Know one of those brilliant brains that can’t have a sustained human conversation because their mind races too fast? They may suffer from a not-so-rare disorder. And you hold the cure – if you print out the following article and hand them a copy.

Entrepreneur SASS
(With permission from Utah Valley Business Q)

We may have an epidemic among us. At the next networking meeting you attend, wash your hands immediately afterward – maybe five times for good measure. Despite medical evidence to the contrary, a previously thought incommunicable disease is spreading faster than copies of Who Moved My Cheese?

The disease is Short Attention Span Syndrome, or SASS.

Perhaps someone you know and love is affected. Perhaps you yourself have noticed some of the following symptoms.

-Shifting in your seat and coughing just a little too loudly during a boring meeting.
-Saying to your significant other, I’m sorry, honey, could you repeat that? I wasn’t paying attention.
-Going to sleep while mentally rifling through a mile-long to-do list

Many with these symptoms joke, “I must have ADD!” However, only 4 to 8 percent have the genetic condition referred to as ADD – more correctly termed ADHD, – which is present from birth and, while treatable, is permanent. The dreaded disease of SASS, on the other hand, develops over time.

Symptoms begin to appear around the teenage years and slowly accelerate until they become a frenzy of activity and mental noise. SASS is viral. It passes from manager to employee, from spouse to spouse, from parents to children and from children to parents.

Most common is the passing of SASS from entrepreneurial types: business owners, risk-tasking executives, sales professionals, visionaries. Entrepreneurs develop SASS themselves, typically in the incubator of their own ever-changing minds. While most everyone has a lot to do, entrepreneurs have the tendency to pick up a lot more “To-Dos” than the average person. They then pass the virus on to those around them.

Entrepreneurs pass SASS to their employees in the form of altered objectives, multi-tasking, bold initiatives, training meetings, revised agendas, organizational restructuring, innovation after innovation, and of course, more meetings. They pass it on, unable to listen to the comments of others as they continue to create more to-dos in their mind.

Then they return to the quiet of their own homes and continue to think about more changes and more To-Do’s deep into the night. They are often oblivious to the peas and carrots on their plate and the 8-year-old wanting to play Bob the Builder.

There is hope. SASS is a curable condition. Those afflicted by SASS usually have developed an altered sense of reality. Recommended therapy is as follows.

First, have the subject look in a mirror. Ask them, How many of you are there? Sometimes, the SASSy individual thinks outside the box to the point that they insist there are two of them. In this case, have them repeat 50 times the phrase, “There is only one of me. There is only one of me.”

Second, have the subject look at a clock. At the beginning of a minute, ask the subject to count each second as it passes. At the end of the minute, as them how many seconds there were. If the number is anything other than 60, repeat this exercise 59 times. At the end of the hour, ask them how many minutes there were. If necessary, repeat this exercise another 23 times and ask them about hours in the day.

Finally, find the subjects calendar. They may have more than one calendar. Explain to them that, since there is only one timeline in the real world, they can only have only one calendar. Next, look for double-bookings. Again, explain to them in a firm but loving tone that, since there is only one of them, they can only be in one place at a time. If travel time is not properly scheduled, explain to them that, since faxing one’s self has yet to be invented, they will be unable to magically teleport from location to location.

As therapy continues, SASSy entrepreneurs will gradually overcome their delusion that their disease makes them more productive. They will come to learn the truth of the proverb, “man who chases two chickens catches none.”

There is hope for the SASSy entrepreneur. With your help and the help of professionals, they can and most often do come back to reality.

Most home business opportunities are overdone and oversaturated. With most home based business opportunities that are promoted in magazine and websites the options are all the same; start a day care center, become a personal shopper, site at home and stuff enveloped and so on. While a dedicated person can make income, and sometimes great incomes, from such ideas, the market can only handle so many work at home personal shoppers. Ebooks however, are in a market that is only just starting to see entrepreneurial interest. Ebook authors are starting to be called info entrepreneurs. They compile high quality information or write their own fiction ebooks and sell them online. Some people are able to secure very comfortable full time careers from this, and yes, they do it 100% from their own home.

