Microsoft Website Spark is designed to ignite the success of professional Web developers and designers. The program enables you to get software, support and business opportunities from Microsoft at no upfront costs for 3 years or exit from the program. For more information on this program and the requirements, please visit: http://www.microsoft.com/web/websitespark/Default.aspx

Conditional formatting is formatting (that you choose) which is applied depending on what is typed in the cell (or the results of a formula). This feature is one of the best things since sliced bread. Take my word for it and take 30 seconds to check it out!!!

For example, if you set up a budget, you could set the formatting to be red if someone exceeds their budget amount. You could also have cells highlight if they are blank but have no formatting if something is typed in the cell if you want to keep track of things that are outstanding (like invitation answers, a column for tracking signatures received, etc.).

Excel 2003
To apply conditional formatting in Excel 2003, first highlight the cells that you want to be conditional, then select Format-Conditional Formatting. Excel will ask what parameters you want to set for the cell. Cell Value or Formula is (fill in the blank: between, equal, not equal, etc.) and then choose either a cell reference (i.e. the budgeted number) or a number that you type. Then click on the Format button and choose whatever formatting you want to be applied to the cells (red, bold, whatever you choose). Click OK.

When you enter a number into that cell, if it falls inside the parameters you set up (within budget) then the text will be normal. If it falls outside (exceeds budget), it will have the formatting you chose.

You can apply up to three parameters (i.e. green color for below 90% of budget, yellow color for 91-100%, red for 101%+).

To remove the conditional formatting, select the cells that have it (or use the tip I discussed in a previous blog posting to select all cells in your worksheet that have it applied: Edit - Go To - Special - Conditional Formatting).

Excel 2007
Conditional Formatting has really been beefed up in Excel 2007 and had some really nifty stuff added. This feature is applied from the Home ribbon. When you select your cells and then click Conditional Formatting, you will soon see that there are a bunch of new options in there. Check them out!

NOTE: On all of these choices, you will see "more rules" on the submenu. This allows you to set even more options on all these various rules. You can also apply more than one set of conditional formatting at a time (i.e. data bars and icon sets together).

Highlight Cell Rules - This is where you go to set straight mathematical rules, like greater than, less than, as well as text based rules, date based rules (great for highlighting past due items), etc. Note the nifty new feature to apply conditional formatting to duplicate values in a column. How handy is that when you want to see at a glance if anything has been duplicated in a long list? :)

Top / Bottom Rules - These are designed to highlight your top or bottom "x" in a column (top 10, etc.)

Data Bars - This applies colored bars to the cells, where the length varies based on the contents, relative to each other (in other words, four cells with the values of 0,2,4,6 would have 25%, 50%, 75%, 100% bars)

Color Scales - This applies colored bars with different shades applied based on the contents, relative to each other (see above).

Icon Sets - This applies colorful icon sets to the cells, based on the contents. Some of these are really cute. Most are based on the green/yellow/red color scheme or black/grey/white.

New Rules - This brings up the same submenu as clicking More Rules on the other submenus. It allows you build a rule from scratch and tweak the settings.

Clear Rules - Go here to clear all rules from selected cells or from the whole worksheet.

Manage Rules - Go here to clear selected rules. If you have more than one conditional formatting format applied (like the previously mentioned data bars and icon sets for instance), you can select the rules individually, reorder them, and/or delete them. You can also edit individual rules from this submenu.

Google Alert is a powerful tool that can instantly let you know about any topic being mentioned on the Internet. If you are too busy to spend your time reading websites, blogs, and news channels to find specific information, you can use Google alert to, in effect, watch them for you.

Here’s how it works. Google alert is free and easy to use. All you need is an account with Google and you’re ready to go. You tell it which key words and descriptive phrases to search for and it sends you emails when these words are buzzing through the Internet. Here are a few short steps to set yourself up:

To start trying these tips for using Google Alerts, log in to your main Google account page and click on “Alerts.” You’ll be led to a page that asks you to enter search terms, types of places to search, and frequency of searches. Say you are trying to find a particular person or hot topic in the news, such as “Facebook Privacy.” You simply type that name or phrase and as soon as it is used, Google notifies you instantly.

