Entrepreneurship

5 Tips for Young Entrepreneurs to Organize Their Business Finances

Nov 26th, 2013
by Guest.
1 comment

If you’re like many small business owners, you started your company because you had a fantastic vision and a dream of implementing it in your community. However, much of your day-to-day time is spent on management decisions, marketing and those dreaded finances. To streamline your approach, take a critical eye to your small business finances to identify problem areas that many young entrepreneurs miss.

Complete a Break-Even Analysis to Make Concrete Goals

Even with the best business plan in the world, it may be months or years before you begin to cover expenses and turn a profit. The Small Business Association suggests calculating your break-even point, at which your costs equal your revenue, by identifying all of the fixed and variable costs of your business. Fixed costs include rent, salaries, or other amounts that don’t vary with sales volume. Potential variable costs include shipping, manufacturing costs or purchasing inventory. Use rent or salary calculators to determine the specific amount you have to deal with.

Subtracting variable costs from the unit sales price gives you an index of your gross profit per sale. Then divide your fixed costs by the gross profit per sale to find out how much money you need to make to break even. Knowing your break-even point allows you to make specific, actionable goals. Perhaps you can reduce costs by moving to a lower-rent location or changing suppliers. Before you make a business decision, recalculate these numbers to see how the decision affects your bottom line.

Remember the Taxes

As a young entrepreneur, you’ve likely leveraged many of your assets to get your small business off the ground. Even if your business isn’t generating huge profits, you’ll still owe Uncle Sam for taxes. With the complications of estimated tax, self-employment tax and various deductions, it’s smart to hire a tax professional to handle your finances. Being hit with a huge tax bill and arguing that you didn’t realize you needed to pay tax throughout the year is no excuse. Make sure you’ve set aside a portion of your business profits (or personal money, if your company hasn’t begun to turn profits yet) to cover tax payments.

Reinvest Dollars In Your Business

There’s no way around it — you need to spend money to make money. Since you already have fixed and variable expenses, why not recoup a percentage of those expenditures to reinvest in your business? Finding a good business credit card that gives you cash back is a savvy move. For example, a lot of business credit card companies give you points back on every dollar you spend. Decide whether cash rewards or travel miles make most sense for your business model and choose a corporate credit card accordingly.

Put the Cloud to Use

Traditional bookkeeping keeps you tied to your work desk, long after you’d rather be home. By moving your accounting to the cloud with Expensify, you can monitor finances and generate expense reports from anywhere. Expensify automatically imports and categorizes purchases made from your corporate cards. Plus, you can snap a picture of receipts using your smartphone. Expensify will generate an expense for the exact amount shown. When it comes time to generate expense reports, the relevant information is at your fingertips.

Keep Your Personal Accounts Personal

When you’re first starting out, you’re likely investing personal cash in your small business. However, it’s important to reduce personal liability by keeping your corporate and personal finances strictly separate (this may be legally required, depending on your business entity). Set up separate banking accounts, credit cards, and accounting systems. Not only does this help you at tax time, but it allows you to make smarter business decisions by keeping things compartmentalized.

Carlos Vetter

Carlos is a marketing agent from California who handles advertising for several Fortune 500 companies.

International Business Heat Map

Nov 24th, 2013
by Sharon Rowe.
No comments yet
International Business Heatmap

International Business Heatmap

   http://www.internationalbusinessguide.org/heat-map/

How To Make Extra Money

Nov 2nd, 2013
by Sharon Rowe.
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If you are looking to bring in some extra money each month then there are ways that you can increase your monthly income. Some of them will not make you want to devote a lot of time to the activity, others you might find is the start to your new self-employed career. Whatever road that you take it is important to remember that you should not give money to get a job, they should be paying you.

There are many different options that are going to be available but what is important is that you pick one that you enjoy and are able to do. There is little point thinking that you are going to make loads of money in the first few weeks, this is seldom reality and only a very lucky few hit the jackpot with making extra money, most of the jobs are going to take time and commitment to successfully complete the task in hand. Many of the jobs that you can find on-line including the jobs listed below can be very repetitive and can have a high turn around in staff because of the activity.

Money

Surveys

Everyone has heard the comments that if you take on-line surveys then it will supplement your income. They might offer a small amount of money for participation but they are so boring that after spending an hour or two filling them in you will not want to go back. But they are a way to make a small amount of money each month if you are committed to spending sometimes long hours for very little return.

Virtual assistants

There is the possibility of earning an income becoming a virtual assistant, these jobs can be varied but again they tend not to bring in too much cash. There are some reputable companies that are about but you will need to consider what the job will entail and if it is worth the wages. But they can be a great way to work at home whilst bring up a family or if you are unable to travel to do a job this  could be the answer for you. Some countries cater better for this type of work than others.

