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Tag: Helps

  • Why Ringless Voicemail Is a Preferred Choice for Every Marketer

    Why Ringless Voicemail Is a Preferred Choice for Every Marketer

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    With the advancements in different innovative technologies, the growth of the telecommunication sector has also been getting advanced tremendously. Ringless Voicemail Drops has now become the most reliable, flexible and non-intrusive technology which allows the marketers and agents to notify their clients about promotional messages or reminders.

    Without the need to call them directly and disturbing their daily activities, the voicemail drop service always makes it possible for the marketers to record their customized prerecorded voice message on their mobile phones.

    Here are four important reasons that make the technology a preferred choice for everyone;

    1. Non-aggravating technology:

    The purpose of voicemail drop solutions is not to disturb the recipient of your message in any way, especially during busy hours. There would be no noisy ringtone or an accidental call if you are busy with family or attending a business meeting.

    Without even making the call to your user, the technology helps you send the voice messages directly to their voicemail box. The marketers and agents would be notified when the message will be delivered. This service is much flexible to both the users and the agents.

    1. Highly appreciated response rate:

    The technology is basically considered as the easily operable among other communication methods. It frequently shows a great increment in the responsiveness as there are almost 95% people who constantly listen to the voicemail, and this usually quite higher than answering a call.

    This expected increased can usually reach up to 96% within 24 hours. There are different activities that are bound to occur and enhancing your business opportunities. According to the surveys in the US, there are more than 556 million cell phones which have been using currently, so this voicemail drop would have a massive demographic and targeted population.

    1. Cost-effective solutions:

    Implementation of ringless voicemail solutions is much affordable and marketers are required to pay for successful drops only. If the message has been ignored by the user, then there would be no extra costs charged. Rates can even go as low as 8.5 cents for a single message delivered, and the subscriber would never be charged; so you won't have to deal with the complaining customers related to any issue.

    Furthermore, with these low prices, the length of your recorded voicemail would not be limited. You can simply leave the message regardless of its length without any additional costs since the charges would be according to per message and not minute.

    1. Carries much extensive capacity:

    Ringless voicemail solutions are not only user-friendly and inexpensive, but they can be frequently used to reach the maximum number of people. In just a one hour duration, hundreds even thousands of voice messages will be dropped into the user's voicemail box. There are many companies that have more than 70,000 ports which are specialized enough to support high campaign volume.

    This single platform is efficient enough to host numerous actions that include Ringless voicemail, IVR survey and voice broadcasting.

    It's important to get the advantages of this advanced solution for enhanced business productivity.

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    Source by Ambreen Sajjad

    Views: 0

  • 4 Daily Habits Of the Most Successful Entrepreneurs

    4 Daily Habits Of the Most Successful Entrepreneurs

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    Entrepreneurship is hard. It needs unswerving discipline, and confidence in yourself and your business. Lots of people lack the opportunity to enjoy it. But for the few who are determined and ready to put in the hard work, entrepreneurship is the most fulfilling job, identity and lifestyle in the world.

    Let’s look at 4 daily habits of successful entrepreneurs.

    1. They stick to a routine

    A day has 24 hours only and as an entrepreneur, time is the most valuable thing in the world. To get the maximum potential out of every day, successful entrepreneurs follow a strict schedule.

    For instance, Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, schedules his whole day in five-minute blocks and he breaks up his week, where on Mondays and Thursdays he focuses on SpaceX and on Tuesdays and Wednesdays he pays attention to Tesla. He splits Fridays between both companies.

    2. They read a lot

    Most successful entrepreneurs make learning a regular daily habit. For instance, Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder, reads 50 books a year. As an entrepreneur, you need to learn as the world is continually changing, and the most impactful entrepreneurs create their profiles by improving their knowledge.

    If your background is in design and strategy, as an entrepreneur you must have engineering and computer science knowledge to contribute meaningfully to your ventures. Examine your future goals and establish what skills and capabilities may hinder you, then start learning today to be ready for those roadblocks. For engineers and designers, that obstacle may be management, finance or project planning. Yours may surprise you!

    3. They exercise daily

    Yes, exercise keeps your body fit and the mind sharp, and it has a great impact on an entrepreneur’s long-term achievement. The reason is that it relieves stress and helps maintain a healthy work-life balance. Many successful entrepreneurs attribute their success to exercising and keeping fit. Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group, increases his productivity with daily exercise.

    Don’t make excuses! Fitness and mental calmness are essential for a happy lifestyle. They’re the building blocks to your productivity for days, weeks and months. Find a sport, activity, or practice suitable for you and make it habitual by being responsible.

    4. They stay positive

    As an entrepreneur, you’ll face many challenges, but what makes you succeed is a positive and creative mindset. Every day. Being able to see things from a positive dimension means you can see interesting and unique opportunities others can’t see.

    If you can’t remain positive, it’s time for a change. For instance, Steve Jobs started his mornings by repeating a simple mantra: “If today was the last day of my life, would I want to do what I’m about to do today?” If he answered this question with a “No,” then he knew it was time to make a change.

