The Ultimate Checklist For Business Owners (PART 5)

Being Creative And Innovative Are Essential To Success In Business

Customers are not at all brand loyal nowadays. They are seeking for consistent innovation and uniqueness in each brand. If you are relying on the traditional products and services then you are not bringing any benefits to your business. As the competition in any segment is increasing day by day, you need to give something extra to your customers. Initially, businesses relied on a cost-cutting strategy to stand out, that is not the case nowadays. You need to be differentiated to stand out of the line. It is important for businesses to learn the benefits of being differentiated and how they can achieve it.

Creativity Holds The Initiative:

People often mix up the two words creativity and innovation. However, there is a difference between the two. Creativity is the overall process that would lead to innovation. You might have fantastic ideas but no innovation. Creativity is basically in the objective and goals. If you have planned your strategies in a unique way then you will ultimately execute them differently. Creativity helps you to be one step ahead. It makes you the leader of the market and makes your competitors follow you. Since you initiate the process you gain a higher market share. Creativity in an organization promotes problem-solving. If you are thinking creatively then you can suggest new solutions which then can be implemented. The implemented solutions can bring you potential customers and retain your existing ones.

The Importance Of Being Innovative:

Not many companies do well when it comes to bring innovation. You don’t need to be innovative in only the final products and services but the processes involved can be innovative too. The first benefit of being innovative is that you increase your productivity. If you think that the routine procedures have made your growth stagnant, then its time to bring in innovation. The new processes and methods would be beneficial for your overall productivity. When you bring in new ideas you bring in change to the thought process. One more thing to add on here is that many organizations are populated with a lot of employees. When they are doing their routine work, they become unhappy and can be bored too. This reduces the efficiency of their job. The new processes they explore the fresher and more productive they remain. Apart from the in-store advantages there are a number of outdoor benefits you can get through innovations. You reach to your customer through marketing of your product. The more innovative you are the more is your differentiation. Customers tend to remember you through your marketing and makes you successful.

Having a creative team that has problem-solving skills make you look unique. You shouldn’t keep creativity in you but should promote the members of your organization. It doesn’t risk your place in the market. You are up to date with the market trends and know what the consumers needs. If all of these elements are in check, you will taste success ultimately.

The Ultimate Checklist For Business Owners (PART 4)

Social Media for Business

In this modern era where it seems like digital technology has overtaken most parts of our lives, we cannot underestimate the influence that social media has and how important and bigger it is becoming to be an online presence, especially if you’re having entrepreneurial plans as a prospect. It is a vital aspect of your business marketing strategy which has to be kept top-notch to gain momentum if you’ve just started a setup or need to maintain your position in the market if you’ve become a brand already. There’s no denying the fact that having a decent social media marketing strategy has its perks. Therefore, in this article, we are going to find out multiple approaches to social media marketing and how could these methods help your company to become a leading trademark in the industry:

Brand Awareness

Brand awareness is one of the most effective tools given to us by social media. It aids in boosting awareness for our brand all around the globe, which in turn lets you reach your potential customers and a world-wide audience which could be your hoped-for customers in the future. Letting people know about your brand through social media has an unbelievable impact, one which is often dismissed as unnecessary, but chief marketing officers are extremely confident about improving brand awareness to achieve your business goal.

Advertisements on Social Media

Advertisements on social media channels, like Facebook and Instagram, are growing at warp speed. The statistics show that to date around 2 million businesses use Facebook advertising to promote their products and services. Another research states that Facebook ad revenue figures reached around $9.16 billion in 2017. There are some reasons why businesses should completely take the social media advertising route. For one, it is cut down the costs. Publicizing through TV, radio, print media is not only unreliable and time-consuming; it also demands a large portion of your capital. Besides, you can advertise on various social media channels on your own pace and growth rate. Secondly, reaching out to your target audience has never been easier with social ads. Moreover, social media ads help you keep track of your endorsement performance and how to improve it further.

Interacting With Customers

Interacting with your customers and engaging with your target audience is a very popular way to reach to them and catch their attention. Not only businesses, but celebrities and public figures do the same to maintain an unavoidable online presence. Set aside a specific part of both your time and money to upload the latest content, promotions and special announcements on different channels. An inside peek to your offices on your Instagram stories and generate public interest. Similarly, a live streaming session regarding Q&A on Facebook or customer feedback forms on your Facebook/Instagram page can let you know what your followers are hoping for. Try working on customer satisfaction through social media channels by running surveys and monitoring discussion panels where your brand might be a topic of conversation.

It is quite inevitable to not jump on the social media bandwagon. It has now become crucial for businesses of every size and nature to establish itself with the help of social media marketing strategies.

The Ultimate Checklist For Business Owners (PART 3)

Balance The Books And Keep An Eye On Your Financial Records

The financial position of a business is its backbone. It always gives a hint to the strategists on how to proceed on and which strategy should be implemented that is budget-friendly as well. It is important to always keep the financial accounts and account balances in check. The business owners should know where each penny has been spent on the business and how well was it spent. Many business owners do not know the balances and the transactions made during the business. They either do not keep a record of it with themselves or they depend on the employees who are hired to look after the business finances.

Keep A Track of Your Financial Balance to Analyze Business Growth:

It is crucial to always track the balance of the business every month. This will help you to analyze the growth of the business and how rapidly the growth is increasing. As all the processes of the business are dependent on the financial position, therefore it is equally important to analyze all the balances of the finances and track the profit and loss statement to check what are the weakness and the areas that need to be focused more. Once you know the sources and all the transactions through which the balances occurred, you will know what the level of performance is and what changes affected the business.

