Visit the US Small Business Association for tips, tricks and great interviews with IRS tax experts, like this one with Phyllis Grimes.
www.sleeveshirtconsulting.com
Showing posts with label Small Business Association. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Small Business Association. Show all posts
Friday, April 12, 2013
What Home-Office Deductions Can Your Small Business Claim and How?
The tax filing deadline is fast-approaching. If you're a small business working out of your home make sure you are you taking advantage of all the appropriate deductions!
Visit the US Small Business Association for tips, tricks and great interviews with IRS tax experts, like this one with Phyllis Grimes.
www.sleeveshirtconsulting.com
Visit the US Small Business Association for tips, tricks and great interviews with IRS tax experts, like this one with Phyllis Grimes.
www.sleeveshirtconsulting.com
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
SCORE!
If you’ve utilized the small business association to help get your business off the ground, you may have also heard of SCORE. For those of you that haven’t, SCORE is a nonprofit association dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and the formation, growth and success of small business nationwide.
Want a free online evaluation of your business? Click on the Small Business Assessment. After a quick questionnaire you will be presented with customized report with resources and topics that will interest you in your current phase of business.
The resources they provide are fantastic- suggested books, articles, and websites to review. Also, don’t forget to check out what webinars are coming up.
If you want a little bit more interaction, you can email questions directly to business experts. Prefer an in-person consultation? You can easily find an office in your area to set up a personal appointment. When was the last time you were offered 24/7 mentoring advice for free?
SCORE has a proven track record of helping small businesses. Ever hear of Jelly Belly Candy Company? Vermont
If you’ve worked with SCORE- we’d love to hear about your personal experience. For the rest of my budding entrepreneurs- check out SCORE today!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
What are you thankful for?
This year I launched SleeveShirt Consulting. Being an entrepreneur is exciting, challenging, and scary at times. As I sit down this Thanksgiving to reflect on my business, I’d like to take time to give some thanks.
• Thank you Norman, my fabulous graphic designer, with whom I would be without the SleeveShirt logo (set to debut soon!).
• Thank you to my colleagues on LinkedIn. Not only is it great for networking, but I’ve joined some fabulous subgroups which post thought provoking and pertinent information applicable to my business.
• Thank you Small Business Association. Who knew on that frustrating day back in 2008 when I printed out the entire contents of your site that I would be putting it to good use.
• Thank you Facebook for putting me back in touch with old friends and entertaining me endlessly.
• I am also thankful for Renee at YogaFlex. You manage to kick my butt every week and make me want to come back for more.
• I’m thankful for some really great reading this year: American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld , Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, City of Dreams by Beverly Swerling, The Chic Entrepreneur by Elizabeth Gordon and Leanna Adams, and Birthing the Elephant by Karin Abarbanel.
• Thanks to my daughter Natalie who enjoys preschool as much as mommy enjoys going to work!
• Thanks to my supportive mom who encouraged my small business venture.
• Most importantly, thank you to my husband Kevin who inspires me every day.
Happy Thanksgiving!
• Thank you Norman, my fabulous graphic designer, with whom I would be without the SleeveShirt logo (set to debut soon!).
• Thank you to my colleagues on LinkedIn. Not only is it great for networking, but I’ve joined some fabulous subgroups which post thought provoking and pertinent information applicable to my business.
• Thank you Small Business Association. Who knew on that frustrating day back in 2008 when I printed out the entire contents of your site that I would be putting it to good use.
• Thank you Facebook for putting me back in touch with old friends and entertaining me endlessly.
• I am also thankful for Renee at YogaFlex. You manage to kick my butt every week and make me want to come back for more.
• I’m thankful for some really great reading this year: American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld , Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, City of Dreams by Beverly Swerling, The Chic Entrepreneur by Elizabeth Gordon and Leanna Adams, and Birthing the Elephant by Karin Abarbanel.
• Thanks to my daughter Natalie who enjoys preschool as much as mommy enjoys going to work!
• Thanks to my supportive mom who encouraged my small business venture.
• Most importantly, thank you to my husband Kevin who inspires me every day.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Back to My Future
C’mon, jump in the DeLorean with me. It was 1995 and I was attending the State University of Albany pursuing a bachelor degree in Management.
Of all my courses, Marketing Management had a huge impact on me- it made me question whether or not I was indeed cut out for business. End of Semester Final: dream up a fictitious business and write a thorough business plan using all the learning’s from the semester’s class. The professor encouraged us to think small. A good business plan could spotlight the smallest, mundane product or service as long as the plan was well thought out and focused.
