Business Recycling

This is definitely out of my range of normal writing, but it has been on my mind a lot lately so I wanted to get it off!  Why do more businesses not offer recycling bins? 

Maybe it is because I am in the Midwest, maybe it is because the pickup service is not offered to businesses, or maybe it is because businesses just don’t want to implement a program.  Whatever the excuse, I believe it is worth adding, even if that means that the businesses have to push their disposal vendors to add that service, or if they have to buy new bins and train employees.  I believe it is worth it, and that customers would probably be happier about shopping at those businesses. 

I personally hate to see the waste and actually stop to decide if I can manage to get the trash home for recycling.  It would be a lot better if I could just recycle right then and there.  Whole Foods has a great program for recycling and more business should learn from them!

If we can do it at home why can more businesses not do it?  If you own a business, PLEASE consider adding recycling.

Too Long and What is your Niche

Sorry, it has been too long since I have blogged.  After vacation I did not quite jump right back into things!  Instead I took the time to work on my marketing plan since I had not updated it in a while.  It is always amazing to me the revelations that come about from going through the planning process.  Especially when you pay attention to the feelings that come about because of the planning.  Our feelings really are a hidden gem to the answers that we are looking for. 

What answers have I been looking for?  Mainly niche!  It is an easy concept to learn, but a very hard one to actually apply to your business.  Many of us solopraneuers/small business owners get caught in the but then I won’t make any money or I can work with all types trap!  Our emotions of fear take over the logical picking a niche, I see it time and time again with my clients!  Niching actually makes marketing easier as we can be more specific in who/what we are targeting and reduces the money spent on advertising to a generic community. 

So how do you move beyond the fear?  With my clients the number one thing I recommend they do is to experiment.  Try different elevator speeches based on different niches versus a generic approach.  See how the person listening to you reacts.  Does one feel better to you?  Are you more drawn to one of the conversations you have in follow up?  Another suggestion that I make is to pay attention to what customers you get the most excited about.  This can be a clue to what you should focus on for your business.  It really will help to narrow your market! 

So what did I figure out?  That my first instincts were right, that I want to help those that are trying to figure out the right path in life!  Especially those that are executives, new mothers, and/or start-up businesses!  And that through this process I typically end up covering all my other considerations – finances, life purpose and new businesses!

Afraid of the Risks of leaving your job?

Is taking the risk of leaving your job worth the chance to live your dream life?  YES, if you are prepared with a plan.  Leaving your job because you are burnt-out may solve an immediate issue of joy in your daily life, but when this is done without a detailed plan then your risk dramatically increases and your issues become greater.  When you leave with a plan you have already calculated your risks, assessed what to do to avoid them and made arrangements for what happens when they do occur. 

Risk is only relative to how much or little you planned and researched your next move.  If you jump into your own consulting business but have not done any form of business planning it makes it much harder for you to succeed.  Kind of like running around like a chicken with its head cut off!  Besides for planning your new business or career move you also need to plan your own personal finances and life situations.  Ignoring issues such as cash flow, insurance and day care makes it harder for your next step to be successful.   Why?  Because you are stressed and thus less productive.  So what do you need to do?  Make plans to prepare yourself, these include the following steps:

·         Plan and evaluate your family finances – if you can only make it two weeks without a job then that was a risky move.  Wouldn’t you rather discover that before you left your job?

·         Develop a business plan or life action plan – Even if you don’t know exactly what you are going to do if you have a plan of action to decide how you are going to decide then your days will be productive and not wasted time.

·         Discuss what factors would make you change direction and move back to a paid job – this is for those of you planning on jumping into your own business.  Decide where your end point is, give yourself a deadline. 

Once you have made adequate plans, jump!  You only have one life to live out your dreams and passions.  Make it a good one!

Live a Life of Passion

Many of my clients choose their next step in life based on where they believe the money is which would ultimately lead them to happiness. Please don’t do this, because if you pick a passion and build it into your next step the money will flow and happiness will be built in automatically. This does not mean if you love to play piano that you can hang up a sign and people will come walking in. You still need to plan accordingly to either turn it into a viable business or find an employer that will fit with your personality and needs. What it does mean is that as those people eventually come in, they will sense your passion and love and will become customers for life.

