Problems With A Home Office

I have an office that is 15 minutes away from my home. I have been debating keeping it because I am on the road and not in the office but several times a month. So I have taken a month to test out being at home. Most of the time it is great and convenient. There are drawbacks to the home office. Today as I rolled out of bed at 9:15 am I couldn't help but feel plagued by guilt. I realize that even when I worked in a cubicle I would usually not start working until then anyway. I just feel like I should always be working when I am home. I just wanted to start a pro's and con's list for having a home office.

Con's:

1. Less motivation in the morning to get started.
2. Unending guilt to always be working.
3. Less professional dress. I do not have to get dressed up so why should I is my argument?
4. Errands always get in the way. It is easy to make cleaning up a must do chore instead of the phone calls I need to make.
5. Personal and Business life have no boundaries. I was digging through personal tax documents this morning when I should have been working.
6. No sunlight. This is just my office, but I am in the basement and there is no sunlight, this is a long way from the corner office!

Pro's will be posted next!

Local Business

Finding a local business is often the first step for businesses. It appears to be easy and simple. Most often it is the hardest market. You know your local market better than anyone else, but you now have to think about it with fresh eyes. Where do people currently find your products or services? Where is your target market looking? How do you manage costs and find the right marketing and advertising vehicles?

1. Define your market - know who you are selling too.
2. Talk to friends - find out what they use to find and look up information
3. Take inventory of local advertising tools - pick up the neighborhood newspaper, scout out the local blogs.
3. Set a budget - Define how much you are willing to spend and fit into that space.
4. Track returns - put in tracking codes or qualifiers so you know where someone heard about your business.

I have found the best and most effective tools were the most reasonably priced. I have not seen a strong response from radio and television advertising for local and new startups. Be resourceful, talk to friends, and find your customers!

How To Build Cash Flow

Cash Flow has been keeping me awake the last three nights. I am worried I will not be able to make it out of the next three months. There is potential growth at the end, but making it there is what is worrying me. I am limiting my spending and tracking every penny. At this point I need to earn more. That is the hard part.
I have gone back to several prospects to determine a timeline and proposed payments. I know that this will get some money in the door, but it might not be enough. How do you increase revenue? What are the cash cows? I am trying to answer those questions and I juggle everything else.

The Right Lawyer For Entrepreneurs

I am currently in the process of closing out my year for the business and am trying to find a couple key documents. I do not seem to have records of them. I contacted my lawyers office yesterday in the early afternoon. At the end of the day I received a phone call from the head lawyer inquiring what my call was about. It was an eight minute conversation that left me feeling like lawyers might be the worst people on earth.
I understand that some lawyers can help people. I listened for eight minutes as this lawyer tried to tell this entrepreneur about our faults and why this was our problem, all of which I knew before I made the phone call. The funniest part of the conversation was when the lawyer told me my lack of detail. I understand and under other conditions would not think of it, but I happened to be looking at a corporate tax return, which they filed under a S Corp. This would not be a problem but, we happen to be a C Corp. It is hard to take criticism for detail when your own firm is not capable of the same detail.
This process just made me think more about Entrepreneurs and how no one is going to help your process. No one has admitted any mistakes sense I have started my business. It also made me realize in order to run a business you have to look at the details as much as the big picture. The big picture is easy for me to see and more fun for me to deal with, but the details will bring the company down. I left the conversations asking, what makes a good lawyer?

Google Test

How to rise in the Google Ranks?
1. Links.
Entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
And
Entreprenuer
This Entrepreneur

Can I get higher? I'll let you know!

Entrepreneur Tax Lessons

I am completing year end taxes for my business. I have a bookkeeper and an accountant. My bookkeeper has been helpful, and my accountant I have had minimal contact with. I learned earlier this year that my accountant sent in the wrong federal tax id number this year (2009), so my state taxes were filed incorrectly.

I was trying to complete year 2009, when in the middle of finding two expenses I was sidetracked by the IRS. I was told about missing filings between the years 2002-2005. There has been no filed completed and shows no record of one every being made. After an hour I hung up the phone.
At the end of the day I was contacted by the State Revenue office notifying me of fines due.

