Business Discussions

    Ever had a moment when you needed cash right away? So much so that you headed to your couch to see what might be hiding in the cushions?   Yeah, we've done that, too.    But here’s some good news. We’ve learned there's always a way to manage expenses better and, as a result, find extra cash when it's needed most. Over time, we’ve figured out how to ditch expenses we can live without. We’ve scrutinized where every dollar is going. We’ve cashed in on money hiding out in long-lost invoices. And that’s just the beginning.   Today, we’re sharing some of our go-to strategies for managing expenses and making the most of our moolah. Best of all? There’s no couch reassembly required. :smileyhappy:   Hack #1: Cut one expense right now (even pens count!)   When cash gets tight, pull out your chopping block.    We guarantee some of your precious pennies are hiding in sneaky places like high credit card interest rates, rent increases and u

  Happy Friday, QB Community! Welcome to our round-up of inspiring and thought-provoking conversations happening in our community this week. Click the links below to see what you may have missed. You just might find the information you’ve been looking for!   In a Song Do you whistle while you work? Check out this week’s playful playlist of songs about great relationships. Tune-In Tuesday: So Happy Together!   Spotlight “When you give a little, you get a little.” Find out how this week’s Featured Member takes this adage to heart -- and uses it get new customers. Nick Leffler Gives Away Valuable Information for Free. Learn Why It's a Strategy He Swears By   Let’s Talk QuickBooks Need more moolah? We’ve got five hacks to help you manage your expenses and generate some additional dough. Find an Extra $500 in Your Business Today   (QuickBooks Connect can help you move your business forward faster.  Here’s what you need to know about next month’s big event.)

That's right...a new month is upon us. Let's start it off on the right foot together!

    We love sharing financial advice from Dawn Fotopulos, CEO of DF Consulting, Inc. and author of Accounting for the Numberphobic: A Survival Guide for Small Business Owners. With more than 20 years of experience helping people who work for themselves not just succeed but thrive, Dawn loves educating entrepreneurs about all money matters. In this post, we turn to Dawn to find out how to boost your cash flow in three simple steps.   Let’s make one thing perfectly clear: Dawn Fotopulos earns her living advising small business owners how to achieve financial success, but she sees her work as less of a job and more as a crusade. “I’m on a mission,” admits Dawn. “Over 50% of small businesses fail in their first four years of operation. That’s outrageous!” The best way to change that dreadful statistic? Show entrepreneurs exactly how to manage their money.   Step one: Invoice, invoice, invoice   Dawn can’t say enough about the power of an invoice. If you need to

  Name: Nick Leffler Business: Exprance Founded: 2014 Nick Leffler is no stranger to the side-gig. Whether he was in school studying web design or employed full-time at companies offering Internet communications and digital marketing services, for years Nick dug deeper into those fields by working for himself, too. In 2014, Nick decided he was ready to focus on helping small businesses reach new customers in the digital age. Today, Nick is dedicated to building his own dream, not someone else’s. Here, the self-declared “online presence coordinator” and founder of Exprance explains why he recommends giving away priceless information for free and why, when it comes to some clients, sometimes it pays to just say no. Nick, tell us about your business and how it came to be. I’ve always worked in the field of Internet technology in some way, whether it was web design, online marketing or digital communications. There are plenty of companies offering websites and other marketing tools,

  Welcome to Tune-In Tuesday, our musical tribute to some aspect of your busy entrepreneurial life! This week, we’re sharing songs in the key of relationships. Specifically, we’re talking (well, singing) about your myriad and important relationships at work. We hope you’ll groove to some of our favorite tunes capturing the spirit of keeping relationships -- with customers, suppliers, employees and more -- on a high note. “Respect” — Aretha Franklin “Making Our Dreams Come True” — Cyndi Grecco (Laverne and Shirley Theme Song) “9 to 5” — Dolly Parton "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" — Gary Portnoy (Cheers Theme Song) "Everywhere You Look" — Jesse Frederick (Full House Theme Song) “Don’t Stop Believin’” — Journey “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)" — Kelly Clarkson “Here for You” — Kygo, Ella Henderson “Team” — Lorde “Whistle While You Work” — Louis Armstrong "Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” — Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell “You’ve Got What It Takes” — Marvin Gaye & Tammi Te

