Category Archives: New Business Start Ups

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MY OWN QUICK TIPS – to determine if your blog or web reader comments are from Spammers, Spam Bots… or from actual legitimate readers and followers

Blog spammers, web spammers and spam robot web crawlers (spam bots) are much trickier than regular Email spammers.

Spambot

Spambot (Photo credit: eelke dekker)

Be careful to protect your content from these clever spammers. They disguise themselves as genuine readers and followers. They post flattering and complimentary comments on your articles and posts, hoping you will approve them and allow them to be posted on your site. Once they get on your site, they often steal your content, mislead your true readers to their own site, and even sell your content to their own customers by using link-backs to your site! 

When reviewing your  reader comments, there are a few simple things you can do to often tell immediately if you have a spammer comment or spam bot comment:

  • If you allow comments on your site, set it up so that the commenter must provide an email address in order to make a comment. This is very important and an easy way to often (but not always) see an obvious spammer comment. For example, if their email address is something like jerry@discountdrugsonline.com (fictitious email, I hope) you may have a spammer that is trying to push his own website and products.
  • Mouse-over the commenter’s Login Name (not the email). Usually hosting sites and blog providers like WordPress will provide a mouse-over pop-up picture of the commenter’s own site instantly (without you ever having to actually click and enter their site). If you see a pop-up site picture that looks like a site that sells products or services you probably have a spammer. However, be careful! Many of these spammers are very clever and have a facade mouse-over site that may even appear as a real blogger site.
  • Read the words of the comment itself. It the commenter speaks specifically about something in your article or web page, that is great and a good chance that it is coming from a legitimate reader and not a spammer. If however, the comment is VERY general and doesn’t mention anything specific about your topic, be cautious as this is the most common give-away of a spammer or spam bot.
  • Look at the grammar in the comment. If the grammar is ‘off’ and you see certain words misplaced or used incorrectly, you probably have a spammer or spam bot comment. Often spammers or spam bots will use article spinner tools. These tools will take a general comment and switch around verbs and nouns, which allows them to post the same comment on various posts without being caught by the search engines and the spam catcher applications. This doesn’t happen as often with live human spammers, but even they are beginning to use this tool to expedite their efforts. It’s pretty easy to spot these comments and it is a good indication of a spammer.
  • Look at the IP address of the commenter. If you see multiple comments using the same IP address (even if the last three digits are different) there is a good chance you are being spammed.
  • You also have the ability set up your blog or website so that ALL comments must be approved by you before they are posted. I personally chose NOT to do this and it has worked fine on my blog site – but only because of the Akismet tool. Any comments that have been automatically posted (so far) have always been by legitimate readers. Further, all spammer comments have been caught (so far) by Akismet and held in my Spammer Box – for my review, my approval, or my deletion. How you set up your own blog or web site is your choice.
  • Utilizing a spam catcher tool such as Akismet will help catch spammer and spam bot comments automatically and place them in your Spam folder for your review. Upon reviewing them, you can decide whether to approve them for posting or delete them permanently. Most site providers offer this type of tool free of charge.

Happy Blogging!

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Ooops! Learn from my mistakes – Tips EVERY blogger should know about SPAMMERS

no spam!Okay, I admit I am new blogger.

Today I made a HUGE ‘newbie blogger’ mistake that I’m sure many bloggers and website owners haven fallen prey to.

My hope is by sharing what I have learned it will help others to avoid the same mistakes.

First, you should know my entire purpose in creating this blog was to provide helpful, free content for individuals and businesses relating to small business issues by using my CPA knowledge and my Sales and Marketing background as the basis for my content. The intent is to provide this information FREE, without pushing my CPA services at all. I strongly believe this is the only way to actually be heard in this day and age, especially with so much media and push advertising constantly being shoved in front of our eyes and ears. So far, I have enjoyed this immensely – BUT…

I am learning some costly mistakes along the way, including the topic of this post, which is about BLOG and WEB SPAMMERS.

