What's the Best Business to Own?

Every now and then I put on my thinking hat and do a bit of day dreaming. I would always start of by asking a question, no matter how ludicrous the question may be.

One such question I asked was "Whats the best business to own?" Or, "if a good business opportunity came across our desk one day, what kind of business would it be?"

The following dot point summary is what I came up with and the reasons why:-

1. Cash business

- don't want to have debtors

- don't want to chase customers for payment

- businesses go bankrupt because customers don't pay when they are supposed to, yet creditors demand payment immediately

- want to receive income in cash

- want the ability to pay creditors on terms (ie: 30, 60, 90 days)

- great on cashflow

2. A ready market & strong demand for your products or services

- Having a ready market and strong demand for products and services means you should have a Regular and Steady Income which require little or no marketing

- Theoretically you can "setup a shop and sit and let money come to you

- Running a business is hard enough, you don't want the added stress of continually worrying about getting customers to cover overhead costs, etc

- Any extra marketing that you do choose to do isn't driven by survival but for growth

- Making money should be simple and easy. There is a saying "when you want to climb a mountain, do it on a sunny day, not a rainy day".

3. Expandable

- This is the ability for a business owner to capitalise on the existing infrastructure of the current to generate additional income

- This could be through "spin off businesses" or "marketing innovation"

- This concept of expandability is based on a quote attributed to Albert Einstein "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results".

- If a business owner inspires to achieve greater results from the business, he or she will need to do something different.

- Likewise, if a business wants to achieve a better result than other businesses in the same industry, they need to something that the industry as a whole isn't doing

- The marketing guru Dan Kennedy regularly talks about how a business can create simple marketing breakthroughs by "borrowing ideas from a different industry"

- The ultimate responsibility of a business owner is to control the marketing function

4. Not restricted by specialised skills & training

- Tongue in cheek "a business which even a monkey can do"

- When I reminise back in the days when I worked in McDonalds, I now appreciate the SYSTEM which they had developed. They had a perfect system whereby at the crux of it all you had a business owner who employs an 18 year old who manages a group 15 year olds who has no prior experience in making hamburgers!

- A business which you can only do if you have specialised training or 20 yrs worth of experience is a very difficult business to grow. It's very difficult to duplicate yourself. You just run out of hours in a day.

- If you want to expand you need to hire and train employees to run the business

5. Simple operations & systems

- A system for a business owner is ultimately the ability to employ staff to replace yourself

- World renowned business guru & author Michael Gerber coined the concept of "working on the business not in the business"

- A simple system is how you achieve this

6. Owners Profit

- Money is important

- Not only must the business be able to meet your current needs but there should be enough of it to reinvest in the business to expand and grow

7. Must be creating an asset

- To laymen, an asset is something which has a value and you can sell

- For many business owners, you build a business which you ultimately want to sell to someone for a profit

- The worst business to be in is one which doesn't have any goodwill, or that goodwill is inherently connected to the individual owner. Once the owner leaves, the customers or goodwill leaves to.

- Examples of common business assets are:-

Plant & Equipment

Licenses

A customer database

A prominent brand

Loyal customers who are attracted to your brand

A unique marketing system

Advertising mechanism

A Distribution channel

Regular and recurring revenue (ie: management fees, rental, subscriptions)

The list goes on and on

8. Utilise leverage to grow and succeed

- Leverage is the ability to achieve more with little or less effort

- A businesses which can be easily leveraged can be grown faster than one which can't

- Common forms of leverage are:-

Leverage money & cash flow

Leverage time

Leverage skills & resources

Leverage marketing

Leverage a system

9. Can EASILY obtain bank funding

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7001151

Small Businesses Using Online Software to Manage Their Business

Businesses nowadays are very much different from what businesses have been some twenty to fifty years ago. The main reason behind this is the improvement of technology through time. Businesses have been surfing along the tide of improvement of the technology making the business more successful as time goes on. Business software has increased significantly through the years leading to further efficiency and integration. These benefits are only possible nowadays - these modern days - through the advancement of computers and calculating software.

In today's modern world, efficiency and rapidity of work is a must. They must be always paramount among other things that are the reason why, the period of office runners who are responsible to pass information from one desk to another are long gone. They have been taken over by much more efficient and quick business software that can also perform similar tasks.

Also, the period of stacks over stacks of papers filed in the desks is long gone and has been also replaced by business software that can file your works, documents and information in memory without having hassles in having and printing of paper files. This software can now transfer your files and information from one place to another in a much shorter time than snail mails can do.

