Business Discussions

Happy Fri-yay, I mean Friday, everyone! I hope the work week has treated you well. Today I wanted to share an article I came across, published by Forbes.com, that discusses simple philosophies to becoming a successful entrepreneur. Here are a few points that caught my eye... Prep Your MindsetPreparing your mindset encompasses thinking long-term regarding your business. We're offered a reminder that entrepreneurial success doesn't happen overnight and your ways of thinking should reflect that. "Prepare your mindset. Entrepreneurship is a work of heart and not a perfect, straight line to success. It’s supposed to feel crazy at the beginning. You have nothing to lose." When you think about the long-term success of your business, this includes answers to questions like what you want to get out of the entire venture, as well as how much time will you spend working? How much will you be paid? How many employees will you have? Where do you see yourself in 10 years?Be Unapologetically Yo

Happy Wednesday, and welcome to the Talk Your Business page. Today, I wanted to change gears for a sec. For the past few days, this question has been on my mind, "What aspect of your business gets you excited?".   I wanted to bring back that warm-fuzzy feeling of what brings you joy in your industry to create some good vibes for a minute. Therefore, I decided to interview a few entrepreneurs from around the world to get their take. Here's what they had to say:   Kamoyia W., the founder of Maxi's Fashion, explained that she enjoys the fact that she meets new clients daily. She also expresses that she loves to pay attention to her pieces' quality because she wants her customers to have one of the best quality. She did add that making money contributes to her excitement, but most importantly, seeing that satisfaction on her customers' faces. Before ending the interview, she said something that made me smile. She stated, "At the end of the day, it is nice to see

  A) Satisfying or B) Confusing? Pick one & tell us why, we'd love to hear from you!

"...Social media remains one of the fastest-growing and most important channels for small businesses everywhere, offering unmatched reach and potential compared to other marketing channels."     Hello hello and happy Friday! Welcome back to another edition of the Business Discussion board. We all know that social media is hugely popular in today's day and age. We also know that the use of social media can be a very helpful tool for small businesses. With that in mind, today I wanted to share some points I read in an article from squareup.com focusing on how small businesses can use social media to grow. Embrace VideoVideo marketing popularity is growing rapidly. Even with that being said, many businesses struggle with what content to include and how to relay it to their customers. Here are a few suggestions from the article about what to include in your videos: Sort your blog content in order of most traffic and create videos around those topics. Follow peers a

Hi, howdy, hey! It's mid-week and I'm back to share some small business pointers. Have you ever thought that your product or service is so unique or so focused you feel you may have a hard time finding success? Well, today I want to share how your niche business can work for you. Less competitionThere's nothing wrong with a little friendly competition. On the other hand, small businesses already have plenty of hurdles to overcome so let's be real. With less competition, there's more potential. With a specific business, you're less likely to run into similar competitive brands. Less clash means you'll be able to optimize sales and build a loyal customer base.Find your focusA niche business offering very specific products or services allows you to find your passion. Making a career out of something you're passionate about means you'll never have to work a day in your life! This point brings to mind a local artist. She makes incredible pottery of all shapes and sizes and sales her pieces

  Everyone has seen a lot of change this year, and one of the most common changes is the way our work life has shifted in response to the global pandemic.   Many companies embraced the work from home model as a way of protecting their workers, and similarly, a lot of small businesses had to shift their models to allow them to continue their businesses in a socially responsible and safe manner.    But whether working from home is new to you or you are a seasoned pro, it can present unique challenges depending on a multitude of factors.      We are sharing our tips for success below, and hope that you will join the conversation and share what works best for you.  We'll collect some of the responses and round them up for you again later in the week.       Ami Defesche, Community Moderator   Living in a studio apartment when we started working from home presented a lot of challenges, but the biggest was not having a def

Good afternoon, Community members! It's Friday once again, and today I'm here to share another business article with you all. Earlier I was reading this article from uschamber.com and thought it was a very beneficial one to share. This post in particular covers identifying and resolving skills gaps within your business.   IdentificationAs the write-up mentions, "No single person possesses all the necessary skills to run a business effectively. Identifying skills gaps, in both yourself and your team, will ensure your company can grow." With that being said, a skill gap is "the difference between the skills required for a position and the skills an employee actually possesses." These differences can be identified by conducting an analysis with your employees. Notice I said with because you will participating as well. Here are the steps to recognize any gaps that need to be filled:   Important skills Communicating the skills that are actually important is

Hello out there! Are there any Quickbooks Online Accountant/ProConnect users in the Central Coast California area near Paso Robles? I am new to the area and would love to talk with you!