What’s on your mind right now? We know folks who work for themselves have plenty to say about the business of doing business. That’s why we want to share your insights, ideas and best practices (confession: we might just ask you about your biggest “uh-oh” moments, too!). Today, we’re spending a few minutes with Steve Chase, a QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor and founder of Sequentia Solutions. Steve is an active and supportive member in our QuickBooks Community. His super power? Getting -- and keeping -- clients. Steve tells us how he approaches customer acquisition and retention -- a topic we can’t get enough of here in our QB Community. Steve, what’s you favorite way to turn a one-time customer into a repeat client? A magic lasso? A sticky web? Or something else? Something else! Your first sale is always the hardest. I recommend offering a low-priced product that gives customers tremendous value and helps solve an immediate problem or address a pain-point. Once a client makes the first

Leadership matters. But being a good leader has its challenges, and being good at doing business isn't the same as doing well with leading.   According to Steve Chase, a QB Community member and QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor:   “The key to the success of any organization is the leadership and the people. If you get the leadership part right (you) then good people will be naturally attracted to you.”   Leadership is also about building a legacy so that our businesses outlast us, and can move forward without us.    Tell us about how leadership influences your work environment? How are you working to become a better leader? Who are the business leaders that inspire you?

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Name: Keith Engelhardt Business: NeuroYoga Zone Founded: December 2016 For much of his career in Dayton, OH, Keith Engelhardt worked for various corporations exploring cutting-edge technology related to robotics, lasers and more. He honed his skills as an innovative web developer and designer, too. But Keith, a self-professed introvert who admits he’s highly sensitive and unusually intuitive, was miserable. He felt stressed, unhealthy and fundamentally out of whack. Weighing his career options, Keith decided to commit full-time to a decades-long side passion: teaching yoga, meditation and mindfulness. Keith decided his best bet for making NeuroYoga Zone successful – and scalable – was to combine his beloved ancient practices with the technology of today. What was the tipping point that inspired you to turn your “side passion” into a full-time business? For years, I’ve helped people overcome the “tyranny of stress” and live happier, more healthful lives through yoga, meditation and mi

Less traffic on their way to work!   -- Adam Fenner, QBC member   What's *your* favorite accounting joke?

Share your experiences in the comments below! :smileyhappy:

Or does your Accounting Professional balance your books? :)

Do you agree? Disagree? Share *your* thoughts in the comments below!

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Finding yourself swamped as your business grows? That's a good problem to have! Growth is great, but at some point you may need to bring in reinforcements. Sometimes you just can’t ship all the orders, contact all the customers, and continue to build the business all on our own.   Here's the burning question: How can you find the best possible employees? Like QB Community Member Jamie Smith says, “It can be tough to build a team, and knowing who the best person to hand your baby off to is tricky.” You want to make sure you hire the right people, because you can't afford to hire the wrong ones.   Have you hired employees? What have you learned about the process? What advice would you give to small business owners hiring their first employees?

 Here’s a fun peek at this month in business history:   September 2, 1789 - U.S. Department of Treasury Formed In 1789, the United States formed the Department of Treasury. The first order of business? Repaying war debt from the American Revolution, which wasn’t cheap!   September 5, 1882 - First Labor Day Parade The origins of Labor Day are a little murky. But one thing’s for sure -- in 1882, the first-ever Labor Day parade was held in New York City.   September 4, 1888 - The Kodak Camera gets patented Kodak may seem like a modern company, but George Eastman, a bank clerk, developed the first camera for public use and received a patent for it way back in 1888.   September 6, 1900 - Electric Car Breaks Speed Records Think electric cars are a thing of the future? Before Henry Ford created the Model T, Andrew Riker set a record for high speeds with his electric vehicle. These electric race cars remained on the track for years.   September 9, 1901 -

