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Tag: Ways

  • Mindset For Entrepreneurship

    Mindset For Entrepreneurship

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    When you're marketing things, mindset is at least 80% of the game. We could quibble about the number all day, but eventually we'd have to agree: mindset is a big part of marketing.

    But what is really meant by this term?

    Well, I mean the ways that you think, feel, and act in relation to things in the world. And in that case, mindset is a woefully inept term to describe this idea! However, it's the colloquial word for what I'm talking about. So, bear with me.

    By mindset, I mean what most people would describe as your personality and the ways you mentally and physically interact with the world. Most people just think about the states and what it feels like, etc. I think this is really only half the issue. The other half is how that causes you to act. Our thinking, feeling, and behavioral systems are all interconnected into one system: the human being, ie you and me.

    How does mindset affect Internet marketing?

    Internet marketing is one of the few areas of life that is only limited by the amount of work you're willing to put in and the market's response to it. Which is pretty cool; however, this also means that you're your own worst enemy. Therefore, to succeed at Internet marketing, you've got to get your head right.

    Until you "get your wits about you", it can be very difficult to make Internet marketing work for you. This is why I say that mindset is paramount to your success. You stand in your way far more than other marketers or issues do. "How are you blocking yourself?" is an important question to consider.

    How do you do this? How do you "get your wits about you?"

    The easiest way to get your thinking right is to get a coach or therapist to help you overcome all of your blocks one at a time in a way tailored specifically to you.

    I think this is a great approach if you have the time and the money. Most people do not. A great second option is to look into training programs, audios, videos, courses, classes, eBooks, traditional books, etc.

    Definitely, you want to go to a live event or find someone to work with one-on-one first, but if this is not an option, non-live programs can be amazingly helpful.

    But regardless of how you approach this, it's all going to be the same basic process: focus on the end goal, make sure it's ideal for you, determine how to best get there, and then make a plan to get there (and overcome blocks as they arise).

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    Source by Joshua Howard

    Views: 0

  • How to Organize Your Medicine Cabinet

    How to Organize Your Medicine Cabinet

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    Just like your own closet, medicine cabinets can be quite a mess sometimes, especially if you have lots of medicines stored.

    These days, with the pharmaceutical industry booming, you can find a wide variety of medicines sold for different health conditions. Companies competing against one another while consumers are on the go for searching the best medicine brand to buy other there for their health problem.

    You may be one of those people out there who is facing a dilemma when it comes to organizing medicines properly in the medicine cabinet. At times, when you have lots of medicines already stored, it becomes harder to find the medicine you are looking for when necessary. This could be due to a lot of different factors, such as inappropriate labeling, expired medicines piled up, and so on and so forth.

    Yet despite of that, there are still ways to make your medicine cabinet organize and neat again. There is no need to spend money or hire someone to do it for you. It is very easy and you can do it in an instant. The following are some of the tips you can consider to organize your medicine cabinet well:

    Color Code

    Why not apply color coding method when handling your medicines? If there’s a lot in the family who is taking medicines, then try to classify each one of them according to color. You may want brands to be grouped separately or put a color on each medicine to separate them according to date and time of administration. It totally depends on you. You are the best person who knows how to color code your medicines best.

    Medicine containers

    A medicine cabinet can become so messy at times, especially if all the medicines aren’t placed well in separate containers.

    You may want to organize your medicines according to their form by placing them in different containers. For example, all tablets will be placed in a different container and same goes with liquid medicines.

    This way, it would be easier to find and pull out a medicine you need at the moment because you already know where you placed it.

    These days, you can find various types of medicine containers available for sale. You can buy them in the department store or at your local drug store. You can do a DIY too if you like.

    Label each container

    Even though you place all your medicines in separate containers, it would still be hard to search for each if they are not labeled properly.

    Don’t forget to label each container according to the categories you have made. Label each container correctly and clearly.

    Labeling containers does not have to be hard and complicated. Just cut a small piece of paper, just appropriate to the size of the container, and then stick it on the front, then mark it with a pen. You can even be as creative as you would like and put some colors, stickers, and some cute decorations on the container or label to add more beauty to the space.

    Clean your medicine cabinet

    Make sure to clean your medicine cabinet every so often. You need to constantly check for expired or damaged medicines and throw them away right away. Of course, you also need to dispose each expired medicine properly according to the disposal instruction written on the label.

    By cleaning your medicine cabinet, you need to wipe out dirt and dust. This will ensure that all your medicines remain to be in good condition.

    Honestly, cleaning your medicine cabinet every so often would pose more benefits because doing so will prevent your cabinet from smelling bad, especially with expired medicines that not thrown away. Aside from that, this will keep the potency of your usable medicines.