Telephony 

Phone

There are many jobs that you can do which involve the phone, selling items over the phone and earning a commission. Cold calling potential customers and getting appointments booked in. This type of job will not be a great payment option but it will mean that you will be able to work from home, this limits the costs involved to you. It can be very difficult to get the customers to answer questions or to book appointments, it can be a very difficult job if you are paid on performance and not on the amount of calls that you make.

Freelance writing

This is taking off with markets opening up all around the world it is possible to make money in this market. It will take time and it can seem to go slowly at first but there are many different options. You can actively seek work in some of the on-line sites that connect writers with clients. It can be difficult to make vast sums of money connecting to clients in this manner and you might try the traditional method of contacting the editors direct. There is the work out there you just might need to look to find it.

Until you have got a steady income stream coming in you might not be able to give up your day job, it will be hard work and sometimes you might be wondering what an earth you are doing. But if writing is your passion and you have the commitment and the drive to learn the skills required this can be a very rewarding job. But sometimes it can be long hours, especially if you write for companies around the world connecting and talking can be challenging but it is not impossible.

Working from home

[Row houses, corner of N and Union Streets S.W., Washington, D.C.]  (LOC)
It is possible to make a career from working from your home, but it can be difficult when your family want your attention, or friends pop round for a coffee, because you might be at home but you are still trying to work.

You will need to consider the tax implications, and you might need to inform your local tax office that you are now self-employed. It is important that from the start you keep a record of the hours and the money that you earn from your self-employed job so that you can prove how much you earned in the tax year.

If you have the ability and the space to work from home it can be very rewarding because you are there in an emergency, but some people can find it very lonely and this can be challenging to those people that are looking for company and support.

Whatever option that you choose to follow it is going to take dedication and commitment to find the time to work. It is important that any job that you are offered that you do not pay for the position, this can and should ring alarm bells that the job might not be the job for you. After all you are looking to make more money and not to spend it on registration fees or products that you do not want or need.

The list above is not all the different options open to you, there are other jobs out there that might fall around these areas, or they might fall into the category of selling products at parties and if you are an outgoing person and are comfortable meeting new people in this manner then this might be another option that you could look into in further depth.

What options have you found and tried? Do you have any secrets or advice that you want to share with others as to the options that are available to make extra money? Are there any areas that people should avoid completely?

 

How To Make A $100 Before The Holiday Season

Oct 21st, 2013
by Sharon Rowe.
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Do you want to make some extra money or are you trying to boost your holiday saving budget? These are all tried and tested methods where if you put in some time you might be able to increase your budget before the end of the year.
Sometimes the added pressure of the holiday season can be difficult on any budget and at this time of the year the expenses seem to rocket. If you are able to save some of that expense from ruining your hard work then you need to start thinking sooner rather than later on how you are going to tackle this problem.

International Money Pile with Free Cash and Forex Coins
Selling


This option has become very popular in the last few years selling goods and products that you no longer need or want. There are various different sites including EBay. You log the product that you want to sell and include the postage price too and this is stored on the site for a set amount of time, your choice, and you see what bids you are able to get. You have to sell to the highest bidder and they transfer the money through pay pal and you send off the goods. EBay and PayPal might take a percentage of the money, they are businesses and they are in the business to make money. You have to be cautious that you do not lose money on your sales and you will need to do research before you sell an item.
You have the potential to make some money before the holiday season starts, if you aim to sell $50 of goods in the next two months that will add to the total that you could make.
Cash back sites


It is possible with every purchase that you make you could be saving money with each purchase. You just head to the shop by going through the cash back sites and in return you will be making some of the commission money back.
If you look at the site www.shopathome.com you can earn anywhere from 1.5% to 9% cash back on your purchase, so it you where to spend $200 you could potentially make $10 in cash back if the rate was 5%, obviously if the percentage was higher, the cash back that you would receive would also be higher.
Refer a friend

There are many companies that are on the look-out for new customers and the best way to get them is from friend referrals.

A great friend referral scheme is being run by www.airbnb.com/referals, you can earn $25 for your referral when your friend takes their first trip and a staggering $75 when they rent out their place. So, even if you are just refer a friend that you know is just about to take a holiday then this could add to your holiday season spending money.

If you use moneybookers for your money transfers you can earn money each year with your friend referrals to this site. In one year you can earn a maximum of $135.31 by referring friends to this site. So in the two months before the holiday season you might be able to make in referrals up to $22.5.

