by Joyce M. Washington, CPA
Now I’m sure that title created an interesting visual…let me get to what I’m talking about. How it happened and played out was almost like watching a movie… a constant, continuous confirmation that I’m doing what is right for me and right for my business.
Last week I did a post about selecting a target market (Hit The BullsEye), then I read a blog post/article about Charging More Than The Other Guy, then I had a conversation with a “virtual co-worker” that circled around both of those things. In brief, we were talking about a third party, a friend of hers, that is a bit all over the place when it comes to their side hustle. Let me tell you what I mean – said third party is a Jill of All Trades. She is a “fundraiser”, “event planner”, “marketing consultant”, “graphic designer”, “sales consultant”… and that’s just the the stuff that I remember.
Now I don’t profess to be a marketing expert… but I’ve been in business long enough and I’ve read enough articles, blogs, and books to know that people don’t take you seriously when you are all over the place. When you are all over the place, you don’t get (consistent) business or referral business because the person who would have referred business to you doesn’t know what the heck you do… nor are they convinced that you do any one thing well enough to warrant them sticking their neck out on the line to provide you with the referral. And when you’re all over the place, you can only charge “novice” prices. If you’re charging novice prices… well, you can figure out the rest.
By the end of the conversation with my virtual co-worker, we had both turned the spotlight off of the third party and began to focus on ourselves. *scratching head* So that got me to thinking, is my business all over the place? Am I presenting a “Jill of All Trades/Master of None” persona when it comes to my service offers?
I’m sure I’m not the only one in the blogasphere who’s had a business related identity crisis. Have you had a similar issue? How did you handle it? Help me out here! Tell me all about it…
by Joyce M. Washington, CPA
Plan Your Staffing Now – Before The Post Recession Rebound!
So you got what you think is a bargain when you hired the new accountant… What are you going to do when the economy rebounds and that employee that took a 25-50% paycut, heads for the nearest exit faster than you can say “2 weeks notice”?
Let’s face it, the harsh reality is that there will be a lot of turnover and attrition of good employees. In fact, it’s not IF it will happen but WHEN. So what do you do? My suggestion: prepare yourself by planning for the inevitable. It’s that time of year – budget time! So budget for changes (turnover/new employees). Evaluate the possibility that you may need to outsource a few tasks (telemarketing, social media, accounting/bookkeeping, marketing, etc), Look at what your core products and services are… wherever you can, tighten your belt.
Related info:
Why Outsource Bookkeeping/Accounting?
Raiding My Team
Four Professionals Who Can Help Your Business Succeed
How Hiring A Professional Costs Less Than Doing It Yourself
Why You Should Outsource
by Joyce M. Washington, CPA
With all the top ten lists about this and that for Blackberry & Iphone users, I thought I would compile a similar list for G1/Android Users on the go. These are the apps that I use daily and along with GMail & Calendar… pretty much can’t live without because they keep me on track and on task. Hope you find a few that may be helpful and useful to you.
PDANet – I searched high and low for an application that would allow me to get on the Internet using my phone/handset as a modem without messing around with the “root system”. I finally found one that suits the purpose. It’s free for the first 30 days then it’s $29 to purchase. ALTERNATIVE: ProXoid – this one can be a little confusing because you have to “start the tunnel” each time on your laptop before accessing the program on your handset but again…not a bad alternative and it’s f-r-e-e.
Google Voice – I like this one especially if you’re like me and want to have a “super secret” phone number for only friends/family or use it as your “home” number for co-workers and business contacts instead of giving everyone and their brother your cell phone number. One of the slick features about this program (that I love) is that it records and transcribes your messages AND it will text or email it to you. Although it is by invite on, the price is right on this one too…as in, free. ALTERNATIVE: YouMail Visual VoiceMail Plus – if you don’t care about giving out your cell phone number (some people don’t), YouMail offers some of the same features as Google Voice, like voicemail notification via text & email and, for a fee, transcription.
DubMeNow -When you’re traveling and/or out and about, you have enough to care without having to worry about packing your business cards too. DubMeNow (or DUB) is an electronic alternative to carrying around business cards. You can send the person your information from your phone.
GoogleMaps – with the recent upgrade, you really don’t need another app. Google Maps will now give you driving, walking and mass transit directions AND it moves with you (like the various GPS navigators on the market). The only thing it doesn’t do is talk to you but I imagine that will be included in future updates. ALTERNATIVE: Glympse – the addition cool feature with this one is that you can create a profile and share your location with your friends. Both apps are free.
PayPal – if you have a need to take payments on the road, PayPal has a free app that will link your phone to your virtual account. Just that simple. ALTERNATIVES: I’m sure there are also apps for Authorize.Net and others… just do a search in the Market.