    Have enough space

    While it is important to make use of the storage spaces available in your medicine cabinet, occupying the entire space without enough room for your hands to move inside would really be bothersome.

    Make your medicine cabinet tidy and well organized by not stocking too many items inside, especially those that do not belong to this type of storage space. Even the way you place the containers should be taken into consideration so that they will not all look jumbled up.

    If you think organizing your medicine cabinet is hard, you need to think again. Follow these simple tips and you would surely not regret it.

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    Source by George Patt

    Views: 0

  • 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

    Views: 0

  • How Your Focus AFFECTS Your Health?

    How Your Focus AFFECTS Your Health?

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    You are what you think! This adage, is extremely relevant, to our overall health, and well – being. Whether one pursues, the best possible course of action, or focuses, on the negative possibilities, often AFFECTS whether we are truly, happy, and healthy, or, let our personal negative thoughts, dominate us, or, whether, we consistently, are ready, willing, and able, to focus on, being, happier, and healthier. Henry Ford has been credited with saying, You can think you can, or can’t. Either way, you’ll be correct. With that in mind, this article will attempt to, briefly, consider, examine, review, and discuss, using the mnemonic approach, what this means, and represents, and why it’s such an essential consideration.

    1. Attitude; attention; actions: Do you proceed, with a true, positive, can – do, attitude, or, do you let the self – imposed limitations of your comfort zone, dominate you? How much attention do you pay, to your health, and well – being, and do your actions, match your rhetoric, and claims? Will you transform obstacles to challenges, to overcome, or consider them, as problems, and become debilitated?

    2. Faith; feeling; feelings: How much faith, do you have, in yourself? Are you feeling, good vibes, about your personal value, and do you pay close attention, to your feelings?

    3. Furnish; fruition; future: How might you furnish, the necessities, which make you, better, happier, more self – confident, prepared, and, thus, potentially, healthier? Will you have the persistence, to bring your finest efforts, to fruition? What might you be willing to do, today, to ensure a finer future?

    4. Energy; emphasis; endurance; expectations; excellence: Will you maintain an energy level, which enriches your existence? Will you place most of your emphasis, where it benefits you? Hopefully, you will realize, good things take time, and persistence, and will proceed with the endurance, to ensure positive results! When you demand the utmost degree of personal excellence, you will proceed with positive expectations, and self – belief!

    5. Character; create/ creative; consider: How will you create, your level of quality character, which ensures, a happier, healthier future? Creative individuals creatively consider, viable options and alternatives, in a well – considered manner!

    6. Time – tested; timely: In order to become happier, and healthier, there is no need, to reinvent the wheel! Therefore, it is beneficial, to learn, from the past, and proceed, with time – tested ways. However, unless/ until, you avoid procrastination, and proceed in a well – considered, timely manner, you will never, become, the best, you can possibly be!

    7. Strengths; stronger; solutions; spirit: Know your personal strengths, and weaknesses, effectively using areas of strength, while addressing any weakness! When you become stronger, and proceed, with a positive, productive, spirit, you will use quality, viable solutions, to ensure the finest possibilities!

    When you know, and understand, your personal responsibility, and how your focus, AFFECTS your possibilities, you enhance the chances of being happier, and healthier! Will you become, your own, best friend?

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    Source by Richard Brody

    Views: 0

  • Healing Grief’s Mental, Emotional, Physical Anguish, Pain And Suffering

    Healing Grief’s Mental, Emotional, Physical Anguish, Pain And Suffering

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    Mental anguish can detour your healing journey indefinitely.

    Emotional pain may darken your hope.

    Physical suffering may well obstruct your healing progression.

    All three – mental, emotional, and physical miseries – often accompany an unwanted grief happening. They lead toward lack of clarity and uncertainty in your thinking about how to stop grieving and start a healing process. All three highlight your fear and doubt of overcoming your sorrow and loss. It is essential you take important steps to transform your grief and loss into healing hope. The “HOW” is a vital answer you must seek.

    “If I could tell the world just one thing

    it would be we’re all okay,

    and not to worry cause worry is wasteful

    and useless in times like these.

    I won’t be made useless.

    I won’t be idle with despair,

    I will gather myself around my faith.

    Light does the darkness most fear.”

    ~ Jewel

    The faith to heal at the time of your darkest hour is needed to move past your fear. Recognizing that impossibilities are so often temporary is essential.

    “Things are only impossible until they’re not.”