Having had my WordPress blog site up for about a month, I noticed today that I had over 300 comments sitting in the SPAM folder on my blog site (and over 700 since I started blogging). When I opened the folder and read these comments, they all seemed VERY complimentary to each of my articles and I didn’t understand why there were in my Spam folder at all! So like so many new, beginning, naive bloggers… I deleted the obvious SPAM comments, and simply approved the others, thereby allowing them to be posted. Ooops… big mistake!

What I have now discovered is that by approving those comments, I have fallen prey to spamming robots (called ‘spam bots’) and even hired human blog-web spammers. To make matters worse, this can affect my Google and search ratings! This is certainly not a good way to start out blogging, but now that I know this I want to SHARE this information to anyone that follows my blog and to all new bloggers out there.

As long as we learn and help others with our own mistakes, I believe it will be returned to us (in some form) in the future.

My blog is a simple, totally free blog site with WordPress. Even with the free version, anyone can utilize many of their free plug-in widgets and applications. One of these plug-in applications that helps to block these blog and web spammers is something called Akismet (I had never heard of it before today). I am sure there are other applications provided by other blog and web sites, but this particular application is utilized by WordPress (just FYI).  Anyway, I discovered this tool today as I was reviewing all of these ‘wonderful’ comments that were placed in my Spam folder – and then realized that this ‘Akismet’ application had been the culprit that placed them there. At first I was irritated (they were good comments after all, I thought). I became curious and wondered WHY it did this and HOW it determined what was spam and what was a legitimate comment.  So I dug a little deeper and realized this application was actually protecting me exactly the way it was intended to do. It was actually my own action of un-spamming and approving those comments that allowed myself to be bamboozled by these Spammers! 

These spam bots and personal spammers are quite tricky! They post flattering and complimentary comments on your blog and web site for the sole purpose of having you approve their comments so they are posted on your site. Once you do this, THEY SELL YOUR CONTENT and often entice your readers to follow them to their site to sell them their own products. Often they even sell link-backs to YOUR OWN BLOG for small amounts of money to their customers! They do this without your permission of course, and certainly without sharing their revenues.

Again, shame on me for not researching this BEFORE approving those comments. The price paid will be mine, as it will now take me the same amount of time to go back and delete all of those comments as it did when I originally approved them. Fortunately only my time is lost….. for this mistake.

This certainly shows the vulnerability we are constantly exposed to in our technologically dependent society – and often without ever realizing it.

Below is the link of a short article that is a MUST READ regarding 5 things every blogger should know and spam bots and web spammers.

This particular article is from ‘Akismet’ but I am only suggesting it for the content it provides. My intent for this post is not to suggest or recommend Akismet or WordPress. This information will apply to any web or blog site and probably any type of web-spam blocking tool that is available through your own web or blog provider.  I hope you find it as useful and helpful as I did. Enjoy!

FIVE THINGS EVERY BLOGGER SHOULD KNOW ABOUT SPAM: How we stop comment and trackback spam.

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Extension to pay vs Extension to file

Taxes

Taxes (Photo credit: Tax Credits)

Individual income tax returns are due on April 17, 2012 (tomorrow). If you need to file an extension to file your tax returns, you can do so by completing Form 4868 http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4868.pdf – or online at any free third-party IRS approved vendor site http://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/jsp/index.jsp?ck. This is an extension to file your income tax returns… it is NOT an extension to PAY your income tax returns.

The IRS announced last month it’s Fresh Start initiative program. One part of this program offers relief to certain taxpayers in PAYING their taxes.  To be eligible for this, you must have either 1) been unemployed for at least 30 days in 2011 and/or through April 15, 2012.. OR 2) been self-employed and had a 25% decrease in revenue (relative to 2010) due to the economic downturn. If you fall into one of these categories you can file Form 1127-A http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1127a.pdf to request a six month extension to pay your taxes (only eligible if owing under $50k in taxes). As long as your taxes are paid by October 15, 2012 this program gives the taxpayer an extension to pay their taxes without the 5% per month late filing penalty. Interest charges will still apply.

