Business Discussions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

   

‘Strategy’ is a term that is thrown out by every business person but only a few are well-versed with its real essence. As a businessperson, you are expected to develop strategies that can augment revenues and take your business to greater heights. It’s all about getting hold of the market opportunities. Do you know that many businesses fail to make the most of the market opportunities due to lack of strategic thinking?   Here are a few business strategy tips to get you started:   Set your Goal   ‘A life without a goal is like a ship without a compass’. Just as we need goals in our life, you need to set a goal for your business too. It is the biggest motivator behind thinking strategically. When you have a goal, you can make your plans and strategies that will aid you in accomplishing it. Furthermore, branding is a vital strategy and it is successful when it is done focusing on the goals. Avoid distractions Devising strategies is not a child’s play and requires you to

Welcome to Wellness Works! First, a question: Do you mentally race through the every day, frantically clicking, tapping and swiping your way through a never-ending flow of information, requests and “need-it-yesterday” deadlines? At the same time, do you feel Super-Glued to your desk chair, barely moving a muscle from morning until night? (Sorry, those tiny mousing muscles don’t count!) If this sounds familiar, join the club. As a fitness and nutrition expert running my own business, I know first-hand that working for yourself translates as doing whatever it takes to get the job done. But the truth is, we all benefit – in so many ways! – from regularly slowing down our mind and speeding up our body. And let’s face it: Resiting that giant chocolate chip cookie every afternoon helps, too. I’ve created Wellness Works to help you achieve a healthful balance between your mind, your body and your fuel. Each week, I’ll offer up tips and strategies for mental, physical and nutritional alignm

  You may already have read our checklist for making sure your business is ready for customers and clients and our post about key insights you can learn from your very first customer. Now we’re sharing four strategies for making the most of meeting your very first client (not to mention all the ones that follow). That big moment is exciting, for sure. But savvy entrepreneurs know it’s also a critical opportunity to learn and engage with a customer in ways that will help your business grow and thrive. Here are four ways to help kick-start your business by securing lots of happy, repeat customers.   1. Stop, talk and listen. If customers are always right, let them be your most trusted advisors. Find out what drew them to your product or service, and inquire about what made them choose your brand over the competition. What do they like about your offering – and what could you do to make it even better? Your first customer “survey” may only garner a data point of one, but it’s a

  Name: Dawn Brown Business: AZ Business Consulting Founded: 2006 Dawn Brown is on a mission. As a CPA running her own business, of course she wants to make her all clients’ numbers add up (to say the least). But Dawn is also deeply committed to contributing to society in a meaningful way. By staying true to those two parallel goals – growing her accounting business and doing good, both locally and beyond – Dawn has successfully carved out a novel niche for her professional financial services business. Today she specializes in helping non-profits successfully manage their money in order to achieve their service- and community-oriented goals. In other words, Dawn has figured out how to combine her professional expertise with her personal passion. For folks like Dawn who work for themselves, that’s a winning formula, indeed. How did you decide to start working for yourself? I spent many years as a CPA and a CFO for companies and clients on the East Coast. I worked on projects that w

Name: Charlene Rivera Business: Sassy Sisters on Wheels Started: August 2015 Charlene Rivera had been working her heart out in a restaurant when, out of the blue, she was slapped in the face. Not literally slapped (thank goodness), but after hearing the restaurant owner explain she’d only bought the business to give her daughter a “hobby,” Charlene was shocked – and nervous. Rather than leave her livelihood in someone else’s hands, she decided to become her own boss. It wasn’t long before Charlene found herself the co-owner (along with a long-time friend and fellow restaurant worker, Cherry) of a busy food-truck service in Swainsboro, GA. The Sassy Sisters on Wheels were ready to roll! What tips do you have about going into business with a close friend? We started with three business partners, but the third person dropped out. Cherry and I were both a bit worried about being friends and partners. We knew we’d need to make compromises and talk through the good and the bad. We’ve d

...What's *your* take on this idea when it comes to your business?

  We'll let you in on a little secret. About six months ago, we defined a Main Goal and started using The Morning Ritual to hit our Target Number. It's been strangely effective.    Apparently, there is an intergalactic force that is available to anyone who spends 30 minutes every morning writing down one's ten most important goals in the present tense, adding a target date to each of them.    The Magic is in Writing Down Your Goals   Write down a list of 10 goals you'd like to accomplish in the near future. Write them in the present tense with a general target date. Start with your Main Goal at the top. Then add other specific, supporting goals in the same format. Supporting goals are best as a mix of business, financial goals, family/relationship and health targets.     Yep. That's it. No magic.   For some reason, this technique seems to attract the people, opportunities, ideas and resources to you that help you achieve your goal

I want to start my business. It will be small hotel, and I understand that I need a website. I read that simplest way to create it, it is to use premiym template. I found great variants on famous templatemonster and buy Dalton - Modern Hotel & Resort WordPress Theme - https://www.templatemonster.com/wordpress-themes/62454.html for $75. Price is not big, but design is nice. Now I working with it, but I'm worried that I will not get anything done. How do you think I have some chance for success?

Wondering how contractors feel about and get the most out of accepting credit cards for payment? What do you use?

  Name: Lloyd Mabuto Business: Final Touch Lab Founded: 2011 Lloyd Mabuto was just a kid when he first realized the power of images to convey a message. His dad, an NGO worker helping developing countries, would often ask Lloyd to create a piece of art to explain a concept without using words. In college, Lloyd discovered graphic design satisfied his dueling passion for art and software engineering. A professional graphic/web designer by trade, Lloyd loved helping people convey a message – and achieve their mission – through carefully placed words and images. After testing the waters as a part-time consultant, Lloyd dove in to become a full-time, self-employed web designer and brand consultant based in Chatanooga, TN. What was the tipping point that inspired you to turn your “side passion” into a full-time business? I found myself teaching clients about online marketing, and I wanted to find more opportunities to help and provide value. As I saw my clients’ business increase

Those three little words sum up some serious learnings about getting customers from QB Community member @Rustler. Want more great insights? We’ve got plenty, right here: Three Ways Your First Customer Can Help You Build a Better Business.   Whan have you panicked? When have you pivoted?

I am a mindset coach for business owners.  I'd love to get feedback from the group on how you believe a business owner thinks differently than the average person.

And how do you integrate those lessons into meaningful actions in your business? Share, share and share your Reply! Let's learn from each other :smileyvery-happy:

...and how accomplishing it enables them to achieve their objectives. A customer is basically buying an outcome, not a service. Understand what that outcome is and deliver it, and you’ll be successful (and so will they).” -- Todd Eby, founder of SuccessHacker.   Like Todd’s ideas about how to get customers? Read more from him and other QB Community members like you right here: Getting Customers: Is Your Business Customer-Ready? A Checklist for Success.