Reduce your Taxes at Year's End

Last Ditch Tax Tips for the Year's End

Most of my clients call at some point in December and ask, "What can we do to reduce our tax liability?" I'm always happy to hear that question, because it means they've made enough during the year to be worried! So what can you do in the last days of December to reduce your tax bill?

Revisit your 2008 accounting BEFORE the year ends. Most companies don't really examine their books until well into the following year as the tax crunch begins to loom large. It's important as part of your year-end business strategy to have a good understanding of your company's financial situation before the year is over. That way you not only ensure that your books are accurate, you also have the information you need to 'guesstimate' your tax liability and make last minute decisions about spending, giving and deposits.

Examine your inventory. Inventory write-offs can be significant. The drop in market value of any inventory you have on hand can potentially provide your company with deductions. Depending on your accounting methods, you may also want to track any goods that have been damaged or have become obsolete.

Put money into a retirement plan. This is the time of year to make payments into your retirement plan or set up a final contribution before the end of the year to reduce your income. You'll have to check the contribution limits for your type of plan and decide what your budget will allow. 401(k)s, KEOGH plans, Roth IRAs or SEPs are all great places to shelter some funds for future years. As always, you need to discuss the best strategy with your financial planner or accountant.

Defer income into 2009. Any payments your business can receive during the first week of January as opposed to December will cut your tax bill. Every cent deferred until January 2009 will not owe taxes until April 2010. Your specific deferral strategy should be driven by your projected annual profits and legal structure (LLC, partnership, corporation, etc). Depending on your income tax rates in the foreseeable new year, deferral of income can make good sense for many sole proprietors, partnerships, LLC's, and S corporations.

Give a little bit away. Charities are hurting right now, and companies that are doing well can benefit from making last minute donations. Think about donations you may have planned for 2009 and push them back into 2008. Make sure you get a receipt for all tax deductible gifts.

Boost your Expenses. This sounds nutty, but if your cash flow allows you to spend at the end of the year you can save a bundle on your taxes. Purchase items your business will require in the immediate future to maximize deductions for this year. If you can see a need for goods and services in the first quarter of the new year, pay for them now and let those expenses count for 2008. Consider stocking up on paper, printer cartridges and other office items. Order promotional materials like flyers and business cards. Pay your January bills before the new year in areas such as phone services, subscriptions, insurance, rent and utilities. Get repairs made and book 2009 travel early. Buy any new office equipment or furniture you need. (You do have to weigh whether or not it is best to take a write off now or spread out the depreciation over years, but buying fixed assets can be a great tax reduction strategy.)

Every situation is unique, and each business owner has to decide whether or not it makes sense to reduce tax liability in the current year. Sometimes if you are projecting increasing sales it's a better call to just pay your tax bill and not make future tax burdens heavier, but if you are concerned about your tax liability for 2008 these are some great tips that can help you save money!

Take the Long View

Recent downturns in the economy are generating a lot of negative talk and fear in the business world. While I don't want to pretend that some challenges don't exist, I'm also encouraging clients to be positive, avoid panic and continue to take the steps that have made them successful in the past. So, look beyond today and take the long view.

Here is my brief synopsis of the threats and opportunities that exist in the marketplace today...

1. Business isn't a straight upward curve! We Americans are an optimistic bunch and tend to expect to win more often than we lose; however, it is folly to think that any company, stock, industry or individual person will ALWAYS WIN. Things naturally fluctuate, and there will be times of plenty and times of belt tightening. It's best to just accept the inevitability of lean times, have contingency plans in place, and not allow yourself to be shocked or shattered that every year is not infallibly better than the last.

2. Economic downturns cull out the competition. Now you don't want to BE one of the companies that flops, but seeing low level players with poor quality, inefficient systems and bad marketing strategies fail shouldn't make strong, stable businesses get scared. Let some of your competitors file for bankruptcy! What do you care? Just make sure you are ready and waiting to snatch up their customers and boost your own market share. Recessions are the business world's version of 'survival of the fittest' and they can raise the performance of entire sectors through a healthy separation of wheat from chaff.

3. Don't stop doing the things that work. Panic can cause companies to seize up... to stop focusing on what is going right, to drop future plans, to abandon new product development, to stop hiring, to cease marketing. While you don't want to waste money in a recession, you don't want to stop investing in the future either. So balance risk with wisdom and keep doing the things that have made your business thrive over the years.

4. Focus on controllables - not uncontrollables. We tend to spend a lot of time pondering things we cannot change. You and your team cannot personally alter the outlook for your industry, or change a stock price, or halt foreclosures, but there are a myriad of small things that are completely within your grasp. Keep your eye on the controllables and invest your time, energy and money on activities that matter in your little world and will make a difference in the bottom line at the end of the day.

Clarity of Vision

Einstein once said “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. Think about that statement for a moment and ask yourself, ‘Does this quote apply to the way I run my company?’

Most businesses that continually beat their head against a wall suffer from a profound lack of vision. Everyone engages in frenzied efforts to succeed (always working longer and trying harder), but because people don’t see the big picture or understand the true value they bring to customers, their quarterly profit and loss statements don’t reflect the intensity of their effort.

Here’s the reality… trying harder isn’t usually the solution to achieving more. In fact, it might be a big part of the problem. Let’s examine together the path to clarity of vision.

First and foremost, what is this Holy Grail we call vision? It’s pretty simple really, and boils down to a few primary considerations: Why are you in business? What is so great about what you do or make? What impact do you want your business to leave on the world?

Now you might be able to pop out some pat answers to those questions without really thinking about them, but vision is a critical component of your professional success and deserves more attention. In order to create truly visionary responses to those basic questions, you have to get outside of your comfort zone and slow down. Before you even begin to draft a vision statement, I suggest that you back off of your to-do list, quit trying harder, and pull some wise people around you to help bring an outside perspective into the conversation. Think beyond goals and money and tasks.

It’s very important when stepping into the role of the visionary to suspend disbelief and allow yourself to brainstorm outside the bounds of common sense. Vision isn’t mission! Let me repeat… Your vision isn’t an expanded version of your mission statement. Your mission statement should rightly be grounded in the present and directly related to the values and standards that will help you take action in the upcoming months and years, but your vision must be so much more.

Your vision is your enduring purpose; the fundamental reason for an organization’s existence beyond just making money. It is a perpetual guiding star on the horizon and does not change over time. For example, NASA’s vision is “advancing man’s capability to explore the heavens.” In essence, our vision is a mental picture of the future we wish to create through endless pursuit of an ideal. It is love, and passion, and the impetus to pursue that which we truly want most out of life through work.

On the other hand, a mission is a specific destination that is concrete and achievable. A good mission engages people – it reaches out and grabs them and makes them want to do something in the present moment. It should be tangible, energizing, highly focused and support the vision. To stick with our NASA example, a mission statement might establish a goal of “putting a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s”.
So, once you have stepped back from the insanity, and examined the beliefs and dreams behind your corporate vision, how does the simple vision statement you write help your business grow? Clarity = Power. If you don’t have a vision and a sense of destiny about your company, you won’t grow. Timing, recognizing unique opportunities, and the power to execute – these lie within you, not in the situation.