Tips On How To Keep A Tally of The Balances:

As it is not an easy job tallying all the business transactions along with other important tasks to be performed, therefore there are some tips discussed on how to track the business transaction efficiently.

1. Keep a check on the Accounts Receivables:

Certain customers order and often pay altogether in the end. At times this way creates a lot of trouble by missing out the amounts and not making the complete payment. That is why the businessmen should keep a track of the accounts receivable and check which customer has to pay what amount.

2. Track Your Cash Flows:

Maintaining a cash flow statement will always help you to better understand the inflow and outflow of the cash transactions. You can monitor your payments and balances easily. This is a systematic way

in which you will also be able to keep a track of the growth of the business.

3. Save Copies of Expense Receipts:

This is a common mistake made by the business owners that they do not keep copies of the expense receipts in one file separately. This will make all the financial processes easy to understand and you will know how much amount you have spent for other petty things.

4. Keep Personal Accounts and Business Accounts Separate:

This is a common mistake made that result in big confusion. Always keep your business accounts separate so that you keep a proper track of the profit and loss you have made.

It is vital for businesses to always know the reasons for the profit and loss account to better understand the growth and the financial position of the business.

The Ultimate Checklist For Business Owners (PART 2)

Analyze And Review Your Business Plan And Current Trends

It is crucially important for all business people to keep a track of how their overall business proceeding on. Many businessmen do not keep track or even analyze how they have been proceeding with their business and the strategies. They are then not able to come up with a new strategy if the old ones didn’t work out well or even if they were quite profitable what should be the next strategy to make it more money minting and attractive. Therefore, it is extremely vital to revise or go through your goals and see whether you have met them in the right way and what changes did those goals bring in to your business.

Why is it important to do a Financial Analysis?

The financial position of a business is its strength and backbone as well. The entire position of the business is determined due to its financial position. That is why it is important to always make a financial analysis monthly, quarterly or semi-annually. You should analyze the profit and loss statements thoroughly so that you know which side should be focused more. It will give you an idea of how to develop a new strategy by keeping the budget in mind. You must determine the cash flows, profit and loss statements, working capital, and the financial position for growth. This will help you to set new goals that should not exceed your budget and should be according to the overall financial position of the business. Assess the overall Level of Performance.

Do not keep the old strategies aside once you have completed them. You should consider the results of those strategies even when you are working on a new strategy. This will help you to achieve more goals and targets more creatively. Good businesses always focus on increasing their level of performance more and more. They always look back, what the level of performance was before and then make it better than the previous level of performance. It even tells how the business is progressing and what the weaknesses that need to be focused more are. It will help you analyze your opportunities and what will be the threats from internal and external sources.

Look for any Significant Changes Made and Revamp the Goals:

You need to analyze the changes that occurred due to a change in strategies and see the difference by comparing the old strategy with the new one. This will tell you how much you progressed in your business and whether your strategies brought in a positive change or not. You also need to revamp the business goals you have set. You need to analyze them as well so that you can bring some positive changes to your business. Always consider the external forces influencing your business because they have a huge impact on it. You should also analyze the strategies of your competitors and should know how you are going to compete. These are some of the basic tips that most business owners forget to look for. They mostly focus on developing new strategies according to the trend, but the trend does not last long. You should always determine the financial position and make strategies accordingly.

The Ultimate Checklist For Business Owners (PART 1)

Maintain Company Financial Accounts

The company’s report or financial statements – shows the totality of accounting, which is reflected in the form of some tables, as well as characterizes the position of the company, on the financial side (enterprise) factory/plant, etc.), for a certain, so-called reporting period, in addition to this, gives an analysis of the movement of property and various liabilities. The company’s financial statements are compiled solely from data provided by the accountant (accounting). Usually, there are only four types of financial statements: Balance sheet: forms liabilities and assets of the company, groups them and expresses them in monetary terms. Statement of changes in equity: provides complete information on the movement of capital, such as: authorized, reserve and additional, as well as changes in the amount of retained earnings/uncovered loss of the company. Report on financial results: shows some of the most important data - is expenses, income, total financial results from the beginning of the year and specifically to the reporting date or reporting period, most often they coincide. Cash flow statement: shows the difference between the outflow and inflow of funds from the company during the reporting period.

Why accounting is Important?

The most important purpose of reporting is to show the state of the company from the financial side, its results, as well as changes in financing for the next reporting period. The financial statements must contain all information about the company’s liabilities, results, assets and liabilities, as well as those circumstances or events that have changed the assets and liabilities or liabilities. This information can be provided to everyone; in particular, it is necessary for potentially interested investors to make any decisions, for example, the purchase of a particular enterprise or shares of this company. Similarly, these data can be viewed by ordinary citizens interested in this enterprise, as well as suppliers, government agencies, creditors, etc., who have a certain interest and want to implement it.

The Rules for Preparing Financial Statements:

The Rule of Objectivity

Reporting must necessarily reflect only true information and the real situation of the company, as well as its Affairs.

Accrual Accounting Rule

In this rule, it is necessary to fix operations connected not only with money, but also sales/purchases on credit, barter (an exchange on equal terms), an exchange of assets/liabilities, etc. It is Important to fix all to one transaction which has at least small monetary potential.

Correspondence Rule

All financial transactions must comply with all parameters that are taken into account on paper.

