Taxes
How to Avoid Overpaying Tax on Cash Investments
While investment planning requires much more than IRS considerations, make sure you’re not paying too much in tax Cash investments are another way that investors can balance out their portfolios with safe, predictable options. These offer stability in returns, as they don’t fluctuate with the stock or bond markets. However, because there is low risk,…
Read MoreGetting the Right People in the Right Seat, Part 2: Evaluating, Counseling, and Firing Employees
What to do when an employee won’t play ball In our previous article, we talked about getting the right people into the right seat. This methodology is especially useful when it’s used to evaluate current employees and ensure that they are the correct person for the job. But the scrutiny doesn’t end there, of course.…
Read MoreGetting the Right People in the Right Seat, Part 1: The People Analyzer
How to evaluate the right person for the job The hardest thing to manage in business is people. The Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS®) defines that businesses are comprised of vision, people, data, issues, process, and traction – but in practice, managing people represents probably sixty-percent of the effort. This is one of the reasons it’s…
Read MoreDefining Your Business’s Three Unique Traits
What separates you from the crowd? In today’s market, competition is fierce. It is no longer enough to simply be better than your rivals because there is inevitably a lot of them, most of which may seem identical to all but the most trained eye. You have to show your customers what makes you different.…
Read MoreThe Proven Process: A Map for Business Success
From it, you’re able to distill a documented path – the recipe – your customer will take when they use your product or service. Why does Epicurious – a bastion of gastronomic journalism – declare the best cookbook ever written to be none other than the 85-year-old Joy of Cooking? It’s sold more than 18…
Read MoreWhat is Your Business’s Guarantee?
Customers want to trust you. They need to be convinced. That’s the job of your guarantee. One marketing strategy element you’ll tackle as you put together the Vision Traction Organizer (VTO) is your organization’s guarantee. You’ve spent time digging deep into visualizing your target customers, and you’ve identified the three things that make you unique.…
Read MoreStructure Your Business Properly to Significantly Lower Your Taxes
The new tax code offers substantial breaks to small business owners – who know how to take advantage Finding ways to legitimately lower your tax burden is an attainable goal for business owners. But too many continue to overpay by overlooking deductions or structuring their businesses and retirement savings in ways that aren’t efficient for…
Read MoreTravel, Meals, Wheels, and Entertainment: Your Guide to How and When to Take These Write-Offs
If you’re a business owner, it pays to stay current with the law From advertising and promotion to travel expenses, there are a host of things businesses can classify as deductibles on their income tax return. The accepted amounts of deductibles have remained stable for many years, but since the advent of the Tax Cuts…
Read MoreAvoid That Dreaded Letter from the IRS
6 ways to lower the chances of an audit of your business tax return Business owners dread getting an audit notice from the IRS. It causes immense stress that investigators will find something that results in you having to pay a penalty – or worse. However, are you aware of the things you can do…
Read MoreDefining Your Business’s Marketing Strategy
You know where you want to go – but what determines the steps to get there? The first two questions on the Vision Traction Organizer (VTO) are exercises that help you think of the future state of your organization. You define core values and look at the common purpose, cause, or passion that aligns everyone…
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