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    Source by Jon Allo

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  • Try These Tips If You Want To Succeed In Affiliate Marketing

    Try These Tips If You Want To Succeed In Affiliate Marketing

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    Affiliate marketing can be a great way to establish a good income with little or no overhead at all. Just a whole lot of honest hard work, dedication and of course, good information. This article is designed to provide you with some excellent advice on the business of affiliate marketing and help you find your way in and around it to a nice, consistent profit!

    Trying to market popular products online will not produce good results in your affiliate status. You want to have a good quality product but it does not have to be uber popular. Choosing very popular products means you will be in fierce competition ahead. You may be unable to make a profit.

    When selecting an affiliate marketing program, check out their resources in terms of sale-boosting items for you. A good affiliate program will offer you banner images, content for text ads, and letter templates, in order to help you boost sales. A sale for you is a sale for them, and you want to work for a company that understands your value as an affiliate.

    Try looking into secret links. There are plenty of including affiliate links into your text without them being completely obvious. Be transparent about them if you use links and take advantage of their use. Make sure your readers understand the reason for the link so there are no surprises.

    If someone visits a site about sports, they expect to see sports-themed news, ads, and merchandise. Only a sports-related link would benefit your affiliate site. If the site has relevant links, people will be more likely to access them.

    It is better to affiliate partners that put out products if possible. You are more affiliate revenue by working with businesses that have a larger variety of products which are interesting to your consumers. Avoid one-trick pony and fads.

    Anything you write during a marketing campaign or for your business, in general, should be written in plain, easy-to-understand language. Do not open the thesaurus and look for rarely-used words that make you seem a bit too snobbish. This is your Internet business, not a Newspaper. Readers want it simple.

    It is advisable for affiliate partners to use text services in order to gain greater commissions.

    A great affiliate marketing tip is to provide your real name and a working email address to your visitors and customers. Providing your name and email address will make you look credible, and you want to look as credible as possible in order to gain the trust of your visitors.

    If your site has a sports-related theme, your viewers are there for sports. Only a sports-related link would benefit your affiliate sites that are related to the products you market. Your visitors will follow a link that is relevant to the information on your site.

    Remember to always provide great, timely, valuable content that really gives your readers helpful and useful information. When you do this, your readers will have more faith in you and will be much more likely to want to do business with you. A great deal of affiliate marketing depends upon building a good relationship with your clients and proving yourself trustworthy and knowledgeable.

    Consider using paid advertising to get a jump start on your affiliate marketing program. Ads that are targeted towards keywords related to your site.

    One good way to evaluate a potential affiliate marketing partner is to examine the material they give to potential customers, such as their sales letter. You can learn a lot about an affiliate by seeing how they treat their customers. Think of yourself as a customer and ask yourself if the affiliate is someone you would buy from.

    It is so important that your readers trust you and your content. Readers support authors who provide them with quality contact by purchasing through your links.

    You don’t want to spend much time working on a company’s affiliate program only to never get paid or to discover that they mistreat referrals. Check the company’s reputation by visiting the appropriate blogs and user forums. Test communications through email and telephone. Do they promptly answer emails? Are they rude? Are phone calls put on eternal hold? They way they treat you is how they will likely treat the customers you refer to them.

    Create a hard deadline for consumers to buy certain affiliate products. When visitors feel time pressure, they are more likely to jump on the deal. This approach is likely to render a good strategy that may help improve your sales.

    A great affiliate marketing tip is to disguise your affiliate link. Sometimes marketers will try to scam you by simply changing your link around so that they’ll receive your commission. You can avoid this by disguising your link. An easy way to disguise your link is by making it redirect to a domain or page.

    You need to be quite aware of who is visiting your target audience is in affiliate marketing. You need to work to meet the needs of your message to resonate with your readers. Try to figure out what makes them visit your website and then expand on that knowledge. What specific things are they interested in?

    Do not make the mistake of focusing on just one sales technique. You might have the best blog in the world, but you are still losing out on customers who need a little more push or don’t like reading a blog. Advertise on other sites. Send out emails with value-added sales techniques to take people from prospects to customers.

    You should reveal your affiliate position to your readers. Being honest like this helps readers feel that they are sure to appreciate that.

    There may seem to be a million and one things to remember about affiliate marketing, so many different things to think of and take care of to cultivate your online earnings from it. Hopefully, this article has enlightened you somewhat, to the complexity and confusion and you are now ready to embark on a career change to affiliate marketing that could very well, change your life!

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    Source by Cameron Nyack

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  • The Power of Content Marketing

    The Power of Content Marketing

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    WHAT IS CONTENT MARKETING?

    Content marketing is described as a strategic approach to marketing that focuses on the creation and distribution of valuable, consistent and relevant content to attract a certain refined audience for profits in the consumer market.

    Most leading brands hire people with courses in content marketing to improve the branding of the product or service being marketed in the public domain and also benefits enterprises by increasing sales, cost saving and getting more and better consumers with higher loyalty.

    THE NECESSITY OF CONTENT MARKETING

    Marketing has revolutionized today due to the digitization of almost everything around us. Mass media is targeted to reach the specific audience for which the product or service has been catered for. Quality content is extremely essential for successful marketing along with a well-defined plan or strategy.

