Archive for the ‘Business start-up’ Category

While I’m not an accountant or an attorney (any more!), it is tax time and I am paying my taxes along with the rest of us.  So I thought it would be helpful to provide a few basic guidelines for tax deductions for the small business owner and be sure you’ve taken advantage of these legal benefits of having your own business.

Business Operating Expenses

Many expenses are deductible against your business revenues.   These reduce your taxable income from your business activities.  Whether or not an expense can be deductible depends on several factors:

1.  Was the expense “ordinary and necessary” for your business?  The IRS defines ordinary as “common and accepted in a field of business,” and necessary as “helpful and appropriate to your business.”

2.  Did it relate to a business (as opposed to personal) activity?  A mere hobby does not qualify for the business deduction.

Adequate records will be required for all expenses as well as items that are amortized (where a portion is depreciated each year) over a period of years.

Some examples (not a complete list) of common expenses that are deductible to a business include things like advertising, bank service charges on business accounts, commissions paid, costs related to the sale of goods, dues, business gifts, office expenses, office rental, travel expenses, independent contractor services and more.

Other business-related costs and investments may not be directly deductible but may be eligible for other favorable tax treatment.  For example, certain start-up costs are amortized over a longer period of time.  Capital expenditures in equipment and furnishings can be deducted up to a certain annual limit; above that limit, amortization and depreciation are required.  There are other exceptions to the deductibility rule, such as home office deduction, and business use of an automobile.

And the list of expenses that are neither deductible nor amortizable is even longer!  Representative expenses that do not qualify for deduction (not a complete list) include bar or professional examination fees, charitable contributions or gifts by non-corporation, country club dues, commuting expenses (with some exceptions), job search expenses and more.

Retirement For The Self-Employed

As a self-employed business owner, you can deduct up to 25 percent of your net income to a Self-Employed Pension or SEP.  Other retirement options include IRA, Simple IRA and others.  Don’t forget to put some of your hard-earned money away for the future – and get a deduction too!

Your Coach Training And Other Education

Up to $4000 in tuition is deductible if you are below the adjusted gross income ceiling of $65,000 single, $130,000 couple (and if you have higher AGI, you can still deduct $2000).  IRS Topic 302 addresses this.  Check with your tax professional as to whether a coaching school qualifies as a “post-secondary institution.”

Home Office Deduction

If you work from home, you can deduct, for your home office, the percentage of mortgage, utilities, insurance, taxes, repairs and related homeowner expenses allocable to the number of square footage your home office is divided by total square footage of the home. 

Business Entertainment

If you take clients to lunch, buy them tickets to an event or conference, travel on business or otherwise enjoy meals or other listed entertainment expenses, you can deduct a percentage of it on your taxes (often 50%).

Health Insurance

Any medical insurance you pay for yourself can also be deducted against your business income.  Certain other uninsured medical expenses, including nonprescription medications, acupuncture, and eyeglasses, are also normally deductible.

Business Assets

Did you buy a computer, printer, projector, software, or other items for your business this year?  If so, you can usually write off the cost of those items (up to an ever-increasing ceiling) under Section 179 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Business Mileage

Since many coaches work from home, any transportation to see a client, attend a meeting, pick up mail or do other business errands is usually deductible as business mileage.  Commuting to and from one’s office is always excluded, but with a home-based business there would be no commuting to eliminate. 

For further details and the current requirements, please consult your tax advisor or see online resources such as CCH’s Business Owner’s Toolkit at http://www.toolkit.cch.com/text/P07_2510.asp or the Internal Revenue Service’s Tax Guide for Small Business, available on their web site at www.irs.gov.  The IRS offers streaming video classes as well as Power Point presentations on its web site regarding deductible business expenses.

And for a full course on your start-up – including legal, accounting, and helpful logistical issues such as phone systems, software, where to get funding and more, get our Jump-Start Your Purposeful Business e-course (or join our class in progress) today!  www.purposefulentrepreneur.com/jumpstartbiz.html

Should you be incorporating your business?  What should you put in your business plan?  How to you calculate what to charge?

These and similar questions face every new business owner.  And when your goal is to establish a purpose-based business, you also need to learn to manage your mindset, explore your relationship with mon_ey, find ways to streamline from the start, and more.

If you are starting (or restarting) a business – or about to – and don’t know the step-by-step process to navigate establishing your business name, legal issues such as incorporating, contracts and more, bookkeeping, fee setting, the logistics of your shopping cart and how to take credit cards, as well as clarifying you vision and implementing it – then won’t you allow me to mentor you?

Successful people seek out help when they know they need it – and startup is an area fraught with minefields!  Starting tomorrow, Wed., March 24, I’ll be sharing ALL my sec_rets with you in a 5-week teleseries, “Jump-Start Your Purposeful Business.”

Don’t struggle and wonder if you forgot something – let me walk you through it all!  Just visit www.purposefulentrepreneur.com/jumpstartbiz.html for details! (Convenient payment plan available too.)

Are you doing things in your business that others could do faster, better or more cost effectively? But not sure how you can afford to hire help?

If there is one key that has helped me grow my businesses quickly, it is getting help from the beginning. When I founded Career Coach Institute nearly 9 years ago, I had my first VA (virtual assistant) within the first few months. She started out at about 10 hours a week, and quickly expanded her role from there! Even though I didn’t have lots of extra money, the VA immediately paid for herself as she freed me to do the higher level tasks that could advance the business.

And it’s important not to bring on just anyone as your staff. They should be screened not just for skills, but for attitude, commitment, and their ability to take things off your desk (vs. simply taking orders or directives and doing only what they are told). Alex Mandossian calls these gems “drivers” – and they are indeed a rare find!

