Merry Christmas!

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Christmas time has arrived! This week I decided to take a step back from business as usual and just say thank you for taking the time to read my blog posts. I truly appreciate it & hope that it has provided value to you. If you have time during the holiday weekend to be still and reflect that is what I wish for you. I want you to celebrate your wins & jot down your losses so that next year will be even better than this one. Most of all I hope you take time to spend some quality time with your friends, family and yourself.

Merry Christmas!

3 Tips To Stay On Top Of Your Finances!

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Greenback,Moolah & Dinero. These are all references to money. For many of us the profit and loss report is the most important financial statement that we want to see on a regular basis. Why? Because it tells the story of how much we made, how much we spent and what is left over affectionately known as the bottom-line. So how can we stay on top of our finances so that we can know how much money our business is making?

1. Use a bookkeeping system on a regular basis to keep fresh data flowing into your reports.

2. Look at your reports on a regular basis. If you have monthly bookkeeping done and don’t review your reports on a monthly basis then you won’t be able to measure how well financially your business is doing. If you don’t understand your reports a good bookkeeper can help you with that roadblock.

3. Spend some money on a good CPA who will help you to create tax planning goals for your business.

We are all in business for different reasons BUT the one neutralizer is that we want to make money. The bottom-line is the reason and by applying the tips above you will be on the road to financial success.

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Planning for the Tax Man

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Are you ready for tax time? 

Do you have a list of vendors that will need a 1099 sent to them in January? 

Have you made your appointment with your CPA to discuss tax planning? 

If not, now is a good time to reach out to them to get your meeting scheduled. I recently spoke to a tax professional who said that business owners started contacting him in early November which was very unusual. So demand is high and now is a good time to send an email or make a call to get your appointment booked. I read an article from NASDAQ.com that mentioned there will be new tax concerns for business owners that use third party payment apps like Venmo, Zelle, Cash App to name a few to accept payments in their business.

Check out the article here and discuss it with your CPA to determine what implications it could have for you in 2022. 

Do you need help finding a tax professional? Check out this link to Ramsey Solutions to find a tax professional in your area.

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Welcome To The Month Of December

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I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with your friends and family. I love this time of year when one holiday rolls into the next one. In the month of December we get two for the price of one; Christmas & New Years Eve. As we wind down the year it is time to start getting organized for everyone’s favorite time of year which is tax time. 

Yay!

 Well maybe not:( 

But we do want to start getting our ducks in a row so that when the taxman comes knocking we are well prepared. This month we will take a look at a few ways that you can stay on top of your finances and be ready for your tax professional.

What is your favorite thing about the holiday season? Share in the comments below!

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The Month of November Round Up & Happy Thanksgiving!

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Today is Thanksgiving and a great time to slow down and take stock of what you are thankful for. I know many people will be celebrating with their friends & family but let’s also remember that some people will be alone so be sure to reach out to them. This time of the year is also a good time to slow down and count the many ways you are thankful to be a small business owner.

 In the work world today many people had to pivot fast due to the pandemic and they jumped feet first into entrepreneurship. No matter how you arrived in the small business arena it is the best decision in the world to run your own company. I wrote a few posts this month to help you to stay focused on your goals and organized within your business. I hope you take some time to read them and apply the tips.

 The life of a small business owner is hectic and fast paced with requirements to oftentimes wear many hats. We are all in this together. Take some time today to turn off the entrepreneur inside you and enjoy the festivities of the holiday and then get after it as soon as the business day starts next week.

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Apps That Can Help You Stay Organized In Your Business

Have you missed a meeting because the date was not on your calendar? Are you constantly feeling overwhelmed because your digital files are in disarray? Are you paying late fees to vendors because you don’t have a system set up to ensure timely payments are made? Do you get paid on time by your customers? Is this costing you time & money? The answer is probably yes.

“According to Entrepreneur.com, “Express Employment Professionals, a staffing agency, surveyed 18,000 business leaders to learn that company-wide disorganization cost 57 percent of respondents six working hours per week.

Disorganized employees can cost their company more than one-fifth their actual salary: $11,000 per year out of their $50,000 annual earnings. Elsewhere, a report by SaaS company MediaValet says employees spend eight percent of their workdays searching for files, and end up wasting time recreating between five and 15 percent of their company’s digital assets after giving up the hunt.”

Those are serious consequences.

The Solution

We have all heard there is an app for that and that is very true. Here are 4 apps that will help you to stay organized in your business.

HubSpot - This is a great tool to check out for customer relationship management. They also have great marketing automation tools too.

Flow - Flow is a project management tool and list creation app. It also intnegrates with Slack.

Google Calendar - This is by far the best calendar app out there if you are on the Google universe. It is free and is accessible on multiple devices. To check out other options look at this list created by Zapier.com.

QuickBooks Online - This is a no brainer in my option. QuickBooks Online is tailor made for small businesses and will help you to stay on top of money that is owed to you and money you owe others. The software can do a lot of other things but a word of caution is that it is easy to use and easy to get things screwed up so seeking out a professional to help you is priceless.