Your vision represents your desires, your passions, your dreams that burn hot in your mind… and thus your vision gives you all the intuitive information you need to find direction and make breakthroughs in performance. Your vision is your own internal ‘magnetic north’ that will enable you to make quantum leaps in your results.

Don’t wait! Define and live your vision today and you’ll begin to see power of purpose in action.

All Systems Grow!

I wrote this article last month for Victory Woman magazine (view at http://www.victorycircles.com/victory-woman-magazine.asp) to examine the process of growing a company from minuscule to massive...

Now, you might say 'I don't want to be MASSIVE, just medium!' Well, that's fine too. But the bottom line is that you follow the same steps and apply the same principles when you go from a sole proprietorship to a staff of five, as when you make the leap from a staff of 100 to a staff of 1000. The scale is certainly different, but several simple keys will open the doors.

Let's look at the 10 keys that will take your systems from slow to 'grow':

1. Have clarity of vision. Why are you in business? What is so great about what you do or make? Why will people want to give you money? If you can't answer these simple questions, you have a huge problem. Clarity = power. If you don't have a vision and a sense of destiny about your company, you won't grow.

2. Think BIGGER than you are. This is a tough one for small business owners. It's very difficult to hold an imaginary image of your company as a thriving conglomerate in your head everyday, but that is what it takes to design processes that accommodate other people and make long view decisions that will take you to the top.

3. Remember that your business is sales. Your business is not the product you manufacture. Your business is not the service you provide. Your real business is marketing and creating the internal capacity to successfully sell and deliver your products and services to a multitude of consumers.

4. Build a strong brand image. Branding is everything. Your products, services, ads, promotional materials, facility and staff all have to project a uniform image that speaks to your target audience. Align your entire business behind a strong brand that resonates with potential customers, and sales will naturally rise.

5. Determine key metrics. You can't move your company forward if you don't know what criteria really matter. Figure out what activities and metrics drive your business and track them with a vengeance. For some it might be weekly client meetings, for others it might be unit sales, for you it might be inventory turn... whatever matters, pay attention to that.

6. Study your finances. All businesses exist to make money. That means that you have to become a financial guru: researching, tracking, studying, sharing and using financial data to guide every decision. Every financial activity (borrowing, investor offerings, budgets, sales targets, ratios, etc.) should be in your head every second of the day.

7. Know your customers. Customers are king. If you don't have any, you won't have a business for long – much less grow. Know who the people are that you are trying to reach and why they will want to invest their hard-earned dollars with you. Design your entire company to meet their needs and please them. Gather their feedback and make customer service a top priority.

8. Become the threat. Many business advisors will tell you to study your competitors, play off their every strategic move and mimic their successes. I disagree. And my advice to you is BECOME THE THREAT. While every smart business owner knows what differentiates him and keeps an eye on the market, the most successful organizations step away from the pack and make their competition worry about them!

9. Create a culture of leadership and accountability. Eventually a growing company will expand beyond your ability to reach into every corner and crevice. In order to grow a business you have to build systems and mentor leaders, so that you can maintain focus on the bigger picture. Create an organizational culture that raises up great leaders, rewards results, and makes it easy for people to do their jobs.

10. WOW people! 'Customer satisfaction' is not my favorite term. It implies that your goal is for people to walk away feeling 'OK', but not amazed... Satisfied, but not so excited they want to tell all their friends. If you really want to take a leap to the next level I urge you to go for the 'wow factor' and look beyond simple satisfaction.

About Business Valuation Multipliers

Here’s some basic information on industry multipliers and business valuation.

First, an explanation of using multipliers… one of the most widely used valuation benchmarks; this method multiplies the profits or sales of a business by an industry averaged “multiplier” to calculate the company's value. The multiplier, which is based on average sales figures within the industry, is multiplied by either the company's profits or company's gross sales.

The resulting price determined by these multiples typically includes intangible assets (such as brands, copyrights, trademarks, patents, licenses, franchises, customer lists, and goodwill), along with all furniture, fixtures, and equipment. It does not include cash, accounts receivable, inventory, real estate, other tangible assets, or liabilities. These items must be added or subtracted to arrive at the correct equity value for the business.

For example, if companies in your industry value at an average multiplier of 1.5 on gross revenues, and you generate $2 mil/yr in revenue - your business would be roughly valued at $3 mil.

There are a couple of problems with the whole multiplier valuation method. First, this valuation method does not take into account important factors such as the profitability of the business and cash flow indicators for the company. Secondly, since this valuation is based on industry averages, it doesn't factor in the differences between companies within an industry, which can be very different in size, brand value, customer-base, management efficiency and other “soft” factors. Multipliers also negate intangibles such as innovation, creativity, teamwork, location and other core markers for success. All these differences make it difficult to substantiate the validity of a multiplier, which can throw off the accuracy of the valuation. This is why business owners pay big buck for full appraisals that do look at all the variables in their business environment.

www.bizminer.com has great reports with current industry multipliers that won't cost you an arm and a leg. Many industry websites will also offer common multipliers.

Alan Cohen on the Economy

This is a very thought-provoking article from Alan Cohen, with his suggestions on how to personally respond to our current economic crisis...

An ancient Chinese blessing wishes recipients, "May you live in interesting times." Well, we now have the answer to that prayer. Actually, all times are interesting, just in different ways.
During the last week and month the economy seems to be at the top of most people's list of urgent issues to think and talk about. Today the U.S. government is issuing a new policy to deal with the economic upsets of late. Below are some suggestions on how to get to a better feeling place about the economy, and generate practical results for yourself and others.

Here is my six-point plan. I am not an economist, and frankly I don't understand all of the complexities of the current market. I do, however, understand the relationship between thought, belief, feeling, attitude, expectation, identity, and practical prosperity. So here is my six-point plan, which will surely work if you apply it:

1. Vision. A visionary sees and remembers the Big Picture in the face of current appearances to the contrary. The Big Picture of life is utter abundance. There are vast resources, economic and otherwise, for those who recognize and claim them. A visionary thrives under all conditions. There are always people who do well in difficult economic times, as well as those who flounder in prosperous times. It is not the economy at large that determines your well being; it is the consciousness you hold in relation to it. So you have the power to create a prosperous personal economy – and as you do, you will uplift the economy at large. The two greatest achievements of the twentieth century -- the Golden Gate Bridge and the Empire State Building -- were funded and built at the height of the great depression. Some individuals with a broad perspective were not limited by the prevalent beliefs of the masses. There are, and will be, people who prosper now and in the near future. I know people whose businesses are booming now. So can yours, and by your example you can manifest abundance that will inspire others and help them in material ways.

2. Trust. When human affairs appear to falter, the hand of the divine becomes very real and practical. A Higher Power is currently running the universe far more intelligently and successfully than even the best economists. The more you stay connected to that Higher Power, the richer will be your inner peace and your ability to make healthy, productive decisions.