    Different forms of content marketing like social media marketing, search engines publishing quality and consistent content, successful PR strategies, inbound marketing etc. are dependent on a proper content strategy that helps deliver the perfect content for a curated or mass audience.

    Today, everything is digital. Marketing for almost anything, be it political, retail products or services, food or academic books etc., Everything is effectively and almost freely marketed via social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. Most of these social media websites and search engines pop up relevant ads according to the searches we make across the Internet.

    STATEGY FOR CONTENT MARKETING

    Content marketing must be smart so as to capture the attention of the target audience for the service or product. Targeting the youth on social media, the elderly via television and radio advertisements are some of the strategies for smart content marketing.

    The content must be designed in such a way so as to target the right audience in their mindset. Map the content for the product or service and then try to use the right type of content for the problem by mapping the buying cycle of people who have the specified problem and would be willing to venture into the product or invest in the service.

    VARITIES OF CONTENT

    Different types of content are available suitable for different marketing strategies like vlogs, videos, advertisements, billboards, surveys, email newsletters, posts on social media pages like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter etc., Polls, podcasts, quizzes, outreach programs, photographs, predictions, news etc.

    Each option has its own benefits and can be used according to the demand of the situation. The single main goal of marketing is to increase business revenue and there are numerous ways to achieve that.

    Content marketing requires creative brainstorming from professionals who can analyze the minds and thinking of the consumer to decide which approach is best to capture their attention. Interactive and creative content will definitely help make a product or service successful.

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    Source by Shalini M

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  • Why Treating Symptoms Alone Won't Heal Discomfort, Pain or Illness

    Why Treating Symptoms Alone Won't Heal Discomfort, Pain or Illness

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    The human body is simply the vessel for emotional and spiritual beings that we are. And you cannot possibly heal your physical body alone from symptoms of pain, illness or disease, without also healing your mind and spirit. Balance; it's always about balance. Our well-being or dis-ease is a direct result of the flow of energy of each of these parts equally. This is why treating your symptoms of discomfort or pain doesn't work. You need to heal the part of you that created the symptom of discomfort in the first place.

    Our physical bodies were designed to be self-correcting with numerous healing systems of checks and balances. The autonomic nervous system is just one of the systems in our body that shows us this. This is the system in our bodies that is responsible for control of the bodily functions not consciously directed, such as breathing, the heartbeat, and digestive processes. This system includes the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system.

    The parasympathetic nervous system, also known as the rest and digest system, is what conserves energy as it slows the heart rate and increases intestinal and gland activity when necessary. The sympathetic nervous system's primary function is to stimulate the body's fight-or-flight response. Fight-or-flight is a physiological response to a perceived harmful even, attack or a threat to survival. This entire autonomic system's design helps prepare the body to cope with stress and threats, as well as returning the body to a resting state afterwards.

    Bear in mind that times of the past generations were much simpler. Most families back then consisted of two parents, one of which was usually taking care of the children. Times of today are very different and the challenges of two working parents or in many cases, single parent families are many. Oftentimes, most of us run around scattered most of the time trying to get all of the necessary things accomplished in a day with no time for rest.

    Due to this consistent stresses of life during these times, we are generally living most of our days within the sympathetic nervous system. Understand that our bodies were not meant to be in a constant state of fight-or-flight response system. When our bodies don't regularly return to a period of rest afterwards, it wreaks havoc on our organs and systems with all of the hormones being released on a constant basis. Hence, creating aches and pains, illness or even disease. This is our bodies way of telling us to stop, listen and slow down, of which, most of us rarely do.

    This is only one of the physical systems of checks and balances our bodies were designed with. Now let's think about our emotions. When you live in a constant state of fight-or-flight, your emotions tend to get scattered and less than positive. The negative emotions of ongoing stress, depression, anxiety, constant excitement and even possible emotional pains of our past are all traumatic emotional energy.

    The negative emotional energy also gets channeled into the physical body, showing too, as the aches and pains in our daily lives. This is our bodies way of trying to dispel this energy and in most cases, if you stop and listen to your body, these symptoms ease and your body recovers naturally. It's when you continue to ignore your body, that it creates longer lasting effects such as illness and disease.

    So stop treating your symptoms of pain and listen to your body. Take the time to rest. We all need a reset button for ourselves every day to stay healthy. I'm not saying that you can't be Superman / woman and get it all done in a day, because you probably can and most likely do. Most of us have grown accustomed to this daily way of life, but at what cost? Is it worth your health? This is such a difficult lesson for most but think of your loved ones around you. Don't you want to be there for them in a healthy and balanced state for years to come? Because I'm pretty positive that they want that for both of you.

    When your feeling imbalanced, not well, or have aches and pains, remember your body is trying to tell you something. And oftentimes, physical issues manifested from a less than positive emotional place. So treat your entire being with balance and rest to help you to determine the root cause, which you can then deal with and heal fully. Throwing medication at a symptom will simply mask it, while the core issue is still very much alive. Core issues grow and fester, and at a certain point, they make you stop and listen.

    I'm living proof of that, having had thyroid cancer at the age of 37. My symptoms started when I was 27 but I didn't stop to listen to my body. I send you these healing tips from a place of love in the hopes that you may not have to go through a life altering disease like I did. Again, it's so important to understand that you cannot heal the whole of you, without healing each of the parts.