Digital Files - There are a host of document storage solutions out there like DropBox to Google Drive. The key to making the storage solution work is to delete unused files, organize the files the same way your paper filing system is and create shortcuts on your computer for frequently used files. Check out this article for more tips.

I hope you found this post helpful. What apps do you use to stay organized in your business? Share in the comments below~

Keep IT Sunny!

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Got Goals?

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Do you have goals for your business or are you just going through the emotions day to day? What is a goal? According to Merriam-Webster, a goal is “something that you are trying to do or achieve''. That’s it plain & simple.

So what are you trying to do or achieve for your business right now? If you are having trouble figuring it out in an organized way check out this article about how to plan your business goals so that they are achievable.

Do you have any goal setting tips & tricks that work well for you? Let’s learn together &  share in the comments below.

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Welcome To The Month Of November!

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We are coming down to the last stretch of the year and I hope you are hitting your business goals. If not then don’t fret. This month I want to take a look at goal setting and apps that can help you to stay organized. This is the time of year when everyone can get lost in the holiday shuffle.

It is also a great time of the year to start goal planning for the next year & to take stock of all that you have accomplished so far.

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The Month Of October Roundup!

The month of October went fast! I hope you had a chance to get outside and have fun enjoying the pumpkin season. As we move toward the end of the year I wanted to take a look at ideas that would set you up for success.

This month I wrote about how to set yourself up for success first thing in the morning & how to make effective decisions in your business. As you wind down from the Halloween and pumpkin season activities I hope you have a chance to read the posts above and apply them to your business goals.

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How To Make Effective Decisions In Your Business

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Running your own business is hard work. If you have a team then the job just became even more complicated. There are a million ways for things to go side-ways but there are also a million ways for things to go right if you have the right information. Take a look at the tips below to help you to acheive success in this area.

1. Envision the future impact of the decisions you make today.

2. Think about the opportunity cost of not making a decision on an issue.

3. Consider all options that are currently available to you.

4. Pinpoint the risks involved.

5. Take time to sleep on it before you make a final decision.

The life of a business owner is multi-facted. The key to effective decision making in your business is to look at the issue from all sides, pause to reflect and then move forward confidently with your decision.

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How To Set Yourself Up For Success First Thing In The Morning

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As a business owner, you are pulled in a million different directions. What do you do first thing in the morning to set yourself up for success? Do you wake up and instantly turn on your phone and start scrolling through your email messages? Do you have a morning routine that involves anything but creating a state of peace and balance to start your day? I start each day with prayer then I turn on a positive sermon to listen to on YouTube and then I go about my day. The way you start your day is the way your day is going to flow. 

According to Nextivia.com, these are 8 things you should do in the morning to set yourself up for success:

• Wake up early

• Wake up to a soothing alarm

• Exercise

• Eat a healthy breakfast

• Avoid checking your emails or social media

• Write in a journal

• Seize the day

• Meditate

I would like to add one more tip to the list:

• Be intentional

You can check out more on their blog post here.

I hope these tips help you to get re-energized and ready for your day!

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Welcome To The Month Of October!

The month of October is here and all things fall are in full play. I love this month because it brings up all kinds of fun nostalgic things like going to the pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin to picking fresh apples from the orchard. Yes, you can do all that here in Las Vegas surprisingly! It is also a great time to get refocused on your business.

This month we will take a look at mindset and what does it really take to be a great leader in your business. We will take a look at making decisions with the long term in mind, doing what it takes even when you don’t feel like it and learning how to achieve balance.

Take time to really savor this time of year and enjoy the fresh air~

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The Month of September Round Up!

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I can’t believe this is the last day of September. It came and went really fast. I hope you had a chance to get outside to enjoy the weather and to get reenergized within your business. This month I shared tips and tools that can help to restore focus in your life. I also shared how you can zap those energy vampires that are taking up your precious time. I wish you peace and harmony in your business.

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Tools You Can Use To Create More Peace!

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I am so busy these days and I am sure you are too. I am always looking for apps and life hacks to make things more manageable. Here are a few that I stumbled upon that I use:

The Calm App - I use this app faithfully at night to help wind down my mind and body. It really works.

Teamwork PM - This is my go-to project management tool for running my business in the cloud.

Chill Background Music - I love listening to Aura Relax on Youtube and Hawaiian Cafe. It keeps me calm and focused on the task at hand.

I hope these tools help you to create more balance in your business and life.

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Do You Have Energy Vampires In Your Life?

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Halloween is just around the corner and is a fun time of the year to get dressed up in costumes to take on an alternate persona. The ghosts, goblins and vampire trick or treaters will be out to see how much candy they can grab to put into their baskets. In our business there are so many things to distract us from doing what we love with excellence like busy messaging systems like Slack pinging all the time to incessant Zoom meetings that seem to come one after another. The tools we use to do business like Gmail or online apps can be the source of draining our energy little by little.