Google Alerts can keep you on the cutting edge of what is happening without you being a slave to Internet research. You can also use it for your business as a way to see who is linking to you or your website. Just like big companies keep track the mention of their business name, you should too. If you are a prominent figure, such as an author, coach, or speaker, you definitely want to keep up with what your readers or listeners are saying. Try these tips for using Google Alerts yourself and let me know how it works for you!

Social networking has changed the way we do business and the biggest change has been for small business owners. Small businesses usually have one person who makes a great representative for the company in the social networking arena. And this makes small businesses a perfect fit for a social networking tool called Twitter.

Twitter is a micro-blogging tool in which you have 140 characters to answer the question "What Are You Doing?" At first I was reluctant to join in on Twitter and wanted to make sure I would see business results from it. Since connecting through Twitter I have seen these results: more Website and Blog traffic; product ideas from my target market; and an increase in expert status. Another bonus, Twitter makes working from home not so isolating and I feel as if I'm in an office talking around the water cooler.

So how can you obtain these results for your business?

1. Create a Compelling Twitter Profile - Add a professional photo to your Twitter profile, because no one will follow you without a photo. Include a link to your main website and create an interesting bio that entices people to find out more.

2. Create Interesting and Useful Tweets (a Twitter message) - Don't just write about your personal life, but also include blog posts, links to articles and anything else your target market would be interested in.

3. Follow Others - Start off by following others in Twitter and return the follow when they follow you.

4. Automate It - Use your cell phone with Twitter and update your status while you're on the run. Within Twitter click on the settings tab and then the devices tab. Within this section you will be able to add your and setup your cell phone to work with Twitter. Also, I have my blog set up to automatically post new posts to Twitter. This is a great time saver and generates a lot more traffic to my blog.

5. Is Your Target Market on Twitter? Before jumping in on Twitter I would consider if your target market is there yet. If you target small business owners then, yes, Twitter will work great for you. Also the younger generation is very involved in Twitter.

Imagine your PC and all of your mobile devices being in sync—all the time. Imagine being able to access all of your personal data at any given moment. Imagine having the ability to organize and mine data from any online source. Imagine being able to share that data—photos, movies, contacts, e-mail, documents, etc.—with your friends, family, and coworkers in an instant. This is what personal cloud computing promises to deliver.

Whether you realize it or not, you're probably already using cloud-based services. Pretty much everyone with a computer has been. Gmail and Google Docs are two prime examples; we just don't think of those services in those terms.

In essence, personal cloud computing means having every piece of data you need for every aspect of your life at your fingertips and ready for use. Data must be mobile, transferable, and instantly accessible. The key to enabling the portable and interactive you is the ability to synch up your data among your devices, as well as access to shared data. Shared data is the data we access online in any number of places, such as social networks, banks, blogs, newsrooms, paid communities, etc.

Ultimately, your personal cloud, which includes everything from your address book and music collection to your reports and documents for work, will connect to the public cloud and other personal clouds. Everything connects. That means every place on the Internet you interact with, as well as every person you interact with can be connected. This includes your social networks, bank, university, workplace, family, friends, you name it.

Of course, you will determine what you show the public and what you keep private. Clusters of personal clouds will form new social networks that will likely have a lot more privacy settings than Facebook, especially if these clusters are family or business oriented. (Privacy will be a huge issue as personal clouds hit critical mass.)

Eventually, like the smart house in the TV series Eureka, your devices will learn about you and eventually intuit what you are doing, where you are going, and what you intend to do when you get there. Think of all this as helpful… not creepy.

This might all sound a bit like science fiction, but this is exactly where we're headed with cloud computing. We're not quite there yet, though. We're all still creating our personal clouds.

Hiring is one of the hardest parts of managing a team. A lot is riding on the initial meeting, and if you're nervous or ill-prepared—or both—it can make you do strange things. The following mistakes are all too common, but they're easy to avoid with some advance preparation.

1. You Talk Too Much
When giving company background, watch out for the tendency to prattle on about your own job, personal feelings about the company, or life story. At the end of the conversation, you'll be aflutter with self-satisfaction, and you'll see the candidate in a rosy light—but you still won't know anything about her ability to do the job.

2. You Gossip or Swap War Stories
Curb your desire to ask for dirt on the candidate's current employer or trash talk other people in the industry. Not only does it cast a bad light on you and your company, but it's a waste of time.

