Tag Archives: mycorporation

Why a Professional Accountant is Important for a Start-Up

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Starting a business is a step by step process – starting with an idea, a business name, and creating a business plan. A business plan includes the purpose of your business and how you will go about marketing or advertising the same. It also includes the expenses, liabilities, assists, budgets, and how your business plans to make a profit and grow. Growth alone is a complicated subject where you have short-term and long-term growth plans based on how well your business is doing. Once you’ve done this, it’s time to address legalities such as licenses, insurance, recruiting employees, etc.

One of the most important decisions that will take you in the right path is to find the right professional accountant. Most business owners use a professional accountant to handle their financial concerns while they focus on maintaining the business. Without maintaining your finances, you will never know how well or how bad your business is doing.

Here are some additional reasons why working with a professional accountant is crucial if you are starting a business of your own.

Recognizing the money trial.

All business owners want to know what their money is being spent on, and an accountant keeps a detailed ledger of the money flow within the company. Many small business or start-up business owners may think they do not need an accountant as they can take care of the cash flow themselves. However, this wouldn’t work until and unless you are a professional accountant yourself. An accountant will have experience in money saving, tax issues, maintaining a healthy profit, and how to invest the same, but a layman might not.

Identifying the unfamiliar.

There are different kinds of accountants. All accountants are not Certified Public Accountants. The difference is that CPAs have taken and passed additional tests and courses to become certified. A CPA can provide expert advice on financial matters for your business; regular accountants cannot do this. A CPA thoroughly understands complexity of taxes and will show you where you can save on tax payment, making sure everything is legal. They can develop a financial plan for your start-up business, which will help you in the long run.

Dealing with the complex.

Accounting issues are very complicated, detailed and time-consuming, therefore, it’s best to let a professional handle it. Accountants are trained to maintain several financial records that will aid you when you need to file taxes, invest and check the inflow and outflow of cash, this is also known as book keeping.

Helping you save money:

Some accounting services provide a nominal fee which is beneficial for any start-up since the business may not be stable enough to pay an hourly or service-based fee to an accounting service.

The services include but not limited to, helping you decide on what type of business entity would be the right option for your company – for example limited liability or incorporated. They will also help you prepare a business plan focusing on budgets and other financial considerations. Tuchbands is a company that will provide the best financial proposal for your business, and design a recording system that you can access based on statutory requirements. They also offer consultations to help you make the best decisions for your start-up business.

Author Bio:

Tess Young has written several career-oriented articles for various websites for more than seven years. She has worked as an Administrative Assistant for more than fifteen years. Her recommendation for Fixed Fee Accounting service is Tuch Bands.

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The Results Are In For MyCorp’s Biggest Loser Challenge!

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For the last month, we’ve been holding a “Biggest Loser” challenge here at the office, but with a MyCorp twist, and are excited to share the results of what our team has accomplished in staying healthy!

We had 12 participants, ages 24-60 and all put in $20 to enter the competition. We had weekly weigh ins and collectively, we lost 59 pounds. Kristin, Cindi, and Scott did exceptionally well – way to go, you guys!

In a recent article with the LA Times, researchers reported that conducting weight loss-programs at work can help employees to lose weight and keep it off. Additionally, blood pressure and cholesterol levels improve as well – it seems like when people are eating healthier and exercising, they naturally feel better and more energized, leading to increased productivity. Not only does the quality of work improve, but office morale goes up too!

And that’s where our MyCorp twist to our challenge came in. Instead of being super competitive or trying to sabotage one another, we worked as a team and were encouraging  each other to do well the whole time by working out together, bringing healthy snacks to share, starting a “Healthy Inspiration” board on Pinterest,  and sharing tips and tricks on working out.

Awesome job, all around to our participants here at Team MyCorp!

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The Real Value of an Entrepreneur’s Time

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By Jeremy Ames, President & Co-founder, Guidant Financial

Entrepreneurs are typically go-getters… producers that can figure out what needs to be done and execute it. They also tend to struggle with letting things go at times.

Why is that? Most entrepreneurs don’t value their own personal time highly enough. Their strength of doing more with less can sometimes be a hindrance when it leads to spending time working on tasks that aren’t important to complete, are easily delegated or where outsourced options exist that deliver higher quality in half the time.