Remember, if you also need an extension to FILE your taxes, make sure your Form 4868 is also sent in by April 17, 2010.

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Important IRS Regulations and Compliance Changes for Tax Year 2011 – Ask Intuit

Important IRS Regulations and Compliance Changes for Tax Year 2011 – Ask Intuit.

Important information for tax preparers and firms.

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CPA offering no-gimmick, completely free online answers to your questions relating to tax, accounting, business growth, and entrepreneurship. This is the KEY to growing your own business as well – so even if you don’t have a question, listen up anyway, folks!

Years ago (in the year 2000, I believe) I created a website that allowed people to ask CPA questions online. I charged (if I remember correctly) $9.95 for simple personal questions, $19.95 for basic business questions, and then each category or complexity increasing from there forward, increased the price accordingly. It wasn’t a bad idea and I had a GREAT domain for it (CPAquestion.com – which I now wish I would have at least kept that domain ownership – ah, but we all love hindsight).

Back then, I had no idea how to get people to come to that website, so I went to bulletin boards and basically spammed or used PUSH-marketing to drive people to the site.  It worked ‘fairly’ well (THEN), but I couldn’t get enough exposure to actually make a living, so in the end, I dropped the idea.

If I knew then what I know now I would probably have made it a huge success, at least for a while.

 That idea wouldn’t work very well today. And my method of getting clients to my site would have really failed.

  • The entire marketing and branding demand has changed – and now consumers, clients, and the public are in control of what they see, what they want, and how they want it.
  • The traditional media and government are no longer in control of what consumers and citizens see and discover.
  • It is a NEW ERA – and companies that don’t realize this quickly, will continue to lose money on advertising the old way.

Push marketing, spamming, direct mail, radio, print advertising, yellow pages, television, etc. – IS OUT. Did you hear me? It is GONE.

There is only one way that companies that do not already have nationwide brand recognition will be ‘heard’ going forward, and there are three main things to remember in using it for it to actually work and be effective:

SOCIAL MEDIA is the only avenue where companies will be heard and followed to build their company brand and grow from this point forward.

That’s a bold statement, I know – but the facts show it to be true.

Studies show that by the year 2020, over 75% of businesses will be run by people who are TODAY between the ages of 18 and 30. Think about that. How do these ‘Gen Y’ individuals communicate now?

  • They rarely even use their mobile phones for voice. They use text messaging instead – for personal communication certainly, but now even for business.
  • They will Google something quickly on their laptop or mobile phone, without ever thinking of picking up a Yellow Pages book.
  • They fast-forward right through those television ads and they switch channels on the radio as soon a commercial comes on air. (In fact most have 10,000 songs on their iPod or listen to commercial free websites such as Pandora).
  • Newspapers are now online, and if there is a topic of interest, it can be found at the click of a button on their phone or computer.

The point is THINGS HAVE CHANGED and social media is just about the only avenue a company has to have their message ‘heard’ now and especially in the coming years.

But be careful, simply signing up for multiple social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Foursquare, Pinterest, etc.) is NOT going to work if you don’t have PASSION for what you are doing along with the following three things:

1)      GOOD CONTENT – If you simply blast on your social pages (or worse, others posts) what you do, and how you do it… you will FAIL in addition to making others annoyed or angry.  People can spot SPAM or push-advertising so quickly now, it’s meaningless to try that angle. Instead, people want good content that helps THEM. And they want it for FREE. If you can provide good, helpful content in your genre of business, you need NOT ever insert advertising information about your company, other than perhaps your signature line. If people need or want what you do, and you are providing good content that helps them, they will be attracted to you and/or your business anyway. This is not expensive… but it will be time-consuming.