The result: I failed miserably. After weeks of wracking my brain, I came up with the plan to open a coffee shop. I think back and laugh about what the plan must have looked like on the professor’s desk. Did I think about training for all those baristas? Inventory for coffee sleeves? Insurance for employees who were burned frothing milk? This class was obviously lost on an 18 year old who was unsure of how these skills applied to real business.
Back to My Future. It’s now 2009. My husband received a fantastic job offer which required us to relocate. At the time, I was at a good corporation, in a so-so position and talks of restructuring surfaced. With a little luck I managed to end employment on a Friday, (with a generous severance package), and move my entire family on Monday to our new city.
In my new life I was unemployed and adjusting to becoming a stay at home mom. I had great ties to a few displaced corporate employees who were starting their own businesses. After some pro-bono consulting for a few months things just started to fall into place.
I didn’t expect to become a marketing consultant. I came about it quite organically. Could I have found the best of both worlds? We had enrolled our daughter in preschool for a few days a week. I already had one interested client who was reviewing her cash flow to see if she could bring me on board. I also had a very supportive husband who knew I would be happiest if I could find some way to channel my need for intellectual stimulation better than playing the coupon game at the local supermarket.
This time I had 10+ years of experience under my belt. I knew what a plan looked like. Heck, I had helped a friend write one which garnered a substantial loan from her bank. I had DONE business- not just here in the U.S., but I had also had the opportunity to travel abroad and work with clients and vendors in the UK, Netherlands, France and Germany. I was a business woman.
Within one month from deciding on my new venture I started an LLC, opened a bank account, wrote a proposal for my first client and started my very own business plan. Maybe it was a little backwards. Aren’t you supposed to write a business plan first? With one client eager to do business, I had to act quickly and skip the normal order of things.
I’m in the process now of writing that draft business plan. I know it will take time and that even when I complete it- that it will evolve. Looking back now, however, I wish I could Marty McFly back to SUNY Albany and take that Marketing Management class all over again. I would pour myself a venti skim latte and drink in every word of advice on how to make this plan a masterpiece of focused intent.
Of all my courses, Marketing Management had a huge impact on me- it made me question whether or not I was indeed cut out for business. End of Semester Final: dream up a fictitious business and write a thorough business plan using all the learning’s from the semester’s class. The professor encouraged us to think small. A good business plan could spotlight the smallest, mundane product or service as long as the plan was well thought out and focused.
The result: I failed miserably. After weeks of wracking my brain, I came up with the plan to open a coffee shop. I think back and laugh about what the plan must have looked like on the professor’s desk. Did I think about training for all those baristas? Inventory for coffee sleeves? Insurance for employees who were burned frothing milk? This class was obviously lost on an 18 year old who was unsure of how these skills applied to real business.
Back to My Future. It’s now 2009. My husband received a fantastic job offer which required us to relocate. At the time, I was at a good corporation, in a so-so position and talks of restructuring surfaced. With a little luck I managed to end employment on a Friday, (with a generous severance package), and move my entire family on Monday to our new city.
In my new life I was unemployed and adjusting to becoming a stay at home mom. I had great ties to a few displaced corporate employees who were starting their own businesses. After some pro-bono consulting for a few months things just started to fall into place.
I didn’t expect to become a marketing consultant. I came about it quite organically. Could I have found the best of both worlds? We had enrolled our daughter in preschool for a few days a week. I already had one interested client who was reviewing her cash flow to see if she could bring me on board. I also had a very supportive husband who knew I would be happiest if I could find some way to channel my need for intellectual stimulation better than playing the coupon game at the local supermarket.
This time I had 10+ years of experience under my belt. I knew what a plan looked like. Heck, I had helped a friend write one which garnered a substantial loan from her bank. I had DONE business- not just here in the U.S., but I had also had the opportunity to travel abroad and work with clients and vendors in the UK, Netherlands, France and Germany. I was a business woman.
Within one month from deciding on my new venture I started an LLC, opened a bank account, wrote a proposal for my first client and started my very own business plan. Maybe it was a little backwards. Aren’t you supposed to write a business plan first? With one client eager to do business, I had to act quickly and skip the normal order of things.
I’m in the process now of writing that draft business plan. I know it will take time and that even when I complete it- that it will evolve. Looking back now, however, I wish I could Marty McFly back to SUNY Albany and take that Marketing Management class all over again. I would pour myself a venti skim latte and drink in every word of advice on how to make this plan a masterpiece of focused intent.
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