Target


With these few ideas you would have made a staggering $107.50 dollars and you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own home. Just imagine the potential that you could achieve if you started this idea in January and whatever money you made in this way will be used to pay for the holiday season.
Whatever option that you consider trying you need to be able to keep up the momentum which is why I look at these ideas later in the year, that way I am not bored with some of the repetition that some of the sites require you to do to earn points or money.
Other options


One of the fastest growing areas is www.swagbucks.com here you are able to do the normal internet usage but at the same time earn Swagbucks. These are great and you can use them to purchase items in the Swagbucks shop or exchange them for vouchers. You just use the internet as you usually would after registering on their site and down load their tool bar and there you have it a complete system that will allow you to gain Swagbucks for just surfing on-line. I have heard of people using this system during the year and using it to pay for their festive season completely, this will free up the expense and means you will have more money to invest and watch it grow.
Best time to buy


These are just a few great deals that you can get when you are considering increasing your income before the holiday season. But what if you are planning any big purchases do you know when you will get the best deals?
The best time to buy any large ticket item is between January and March, these are the months that for retailers are the hardest months to sell their products and they tend to have the largest sales during these months. So if you are looking to save money then you should consider these months as the best time to get the greatest deals. This is when customers have the least money to spend because they are normally still paying for the festive seasons and if you are able to take advantage of this time and save money, it will help towards the holiday season next year.
Different options

Some of the ideas that you can use to make money are:
• Selling
• Swagbucks
• Friend referrals
• Cash back sites
There are many different options that people use to make points or save for the festive season and having different ideas can always make people think about making their money stretch that bit further, so if there are some different ways that you like to make money or are able to build up points that you can swap for purchasing power please recommend them in the comment section below.

How To Make Money On YouTube

Oct 17th, 2013
by Sharon Rowe.
No comments yet

If you have ever thought that you could make the odd YouTube video, have you considered making some money from this?
youtube-logo

There are a few steps that you will need to follow to be able to bring in some money but if you are serious and can work hard then it is possible to make some great money here.

  • You will need to open a YouTube account, without this you will not be able to up load your video’s to the site.
  • The aim of the YouTube account is to upload your video’s, you will want to make them as best quality that you can, this will encourage your viewers to come back and watch the next clip that you up load.
  • The content that you upload needs some careful thought, it can’t have material that could get YouTube sued or prosecuted so you do need to be careful with what you are considering focusing on.
  • Make sure that your content is of the highest quality, this will mean that you will get more people prepared to watch the clip.
  • Make sure until you have an established audience that your clips are short and that you are posting them regularly.
  • It is not about posting loads on one day and then leaving it a month before the next instalment, it is better to have fewer each day and spread the clips out over a period of time.

You used to have to wait until your audience was larger than 500 so you could apply for the YouTube partner, this meant that you will start to make some money for the channel that you are perfecting. It was important that you were able to advertise on the site and you needed to sign up to a separate advert company like AdSense.

This has all changed all you need to do once you have uploaded your video clips is to press the monetise button and all the hard work is now being done for you. It is the time that YouTube wants you to use your skills to make YouTube even bigger and better than it ever has been.

So, if you are not shy and you are looking to make some money then it might just be an idea for growing money. But beware you might be liable for tax on any of the money that you start to make.

Owning the Big Companies – Stocks 101

Aug 20th, 2013
by Cecilia.
2 comments

Does the CEO own the company? Does the Board of Directors? And yet we always hear about CEOs getting sacked, the Board being replaced, and all those key management executives trying to please the owners. Now a simple question comes to mind: who really owns those multi billion companies?

The answer is simple: It’s the stockholders.

To understand the concept, kindly read this article that explains how the accounting equation works. Done? Good. Moving on – the equity section is usually divided into different stocks or shares. In the simple world, a business is set up by the owner. Everything the owner gives to the company is added to equity. So for example, he gives $1,000 to the company. The assets go up by $1,000, the equity goes up by $1,000, and the equation is still balanced. Now, that $1,000 equity may be divided to, say, 10 stocks – so it is $100 per stock. The owner decides to sell that stock. When he sells one stock, the $100 of equity will be transferred to the new owner. But how much is the original owner paid?

Let’s say that two people want that one stock from the original owner. One offers $100, and another offers $150. The original owner will probably sell to the second buyer for $150. Hence, the original owner receives profit of $50. In the company’s records, however, only the $100 share is transferred.

Suppose that the buyer, the second owner, sells this stock to another buyer for $500 – he then gains a profit of $350. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the concept of trading.

Going back, the third buyer now has ownership of that one stock. Given that there are 10 stocks, he gets 10% of control. How is this important? He can now be a director of the board, or vote for another who he wants to be the director. A lot of corporate functions are also approved by the stockholders – usually by majority vote. So if the owner of the stock is not happy with the board, he can vote for another.

