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 you...
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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 re...

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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....

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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 you...

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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....."...

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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 ...
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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.

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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.

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