Ebook Entrepreneurship

Being an ebook entrepreneur is no easy feat. It will require long hours of research and writing, web design and gaining a little knowledge about ecommerce. However, the payoff could be huge. And unlike many other home based businesses you wont be limited to your region. The beauty about ebooks is that you can publish them and then distribute them throughout the world. You could get orders from Indonesia, Canada, USA, France and so on. This global opportunity doesnt apply to many other work at home opportunities.

Ebook Stores Dont Open & Close

Another defining feature of Ebook Entrepreneurs is that they dont have the regular 9-5 hours of operation. You will sell ebooks while youre awake and while you sleep. Not bad huh? Most of the work that goes along with setting up an Ebook business is done in the beginning stages. This industry is front heavy, but after you set up your infrastructure you can continue to sell with very little daily maintenance.

Not Just For Authors

Likewise, ebook authorship is not just for authors. Anyone who has an interest in anything could write about their interest and convert in into an ebook. Some of the best ebooks are actually from unknown authors and some of the highest selling ebooks have been written by unknown authors who have a knack for online promotion.

If nothing else, Ebook publishing it is something worth consideration. Ebooks may not replace traditional paperback books, but they certainly are gaining popularity at a rate that should make all authors stop to think about how they could use ebooks to their advantage.

Benefits of Outsourcing Accounts Payable in small and lager Business

Every individual running a company wants to be free of encumber of paying money which they owe to anyone as soon as possible. Accounts payable accurately means the money which a company owes to sellers for products and services which have been bought from them on credit. If you are result it complicated to keep a follow of the amount of your accounts payable. This is just right way to contract with this condition.

When you are management a company, keeping track and managing of things like accounts payable, can become very difficult and wild. We provide Accounts Payable Services to clients all over the world. However this is a significant feature of any company process and has to done and done in time. Accounts payable outsourcing services are presented by many businesses which deal with finance and accounting outsourcing.

The accounts payable processes have important contact on the earnings of a company. Companies use up enormous amounts of money every year to process invoices, implement get order matching, address deficiency and respond to dealer inquiries. If the accounts payable system is not efficient, a company has to allow the additional cost of late payment consequence, missed discounts, reproduction payments and rewrite. With an enlarged focus on cost reduction and enhanced fiscal management, executive management teams are realizing the profit of a successful accounts payable process.

Accounts Payable outsourcing services at India are paying attention at convert our customers entire payment movement by successfully automating the processes of transaction management, documents management, elimination of duplication, exception resolution and disbursement-related services. Our Accounts Payable Outsourcing Services at India offer our worldwide customers the suppleness to outsource all or part of their accounts payable business purposes. Accounts payable solutions superior workflow and imaging technology, best practices, and high levels of superiority make certain that we process the clients Accounts Payable proficiently and exactly.

Accounts payable outsourcing has many advantages. One of the major advantages is that you can save enormous amounts of income through the outsourcing work. Work is outsourced generally to increasing countries where there is great quantity of manpower. This automatically means that your accounts payable outsourcing work will be handled by trained professionals at a very cheap rate. The profits which you will save in this approach the profit for your business.

A Short list of Points before Starting a Home Based Small Business

Home based Small Business – An Alternative Career

Starting a home based small business is like living an American dream where money making and living a desired lifestyle is the best of anything.

A small home business does not mean something totally new. We have been doing this job since childhood. Our small jobs included babysitting, delivering newspaper, tutoring, etc. But once we become adults, our aspirations change, dreams change, demands multiply, hence, we have to strategically plan a right kind of home based small business.

We have all been brought up with great corporate dreams. That way we are conditioned and educated – to live a life with corporate benefit packages. Recently, there has been a shift from corporate dreams to having ones own, may be a small business. Because, freedom of work is as important as the monetary benefits.

Today, we prefer to a proprietor being self-employed. Late hours, official compulsions and job dissatisfactions leads many of us to something on our own. Besides personal difficulties, as adults we have to oblige our family also. We need to be with our spouse, kids, other members of our family, and friends.