Benefits of Online Software

Here are some things that online software can contribute to small business to make things easier to the business and the owner:

1. Online software has increased the integration and efficiency of the small business

2. Online software offers great rapidity and efficiency to the speed of which the tasks are done.

3. Online software leads to faster transfer of information from one desk/department to another.

4. Online software also offers full integrations of the internal systems.

5. Online software also offers good communication that can result to a better business.

6. Online software can help run the business smoother and give a better service to its customers.

7. Online software and business software can help managers study all their departments simultaneously, checking ledgers and payrolls whilst keeping tracks of the employees bills and expenses in materials.

8. Online software can help improve client relationships especially to those who want to be treated individually. They can check the likes and dislikes of each client, check and save their information and know their demands in just a matter of one click. Today, clients are of greater important that is why they do their best to maintain their clients and make them feel that they are valued and appreciated.

9. Online software and business software can now also have internet access that can make tasks be done easier, transfer files faster and connect with clients no matter how great the distance may be.

10. Online and business software can secure your businesses in a safe place leaving you feel relieved about the security of your business.

Business before the Computers and Excel

Have you been wondering how business manage over the years before the super computers started to sprout out including the much widely used and preferred excel? Have you been wondering how they can transfer files and communicate to their clients locally and internationally? Have you been wondering how they file all their paper works, files and tasks and do them accordingly and without delay?

If you are taking that it's too slow like and may take years, (yeah may be I'm exaggerating, let's make it days or weeks), well, your correct. You're absolutely correct. At that time, information is transferred from one place to another through mail that is why it may take weeks before you can receive it. You need to pass the information as early as you can before it is needed so that you can do work and submit paper works without delay.

Before computers, the machines that businesses used mostly are the typewriters and the calculators. Even the calculators at that time are not that advance as what the calculators today can do. Everything that needs to be done is done manually, done by hand. Each computations and written outputs are done by hand with pen and paper. All are hand-written like sales receipts. The spreadsheet, done today in excel, are once done on paper. The accounting records are once kept on ledger books. They once have these elaborate filing systems that keeps the records and inventories they have achieved.

Even before the era of typewriters, all business letters have to be hand-written. Those days are so slow and hard that every staff and employees should be meticulous in each and every task they are working. Everything that should be done requires more effort. Papers records are laboriously and meticulously files and creates. They are less accurate and less effective than what computer system's today can offer.

The online tools for business

Different online tools have been spreading nowadays like SaaS. SaaS or the Software as a Service is a kind of software distribution model where applications are presented by a vendor or a service provider. This software offers many benefits to online businesses by being user-friendly software giving easier administration, having automatic updates on the latest feature of the software; the software is also compatible to any users, has easier collaboration and is globally accessible.

Not only is SaaS is the only software used for business. There are also other online tools and sites such as goDaddy that offers fast and secure email contacts, advanced 4th-grade generation hosting, helps entrepreneurs to do business in the web and many more.

There is also where employees can get up to 25GB for email storage, can, make instant messages and chat with their clients, secures your data and is highly reliable and is easier to operate.

Aside from those two, there are also sites that would be of great help to your business like the dropbox, plumsale, mailchip, etc. They give you benefits in their own ways. You just have to explore and see what fits for your business.

Under The Hood Checkup For Starting A New Business

Business Check Ups When Starting A Business

A good business check for beginning a new business should begin with a business plan. A business plan is simply a written map on how you will go about starting and running your business. If it is not an online business you'll need to choose a location and ascertain if the businesses comply with zoning and licensing laws. You'll need to apply for local and state permits or licenses if required.

The second step is financing your business startup. You'll need startup capital, loans, or venture capital to get started.

Enterprise Structures

You'll need to determine the legal structure of your company. You're choice of ownership choices range from sole proprietor, partnership, limited liability company (LLC), S corporation or corporation, to a non-profit.

A partnership is easy to organize and can have greater financial strength by combining managerial skills and having another set of fresh judgments for running the business which can be valuable.

A Limited Liability Company (LLC ) may be treated as a sole proprietorship or a partnership or even a corporation. The advantages are that the owners have a limited personal liability for debts incurred by the actions of the LLC and enjoy the flexibility and benefits of flow through taxation.

