Category: Miscellaneous

Financial Tips on Growing Your Small Business

Companies with 100 or fewer employees dominate the American business landscape. They now employ 60 percent of the work force. Further, entrepreneurs with small businesses continue to generate most of the new jobs.

Strength in numbers, however, doesn't mean running a small business is easy. The lack of economics in scale, particularly in the benefits area, can pose some thorny problems. Here are some ideas for growing a small business in today's competitive environment.

Managing business assets profitably. According to US News & World Report, the three major reasons why small business fail are insufficient profits (22 percent), poor growth (20 percent) and too much debt (15 percent). The challenge for you, as a small business owner, is to manage your business assets as effectively and efficiently as possible.

For starters, you need to know how much your business is worth–really worth. This means you need the perspective of your creditors and lenders. It would be time well spent to meet with a financial advisor who can help you determine typical rates of return in your area of business, average company earnings, current book value and projected rate of growth.

Repositioning cash reserves for higher yields can affect your bottom line. Consider putting funds that you don't need immediately in higher yielding securities which don't increase your risk significantly; such as, intermediate term CDs, money market funds, and bond funds. Also investment in dividend-paying stocks or in tax-exempt municipal funds can slash your business taxes.

Managing employee benefits carefully. The challenge for you as a small business owner is to attract and keep good employees while controlling the cost of fringe benefits. Small companies have choices other than straight health benefits.

Flexible spending accounts allow employees to use pre-tax dollars to pay for day care, medical care premiums and other specified expenses by creating a benefit package that includes a cafeteria plan.

Other benefits that you can offer might include group disability coverage, group life insurance or a SEP-a retirement plan for small businesses that is the lowest in cost and easiest to set up and administer.

By Susan O'Conner, IDS Financials

10 Ideas to Help You Remember Better

  1. WRITE IT DOWN:
    With the amount of things you have to remember in any given day, why should you try to stuff it all into your memory bank? When you want to remember something, the very best thing to do is write it down. Then, when you need to recall it, it will be there for you in an instant.
  2. KEEP IT TOGETHER:
    When you write down things you want to remember, keep them in one consistent place. Otherwise, you're going to spend a lot of time looking for your notes. TIP: The New Get Organized Now! Easy Organizer makes remembering everything a breeze!
  3. GOOD HEALTH:
    Eat healthy foods, get enough sleep, and exercise. These are all important for your memory, staying focused and being alert.
  4. RECORD YOUR THOUGHTS:
    Sometimes you might want to remember something, but it's impossible for you to write it down, such as when you're driving. A little hand held tape recorder is a wonderful gadget to carry around with you and record your thoughts, or your parking space number, or a phone number you see on a billboard.
  5. CALL YOURSELF:
    If you're at the office, and you want to do something when you arrive home, call your answering machine and leave yourself a message. When you get home, you'll listen to your message and remember exactly what you wanted to do.
  6. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF:
    If you keep saying you have a bad memory, you'll probably continue to have a bad memory. It's important to have a motivated, I CAN remember attitude.
  7. E-MAIL REMINDERS:
    There are many free e-mail reminder services available. You simply type in what you want to remember, such as a birthday, anniversary or event, and you then receive an e-mail reminder when the date is approaching. Try http://www.calendar.yahoo.com
  8. POST-IT NOTES:
    Those wonderful, little sticky notes can be amazing memory helpers. Want to remember something before you leave the house? Jot it down on a Post-It Note and stick it on the inside of your door. You'll be sure to see it as you're getting ready to walk out. Have to make an urgent call first thing in the morning? Leave a Post-It Note on your telephone.
  9. TIMERS AND ALARMS:
    Take advantage of alarm clocks and timers throughout the day. Have to take the clothes out of the wash at 3:00? Set your alarm clock to remind you. Want to leave for the basketball game by 6:15? Set your timer to beep a few minutes before.
  10. VISUAL REMINDERS:
    Visual reminders can help you remember and focus. I especially like visual reminders for remembering your goals. If your goal is to take a trip to a beautiful island in a few years, keep a magazine photograph of the island right on your desk. If your goal is to own your own business one day, find a picture or ornament that will help remind you of this goal each day.

    _____About the Author______________
    by Maria Gracia – Get Organized Now!
    ============================
    If you liked this article on having a better memory,  visit Maria's Get Organized Now! website for lots of tips, tools and ideas to help you get better organized, plus a FREE Idea-Pak and Newsletter!