    ~ Jean-Luc Picard, character in STAR TREK: The Next Generation

    Let’s examine together beneficial solutions that provide ways you can overcome and erase fear and vagueness and meet head-on the mental anguish, emotional pain, and physical suffering caused by your grief experience. There are five solutions you should consider:

    1- Don’t Give Up Your Power

    “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.”

    ~ Alice Walker

    At all cost don’t let your unique circumstance rule your emotions and hope. Take charge and rule your life from within. Your hope is a powerful empowerment. Search deep within for all the mental, emotional, and physical muscle you have. You do have your own power beyond what you temporarily believed you had when your awful grief resulted.

    “Greatness is not in where we stand,

    but in what direction we are moving.

    We must sail sometimes with the wind

    and sometimes against it –

    but sail we must,

    and not drift, nor lie at anchor.”

    ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

    You must focus your attention and hold a healing effort course with a relentless commitment to weather the storm of your grief, loss and sorrow.

    “No one is in control of your happiness but you; therefore, you have the power to change anything

    about yourself or your life that you want to change.”

    ~ Barbara De Angelis

    Seek your individual and unique power. You have more control than you think.

    2- Stand Up To Your Obstacles

    “Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven’t half the strength you think they have.”

    ~ Norman Vincent Peale

    Fear and discouragement can be left in the dust if you use your greatest weapon; action is your greatest weapon. Fear and hesitation must not be allowed to molder and mildew for it grows by itself. Because of your personal grief experience you may feel you have run into a thick insurmountable wall. Don’t be submissive and give up without a fight. Determine how to go through it, or climb over it, or figure out how to work around it. Begin today.

    3- Don’t Give In Until The Cows Crow

    Take a firm personal stand and follow Jonathan Huie’s suggestion:

    “I won’t give up ’til goats sing and walruses fly.”

    Think about it: You are the only one who can make yourself give up.

    “Circumstances don’t defeat you – you defeat yourself when you give up.” ~ Jonathan Lockwood Huie

    Many give up about the time success is in the near future. They give up too quickly at the last ten seconds of the game one basket away from winning the game. Perhaps you will need to modify your efforts and the way you approach your target; keep your eyes on your goal to reconcile your grief condition and don’t quit. Keep pondering and seeking for solutions that fit your unique grief and sorrow.

    “When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems you cannot hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time the tide will turn.”

    ~ Harriet Beecher Stowe

    Don’t let a temporary defeat condition last longer than it should. Giving up makes your grieving misery permanent. You’re not a product of your condition or circumstance but of the personal decisions you make. Draw deeply from the heart of your grief and loss suffering – for your sorrowful experience may be the means of personal inspiration, strength and survival.

    4- Expect Hope

    “Expect to have hope rekindled.

    Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways.

    The dry seasons in life do not last.

    The spring rains will come again.”

    ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach

    Always look for hope. It is a mistake to let grief cloud and obliterate the whole blue sky of hope. Hope or the lack of optimism is purely a function of one’s attitude.

    “Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass… It’s about learning how to dance in the rain.”

    ~ Vivian Greene

    Life happens. Waiting for the grief storm in your life to pass is a mistake. Learning to dance with hope in your heart is vital to healing.

    5- Gather Your Strength

    The storms of life give you opportunity to learn. The grief storms of life provide another day – another way to learn a lesson for fighting the current challenge you face and the next battle.

    “When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.”

    ~ Helen Keller

    Looking at closed doors stops you from seeing the open doors of healing possibilities and opportunities. Look for your unique personal door of strength. Walk through this door before it closes. Deep within is grit and fortitude untapped until you need it.

    “Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength

    which will always spring up if thou wilt always look there.”

    ~ Marcus Aurelius

    Gather solutions for the strength needed for your unique grief healing challenge. You Can! Believe this is so!

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    Source by Duane Marchant

    Views: 0

  • How Can a Relationship Coach Help Me?

    How Can a Relationship Coach Help Me?

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    A number of benefits are available from participating in guidance from a Relationship Coach. Professionals such as these can provide support, problem-solving skills, and enhanced coping strategies for issues such as depression, anxiety, relationship troubles, unresolved childhood issues, grief, stress management, body image issues and creative blocks. Many people also find that coaches can be a tremendous asset to managing personal growth, interpersonal relationships, family concerns, marriage issues, and the hassles of daily life. Coaches can provide a fresh perspective on a difficult problem or point you in the direction of a solution. The benefits you obtain from personal guidance depend on how well you use the process and put into practice what you learn.