Happy Wednesday! Quick question, what is the history of your business? A brand story gives customers insight into what you're about and shows customers why you do this. This is one of the many strategies of drawing customers in. Have you perfected your story? I have taken the time to jot down a few tips to help you when presenting your story to the world. Be Transparent and Engaging There are a few questions you should ask yourself when writing your business story? This should be easy to remember seeing they all start with the letter W. Why- Why are you writing this story, and why do you think it's significant? When- When did this all start? Where- Where is this story taking place? Who- Who has contributed a part in this establishment? What- What are you trying to achieve, and what failures have you experienced thus far? Using this will show a sense of direction and focus, where the audience can see the history unfold before them.   Be Real and TruthfulTry not to oversell your

  Yesterday, QuickBooks Live Bookkeeper and accounting veteran Pam Bingham answered questions live on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, & LinkedIn. During the livestream, Pam answered your questions about keeping finances in order, maintaining your books with accuracy, and managing time-consuming tasks.   It was awesome! Watch the replay below.    Our recent Twitter poll revealed many of you are interested in learning more about bookkeeping:                 If you missed the livestream, don't worry. Let's keep the conversation going in comments!  What bookkeeping questions do you have? 👇    And if you are looking for more like this, make sure to check out our Ask the Expert playlist on YouTube.  

  You know what rhymes with Fries.....Fri-day. Ok, ok, ok, don't close the tab just yet. I know that was very corny, but Thank God It's Friday (TGIF)! Right? I know its hard for some of you business owners to actually relax for a bit on the weekend; however, I encourage you to sleep for just a few more minutes before starting your day. Now, let's dive into the article. Shall we? I found this article by Business Insider, which explains ways to speed up the onboarding process, also known as training for new hires. Here's what they have to say:   Create a simple training outline The author encourages us to include relevant information that hirees need to know, as it corresponds with their job responsibilities and the work culture. When creating this outline, it would help if your directions were clear and concise. The reason being, I have noticed that, at times, there is no proper structure during the training process. Every trainer comes up with their personal method of t

 “Setting up for Success” is a series of snack-sized summaries based around task-oriented video tutorials. Each set of videos is curated around specific accounting workflows and the fundamental concepts behind them. Each article features three to five comprehensive tutorials and highlight summaries. While we've handpicked these tutorials for first time QuickBooks Online users, this series is an excellent resource for anyone needing a refresher on QuickBooks Online and accounting basics.  We recommend watching all of the videos, as a set and in order, so you can confidently complete the specified accounting tasks in QuickBooks Online. If you do decide to skip ahead to specific sections of the article, set aside time to go back and watch the videos in their entirety so you have a firm grasp of the process end-to-end.  The Basics and Accounting ConceptsThe Fundamentals"The Big Picture"  TransactionsAdding Items (Products and Services,

We are a small condo association with 87 units and do our own property management.  We have a great Excel spreadsheet for Payables, but owner data and Receivables are all done by hand.  We want to install a simple to use database system to keep track of all owner information, including their monthly payments. If you use QB for this purpose, I would love to talk to you. Thank you.

Happy Friday and cheers to the weekend! Quick question before you sign off from work, what are your thoughts about business automation? With recent development in technology, particularly in automation, businesses have started to adopt this concept. A brief explanation of automation is the use of computer-controlled devices or software to fulfill a task. An example of this could be the self check out in a supermarket. Nonetheless, Forbes has listed the Do's and Dont's of Business Automation. A few points stood out, and I believe this information can be promising to your business.    Let's start with the Dont's.   High costsDepending on the type of automation, it may be very pricey to implement. If you're about to invest in one, ensure that you have done your research or have asked other businesses (that have use or currently use these services) their opinion. Adding automation in your business should be profitable and efficient. If it doesn't, this can affect your busine

Happy Wednesday, everyone! It's great to have you here in the Community. We all know there's nothing wrong with a little friendly competition. Today I wanted to share a few ways to keep up with what your competitors are doing: Social MediaThis might be an obvious one, but a person or company's social media platforms will tell you a lot about that. Check out your competitors social media pages to see what they're sharing, how many followers they have, and what kind of posts are the most popular. WebsiteSimilar to social media, a company's website is the next best way to find out more about them. Does the competition's website stack up; meaning is it up to date, can you contact the company through the site, can you order items/services online, or do they even have a website? ReviewsA simple Google search of the business you're competing with can produce customer reviews. Taking a closer look at the other company's reviews will tell you what they're excelling at, as well as

It's Friday again, folks! Thanks for joining me here in the Community. I read an article earlier from uschamber.com that outlined different family owned business structures. This topic was interesting as there are so many family owned businesses, around 50% of American companies alone. While this large percentage of businesses are owned and operator by families, I've never read, seen, or even really heard of the different types of structures these businesses can take on. Here's a little about what I learned... Ownership Options Owner/Operator: Ownership and control of the company is limited to one person or just a couple of people. The article compares this example to the British monarchy, where the crown is passed down to the firstborn. "There needs to be a clear succession plan in place for maintaining this ownership model." Partnership: With a partnership model, only leaders within the company can be owners and benefit financially. "This prevents family members

Good morning, Community. It's time to talk business again! Today, I thought I'd share a breakdown of a few different types of business meetings and what they consist of. Here we go...   To begin, "A business meeting is a gathering of two or more people for the purpose of making decisions or discussing company objectives and operations. Business meetings are generally conducted in person in an office, however with the rise of video conferencing technologies, participants can join a business meeting from anywhere."   Now that we have that established, here are a few different types of meetings and what kind of events to expect with each:   Status UpdateStatus update meetings are conducted to do just that. Your team may be working on a big project that's taking several months to complete. Status updates are important to let the team know where they're at on the time line, what needs to be worked on next, and encourage the progress made so far.   Decision MakingIf your

What merchandise can I use for loyalty program?