MoneyManager – last but not least, while you’re on the road (or at home), you need to keep track of the ins and outs of your money, right? This is a nice app that allows you the categorize your income/expenses, backup and export (to csv file). Packs a lot of punch…
If you have noticed a trend, I like free apps that work *smile*….hey, what can I say… I’m an accountant some have ads on them but what’s a little ad at the top or bottom of your screen going to do? Developers have to make their money too, right?
Inspiration:
Phone Applications for the Business Traveler
Related Posts:
Alternatives to Paper Business Cards
by Joyce M. Washington, CPA
I tend to read a lot (or at least I try to). Lately, I have been reading more thing online instead of off-line but I wanted to remind my fellow entrepreneurs and business owners that learning does not stop when you get a diploma or a degree. Learning continues until, well… you know. Anyway, here are a few of my favorites that I thought would be helpful to others as they begin/continue their journey of independence.
The E-Myth Revisited – Michael E. Gerber
Duct Tape Marketing – John Jantsch
Get Clients Now – CJ Hayden
How To Sell Without Being A Jerk – John Klymshyn
Successful QuickBooks Consulting – Michelle L. Long, CPA MBA (this one is good for consulting in general)
These are books that I have read and re-read…hope you find them as helpful as I have.
Do you have a small business, marketing or branding resource that you have read & refer back to over and over again? Please share your literary choices. Thanks & Enjoy.
by Joyce M. Washington, CPA
- Freedom: outsourcing to a service provider allows you to concentrate on income generating activities, increasing your income…
- Reduces overhead: if you don’t have an accounting department, you don’t need the office space, telephones, cubicles, chairs, filing cabinets, etc. You can reallocate that budget to other areas or eliminate it altogether.
- Real time accessibility: offering you real-time accessibility to reports, you know what your cash position is at any given time that is up to date. Up to date information allows you to easily manage your cash flow… and manage your business.
- Secure, off-site storage/backup: not that anything catastrophic will happen but just in case, all your financial information is safe and secure. The cost and time it would take to recreate your finances could be prohibitive, if that were ever necessary. With off-site storage & backup, you don’t have to worry about that.
- No more hiring headaches: it’s hard to find and supervise the work of a bookkeeper when realistically, you have no idea what they are supposed to be doing and turnover is costly.
- No more training headaches: if hiring is a headache, training is too. And if you’re a small business owner training those coming and going through the revolving door of the employer-employee relationship can get expensive. That disappears with outsourcing.
- No more continuity/consistency issues: because an outsourcing provider is there for you day in and day out, you don’t have to worry about the “new person” and their learning curve.
- Less stress: you can relax knowing that your finances are taking care of by competent professionals and concentrate on driving your income and growing your business.
- Internal privacy: eliminate talking about the company’s financial health around the water cooler. Having an independent outsourcing service firm gives you, the owner, more privacy when it comes to the companies overall finances.
- Fixed monthly fee: like you, Common Cents is a small business and we don’t particularly care for hourly billing either… so we do a detailed review of your files to derive a fixed monthly fee for you.
Are you ready to drive your bottom line… upward? Let’s make it happen. ~Joyce
by Joyce M. Washington, CPA
Why should you outsource your bookkeeping and accounting functions? You might want to consider doing so for several reasons. For starters, maybe you’re someone who just hates math and accounting with a passion. There’s no shame in that; I will be the first to stand up, hold my head high, wave my arms in the air and scream, “I HATE ACCOUNTING!” (Okay, I’m kidding. I just wanted to get the admissions started.)
When you truly hate accounting and bookkeeping, you’re unlikely to do it well. Worse than that, you might even be unlikely to do it at all. While you can get away with poor personal bookkeeping, like not balancing the checkbook, you can’t with your business. If your business is going to thrive, you need the books kept to perfection. If you can’t do this on your own, or if you simply don’t want to do this on your own, outsource bookkeeping is a great way to go.
In-House Versus Outsource Bookkeeping
Another reason you might want to outsource your bookkeeping and accounting with a virtual accounting firm is to save money. While every business needs their books kept up professionally, most can’t afford to have a full-time accountant on staff. Outsourcing solves that problem by getting the job done through an outside provider. Now, with the assistance of the Internet, you don’t need to ship in a part-time subcontractor to do your books. You can have your books completed & reviewed virtually by a competent, trained professional… saving you money that you can put back into your growing business.
Saving Time With Outsourcing
Let’s suppose you’re like me and love (or at least, like) accounting. Maybe you’re even trained at accounting and feel you can keep your books better than anyone else. There’s still the matter of your time, which is best spent working on your business and making it thrive, rather than balancing books. And as we all know, time IS money…