The Rule of Reasonableness

It is necessary that financial accounting is not clogged with unnecessary information, i.e. many details can be missed, which do not play a big role.

The Rule of Conservatism

One should always avoid including too optimistic information in the reporting, which may not justify itself in the future. It is only necessary to follow a clear mathematical calculation, and avoid excessive emotionality. Financial statements should be clearly and thoroughly substantiated, preferably objectively.

The above-mentioned information helps us to conclude that maintaining financial accounts is very important for a business to monitor and manage its activities that happen daily.

The Reason Your Marketing Strategy Isn't Working

A marketing strategy can be defined as a set of elements and tools that help to distribute the available resources that are often limited to get the maximum returns in the long term. Every company has its own unique and different marketing strategy, which is used in its operations and activities. When choosing and developing a marketing strategy, you need to concentrate and be fully committed to achieving the goals and objectives, as well as flexibility, the ability to understand and adapt to market conditions. Marketing is responsible for making all the important decisions in an enterprise. The success of the marketing strategy depends on how successfully the business develops. Very often, a marketing strategy is based on initially incorrect beliefs that have grown so deeply into the business culture that they began to limit our horizons. Therefore, it is very important to understand what exactly we see wrong.

Why Marketing Strategy Fails?

Insufficient Marketing Research

One of the most common reasons for the failure of marketing strategy is that companies often do not spend enough money and time researching and learning about the market before designing the strategy. Market research is an important step because it helps you to clearly understand your target market without which you might divert your energy and focus to the wrong audience that will not only waste time but also waste a lot of money. With sufficient knowledge of your target market in terms of demographics, psychographics, and geographics, it is easier to design a strategy that generates positive results.

Misalignment of the Marketing Strategy with the Product Strategy

Another biggest mistake companies often make is that they consider marketing as a separate department and do not integrate it with the other departments in the company. It is very important to ensure that your marketing strategy is designed in a way to meet your long term corporate goals and adjectives.

Buyers’ Needs Are Not Met

Marketers often fail to design strategies that completely and fully satisfy customers’ needs and wants and when this happens customers switch on to other competitor brands that help them to satisfy those needs.

Companies often Ignore Competition

It is very important to consider the competition in the market and see what your competitors are doing before you design your marketing strategy. It is for this reason competitor research is very important but competitor research does not mean you observe and monitor the website, campaigns, and advertisements of your competitors and then imitate them but it means that you keep a close eye on them and do what they are not doing by offering something unique and different from what they are offering.

Strategy Fails to Provide Value to the Customers

Customers want value and often the marketing strategy fails to provide it. The best way to provide value is by doing content marketing.

The above-mentioned information lists down some of the reasons that contribute to the failure of market strategy. For a successful market strategy, companies need to make sure they avoid these mistakes.

IT'S NOT A SPRINT, IT'S A MARATHON

Understand one thing about becoming the entrepreneur that you seek to be, if knew everything, you would have no room to grow. Knowledge plays a big part in our growth but, without faith and hope, we won’t have the drive to gain access to the knowledge that is so easy to find. We have to be patient in growing a successful business we can’t just sprint through the process and expect everything to line up the way we expect it too.

First things first, in order to establish your business, you need to lay down its foundation. What exactly do you want to sell or what kind of services are you trying to provide? See you know you want to be an entrepreneur but, don’t know exactly where to begin. The next step is figuring out who your product or services attract, which we call your demographics. As you can see creating the business is a step by step process all on its own.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

-Philippians 3:12-14

Source

Guess what with all the time and effort put into your creation, you will soon watch your business or company flourish. Everything must come in order for you to succeed. Keep the faith that God will guide you through your journey and keep him ahead of all your plans. So remember not to sprint when taking this leap of faith. Take your time to run the marathon, pace yourself for the race and reach the finish line!

How To Win Clients and Influence Markets

The way to increase the number of customers you have is to understand the mechanism of their thinking. This is what neuromarketing talks about. Yes, we are all different, but in many cases, our brains react to certain situations in the same way. Understanding these subtleties of human thinking can help you find an approach to customers and get them to the desired action, saving a lot of money on the advertising budget. Below are ways to offer sales services and tips to increase conversion which will help you understand what your customers think most often, and how to use all these psychological phenomena in achieving your goals.

How to Win Clients & The Power of Persuasion

One curious feature of behavioral psychology research was that when randomly selected volunteers were declared to belong to a group of “politically active voters,” these same volunteers, who were subconsciously set to increase their involvement, increased their voting activity by 15%. The volunteers were chosen absolutely by chance, but their behavior was most decisively influenced by the arbitrary name of their group. This psychological phenomenon can be used in marketing campaigns: convince your target audience that they are the unique and limited target audience of your product.

Overcome Barriers of Entry

There are situations when a person needs an additional incentive. To do this, many companies provide an opportunity for a potential buyer to experience the offer in practice completely free of charge for a certain time. During this time, the user gradually gets used to the product/service, which creates a high probability that after the allotted period, he will not be able to refuse and will wish to extend the validity of the offer, but for the money. To do this, most companies often use the phrase: Sign up for a 30-day free trial” The phrase: “The First month is free” sounds much softer and more attractive. It is important to make offers that are hard to refuse.

Recognize Your Flaws

There are many examples of catastrophic failures that have occurred over the years (such as oil spills). The reason for this was the reluctance of companies to notice shortcomings in their work until the moment came when it was too late to change anything. For example, the Japanese energy company TEPCO only a year and a half later admitted its mistakes, which resulted in the nuclear crisis on the coast of Japan. It is important to recognize your mistakes so you can correct them and become stronger than before.