Four tips for valuing your time as an entrepreneur more accurately:

1. Track your time. You’ve heard the business axiom “what gets measured gets managed.” It’s true of your time as well. If you track your time for a week it’s likely you’ll be shocked by how much time you could free up through delegation, outsourcing or just simply deciding not to do something. This can also help you identify the most important drains on your time to address first.

2. Consider the Opportunity Cost. While you whittle away at organizing the stock room, what opportunities passed you by? It’s not that the stock room isn’t important; it’s just unlikely to represent the highest value of your time. What is your time worth when focused on driving revenue, generating leads or recruiting great employees? Are there things in which you can invest your time that will drive the profit needle of your business that you’re not getting to today?

3. Do a Little Research. Talk to some other entrepreneurs you know. Ask them about their tips, tricks and referrals for getting the most out of their time. What do they outsource or delegate and to whom? Search the Internet for solutions to some of the administrative tasks on your plate. Technology has paved the way for some impressive ways to leverage your time (i.e. virtual assistant).

4. Calculate your pay grade. If you want to make $100k a year, then your time needs to be worth about $50 an hour. Are you regularly performing any tasks you would choke at paying someone else $50 an hour to perform?

Jeremy Ames has been honored as one of the Puget Sound Business Journal’s 40 under 40 and as the national winner of the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award given by the Small Business Administration (SBA). Ames is also the former Executive Editor of NuWireInvestor.com, the largest online publication dedicated to alternative investments.

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U is for… U.S. Small Business Administration

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Welcome to the U.S. Small Business Administration edition of the ABCs of MyCorp; a very important component of the small business community.

What is the U.S. Small Business Administration and what exactly do they do?

According to SBA.gov, the USSBA was founded on July 30, 1953. Even from their early days, the USSBA has been dedicated to aiding small businesses in the three Cs: capital, contracts and counseling.

They make all sizes of loans available from helping a business with their debt to just raising capital in general. They focus on federal procurement; their Office of Government Contracting works with other federal departments and agencies to set goals and “reach the statutory goal of 23% in prime contract dollars for small businesses.”

Additionally, they assure that small businesses have a voice in reviewing Congressional legislation and testify on behalf of small business. The chief counsel of this office is decided on by the president of the United States.

As if all of this weren’t enough, the USSBA also offers counseling for entrepreneurs and small business owners. They walk them through how to be the best business owner they can be and they do this face-to-face or internet counseling all for free.

Since 1953, the U.S. Small Business Administration has proven itself to be a great asset for small businesses. Check out their website and see what they can do for you!

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Business Basics: ‘Doing Business As’ Names

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A ‘Doing Business As’ name is one of the most important parts of a business, but far too often we hear about businesses choosing to put off filing for a DBA until they are a bit more established. Unfortunately this leaves those companies open to all sorts of problems later on as a DBA name is needed for some of the most basic aspects of running a business! But what exactly is a ‘Doing Business As’ name? And why do businesses need to file for one?

What is a DBA Name?

A doing business as name, or as it is sometimes known as a fictitious business name, is the name under which you do business. As a way to reduce fraud, most states require anyone who offers goods or services under a name other than their own to file for a DBA. Doing business as names are typically handled by the Secretary of State or department of corporations of whatever state the company does business in. The entity or person that handles DBA names will sometimes even offer DBA name searches free of charge, ensuring that you aren’t wasting your time by filling out paperwork for a name that has already been claimed.

Why would a business need one?

You are entitled to use your own name for your business if you want to, but any changes or additions to the name would require you to file for a DBA name. For instance, if our CEO Deborah Sweeney opened up a business that paints houses, she could call her business ‘Deborah Sweeney.’ However, if she wanted to call it ‘Deborah Sweeney Painting,’ she would have to file for a DBA name as ‘Painting’ is not a part of her legal name. This might seem a bit silly but as mentioned before, this is largely a way to prevent fraud. As DBA laws are so important to a state’s anti-fraud efforts, you need a DBA name for some of the most rudimentary parts of running your business. Want to open a business bank account? Receive checks written out to your business? Advertise your services using your business’s name? Most states require companies to file for a DBA name before doing any of the above. And, if you don’t complete the paperwork, you could be hit with some serious fines.

How do I file for a DBA name?

Most states have a standardized form available on their website for filing a DBA name. Just head on over to the website for the state you do business in, find the Secretary of State’s page, (in some cases, this may be the page for the department of corporations) download a DBA form, fill it out, and send it in along with the required processing fee. Filing also usually involves either you or the state performing a DBA search before the paperwork is processed. And if you need a little extra help from professionals, we are always happy to help you file for a doing business as name as well!