3. You're Afraid to Ask Tough Questions
Interviews are awkward for everyone, and it's easy to over-empathize with a nervous candidate.
It's also common to throw softball questions at someone whom you like or who makes you feel comfortable. You're better off asking everyone the same set of challenging questions—you might be surprised what they reveal. Often a Nervous Nellie will spring to life when given the chance to solve a problem or elaborate on a past success.

4. You Fall Prey to the Halo Effect (or the Horns Effect)
If a candidate arrives dressed to kill, gives a firm handshake, and answers the first question perfectly, you might be tempted to check the imaginary "Hired!" box in your mind. But make sure you pay attention to all his answers, and don't be swayed by a first impression. Ditto for the reverse: the person with the tattoos might have super powers that go undetected at first glance.

5. You Ask Leading Questions
Watch out for questions that telegraph to the applicant the answer you're looking for. You won't get honest responses from questions like, "You are familiar with Excel macros, aren't you?"

6. You Invade Their Privacy
First of all, it's illegal to delve too deeply into personal or lifestyle details. Secondly, it doesn't help you find the best person for the job. Nix all questions about home life ("Do you have children?" "Do you think you'd quit if you got married?"), gender bias or sexual preference ("Do you get along well with other men?"), ethnic background ("That's an unusual name, what nationality are you?"), age ("What year did you graduate from high school?"), and financials ("Do you own your home?")

7. You Stress the Candidate Out
Some interviewers use high-pressure techniques designed to trap or fluster the applicant. While you do want to know how a candidate performs in a pinch, it's almost impossible to recreate the same type of stressors that an employee will encounter in the workplace. Moreover, if you do hire the person, they may not trust you because you launched the relationship on a rocky foundation.

8. You Cut It Short
A series of interviews can eat up your whole day, so it's tempting to keep them brief. But a quick meeting just doesn't give you enough time to gauge a candidate's responses and behavior. Judging candidates is nuanced work, and it relies on tracking lots of subtle inputs. An interview that runs 45 minutes to an hour increases your chances of getting a meaningful sample.

9. You Gravitate Toward the Center
If everyone you talk to feels like a "maybe," that probably means you aren't getting enough useful information or you're not assessing candidates honestly enough. Most "maybes" are really "no, thank you." (Face it: He or she didn't knock your socks off.) Likewise, if you think the person might be good for some role at some point in the future, then they're really a "no."

10. You Rate Candidates Against Each Other
A mediocre candidate looks like a superstar when he follows a dud, but that doesn't mean he's the best person for the job. The person who comes in tomorrow may smoke both of them, but you won't be able to tell if you rated Mr. Mediocre too highly in your notes. Evaluate each applicant on your established criteria, don't grade on a curve.

During an economic downturn, customers are usually slower to pay your invoice. You may have called, sent letters, faxes and emails without getting them to pay anything for a while. You’ve considered calling a lawyer but you might not have done so because you might have been concerned about the additional costs for the lawyer’s time. Determining whether litigation (going to court) is necessary is most times a very difficult decision because of the money involved in hiring a lawyer and the prospect of disintegrating any chance of settlement. But, unless instructed by you, lawyers don’t necessarily jump to go to court right away. Rather, a good lawyer simply puts your interests paramount and does what’s best for you, which usually involves discussing and implementing some type of settlement strategy.

Here are some tips on resolving such disputes with customers:

1. Offer to lower the amount due by an acceptable discount amount, say 20% or maybe even up to 40% (depending upon whatever you can afford) off of the amount due (set a deadline date for the offer to be accepted and the manner in which it can be accepted).

2. Offer to set up an acceptable payment plan, perhaps even without charging interest. If possible, couple the promissory note with a security agreement so that you have a lien against the customer’s assets and can preserve your right to get paid in the event of a customer’s refinancing, sale, liquidation or bankruptcy. It’s very important that you perfect the security interest by filing the appropriate documents and paying any applicable fees with the state; otherwise, you’ll still be an unsecured creditor. Automatic payments from a credit card would be mutually advantageous so as to eliminate the need for writing, delivering and cashing checks.

3. Offer to forgive a small amount of principal each time the customer pays a large amount of the principal balance. The customer will likely want a written agreement for this alternative.