Home business industry is booming fast at the rate of 17% annual growth. But, it is not free from scams as majority of home based small businesses run via internet. It is prone to be abused. Recently, safety and security of the online home based businesses are strengthened by various affiliate programs and laws.

Things to Consider before Starting a Small Home Based Business

Type of Business: Thousand are the ways of life. Which one would you choose? Really difficult. Jot down your likes, dislikes, experience and assets. Rough plan the possible number of small businesses.
Time Factor: Your own home business definitely provides your flexible timings which is not possible in working in a corporate office. Still you are in the difficulty in choosing one from full-time and part time home businesses. You can schedule your work hours after considering all your household activities and business requirements.
The Budget: Well, you are going to start a small home based business. But, how small, or for that matter how big is your small business? Nature of your home business and the amount of capital you have, determine your future course. As per your standing, you will plan startup costs, obtain loan or invite a partner.
Research: Reading this piece of literature shows that you are interested in home businesses, and you have some idea regarding the your kind of business. But the first to investigate and research different home based businesses. You can definitely search internet for that purpose.
The Plan: Planning is the final sketch. It might consist of the course of actions, description of the serviceproduct, and the volume of business as per your qualification and capabilities.
Putting into Action: After you have completed your plan. Activating the plan and its success is dependent on foundation of plan. In case you might not act properly, solid plan will save you from potential losses andor setbacks.

10 Ways To Reduce Tax Burden For Your Small Business

An ideal lawyer will not just have a string of impressive credentials or gold lettering on his door. He or she will be caring, concerned, and devoted to their work. You need to think carefully before laying your trust in a lawyer after all in some cases your life, future, money or property will be in his hands.

Apart from doing extensive research to short list possible lawyers you must ensure that there is not conflict of interest, that you understand everything the retainer agreement states, and that you have checked the references and details regarding the practice.

You will know the lawyer you have chosen is the perfect one if:

1.He makes an effort to spend time to understand your case himself. He will not assign a legal assistant to take facts of the case down.

2.From experience and knowledge he will know what is relevant and what is not. He will set aside and ignore irrelevant facts, opinions, and personal emotions that cloud the case on hand.

3.He will insist that the footwork for the case be done thoroughly. All facts must be checked for accuracy and solid arguments jotted down with backing of earlier rulings.

4.He will not just focus on the problem at hand but examine the problem from all sides. This will create a complete picture highlighting all factors of relevance and the different ways one can approach the case.

5.He will use his foresight and anticipate moves by the opposition or opinions of the jury or judge and plan way ahead. Like a master chess player he will plan the case not by the day but by many hearings ahead.

6.He will not waste time beating around the bush or create verbose statementsmany words strung together which look impressive but mean nothing. He will insist that the case and its arguments be clearly stated.

7.He will be self-disciplined, thorough, and self confident. Courteous at all times he will respect you as well as all the staff who work for him.

8.He is recommended by not just his friends and relatives but by other professionals of good standing and from his field.

9.He will not just present to you his victories but be happy to tell you why and how he lost certain cases.

10.He will lay the cards on the table and tell you clearly whether your case stands to win or loose. He will not claim that winning is guaranteed. He will be honest and upfront about his opinions and advice.

The bottom line is that the lawyer must be worthy of your trust. Use your inborn instincts and dont go by the lawyers good looks or fancy car or office. After all it is competence in law and in court that is of essence to you.

Everyone worries about taxes and looks for ways and means of reducing the tax burden. When you have a small business of your own you must up date your knowledge of tax laws that pertain to small businesses. As a business owner you must understand clearly about accounting systems and tax planning. Sit down with your accountant and plan on ways of maintaining business expenses, filing receipts, planning on tax saving investments, and a strategy for running the business in the most beneficial way.

Did you know that:

1.According to law you can reduce your tax liability by hiring family members to carry out work in your business. Pay your children and spouse to perform assigned duties. This way you can shift from higher tax rates to lower ones.

2.Consider hiring independent contractors instead of employees. You will save on payroll taxes. However ensure that you meet the IRSs criteria.

