Author: Ethan Theo

Abe WalkingBear Sanchez is an International Speaker / Trainer / Consultant on the subject of cash flow / sales enhancement and business knowledge organization and use. Founder and President of www.armg-usa.com, WalkingBear has authored hundreds of business articles, has worked with numerous companies in a wide range of industries since 1982 and has spoken at many venues including the Shakespeare Globe Theater in London.

Categories
Operations

Do I Need to Hire a Professional For My Taxes?

Professional For My Taxes

As we draw closer to tax season, consider whether or not you need to hire a professional to help you with your tax needs this year. The answer to this question is highly individualized, and you can determine the right course of action for you depending on your answers to the following questions.

How Thorough is Your Tax Knowledge?

You may already possess the basic knowledge of the tax process; i.e. relevant forms including W2’s and 1099s. However, filing your taxes goes far beyond just this basic information, and this is where filing can get tricky. You’ll need in-depth information on deductible expenses, like student loans and charitable donations, and if you’re a business owner, you’ll have to provide records of your expenses and your income. If you have a single income, no dependents, and don’t own a house, your taxes will probably be pretty straightforward and easy to handle. However, if you have any complications or feel unsure about how you should file, it’s probably in your best interest to hire an accountant or get professional tax debt relief.

Do You Make Money from Freelancing?

If you make extra income from a freelancing position and don’t pay taxes on it throughout the year, then you’re required to pay self-employment taxes in April. Even if you have another full time job that takes taxes out, the government still considers you self-employed because you make an untaxed side income. With this side job, your employer will report your earnings to the IRS as a deduction with a 1099-Misc. form, and if you don’t report it, you may find yourself in a load of hot water.

Self-employment also comes with its benefits during the tax season. You have a variety of potential deductions available at your fingertips, and a professional can help you navigate the deductions that apply to your particular situation, and help you avoid making any questionable deductions that could trigger an IRS audit. In this case, a professional can save you money, make you money, and keep you out of legal trouble—three tempting benefits to hiring a tax service.

Are You a Financial Supporter?

This may seem like a cut and dried question, but it’s more complicated than you think. Do you have dependents that you support financially? You may think you do, and file as such, but in actuality said individual may not qualify for that distinction. For example, even if you support a relative, if they’re not your direct descendent, the government may refuse your claim. Talking to a tax professional can help you correctly file any and all dependents.

How Much Time Do You Have?

If you’re busy and don’t have a hefty chunk of time to dedicate to getting your taxes in order, then you should definitely consider hiring a tax professional. The IRS claims that the average taxpayer will spend 22 hours preparing their taxes with the correct forms. If an entire day sounds like way too much time for you to spend neck deep in tax information, then you may want to shift the responsibility over to a professional.

Do You Have a New Business?

Did you just start a new business? If so, a professional can help you seek out essential business deductions, and pay all the essential federal business taxes, along with state income taxes, sales taxes, and excise taxes. An experienced CPA can help you forecast the costs associated with your business and help you save hundreds to thousands of dollars come April.

Have You Recently Had a Status-Changing Life Event?

If you recently had a child, got married, or got divorced, then your filing status has changed and you may need the help of a professional to determine the appropriate status. Some of these statuses may have time-sensitive dates which could make things more complicated. An experienced CPA will understand the nitty gritty of this process. Working with a CPA as time goes on is also a good idea because tax credits and deductions in regards to your dependent children could expire depending on age and salary.

Hiring a tax professional may be essential for maintaining your financial security. While those with uncomplicated incomes, no mortgages, and no dependents may find it easy to file alone, if you have any complicated tax issues, it’s in your best interest to use tax filing services.

Categories
How-To Guides

How to Lay the Foundations for a Successful Business

How to Lay the Foundations for a Successful Business

Recent studies suggest that around half of start-up companies fail within the first five years of operation. This means that even entrepreneurs who are convinced they have a great idea can quickly become just another statistic. To combat this, you’ll need to lay the foundations necessary for a successful business to flourish. Here’s what you need to know.

Have the Right Insurance Cover

Once you’re a business owner, one of the first things you’ll have to consider is how you’re going to protect your company. Getting the right insurance policies in place is integral to ensuring long-term survival. Not only will you have to consider essentials like property insurance, professional indemnity, and employers’ and public liability, but there may be additional policies specific to you that prove to be a wise investment. For instance, if you live in an area prone to adverse weather conditions like flooding or storms, it may be necessary to take out speciality cover.

Invest in the Right Technology

Many of us take the technology we use everyday for granted, but the truth is no successful business could get through a workday without it. If you want your business to be successful in the long-run, you’ll need to make sure that you design your system so that it will be able to scale with the growth of your business. This is relatively simple for software, as solutions like cloud storage can be easily upgraded or downgraded as and when you need it. For hardware, though, you’ll need to make the right buys from the offset. Try and make sure that desktop PCs or servers like those found here are able to be upgraded to keep up with changing trends.