In a Greek myth, the King of Crete sent Theseus through the labyrinth to kill or be killed by the dreaded monster Minotaur. The king's daughter Ariadne fell in love with Theseus and gave him a thread that he let unwind on his way into the labyrinth, which guided him out once he slayed the monster. Whenever you feel trapped or lost in the labyrinth of worldly life, your strongest move is to take hold of the thread of your connection to Spirit, hold firm to it, and let it lead you back to well-being. One of Dr. Wayne Dyer’s books is entitled, There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem, and no advice could be more appropriate than the economic situation we face at the moment.

3. Reframe. The Chinese written symbol for "crisis" is a combination of two other symbols: "Danger" and "Opportunity." Yes, there is a danger in our current position.
And yes, there is an opportunity. Perhaps we are receiving a wake-up call to live within our means rather than leverage ourselves and our institutions beyond a healthy level. Or we are being invited to recognize that money does not make us rich, or its temporary absence of restriction make us poor. Perhaps this situation will influence the upcoming election in a way that will help us in the long run. Maybe there is a natural balancing occurring that will make our economy stronger. I cannot say exactly how this crisis will serve, but I do know that whenever I have faced and handled the experience of crisis in my personal life, I have been moved to make decisions that have made improved my world. A Course in Miracles tells us that "All change is good," and this should be no exception.

4. Reset Priorities. In an episode of the popular television series, Fantasy Island, called, "The Luckiest Man in the World," a gambler achieved his fantasy to create an unstoppable winning streak. True to form, Mr. Roark arranged for the man's young son to visit him at the same time. When the gambler became hypnotized by winning, he distanced himself from his son, and the boy was about to leave him. Finally the father realized he is the luckiest man in the world -- not for his gambling winnings, but for his family. When money seems tight, we have a window of insight to recognize how rich we are, no matter how much we have in the bank. If many of us use this time to grow closer to our families, homes, nature, activities that truly bring us joy, ourselves, and our Higher Power, this upheaval will have served us well.

5. Circulate. Keep moving your energy, financially and otherwise. The brilliant metaphysician Florence Scovel Shinn noted, "All disease is due to congestion and all healing is due to circulation." This dynamic applies impeccably to an economic congestion. When people are afraid to spend money, there is less money in circulation; then people grow afraid to spend, and the cycle goes on. The dynamics shift when consumers act not from a sense of lack or fear, but from abundance and faith. So now would be a great time to spend your money. When you do, you affirm that you have enough and you keep the circulation moving -- not just from you, but to you. If you don't have money to spend, or would rather not, then circulate your energy in other ways. Express your creativity, volunteer, paint, play music, journal, and do anything to move energy rather than let it stagnate. (Pressing buttons on the remote control to watch talking heads discuss the economy does not qualify as circulating energy.)

6. Milk Every Moment. It would be easy to think that you will be able to relax and enjoy your life as soon as the current crisis is averted or offset. But that’s the carrot at the end of the stick -- the one that you never get to bite. Either life is rewarding now, or it never will be. From the sense of the ego, or small self, if it's not the economy you have to wait to handle, it's something else. So now would be perfect opportunity to practice enjoying your day, regardless of what money is doing. Stop and chat with the clerk in the supermarket, play with your kids, call someone you love, walk in the park, or tinker with your hobby. This is the moment you've been waiting for -- don’t miss it!

Everything will work out. It always does. Be of good cheer. Be uplifted and be an uplifter, and your contribution to the economy, financial and spiritual, will be paramount.

Free Market Economy?

As a business consultant, money drives most of my activities everyday - making money, saving money, chasing money, cutting costs...

This proposed government bailout of major US financial institutions scares me. While I certainly don't want to see our economy collapse, I also think that allocating taxpayer dollars to benefit companies that have been reckless and fiscally irresponsible heads us down a slippery slope. Even worse, it sets a precedent that if large corporations take huge risks and spend all their cash in good times, they can trust that when there is a downturn in the market the government will save them.

Every parent understands the principles of positive and negative reinforcement. If you are trying to train a child to make wise choices and accept responsibility for their behavior, you use incentives to teach them accountability. If they make good decisions, they are naturally rewarded with good things, but if they make bad decisions, bad things happen to them. These same core accountability points hold true for individuals, families and small businesses. If you choose to blow the last dollar of your savings on a trip to Hawaii and your car breaks down, you might have to take the bus or get a loan to cover repairs. If a small business spends a bundle on an ad campaign that is a total flop, they may have to fold.

Now I understand basic economics, and I know that every major US financial institution going bankrupt all at once would be catastrophic, but I don't think that is what would really happen without government intervention. These are companies that somebody will be very willing to take a gander on - if the terms are right. Consider Warren Buffet's recent investment in Goldman Sachs... he's taking a chunk of the company, but infused $5 billion in capital to keep them afloat. It's a good deal for both sides and it protects the basic principles of capitalism and a free market economy. If the government was not an option, most of these companies could find creative ways to stay in business!

One of the single most destructive trends in big business today is massive executive compensation that is not linked to results. Note that I did not say that 'massive executive compensation' alone is the problem. I believe that if you put yourself on the line to lead a Fortune 500 company and it performs well, you deserve to make a ton of money. But I have deep reservations about all the CEOs who have simply run their companies into the ground due to mismanagement, poor fiscal oversight, greed and corruption. These guys should not walk away from devasted companies with hundreds of millions of dollars. Again, it sets the wrong precedent. Do a good job and work hard - get paid a bundle. Do a bad job and take risks with other people's money - get paid a bundle. Where is the accountability? Where is the incentive to make the right decisions? How is pay linked to job performance?

Without all the inside information that folks in Washington have, I truly don't know whether or not government action is the only recourse in this situation. As I stated before, I believe that free markets tend to work themselves out. We've gotten spoiled in recent years and we can't accept the reality that good economies are often followed by periods of inflation, tighter credit and lower values on real estate and stocks. Things won't always be looking up! But here's the real issue:

If our government takes taxpayer dollars to bail out private institutions - what's in it for the tax payers?

No one is helping us right now - the little people. Why don't we bailout good people who are losing their homes... small business owners who are drawing no paycheck to keep their companies afloat... people who are in bankruptcy due to skyrocketing medical costs and a lack of health insurance coverage... people who have been laid off from these same organizations while their CEO's walk away loaded.

What's in it for me to help CitiGroup or AIG?

If the government aids these firms, I believe that politicians should do to banks what they have been doing to the American public for years - stick it to them! Don't give bailout funds - make a high interest loan with tough terms and an upwardly adjusting rate. Take enormous blocks of shares in exchange for assistance, so that the taxpayers can recoup their investment many times over when the market turns around. Demand that CEOs and executives are held accountable for their role in allowing this global crisis to happen. Change the rules so that institutions are forced to save money in safe, low risk places during times of plenty. And make sure that everyone understands that this bailout is a ONE TIME EVENT, and will not be duplicated no matter what happens.

Wall Street is a spoiled, bratty child right now. Willing to accept the rewards for taking risks, but not the responsibility for bad decisions. A free market isn't a free market unless it exists in both good times and bad times.