2)      ADAPTING TO SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS AND APPLICATIONS – What is hip and popular today will certainly be different by this time next year. You must understand what these Social Media accounts actually do and you must use them effectively. Pinterest is not the same type of tool as LinkedIn or Twitter.  You must study each tool, each application, and use them ALL. It’s not difficult individually, nor is it expensive, but again, it is time-consuming and it changes constantly.

3)      MAKE IT PERSONAL – This is the final key to building business using social media. Answer EVERY question or comment – and make it about helping them, not selling them on your product.  Social media is not personal, unless you make it personal. If you provide good content, and a client follows you because you’ve used the right tool or application to be ‘heard’… but then you don’t have that immediate response or interaction with them, they will probably click the mouse to the next article, blog, tweet, or photo. Again… this is not expensive, but absolutely necessary and time-consuming.

 

I no longer own the domain CPAquestion.com – but I do have a blog, a Facebook page, a Twitter account, a LinkedIn account, etc. (see all the lovely links below) – and I study each day learning these and other social media tools.

The purpose of all this is to simply to help businesses grow, which is my passion.

  • Gaining new tax or accounting clients has been the fortunate result (and can be for you too!) but it is an indirect result of effectively using social media to help others, without asking for their business.

This is the key to the future of business marketing. 

And so, because I am a CPA and a motivated entrepreneur, I would love to hear from you if you have a question or comment or topic relating to helping businesses grow and/or accounting & tax. There is no charge, no catch, no follow-up spam, or gimmick. I only want to provide good, free content relating to accounting, tax, or business growth – which is my passion.

If you don’t have social media account, feel free to email me directly at michele@cloudcpaservices.com. If your comment or question will help others, I will share it (removing any confidential information) so others can benefit. If it isn’t something that will benefit others, that is perfectly fine also!  I will still respond, and help in any way that I can. Some of my social accounts are below, if you have a preference for your question or comment or topic.

Michele Robbins, CPA

Email: Michele@cloudcpaservices.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/cparobbins

Blog: www.cloudcpaservices.wordpress.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/cparobbins (@cparobbins)

LinkedIn Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/michele-robbins-cpa/19/756/11

Pinterest Profile: www.pinterest.com/cparobbins

Tumblr Account: www.tumblr.com/cloudcpaservices

 

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Monetize your passion

I believe you can monetize ANYTHING you are passionate about. If you aren’t doing what you love, why aren’t you? I would love to hear some things that YOU are passionate about and would love to do, but cannot imagine how to monetize it… I bet I can come up with several ideas for you. Post them here or on my FB page or any other site this post is linked to. Let’s have fun with this…

Life is short. Do what you love and then you’ll never work another day in your life. (Well, you’ll actually be working your butt off, but you’ll be doing what you love, so is that really work? You decide)

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Thinking of starting up your own business? Without a passionate mission – seriously, don’t bother!

Having your own business has wonderful benefits, but also comes with huge risks, challenges at every turn, and competition. HOWEVER… if you have true purpose, a mission, a PASSION for doing it, I believe ANY business can start, grow and become successful. Yes, ANY BUSINESS.

There are a few things you should have first, but only ONE that is non-negotiable. The good news is that MONEY is not necessarily any of these things.

PASSION. You must have a passion, a pure love for what you are actually going to do in your business.  This is the single most important thing to remember – if nothing else from this post. If you are a CPA for example, but are not absolutely passionate about helping clients in your CPA work… please… don’t bother starting your own practice. Instead, go work for someone else’s firm – or – better yet, go change your career entirely.  SERIOUSLY.