3.Think about deferring income postpone receiving money to January instead of December. This means that payments received will be up for tax calculations a year away. However ask your accountants advice as the benefits are dependant on profit and losses for the year and your corporate legal structure.

4.Take advantage of tax deductions allowed for charitable donations. Make donations in November or December instead of January so that you can include the donations for tax deductions in the current year.

5.Maximize your expenditure on equipment and office supplies. Buy in advance for a quarter and use the tax deductions allowed in the current fiscal year.

6.Include expenses of business related travel in the current year.

7.Pay all bills due before the end of the year. Payment to cell services, rent, insurance, and utilities related to the business can be included for accounting and applicable tax waivers.

8.Plan a retirement plan and make payments before the end of the year. This will reduce your income for the year and proportionately the tax due. Be sure to check on the limits. Plan a feasible and beneficial strategy with your accountant.

9. Be sure to deduct from your taxable income money paid to licensing fees, businesses taxes, and annual memberships to businesses related organizations. Be sure to deduct interest paid on borrowings for running the business and related fees. Insurance premiums paid to insure the business office and machinery are eligible for tax deductions. Make a list of your memberships and check which ones are eligible for tax deductions.

10. Check whether you have deducted management and administration expenses as well as money spent on maintenance and repairs of equipment.

Decide whether a cash accounting system or accrual one will benefit your business. The tax deductions are different depending on the system you use. When setting up your small business take the advice of a tax and accounting professional as to which accounting system would be most suitable.

Here are seven ways for owners of small businesses to save money on their taxes.

1. Incorporate Yourself: If you`re still a proprietor or partner of a business, it`s time to incorporate yourself. Not only will you limit your liability, but you may enjoy lower tax rates on small business income and other tax advantages as well.

2. Be Home Based: If possible, continue (or switch to) being a home based business. Not only will you keep your overhead down, but you will be able to write-off (or deduct) the business use of your home.

3. Income Split: Pay reasonable wages to your spouse and children. In this way, you can legally divert income taxed at your higher rate to your family members that are in a lower tax bracket.

4. Rearrange Your Affairs For Maximum Tax Savings: Can you make some changes to turn your hobby into a moneymaking business? Can you use that extra room in your house as a home office for your business? Can you arrange to use your car more for business purposes? Can you arrange for more of your entertainment expenses to be business related?

5. Document Your Expenses Well: Do you document your expenses well so that they would survive a tax audit? Have you kept a mileage log so that you can prove the percentage business use you claim for your vehicle? Have you kept receipts for all your entertainment expenses and listed the business purpose on the back of each receipt?

6. Be Punctual: File all returns and pay all taxes due (income, payroll, sales, et cetera) on time. This way, you avoid expensive late filing (and payment) penalties and interest.

7. Develop a Tax Planning Mindset: Some people only worry about their taxes during tax season. However, you will save a fortune in taxes, legally, if you make tax planning your year-round concern. Do you make business and personal purchases, investments, and other expenditures with tax savings in mind?

Top 5 Reasons Why Your Small Business Needs a Custom Website

Today, in North America, almost 70% of households have access to the Internet. It has evolved to the point where the Internet has become an integral element in the way business is conducted, and is shaping the way business will be conducted in the future. Most consumers these days research a product or service on the Internet before making their purchase. So, in this day and age, it could cost you not to have a website. Listed below are 5 reasons why you should employ an experienced web designer to construct a custom website for your small business.

Credibility & Identity Building
Like it or not, your potential customers are going to judge the quality of your products andor services based on presentation and image. Therefore, an aesthetically pleasing web site will give you and your company more credibility in the eyes of you customers or clients.

Lower Your Expenses
Why spend thousands of pounds on static traditional media such as brochures? If there was ever a change in your business, such as an expansion or additional productsservices, it would require printing all new corporate brochures. A web site is dynamic and can be changed or updated in a very cost effective manner. Best of all, your clients can access this information from anywhere in the world, without the delay of snail-mail. A properly constructed web site can also reduce the time that you and your employees spend answering redundant customer questions.