Accept Mess for Lower Stress

Learning to tolerate an acceptable level of mess and chaos in life can help you feel happier, reduce stress, make breakthrough discoveries, and even earn more!

I grew up with an amazingly neat and organized mom (probably so neat and organized that she should have gotten some therapy along the way). So mess tends to stir up anxiety and guilt... making me feel like my life is an out-of-control train wreck, especially when it creeps beyond my cluttered desk to the kitchen, living room, bathroom floor and bed. Sometimes I gaze around at it all and waver between complete overwhelm and jumping up in a panic to clean until I collapse.

Magazines and TV don’t help at all. Homes and offices are supposed to be color coordinated, meticulously furnished and Spartan to the point of sterility. Does anyone really have nothing but a computer monitor and a potted plant on their desk? According to Consumer Reports, Americans spent more than $2 billion in 2004 to impose external order on their life. Filing systems, shelving, stackable bins and professional organizing services… whatever will make them feel more ‘put together’.

For most of us, our never-ending quest to be neat has less to do with our stuff than the state of our lives. When life events, finances and family issues feel ‘messy’, we strive to master the one thing we can be truly in control of – our surroundings. But although it's possible to impose neatness (at least temporarily) exerting control over life is not so simple. And perfection is as illusive as a ghost… it never lasts for long.

Contentment has been proven to be a common trait of the happiest people on the planet. Joy and inner peace are not so much achieved by orchestrating every detail of our lives to suit our preferences, as they are about accepting that which we cannot change and keeping our priorities in order. While we all have a ‘mess threshold’ that we are miserable below, we also have to be realistic about how much time, money and effort we want to expend in an endless quest for perfect tidiness. Isn’t a certain level of mess OK if it gives us time to work, play, be with our families and enjoy life?

Hyper-organization and compulsive neatness take a huge amount of time. So ask yourself, is it really more efficient to painstakingly file every single scrap of paper immediately into a complex filing system - or is it more reasonable to have a few general files and update things every few days or weeks? Letting the paper accumulate a bit and making one trip to the file cabinet is truly much more efficient. Is it worthwhile to clean the whole house on Friday if your kids are having a sleepover that night - or does it make more sense to do it Saturday after everyone leaves? Although you might be inclined to have things in order before company comes, the kids don’t care and they’re going to dirty up your nice clean house anyway – so why bother!

Besides allocating our time wisely, mess can also spark creativity. When you're looking at a variety of things spread out in front of you, your mind naturally starts making connections and leaping to intriguing places. The same thing happens when you mix diverse types of people. Companies tend to cluster staff members who do the same things together, and that isolation actually stifles creativity and prevents the new ideas from flowing freely. This is certainly not to say that we shouldn’t care whether or not we can find things… or let dust coat the entire house… or allow grimy dishes to pile up. The point is to find the level of dirt and clutter and diversity that feels optimal for your lifestyle, work habits and peace of mind.

For some folks a lot of mess might be OK, for others it will drive them crazy and become a roadblock to success. The trick is to make an honest assessment based on your own values and style – not based on what a book, TV show or magazine says you should be.

Disorder can open you up for more random moments of beauty. Within reason, don’t castigate yourself for your lack of focus, your disorganization, or your sloppy house. When you let go of the need to be perfect, ideas can flow and you can enjoy life fully. The Japanese tradition of wabi-sabi is about the beauty of imperfection - appreciating the beauty that can be found in a chipped bowl, a wilted flower or weathered rocking chair. Our western craze for consumerism and material wealth has made us a throw away society, obsessed with new trends and always chasing the unattainable.

To be honest, a minimalist, perfectly clean, ultra-organized house may be beautiful in a photograph, but it's also cold, generic and sterile. If you feel empty and unfulfilled, do you truly believe that a cha-cha house will make everything better? If you hate your work, do you truly believe that a neat desk will cure the void in your soul? Accepting human frailty and the inequities in the world is a lot saner than constantly seeking perfection!

So, what of your professional success and earning potential? Don’t you have to be neat and organized to get ahead? Albert Einstein was probably the most brilliant human being to ever to walk the earth, and this genius was an advocate of messiness. He once said, “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk?” A 2005 survey actually revealed that people who call themselves neat freaks are likely to earn less than individuals who don't describe themselves that way. Another great example of the value of mess is Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin. The man was a great thinker but his laboratory was filthy. He made his life-saving discovery after he left for vacation without cleaning cultures out of some Petri dishes. When he returned, he found that there were some interesting fuzzy growths that bacteria couldn’t live with, and that mess-driven breakthrough has since saved many millions of lives. In a funny aside… years later Fleming was given a tour of a pristine, well-organized lab, and a fellow scientist gloated, “Imagine what you could have discovered here!” The sage Fleming dryly replied, “Not penicillin.”

Be a little forgiving of your mess and disorganization, both internal and external. Not much in life is of eternal significance, and I certainly don’t believe that God will be giving out awards in heaven for the shiniest floor or the best organized office. Instead of belaboring bad habits and normal clutter, focus on the things that will truly improve your life at its core. Chances are you’re quite organized enough to make those things happen in good time. In the movie City Slickers Jack Palance plays a gritty trail boss with an excellent grip on what really matters. He wisely says, “You city folk… you worry about a lot of s**t. Do you know what the meaning of life is? One thing. And that’s what you’ve got to figure out.”

What’s your ‘one thing’? Probably not a stack of post-it notes.

10 Ways to Respond to Any Event

My friend, Cheri Ruskus, just shared these 10 great pointers from Thomas Leonard's book 'The Portable Coach'. I think they are simple, practical and profound techniques for incorporating conscious change and wise choices into even the toughest situations. Enjoy!

1. Every time you're surprised, make a significant personal change. When you are surprised, you usually react. And react some more. Then overreact. Then react to the intensity and consequences of your overreactions. What if every time something surprising happened in your life - whether good or bad - you made a big change of some kind, even bigger than what that surprise event seemed to call for?
2. Look for the five choices you have, in every single circumstance. When faced with a difficult situation, most of us look for two or three options. But there are at least five options in every situation.
3. Never decide, rather, let your body choose for you. There are a lot more cells in your body than in your brain. They know more about you, as a totality, than your brain does. They work in simpler and more direct ways. All you need is enough trust in your feelings, as expressed through your body to let them guide you.
4. Become extremely curious about your reactions. The last time you got frightened or angry did you ask yourself, "Why did I get so scared or ticked off?"
5. Make over responding a personal strategy. If you are alive, creativity interests you. Especially your own creativity. Become creative in how you over respond. In other words make it your personal strategy and, as such, work it.
6. Stop spending time with reactors or nonresponders. Some people are an emotional meltdown waiting to happen. Others are numb and could hardly care less. People who strike you as falling into either of these categories are people who are stuck.
7. Turn every problem into a nonrecurring event. Here's a way to flex your new muscle: One, identify a problem in your life; two take up to ten steps to make sure that it, or anything remotely like it never happens to you again for the rest of your life.
8. Experiment as you over respond. When you are over responding to an event, you'll start by doing the obvious things that comes to mind. But why not over respond in very different ways as well?
9. Evolve, don't just improve. When you improve, you do somthing smarter or better. Not bad! But when you evolve, you fundamentally and permanently change a part of who you are. Improving is good, evolving is better.
10. Over respond immediately, not gradually. This is the trickiest part of this principle - over responding in the moment instead of later.