So how do you pick out this passion and turn it into your next step in life?

First you need to pick which of your passions you really want to grow into a career or lifestyle. Not all of your interests will make for a good business so you need to evaluate what you want to spend your time on and what will work in a business. I frequently ask my clients this question “If you could talk about one thing everyday what would it be?” I love reading about health and fitness, but I think after a week of talking about it I would need a week off! On the other hand talking about creating an ideal life and achieving it I see no reason to ever stop talking about!

As you are discovering where your passions can lead you consider these tips.

• If you need to make a list of all your interest so you can go through and eliminate them one by one go for it! Also, don’t be afraid to combine two of your passions. A great book to help you with this is “What color is your Parachute”. Get all into it and do the full flower exercise, no matter how cheesy you feel! (Get the workbook it makes it easier)

• Just because you are good at it does not mean you should create a business around it. This one is hard because we gravitate to what we know – that does not make for a passion based business. I was a great bookkeeper that did not make me happy doing it! Avoid the easy road of turning your current job into a business or slightly altering your position. It is easy to say if you switch from non-profit to for-profit you will be happy, you might be but really analyze what you dislike about where you are now and how that would or would not change.

Once you have narrowed it down to one or two the next step is to build a business or find a career around the interests. This part can be time consuming and it just may take some brain storming around it. Give yourself plenty of time and space to figure out what the right move is. Ask yourself these questions:

1. What can I do to make money with this? Would I pay for this?

2. Do I need training to do this?

3. If someone else is doing it is their still room in the market or is it saturated? Can I do it for them instead of working for myself?

4. Are the start-up costs reasonable for me?

5. Can I imagine spending my time on this for many years in the future? Really take the time to envision yourself 10 years down the road doing this.

Finally, once you have selected a business it is time to start building a business plan or begin your career search and chasing your life’s passions! Your soul will thank you!

Liquidity is King

Over the years my financial focus has shifted as I have continued my money education.  I grab on to a phase and make that the it thing for the time.  Everything from real estate is king, to invest early and often to debt free living is the way to go!  Usually when I depart a phase that information does not go away, it just gets incorporated into what I know and my emphasis moves on!  The older I become and the more I learn about personal finance the more I realize that no matter what financial approach you are going to take the number one most important principal is liquidity.

What is liquidity?  Liquidity is how quickly you can get your hands on your money for immediate needs.  Checking accounts are highly liquid; the value of your business is not liquid.    I also add the requirement that the liquidity is present without a penalty being imposed for liquidating.  This would be the case with retirement accounts, CD’s and some other investments.  You may have a million in a money market account, but if it is under the umbrella of an IRA and will cost you a penalty to the IRS to get at it, then I do not consider that liquid.  Debt is also not liquidity, because ultimately debt will decrease your future liquidity by creating payments and extra expenses in the form of interest.  We are talking about cold hearted cash that you can get your hands on is liquidity. 

Why do you want to be liquid?  Liquidity gives you flexibility which allows you to create independence and freedom.  How?  Imagine all the times that having money available would have allowed you the ability to move on an opportunity that has been presented.  For example during a recession your competitor is about to go under and you can step in and buy them or their equipment.  You start a new business and because you have cash you can take longer to build your base and find the right customers versus operating in panic mode and going back to make adjustments latter.  You at the last minute are offered a vacation spot with your friends because of a cancellation and you have the cash to do it and enjoy it! 

Outside of winning the lottery and sticking all that money in savings how do you create liquidity?  There are three basics to follow: live on less than you make, diversify your types of assets and learn to say no to good opportunities.

The first step is to live on less than you make.  This is one of those things that you hear over and over but rarely actually listen to the advice and take steps to follow through.  Please take the time to stop right now and process this statement in your head.  It will help you with more than just financial liquidity.  It reduces stress, creates money for investing and allows you to take full control of your financial destiny.  Sit down and do a budget and start focusing on eliminating expenses or creating income until you are spending less than you bring in.  Then begin to put that extra money into liquid accounts for you to access when needed.  This concept should apply to you and your business.  If you don’t do this on the business side you are not making a profit, and at that point you might as go work for someone else!