I believed that paying bookkeepers and accountants kept them doing the right thing. I was wrong. They are not liable for any fines. Make sure to double check any work and take control of your business.

Entrepreneur Motivation

"The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be lighted." - Plutarch

Taxes and Entrepreneur Love Story

For some reason my company has been set up as a C Corp, which will be discussed later. Additionally, it has been set up on a different calendar than the January-December calendar. This means that July 31st, is the end of my year. Which means that I am scrambling to complete my year end taxes.
This is obviously not my favorite time. I am going through every expense and trying not to kill Quickbooks. I have figure out that Quickbooks is not to be used by a new user. It is meant to be used by and Accountant or Bookkeeper.
I just quickly wanted to talk about how much taxes can weight me down. I thought I would not have to worry about taxes, but they are a real downer. I have had to classify all of my expenses and in the middle of this try to figure out how I am going to to pay and when I am going to pay my expenses. Putting me knee deep in a cash flow problem. Here are some things that I have learned.
1. At the end of each month reconcile your accounts, it makes it easier at the end of the year end.
2. Go to your local library and check out some tax and accounting books so that you know what is going on.
3. Ask as many questions as you can from your bookkeeper and accountant. They should have to explain everything.
4. Seek counsel. References are not enough, how do you know your accountant is doing the right thing?
5. Take a deep breathe. It will be okay and you will be able to cover your liabilities just take a deep breathe and it will all be under control.

Good Luck!

Entreprenuer 101

This Entrepreneur has started the business. Now what? Someone asks for identification of insurance. A Google search provides a list of some insurance providers will lead you to some options. Once you get the Insurance company on the phone they will ask for your Tax ID. If you are like my sister you have a look of shock on your face. Tax ID, who me? Every company, even yours needs to be registered with the government. They just love you that much they want to make sure they can help, I mean, take some money. Don't call a lawyer, unless you have a friend who likes to give out free advice. Again log on to your computer and do some digging.
For New York State a quick google search provided me with the state link New York Registration.

It does take some work to get through all of the information, but for $150, you can have a registered LLC! Now you just have to get that pesky Insurance company back on the phone and proudly announce your Tax ID number.

Do It All Entrepreneur

I am less than halfway through a book that advises the way to success is to outsource everything. Push back and make sure someone takes care of every aspect of your life. I have a real life example this week why this book is full of crap. I currently have a bookkeeper. Said bookkeeper has been very helpful and useful. This week I had requested the tax Id number while I was away from my desk. I was provided the wrong number. I then sent that number off and was told it was the wrong number. I thought this can't be. I then pushed back and realized that the number was wrong.
Not only had she provided me the wrong number she had also provided the state and federal taxes with wrong numbers. My taxes have been filed incorrectly all year. I about had a break down on the highway on a Friday afternoon. How can my taxes not have been filed? What are the fees going to be? How much interest are they going to charge me?
I had to take a deep breathe and realized that I needed to take more control. I need to be in control of the books and accounting. I need to make sure the correct information is filed. I cannot take the advice of my current book. I cannot allow other people to run my business because no one cares about This Entrepreneur like me.

Cash Flow Mangement

One of the most difficult processes for a start up like myself has been cash flow management. At times it seems like management is an overstatement because there not much there. At other times I don't know how I ever worked in an office. Managing the differences and influxes of money has become a frequent discussion. I have recently taken some steps to help control and curb some of the ups and downs. I first went through all of my expenses and tracked them. I have done this personally and decided to do it with my business expenses. I tracked every penny and then figured out where I was spending my money. I was able to see what I could trim out as well as plan for the next several months. Having the ability to plan gave me a little more control. The process I do not have control over is when my clients pay their invoices. I have thought about implementing an early payment plan, but for now just think I will have to learn to be patient. My bottom line is that I have to make more, and control my costs as I try too. I just need to make sure as I get there I don't run up my cards on the way to the board room.