    Take time to do things that are relaxing to you every day. Even if 15 minutes a day is all the time you can spare, aren't you worth it? The correct answer here is yes. Do something just for you, that you love, that makes you happy and whole. Balance and center with some quiet and calm time for you. You'll be amazed what a little you time can do for you. You will slowly but surly start to notice those aches and pains slowly fading away, or maybe you start sleeping better at night. Ah, the magic!

    If you would like help in easing the aches and pains of life that is possibly of a deeper emotional energy that needs released, please reach out for a 15 minute consultation. See if Reiki Healing Energy is right for you. Or if someone you know could benefit from this article, please share it so that everyone has the opportunity to heal their life.

    Love and light,
    Nicole

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    Source by Nicole Lawler

    Views: 0

  • Small Business Owners: Accounting Is for Profit Planning, Not Just Tax Preparation

    Small Business Owners: Accounting Is for Profit Planning, Not Just Tax Preparation

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    One might be led to believe that profit is the main objective in a business but in reality it is the cash flowing in and out of a business which keeps the doors open. The concept of profit is somewhat narrow and only looks at expenses and income at a certain point in time. Cash flow, on the other hand, is more dynamic in the sense that it is concerned with the movement of money in and out of a business. It is concerned with the time at which the movement of the money takes place. Profits do not necessarily coincide with their associated cash inflows and outflows. The net result is that cash receipts often lag cash payments and while profits may be reported, the business may experience a short-term cash shortage. For this reason, it is essential to forecast cash flows as well as project likely profits. In these terms, it is important to know how to convert your accrual profit to your cash flow profit. You need to be able to maintain enough cash on hand to run the business, but not so much as to forfeit possible earnings from other uses.

    Why accounting is needed

    Help you to operate better as a business owner

    1. Make timely decisions

      • Know when to hire a team of employees
      • Know how to price your products
      • Know how to label your expense items
      • Helps you to determine whether to expand or not
      • Helps with operations projected costs
    2. Stop Fraud and Theft

      • Control the biggest problem is internal theft
      • Reconcile your books and inventory control of equipment
    3. Raising Capital (help you to explain financials to stakeholders)

      • Loans
      • Investors

    What are the Best Practices in Accounting for Small Businesses to address your common ‘pain points’?

    1. Hire or consult with CPA or accountant

      1. What is the best way and how often to contact
      2. What experience do you have in my industry?
      3. Identify what is my break-even point?
      4. Can the accountant assess the overall value of my business
      5. Can you help me grow my business with profit planning techniques
      6. How can you help me to prepare for tax season
      7. What are some special considerations for my particular industry?

    To succeed, your company must be profitable. All your business objectives boil down to this one simple fact. But turning a profit is easier said than done. In order to boost your bottom line, you need to know what’s going on financially at all times. You also need to be committed to tracking and understanding your KPIs.

    What are the common Profitability Metrics to Track in Business — key performance indicators (KPI)

    Whether you decide to hire an expert or do it yourself, there are some metrics that you should absolutely need to keep tabs on at all times:

    • Outstanding Accounts Payable: Outstanding accounts payable (A/P) shows the balance of cash you currently owe to your suppliers.
    • Average Cash Burn: Average cash burn is the rate at which your business’ cash balance is going down on average each month over a specified time period. A negative burn is a good sign because it indicates your business is generating cash and growing its cash reserves.
    • Cash Runaway: If your business is operating at a loss, cash runway helps you estimate how many months you can continue before your business exhausts its cash reserves. Similar to your cash burn, a negative runway is a good sign that your business is growing its cash reserves.
    • Gross Margin: Gross margin is a percentage that demonstrates the total revenue of your business after subtracting the costs associated with creating and selling your business’ products. It is a helpful metric to identify how your revenue compares to your costs, allowing you to make changes accordingly.
    • Customer Acquisition Cost: By knowing how much you spend on average to acquire a new customer, you can tell exactly how many customers you need to generate a profit.
    • Customer Lifetime Value: You need to know your LTV so that you can predict your future revenues and estimate the total number of customers you need to grow your profits.
    • Break-Even Point:How much do I need to generate in sales for my company to make a profit?Knowing this number will show you what you need to do to turn a profit (e.g., acquire more customers, increase prices, or lower operating expenses).
    • Net Profit: This is the single most important number you need to know for your business to be a financial success. If you aren’t making a profit, your company isn’t going to survive for long.
    • Total revenues comparison with last year/last month. By tracking and comparing your total revenues over time, you’ll be able to make sound business decisions and set better financial goals.
    • Average revenue per employee. It’s important to know this number so that you can set realistic productivity goals and recognize ways to streamline your business operations.

    The following checklist lays out a recommended timeline to take care of the accounting functions that will keep you attuned to the operations of your business and streamline your tax preparation. The accuracy and timeliness of the numbers entered will affect the key performance indicators that drive business decisions that need to be made, on a daily, monthly and annual basis towards profits.