The second step is to diversify your assets.  What I mean by this is don’t put all your money in retirement accounts, or real estate or even just a savings account.  Your money needs to be divided among different assets with varying degrees of liquidity.  This is beneficial because it not only creates a place for liquid savings, but encourages you to put away in non-liquid investments such as retirement thus creating more permanent long term wealth at the same time you create liquidity.  If the perfect real estate deal comes along you don’t want to have all your money in retirement.  If your goal is to save 15% of your income, break that 15% down to 10% retirement accounts, and 5% non retirement investments.

The third thing to do is learn to say no!  Just because you come across a fantastic deal does not mean it is a fantastic deal for you as your situation stands today.  This is a really hard one to put into practice because we all tend to want to get a great deal and then brag about it!   However if that great real estate deal that you get to brag about is going to jeopardize your liquidity and wealth then it is not worth doing.  Why, because life is unpredictable.   You may believe you can make the extra payments for a year and then you will get a raise, land a new client or sell your old place and then all will be back to the right balance. What if that is not true?  You cannot guarantee that a future event will happen today.  Basing current decisions on what might happen tomorrow is not a good way to make good financial moves.  Only seize opportunities if it is completely right for you today, based on today’s situation.  Say no with the confidence that it will put you further ahead and when YOUR right deal comes along it will be even better and easier to enjoy.

Freedom comes from having choices, allowing yourself liquidity creates choices.  Don’t box yourself in a corner, give yourself freedom.  It is easy by living on less than you make, allocating your assets across many areas, and learning when to say no!  You can do this and reap the rewards of good financial choices!

Do feelings have a place in business?

Do your feeling have a place in your business?  Is intuition a must or should all the touchy feely be left for our personal lives?  At one time I would have said leave your feelings at home and get to work, but over the years of running my own business I have realized if you don’t take your emotions into account then your business grows slower than it could.  While at the same time you must manage your emotions to truly thrive. 

Many times my clients appeared to be doing everything completely right and their business still was not growing.  Why?  One reason is that they had an emotional block that was not letting them realize their true potential.  So how do you release your emotional blocks and listen to your inner wisdom?  I recommend three steps – not to be followed in any specific order, or used only once.

First, be very aware of your mood.  I am talking about noticing very small (or sometimes not so small) shifts in how you feel.  When I was trying to decide whether or not to close my event planning business I really focused on my logical decision making process.  I continually reviewed aspects such as “I am established, I have a good client load, and my marketing is in place”.  What I was ignoring was that after the birth of my son the passion for fabulous over the top weddings was gone.  I still love them, but my desire to be immersed in the dissipated.  How did I finally feel this?  I walked into my office day after day and my mood changed.  I could be walking on clouds and take one step in my office and immediately feel like the world was riding on my shoulders.  I was heavy.  Finally one day it dawned on me; this is not right and I just stopped taking clients.  Pay attention to how your mood changes when you are working on different projects?  Notice it and try and focus on what your emotions are telling you.

Second, take time for quiet reflection that focuses on your business.  When we think about taking time for reflection many of us jump immediately to reviewing our personal lives.  This is wonderful but we also need dedicated quiet time to think about our business.  If you don’t slow down and review what is going on you will keep spinning your wheels.  I am not talking about quiet time to review your books and marketing plan but time to just sit and think.  For one week try spending 15 minutes a day, preferably before you start work, just listening to what your business is saying to you.  You will be amazed at the level of calm and direction you receive.  Don’t let your to do list run through your head, instead focus on creating a calm.  Try staring at a fountain, nature or even a wall.  Listen to your business and your intuition.

The final step is to remove your feelings from the business.  But I thought this was about adding feelings?  It is but sometimes we need to pull our feelings out and put other people’s emotions in, to see how our emotions are affecting business.  One of my clients was having an issue with a business partner; she received an email from the partner that immediately made her feel like someone had shattered her window.  You may be thinking this was a mean nasty email, which is what I thought, until I had her read it to me.  The business partner had been on vacation and had emailed that she missed my client.  That was all, nothing more to the email.  I told my client to imagine someone was reading the email who had no familiarity with the issue or either person.  What would they think?  How would they feel?  By looking at how another would react emotionally to the same situation she was able see clearly how her emotions were controlling the way she ran the business.

