Northern California Association of Entrepreneurs
Article Contributors
Clare Price, Brand Vantage, Inc.
Jenifer Klaus, Klaus Financial
Joel D Canfield, The Commonsense Entrepreneur
Michael Stevenson, John Hancock Financial Network, (903) 389–2238
Natalie Conrad, Organized Habits
Sue L Canfield, Awesome Assistant
Accountability and Goals Sue Canfield
Solopreneurs often find they are missing accountability in their business. With no employer to answer to goals and timelines are not always clearly defined. It is easy to postpone working toward a goal when you are a solopreneur with no one but yourself to be accountable to. Accountability can be achieved by sharing your goals with peers or with a mentor and asking them to follow up with you. more...
Are you paying too much in taxes? Jenifer Klaus
Being a small business owner has its advantages: flexible working hours, choosing your customers, being your own boss...but if you don’t pay close attention, you can quickly end up paying too much in taxes, and that could put you out of business.
Believe it or not, IRS tax law is friendly towards small businesses. That’s right; they actually want to help you stay in business! There are many deductions to take advantage of that can generate huge tax savings...if you know what they are.
Some of the more well-known deductions are the standard operating costs for your business, such as office supplies, advertising, accounting fees, products or goods you sell, postage, office and equipment rent, travel expenses, telephone, printing costs, marketing, and furniture and equipment you purchase.
There are others, though, that you might be missing out on. more...
Building Your Business Foundation Sue Canfield
Are you starting a new business? Is your business relatively new? Are you rethinking your established business? You want your business to be successful and have all the skills, enthusiasm and funding you need. However, to have a strong foundation for building your business, you want to have the answers to five questions. more...
Change Necessary for Growth Sue Canfield
Growth is necessary for any successful business. In order to grow to become a successful and prosperous business, change is necessary. Yet a common challenge facing business is resistance to change. Why are people so resistant to change? more...
Financial Planning Mike Stevenson
The small business owner or solopreneur faces many challenges. Often financial planning is a challenge that gets neglected. Financial planning is vital to the success of any business. Financial planning starts with budgeting, setting practical goals, and understanding basic accounting principles such as cash flow. more...
Invest Time to Grow Your Business Sue Canfield
The Business Team
As your business grows, you may need to add to your team. You want to be sure each person is properly trained and contributing to the bottom line. Yet business owners sometimes neglect to hire and properly train the right individual due to the time it takes. Take the time to find and retain the right people to add to your team. Look for people with loyalty and strong skills. more...
Manners Matter! Joel D Canfield
Commonsense Approach to Business Etiquette
ChangeThis.com, home of Seth Godin's "Bootstrapper's Bible", Guy Kawasaki's "Art of the Start" and Chris Anderson's "Long Tail" has just published Joel D Canfield's manifesto "Manners Matter" as a free download. Enjoy!
Networking, Accountability, and Burnout Sue Canfield
The Sacramento Business Journal in its October 26, 2007 article "Can You Handle the Heat?" discussed burnout among small business owners. It points out that at times small business owners feel overwhelmed, discouraged, unproductive, and may have even lost the enthusiasm they first had when starting the business. more...
Project Management is...like playing cards! Natalie Conrad
Recently, someone asked me to assist them with organizing a project. As I thought about helping this person, I was pondering how to explain project management in a simple, easy to implement way. I came up with a perfect analogy. Project Management is like playing cards! The basics of playing cards does relate to project management in the game of life. more...
Six Strategies to Stop Procrastinating so You Can Reach Your Goals Sue Canfield
If you're finding it difficult to reach your goals, perhaps you've been procrastinating, putting off tasks you know need to be done. Have you postponed until tomorrow a task that would have been better handled today? Hitting your prospecting goals? Sending out your monthly email newsletter? Updating your website?
The longer you procrastinate, the more difficult it becomes to take action to complete the task. Often, putting off the task can increase the cost of completing it. If you put off opening your bills and your payment is late, you end up paying a late fee. If you don't update your website in a timely manner, you may lose potential customers who are looking for current information.
Here are six strategies you can use to help you stop procrastinating and reach your goals: more...
Touch is Not Enough Clare Price
When you work by referral, the heart beat of your marketing strategy is your touch system. The phrase, Touch System, invokes visions of the friendly handshake, pat on the back or shared joke that you may have had with your client or prospect, in person or virtually. So your follow on–touches–whether by phone, mail or Email are meant to remind your connection of that pleasant experience. more...
What are the biggest challenges facing an entrepreneur or small business owner? Sue Canfield
Just a few are:
- Managing bookkeeping, including budgeting and financial planning
Often the bookkeeping and other administrative tasks necessary to run a business can be challenging or boring. - Time management
Working from home you'll find yourself sidetracked by personal emails or other distractions and interruptions. You may be keeping the 'day' job and not have the time to put what it takes into the new business to succeed.