Complement Your Existing Marketing Efforts
Most people think of a web site as advertising. Unfortunately, they would be wrong – A web site is a medium which complements and enhances your existing marketing efforts. Your potential customers or clients can easily gain access to information that isn’t suitable to include in other traditional advertising mediums. In less than a decade, a web site will be just as common as having a listing in the Yellow Pages. What would your potential customers or clients think of your business if you didn’t have a web site?

Customer Service
A web site allows potential customers or clients to get to know more about your company, increasing the personal side of doing business. Your business will be open 24hrs per day, 365 days per year, and if someone has a question concerning your product or service, an answer is only an e-mail away. Some people may feel uncomfortable on the phone or in your office store, and, to these people, e-mail is their preferred method of communication.

Get a Jump on the Competition
A professionally designed web site will make your business appear larger than it actually is, and therefore challenge larger competitors. When it comes to getting listed in the search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc.), the longer your web site has been active, the higher ranking you will receive, and therefore more traffic will be directed to your web site. It is for this reason that you can’t afford delay this important decision any longer.

Small businesses have many challenges to stay afloat. Many budding entrepreneurs think that all they need is an idea or product, a name for their small business, and a bit of work and the product will sell itself and money will come rolling in. If you have ever run a small business – even a home based business – you will know there’s much more to it than that!

The first thing you, as a potential small business owner must always do, is research your market. Then research your competition, then the available supply for your product or service, and find your unique selling position. This alone can take weeks often months.

Once you are satisfied that there is a market for your product or service then you need to sort out your business plan and cash flow projections.

Small businesses may appear low cost but many suck up substantial capital before they turn a profit so now, unless you are very fortunate, you must sort out how to finance your small business. Do you remortgage your house? look for investment partners? borrow from friends or family? or approach the bank? Whichever you choose you need to convince others that your small business will be profitable and they will get a return on their money.

Once finances are in place the hard work starts. You may have premises to arrange, suppliers to sort out, staff to recruit and mangage, accounts to keep, products to design or source, lawyers to consult, accountants to hire and we must not forget in all of this market and get the all important customers to look at and purchase your products.

To do that you have to advertise your small business, but where and at what cost? Don’t forget you have to provide customer support and accept returns. Then there’s waste disposal … and on and on.

Who’s paying for all of this – in simple terms you, and your friends, investors andor your bank are paying, until you are selling sufficient product or service to cover the costs – usually many months or even years away.

New small businesses rarely return a profit in the first year and frequently not for two or three years. Make sure you can finance it properly.

Is it worth doing it? That’s your decision but every year tens of thousands of people do start their own business and many are succesful and reap the rewards of all that hard work. But many also fail, and all too often it’s due to lack of preparation

If you’re about to set off on your new business venture prepare well and Good Luck. With good planning, persistence and a lot of hard work you too can build a profitable small business.

Fair Isaac, the company that develops the formula to determine credit scores looks at the average statistics of consumers and factors that into your score, called a (FICO). According to Fair Isaac the average consumer will have:

One inquiry on their personal credit report in a given year
54% of credit holders carry a balance of less then 5,000 on all debts other then a mortgage
Have access to 12,190 on all credit cards combined

Now are entrepreneurs, like you, the typical consumer? I asked one of my clients (J.G.). No., said J.G.. You will see that as an entrepreneur, we have several more credit needs then the average consumer. So when the personal credit bureaus compare us to the average consumer, our credit consumption is not normal. Which is why your credit score lowered since starting your business. That’s not fair said J.G. My reply, If you don’t understand how the system works, you’re right.

Let’s look at J.G.’s situation. He has applied several times with suppliers for various credit lines over the last year. Each inquiry will likely drop his credit score approximately 5-10 points. The credit bureaus as suppose to lump three together and only drop 5-10 for the three, we’ll see if it happens. He also has a 60,000 line of credit available and carries a balance of 42,000. Both the amount of credit and balance are more then the consumer average which can hurt his score as well. This is without looking at anything else in the business or his personal life.

If J.G. had just taken the time to develop a business credit profile and start establishing basic lines of credit in the business name and then slowly build the businesses credit over time, he may never have ended up without the ability to buy the home he and his family wanted.