4. Write a very reasonable and articulate demand letter offering to settle the matter with various settlement alternatives. I recommend you at least use a lawyer to review it but having it on a lawyer’s letterhead (stationary) gets more prompt attention.

5. Write a demand letter threatening to sue the customer by a certain date if no payment or response is received. Again, having this letter coming directly from the lawyer’s office is usually more conspicuous (less likely to be thrown in the trash) and effective.

Each of the above methods has worked for my business clients at one time or another. Each case is different because each customer may have different ability to pay. It is important to know when to use your lawyer to write the letter and get involved directly with the customer. Most importantly, seek counsel so you can be advised of your rights and strategies under the particular circumstances.

Most lawyers will write the demand letter for either or both an hourly fee and/or a contingent fee. There should be a pre-litigation contingent fee that is less than the contingent fee when litigation is necessary. For example, the lawyer might only charge a 15% contingent fee for a pre-litigation settlement but a 33.33% (one-third) contingent fee if the lawyer has to go to court for you, which means that if the matter is settled prior to filing the complaint, then you only pay the lawyer 15% of the amount recovered but once the complaint is prepared and filed, the lawyer is entitled to one-third of the amount recovered. Also remember that negotiating the details of the settlement agreement may take some time, possibly a few days or longer, which may add some cost to you if the lawyer is charging an hourly fee.
However, remember, getting some money now is better than some more money two years from now or never. Always try to work with the customer to get some payments coming in, even if they are very small payments. Helping to keep the customer in business goes a long way to generating the goodwill that might be fruitful in having that customer use your services or buy your product in the future. And they just might refer you some other business in the meantime and in the future.

If you cannot resolve the matter prior to litigation, you might have no choice but to sue the customer. And, never forget, you can always maintain the opportunity to negotiate a settlement even after you’ve filed the lawsuit against the customer. Starting the lawsuit starts the clock ticking in your favor and gets you closer to a judgment, which makes you closer to becoming a secured creditor. Don’t quit after you get a judgment. You need to docket the judgment in order to get a state-wide lien against the assets of the customer by filing the judgment with the county clerk and paying the required docketing fee. Only then can you become a secured creditor.
There’s no telling whether a customer will go out of business or file bankruptcy. If the customer files for bankruptcy protection, make sure you file your proof of claim to preserve any rights you might have in collecting at least some money from the customer notwithstanding the bankruptcy. As mentioned above, a payment plan that gives you a secured lien (remember to perfect the security interest) on the customer’s assets and docketing the judgment are the best ways to preserve your rights to collect because secured creditors are much more likely than unsecured creditors to get paid from the bankruptcy. Take action now to start collecting!

1. Turn off the lights
Remember to hit the switch on your way out for that well-deserved lunch break. The energy savings from 10 million office workers turning off unneeded lights for 30 minutes a day is enough to illuminate four million square meters of office space.

2.Remove yourself from junk mail lists
The last thing you need is another office supply catalogue or credit card offer. But before tossing out junk mail, call the company and ask that your name be removed from its mailing list. Have contacts e-mail you instead. Almost 50 percent of all catalogues are never opened, yet nearly 62 million trees are destroyed and 28 billion gallons of water are used to produce them every year.

3.Send your monitor to sleep
Screensavers are designed to save your screen from burn in, not to save energy. Monitors are responsible for more than one third of a computer's energy consumption, so conserve energy by putting yours to sleep or powering off altogether when you're away from your desk for more than 10 minutes.

4.Use the stairs
Your brain gets exercise all day, so why not exercise your body? Get your heart pumping by taking the stairs instead of the lift. It's good for your health and saves electricity.

5.Make your printer's toner last
If you're printing rough drafts or documents for internal purposes, change the printer's settings to economy mode and avoid printing in color if possible. Economy mode uses up to 50 percent less toner and prints twice as many pages as higher quality settings. Printing on both sides slashes the number of sheets used by 50 percent.

6.Leave the car at home
Public transport may not be perfect, but there are alternatives: why not walk (if you live close enough), hitch a lift with a colleague or try going by bicycle?

7. Recycle paper
If it tears, it can be recycled: from magazines and manila folders to plain paper and post-it notes. Manufacturing recycled paper generates 74 percent less air pollution than creating paper from scratch and saves trees, water and energy.