Welcome back, folks!  We have finally made it through another month, and we all deserve a round of applause. It's August Eve, guys!  Thank you for joining us here on the Discussion Page. Today, I have a relatively fun and engaging article from Business.com that will boost team-building activities. According to the writer, virtual team-building activities are "exercises focusing on employees' feelings, interests, and communication, which helps build enthusiasm and camaraderie among remote workers." This can be an invigorating practice to implement where employees can "let their hair down." Here are a few favorites they mentioned:   Virtual Coffee BreakAlthough I'm not a coffee lover (please don't judge me), this can be an ice breaker. It is a chance for employees to take a breather and interact with one another outside of the office setting. You can use this time to form a more meaningful connection with your staff and ask questions about their well-being and so

Welcome back my friends. I have selected a somewhat sensitive topic to discuss today, but I think you will find it necessary for your business. My professor once told our class, when customers are happy, they will tell one or two persons, but if a customer is dissatisfied, they will tell three times the amount. No one can convince me that this statement isn't 100% accurate because I have done it and seen others do it.  So, today we will be discussing how to respond to negative feedback. Although there a lot of ways to do this, here are my thoughts:   Don't Avoid Negative Feedback; Embrace it!Even though it can be a hard pill to swallow when a customer leaves a distasteful comment, your response shouldn't be aggressive. You do not want your company to be seen in that negative light. The internet is forever and opened to everyone. Although you can delete your feedback, it may remain in circulation due to screenshots made before the post was deleted.   Remember the three

I have a very small CPA practice.  I have been approached by a potential client to handle bookkeeping and tax return preparation.  He has been with the same people for many years  (a husband/wife team - husband is an EA and wife is a bookkeeper).    Does anyone have a proforma letter or sample they can share with me to request records and files from a predecessor?  Any help would be appreciated.  For some reason I'm struggling with crafting my request.  Thank you!

Hello, hello! It's great to see you here in the Community. You know it's my favorite day of the week and I hope you're looking forward to a restful weekend as much as I am. I read an article earlier today from uschamber.com that showcased several small business owners. Each business owner reveled their best marketing strategies. Here's what they had to say:Customer relationshipAmong the business owners in the article, one said her best marketing strategy was to maintain a strong relationship with her customers. She was able to do this, under current circumstances at a distance, by sending more personalized, heartfelt emails. She noted that her customers were showing a positive response and continued to their interaction.Social mediaAnother point mentioned in the article was the use of social media. Marketing your business on social media is a great tactic for many reasons.  By using various platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, customers can see your work

Hey guys, we are halfway through the week. Almost there! Welcome back to the Discussion Page. Today, I want to address for a few minutes, ways in which business owners can handle stress. As business owners, we may become overwhelmed with constantly working like "Energizer Bunnies." However, it's important to step back, stop and smell the roses or coffee (for you coffee lovers) at times. Here are my top three ways of coping with stress:   Take a breather:Stepping away from the situation or problems for about 10 to 15 minutes can help you relax and distress. Simple things like going for a walk, watching a humorous video, or calling a friend can give you a clearer mind to undertake the task at hand. During these short breaks, you may get inspiration or ideas to analyze the situation another way.   Rank your responsibilities:Some prefer to start each task, but never fully complete all they set out to do by the end of the day. I, personally, am guilty of this, especially when

Mentorship: the guidance provided by a mentor, especially an experienced person in a company or educational institution.Good Friday afternoon, ladies and gents. I'm back to share another great article with you all today. Maybe you've reached the point in your career where you have a good amount of experience and success. With that experience and success, you have a level of knowledge that could be very useful to young entrepreneurs and business owners.Have you ever considered becoming a mentor? This article I read from US Chamber offers some great tips to become a mentor, or maybe a better one:Establish ExpectationsBefore beginning a mentorship, the first step is to explain your area of expertise and how you can best serve your potential candidate. Ask specific questions to evaluate what type of mentor they need; whether it be a coach, educator, or networker. Once these prereqs are determined, it's your turn to outline your expectations. These may include show

Hey, you!.....Yes, you! Want to know how to attract and keep customers? If you continue reading, you can find a few easy ways to do this.   Hopefully, the above statement caught YOUR attention. We should have the same energy when dealing with our customers as well. Good afternoon, and welcome back to the Business Discussion Page. Today, I will be presenting three ways to attract customer's attention.   FreebiesLet be honest, we love to receive free gifts. So, why not reward your customers sometimes with this incentive. When giving something away, we want the customer to be reminded of your business each time they use it. The idea is for customers to view this as a valued item and useful. Even though it may not cost you as much, let it align with your business's image. Here are some examples that could be helpful:   If you have a musical store, offer a free music lesson. If you own a handmade soap business, give free samples of your products. Offer add-on services for fr