Synapse3Di - A New Twist on Speaker's Bureaus

I'm very pleased to have the opportunity to partner with Synapse3Di - an organization providing live speakers, subject matter experts and virtual training to corporations and private groups around the globe. This is a great new model for infusing exciting speakers, cool presentation formats and new life into the tired world of traditional speaker's bureaus!

Synapse 3Di connects industry and topical experts with employees in a way unlike any other organization. They can put on incredible events that will dazzle, engage and create long lasting results that positively impact organizations. But, they also go beyond the live event to share information and transfer knowledge with digital media and within virtual environments. This eliminates the typical barriers that challenge organizational communication. Synapse3Di can be a bridge to connect physical locations across the globe and generational gaps within a company. Training sessions and events can be transformed into wildly successful and popular educational summits.

All programs are followed up with on-demand knowledge sharing resources that dramatically raise retention and encourage ongoing education. In fact, everything is designed to make teaching, learning, and communicating more cost-effective, efficient, and eco-friendly for corporations, groups, and individuals. Welcome to the world of limitless learning.

Visit the website at www.synapse3di.com.

"I Have a Dream" of Boulder County

This year I'm happy to participate in the 2008 "I Have a Dream" Golf Tournament to benefit the "I Have a Dream" Foundation of Boulder County, Colorado. Here's a little bit more about this great organization and the good work they do...

___________________________________________________

Here in the affluent Boulder County community, there are “invisible,” impoverished communities whose young people face tremendous obstacles to academic and life success. The “I Have a Dream” Foundation of Boulder County is dedicated to helping these low-income youth achieve a brighter future.

The program “adopts” groups of 50 low-income students "Dreamers" (students eligible for free and reduced lunch or who live in low-income housing sites) in third grade who are deemed to be at high risk of dropping out of school. We hire a project coordinator and establish a learning center exclusively for that group and provide the Dreamers a year-round program of tutoring, mentoring, after-school enrichment, computer technology training, life and social skills, and college and career preparation until they finish high school.

The ultimate goal of the long-term program is to provide these youth with the guaranteed comprehensive support and trusting relationships they need to complete high school prepared for higher education or a fulfilling career. When they do, they receive a four-year tuition-assistance scholarship for college or vocational school.

___________________________________________________

2008 "I Have a Dream" Golf Tournament - The 2008 6th Annual "I Have a Dream" Golf Tournament will be held on Thursday, June 26th at the Vista Ridge Golf Course in Erie. For information on sponsorship opportunities, contact Priscilla Gonzales, Director of Development at 303-444-3636 x 15.

Small businesses fighting to survive

This is a great article I read this morning on MSNBC. It just goes to show that business owners have to be proactive and rise above the crowd to make it in tight economic times.

Enjoy!

PITTSBURGH - Small business is risky business these days.

Costs are rising, profits are shrinking and the ability of the big guys to keep prices relatively lower is drawing away customers.

Things are so bad that many small enterprises, which account for about 99 percent of the country’s businesses, say they are hanging by a thread that may soon snap.

“We are basically losing money every month, about $1,000 a month. It’s been about two, three months now,” said Tom Weisbecker.

Weisbecker owns Isaly’s in western Pennsylvania where patrons sit on green barstools at a Formica countertop and gobble the legendary Slammer, a sandwich stuffed with a half-pound of chipped ham and smothered in onions and cheese. Prices for many of those ingredients have skyrocketed in the past year.

“We know our customers are already feeling the pinch with the gas prices and when they go to the grocery store. We’re trying to hold out, but we can’t go on much longer,” said Weisbecker.

In barely a year, the cost of pork has jumped by 50 cents a pound, while beef is up 20 percent; a five-gallon jug of canola oil that used to cost $15 is at $40; a 50-pound bag of flour jumped from $7 to between $20 and $25.

And then there are fuel surcharges of between $5 and $9 that have been added to nearly all deliveries during the past six months.

In the meantime, wages haven’t grown and the job market is tepid, at best. On Friday, the Labor Department said the nation’s unemployment rate jumped to 5.5 percent in May — the biggest monthly rise since 1986 — as wary employers cut 49,000 jobs. Average hourly earnings for jobholders rose to $17.94 in May, up 0.3 percent from the previous month.

The feeble employment market may be making consumers less willing to spend. Also, paychecks aren’t going as far as they did before food and fuel costs rose.

“In a good economy, you can makes mistakes. But in a bad economy ... you can’t afford to make a mistake,” said Larry Lagattuta.

“I am three very bad decisions away from bankruptcy at any given time,” said Lagattuta, who has been running Enrico Biscotti Co. on the Pittsburgh Strip for 15 years.

Over Christmas, he made hundreds of shipments; 2007 was his best year ever.

The last quarter was his worst.

A National Small Business Association survey of 500 small business owners in February found that sales and profits had dropped and job growth was at the lowest point in 15 years, problems that could have a significant impact on an already shaky U.S. economy.

The survey also found that 71 percent of business owners have a “negative outlook” on the economy compared to 43 percent a year ago; confidence in their business’ success dropped from a high of 81 percent a year ago to 70 percent now.

A separate survey done by the National Federation of Independent Business found that for the first time in 25 years, small business owners cited inflation as their single biggest concern, rising from 4 percent a year ago to 14 percent in April.

The survey of more than 1,765 businesses showed that for the first time in a decade, skyrocketing insurance costs were not the No. 1 concern.

As gas and food prices climb, consumers are bypassing small businesses and seeking out bargains in places like Costco Wholesale Corp., which reported a 32 percent jump in its fiscal third-quarter profit, surpassing Wall Street expectations.

“The bad thing that’s happening to us, is the economy is driving people to shop at the big-box stores ... They can buy their staples and pick other things up so they don’t have to use gasoline,” said Cindy Baker, who has been a gift shop owner for 20 years, half at her current location, Collage, in Pittsburgh’s bustling Strip District.

“This is the first time, even taking 9/11 into consideration, I can say I’ve really seen a pinch in my business,” she said.

Just like airlines and car companies, some small business owners are shrinking and letting people go to survive the squeeze.

Last month, the Oklahoma City gas station owned for 22 years by brothers Harley and Hadley Hintergardt shut its doors for good because of rising gas prices. Harley Hintergardt said the station suffered because unlike big chain gas stations, they didn’t have a convenience store or full-service auto shop to fall back on.

“We were the victim of high gas prices,” Hintergardt said. “Everybody thinks that we were making the money selling at the pump at the gas station. And trust me, we were not.”

Small businesses, measured by the U.S. Small Business Administration as those with fewer than 500 workers, employ some 58.6 million people, more than half of the total U.S. labor force. In the past decade, they have generated between 60 percent to 80 percent of new jobs, and in 2004 all the new jobs.