    Daily Accounting Tasks

    1. Review your daily Cash flow position so you don’t ‘grow broke’.

    Since cash is the fuel for your business, you never want to be running near empty. Start your day by checking how much cash you have on hand.

    Weekly Accounting Tasks

    2. Record Transactions

    Record each transaction (billing customers, receiving cash from customers, paying vendors, etc.) in the proper account daily or weekly, depending on volume. Although recording transactions manually or in Excel sheets is acceptable, it is probably easier to use accounting software like QuickBooks. The benefits and control far outweigh the cost.

    3. Document and File Receipts

    Keep copies of all invoices sent, all cash receipts (cash, check and credit card deposits) and all cash payments (cash, check, credit card statements, etc.).

    Start a vendors file, sorted alphabetically, (Sears under “S”, CVS under “C,”etc.) for easy access. Create a payroll file sorted by payroll date and a bank statement file sorted by month. A common habit is to toss all paper receipts into a box and try to decipher them at tax time, but unless you have a small volume of transactions, it’s better to have separate files for assorted receipts kept organized as they come in. Many accounting software systems let you scan paper receipts and avoid physical files altogether

    4. Review Unpaid Bills from Vendors

    Every business should have an “unpaid vendors” folder. Keep a record of each of your vendors that includes billing dates, amounts due and payment due date. If vendors offer discounts for early payment, you may want to take advantage of that if you have the cash available.

    5. Pay Vendors, Sign Checks

    Track your accounts payable and have funds earmarked to pay your suppliers on time to avoid any late fees and maintain favorable relationships with them. If you are able to extend payment dates to net 60 or net 90, the better. Whether you make payments online or drop a check in the mail, keep copies of invoices sent and received using accounting software.

    6. Prepare and Send Invoices

    Be sure to include payment terms. Most invoices are due within 30 days, noted as “Net 30” at the bottom of your invoice. Without a due date, you will have more trouble forecasting revenue for the month. To make sure you get paid on time, always use an invoice form that contains the right details such as payment terms, itemized charges, and your payment address.

    7. Review Projected Cash Flow

    Managing your cash flow is critical, especially in the first year of your business. Forecasting how much cash you will need in the coming weeks/months will help you reserve enough money to pay bills, including your employees and suppliers. Plus, you can make more informed business decisions about how to spend it.

    All you need is a simple statement showing your current cash position, expected cash receipts during the next week/month and expected cash payments during the next week/month.

    8. Executive Dashboard (weekly review)

    This dashboard gives you a ‘snapshot’ of your operations on a weekly basis.

    It consist of Cash on Hand, Cash burn rate, Account Receivables, Accounts Payable, Items sold, Inventory on Hand, inventory turns, outstanding issues in the business, and gross profit margin, new sales wins, customer losses, customer service performance, on time delivery rate and product quality performance.

    Monthly Accounting Tasks

    9. Balance Your Business Checkbook

    Just as you reconcile your personal checking account, you need to know that your cash business transaction entries are accurate each month and that you are working with the correct cash position. Reconciling your cash makes it easier to discover and correct any errors or omissions-by you or by the bank-in time to correct them.

    10. Review Past-Due (“Aged”) Receivables

    Be sure to include an “aging” column to separate “open invoices” with the number of days a bill is past due. This gives you a quick view of outstanding customer payments. The beginning of the month is a good time to send out overdue reminder statements to customers, clients and anyone else who owes you money.

    At the end of your fiscal year, you will be looking at this account again to determine what receivables you will need to send to collections or write off for a deduction

    11. Analyze Inventory Status

    If you have inventory, set aside time to reorder products that sell quickly and identify others that are moving slowly and may have to be marked down or, ultimately, written off. By checking regularly (and comparing to prior months’ numbers), it’s easier to make adjustments so you are neither short nor overloaded.

    12. Process or Review Payroll and Approve Tax Payments

    While you have an established schedule to pay your employees (usually semi-monthly), you need to meet payroll tax requirements based on federal, state and local laws at different times, so be sure to withhold, report and deposit the applicable income tax, social security, Medicare and disability taxes to the appropriate agencies on the required dates.

    Review the payroll summary before payments are disbursed to avoid having to make corrections during the next payroll period. A payroll service provider can do all this to save you time and ensure accuracy at a reasonable cost.

    13. Review Actual Profit and Loss vs. Budget and vs. Prior Years

    Each month, take the time to review your budgeted expenses and compare them to what you have actually spent. Are you spending above or below budget? Discuss the variances and take action as needed

    Your profit and loss statement (also known as an income statement), both for the current month and year to date, tells you how much you earned and how much you spent. Measure it against your budget every month (or quarter). Comparing your actual numbers to your planned numbers highlights where you may be spending too much or not enough, so that you can make changes.

    If you have not prepared a budget, compare your current year-to-date P&L with the same prior-period year-to-date P&L to identify variances and make adjustments.

    14. Review Month-End Balance Sheet vs. Prior Period

    By comparing your balance sheet at one date-June 30, 2015, for example-to a balance sheet from an earlier date (December 31, 2014), you get a picture of how you are managing assets and liabilities. The key is to look for what is significantly up and/or down and understand why. For example, if your accounts receivable are up, is it due to increased recent sales or because of slower payments from customers?

