Great Ideas for your Small Business: Finance Your Independent Film Powered by black coffee, peter hall raced downtown in New York City to pick up 10,000 slick postcards promoting Delinquent, his independent film that opened in September 1997 in Los Angeles and New York. Rushing back uptown, he double-parked in Columbus Circle, risking a ticket … Read more
Great Ideas for your Small Business: Take Advantage of a Tax Break The old cliché, “if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is” applies to many schemes and scams offered to small business owners. However, an obscure provision of the federal tax code actually gives mom-and-pop businesses a real break. Although it … Read more
Great Ideas for your Small Business: Hire an Enrolled Agent to Do Your Taxes Nobody likes to pay taxes. it’s even worse if you’re unhappy with your current tax preparer. If you are thinking about a change, you might consider hiring an enrolled agent. Although they’ve been around since 1884 and prepare millions of tax … Read more
Great Ideas for your Small Business: Be Talked Out of a Bad Idea Bruce tyson manages money for a living. Big money. As president of Weston Capital Management Inc., in Los Angeles, California, he manages about $150 million for wealthy entertainment- industry clients. Tyson is extremely bright, fiscally conservative, and a careful listener. He serves … Read more
Great Ideas for your Small Business: Discount Accounts Receivable Here’s another cash-flow boosting idea. If people owe you money, consider offering them a discount on the balance—if and only if they pay up immediately. Try this only after you’ve called and asked why they haven’t paid up on time. This incentive often does the trick … Read more
Great Ideas for your Small Business: Collect the Money People Owe You When people owe you money, it hurts you and your business. No matter how careful your credit-granting policy may be, someday, sometime, some people will fall behind on their bills and owe you money. The key to collecting money from customers is to … Read more
Great Ideas for your Small Business: Be Prepared to Accept Credit Cards Many big and small clients prefer to pay their bills with credit cards. If you run a retail business, restaurant, or offer professional services, such as consulting, production, or design, you will need to enable your business to accept credit cards. A plus … Read more
Great Ideas for your Small Business: Lock Your Supply Cabinet Profit-meister barry schimel shared this idea. If your office supply bill is skyrocketing, and the supply closet shelves are always empty, try locking the closet. Hand the key to one responsible person, the office manager, or if that’s not feasible, to a couple of managers … Read more
Great Ideas for your Small Business: Shop Carefully for Long-Distance Service Every day, entrepreneurs are bombarded with offers by long-distance companies. Deregulation has created absolute chaos and confusion in the marketplace. But you can sort it out if you know the right questions to ask. Gerald Dunne Jr., former chief executive officer of Group Long … Read more
Great Ideas for your Small Business: Use a Savvy Real Estate Broker If it’s time to move out of the back bedroom or garage, it means your business is doing well enough to pay rent. But moving into commercial space is a serious financial commitment. In many cases, rent is the second-highest expense after payroll. … Read more