  • Let’s face it – It’s tough to pick your career in college only to determine later in life all the skills and expertise you have simply don’t inspire you. If that is the case… it really is OKAY to choose to do something else! In fact, PLEASE do. I understand it will be hard to walk away from that history and your skills you’ve built up, but if you aren’t passionate and full-blown in love with what you are doing now or what you are going to be doing… chances are you are already UNHAPPY and chances are your new business is most certainly going to fail. My point.. If you aren’t absolutely happy with your career, you job, or even your learned skill – CHANGE THEM NOW or go do something you ARE passionate about. You only have ONE life.
  • DO NOT START a business simply because you have those certain skills and want to do it on your own to make money. This is why most new start-ups begin – and it is also the exact same reason that most new start-ups FAIL.  Skills, knowledge and wanting money – are what you will do, how you will do it, and the hopeful result of what you will do – but unfortunately, this is simply not enough to succeed.
  • If however, you do it because you LOVE it and BELIEVE in what you are going to do – then nothing will be able to stop you from using those skills (or obtaining them if you don’t have them yet). Then, and in my opinion ONLY then, are you starting your own business in a way to be successful. Remember, making money and profits will be the RESULT of your passionate work, but it can never be the PURPOSE of wanting to start your own business.

SKILLS and/or KNOWLEDGE: Skills and knowledge for what you are going to do are obviously necessary in your new business.  This comes second to PASSION. If you already have the knowledge or skills and are passionate about your work – fabulous!  If not, you need to determine if you can attain them. If you are truly passionate about it, I bet you can, and I bet you will figure a way to get the skills or knowledge you need.  Again – It all comes back to PASSION.

BUSINESS GOALS & A PLAN – Write it out. Adjust it. Follow it. Adjust to it. Your passion will ensure you reach those goals.

  • Without passion, a plan means nothing
  • Without passion, you will not be inspired to make goals, much less reach them.

Notice money is not included above. I believe if you are seriously passionate about what business you intend to start, you will FIGURE a way to get what you need. With passion, you will be amazed at how creative you will become in getting what you need to get started.

With passion, you can honestly monetize just about anything – especially with social media which has never been available to us before. There are a million things you can do with just about ANYTHING you are truly passionate about.  Monetizing your passion, will come naturally if you spread and share your passion by providing CONTENT (things, tips, tools, resources, your knowledge) – and especially if you can share it in a way that helps others.

The reason companies fail is because they don’t have a passionate mission that is followed and believed throughout the company.

One last thing:

Please forget initial or new product MARKET RESEARCH!

Doing research to determine if you have relative pricing or if your vendors are appropriate, etc., is different from what I’m discussing here. That is market knowledge, and certainly worthy of doing regularly. What I am talking about is research done to find products or services to sell to clients.

Why do companies try to find out what their clients or prospective clients want? Why aren’t they instead finding clients that want what they have and what they are passionately providing as their initial business purpose?  

If you really think about it, this is an absurd concept, and yet companies spend millions on this. This is no different from me walking up to a stranger and saying, “Hi. I would like to be your friend, so would you please tell me what kind of clothes you would like me to wear, what kind of hairstyle to have, and how to speak to you?” It’s ridiculous, right? And yet companies do it every day.

Companies do this for one reason: They do not have a passionate purpose or mission. Instead they are pursuing PROFITS. This is a big mistake and the main reason companies fail.

Instead… if you are PASSIONATE about your new business and you simply spread content about your knowledge, customers and clients that already believe what you believe will be ATTRACTED TO YOU. Isn’t that much easier and what we want anyway?

And guess what? You never have to change your hairstyle.

Start with Passion, then knowledge, then a plan.

But… without passion, don’t bother.

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Please take ONE moment and help. No, this isn’t about accounting. THIS is personal and about MY family and thousands of others.

Please sign the petition (linked at bottom of this post). It only takes a moment. Please sign it and SHARE it with as many media circles as you can. (I’ve posted this in several media circles, so I apologize for the duplications)

Camp Lejeune Update | Veterans Today – This article was written almost two years ago. The first paragraph is about me talking about what has happened, and is still happening to my family.