Do Not Make Them Wait

Consumers tend to be afraid of the fact of delay when buying online (especially before the holidays), which has a huge impact on the conversion process. Therefore, to make the client trust you, use phrases that are reassuring. For example: Online store “Amazon” guarantees delivery of the order at the appointed time. Pizzeria Domino’s will deliver pizza in less than 20 minutes.

The above mentioned information can help you attract more clients but at the same time, it is important to retain your old clients by focusing on their needs and wants.

An Innovator’s Guide To Success

Who doesn’t want to be successful? When you ask a teenage boy, he tells you he wants to succeed in his studies or sports. If you approach a grown-up man, he will tell you he wants to taste success in his life. Although success is different for different people, but the main focus lies on being successful. For achieving success usually in everything you need to be innovative. However, people commonly associate innovations with businesses. So, lets see how can you put innovation into your business.

Plan Of Action:

For a business to be successful the actions need to be unique. But that can only be done if you plan that action well. Usually, most of the organizations in one particular industry follow the same strategy. If you want to be successful you need to be innovative at the start. If you think differently from others that doesn’t mean you are wrong, it shows that you want to be successful but doesn’t want to follow the herd. Successful people have had success just because their plans and long-term objectives were unique. If you improvise your plans you will ultimately taste success.

Management:

When you have made unique objectives then you must be able to monitor them. The board defines clearly the values and policies that are needed to be practiced. The values practiced at each organization set them aside in their industry. If people in an organization follow and practice those unique norms set by the management it will bring in success for the individuals as well as the organization. Google manages and monitors the processes in its organization differently. It doesn’t rely on traditional and conventional methods but has brought different technique control in its organization.

Capital:

Generally, people refer to cash, assets, and money with the capital in an organization. However, the most important capital we miss out is human capital. Competitors can seek and copy anything you do. Your employees are one thing that cannot be replicated by your rivals and helps to be your competitive advantage. After you have set aside your objectives and goals, train your employees to be innovative and unique in their ideation and execution of plans. You can keep your employee engaged and let them exercise sufficient power so that they don’t have to think the traditional away. Empowering your employees to help them to think beyond the limitations of their minds. They bring in unique and innovative ideas which is significant for the organization.

Actions and Methods:

When you have brought uniqueness to the three points mentioned above you then should be able to execute them. If a company wishes to understand its customers it should be doing that in something unusual to the industry norms. Your plans are something that is confined to the organization only. However, the actions and execution are experienced by the customers. The customers associate the methods to your organization. It creates a unique identity of your organization and brings in innovation. The key to success is to bring in innovation in each aspect.

BUILT FOR THIS!

Guest Post By: Jackae Yarborough

Hello! My name is Jackae Yarbrough; I am twenty-two years old and I am a current UCR student. My immediate family lives in Idaho and I have been living on my own in Riverside for over two years. I was asked to share my story (testimony) by Myracle because I had told her how my faith in God was active throughout this journey of trying to navigate this new chapter of life that I had entered.

I moved out of my parents after buying my first car and having less than a thousand dollars in my bank account. I know.. I know, it doesn’t sound smart. But if it’s in God’s will he makes a way no matter the circumstances. I wasn’t scared or worried about if I would be able to live on my own. I was excited.. mainly because I did not know all that was going to be required of me to make this move. I guess you could say that I was comforted because I knew it was a part of God’s plan for me.

AMBITION

I always knew I was ambitious, but you could have never told me I would have done what I did to allow this to come to fruition.

Over two years later I can say without a doubt it was a purposed step that God wanted me to take and God has shown that to me in various ways. Very early on in my college career, I realized how unappealing debt is. I never expected my parents to pay for my college and I knew all the debt that I accumulated I would have to pay off. It never entered into my mind about trying to graduate debt-free until my Pastor Mark had prayed over me asking God that when I graduate I have no student debt. Ever since that day, I said, “okay God, how is this going to happen because I’m looking at the numbers, the money I make and the math is not lining up.” I always knew I was ambitious, but you could have never told me I would have done what I did to allow this to come to for wishing. By the time I graduate, I will have worked two jobs at once while in school on three separate occasions and worked three jobs at once while in school on one occasion. I have worked forty hours on a weekend and still worked during the week while in school and never for a moment asked myself if it was worth it. Once God placed it on my heart I was willing to do any amount of work that was required. I was receiving job offers and getting every job that I applied for. Before an interview, I always told God to let me get this job if it’s in your will for me to be there. I don’t want to work anywhere that is going to cause me to stumble or knock me off the path you want me on. I meant it when I prayed it and God knew that which is why every job I’ve worked has served a purpose and help me in more than supplying financial gain.

The most important decision for me in this chapter was when I transferred from community college to university. I have an exceptional GPA and knew that the colleges I applied to I would more than likely get into. So I asked God to make it so clear which university he wanted me to transfer to. Needless to say, I chose UCR and by the time I graduate, I will have gotten paid over twelve thousand dollars to attend UCR. Not only did the money I received make it easier on me to live on my own, but it has made it possible for me to graduate debt-free in June of 2020 having paid of approximately twenty-five thousand dollars in debt.

BE CONSISTENT

However; being consistent in my tithing and managing my money I am on track to graduate with my bachelor’s degree from UCR debt free.