Your emotions and feeling are one of your most powerful tools to run your business.  Let them be heard while affectively managing them and you and your business will thrive.

Stimulus summary for small business

A quick summary for those of us too busy to know all of the ins and outs of the stimulus!  The benefits to small business owners all had to do with taxes!  I put the different provisions into four categories: Reorganizing of the business, expensing/income timing, estimated tax payments and hiring incentives. 

First is the reorganizing of the business.  There are two provisions that dictate when and how you are taxed if you sell small business stock and the taxation of your business if you convert it to an S corporation.  If you either sell or convert your company to an S corporation during 2009 or 2010 you may be eligible for reduced taxes on the gains.  Check in with your CPA if you are considering selling or reorganizing your business, this year might be the year to do that!

The second issue has to do with the timing of certain expenses and income.  Two provisions have to do with the purchasing of items that are eligible for depreciation.  One allows you to deduct the full cost of some item up to $250,000 and the other allows you to take extra depreciation the first year you buy it.  If you are considering making a major equipment purchase during the year talk to your CPA to see if it qualifies for either type of accelerated expensing, it may help you make the decision between buying it this year or next! Another provision allows you to carry back net operating losses over five years instead of 2 years.  You will want to talk to your CPA to determine what the best course of action is for your 2008 taxes!  Finally there is a provision for those businesses that are having debt cancelled.  When you have debt cancelled or they take less than you owe this is considered income in the year it happens.  Some businesses will be allowed to claim that as income over a 10 year period versus one year.  So it may be very wise to touch base with your CPA on all the provisions that came from the stimulus bill and how you can incorporate them into your business.

The third issue has to do with the amount of your estimated tax payments if more than half of your income is from a small business and is less than $500,000.  Normally you are required to pay in 100% of the prior year’s tax amount due.  This year the stimulus package allows for you to only pay in 90% of 2008’s tax due.  You do need to be careful with this as it does not mean that all taxes won’t be due it just means that you can avoid penalty for underpaying if you paying at least 90%.  Talk to your CPA if you handle your own quarterly payments.

The final provision that may affect small business is the incentive to hire unemployed veterans and disconnected youth.  This allows you to claim a tax credit of up to 40% of the first $6,000 in wages you pay to unemployed veterans and disconnected youth.  An unemployed veteran is someone who was released discharged or released from active duty within the past five years and has claimed unemployment money for more than four weeks in the past year.  A disconnected youth is anyone between the ages of 16 and 25 that have not been employed or in school for the past six months.  When hiring remember to tell your CPA if any of your new employees fall into one of these categories!

Now is a great time to sit down and review where you are at with your business and how these and other economic issues may be affecting you. So grab your CPA, attorney and business coach and make plans!

Out of the Box Motivation

What do you do when you need a boost of confidence, or energy, or just enough motivation to keep going?  What happens when the normal does not work?

This weekend was a bit of a downer for me.  I was really struggling with the positive energy to keep working on my business.  It is especially hard when you work alone as an entrepreneur, my self motivation was gone!  Even though it was the weekend, I just could not shake my lack of excitement and motivation for my business.  It affected me all weekend and would not go away! 

So how did I move on and get energized and ready for work today?

Well it was tough, at first I tried to exercise (which usually is the golden ticket), then I tried entertaining friends at our place and then went to a friends house.  Normally all these things will get me motivated and ready for another day, but they just were not working!  Luckily my husband started making suggestions on Sunday.  He said read a book – “and I mean one for fun not to learn more about a project”.  I just started at him, because I really don’t own many of those books!  (Self help is my world).  Then he said or go watch a movie (Max was napping so I had time)!  For me that was the winner, I never take time to watch movies!  Amazingly I felt so refreshed after the movie (Sex in the City).  I was amazed.  What I began to realize is that sometimes it takes stepping out of our box, in all areas of our lives to create balance.  So even though I am very adamant about keeping my life balanced, I rarely change what items I am balancing.  I learned that by not always relying on my workout to give me ideas will make my rejuvenation even better.  Making my Monday even better!

So I challenge you, expand your life balance.  Do something out of the ordinary!  You never know where it might lead you!