Make Sure You Can Adapt

Finally, the most important thing any business can do to safeguard the future of their business is to learn how to adapt. No industry will stay the same forever so you’ll need to try and anticipate the changes before they become popular. One of the ways you can do this is to regularly solicit feedback from your target demographics to make sure you’re aware of what your customers values. However, sometimes even the customer doesn’t know what they want until they see it. This is why employing the best staff you can to create the most innovative solutions is so important.

Running your own business is never easy and mistakes are inevitable. By giving yourself a solid foundation, though, you’ll be able to make sure these mistakes aren’t too costly.

Categories
Networking

A Few Pointers to Stand Out at The Next Networking Event

A Few Pointers to Stand Out at The Next Networking Event

If your company is going to be the next big thing then you’re going to need to get out there in the business world and mingle. Networking events are the perfect platforms to showcase your professionalism and let everyone know about your company brand. You get to mix and mingle with likeminded individuals and create serious connections.

If you’ve ever been to a networking event before, then you know full well that there are hundreds of companies being represented in one location. That means in order to get your brand out there, you have to stand out from the crowd. To do this, a bit of research and preparation are necessary. It never hurts to be prepared so that you can rise to the occasion when it’s necessary. Here are some tips that will hopefully help you make a lasting impression:

  1. Do a Bit of Research on the Attendees

Are there certain business connections you intend to meet while at your networking event? If so, then you’re going to want to make sure you know your facts about the individual and their business ahead of time. A little bit of research goes a long way in making a good impression.

Let’s say you’re going into the retail industry for women’s fashion and you’re looking to start your own boutique. You might want to do some research on various companies who sell their products through retailers. For instance, if you’re looking for footwear, you might check out shoes from Marc Fisher to see how profitable the business is and how it might complement your brand.

  1. Try and Connect Others

Though finding business connections is your ideal goal, if you know other individuals that might work well together, being the connector can be a great way to impress both parties. For instance, using the example above, if you were in the retail industry specifically for women’s fashions but found someone who was looking for a vendor to sell their men’s fashions through, connecting them with other retailers is a great way to help them out and build a potential connection in the future.

  1. Don’t Over Pitch

Yes, networking events are a great platform for finding leads for connecting in the world of business, however, that doesn’t mean that you should over do it. Trying too hard to sell someone on your products or services is a surefire way to get labeled. When business owners feel like they’re being pressured to conduct business with you, they will likely go the other way and also tell other business connections to beware. So while you want to talk about your brand, you’re not trying to make a sell right then, you’re simply trying to build leads and generate connections.

  1. Quality Over Quantity

While you might want to meet everyone that came out to the networking event that day you don’t want to get so consumed with a number of connections that you forget to foster real relationships. Sure, you could very easily walk around the room and pass out your business card to everyone while introducing yourself in fewer than two minutes, but what will you be remembered for? Take time to really talk with people and cultivate relationships that can be remembered beyond the networking event.

  1. A Firm Handshake  and Eye Contact

When introducing yourself to someone, be sure to give a good old firm handshake to seal the deal. Handshakes are very useful in the world of business and should be used as often as possible. Also, as you’re talking with a business professional be sure that you’re keeping constant eye contact as you talk. Whether you’re doing the speaking or the listening, eye contact lets them know that you’re confident and that you’re paying attention.

  1. Don’t Forget Your Marketing Materials

This is not to suggest that you waltz into the networking event with flyers and other large pieces of marketing materials. However, what it does mean is that you want to make sure that you have a bit of information for your connections to remember you by. A simple business card is a great way to do this. It provides them with all of your contact information and gives them something tangible to hold onto.

  1. Practice Your Pitch

There’s nothing worse than clamming up when someone asks you what you do for a living. However, if you haven’t been to many networking events, this is a very possible reality. So to prevent looking embarrassed in front of others, it is probably a good idea to come up with a few things to say that can sum up what your brand is all about.

  1. Dress the Part

Lastly, you always want to go to a networking event looking like a professional. Sure you might work from home in your pajamas but when you step outside, you’re a representative of your company. Therefore, you want to make sure that you’re dressed well for the event. Again using the women’s retail business as an example, you might even consider putting on some shoes by Marc Fisher or clothing by other designers that you’re interested in working with. This is a subtle way to flatter your potential connections. If you’re not sure what to wear, business casual is usually the best option.

Networking events are the perfect way to grow your business, particularly for those who are just starting out. It might seem intimidating to be in a room full of successful professionals, but it is in these moments that you have the opportunity to create lasting relationships. As long as you keep these eight tips in mind, you should have no problem in standing out and making a lasting impression in the minds of many.

Categories
Operations

How to Increase Your Warehouse’s Storage Capacity

How to Increase Your Warehouse’s Storage Capacity

The storage capacity of your warehouse has a direct corollary with the day-to-day operations of your business. If space isn’t properly utilized, your options can quickly start to become restricted. At this point, companies can find themselves in a situation where their employee’s actions are limited and your sales as a whole start toslowdown. This is when you’ll need to consider what you can do to increase your warehouse’s storage capacity.