Of course, learning how to manage my money and trust God with my finances even when it didn’t look like I was going to be able to obtain that goal was a challenge. Fighting between wanting to be a good steward of my money and wanting to be in my twenty’s living my best life was/is a constant battle. However, being consistent in my tithing and managing my money I am on track to graduate with my bachelor’s degree from UCR DEBT FREE.

Now I can’t share this story without giving acknowledges where they are due. First I have to thank my parents, I wouldn’t be who or where I am without them. All of my amazing siblings who have taught me more than they probably realize. My church family has made being so far away from my immediate family not as hard and Pastor Mark and Michelle who have been more than a pastor and the first lady to me. Last but not least, the Ginwrights. I want to thank you guys for treating me like family and welcoming me in. When things had gotten hard and I wanted to slow down you guys were all there to help push me.  

When should you Trademark?

By: Myracle Stevenson

What is a Trademark?

Trademarks are protections. These protections are available for certain specific names, symbols, devices or words that are used with or as a complement with goods or services. It is an association with a good or service. If this trademark is for a service then it is known to be a service mark. Commonly these trademarks are used and referred to as goods and services. The companies use trademarks so that they can differentiate and distinguish their products or services from those offered in the industries. These trademarks make it easy for companies and industries to analyze their product or service.

When should you Trademark?

TRADEMARK YOUR BUSINESS

Your business is the most important livelihood for you. You should make sure that you do everything to protect your company by applying for a trademark. You can either go for a full trademark or intent-to-use as soon as you plan on to proceed on with your company. The trademark ensures that you do not put your business in any kind of risk, or it protects your business from those massive risks. This is yet the most effective way to protect your brand and company name. You should trademark in the initial stages only so that you register the existence of your company in the states and declare that there is no other company taking over you.

Few things you should know before trademarking:

There are the most important things you should know before you trademark your business. These things are as follows:

• Verify your trademark and make sure that it is not already taken by another company.

• Make sure you register your domain name because there are a few startups that search for the most popular name and use it in their business.

• You should know the rights passed in the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act into law in November 1999.

• Make sure you bookmark the Internet Corporations for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) for the just-in-case situations.

• You should know how to use a trademark or a service mark without registering the USPTO. This gives you protection under the law so that you can bring an action in court.

How much does it generally cost to Trademark?

Most of the business owners know how to trademark and when to trademark. Certain new owners do not know how much will it cost to trademark or register their business. There are different trademark costs for different products and services. For instance, the cost of Federal filing is $275 per class of goods. So if you go for a clothing line or jewelry the trademark will be $275 for each of the product categories or class. So there is a different cost for different product classes. 

Risks of not Trademarking:

• There are hundreds of risks associated with not trademarking. Some of them are as follows:

• Your trademark can be hijacked in some countries if it is not registered.

• The owners of other companies might sue if they find your trademark similar to theirs.

• It is difficult to defend yourself if you find someone using your trademark.

• The trademark will not be sold separately then if it is unregistered.

Does Having An LLC Make You More Official

By: Myracle Stevenson

Introduction:

LLC refers to a limited liability company. It is different from a corporation. Corporations are here for very long now with LLC very new to the structure. Corporations arevery common among businessmen who have a high market value. LLC are a popular option for the small business owners. It gives their business the legal entity they are after for. At the same time, it doesn’t let them fall under the corporation category.

So, Does LLC Make You Official?

The answer is yes. When you form an LLC, your business gets titled as it on any official paperwork you do. Limited liability company gives your business its own legal entity. That means that now the business is not associated with you. Basically, it removes the sole proprietorship tag from you if you are the only owner. Your business sounds more authentic as it shows that your company is registered and is authentic. 

Giving Business The Liability Protection:

As you form an LLC it gets official. Now it is something different from general or sole proprietorship. Your business and you will be dealt separately. The advantage it gives is that your personal assets aren’t at stake. This shows that your business is now an official body. The creditors can only claim the assets belonging to the company and not your personal assets. It has to pass through certain rules and regulations that are dedicated to those who have an LLC.

They Get Their Own Structure:

As mentioned earlier, LLCs are governed by different bodies. When you form an LLC then you get official points for doing your business. These points include how the profit loss statement would be defined, what happens if you have to wrap up the business. If you want to wrap up the business you don’t need to do a lot when you are a sole proprietor. Although if you have formed an LLC you need to under go some conditions that were mentioned in the agreement you signed. You get guidelines, mechanism of doing and handling your business as you get when you have a trademark.

Subject To Taxation:

Like every corporation or an official business, the LLC is subject to taxation. The mode of corporation can serve if you need to be double taxed or single taxed. Taxation makes you an official body. Since you are now listed at an official paper because you file tax returns.

No Limitation Of Owners:

The LLC can have whatever type of owners they want. They can have a manager that is present in many of the corporations. It is not restricted to only one owner. There can be both foreign and domestic entities attached to it. It gives the authenticity of you and your business. 

Conclusion:
The above points relate that having an LLC makes you official. Your business goes under some rules and is regulated by a body. The body assigns your business with other LLCs and are governed under those unified terms and conditions.

The Fight To The Finish

Guest Post By: Anonymous

Life is hard enough without the unwanted disturbances. I am a mother of three beautiful children and we are beyond happy, blessed, and at peace in our life together!

At the beginning of my journey into motherhood, life seemed complete, found the man I wanted to grow old with and started a family. Before we knew it our second blessing was on the way so we proceeded to get married. I couldn't be any happier that my little family was coming together. Little did I know my nightmare was only starting to begin!