What Can We Do?

I don’t have all the answers to that question but I do have a few tips below that I have implemented that seem to be working:

Email - I respond to emails within 24 hours at a set time three times per day at 8 am, 12 pm & 3 pm. This system keeps me organized and focused on the work at hand.

Cell Phone Distractions - I disabled the email notifications and all work-related notifications on my phone so that when I am done working for the day I can truly be done. I also move my phone away from my work desk during the day when I am working and make a point to check it during a set time so that I don’t miss any important phone calls.

Social Media - I check my social media during the same timeframe that I check my email so that I can stay on top of what is going on.

Meetings - I am not a fan of meetings just to have a meeting. I make a point to schedule all meetings in advance and to create a meeting agenda to stay organized.

Quitting Time - I do my best to stick to a set time every day that I stop working and put it on my calendar as a reminder.

These are a few of my daily activities that I do to keep those pesky energy vampires away from me so that I can remain refreshed and energized to take care of my clients. What are some tips that you can share to keep the energy vampires at bay?

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Be Quiet

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Growing up we probably all were told by our parents to go to our room if we disobeyed them or to just be quiet if we were talking too much. The ultimate punishment was to have all your toys taken away for a period of time and to be grounded. What might seem like a form of punishment in those childhood years now appears to be just the thing we need to do as grown-ups and more so as entrepreneurs to get reenergized. Today I was listening to a sermon by Pastor Charles Stanley about how to be quiet and still. He made a lot of good points and observations that resonated with me. He described the different methods we use to try to get quiet which I think are very useful to implement as we seek to regain our energy and focus toward being successful entrepreneurs. Here are a few ideas:

• Go for a walk

• Go to the woods and be still

• Go to the beach

These are not new ideas but gentle reminders that it is necessary to seek out quiet time daily to calm our minds down, slow our breathing, and to take capture any thoughts that are negative. When we do this a burst of renewed energy and enthusiasm for life will appear. This will filter down into our businesses and help us to get back to doing what we love with a new purpose.

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Welcome To The Month Of September!

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Welcome to the month of September. I can’t believe that summer will be winding down soon and fall is on the horizon. This month we will take a look at how we can get reenergized within our business and fall in love with it again. We will look at tips and tools to help us to stay focused and motivated. We will also look at one app that we can use to help us to stay organized and give us time back to focus on doing what we love.

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More Reasons Why You Should Use Accounting Software To Track Finances

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The life of an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart. The word busy is something that just comes with the territory. Nothing is more frustrating than working yourself to the bone but not having the information you need to make important business decisions. Here are a few more reasons why using an accounting software program like QuickBooks Online to track your hard-earned finances makes financial sense:

• It will arm you with information to determine if you can pay yourself

• It will help you to determine if you can start bringing on team members

• It will help you to pull reports to see if you are on the right track for your annual revenue goals

• It will help you to stay compliant with the taxman

If you have a special spreadsheet that you like to use to track your finances keep on using it BUT also use a professional accounting software system to track your finances so that you can pull reports to help you to make important business decisions. One day you might just decide it is time to ditch the spreadsheet.

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I Have No Idea How Much Money I Made Last Month!!!

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Have you ever said this to yourself?

It is a common mantra among entrepreneurs who are so busy doing the daily work in their business that managing the financial performance of it gets lost in the sauce. This month we are taking a look at why it is important to track your business bookkeeping inside of an accounting software. One of the main reasons is to have the ability to answer the question: How Much Did I Make In My Business?

The best way to get this answer is to keep your books reconciled on a monthly basis. The art of reconciling the books just means grabbing your bank statement and literally matching it line by line item to what is showing in the accounting software. Once everything has been accounted for then you know that your books have been reconciled and can close the month and start fresh in the next month. Now bookkeeping and accounting is way more complex than pulling out a statement to match transactions but doing this aspect of it is necessary to pull reports that answer questions like the one above. 

So if you have no idea how much money you made last month then head over to the reports section in your accounting software and find the profit and loss statement or what it is known as in the accounting world, income statement. The income statement or profit & loss will tell you the story of how much you made by selling your services or products, what you spent on expenses and what was left over. The “what is left over” part will tell you how much you made in your business last month. 

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Welcome To The Month Of August! & It's My Birthday Month:)

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I can’t believe it is August. Where did the time go??? I love this month that is filled with a change in season (depending on where you live) and a start to new beginnings like taking classes or taking a fresh look at your business. 

This month I want to take a practical look at why it is important to have your books in order and tracked within an accounting software like QuickBooks Online. There are many reasons why it is crucial that your business finances are managed in an organized manner outside of just using an Excel spreadsheet that can help you to be more successful within your business.  I think that sometimes we just need to be reminded of the reasons why we are going through all the effort to manage the business bookkeeping in the first place.

It’s August & my birthday month - It is time to get busy!!

Keep IT Sunny~