While no data is available on how many small businesses have gone under in the past six months, federal officials are reporting a decline in the number of loans they guarantee, a consequence of both lower demand and tighter standards.

Experts say the shrinking demand indicates businesses are reluctant to take on debt and expand. Many would-be entrepreneurs are hesitant to open new businesses.

Eric Bradlow, a marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, said that historical data suggest that 90 percent of new small businesses shut down in the first year. Meanwhile, a Small Business Administration study found that one-third of new small businesses close within two years and only 44 percent survive four.

“Anecdotally, you hear that this is a very difficult period because of higher gas prices and higher component prices ... definitely in the past 10 to 15 years,” says Bradlow, who is also a director in Wharton’s Small Business Development Center.

It’s an environment that also makes it difficult for small businesses to raise prices to cover their costs.

The Pittsburgh Popcorn Company is feeling that pain. It opened on March 1, since then, the price of packaging tins has tripled. Other food costs have risen between 5 percent and 30 percent, the hardest hit being canola oil and chocolate.

The company’s owners, Janelle and Rob Day, are reluctant to raise prices, though. The enterprise is new and they are afraid of driving away patrons.

“I want to attract customers, that’s my primary goal,” Rob Day said.

Only when it is certain people will keep buying, will Day raise prices. “Whether that’s a month, or two months or three months, I don’t know,” he says.

Not all small businesses are feeling the pinch, however. Those that cater to the wealthy or have niche products may be having a less hard time right now than food or apparel stores.

“Business has actually been steady for us. We haven’t seen a large drop-off,” said Bradley Bodart, who owns Daly’s Pen Shop in Milwaukee. “Our customers tend to be more well-to-do, people who don’t shy away from a $600 pen, so they’re not too affected by gas prices.”

Bodart understands that people are surprised by his success.

“I see people walk by the store and they whisper, ’How does that place stay in business?”’ he said. “It’s because it’s a niche business. There aren’t too many people about to start up a pen shop.”

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Common Pitfalls in Obtaining Grants

SO, HOW DO I GET A GRANT?

First and foremost, unless your business involves the development of new technology or is a non-profit organization, you will probably be wasting your time looking for a grant. Foundations typically fund nonprofit organizations that qualify under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. These are organizations whose purposes are charitable, educational, scientific, religious, literary, or cultural. By and large, foundations do not make grants to for-profit enterprises. Generally, the same holds true for corporations and private organizations that give grants. However, there are a few funders who will give money to a for-profit business if they are on the cutting edge of technology or are having a profound impact on society in some way.

To be successful in winning a grant, there are a number of important steps that you will need to take. First, you will need to do research in order to identify appropriate funding organizations. Once you have identified potential funders, you will then need to determine how to approach them. In many cases, it is best not to submit a grant application to a funding organization that knows nothing about your activities. So you may need to take the time to cultivate relationships with these organizations via phone calls, visits, and/or letters of inquiry. Finally, you will need to provide each funding organization with a well-written proposal which clearly states your objectives and sets forth a plan and budget for your activities. And don't expect to receive money right away. Funding organizations often take many months to review and process grant applications.

Getting a grant is hard work. There is a lot of competition for grant funds. Grants are "free" in that you do not have to pay back the money. However, if you are awarded a grant you may be required to provide periodic program and/or financial reports to the funding organization.

COMMON PROPOSAL PITFALLS

1. Failure to follow the RFP instructions regarding organization of the proposal, inclusion of required information, page limits, etc.
2. Failure to take evaluation criteria and allocated points into consideration when preparing your response.
3. Failure to understand and to demonstrate an understanding of the problem (i.e., the reason why the agency is issuing the RFP – what do they expect you to accomplish?).
4. Failure to submit your proposal on the required date and time.
5. Failure to include all of the information requested by the grantmaker.
6. Failure to tailor your response to the specific RFP.
7. Costs/budgets are unreasonable (too high or too low) or incomplete.
8. Costs/budgets do not provide any detail or breakdown information.
9. Failure to include specifics of your proposed approach to the project. What makes your theory or strategy different from another person’s?
10. Proposal is unprofessional in appearance (e.g., typos, blank pages, unnumbered pages, smudges, no whitespace, sloppy-looking, etc.).
11. Proposal is poorly written (e.g., information is not presented/organized in a logical manner, proposal is difficult to follow, poor grammar, etc.).
12. Proposal merely repeats or paraphrases the RFP without offering an original approach and methodology.
13. Proposal does not explain how or by whom the project will be managed.
14. Proposal does not contain information about your firm, its capabilities, its management and staff.
15. Proposal does not demonstrate that your firm/organization and personnel have the experience and capability to carry out the project.

How to Build a Press Kit

I've gotten lots of questions lately about how to create a quality press kit. It seems that when everyone is tight on cash, free publicity becomes an attractive option for promoting a business. I know this is a little long, but I think it will benefit many small business owners!

There are certain elements that are standard in a media or press kit, and others that are arbitrary. Use this list of 18 potential media kit components to help you build a comprehensive and effective kit. You don’t have to include every item, but try to be as thorough as possible. Give journalists everything needed to build a great story!

1. Greeting and Table of Contents. Kit receivers always appreciate this feature, it respects their time. Don’t think of the Table of Contents as a separate page, just include it within your personalized ‘welcome’ letter, using design elements such as bold, larger font or centering to set it off from the rest of the letter. Place your greeting letter with the Table of Contents as the page before all other pages. For electronic delivery, use color, to help gain attention for the primary elements you’ve chosen to include.

2. Company Information. An "About Us" page includes contact information, of course. But it is also an accumulation of other aspects about the company - in summary format. When founded, vision and mission, a simple list of services and product offerings, or just an overview.

3. About You. This page should be similar to number 2 with the focus being on a single individual. You will want to focus the language and information toward exactly what the media needs to know. For example, with solo-preneurs, the particulars would be about you, your credentials, and background. Think of it as an abbreviated and story-like resume or bio of a key figure or the company founder. What is your personal story about starting the business, creating a product or service? Is it a ‘rags to riches’ story? Usually people don't think they have a good enough story to include; however, that normally turns out to be fiction. Look for the buried treasure and ask others what they think is engaging about your story.

4. Upper Management. It is important to stress any special skills or unique background in the company that is an asset or that might make an interesting story. Use one page per management level or put several people on a single page. Several pages are okay for this section if it supports the media requirements, but don’t overdo.

5. Services and Products. Keep your service information concise and focus on broad areas - one service per page or several to a page. If you don't have enough material for a whole page, create enough. If you have more than one key product or service, but are highlighting the only most noteworthy thing, add a list of the other products and services at the end of the page to indicate what else is available. You will want to include whatever pictures are needed to depict your products, how to use them, results people can expect, etc...

6. Company History. Adding a history can make or break media attraction. If you are a young company you might think it could be a negative element - not true. For a seasoned company, it is a must. What should prevail is how interesting is your story, and what hooks can an article or interview be built around. If it is interesting or creates curiosity, include it.