8.Buy 100 percent recycled paper
When you're buying paper for the office, make sure it's 100 percent recycled and, ideally, non-chlorinated. The chlorine used for bleaching is one of the biggest polluters in the paper-making process.

9. Recycle and reuse office supplies
Washing and reusing the plastic plates and cutlery you get with takeaway food is an easy way to cut down on waste at work. Use mugs rather than disposable plastic cups and don't forget that things such as batteries, printer cartridges, DVDs and CDs can be recycled, too.

10. Curb phantom electricity
Many appliances still use energy even when they're turned off. Items left plugged into the wall, such as a mobile phone charger or laptop adapter, can leak more than 20 watts of power. Plug office equipment into a power strip instead and turn it off at night and on weekends.

If you have an auto-notify on your email system, please turn it off. Interruptions rob us of our productivity. Instead of letting the *ding* of each new email dictate the flow of your day, take control. Set scheduled times to check your emails and then stick with the program by resisting the temptation to take a sneak peek. Try checking emails at the top of the even hours: 8 AM, 10 AM, 12 PM, 2 PM and 4 PM. Setting specific times to handle email not only cuts interruptions but also allows you to know how much time you're spending on emails. Is email the best use of your time?

Tickle Yourself Organized
With tax season just around the corner, any shortcomings in your paper management system may really be rearing their ugly little heads. The good news is this: when you create an effective paper management system, it takes the stress out of finding your important papers, not only during tax season, but all year long. In the spirit of effective paper management, this month’s storage solution will help you stay on top of your important, actionable papers.

What it is: this month’s storage solution is the tickler file, a simple filing system made up of 43 folders—one folder for each day of the month (numbered 1 through 31), plus one folder for each month of the year, each labeled—you guessed it—with the name of one month.

How it works: a tickler file allows you to gain control over paper that you want or need to take action on at a date in the future, but not today. So, if you’re going out of town on the 15th of the month, you can file your travel itinerary, directions and confirmation numbers in the folder labeled 15. If your child’s birthday is in November, throughout the year you can collect birthday party ideas and file them in the October folder—giving you plenty of time to plan the big event in November. The best part of all, by having a spot for these future actions, you no longer need to let them pile up on the counter in hopes they remind you to take action! You simply check your tickler file each day, and your actionable papers are right there waiting for you.

Where to get one: You can make your own tickler file using plain manila file folders or decorated file folders and a labeler. Or, you can simplify things a bit and purchase a pre-made tickler file.

Who knew forty-three simple folders could make life so much easier?

Tips are taxable. The tips you receive are subject to federal income tax as well as Social Security and Medicare taxes. It may also be subject to state income tax as well. The value of non-cash tips, such as tickets, is income and is also subject to federal income tax.

Report tips to your employer. If you receive twenty dollars or more in tips in any given month then you should report the tips to your employer. Your employer in turn is required to withhold federal income, Social Security and Medicare taxes.

Keep a daily log of your tip income. You can use IRS Publication 1244, Employee's Daily Record of Tips to record your tip income.

Include tips on your tax return. You must include in income all cash tips you receive directly from customers, tips added to credit cards, and the share of any tips you receive under a tip-splitting arrangement with your fellow employees.

Please check out IRS Publication 531, Reporting Tip Income, or IRS Publication 3148, Tips on Tips for more information at www.irs.gov.

Today more entrepreneurs, small businesses, and home-office professionals need the support of highly-trained personnel to efficiently handle administrative, marketing, clerical, concierge, and financial tasks. The majority of corporate employee cutbacks directly affect the ability to accomplish these critical assignments without draining time resources from mission-critical professionals.

The emergence of the Virtual Assistant – Virtual Office support professional can fill that gap. The Virtual Assistant takes the role of office temp and elevates it to the status of entrepreneur. Because the Virtual Assistant is self-employed, bills the client only the hours worked or assignment completed, and is dependent on steady workflow from existing clients and referrals, this is the perfect solution for the busy professional.

The Virtual Office Ensemble – Virtual Assistant offers several advantages over a paid employee. When you hire a virtual assistant, you get all the benefits of outsourcing – no burden with employee taxes, insurance, retirement plans, vacations, or sick pay. This savings in financial resources is coupled with the loyalty and steadiness of a company employee because your trust and work is vital to the success of their company.