when a plan comes together.  I'm feeling garrulous today so bear with me.Four years or so ago, my other half went around to the three women’s consignment stores here to consign some clothing.  She came home fighting mad with her clothes.Collusion, can you say collusion, all three places, though owed by different people had the exact same policies.  Terrible policies on top of that.Consignment period = 60 daysyou can not get your clothes back at allafter 60 days they belong to the storeconsignment split, 60/40So a little research, some talking and we opened a consignment store for women’s clothing, and accessories.Consignment period = 90 daysCome in and get your clothes any timeafter 90 days if they sell the sales amount belongs to the store - no split, but you can still come and get them if you want to.Consignment split, 50/50We put in some chairs for the hubby to sit and read Guns & Ammo, Field and Stream, etc. while thier other halves shopped.   And while

Name: Cheri Drake Business: Sisters Staging Founded: 2016 Cheri Drake had been in broadcasting for more than 30 years when she lost her job during a round of “radio slayings.” As she wracked her brain to figure out her next move, a fellow announcer offered some advice: reinvent yourself. Those two words launched Cheri down a totally new career path as co-owner of Sisters Staging, a company that preps homes for sale or for rent in and around her North Atlanta community. Cheri would never have predicted she’d one day be running her own home design company. But like so many people who work for themselves, Cheri’s unexpected “reinvention” lets her turn a long-time side passion into a burgeoning business. Cheri, how much home improvement experience did you have before it became your career? I’ve always been interested in interior design, and I produced a radio show about home improvement for about 15 years. When friends had a house to sell, as a favor I’d help them “stage” their home. Those

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And in case you're someone for whom weekends are just extra work days, when and how do you get the rest and relaxation we all need when you are away from work?

I'm just starting out and don't have many transactions, but I need to get my books in order for my taxes due 10/15/2017. It's for a real estate investing entity. The point and click aspect of Quickbooks seems simple enough, but I want to get my chart of accounts and opening entries right.   Do you have any experience, or have you heard of, the service Quickbooksforinvestors.com? Any opinions you could provide would be greatly, greatly appreciated!   Thanks, PJL

  Will focusing on a niche really help me get customers?     Do I need to hire people to grow my business?   How can I go mobile?   These are questions that entrepreneur, author and USA Today columnist Rhonda Abrams gets asked regularly by folks just like us. Rhonda is passionate about creating successful small businesses and is a frequent presenter at QuickBooks Connect events. We asked her to share with us five tips for tackling these questions. We loved her ideas and think you will too.    Whether you're self-employed and ready to take your work to the next level or launching a new business, read on for Rhonda’s perspective – including action items you can add to your to-do list today. Let's let Rhonda take it away....     1. Go narrow to get big.   The biggest struggle I've noticed in most small business owners – especially those who are just starting out – is that they are trying to be all things to all people. Find a niche.&nbsp

  Welcome to the first installment of Tune-In Tuesday! As you know, our QuickBooks Community is a safe place to ask questions, share resources, celebrate accomplishments -- and have some fun along the way! To that end, we’ve created Tune In Tuesday, our weekly musical tribute to some aspect of your busy entrepreneurial life. This week, we’re sharing songs in the key of accounting. We all know accounting is an integral part of running a small business. We invite you to kick back and tune in to some of our favorite songs about money, money, money! Music can boost your mood and up your energy level, so crank the volume and get ready for a finger-snapping, toe-tapping, simply awesome day ahead. “Money Money Money” - ABBA “Money (That’s What I Want)” - The Beatles “Easy Money” - Brad Paisley “Money Changes Everything” - Cyndi Lauper “Money For Nothing” - Dire Straits, Sting “She Works Hard For The Money” - Donna Summer “Money Honey” - The Drifters, Clyde McPhatter “No Money” - Ga