Hence, the Board of Directors want to make the rest of the stockholders happy. The Board appoints the Executive Committee like the CEO, who also wants to make the Board of Directors, and in effect, the stockholders happy.

Therefore, if you own a stock, then you actually are the owner of the company. The difficulty is owning a significant number of stock that your decisions will be controlling. For example, if you do not sell the 51% of your stocks, then you will always have the majority vote.

Now, do this is a bigger scale – like 10 billion shares. That’s how the big companies work. But as it takes one step forward to start the race, it also takes buying one share to owning a company. Imagine being the boss of Bill Gates – one share at a time. Learn to grow your money.

For more on trading stocks, try a subscription to The Street (free 14 day trial).

 

3 Rules for Entrepreneurs

May 16th, 2013
by Sean.
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Linda Descano, Managing Director and Head of Digital Partnerships, Content and Social, North America Marketing, Citi, and President and CEO, Women & Co., lays out her three cardinal rules for entrepreneurs.

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Staying Financially Afloat

May 7th, 2013
by Sean.
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Amanda Steinberg, Manilla’s Financial Expert and Founder and CEO of DailyWorth.com, speaks from experience in this Manilla Mini. She shares what she’s learned about starting a business while staying afloat financially.

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How to Become Your Own Boss

Mar 13th, 2013
by Guest.
No comments yet

With the economic situation only improving extremely slowly, and many companies continuing to go out of business, it is natural for many people to consider working for themselves.  Self-employment can seem the right way to go for those who want to control their own working hours and do something that they enjoy rather than going out to work for a wage just to pay the bills.  There are, however, many things that need to be taken into consideration when becoming self-employed and it does require some planning.

Consider taxes

When starting out as a self-employed individual it is important to think about the type of business it is going to be in law.  There are several different legal structures for a business and these include sole trader, limited liability partnership, a partnership or a limited company.  Most people when starting out will opt for sole trader, but there are some advantages to considering the other options and it is a good idea to get some professional and legal advice on the matter.

It is important to notify HMRC when self-employment is in place and there are deadlines for this, although the sooner it can be done the better.  Tax will need to be paid before the set dates otherwise there are penalties to pay, and this can be expensive for a business still in the early stages of trading. A sole trader will need to pay income tax and National Insurance but there are business taxes for other types of company and – depending upon turnover – it may also be necessary to register for VAT.  An accountant will be able to advise if the new business will need to consider issues such as ir35.

Planning ahead

There are some other important points to consider when starting a new business.  Is the business manageable for one person or will staff need to be employed?  Is there a good market for the product or service that is being offered?  It can be very difficult when first starting out to get the right balance between marketing, administration and actual productive work.  It is a good idea to get some advice when starting up on your own and there are plenty of places that will offer good advice, such as the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

The use of an umbrella company can also help to take away some of the strain when first starting an enterprise.  When using an umbrella company a freelancer is not officially self-employed but is still able to decide what type of work they do and when.  The umbrella company will deal with all the administrative aspects of running the business and the freelancer pays tax and National Insurance on a PAYE basis.  This type of service is ideal for those who are just starting a business as it can help them make the transition from being a company employee to having their own company.  It is then possible to concentrate on the important things, such as finding clients and marketing, without having to take time to deal with tax returns and issuing invoices to clients.

The Business of Cuddling

Feb 14th, 2013
by Sean.
No comments yet

Just when you thought when people cannot think of more creative ways to make money, a woman, Jackie Samuel starts a cuddling business in her own home in Rochester, NY and provides professional snuggling service. She charges $1 for every minute of cuddling service and even has a name for it. She calls it, “The Snuggery.” Apparently, her business is doing so well that she has to hire another snuggling professional.

How much can she make?

According to The Daily Mail, she makes $260 a day with her cuddling business. By calculation, at a rate of $1/min, 260 minutes of service at comes out to about 4 hours and 20 minutes of work a day. If she wants to make the popularly targeted $100K annual income, she would need to work 100,000 minutes per year, which means about 6.4 hours every day, 5 days a week for 52 weeks. 6.4 hours of work a day is still less than the hours most full time professionals put in to make the same $100K income.

For comparison, a professional masseuse may make $1 a minute, but which takes more physical work? A professional masseuse or a professional ‘cuddler’?

 

Entrepreneur spirit? Yes, we have to give that to her.

Creative? Yes.

Opportunity? In a niche market.

Legal? Yes, as long as it’s strictly cuddling.

Ethical? Yes/No. Depends on who you ask.

Money Generating Idea? Absolutely! Pays the bills for her.

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