    Quarterly Accounting Tasks

    15. Prepare/Review Revised Annual P&L Estimate

    It’s time to evaluate how much money you are actually making, whether your net assets are going up or down, the difference between revenues and expenses, what caused those changes, how you are spending profits, as well as identifying trouble spots, and making adjustments to improve sales and margins.

    16. Review Quarterly Payroll Reports and Make Payments

    You have been reviewing your semi-monthly payroll reports. However, the IRS and most states require quarterly payroll reports and any remaining quarterly payments. Again, it’s best if your payroll service provider completes these reports and files them. Your job is to review to make sure they appear reasonable.

    17. Review Sales Tax and Make Quarterly Payments

    If your company operates in a state that requires sales tax, make sure you comply to avoid serious penalties. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) can help you determine your state tax obligations.

    18. Compute Estimated Income Tax and Make Payment

    The IRS and states that have income taxes require you to pay estimated income taxes. Review your year-to-date P&L to see if you owe any estimated taxes for that quarter. Your tax accountant can assist if necessary.

    Annual Accounting Tasks

    19. Review Past-Due Receivables

    Now it’s time to check significant past due receivables and decide whether you think customers will eventually pay, whether to send past due bills to a collection agency or whether to write them off for a deduction.

    20. Review Your Inventory

    Review your current inventory to determine the value of items not sold. Any write-down of inventory translates to a deduction on your year-end taxes. If you do not write down unsellable inventory, you are overstating your inventory balance and paying additional taxes that you don’t owe.

    21. Fill out IRS Forms W-2 and 1099-MISC

    The IRS has a January 31 deadline that requires you to report the annual earnings of your full-time employees (W-2s) and most independent contractors (1099s). This deadline includes mailing copies of the tax forms to the people who worked for you. Note: A 1099 form is not required for any contractors who earned less than $600. Consider saving time and avoiding errors with an e-filing service.

    22. Review full-year financial reports for tax reporting

    • Get organized

      • Collect and store important documents (use apps and calendars for help)

        • Create email folders to store bank statement and receipts
        • Store contracts and agreements
        • Track miles and vehicle expenses
        • Store all required documents for your business type.


      • Tax Preparation

        • Tax preparation is a historical view and not a profit planning event
        • Capture all relevant events
        • Identify all deduction categories
        • Capture all meals

          • Meetings —-whatever was discussed/calendar

            • Try not to go over industry average industry cost for meals.

    At tax time, carefully review your company’s full-year financial reports before giving them to your accountant. Before you sign your return, be sure to review it for accuracy based on your full-year financial reports. Remember if IRS audits due to underpayment, they will deal with you not your accountant for any additional taxes, penalty and interest.

    If you don’t have the bandwidth to do all this yourself, a great strategy is to partner with a monthly accounting service. Outsourcing your accounting to an expert will simplify your life and give you more time to focus on running your business operations.

    A monthly accountant will provide you with a profit and loss sheet, balance statement, and accurate account reconciliation every month, ensuring that you have the financial information you need to make the best choices for your company.

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    Source by Vinson Primas

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  • Ways Schools Can Fight A Drug Menace

    Ways Schools Can Fight A Drug Menace

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    A combination of factors, including the ease with which drugs can be procured, alienation and peer pressure, is driving American teens toward their abuse. As a result, adolescents in high school and college do drugs on the sly. In dorm and frat parties, it has become customary to pool all drugs – stolen from elder's medicine cabinets, or procured from vendors or pill mills – before going on the adventure ride of a collective high. However, this fun and adventure comes at a cost. As most teens doing drugs are aware of the implications of the misdemeanor once caught, they do not report to the authorities in case a peer overdoses, resulting in tragic loss of young lives.

    The problem of drug abuse has spread its deadly tentacles across schools, posing a significant threat to the future of children in terms of impact on their health, academics, career and personal life. In the wake of such a serious implication on the future of the society, many schools, despite the paucity of funds, have put together programs for spreading awareness and keeping drug abuse under check. While some approaches rely on prohibition and punishment, others stress on education and rehabilitation. The objective is to keep drugs off the campus and establish a solid foundation to empower individuals to resist such temptations.

    As youngsters prefer engagement to long boring lectures, some of the means adopted by the schools are as follows:

    Disseminating knowledge through antidrug assemblies : Antidrug assemblies are engaging means to showcase the grim consequences of drug-seeking habit. With addiction treatment doctors and recovering patients turning up as guest lecturers, students can have a realistic picture of how drugs take them away from their loved ones and cause impairment of cognitive skills, such as difficulty following instructions. Students get the opportunity to clarify their doubts during such sessions.

    Educating children as early as possible : Considering the fact that most youths start doing drugs, smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol in school days, or when they are on the cusp of adolescence, it is the best time to drive home the dangers of doing drugs and other addictive substances.

    Conducting self-reliance programs : Children who are confident about themselves are less likely to take drugs. Therefore, some programs stress on building the child's self-reliance in all sorts of social situations. This helps them even under adverse peer pressure to not succumb to the temptation of doing drugs and say no to such activities firmly. Such programs are effective even in the long run as they teach children some essential life skills necessary for abstaining from drugs, alcohol, etc.