Hiring office temps often does not work out for several reasons. They are a transient solution and are very expensive with the associated fees of the hiring agency which they are employed through. A temp can be more costly than their worth with the cost of training and supervision added into the equation. Also, most temps are looking for full-time employment and even if you find a person who seems to exactly fit your needs, they are not always available when YOU need their services or they have been hired full-time elsewhere!

Paid employees or temps come with a host of related expenses. You must provide a desk, computer, phone and necessary facilities. Most agencies WILL NOT allow temps to work in your home due to insurance restrictions. A Virtual Assistant – an entrepreneur – not only has a virtual office with computer, phone, printer, fax, and client-specific essentials, but is more than willing to meet and work with you in home-office or small-office environments.

Industry estimates the cost of most support employees is nearly triple their annual salary when all factors are considered. Statistics provided by the United States Bureau of Labor determined the “true cost” for an experienced in-house administrative employee is currently $45.54 per hour. This does NOT include the expenses related to office space and equipment required for them to perform their job.

On average, the Virtual Assistant industry estimates the starting rate for a Virtual Assistant is $40.00 per hour. This professional entrepreneur is responsible for taxes, benefits, space and equipment. 5 hours of in-house administrative labor will cost a company $212.70 versus $175.00 for retaining an Independent Virtual Assistant for the same time period. A reputable Virtual Office or Assistant has the expertise and tenure to handle administrative, marketing, basic financial and concierge support services.

Excitement is in the air, the New Year is here. It’s time to put your theories to test, your ideas on paper, and your plans to action. How did 2010 work out for you? Were you able to achieve your business goals and sail through the turbulent times? It’s that time of the year, when you plan ahead and make your business expectations come to life. 2011 is bringing along with it many new ways of running and operating your business, so that you can fail-proof yourself against the changing economy. Are you up for the challenge? It’s time for you to decide and embrace the new ways of doing business that will help you reduce your operational costs, engage with your customers in a better way, and streamline your business processes so that it becomes easier for you to grow BIG when the time comes.

Here are the top business-altering trends that will see a huge acceptance in the year 2011:

Building a totally HOSTED work environment:
Everything is online today. Most of the essential software for small businesses are available in hosted environment as software as a service. Your small business can become truly paperless with hosted solutions for all major business activities like sales management, customer relationship management, HR management, IT management, online collaboration, and many other industry specific solutions. This also helps your globally distributed teams to work seamlessly together on the same platform anytime, and from anywhere. Hosted tools help your small business operate just like big businesses with latest features, but at a much lower cost. Perhaps, that is why Google has launched Chrome Notebook, Cr-48, which is a purely browser based notebook.

Reach the grass roots with SOCIAL MEDIA and build an ONLINE REPUTATION:
Declaring your presence and doing it with panache are two different things. Online social media is the best and also the cheapest means to stamp your presence. The objective is to stay on top of your customers’ minds and constantly be under their preview. And if you are able to build a solid online reputation by tapping the power of online media then you are undoubtedly heading in the right direction. Build a social media strategy for 2011, and if you are a little unsure about how to utilize the various platforms; get professional help, but do invest your time in this activity or you will stay far behind in the race. Many small businesses that have used social media to their advantage now swear by its effectiveness in reaching and engaging new prospects and existing customers.

Traditional outsourcing is out, RIGHT SHORE outsourcing is in:
Did you try outsourcing your business activities, didn’t see the expected results, and decided that outsourcing is not meant for your business? Think again. Traditional way of outsourcing created a lot of problems in terms of end-client satisfaction. Today, Right Shore outsourcing is the buzz word. A unique concept introduced by MyBusinessAssistant, Right Shore outsourcing finds the optimum mix of jobs performed locally and at foreign locations to save outsourcing costs and attain peak efficiency levels. Just imagine an outsourcing strategy, where your calls get answered from a near shore location (so that you don’t have to worry about the cultural divide), your back office work gets done from an offshore location, and your marketing is handled locally – and you get all this through a single vendor. With distributed teams at most suitable global locations, Right Shore outsourcing approach combines all the benefits of traditional outsourcing and gives you a hassle-free way to manage your business cost-effectively and proficiently.