Basically, to summarize that article and the issue here: The government is NOT helping the Vets or the families that were exposed. My father and mother BOTH had kidney cancer (very rare, clearly not a coincidence as kidney cancer is linked to the chemicals that were in the base wells – and obviously my mom & dad are not blood-related).  As a vet, at least my father was able to go the VA and get healthcare – although even that wasn’t enough to keep him healthy.

My MOTHER however has no assistance – and is sick again. We need over 20,000 signatures for this petition to pass the  bill to help the vets AND the families that were affected. I don’t want a penny… just healthcare assistance for my mother. That’s it.

It ONLY TAKES A MOMENT. You just enter your name and email, then verify the email they send to you… then press the green button to sign. PLEASE sign this petition, and PLEASE SHARE it in any social media circle you have.

I usually PROVIDE FREE HELP and assistance here with my blogs, facebook, tweets. NOW, I personally need YOUR help.

Please, sign it… and share it. That’s it. Thank you so very much. The link for the petition is below:

https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/!/petition/act-and-move-forward-hr1742-camp-lejeune-water-billjaney-ensminger-act/GVbzpW6b

Again.. I apologize for the duplications.

Michele Robins, CPA

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Go ALL-IN… or don’t bother

Crush It! (Gary Vaynerchuk) - Blogging Bookshelf

Crush It! (Gary Vaynerchuk) - Blogging Bookshelf (Photo credit: The Booklight)

I’ve always been one to go ALL-IN (or in some cases, ALL-OUT). Sometimes that’s good and sometimes that’s bad. It seems like I either WIN BIG… or LOSE BAD, which actually feels better than the nothing-ness in-between (to me).

Unfortunately, most people (in everything) are HALF-IN it seems… you know ‘hedging their bets’.

To me, this means most folks LIE to themselves – because they are disappointed in what they are NOT… instead of being happy with what they ARE. (thanks Gary Vaynerchuk)

Be happy with what you ARE and go ALL-IN for what you want, for what you are passionate about. Just do it.

Do that… and I believe with all my heart everything else will fall into place.

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Is your activity a HOBBY or a BUSINESS??

Is your activity considered a HOBBY (where expenses can be deducted) or is it actually a FOR-PROFIT endeavor?

The following factors, although not all inclusive, may help you to determine whether your activity is an activity engaged in for profit or a hobby:

  1. Does the time and effort put into the activity indicate an intention to make a profit?
  2. Do you depend on income from the activity?
  3. If there are losses, are they due to circumstances beyond your control or did they occur in the start-up phase of the business?
  4. Have you changed methods of operation to improve profitability?
  5. Do you have the knowledge needed to carry on the activity as a successful      business?
  6. Have you made a profit in similar activities in the past?
  7. Does the activity make a profit in some years?
  8. Do you expect to make a profit in the future from the appreciation of      assets used in the activity?

An activity is presumed for profit if it makes a profit in at least three of the last five tax years, including the current year (or at least two of the last seven years for activities that consist primarily of breeding, showing, training or racing horses).

If an activity is not for profit, losses from that activity may not be used to offset other income. An activity produces a loss when related expenses exceed income. The limit on not-for-profit losses applies to individuals, partnerships, estates, trusts, and S corporations. It does not apply to corporations other than S corporations.

What are allowable hobby deductions under IRC 183?

If your activity is not carried on for profit, allowable deductions cannot exceed the gross receipts for the activity.

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Comparing the tax appointment to a root canal?

Today I read an all-too familiar blog post about how a studious young professional business woman gathered her tax documents, made her appointment and prepared for her tax appointment…. begrudgingly (and compared it to her bi-annual appointment to a dental exam).  As a CPA and Tax Advisor, of course, I’m thinking wow…. Uh-oh.

Oh, but it goes deeper, of course. Perhaps this hit home with me even more because of the dentist connotation. After all, SERIOUSLY – I will pay a dentist easily one thousand dollars (credit card, barter, etc) above any insurance payment made (pfft.. if any) for nothing more than strong anesthesia – as long as they ensure me I am COMPLETELY KNOCKED OUT. The kicker? I do this even for a simple tooth filling. I  honestly think I would rather relive BIRTH PAIN than go to the dentist (true story)..  and yet now somehow I have found myself in a profession where people think the same of what I do. Wow.