A doing business as name is extremely important, and it is best to file for one now before you build a lot of trust into the name of your company, only to find that you were actually using a business name that was already claimed. Running a business under an assumed name without filing for a DBA or fictitious name can also land you in hot water with the state and require you to pay a series of fines and penalties. This is definitely something you want to take care of early, so once you figure out what your business name is going to be, start the paperwork and file for a DBA name as soon as possible!

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Why Your Small Business Needs SEO

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How often do you turn to search engines like Google or Bing to find a product or service that you need? Have you ever clicked on anything on the 15th page of search results? Or the 50th? We didn’t think so. That’s why you need Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for your small business. Ninety percent of all users click on the Top 10 search results on Google, which means that you are missing out on selling your product or service to 90% of your prospective customers. Sold yet?

It’s targeted

When your website shows up on the first page of search engines for relevant keywords and phrases, you are reaching your perfect audience. No one is going to look for “insurance company Chicago” if that isn’t something they are interested in finding. It gives you the opportunity to get in front of people who are actively seeking the product or service that you provide.

It lets you measure your results

Other traditional forms of advertising, like TV, newspaper, direct mail and radio, don’t allow you to track your results. When you utilize SEO, you are able to track exactly where your customers found you. The analytics will break down everything from referral sites to visitors, which will help you get a sense of how many people are finding you and how many people are converting to customers. This is huge, because who wants to spend money on advertising and marketing and not know whether it worked?

It will help you beat competitors

You might have an amazing website that many people would benefit from viewing, but if it is on the seventh page of popular searches, then you might as well not have a website at all. This is because most people don’t just type in URLs in the search bar – they go to a search engine and type in keywords of what are looking for. If you are on the first page, then this is a golden opportunity to scoop up the customers looking for your product or service.

It builds a good reputation for your brand

When you have a good-looking website and you are coming up on the first page of searches, this validates your credibility to current customers and helps you look relevant and trustworthy to prospective customers. It’s a win-win, and who doesn’t want to boost their reputation?

SEO is the optimal way to promote any type of business. No matter what you offer and where you are located, it’s guaranteed that someone is searching keywords that are relevant to your business. Everyone turns to search engines with questions, and you could be the answer! Most companies hire an agency to provide SEO services, since it can be difficult to accomplish on your own, but prices are very low in comparison to other advertising and marketing efforts, and best of all, the outcome is measurable.

Danielle Pacelli is the Marketing Coordinator at MycroBurst/Logo Design Guru. MycroBurst is based in Langhorne, Pa. and is an online marketplace for graphic design. MycroBurst provides custom designs through crowdsourcing. Follow Danielle and MycroBurst on Twitter @MycroBurst.

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How Proper Safety Measures Can Reduce Workplace Injuries

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Employees who work in a manufacturing setting are exposed to many potential hazards. Hand tools, power tools and machinery can all be dangerous if handled incorrectly or if proper safety precautions aren’t followed. It’s your responsibility as an employer or supervisor to maintain a safe work environment and protect your employees from injury.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration estimates that employers spend approximately $4 billion a month for workers’ compensation costs, but these costs are nothing compared to the human cost of injuries or deaths that could have been prevented, if only the correct safety measures had been taken.

Hand tool safety

Because they don’t run on electricity, hand tools are rarely considered a hazard, but improper use or poor maintenance of hand tools can lead to injury.

Instruct employees on the proper use of hand tools – for example using a screwdriver as a chisel could cause the tool to break and possibly send bits of debris flying.

Include hand tools in regular maintenance checks. Tools with loose or damaged handles should be replaced or repaired immediately. Tools that are supposed to be sharp, such as a saw, should be properly sharpened. Sharp blades are less hazardous than dull ones. You should also:

  • Provide employees with appropriate protective equipment such as gloves and safety goggles.
  • Use only spark-resistant tools in your workplace, if flammable substances are present.
  • Keep floors clean and dry, and use slip-resistant mats in areas where workers use tools, to prevent falls.

Power tool safety

Whether they’re electric, hydraulic or pneumatic, power tools can cause injury if used improperly. Most employees are aware of the hazards of power tools, but regular training is an important part of workplace safety. As with hand tools, proper use, regular maintenance and the right protective equipment can prevent or reduce accidents on the job.