    Stocking antidotes : As it makes no sense to shy away from the truth that youngsters, especially those in college, will be doing drugs irrespective of the controls, authorities are advised to stock up their supply of opioid overdose antidote naloxone.

    Engaging children from families grappling with addiction : Instead of isolating a child with a problematic family, including members addicted to drugs, it is essential to engage him or her in all school or college activities. Irrespective of whether the child reports late to school or has problems with homework, a concerned and supportive school environment will mitigate the chances of the child falling into the same addiction cycle. Children of drug addicted families could also participate as guest lecturers in antidrug assemblies.

    Focusing on building teen assertiveness : With the help of a trained child counselor and other professional services, schools could focus on providing training to teens to develop their assertiveness and emotional control level. This is not only handy in career building, but could also help the teen realize his or her worth. Teens who feel sad and befuddled have greater risks of taking drugs to feel successful or empowered.

    Get help for drug addiction

    Children run the increased risk of falling into the trap of drug addiction due to their emotional vulnerability and undeveloped brain still in the process of developing the key cognitive skills. It becomes essential for parents and teachers to listen and talk to their fears and emotional upheavals, rather than ignoring them as their tantrums.

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    Source by Barbara Odozi

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  • Restless Leg Syndrome or RLS – Restelssness While Sleeping Symptoms and Cure

    Restless Leg Syndrome or RLS – Restelssness While Sleeping Symptoms and Cure

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    Do you feel restlessness when sleeping, without any specific reason? Are you anxious of thinking deeply about something that you cannot control? Don’t know why it is happening or are you looking for a tried and tested restlessness cure? No matter what your exact symptoms are, you can rest assured that you are not alone and there are people who have overcome their restlessness and similar issues by using natural methods such as relaxation, meditation and various yoga techniques. Also there are many cases which required medical intervention. Lets have a look at a few basic facts about general restlessness and RLS or restless leg syndrome.

    Cannot sleep due to restlessness?

    Do you find it difficult to sleep properly despite working very hard throughout the day? While insomnia or inability to sleep is one of the reasons of restlessness when sleeping, there are various other symptoms that can help you identify your issue. If you want to move constantly or your legs or arms get cramps while at rest, then read on. You cannot calm your mind or cannot stop thinking about something unpleasant, triggering more restless and anxiety? You may also feel the combination of both physical and mental restlessness.

    Here are some common symptoms of restlessness

    • Inability to focus on anything
    • Unable to manage your time
    • Unconscious or conscious leg movement
    • Foot or hand tapping
    • Cramps in arms or legs, when at rest
    • Unnecessary palpitations
    • Inability to sleep or insomnia
    • Frequent distraction at work for no specific reason
    • Are restlessness and anxiety related

    Quick Tips to identify RLS or restless leg syndrome

    1. Throbbing sensation in legs
    2. Feeling of pins and needles in feet quite frequently
    3. Painful cramping in calves
    4. Burning or tingling sensation in legs

    Moving the legs usually relieves the symptoms temporarily, but if it becomes frequent or worsens, then get medical help. You can also try a few yogic methods that work wonders for many people. However, yoga in general, requires discipline and regularity to give you any significant result. Just check what suits you the best.

    Restless cure

    There are various methods and home remedies to handle and minimise restlessness. If you believe that your problem is more of psychological in nature, then simply focusing on one task at a time can prove to be highly effective. Do not over-commit if you cannot deliver something within a certain time frame. In fact, under-commitment and over-delivering is the best possible way to control restlessness as you work within your limited resources without getting anxious about what if you’d not be able to deliver on time.

    Restless leg cure

    1. Mustard oil massage on both the legs, especially on calves
    2. Soak your legs in warm water regularly
    3. Cool and hot packs alternatively
    4. Hamstring exercise also helps in some cases of RLS
    5. Limit your caffeine intake

    It goes without saying that when you are anxious about anything, your mind is working extra hard to reach a conclusion about the issue you are thinking. As it seems to be impossible, you become even more anxious, and it becomes visible in your behaviour, physical sensation and emotions. You can get annoyed at the slightest of provocation or even without any valid reason. Negative emotions will be more dominant and visible than positive ones, and you may feel that you are completely alright. Others can quickly identify your disorder and suggest a visit to your physician.

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    Source by Felix Godwin

    Views: 0

  • Health Impact of Consuming Alcohol at Different Ages

    Health Impact of Consuming Alcohol at Different Ages

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    After analyzing the health implications of alcohol consumption on varied age groups a recently conducted study concluded that adults in the age group of 50 and above may see less severe health consequences compared to adults below the same age group. The objective of the study was neither to justify nor glorify drinking, but to study the impact of drinking on various ages. The fact still remains that people who drink heavily are susceptible to a variety of serious short- and long-term health issues.

    Some of the common health problems pertaining to heavy alcohol consumption include liver and heart ailments, cancers, and damage to the nervous system and brain. From time to time, various health and wellness articles have highlighted the fact that if an individual drank in moderation, it can have certain health benefits. To corroborate this fact, several studies have suggested that drinking alcohol within a medically permissible limit may have a positive bearing on an individual's health. For instance, one of the studies revealed that moderate to light drinking can bring down the mortality rate caused due to cardiovascular ailments.