To find contract staff for your business, consider E-lance, Craigslist, or your local classified ads – or referrals from other coaches who are happy with the staff they have. Companies such as Assist U train and certify virtual assistants – and a newer company, onlinebusinessmanager.com, also trains and certifies Online Business Managers too. Think about the level of the staff person you want, whether you want a company that already has subcontractors they can farm work out to that is at various levels, or whether you want to assemble and manage your own staff.

The sky’s the limit when it comes to staff – but are you ready to let yourself be supported in this way? As John Assaraf so often says, “Hire people who play at things you have to work at.”

To experience the power of Conscious Creation in the company of other committed coaches and the author, as well as learning the 6 other critical aspects of the Evolving Entrepreneur’s Conscious Cash Creation Roadmap, click here to read the details about the Evolve Live Intensive Nov. 12-14 and get your preferred registration rate today.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Marcia Bench is a Spiritual Business Strategist and Coach for conscious entrepreneurs in service-, information- and professional businesses. She is the CEO of Purposeful Entrepreneur.com, as well as the Founder/Director of Career Coach Institute and other coach training companies, with more than 23 years of experience in coaching and consulting. She has authored 23 books including The Tao of Entrepreneurship and has given hundreds of live and teleclass presentations.

Copyright © 2009 Marcia Bench; All Rights Reserved

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include the following with it:  “Spiritual Business Strategist and Coach Marcia Bench publishes the widely circulated ‘Purposeful Entrepreneur Times’ ezine biweekly to over 5,500 subscribers.  If you’re ready to start or grow a profitable business based on your life purpose and passion, get your F_REE tips now at www.purposefulentrepreneur.com“

 

I was blessed to be able to meet and host Pam Slim, author of the new book, Escape from Cubicle Nation (released 4/30/09!) at my recent Purposeful Branding retreat.  Here is Pam and me at the event.

If you haven’t yet picked up a copy of her fantastic new book, I highly recommend it!  A blogging expert for years, Pam helps dissatisfied employees (and there are a LOT of you out there now!) find the fulfillment of owning your own business.  Check it out here and join the “Escape Party” now!

And if you want to find out “The Hidden Secret of Filling Your Coaching Practice Effortlessly – Even in Today’s Market,” join me TONIGHT for a free information call – reserve your space to attend or get the mp3 here

Happy entrepreneuring!

Model #4: Mastermind/Group Coaching Model

 

Increasingly, people want to connect face to face with others that have similar concerns and interests to theirs. And the Mastermind group is the perfect way to do this. You invite people who attend an event or teleclass preview of the program, have a start date and end date, and request applications for the number of positions you have open in the group (typically 10 to 15 people). The coaching can include one or more two-day retreats with you and the group as well as monthly phone calls and, if you wish, individual coaching of 1, 2 or 3 sessions each. (Price point for this is significantly higher than the typical one-on-one coaching model above.)

 

Model #5: Training/Certification Model

 

This has been my primary coaching delivery model with Career Coach Institute and my other coaching companies. People register for a paid teleseries, a live event, e-learning, or other means of obtaining knowledge toward becoming certified in a specific area (e.g., Certified Career Coach or Certified Purposeful Entrepreneur Coach). Either as an add-on or as part of the program, depending on your price point, you offer coaching with you directly or with another coach you have personally trained.

 

Model #6: Product-Based Coaching Model

 

The final model is one where your first sale to a customer – and the way they primarily find out about you – is a book, an info product (workbook and audios or DVD and workbook), etc. You then offer up to three levels of coaching that help people implement the content of your product – so they already have some familiarity with your content and welcome the opportunity to have implementation support.

 

Want to learn which business model is best for your Brand Personality™? Join Marcia for her brand new Purposeful Branding, Marketing and Info Product Creation Mentoring Program 2009 – starting with our kick-off retreat May 1-2! For full details and to reserve your space, just visit www.purposefulbranding.com.

Did you know there are at least 6 very different business models through which coaching is offered? In every case, when someone asks you what you do, coaching is not really the answer…but rather you will tell them the problem you solve. But you can use any of the models summarized below to deliver your services.

 

What is most important is that everything you do fits within your business model, sends prospects through your business model, and helps them move from a lower level of investment and services into the next higher level of investment and services. Most people, by contrast, do a teleclass here, a blog post there, an article next, and there is no clear relationship between them – nor do they tap into the power of leverage so that you are providing increasing value to the same customers, rather than always seeking out new customers.

 

Model #1: One-on-One Coaching Model

 

This is the model that most coaches have been taught: marketing to fill your practice with individual clients with whom you talk/work once a week, 3 or 4 weeks per month. You determine the number of clients you will serve based on how much time you want to be working each month.

 

Model #2: Coaching Gym

 

Either used as a standalone or in combination with some of the other models below, this is a model similar to a health club, believe it or not! You set coaching hours each week – e.g., 2-5 pm Eastern each Thursday. And your clients pay a monthly fee in order to get the call-in information and access you during those hours. If they call, great; if they don’t, they don’t – but they still pay. Some people are beginning to return calls if not everyone gets through, just to be sure all of them get their promised access.

 

Model #3: Membership Model

 

In this model, you create an online community for your target audience, with a membership platform, and invite them to become a member (at one or more levels) for a monthly fee. They can access downloadable pdf’s and audio mp3′s, perhaps a monthly group call with you, and whatever other benefits you wish to offer. This becomes a group of clients to whom you can provide special pricing for your higher-end programs.

 

Come back tomorrow for part 2 of this series…models 4-6 from which you can choose! 

 

And if you want to learn more, join us for Purposeful Branding, Marketing and Info Product Creation, launching May 1 – full details at www.purposefulbranding.com