Collect the pieces and CENTRALIZE:
If you are fan of outsourcing, you might have ended up doing it for a variety of your back-office tasks. But managing multiple vendors as your business grows is a huge challenge in itself and sooner or later, you will see the disadvantages through lack of communication between the teams, work getting done out of sync, and need for multiple briefings to get a single job done. Small businesses, striving to grow big, must centralize their operations. Handling many strings from one hand will only tangle your puppets. Businesses that have centralized their back offices have seen over 40% reductions in costs. In an age where 64% of small businesses in the US are finding it more and more difficult to manage their company’s cash flow (Forbes Insights), reducing costs and improving productivity could prove crucial in the company’s existence in the long-run.

Be wise, VIRTUALIZE:
Almost all business activities can be virtualized to a great extent. For instance, your sales team can be at three different locations, the executive team can be at two different locations, the team managing accounting and payroll could be in a different country altogether, and still your company can operate efficiently and effectively. You will have a single central office, but your workforce would be distributed – working from home and collaborating virtually through various online tools. Building an office and expecting all your employees to work from 9 to 5, will only put a glass ceiling on your business growth. Virtualization is the way to go in 2011 and it has been made easier with loads of affordable tools and hosted technologies so that you can work with an even greater level of efficiency and dedication in a virtual environment.

Get GREENER:
Last but not the least; take steps to build a business that makes the environment smile. By going green and implementing environmentally friendly technology, you would not only get more brownie points from the Government and other funding agencies but you would also be able to reduce your costs, help the environment, and comply with government regulations. You would be able to create a brand image of responsibility and appeal to environmentally conscious prospects.
The end note: Running a business is not what it used to be as the playing field is in a constant flux. It comes with a lot more challenges and many more advanced solutions to combat those challenges, but staying on top requires change. It’s time to get ready to continuously transform your business. Are you ready?

Why? Because it’s not a smart thing to do and the reasons are quiet justified and proven. Let’s look at what happens if you try and do it all by yourselves and compare it with what if you delegate it to others, even if you are running a small business.

Success Tip: Chase your core passion and avoid the non-core.
Michael Jackson can dance and Michael Jordan can play basketball, they can’t switch roles, as they tried to do it in the song JAM. Your chances of succeeding in business are huge if you are following what you are extremely good at and passionate about, and not the other way round. However, as you follow your passion and as your business grows, you unknowingly or unwillingly have to get engaged into business activities like back office tasks, administrative and marketing activities which supports your business. At this juncture you have two choices, either do everything on your own or just follow your core business activity, your passion and delegate the rest to others, it could be your staff or virtual assistants.

“Doing it all alone symbolizes expertise and control.” Really??
A good section of businessmen feel, getting involved in multiple roles speaks about their expertise and versatility, but the question here is: is it a mere attempt at satisfying personal egos or do they really see good business benefits from it? It will clearly eat into the manager’s time which otherwise would have been spent on the core money making activities. So the choice of delegating it to others remains, which brings us to either choosing between hiring additional staff or outsourcing it.

Delegating involves managing blues…Let’s look at a smarter way to tackle it.
Hiring staff is definitely a more traditional and proven approach to go for, however it comes with managerial challenges, as managers now have to train, delegate and monitor these additional human resources. And putting the manager’s cap on with more staff may prove to be a highly demanding job.

On the other hand, if you opt for outsourcing your non-core tasks like, back office, administrative, marketing, customer support, web development, online/offline marketing, etc., to someone like a virtual assistant, it will surely relieve you from the manager’s role and let you fully focus on your core business generating activity.

Entrepreneurs who dedicate a small piece of their time in overlooking supportive activities and focus more on the core business tasks are said to be more effective and successful. So it’s left for you to decide, keeping all the options and their ramifications in mind.

Tax time is spinning ever closer, but you still have plenty of time to get your small business taxes in order and be able to enjoy a worry-free spring. Here I have compiled a list of the top twelve tax tips that will help you get your taxes done right and still have time to spare.

1. Keep a calendar. Deadlines can sneak up on you. As a small business owner, you have a lot of bills and payrolls to juggle, so don’t let your tax deadlines fall by the wayside. Deadlines can differ depending on when your tax year ends and what sort of business entity you operate. Minimize penalties and interest by noting all necessary business filing deadlines on your calendar.