    SOME OF THE BENEFITS AVAILABLE FROM RELATIONSHIP COACHING

    • Attaining a better understanding of yourself, your goals and values
    • Developing skills for improving your relationships
    • Finding resolution to the issues or concerns that led you to seek therapy
    • Learning new ways to cope with stress and anxiety
    • Managing anger, grief, depression, and other emotional pressures
    • Improving communications and listening skills
    • Changing old behavior patterns and developing new ones
    • Discovering new ways to solve problems in your family or marriage
    • Improving your self-esteem and boosting self-confidence

    DO I REALLY NEED COACHING? I CAN USUALLY HANDLE MY PROBLEMS.

    Everyone goes through challenging situations in life, and while you may have successfully navigated through other difficulties you’ve faced, there’s nothing wrong with seeking out extra support when you need it. In fact, coaching is for people who have enough self-awareness to realize they need a helping hand, and that is something to be admired. You are taking responsibility by accepting where you’re at in life and making a commitment to change the situation by seeking coaching. Coaching provides long-lasting benefits and support, giving you the tools you need to avoid triggers, re-direct damaging patterns, and overcome whatever challenges you face.

    WHY DO PEOPLE SEEK OUT COACHING AND HOW DO I KNOW IF IT IS RIGHT FOR ME?

    People have many different motivations for coming to others for coaching. Some may be going through a major life transition (unemployment, divorce, new job, etc.), or are not handling stressful circumstances well. Some people need assistance managing a range of other issues such as low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, addictions, relationship problems, spiritual conflicts and creative blocks. Coaching can help provide some much needed encouragement and help with skills to get them through these periods. Others may be at a point where they are ready to learn more about themselves or want to be more effective with their goals in life. In short, people seeking coaching are ready to meet the challenges in their lives and ready to make changes in their lives.

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    Source by Roxanna Teeling

    Views: 0

  • Marketing With Logic and Emotion

    Marketing With Logic and Emotion

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    A couple days ago our refrigerator conked out.

    A repairman showed up today to take a look. The verdict? We’d need a new freezer coil. The cost was close to $1,000 and would take almost a week to get the parts.

    A new refrigerator was about $2K. And that’s the option I chose. It will arrive tomorrow.

    Logically, I could have saved more than $1K if I’d chosen to get it fixed.

    But emotionally, I didn’t want to be without a fridge for a week, perhaps longer. The discomfort of that was worth avoiding even if it meant paying $1,000 more.

    All buying decisions are emotional, not logical.

    When a client decides to work with you, they may justify it logically, but ultimately, they chose to get your help because of how they feel about you and their situation.

    They will choose the option that feels the best to them.

    In most cases, people buy your professional services because something isn’t working for them.

    And that decision is always emotional.

    And they also want things to work better for them or their companies.

    And that decision is emotional as well.

    Since marketing is 100% communication, your first job is to remind your prospective clients of the problems, issues and challenges they are experiencing.

    And your second job is to inform them how much better things will be after you help them by using your professional services.

    Nevertheless, this emotional content needs to be presented in a logical, understandable way.

    That’s why the third law of attracting clients says you must balance logic and emotion in your marketing.

    This is the art of marketing.

    Learning how to communicate this way can be tricky, but I like to break it down into these 6 logical steps:

    1. Write a list of all the problems, issues and challenges your prospective clients are facing.

    2. Write a list of how things could be if their problems, issues and challenges were resolved (the mirror image of #1).

    3. Prove to them that you have the experience and know-how to help them achieve #2.

    4. Write a list of all the other benefits and advantage they’ll gain if they hire you to help them.

    5. Explain what you’ll actually do and what it will look like (but not in too much detail).

    6. Let them know what they need to do to get started with you (including your fee).

    Now, of course, this can be written or spoken in an infinite number of ways, but these steps are the building blocks of marketing communication that turns prospective clients into paying clients.

    Cheers, Robert

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    Source by Robert Middleton

    Views: 0

  • Breaking Down Sales and Marketing

    Breaking Down Sales and Marketing

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    Revisiting the Sales and Marketing Conversation

    Back in October 2015 we shared an article called "5 Ways Marketing Departments Help Salespeople Catch Butterflies." Recently a tenfold article was shared with us, titled "What is the Meaning of Sales & Marketing and Their Advantages? " And, I have to say, it does a pretty awesome job of breaking down the differences, responsibilities, and links between sales and marketing roles. Why revisit this now? Because it has never been more apparent that the relationship between sales and marketing is still just as misunderstood as ever, especially with advances in marketing technology.

