset.

· Collateral
Collateral is the cash and assets a business owner pledges to secure a loan. In addition to having good credit, a proven ability to make money, and business assets, banks will often require an owner to pledge his or her own personal assets as security for the loan. Banks require collateral because they want the business owner to suffer if the business fails. If an owner didn't have to put up any personal assets, he or she might just walk away from the business failure and let the bank take what it can from the assets. Having collateral at risk makes the business owner more likely to work to keep the business going, as banks reason it.

So before you go for funding make sure your ducks are in a row!

Home Office Deductions...Yes, Maybe, or No.

Sun, 19 Sep 2010 03:21:36 +0100

It seems that we have come full circle with the home office write-offs as an audit flag. When I started my business out of my home in 1995, the IRS did not view this as a normal business deduction. During the late 90's, Y2K, and as late as 2008, it was viewed as a common buisness deduction.

Well like everything else, the recent turn of events with our economy, things have changed! If you are planning to take advantage of a home office deduction on your taxes, keep this phrase in mind....."ordinary and necessary". Just because you write off expenses on your tax return, know that the IRS will take the ordinary and necessary stance.

For instance if your home based business reports $1,000 in sales, but want to write-off $5,000 worth of home office expenses, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, the expenses from operating your business out of your home, will not create a loss. It will only zero out any profit you may have. Second, this is where the "ordinary and necessary" will come into play. The IRS may question why you had to incur $5,000 of home office expenses to produce $1,000 in sales. If IRS feels the expenses are not necessary, they will not only disallow the deduction, but you will be responsible for any late fines and penalties for the error.

The other things to keep in mind are a couple of test questions for the home office write-offs:

Exclusivity - no other activities are to be conducted in this area but business. Yes, this means no personal activity!

This also means that you have no other fixed location to conduct your buisness, so if you have a professional office or store front, you will not be able to deduct your home office.

Regularity - the home office must be used on a regular basis. While this does not mean business has to be conducted every day, seasonal or occassional use of the area will disqualify your deduction.
Recordkeeping - you must keep records of all deductible activity on your tax returns. You must have originals or copies of bills, invoices, or statements. Bank statements alone will not be sufficient. To make this most important easy, The Profit Tracker can help you track your sales, expenses, and inventory in one simple place.

Do You Really Need More Customers?

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 22:34:37 +0100

This is one of the most popular issues I face with my business clients. "I need more customers, so that I can make more money!" My first questionto them is always, are you making money on your existing customers? One of my former clients had a local eatery with this very issue. Under much duress, we did a cost analysis on one of her menu items. By the time we figured her cost on ingredients only, she was losing $.75 per order. We had not tracked the cost of labor, cooking, etc.! So did she really need more customers? Absolutely not, if she were to have more customers at this point, it would only increase her business loss.

So the next time you feel you need more customers, make sure know that you current sales base is profitable. KNOW YOUR COST!

What's In A Name

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 21:03:13 +0100

When you are trying to decide what to name your business, remember these key points:

Should reflect your business offerings
Allow room to grow
Should not be offensive

If your business name does not take any of these into consideration, make sure that you allow time and money to invest in the branding of your business name.

Is Your Profit Being Eaten Up By Tax Late Fines & Penalties?

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 20:45:21 +0100

I just finished the second busiest tax season of the year. It surprises me that tax filers think that by filing an extension, they will not incur late fines and penalties. REMEMBER, an extension is a promise to file later, but does not give you a free pass on paying your taxes in the year they were incurred.