The Planner Blog
Fear and Loathing in Washington D.C.
There is a lot, and nothing, going on in Washington D.C. at the same time. Here is an...
How Well Are You Interacting With Your Accountant?
Have you ever played tennis by hitting a ball against the garage door? It’s not the worst way to practice. If you focus on the right parts of your technique you might actually get somewhere, but playing with a real, live partner who’s engaged in the game is going to take your skills to the next level. This is not too dissimilar from the accounting function in your small business.
What Is Tax Strategy?
Strategy, according to Mr. Webster, is “a careful plan or method”. In business, a strategy is generally how you achieve your goals. So you may have a marketing strategy to obtain new customers, or a hiring strategy to source new employees. Strategy, no matter what words you use to define it, is forward thinking. Sadly, many business owners never think of their business strategically, but remain reactive. If you fall in the reactive category, I suggest you stop reading this and pick up a copy of The E-Myth by Michael Gerber.
What We Aren't
If you were introduced to someone this afternoon, it’s pretty likely you’d be asked about what you do. It’s so likely, in fact, you’ve probably got a quick and easy answer that just automatically spills out when you’re asked. Your answer is probably a simplified, easy-to-digest version of your real job description, not unlike Hank Hill’s “propane and propane accessories” line.
Get to Know the Profit First Method
What if there was a way that you, the small business operator, always got paid?
Real Estate Case Study
You try on shoes; you test drive a car, you even read the online samples of a book before you finally make a purchase. Doing your due diligence is just part of the process in any purchase, and we’d expect nothing less if you’re looking at bringing Core Group into the fold to take your business to the next level.
Art Gallery Case Study
We talk about all the things that Core Group US can do, but the bottom-line question that all of our prospective clients pose to us is pretty consistent – What’s this relationship going to look like for me?
It’s a fair question. Before you pay for any customized service, you want to know what really happens when the rubber meets the road. Not only in terms of getting value for your money, but there’s the question of that all-important (and equally vague) notion of being a “good fit.”
We think the best way to give you an idea of what we have in store is for you to hear it from one of our existing customers.
Below is an interview with Lindsay, an entrepreneur who runs a shop specializing in the sales and consignment of work produced by local designers and artisans. They offer everything from t-shirts to furniture, and they’ve been an established presence on the local retail scene for almost a decade.
Time to Upgrade Your Cash Flow Strategy
If you’re old enough to have grandparents who lived through the Great Depression, you might have memories of them holding onto seemingly idiosyncratic behaviors that were caused by enduring that traumatic period. I had a friend whose grandparents refused to allow condensed milk in their house for any reason. They experienced such severe poverty when they were children that condensed milk thinned with water was the closest thing they could afford to fresh milk. The scars from that childhood memory were so significant that even 50 or 60 years later, it still shaped how they lived their life.
2020 Small Business Tax Deductions
Deductions for small businesses can be categorized into three buckets: items you assume are deductible, items you did not know were deductible, and items you can deduct strategically.
The Sales Volume Lever to Increase Small Business Cash Flow
Increase business cash flowThis is a continuation in our series of the 8 Levers to Increase Cash Flow in Your Small Business. In this article we turn to the Entrepreneur’s go to fix for cash, increasing sales.
Small Business Tax Tips for COVID-19 Response
It just seems like the hits keep on coming in 2020, and as if there wasn’t enough for us to deal with already, we still have to think about taxes.
Why Dave Ramsey is Bad for Business – Part 2
More insidious than Dave Ramsey’s obsession with debt, is his admonishing small business owners to not have partners. Let me say upfront that I completely understand what he is trying to accomplish with people, and I’ve certainly experienced my share of bad partnerships, but abstaining from all business partnerships is frankly a little goofy.
PPP Flexibility Act Provides Small Business Relief
And just like that, Congress shuffled the deck. To be clear, the PPP Flexibility Act brings welcome relief to those small businesses that participated in the Paycheck Protection Program, but it didn’t address all the issues. My gut tells me that they’re not done tweaking this, and before anyone takes action, we need to see what regulations the SBA issues regarding the new law.
Why Dave Ramsey is Bad for Business – Part 1
I am going out on a limb here, but I don’t like Dave Ramsey. That may be heresy to some, but let me explain why. Aside from the fact that he is dull to listen to, has not a funny bone in his body, and generally is preachy and dogmatic, that is not why I think Ramsey is bad for business. It’s not even that I disagree with his advice, although most of it tends to be more family therapy than financial help. In large part, his recommendations make a lot of sense for the right people, and that is what brings me to my trouble with him. His advice is geared towards wage earners, NOT small business owners. I’m sure there is a lot of crossover, meaning many small business owners have wage-earning spouses, and deal with many of the same issues. The shortcoming is, however, that Ramsey’s advice doesn’t go far enough. His advice is, “if you don’t have cash, don’t buy it.” Brilliant idea, but not very practical for most small business owners. Sure it is preferable to not have to borrow money, but does it really make good business sense?
Does Your Small Business Need a CPA?
The CPA, the accountant, the tax guy, whatever you call them, most small business owners have someone to help them with their numbers. So, does your small business need a CPA?
Small Business Lessons from Marathon Training
If you’re like me, you’ve heard the phrase a thousand times, this isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. I didn’t really understand the depth of that phrase until I ran a marathon. For most of us who haven’t ever run a marathon, we interpret the phrase as something like, don’t go too fast, this is going to take a while. Or we think, we’re not going to achieve this overnight. While both of these things are true, they are only partial truths.
Tax & Accounting Services for Small Businesses
Previously I’ve written on 6 Keys to Hire an Accountant, now let’s discuss the different ways you can work with an accountant. There are many things an accountant or CPA can do for you, but we will focus on the ones that pertain to small business owners. Here is a list of services generally offered by tax and accounting services:
6 Tips for Protecting a Small Business in the Age of the Coronavirus
Remember February 2020 Pre-Covid? Those good times feel like ancient history.