7. Awards. Include any awards or special interests of the company, the founder or employees. Do you have published authors in your company, an Olympic participant, or something else? Consider including anything noteworthy. Sometimes a backdoor interest can bring media coverage in. If there is only one award you can add it on another page under its own header. To create a whole page from short information, list additional information about the award or accolade, and pictures always add interest.

8. Distinction Page. This page needs to show how the company is different. Comparison charts and graphs are easy for readers to scan and comprehend. Pricing, market share, features and other differentiators work well.

9. Client List. List your customers whether they are well-known or not. If your client list is extremely confidential, mention this in lieu of the list. You can expand the information by providing some brief background information about key customers or creating a full page of glowing client testimonials. You can also spread testimonials throughout the media kit components using pull quote design effects.

10. Company Affiliates. If you have a formal affiliate or partner program, add this information. If you use top quality vendors, add their information as well. If you sell through certain distributors, list them. Connections add flavor and make your story more attractive.

11. Press Releases. Use any relevant releases with dates less than 90 days. Otherwise you look stale.

12. Publication and Speaking List. If an author, tell where you were published. If you’ve been written about, expand by adding details about the publication and the nature of the piece. A few summarized paragraphs will do. If you write your own electronic or printed newsletter, add this information as well. Add copies of the articles, newsletters or shorts only if they are relevant and current.Have you spoken at events or to groups? List them, and if the appearances are old, don't include dates. Include panel participations, seminars you’ve taught and events you’ve spoken at.

13. Radio/Television Appearances. Whether you were a guest, a host or an expert doesn't matter. Tell readers where they can access any audio or video clips. You’ll want to set the availability of this information off with some sort of design element to make sure it isn't missed. To expand an appearance, add elements about how you got on the show, what you did or didn't like, what you talked about or other details about the experience. Human interest stories always spark interest to the media. Give enough to peak their curiosity.

14. Endorsements or Personal Acknowledgements. For media kits, credibility is crucial. Endorsements should include more detail than brief testimonials. Add copies of special endorsement letters or just mention them throughout other components. Only add letters and statements with the endorser’s permission. Product manufacturers and book authors frequently include endorsements. Be creative with this area and actively look for endorsers all the time.

15. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). This component is a must in every media kit. Normally, media people read these pages first or second, and they want a synopsis of answers to common questions. Formulate the questions by asking media contacts what they would need to know to write a story. Don't guess what they want.

16. Photos. For trainers, speakers, or other professional services, color photos can be expensive to include and aren't necessary. For product manufacturers, stores, corporations, etc… use images of your facilities, team and offerings to spark interest.

17. Community. Add volunteer projects you have worked on, or board positions you have held. To expand, add additional details about the community organization. On a corporate level, talk about events you’ve sponsored, charities you’ve partnered with and relevant donations you’ve made.

18. DVD/CD-ROM. If you have the resources and time to pull together a corporate or personal DVD/CD to insert in the media kit, great. This is not necessarily right or required for many press kits, but if the media can see you in action they will get a feel for how you might perform in an interview. If they can see your facilities, your products being used, and your services being delivered, it will build confidence and rapport.

* If you have a well-trafficked website, it is a good idea to post your entire media kit and press releases in .pdf format online. Have downloadable images available as well. This allows the media to access everything they need instantly, and it keeps them from having to store a hardcopy of your press kit or call you for information.

In Just - by e.e. cummings

This is one of my all-time favorite poems from childhood, and the first day of spring got me thinking about it. Enjoy!

in just-

in Just-

spring when the world is mud-

luscious the little

lame balloonman

whistles far and wee

and eddieandbill come

running from marbles and

piracies and it's

spring

when the world is puddle-wonderful

the queer

old balloonman whistles

far and wee

and bettyandisbel come dancing

from hop-scotch and jump-rope and

it's

spring

and

the

goat-footed

balloonMan whistles

far

and

wee

e.e. cummings

Restarting or Changing a Career...

A recent Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) survey found that 75% of the nation's employees are looking for a new job. So, if you’re planning to restart your career or search for a completely new kind of job, you’re not alone. It’s important for you to see this journey as both a challenge and an opportunity. All it takes to reach your career goals is some common sense and hard work. So… where do you begin?

1. Get clear about what you want.
You can’t go out into the world and find your perfect career if you have no idea what it will look like when you see it! The first step in any job search or career change is to get very clear about what you are seeking in your next position. Not just the job title or industry, but the way your days will unfold and how your new career will serve you in your personal life.

2. Set a strategy.
Just as you would with any business initiative, a career change begins by understanding the “context” and setting priorities. So, once you’ve figured out what you want – that’s the context. Setting a strategy now requires you asking yourself ‘how do I go about getting what I want?’ Reconcile your own ideas with the input of others to target your optimal job, layout a plan to get interviews, and land that perfect position! Think about the steps you must take to get your dream job and start working through them logically one at a time.

4. Discover how to sell yourself.
Accept it – when you’re looking for a job you’re a salesman. And the product you are selling is YOU! Know your pitch inside and out. Get so comfortable talking about yourself that you can do it in your sleep. Figure out what differentiates you from all the other people clamoring for work, and make sure you get those points across in all of your job search activities.

5. Network, Network, Network!
We live in a networking world. A large percentage of the work force found their current job through a friend, family member or business associate. Especially during career changes, when your resume might not be enough, connecting with potential employers through other people gives you a powerful boost in an interview. So network, but always ask yourself, “How can this discussion move me one step closer to my objective?” Also, be sure to express gratitude for the favors you receive.

6. Prepare.
Go into every interaction, whether a formal interview or a networking meeting, having done research about the company and the people with whom you are meeting. Restarting a career or looking for a job in a field where you have little experience already puts you at a disadvantage, so don’t walk in blind. Show everyone you meet that you care enough to do your homework!

AND FINALLY …
Stay confident and trust yourself. Making a career transition is pretty straightforward – so dive in and enjoy the journey!

A Mindmapping Exercise

Mindmapping is great way to put thoughts down visibly on paper. Whether you are using it to think through a project, attain a goal or review your life overall it is an excellent way to get the right and left-brain working in unison.

Mind Mapping...And Loving It!

Business continues to be more complex and rapid planning seems to be a daily requirement. When faced with a large project, or when pressured to reach tall goals or even when you are trying to fix a reoccurring problem...Mind Mapping is the perfect tool. In this article, you will learn the three steps for creating a clear and well-organized "front-end" approach to resolving your most challenging problems or developing your most inspiring dreams! Mind Mapping will also allow you to discover new patterns, see untapped concepts and link unforeseen ideas.

Getting started: Begin by scheduling 30 minutes of uninterrupted time. Allow no distractions such as ringing telephones, loud noises or knocks at your office door. Start with a blank sheet of paper and draw a large circle in the center of the page. Next, place the name of your project, goal, dream or problem in the center of this circle. Next, draw 10 or 15 lines around the circle, like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. Lastly, on each spoke, list one idea or concept relating to the words inside the circle. Do not edit or judge the words you are placing on each spoke while you are brainstorming because you want to generate as many ideas as possible.