This is why I have written books and developed products and services with our company, Business Credit Services, to provide an education to the entrepreneur on how to become the typical consumer again and separate your personal and business life.

Entrepreneurs – You Might Want To Drop Out Of College

Young entrepreneurs and business owners are often times faced with the choice of which road to take. On one hand, there is the more conservative route of staying in college and getting a degree. On the other hand, many have thriving businesses that are making more money than their degree will ever get for them. Is college simply a hindrance? Or is it a valuable resource that should be continued at all costs. Many college business owners don’t even realize they have the choice of dropping out. Knowing this option is there could be vital to the success of their future business. If you are in college and are an entrepreneur or business owner you must ask your self this question: should I drop out of college?

The answer to this question often comes in many forms from many different people. I was recently at an entrepreneurial conference and had the opportunity to discuss this matter with many rich entrepreneurs. The answers I was getting from them were vastly different from those that my family had given me. On the one side I was being told that college is only useful if you are getting something out of it, and that if I was serious my businesses should take priority over schooling. From the family side I was being told to stay in school no matter what, put schooling at the forefront – there will always be time for business and it will be good to have a safe backup. Both of these answers have their merits, but which one is right?. It became clear to me that it was my decision- not the other wealthy entrepreneurs, and not your family.

Why are you in college?
This question is the fundamental element in the decision to drop out of college. Entrepreneurs must figure out the reality of why they are in college before making a decision to drop out. Some business owners are in college because their parents told them to go there, or because they didn’t realize they had the choice. Other young entrepreneurs are in college because they find the information valuable and want to continue learning while they expand their business. Even more still had childhood dreams of one day being an engineer or architect and want to follow through with their early ideals. You must answer this question truthfully and honestly if you are going to make a choice about running your business full time or staying in college.

Why Do You Want to Drop Out?
It is very important to understand exactly why you want to drop out. Many business owners and entrepreneurs have vastly different reasons for dropping out of college and it is key that you understand yours. I have often fielded this question in conversation, and many times a young entrepreneur will want to drop out of college on pure speculation. This is never a good idea without a solid business plan. I recommend having a solid business plan and some backups in the least, as well as some plans for continued learning of business skills. Dropping out is a risky decision – entrepreneurs will understand and easily accept this fact. Understanding and accepting risk is part of being an entrepreneur and starting new businesses. I have also talked with many entrepreneurs who already have million pound plus income, and are thinking about dropping out in order to focus more on their business. This instance presents an entirely new set of questions. Whatever your reasoning make sure that you understand and research your position.

Here is the Secret to Making the Decision
It all comes down to balancing the two sides of the argument. If you’ve figured out both your reasons for being in college and your reasons for dropping out and starting a business, then you can easily make a decision. The trick is to look at a list of both sides: your reasons for being in college and your reasons for going out and becoming an entrepreneur. If either side has reasons that aren’t your own, or that have doubt in them, then you will most likely pick the other side. Here is an example situation, look at the two lists and decide what the student should do.

Student A – Reasons to Stay in College:
- My parents are paying for it, and they would flip if I left
- Everyone I know is in college, it would be weird to leave.
- A degree might give me some security later on.

Student A – Reasons to Drop Out and Pursue Business
- I have a solid business plan and have been working on it for months
- My income is almost half of my parents already
- Having more time to work on business would let me expand faster

I think it is fairly clear in this setup that we have an entrepreneur at heart. There is doubt in the reasoning behind college, and he also doubts that he will even need the security of a degree. The second list is much more profound and certain. This student knows he will be successful as an entrepreneur and he only wants to build his business more. There is certainty and understanding in his tone. With this situation it seems very likely that the student would be far better off dropping out of college and pursuing his business goals.

The case is almost never as cut and dry as the situation above, most young businessmen have far more complicated setups. Even with the complications, the end result is always the same. Follow the path that you are sure of in your heart. If you are an entrepreneur in the right position then you will know exactly why you want to drop out and that it will be better for you. Or, you will know that staying in college will teach you more about business and let you grow faster out of college. I will leave you with one last thing.

Listen to your own thoughts, and pick the path that you know is better for you.