2. Consider hiring help for your business taxes. When doing business taxes, there is a load of overwhelming tax laws to deal with. The opportunity to make mistakes multiplies when you throw in all the variables involved in business finances, so to make things easier, I highly recommend hiring outside help.

3. The best service starts now.
If you wait until the last minute to pull out your shoebox of receipts and shove them at your tax accountant, you are going to get some cold, dirty looks, and rushed service as well. Even the best accountant can make mistakes when he or she is forced to pull it all together at the last minute. You are reading this article, so why not start now? Gather your materials and get them in order. It’ll make things a whole lot easier, even if you don’t call your accountant for two or three more weeks (of course I’m not suggesting you wait that long). But if you take baby steps, you’ll have an easier time staying organized, both for you and your accountant.

4. Fire up the computer. My neighbor swears by the old pencil-ledger-and-calculator method, but I feel you can keep things much more organized and under control if you keep track of your income and expenses with a specially designed computer program such as Quicken. For a small investment, you can save yourself a great deal of time and headache.

Even maintaining a spreadsheet is preferable to piles of little receipts that can get way out of control. A computer program puts it all in front of you and makes it easier for you to check and re-check as often as you want, often catching errors that might otherwise have gone unnoticed. With taxes, as with all your finances, “organization” is the key word!

5. Do you qualify for a home office deduction? You may have the right to write off a myriad of business expenses you may not have even considered, such as rent, utilities, housekeeping, and supplies bought to keep your home office up and running. The deduction is a calculation of the expenses proportionate to the part of your home that is used exclusively for business. It can be quite a pleasant surprise when you see the results! Remember to consult a professional to ensure you write off the proper items.

6. Have all the right paperwork. You can’t do your taxes if you don’t have all the correct paperwork. Your paperwork will vary depending on the sort of business entity you operate, be it an S corporation, C corporation, LLC, sole proprietor, or partnership. Check with your accountant to be sure you have the correct forms to match your business category.

7. Make copies. It’s just good business sense. Xerox every single piece of paper regarding your tax returns, including everything you send to your state and IRS agencies. That way you have back-up documentation of everything. You never know what could come up, and you’ll always be prepared to reproduce a copy of any document that needs to be re-examined or re-filed.

8. Remember your retirement plan. Who would you rather pay: yourself or the government? When you contribute to an IRA, you reduce the amount of income taxed by the government, and you set aside money for that glorious time when you get to give up the rat race and relax. Remember, you can contribute to last year’s IRA all the way up until April 15th, so don’t forget to pay yourself, too!

9. Keep it all. I mean your documents, not your money… When it comes to your taxes, it’s a good idea to be a pack rat. You’ll have peace of mind knowing you can produce any document at anytime, no matter what questions may come up. You may need certain items for future reference for yourself or for your next year’s tax return. Whatever the case may be, always organize and carefully file away:

• Credit card bills and receipts
• Old checkbooks
• Bills and invoices
• Mileage logs and documentations
• Cancelled checks or proofs of payment (VERY important)
• Any evidence that supports deductions and credit claims on your tax returns

10. Start planning for next year. I know, it seems like just getting a handle on this year’s taxes is enough work, but if you start thinking ahead for next year now, you’ll have a whole heck of an easier time when next April rolls around. Throughout the year, keep your taxes on your mind, but not in the way that causes ulcers. When making decisions for your business – such as purchasing office space, incorporating, or hiring extra help – consider the implications those changes may have on your taxes. Such careful considerations could help you make wiser, more successful choices for your business, improving your achievements in the long run.

11. Don’t procrastinate! This is my message for everyone when it comes to any aspect of your finances. Procrastinating almost always costs you money. When you wait until the last minute and wind up rushing, from paying bills to paying taxes, you are bound to forget something. So in order to do things right, for any of these tips to help, you have to be ready to take charge of your taxes and do them in a timely manner.

12. Remain calm. I know this last tip doesn’t seem like much of a tip, but trust me, it is. Tax time can become hectic and put a huge strain on you, and any strain on you is a strain on your business. Following these tips helps everything run more smoothly, including your day to day business transactions, increasing your chances for success and helping you to enjoy the freedom of running your own business. Being a small business owner is a great challenge but in my experience, the rewards far outweigh the negatives. I wish you good luck and great joy!