Tips For Business Owners

Charlene M. Ives, CPA, PC

Charlene M. Ives, CPA, PC

A tax advisor is an important resource to a business owner or individual. In this age of information, there is little reason to lack information and guidance on which to base your decisions. Your CPA should be someone you look to as a resource for a wide array of information and support, not only for tax questions but for a variety of business and personal financial issues. Be sure you know what your goals are, and ask for help if you need help determining them. Keep in close touch with your advisor throughout the year and especially at times of decision (at the end of the year it is often too late to augment or change a decision). You cannot expect a tax and business advisor to make decisions for you, but you should expect the best possible assistance. A Quizzer for financial and Business Health:
  • Do you know what will happen to your assets when you die (are they titled such that they will provide for your loved ones)?
  • Do you have a succession plan in place for your business (who will inherit or purchase the business; is this person able and willing to continue the business)?
  • Do you know what your business is worth? Have you thought about ways to build more value into your business so that it will be worth more when you sell it?
  • Have you explored opportunities available to you for retirement or college savings for children?
  • Do you understand how your business in taxed? Are you sure that your chosen form of business is the best choice?
If you answered "no" to any of the above questions, there may be valuable planning opportunities for you. Why not start now to make a difference? Please call or email with questions. A CPA is a professional who is constantly vigilant for business and tax information to use for your benefit, and studies and reads many hours beyond the ones you may pay for, in order to understand and comply with complex tax and accounting law and standards. Many people see their CPA as a cost center. However, your CPA can help you accumulate wealth. Ask yourself these questions:
  • Have you gained any new customers or made any new investments in the last three months?
  • When was the last time you or your firm acted on a new idea?
  • Do you have any strategies for keeping pace with competition and technology, for example, new products, marketing, new modes of communication?
  • When did you last set or evaluate your business or personal goals?
  • Do you have diverse products and several or many customers, or few products and few or just a single customer?
You may benefit from having someone to help you think "out of the box"; to question your paradigms and help you define your own personal success and find ways to create it. Here are tips from sports psychologists that are adapted for business, for improving your game (cmicpa thinks they are great for improving your life, too):
  • Visualize a successful outcome
  • Be sure to take a breather when you need it
  • Set realistic goals (use annual budgets)
  • Remember to have fun (don't lose sight of the excitement and vision you had when you first started out). Find ways to offload tasks that tend to drag you down.
A good CPA handles your tax matters. A great CPA also might help you manage your business so that your returment is planned for, and your assets will benefit your family members long after you retire.

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