Tip: If you are an auditory rather than a visual learner you may want to use a tape recorder to build your Mind Map, then transfer your words to paper as the second step. If you find your ideas are not flowing, then take a break to refresh your mind or share your progress with your manager, a peer or a close friend. Sometimes having another person's perspective is just enough to get your creative juices flowing.

Developing your action words: With your initial Mind Map now complete, take a second sheet of paper and list the first "spoke" topic in the center of a new large circle and draw another five or seven lines around this circle. These lines are now the action words for completing your project, fixing a problem or realizing your dreams. When building these action words, do not make any quick assumptions but remain open to unusual ideas or solutions. Try to look at this project or task from a different level by asking yourself, "How will this impact my prospects, my owner, the clients I manage or my sales team?"

Tip: Some of the best Mind Mapping is done when we look to other industries, other professions or other successful individuals and see how they have addressed a similar problem or opportunity. Many "great" ideas are just inches from where you are standing this very minute but you have to look closely and have your "antenna" up, to see and hear them.

As a small step, try reading trade or business magazines unrelated to your current industry and you will find that "re-inventing the wheel" is seldom necessary. Plus, exposure to new ideas in other industries will help you become a "Futurist" on your own behalf...a special trait!

Taking words to action: Now comes the fun part! Take each of your Mind Maps and put them in outline form. Next to each action word, place an action step and specify the exact date for completing each task or step. Also, if you are going to delegate portions of this project, include the name of each person who will be responsible for a specific step and be certain they receive a copy of your Mind Map so they can be clear on the purpose of your request. Lastly, take the action steps you are going to personally complete and place them directly in your appointment book. By scheduling time for each step on this project you are bringing this project to "life".

Tip: Once you have completed your first Mind Mapping, pause and reflect joyfully on what you have accomplished. This process is specifically designed to support your thinking process and will get easier and easier, with practice. Remember, Mind Mapping is meant to be fun and can be done in large groups, at your next big meeting or any time you need to visualize ideas quickly!

Mind Mapping Resources:

Mindmapping: Your personal guide to exploring creativity and problem solving. by Joyce Wycoff

"BrainMapping" by Dudley Lynch, published by Brain Technologies Corp., Denver, CO

Tony Buzan, 'The Mind Map Book: How to Use Radiant Thinking to Maximize Your Brain's Untapped Potential".

The Role of Finance in Business

As scary as the numbers can be, it is crucially important that business owners and managers develop basic financial management and analysis skills. Read further and explore the systems and practices that will help you build a healthy company.

All leaders need assistance and advice when handling money, but expecting someone else to actually manage your financial outlook for you is asking for trouble. These simple tips will help you develop a sound fiscal management system for your organization that will balance time constraints with your need to understand your complete financial picture.

For starters, there are a few key people that can be incredibly useful resources. If you have a board of directors or advisory group, appoint an experienced finance manager to be your ‘treasurer’ and allow them to give you guidance. Every small business and start-up firm also needs an accountant - but don’t count on them to completely take over the management of your money. Accountants are wonderful for helping you set up a bookkeeping system, generate financial statements and watch for errors; however, you are still ultimately responsible for understanding your financial position and the ramifications that management decisions will have on your bottom line.

Second, go ahead and invest in a good software package to help you manage your money. QuickBooks, Quicken and Microsoft Money are all tried and true tools that are widely compatible with other programs. Software can greatly reduce the time required to enter and manage accounting transactions or generate financial statements, plus it is handy for printing reports, sending files to your accountant and managing how staff members are allowed to access your financial data.

Third, you need to build a strong relationship with your business banker. Even if you don’t have a lot of money in the beginning, open a business checking and savings account and get to know the people in your local branch. Bankers can be a great resource for loans and advice, plus you’ll need their help if you ever have a problem.

So now we’ve come to the nuts and bolts of this article – bookkeeping basics. The main thing to remember with managing money is that everything – and I mean everything – hinges on good recordkeeping! If your deposits, checks, credit card charges, cash expenditures and accounts are not tracked accurately, then the entire process is corrupted. So please, keep copies of everything, enter transactions regularly, and stay on top of your finances so that your accountant doesn’t want to strangle you at tax time. With that said, let’s take a quick glance at the principles of bookkeeping that you will need to master to be a successful entrepreneur:

Classifying Accounts. Different types of financial transactions are assigned to different accounts so that they are easy to track and understand. You can create your own chart of accounts or use a standard format, but you do need to understand the different classifications of your income and expenses.

Retaining Records. There are many varying levels of record retention and documentation that are required by the I.R.S and state law. Be sure you know what proof you are expected to keep and always err on the side of caution when maintaining your financial records. Better safe than sorry!

Controlling Access & Accuracy. All companies should have financial controls in place to ensure that transactions are recorded and maintained accurately and that employees don’t accidentally or intentionally corrupt financial data. There is no way to go into all the options available in this article, but every entrepreneur should definitely get familiar with financial controls.

Budgets. A budget lays out what you expect to spend and earn over a given time period. All amounts are categorized according to the type of business activities so that you can plan your finances and then track whether or not you're operating according to the plan. Budgets are also useful for projecting how much money you'll need for buying a facility, hiring a new employee, changing suppliers or adding services. There are yearly operating budgets, project budgets, cash budgets, and many more.

Cash Flow. Probably the single most important financial statement for a new business is the cash flow statement. As the leader of a new company, your biggest challenge may be managing your cash flow (cash received minus cash spent). The entire purpose of cash flow management is to always make sure that you have enough money to pay current bills.

Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable. This one is extremely basic, but we’ll still touch on it. Accounts payable are simply all the people you owe money to and accounts receivable are all the people who owe you money.

Profit and Loss Statements (P&Ls). These statements show much money you earned and subtract how much you've spent, resulting in a clear picture of how much you've made money or lost. P&L’s offer you the nature of your overall profit and loss over a period of time and allow you to see clearly how well the business is operating.

Balance Sheets. These statements depict the overall status of your finances at a given point in time. The balance sheet totals your assets and subtracts your liabilities to compute your overall net worth.

Finally, you put all of the information and reports above together, and analyze your financial outlook. Financial analysis can tell you a lot about how well your business is performing and what areas need to improve. Without analysis, you will end up staring at a bunch of numbers that make no sense to you on various financial statements. Every business owner and manager should set aside at least a few hours every month to conduct financial analysis. This may include a cash flow analysis, budget analysis, balance sheet analysis and income statement analysis. There are a myriad of tools and techniques to help you with financial analysis (for example, break-even analysis, profit analysis, and ratios analysis).

Just remember that the point of good fiscal management is not that it exists for its own sake, but rather that you use it to move your company in the right direction. Understanding the numbers can help you see whether you’ll have enough money to operate in three months, how much to charge for a product, whether costs need to be lowered or whether you can afford a new staff member.

Don’t be afraid! Dive into your finances, and you’ll be amazed at the power of the knowledge you will gain and the impact it will have on your business.