    Having said that, while these studies have been widely read and received well by people, not all researchers stand by it and the debate still continues on the same.

    A fresh perspective

    Dr. Timothy Naimi of the Boston Medical Center in Massachusetts carried out this study, adding fuel to the ongoing debate on the health impacts of consuming alcohol. Dr. Naimi and his group of researchers analyzed the methodology that was utilized in the previous studies and found that the manner in which the previous researchers measured the impact of alcohol on health may be flawed. The researchers highlighted the fact that the previous studies were based on more general observations and they usually enrolled participants over the age of 50. Usually, the deaths attributed to alcohol consumption occurred within the age group of 20 to 49. Simply put, "one cannot include dead people in a cohort study, "said Dr. Niami.

    The team highlighted that around 40 percent of alcohol-related deaths took place before the age of 50. This made it quite obvious that the earlier researchers did not take into consideration these people and may have thus underestimated the real risks pertaining to alcohol consumption. Incidentally, Dr. Naimi was one of the first researchers to raise the concern about this bias in terms of participant age group and had published his findings in the journal Addiction in 2017.

    Therefore, Dr. Naimi reinvestigated the matter and reanalyzed the data using the Alcohol-Related Disease Impact Application (ARDIA) software, maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The ARDIA is a reliable application that offered state and national estimates of alcohol-related health implications including potential years of life lost (PYLL) and deaths.

    Influence of age factor

    According to the study, the level of alcohol-related risk pertaining to an individual was largely influenced by the age factor. The data analysis revealed that around 35.8 percent of deaths caused due to alcohol consumption took place in the age group of 20 to 49. On the other hand, a mere 4.5 percent of fatalities were averted due to consumption of alcohol in this age group.

    However, when the researchers looked at individuals in the age group of 65 and above, the statistics were slightly different. In this group, around 35 percent alcohol-related deaths were recorded, but it also depicted a whopping 80 percent of deaths averted by alcohol.

    However, as stated earlier, there is still an ongoing debate regarding the impact of consuming alcohol in varied age groups.

    Seeking help for alcoholism

    Irrespective of gender, age, or social standing, anyone can be affected by alcoholism. One of the stepping stones for effective recovery from alcohol addiction is detoxification. The detoxification process helps purge all toxins accumulated in the body owing to years of alcohol consumption and prepares the body and the mind for the ensuing treatment.

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    Source by Susan Navarez

    Views: 0

  • The Difference Between a Trait and a Habit

    The Difference Between a Trait and a Habit

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    A “Habit” is a usual way of behaving. It is the starting point for all behaviors. All Traits, at conception, are habits. Habits are usually born out of necessity (we have to obtain a goal), or a desire (We wish to obtain a goal).

    Most of the times, negative traits come as a result of necessity, not desire. Sometimes, however, using a negative trait when approaching a desire itself becomes a negative trait.

    As we grow up, we encounter situations and circumstances that are new to us. Since we have no point of reference (information we gathered from past experience which helps us deal with these events), we are left with two basic choices.

    Choice A- We seek advice.

    We turn to those around us for guidance. Preferably someone who encountered a similar situation and handled it before. Our goal at this point is to try to use their point of reference in order to handle our situation. When we decide to follow that advice, if successful, their point of reference becomes ours. After a while, a habit has been created. A way in which to handle future similar situations.

    The one thing you have to keep in mind when using this option is the following quote…

    “Insanity, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

    Albert Einstein

    When this option is chosen, remember that you are, in essence, creating a habit that will, in time, become a trait. Make sure that your definition and the other person’s definition of “success “is the same one. Your goal is to solve the situation. Not avoid it.

    Choice B- We use Trial and Error method.

    This method involves searching and using different ways in order to handle the situation. There is, however, correct way and an incorrect way of using this option. The correct way to remain goal oriented. In Transformational Support, this method is commonly referred to as the “Focus, Research and Action” method (FRA).

    What this enables you to do is to remain encouraged, focused and determined until the situation is resolved. The goal is not only to obtain a useful point of reference but also to keep you from creating negative habits such as..

    A- Covering up the issue

    B-Pretending the issue will go away by itself

    C-Running away from the issue

    D-A combination of two or more of these.

    These habits have a great potential of becoming negative habits (a usual way of behaving that results in a negative outcome). Shortly after that, they can become negative traits (A quality that separates a person from another person and usually has a negative outcome).

    The specific type of habit we create (negative or Positive), will mature into a Negative or Positive Trait. Once this happens, and a trait is created, the trait has to be broken down to a habit first before replacing it with a better habit.

    That being said, I must tell you that changing habits is faster and simpler than changing traits. However, most people seem to be under the impression that changing a trait is much more difficult than it actually is. Changing a habit or a trait is not easy but it is not that difficult either.

    Of course, depending on the nature of the habit or the trait, the amount of time it takes to change it may vary. But not the amount of effort. In other words, what changes is your consistency (the amount of time you stay dedicate to changing a trait or habit), not how hard you work at it.

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    Source by Gerardo Defendini

    Views: 0