Making Better Choices in a Still SLOW Economy
Most small business owners have done what they can to squeeze expenses, tighten receivables and manage growth of new expenditures. This recession will end as all rececessions do, yet in some pockets of the United States it still may languish for many more months.
Here are some simple ideas for your business to try during the final months of this recession which may enhance survival leading to thriving in the future.
1. Prune your customers that are not profitable to your future. These are of two varieties.
a. Low NET revenue - these are the customers that have a low price point and often the staff time is the same or more than your other customers
b. NO referrals - your current customers should be your best sales people.
2. Check your credit card statement carefully because many of those automatic payments can be eliminated and when you need them again, you just re-join or use them on an as needed basis.
3. Say "bye bye now" to underperformers. This is a hard decision but you and the underperformer will feel better after the fact.
4. Review your marketing and KNOW what is working, what brings in customers. All marketing should be an investment in your business and an investment means it needs to have a return which is MORE than you spent.
Staying vigilant now will lead to more success in the future. Strive to Thrive!
Copyright 2010 Linda Fayerweather MBA EA
http://www.changinglanes.biz/
419-897-0528
linda@changinglanes.biz
Business Plans Make Profit!
Taxes and Lame Ducks
Back in 2005, professor Steven Levitt and reporter Stephen Dubner published Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores The Hidden Side of Everything. The book became an instant bestseller, spawning a 2009 sequel, SuperFreakonomics, and the popular Freakonomics Blog hosted on the New York Times website. On October 15 -- the final deadline for filing this year's Form 1040 -- the blog asked four smart tax people a simple question: "What's the biggest potential tax policy mistake that might be made this year?" Their answers are especially relevant now, as Congress prepares to convene a lame-duck session to address lingering uncertainty over:
1) this year's tax rules, and
2) the imminent expiration of the Bush tax cuts -- issues they failed to resolve before breaking for the upcoming election.
Joel Slemrod, professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan, says the biggest mistake would be to lose sight of the long-term issues that surround public policy -- particularly considering the depth of the recent recession and fragility of the current expansion.
William G. Gale, co-director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Center, says that policymakers have already made the biggest mistake they could by ignoring the imminent expiration of the Bush tax cuts.
Clint Stretch, managing principal for tax policy at Deloitte Tax LLP, echoes Slemrod and Gale in citing "inaction" as the biggest mistake.
Donald Marron, also co-director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Center, says policymakers will be hard-pressed to top the tax policy blunders they've already made this year -- specifically, failing to decide what this year's tax law should be.
Those are certainly interesting philosophical responses. The problem is, the debate isn't just theoretical. The answers literally mean billions for individuals and businesses across the country.
Perhaps Donald Marron put it best:
"Will our leaders really allow the alternative minimum tax to hit 27 million taxpayers this year, a whopping 23 million more than in 2009?
Did the estate tax really expire back in January, making 2010 the year without an estate tax?
Will companies really receive no tax credits for their investments in research and development? Under existing law, the answer to each of these questions is yes."
Remember those old black-and-white movies where the villain ties up the damsel on the train tracks and cackles cruelly before the hero swoops in to rescue her? Well, those were just movies. Not real life. And in today's bitterly partisan Congress, too many members seem content to just watch the train barrel down the tracks towards the damsel. We can't afford to wait for a hero -- and that's why proactive tax planning, difficult as it may be, is even more important than usual. So call us with your questions. We'll give you your best shot at getting off the track before the train cuts you in two!
Copyright 2010 Tim Pinkelman, CPA
Accounting Center & Tax Services, Inc.
419-882-9255 or 734-847-0400
http://www.accounting-centers.com/