Identifying the Problem

Optimum facilities should be operating with around 75-80% of total space utilized, yet many businesses find themselves stuck around the 50% mark. When faced with the problem of an overcrowded warehouse, many companies think that the only solution is to seek out a new facility with a larger square footage. Not only could this be expensive, but it could also cause significant downtime to your business. While any modifications that you implement yourself will incur a cost, too, the end result of utilizing your existing space will be a far more cost-effective solution to the problem.

The traditional warehouse is made up of a combination of bulk storage and pallet racks. Goods that are stored in bulk storage are generally held in their original containers on the warehouse floor, and ideal for fast-selling items that are regularly arriving and departing. For more specialized items that typically don’t sell as quickly, these can be moved onto to the pallet racks.

Finding the Solution

If directly increasing your square footage isn’t a possibility, you can instead focus on making the most of your existing space. Each area afforded by pallet rack shelving is often referred to as a “vertical cube,” and includes all of the space around the load, the space above the cross aisles, and the total building clearance. When making alterations to this space, it’s important to remember to leave enough space for equipment to safely load and unload the goods without the risk of damaging them.

By placing back-to-back racks across the ceiling of your facility, you could also convert the space over the cross aisles into tunnel racks. When this is implemented, you could increase your storage capacity an additional 5-10%. However, this type of modification also presents a serious health and safety risk so you’ll also need to implement some kind of safety netting to prevent any loads from falling over areas where employees may walk.

Many delays in the sales process are the result of a poorly constructed warehouse facility. Correcting these issues can be a large undertaking and, if you don’t have the resources to address these issues, it may be in your interest to work with a recognized third-party instead. From here, you can focus your efforts on the other core areas of your business to create a stronger overall company.

Categories
Sales & Marketing

Tips for Marketing Controversial Products

Tips for Marketing Controversial ProductsControversial products can stir up attention with little difficulty, but marketing them in the best light for business can be a struggle. Many companies have found it difficult to market controversial products, and some have found that their chosen tactics have backfired and resulted in a failed venture.Follow these steps and discover the tactics you can utilize to sell your potentially controversial product.

Make a Plan

A business plan is important for any marketing strategy, but especially so for those looking to market a controversial product or service. Knowing your company’s ideals, values, and goals is essential to creating a thriving business. Putting in the necessary time and work before beginning your marketing strategy could mean the difference between a botched campaign and a profitable product. You need to set specific objectives, and follow these closely throughout your marketing campaign. Look for companies who may help cross-promote you, or find publishers that are open to honestly reviewing your product so that you have support before the real work begins.

Controversial Product, Not Controversial Marketing

For some controversial products or services, an equally eye-catching and, in some circles, “offensive” marketing campaign can pay off. However, not all controversial products are created the same. Maybe your product can be easily made fun of and seen as the perfect gag gift, meaning humor should be a large part of your strategy. Adversely, perhaps your product needs to be advertised with a “responsible usage” claim, meaning a serious tone would be more applicable.

Understand the tone needed, and go with it, as it could make or break your campaign. One controversial Hyundai ad was pulled after it made light of suicide, showing the campaign went too far to be acceptable for the general public. Making a joke of something people deem dangerous or inappropriate may not help your case, and remaining too serious with a product that should inspire laughs could end your business. It’s a delicate balance, and it’s essential that you master it.

Know Your Competitor

It’s likely your product has some competitors. Know them, understand their business, their target audience, and what you can offer that they don’t. Learn from marketing mistakes they may have already made, and produce a product that does what they do better. At the same time, look at the marketing strategies that worked for them, and borrow the most useful tactics.

Endorsement

Celebrity endorsement can be a helpful tool to market your controversial item. You may even need to delve into an industry to find the perfect spokesperson. One exampleis found in the marketing techniques of electronic cigarette company NJOY. They catered to their dedicated audience by creating an Artist’s Collection of NJOY e cig juice with five leading vape industry artists. This expanded their brand awareness within the already active vaping community, and created a product unique to the company.

Target Audience

Do research on your target market, and know your customers before you begin the marketing process. You don’t want to risk alienating a group who might have been your biggest buyer. Another majorcomponent of targeting your audience: know how you’re going to reach them. Depending on the product and type of market you’re striving to reach, there may be channels you simply can’t advertise your item on. Understanding the rules regarding your product, including those put in place by television, print, social media, or even stores can help you avoid wasting lucrative time and money. Disregarded regulations can result in high fines, which is something no starting business wants or needs.

Expert Knowledge, Expert Rebuttals

If you’re selling a controversial item, you’re going to run into those who hate it. Expect it and accept it. You’ll no doubt run into naysayers that try to use every argument in the book against your product for whatever reason, but you can prepare yourself to refute any false claims. Know your product, know its uses, and be prepared to defend it to those who seek to thwart your sales. You should have all information available to consumers. This complete transparency may help your product find its niche and avoid any potential legal issues.

Understanding your product and audience will help you form a marketing campaign that will most effectively sell your controversial item. Be prepared for adversaries, but arm yourself with the knowledge that your item serves a purpose and can find a dedicated audience.