Everything wasn't always rainbows and sunshine. People saw smiles but inside I was broken down, crying, lost in who I was. My children were affected because the abuse was not sheltered from their little worlds. No matter how much I tried to hide it or prevent it, the boogie man was real within our walls. To make matters worse and the difficulty of leaving even harder, baby number three came as a surprise!

The mental, verbal, and physical abuse became my reality. I lost control of being able to shelter those precious eyes from the familiar evil. I was trapped in a house where if I tried to leave, I would get hit. Soon the fear of being killed and taken away from my babies hit!!

Just when I lost hope God found me and removed me!! This was not his plan for his children!! This was not my fight to fight it was his!! As I grew stronger in the things of my father, I learned to love me and my children more than what society expresses what a marriage should be.

My covenant is with God not man, at the moment I learned that I was free!! I found peace, my children found peace, and Satan and his demons, no longer had the control. This was my fight to the finish, and I choose LIFE! For God, myself, and my children!!

Savers Are Losers

By Myracle Stevenson

Introduction:

It has been a virtue since forever that saving money is more like investing it for the future. People always prefer saving some amount in their savings account so that have a sufficient amount for the big journeys ahead. But no one thinks deeply enough to ask, is it beneficial? Is it profitable enough considering the future value of money? Will that money appreciate or depreciate in the long run? All these questions are never bothered to be considered to think before saving money. No doubt savings are necessary and we all should encourage this virtue, but it doesn't mean that it will always be beneficial for us in the long run.

Why Are Savings Not Beneficial In The Long Run?

If you think that savings are beneficial for us then get ready for an ugly surprise. You are living in a delusion because you are not clear about the rules of money. You are unable to properly understand what the effects are if the money depreciates or after what period dies it starts depreciating. The rules of money changed in 1971 and we no longer accepted or realized that after this the dollar is no longer money.

The Value Of Money:

If you think over it you might realize that the value of money is just a piece of paper. This means its value is no greater than a paper. We also don't know how to value money. We just know that it can be used in the exchange of goods and services. But this is the intrinsic value of money. What else is there instead of this common exchange system? The value of money is, therefore, not only intrinsic. It can be exchanged in return too. That is why money has no value but is only valued for the exchange of goods and services. The value of the currency has only one common purpose. So the more goods and services are purchased, the more value of money increases and vice versa. 

The Illusion Of Money In Tax:

The other major facet of money illusion is in tax. This is the tax that is deducted from our gross income and applied to every product and service we consume. We all hate to pay tax but we are directly or indirectly paying it almost daily. Due to this, we do not realize how to legally reduce tax liability. This is because the government has made discriminative tax rules. The rich are aware and take advantage of it whereas the poor or the mediocre are the victims of the taxes.

The Regressive Tax System:

The tax system is pretty regressive. It imposes too much tax on the gross income of the hard earners of the house who strive for a better living and fulfill their necessities. On the other hand, there is little tax or the same percent of the tax imposed on the rich which does not create any difference for them. The salaried employees have to face all kinds of deductions from their earned salary but the rich businessmen take is as their expense and later on, they can recover it.

If you think over it you might realize that the value of money is just a piece of paper. This means its value is no greater than a paper. We also don't know how to value money. We just know that it can be used in the exchange of goods and services. But this is the intrinsic value of money. What else is there instead of this common exchange system? The value of money is, therefore, not only intrinsic. It can be exchanged in return too. That is why money has no value but is only valued for the exchange of goods and services. The value of the currency has only one common purpose. So the more goods and services are purchased, the more value of money increases and vice versa. 

The Illusion Of Money In Tax:

The other major facet of money illusion is in tax. This is the tax which is deducted from our gross income and applied to every product and service we consume. We all hate to pay tax but we are directly or indirectly paying it almost daily. Due to this, we do not realize how to legally reduce tax liability. This is because the government has made discriminative tax rules. The rich are aware and take advantage of it whereas the poor or the mediocre are the victims of the taxes.

The Regressive Tax System:

The tax system is pretty regressive. It imposes too much tax on the gross income of the hard earners of the house who strive for a better living and fulfill their necessities. On the other hand, there is little tax or the same percent of the tax imposed on the rich which does not create any difference for them. The salaried employees have to face all kinds of deductions from their earned salary but the rich businessmen take is as their expense and later on, they can recover it.

When Should You Incorporate?

By: Myracle Stevenson

The question of when to incorporate your business is more important than why and how to incorporate it. At one point or the other, every business owner thinks of and considers incorporation as the next step for their business’s growth and development. Incorporation has its advantages which cannot be denied and ignored. It brings a lot of credibility and flexibility to your business. Once you are a separate legal entity you establish yourself as a professional business. This status of incorporation helps you to become more strong, professional and credible in the eyes of your customers and other stakeholders ultimately bringing success. Most importantly you can protect and safeguard your personal belongings because after incorporation you and your business are a separate identity. Hence, if any bankruptcy happens, the owner does not sell off his assets and belongings to clear off the debts. Incorporation also helps in getting loans and other financial support much easily because people have more trust and faith in the business. Furthermore, Incorporations helps to increase the life span of your business since it is a separate legal identity even after the death of the owner the company stays and does not die. Let’s look in detail when you should consider incorporating your business:

Incorporate as early as possible:

It is always better to incorporate earlier than late because the sooner you incorporate the faster you would be able to reap all the benefits that result from incorporation such as higher credibility in the eyes of customers, easier access to finance and loans, tax advantages and protection of your assets. This is true for all and any kind of business and something that the owners must take into account from the very beginning.