    Setting the Record Straight

    Many in the business world, especially those who rely on sales and marketing for success, don't actually have a concrete grasp on exactly what sales and marketing are. Yes, the two are linked, but they are not one and the same. Sales departments rely on marketing; marketing departments and strategies exist to feed sales (notice I didn't say "make" sales). You wouldn't engage in marketing if you had nothing to sell, and your sales strategy would be much less informed and successful if not for your marketing efforts. Yes, many old-school salespeople (or go-getter small business entrepreneurs) are quite capable of drumming up business on their own, and may even have some tried-and-true marketing tactics up their sleeve – but few have the time, skill , or technological resources to effectively capitalize on the true potential of their market.

    A common mistake made by older, more established businesses is to assume that salespeople are skilled at marketing and that marketing people are skilled at making sales. In some cases this may be true, but certainly not across the board. While trying to conserve capital, many of these companies will attempt to combine their sales and marketing departments, essentially tasking their employees with two job descriptions, and that's usually a bad move. It's no accident that more recently established companies, tech giants, and organizations that employ a large number of millennials are killing it with their marketing efforts.

    Breaking It Down

    As the tenfold article explains, some of the key responsibilities of a sales team include:

    • Follow Up
    • Relationship Building
    • Closing
    • Retention

    The mark of a great salesperson is the ability to cultivate a personal relationship. Many consumers who have stayed loyal to the same brand, dealership, or salon for years will say that they appreciate the personal attention they receive there. It is not a marketing employee's responsibility to follow up with a salesperson's existing customer once the lead has been handed off, nor is it their responsibility to convert a lead to a sale, "close the deal," or make sure the client remains a client for many years. Short of having an outstanding relationship with a skilled salesperson, product quality and excellent overall experience are the main things that will bolster client retention.

    On the marketing side, primary efforts are:

    • Awareness
    • Engagement
    • Conversion (from anonymous to known)
    • Retention

    It is not a salesperson's job to generate awareness or buzz about their brand, product or service. If they are expected to use their energy to make sales by nurturing leads and relationships, then how can they also be expected to have the time to do the leg-work up front that brings those leads to the table in the first place?

    The marketing department creates awareness, builds engagement by creating information that will invite audience members to take action, and targets and tracks engagement by motivating audience members to provide contact information or initiate a free trial or consultation (converting them from a cold prospect to a known lead or potential buyer). It is important to note here that the retention function of a marketing department doesn't really overlap the retention efforts of a sales team.

    On the sales side, client retention refers more to the salesperson's efforts to use the client relationship to continually check in with the client, attempt to engage them in further discussions about additional products or services they may be interested in, and seek referrals to the client's friends and family members. On the marketing side, however, retention refers to maintaining a higher level of consistent engagement (through targeted marketing based on buying preferences, interests and history) so that the customer relationship doesn't end at the initial purchase. Those email newsletters you receive after becoming a customer somewhere are not random – they have a purpose and are often tailored to things you've viewed or expressed interest in. A sales team simply doesn't have the insights, time, or often the resources to execute these types of strategic campaigns.

    The Fine-Tuned Coexistence Of It All

    The ideal sales and marketing relationship is a symbiotic one. Marketers and salespeople work together to determine what consumers need and how to deliver it. Sales and marketing should motivate, inspire and feed one other. They should collaborate and coexist. In the hierarchy of the business food chain, sales and marketing should not be seen as rivals or equals, but counterparts. One truly cannot exist without the other, but their skill sets are not the same – especially today, where advances in technology require the modern marketer to have a very specific, honed, and competitive set of skills that most sales people simply do not need to have.

    For this reason many marketers are introverted, analytical, and deep-thinking individuals. Whether they're crunching numbers and analyzing data, compiling reports on trends and conversion rates, or writing awesome ads and creating beautiful websites and collateral material, they are required to intensely focus on what works, what doesn't, and adjust their creative efforts accordingly. Usually a marketing department will have creatives, analysts, and more tech-oriented people (who dive into the numbers and algorithms behind advanced marketing tools).

    In contrast though, many salespeople are extroverts – they light up a room, they have excellent "people skills," can easily relate to others, and have the ability to pick up on social cues that might actually help them close a sale. Oftentimes salespeople have a broader focus, preferring to spend their days with appointments and meetings – activities that build relationships – rather than sitting behind a desk doing what a marketing department does best. For this reason, many salespeople have administrative assistants to help them with follow-up, paperwork, appointment setting, phone calls, proposals, and calendar management. This type of functional assistant role is less widespread in the marketing realm.

    Share Your Thoughts

    Be sure to read the full article (and let us know how it compares to our post ) for additional insights on the relationship between sales and marketing teams. Join the conversation: in your experience, what have been some key components of a successful sales and marketing partnership?

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    Source by Jessica Champion

    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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