Machinery safety

Just as with hand and power tools, machinery must be properly maintained in order to run safely and efficiently. Servicing machinery often requires workers to place their hands, head or limbs near or into parts of a machine, and if that machine starts up unexpectedly, serious or fatal injuries can occur.

Lockout devices prevent machines from starting up unexpectedly or the spontaneous release of stored energy in a machine. When lockout devices are used, workers must manually bypass or remove the guard in order to restart equipment. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health recommends the use of lockout/tagout devices to reduce the risk of injury.

The failure to follow lockout procedures was the most common safety violation from 2006-2007 according to OSHA, and in more than 50 percent of accident investigations between 1984 and 1997, proper lockout procedures were not followed – or even attempted.

Take responsibility

Each employee is responsible for following safety guidelines, but ultimately it’s your job as the owner or manager to make certain the workplace and all equipment is maintained properly and that proper protective gear is provided and used. Failing to supply workers with the right training and the right equipment could cost your company millions, but more importantly, it could cost a life.

Felicia Baratz is a freelance writer, graphic designer and social media addict living in Indianapolis, IN. As a contributor to ProfessionalIntern.com, Felicia discusses new, innovative technology and it’s relation to the business world and social media marketing.

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Keeping Business Momentum Moving During the First Quarter and Beyond

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Business profitability moves in a cyclical pattern. Typically, the first quarter of the New Year is the slowest, and is often the most difficult to survive, particularly for small businesses. It’s natural that sales taper off during this time of year – customers are recovering from their holiday spending, they’re preparing to pay Uncle Sam what they owe and the winter doldrums have set in as well. However, there are a few things that you can do to help ensure that you keep your business moving forward.

Set Goals

Goal setting is an important consideration for any business in any industry. However, it’s important that you go about setting your goals in the right way. Use the SMART method, and you’ll have a significant advantage over the competition.

SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely. Each goal you set should follow these criteria. Moreover, you should set your goals as early as feasible, so you can have a plan in place to work toward during the slow months. Often, action translates to momentum, though you’ll need to be prepared for a different sort of momentum than what you experience during busy sales periods.

Goals keep your company moving forward, even if you’re not experiencing a high level of foot traffic or your website sales have slumped. However, your goals during this time of year should differ from those you set during busier months. Focus on business improvement, refinement, new project planning and the like instead.

Determine Needed Improvements

Often, keeping a business moving isn’t all about actual selling. Sometimes, it’s about finding things within your business to improve. The slower months of the year are the ideal time to dig deep and identify what you can do better and how you can change it. This can apply to any area of your business, from shipping and receiving to marketing and promotion – you might find new software that streamlines your receiving process, or perhaps you’ll work on creating a marketing campaign directed at current customers from your existing database rather than focusing on bringing in new ones. Now is the time to take stock of your business, identify areas where change is needed and then make those changes.

Advertising Still Matters

Just because you’re stuck in the doldrums of the dreaded first quarter, it doesn’t mean that you should stop your advertising. However, it’s the perfect time to investigate new marketing methods that you might have wanted to check out but lacked the time, earlier in the year. For instance, if you’ve been considering social media marketing but lacked the time, get started. Maybe you’ve have considered starting a newsletter to keep your customers informed, or you want to conduct surveys to gather vital data. Now is the time. You’ll also find that because the season is slower for pretty much all businesses, your own marketing messages will get more traction.

Plan New Projects

Because these months are slow, you’ll have time on your hands that can be put to good use in the area of project or product planning. If you’ve been thinking about starting a new project, offering a new service or releasing a new product, this is the perfect time of year to get started with the process. You’ll find that the productivity and energy your new planning generates spills over to other aspects of your business as well.

Keeping a business moving forward during slow periods is a challenge for every business owner and CEO. Have patience, set goals, improve your company, try new things and that momentum will continue.

Don Elfrink is the owner and operator of AutoMatStore.com, a company selling auto mats throughout the nation. Before AutoMatStore, Elfrink was the operator of an automotive production site. AutoMatStore focuses on logo, carpeted, molded and all weather floor mats.

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Throwback Thursday: A Look at MyCorp’s Early Website Designs!

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1998

This gallery contains 11 photos.

MyCorporation is now into its fifteenth year of business – 15 wonderful years of helping entrepreneurs to create their own small business and get it started on the right foot! We were one of the first, online document filing services, and the … Continue reading →

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