Incorporate before signing the contract:

If you sign the contract as a sole trader and later incorporate you still will be liable on your assets and your assets and belonging would still be at stake. It is, for this reason, it is extremely crucial to incorporate before you sign any contract, leases, agreements, and franchises to protect your assets and enjoy limited liability that results from the status of incorporation.

Incorporate before hiring Employees:

It is very crucial to incorporate before you hire employees in your business. This is because when you have not incorporated you are liable and responsible for the actions of your employees. This means if they make any mistakes you are responsible and your assets and belongings are at stake. However, once you incorporate you are no longer responsible and liable for the actions of your employees as it directly comes under the responsibility of the corporation.

Incorporate before adding partners:

Incorporating before adding partners and co-owners save and protect you from a lot of hassle and disadvantages of Sole traders and partnerships.

To conclude, the best time to incorporate is as early as possible as the above-mentioned information shows that the sooner you incorporate the faster you will be able to reap all the benefits of incorporation.

Have You Set Financial Goals for This Quarter?

By: Myracle Stevenson

Comparatively, setting goals and dreaming about achieving your aspirations is way easier than implementing and managing them. Now and then we read numerous articles, books, and blogs on how to set one’s financial goals; albeit personal finances or profits of a business, it is vital to break them into small, manageable steps. Quite often an individual or a business needs to meet short-term goals as well. Business owners, managers, and entrepreneurs apply viable strategies to accomplish a business plan that would build their wealth. This is not as easy as it sounds. A certain roadmap has to be followed to gain what you’re aiming for- yearly, quarterly or monthly financial goals. In the business world, it’s a popular opinion that attaining yearly goals seem rather far off and monthly goals feel hectic and unmanageable; however, intending for a quarter is pretty feasible and modest. In-fact, these micro goals will eventually facilitate you to aim for bigger dreams. Let’s take a look at some basic financial goals that can prove beneficial for your business in many possible ways.

Know what you’re aiming for

It is fundamental for a business to have a vision. Get a mission statement written and clearly state a purpose that reflects your core values. Although, not financial in nature mission statements help in developing a specific structure for your business to grow forward. However, it tends to evolve and change over time. Similarly, your business goals must be set out considering your statement of principle. No matter how petty the goal is, get it all on paper. From paying debts, generating more income, saving for trips, investments, reducing household expenses; mention each intention and sort it out later if it can be achieved in a 3 month or would take longer. You can always add or modify the list.

Cost goals let you get a grip on business expenditure

Focus on positive cash flow. This is the first goal you should work on to reduce operating expenses through different policies such as increasing sales through customer service, by cutting down high shipping and production costs or even employee salaries. This reduction plan should be consistent- it should be your stated goal every quarterly so that even your company’s revenue stagnates in an off-season, your business burn rate would suffer less. Applying these strategies to the business will automatically lay the foundation for your macro goal of making large profits or workforce.

Expand your business by making the right choices

Although business is majorly about increasing sales, it should not be your business’s sole purpose. Building business is not that simple, your goals must also include non-monetary objectives. As mentioned before a brand vision is equally imperative as making big bucks. Concentrate on customer service, loyalty to regular clients, training and supporting employees for a better financial output in the long run.

A monitored budget, debt repayment and accomplishment of bigger financial ambitions are a few advantages of setting quarterly goals.

Faith On The Field

By: Team Myraculous

We all can agree that we are all on a battlefield fighting a war we feel tired and dang near defeated by. As human beings, we will struggle throughout life because challenges bring growth to our lives. The defensive move to defeat the obstacle in your path, is faith! The knowledge that you're going to succeed and conquer is satisfaction within itself. But you have to understand faith to understand that concept.

Faith is complete trust or confidence in someone or something. It is the assurance of things hoped for and true evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

When we stay with faith throughout our daily lives, the wants and needs will be fulfilled. There wouldn’t be any worry about how or where your next move will occur. In business, you have to have faith that it is going to flourish to where you want it to be as long as it follows along with God's plans. Remember if it’s His will, it’s His bill.

You won’t have a worry financially and ideas to execute the expansion of your business will come to you from God. All He asks is that you have believed and have the faith for Him to provide. Call on Jehovah Jireh for He will provide. It is his covenant with man! The faith of a mustard seed- meaning a little faith can open doors to things you couldn’t imagine would come to pass. So keep in mind our fellow readers to keep faith in the game so that you will finish with the win. No obstacle is too great for our God, so why are you putting limitations on the One that created you?

Best Tax Breaks for Business Owners

By: Myracle Stevenson

Introduction:

Starting your business may seem easy but choosing the right form for your venture may seem very challenging and overwhelming as there are many types and forms of Businesses available. One of these forms is the LLC which means Limited Liability Company and another type is S corporation. In an LLC the company enjoys the benefits of the sole trader and partnerships but it also enjoys a corporation status that benefits it in the form of tax advantages. S corporations are also similar in many ways to LLCs in terms of being a separate limited liability, enjoying pass-through taxes and having limited liability protection but they are different in terms of the number of members as LLCs can have any number of members but S corps must have 100 or fewer, in terms of citizenship they are different as LLC members do not need to be US citizens but S Corp members must be  and lastly, in terms of Self-employment taxes as S Corps have more benefits on self-employment taxes than LLC’s.

