Raising Money Smart Kids
Think back to your school days. What subjects did you learn in the classroom? Reading, writing, and math for sure. History, geography, and science as you progressed through the grades. Perhaps even art and music. All of these subjects are important and certainly useful to you at some point in your life (even though you probably swore up and down when you were eleven that you would never have any practical use for algebra!).
What Type of Boss are You?
Starting a small business presents a multitude of challenges that can stretch your natural abilities past your comfort zone, but no challenge is greater for most entrepreneurs than being a boss. You may have originally decided to go into business for yourself so that you didn’t have to work for “the man” any more. You wanted the freedom to develop your own style and make your own decisions. That’s why finding yourself becoming “the man” can create so many challenges.
Setting Up Your War Chest
Some businesses call it the “war chest”, some, preferring a more gentle moniker, call it a “rainy day fund” or a “cushion”. No matter what you call it, it’s important and just good business sense for every small business to have some previous profits tucked away for those inevitable times when surprise losses or expenses rear their ugly head and threaten to strain your company’s resources. Having business savings set aside has many benefits, including allowing you the freedom to take more calculated risks in your business and being able to take advantage of business opportunities as they arise.
Before You Buy Small Business Accounting Software
It will happen eventually. As your business grows, you will at some point outgrow your current accounting system, whether you started out with a manual ledger, an Excel or Lotus spreadsheet, or simply a shoebox (or refrigerator box, depending on the number of receipts your business accumulates).
A Small Business Call-to-Arms
The statistics are alarming (and somewhat depressing). Ninety-six percent of small businesses fail with ten years of inception. Ninety-six percent! That means that for every 100 businesses started today, only four will still be standing in 2015.
RRSP or Pay down the Mortgage? by David Trahair, CA
This question comes up every year around February as the RRSP selling season hits its peak. The suggested solution from the RRSP sellers is that you can do both: make your RRSP contribution, and then use the refund to pay down your mortgage. But this isn’t a compromise. They will have achieved their objective and received your RRSP funds. Their real message is make your RRSP contribution instead of paying down the mortgage, period.
10 Critical Decisions to Make Before You Buy Personal Financial Software
Great! You’ve made the decision to purchase a personal financial software package to track your finances. But, before you go to your local office supply store to buy one, there are some decisions that you need to make regarding what you want the program to do for you. The more planning you do up front, the more money and aggravation you will save yourself. Know the answers to the following questions:
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The Entrepreneur’s Bookshelf
There are literally thousands of books on every aspect of business from start up to management to marketing. You could spend a lifetime reading about managing your business rather than running your business. Not very effective! There are however, some books that have stood the test of time and, in my humble opinion, should be rendered dog-eared and tattered by every small business owner. You can buy these books at almost any bookstore, or borrow them from your local library. Please note, these books are not in any particular order.
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Owner Compensation
This article is all about you – the owner and manager of your business. Up to this point, we have been concerned with the financial viability of the business. Can we keep the doors open? How do we plan for growth? How do we collect our accounts receivable more efficiently? These are all questions that have so far been answered.
Grow Your Business By The Numbers
Many small businesses use the splatter approach to marketing and growth. They throw together some advertisements for the paper, or perhaps for radio. They prepare some flashy brochures and mail them to all the potential customers in town. They take out a big ad in the yellow pages of the phone book. Then they cross their fingers and hope that business floods in the door.