An S Corporations is a small business corporation whose shareholders elect ot have corporate income taxed like a partnership. Whereas a corporation is treated as a legal entity. The stockholders have a limited liability and transfer of ownership is easy. It is easier to expand and raise capital and very adaptable to both small and large businesses. The life of the corporation is perpetual. The big disadvantage is that it is taxed twice and is more expensive and difficult to organize.

Next you'll need to register with state and get tax ID number. Applying for federal and state ID numbers and other legalities are next on the list. That may possibly consist of registering a DBA (doing business as) if you use suffix's as "& CO" or "& Associates" or anything that denotes additional organization owners or if the name is different than that the S corporation, corporation or LLC, non-profit name.

If you are a corporation, LLC or any business activity for that matter, you'll need an EIN number. The EIN number is a federal tax identification number and is also known as the Employer Tax Id and Form SS-4.

Just as you need to register an EIN federal number, you'll also need to register with your state's revenue agency. This is because they want to tax you and register you for any licensing, permits and include you for income tax withholding as well as sales and any possible use tax permits.

You'll need to obtain workers' compensation, unemployment and disability insurance. This is especially mandatory if you will have others in your employ. The only possible exception is a solely owned and run internet market, stock trading from home and other work from home businesses.

If you sell products, you may be required to collect sales taxes and will need a Sales Tax Permit. Be sure to get familiar with state and local taxes and registration requirements.

Should you sell taxable items you'll want state sales tax ID numbers. In case you hire employees you'll need to have both federal employer tax identification quantity as well as a state employer tax identification in addition to your basic insurance protection.

Bookkeeping, Record Keeping Practices

Perhaps the most important aspect of a company is your bookkeeping and maintaining accurate records so you know where you stand. This is accomplished by keeping separate bank and checking accounts and check books. Keeping records, setting up accounting procedures so that you comply with making regular income tax payments is essential.

Never mingle personal with organizational expenses or you'll get in trouble with the IRS. Keep and maintain accessible records in case of an audit. The IRS has recruited new armies of agents who especially scrutinize excessive travel expenses as well as dining out expenses.

Keeping good organized records can help you save money. Most business owners do not want to spend time keeping records and would rather spend time running their business unless they are a professional bookkeeper. Keeping track of business expenses on a systematic basis is tax deductable. These are the common expenses in conduction your trade or business.

Good records will help you monitor your enterprise. It will help you track receipts if any questions arise from customers. Purchases, sales, payroll and supporting documents for any deductions on tax matters need to be kept. Your record keeping should clearly document income and expenses and you'll need to keep them as long as they are needed. Employment tax records need to be kept for at least four years.

The burden of proof is on you. You are presumed guilty before you begin. It is your responsibility to prove all bookkeeping entries, deductions and statements on your tax return. You have the burden to prove any expenses that you plan to deduct. Good record keeping avoids headaches at tax time. If you use your home office as a business you can deduct mortgage interest, insurance, utilities, repairs, depreciation or rent. Also you can deduct travel using public transportation, maintain your car, meals, lodging and other related expense. These must be ordinary expenses, provable and necessary.

A simple single entry bookkeeping is the simplest to keep. With this system you have a record of daily and monthly business income and expenses. It will show sufficient detail for tax purposes and the focus is on the business's profit and loss statement and not on its balance sheet.

After you set up the type of bookkeeping system you want, you'll next need to choose an accounting method. Is it going to be a cash method or accrual method? A cash method reports all income in the year you receive it. You'll deduct expenses only in the tax year in which you pay your taxes. With an accrual method you'll report income in the year you earn it regardless of when you receive the payment. As such you'll deduct expenses in the tax year you incur them regardless of when you actually pay those expenses. If you have the type of business where your inventory is for sale to customers, you'll generally use an accrual method for your sales.

Some business accounting statement can be helpful. An Income Statement is an overview of your company's revenues, costs and profitability. That and a Cash Flow Analysis will help you tell how well your business is doing. A Cash Flow Analysis gives a detailed monthly account on how money flows into and out of your business. Subtracting your monthly expenses from your receipts gives you a good gauge of the overall direction of your business direction.

When you start your business checking you can obtained them from your financial institutional banks as well as online. Ordering and reordering checks from bank is not the most economical way of doing business since banks markup their checks costs and it will cost you twice as much as if you ordered online. It is an unnecessary additional expense to any enterprise. Purchasing smart is a virtue and should be pursued in all matters big and small. Purchasing online is economical and quantity discounts and special deals are always available.