Tax Benefits For S Corps:

S Corps offer more tax benefits in terms of Self Employment taxes. This is because all members in an S-Corp are considered as employees. FICA taxes are always paid on the salary and the businesses earnings after the salaries are the unearned income that will not come under self-employment taxes.

Tax Benefits For LLC

For an LLC owner, the tax rate depends on the total income of the owner. If the net income is higher than the tax rate would be lower than that of a corporation. For instance, in taxable income, the corporation’s tax rate for $75,000 is 34% but for the exact taxable income, the personal tax rate is 25%. The owner of an LLC is not subject to double taxation like the corporate owner. This is because the corporate owners need to pay on the corporate net income and on any net income they receive. In a lot of states, Corporations need to pay franchise taxes but they do not require LLCs to do the same.

There is no particular category of taxation for LLC as it is new so it uses the categories of other business types. There is a system of pass-through taxation in the LLC which means that LLC will not pay direct taxes and the net income of the entire business is taxed through the personal income of the owner or owners involved in the business. So in an LLC, the business is not paying any taxes only the owner pays the taxes and the problems of double taxation can be avoided to a great extent.

Conclusion:

To conclude, both the structures provide excellent tax advantages and benefits. The tax benefits of Self employment make S Corps an amazing choice but in many ways, LLC's are cheaper and much easier than the S Corps. However, it is easy to make the switch from an LLC to S Corp in the future to reap the benefits of Self employment taxes.

What Are Profit And Losses?

By: Myracle Stevenson

P & L

A profit and loss statement is often known as an income statement. It talks about the costs, expenses and the total revenue during a particular period of the year. It is a report which is based upon the financial analysis, discussing the overall profits and losses of a company. It also reflects upon a company’s potential to develop its sales. Generating profits and administering expenses is a part of income statements. It is made considering the principles of accounts, which are an integral part of preparing it. 

Accounting Principles:

Three basic accounting principles are required to generate a profit and loss statement. It includes the revenue recognition principle, which mentions about the time it takes revenue to be recorded in the financial statements. The matching principle is another one that tells what revenues and expenses should be reported at the same time. The last principle is the accrual principle which focuses upon the fact that transactions are supposed to be recorded at the same time duration when they take place. This is against the idea of recording transactions when the amount is received.

Composition Of Profit And Loss Statement:

The structure of a profit and loss statement is constructed upon a few important elements. Its composition primarily includes revenue or total sales. Sales revenue is the amount received by a company when goods are sold and services have been provided. It can include both cash and credit. This makes up the top line of the statement. Other than revenue, there is a total cost of goods sold which is the production cost of goods and services. It includes labor cost and material cost. Also, it increases proportionally with revenue. Marketing and advertising, technology, selling, general and administrative are a few other categories to be included in an income statement. Expenses such as operating expenses, tax expenses, and interest expenses are supposed to be included as well. Net income is what is meant to be the bottom line of this profit and loss statement. It tells how much profit a company earns.

Balance Sheet:

A balance sheet is a part of one of the three financial statements. It reflects the financial position of the company or tells about its net worth. A balance sheet is composed of the total assets of the company, whether they are the current or non-current assets. Assets assess a company’s capability of generating future revenues and can provide future economic benefit. Another part of a balance sheet tells how these assets are subsidized, which is mainly through liabilities and equities. Equity is what is left over by deducting liabilities from assets. The liabilities include both current and non-current ones, whereas the equity includes Share capital and Retained earnings. Liabilities of a company are a measure of the future obligations a company has to go along and meet.

Conclusion:

Hence, profit and loss statements, along with the balance sheet are both fundamental parts of financial statements. They provide a clear and detailed look at the company’s financial performance. 

Seattle

Ed Sheeran - Castle on the hill COVER | Seattle Pike Place Market September 14, 2019 | Featuring @CascadeCascadeMusic & @Burnamichael

By: Team Myraculous

In mid-September, the skies are glorious and filled with clouds and beautiful crisp Autumn air. As we travel along Pike Place we scurry across interesting individuals from business owners to talented artists. Two of the individuals that intrigued us with their talents were, @cascadecascade & @barnumichael. Two beautiful souls with the blessings of talents in music. Take a moment to check them out on their social media. Also, we mustn’t forget the chocolate messiah, Justin Hale, who has now dropped his new single personal, as you can see Seattle, Washington has hidden gems waiting to be discovered.

Provided to YouTube by DistroKid Personal · Justin Hale Personal ℗ Justin Hale Music Released on: 2019-09-06 Auto-generated by YouTube.

Not to mention the huge business entrepreneur industry is beyond massive. From your organic produce stands to new & used book stores. We highly recommend that you stop at one of these booths and to venture out in this area for a better experience. In Seattle, people are a big melting pot, there is such a diversity that you have the luxury of trying different countries cuisines.

Me searching for my purpose in life…

This experience was even more wonderful because we were able to step back and took a moment to embrace God’s creation. Although most didn’t realize their calling we were able to see God’s plans in them. We all have a purpose even when we can’t see it in front of us but, God will use us to fulfill His plans, or success will be secured because He has called it to be!

Remember we need to involve God in all our decisions. Think of Him as the biggest investor in your company or your purpose. To grow you need Him, to survive the market you need His guidance, and so forth. We may have the gift but if we don’t use it for our purpose, what would the point be if it isn't going anywhere?! Take this time to research in the Word to get a better understanding of your where God is trying to lead you in your journey to make a difference in this world!!