So certainly (even though I’m a cool, savvy, fun CPA…. stop laughing, it’s actually true)… this entire post fired me up a bit. Why? Because I hear this same thing over and over again. Jeez… why?!? It should NOT be like that. My clients don’t feel like that…. I know this for a fact. So what is the problem here?

Forewarning: This is NOT a plug for me, my company, or my industry.. I promise. This is nothing but truth:

Here was my response to her post (that I felt worthy of sharing):

 

Rivaling a bi-annual dental exam.. really?!? I am a CPA.. and sadly yes, I have heard this before as well, Jill.

While most CPA’s and Tax Advisors think the newest tax law changes and credits will amaze and dazzle their clients (OMG… seriously, they really do think this), the truth is clients want a few simple things, right? They want:

1) to pay the least tax possible;

2) to file their returns correctly (to keep the IRS away if nothing else); and

3) to not be GOUGED by huge fees to do the above two things.

Right.. or wrong?

SADLY… it is right. And… SADLY both CPA (or Tax Advisor) and the CLIENT are also WRONG!!!

I have three points, and then I’m done.. poof, outta here (and absolutely NO PLUG for me, my company, no sales pitch, none of that… I despise that).

From me… as a CPA/Tax Advisor, here it is:

1) EXPENSES: I have an easy to remember ‘rule of thumb’ I share: Keep track of any and every expense that

  • a) produces income;
  • b) has the intent to produce income; or
  •  c) could possibly or will in the future produce income.

That’s it. Adopting puppies from the pound is a noble thing to do, but unless we can get them social security numbers (to claim them as dependents) – or – we have a ‘dog breeding’ business intent.. noooo… it is not a deductible expense.

2) CREDITS: Ahhh… these are things that should make you LOVE your accountant. These actually reduce your TAX dollar-for-dollar (not just the income that you are taxed on). They change yearly, but this is why professionals (if they don’t GOUGE you on fees) are invaluable.

  • Of COURSE THERE’S A KICKER: These ‘credits’ all depend on the mood of popular politics honestly. Oh yes… we now have fuel economy car credits, energy efficiency home repair credits, child care credits, education credits, adoption credits, etc., etc.
  • MANY of these  software-in-the-box-programs miss these ENTIRELY!! (Hehehe… I love it when I get new clients that use those programs or go to the local franchise firms..  Sorry folks, but yes I LOVE IT because they leave happy with money coming back to them.. and yep.. they love me back too. Now, THAT’s how you should feel leaving your tax appointment. Good grief!

3) Lastly.. and in my humble opinion the most important of the three: When you leave your accountant…. if you feel like you are glad your ‘bi-annual dental exam is finally over’…. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE… consider finding another accountant. Seriously.

  • If you don’t leave with a confident plan of action for the upcoming year…. or
  • If you don’t leave with new knowledge of how to improve your small business or tax situation for the year ahead… PLEASE at least look around.
  • Most CPA’s will give a free consultation.
  • You need synergy with them. You need to feel like they understand you, your business, and your goals.

If you don’t have that… see you at your next dental exam.

(Hope it’s not a root canal).

Michele Robbins, CPA

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Facebook question about monetizing a guest house in India

 

·         Amar Thakur

Help me in business my friend ,recommend to my guest house and for trekking.

 

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Michele Robbins Amur, please be a little more specific, my friend and I will try to help. What exactly are you trying to do? Here is what I know so far:

1) You have a 6 room (or bedroom?) guest house in a beautiful part of India.

2) You are a guide for trekking (which I assume means hiking, etc. correct?)

NOW… what is it specifically you want?

1) Do you want to sell your guest home?

2) Do you want to rent it out and offer your services as a trekking guide?

3) Something else? Be specific, and I’ll try to help you!

(Amur responded that he has no cash.. please help)

 

Michele Robbins

Why not put an ad on Craigslist to offer your guest home and trekking services to people here in America that are interested in an Exotic adventure vacation in the beautiful hills of India?

A couple suggestions:
1) Determine the benefits (amenities of the house, the experiences they will enjoy) and the price you will need to provide this to them. If you aren’t sure yet, GOOGLE, GOOGLE, GOOGLE! See what others are offering for something SIMILAR. Make sure your comparisons are similar. (A rustic cabin in the hills may appeal very much to adventure-types seeking to experience your culture… but would be a horror story for a diva from Hollywood looking for a plush, pampering experience, right?) Okay, so first thing: DETERMINE YOUR PRICE and WHAT THAT PROVIDES THEM. WRITE IT DOWN.

  • For example will it be $1000 per week? Will that include a one day trekking excursion with you as their guide – or will that be extra? How much extra? You decide.
  • Can you take pictures of the guest home and the beautiful countryside? You can post pictures on Craigslist AND your Facebook Page. You decide. 
  • Can you charge instead perhaps $2000 for ten days (they pay their own transportation, but you will pick them up from airport, perhaps?) butthen instead include one day trekking excursion, with an authentic breakfast each morning, or on their first and last day only? You decide.
  • Again, remember, if your English is difficult, find another advertisement online somewhere (GOOGLE) that is similar and use the type of wording they use, but adjust it to fit what you offer.
  • FOCUS ON THE BENEFITS of what they will experience if they do this. Do NOT focus on what YOU NEED. And seriously…
  • ABOVE ALL AMURE, do this: Be authentic. Be HONEST about what they will see when they get there.
  • Make sure you have the amenities they need and if not, make sure you tell this in your ad!!!! 
  • Think of other things they will be able to do and experience in your area. Horseback riding? Visiting historic sites? Mention all of this, but be authentic.

Honestly, it sounds like an amazing adventurous vacation to me! Now Amur…

GO MAKE IT HAPPEN. Good luck!

 

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GIVE Marketing is the only way to grow your business in the upcoming economy

PUSH marketing is gone. For the first time in history, small businesses, entreprenuers, new start-ups are on the same playing ground as even the largest corporations. How is that possible? It’s simple and it’s NOT going away. Huge companies are spending thousands, millions, on old advertising (print, television, billboards, etc)… but it’s a waste of money. People TIVO/DVR right through tv commer…cials. People are texting while they drive (much less looking at bulletin boards or the ROAD). People are online via their laptops or mobile phones (not reading print newspapers).
Gen Y, Gen X and every other consumer is already OVERLOADED with spam, advertisings, and everything else that used to work. WHAT they want now… WHAT they deserve now… What they DEMAND now is one-on-one HELP. And they are getting it. They could care less about your FaceBook Fan page or your Twitter post talking about WHAT YOUR COMPANY DOES. What they want, is an answer to the question THEY tweeted about (without the plug for your company).
This is not a choice. Companies that are going to succeed in the next five years WILL understand this. Push marketing is GONE. The consumer is in control now (for the first time). There is so much information at their fingertips. For a company, yes… it is  time consuming, but if you have a small business and you aren’t reaching out personally and helping those in your social media circles, you are missing out on the very best opportunity you have to grow your company. Help them. Talk to them. Offer FREE ADVICE.
GIVE Marketing is the only way to grow in the upcoming economy. The residual EFFECT of them perhaps becoming your customer will be just that, it’s EFFECT. But, it cannot be your PURPOSE for what you do. You must be authentic. People see right through the bull because there is so much of it out there already.
(Thanks to Simon Sinek and Gary Vaynerchuk for the inspiration of this ramble)
Michele Robbins, CPA
Cloud CPA Services, LLC
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CPA ramblings to help businesses grow…

Owner of Cloud CPA Services, LLC