03.23.08
Posted in small business grants at 7:22 pm by Jacob Wren
A growing number of small business owners are racing for tough economic times ahead. And while paying attention to cash flow and trimming the fat are great ideas for surviving a recession, there is a much better way to keep your fledgling small business afloat. Entrepreneur Carolyn Kepcher and Yahoo! Small Business have teamed up to promote women’s entrepreneurship with a small business grant program.
The new program is entitled “Seeds for Success: Empowering Women Entrepreneurs,” and it is going to award three female entrepreneurs with business grants that include mentorship, technical services and best of all cash. Nothing will help you weather tough economic times ahead like a twenty thousand dollar cash injection!
For those of you that are too busy keeping your small business growing, Carolyn Kepcher is a former star of “The Apprentice,” and founder of “Finding What Matters”. You you probably remember her appearing as an adviser to Donald Trump as executive vice president of Trump Co.
Carolyn herself will help select winners of the women’s small business grant program and connect them with mentors from the a teen of successful business leaders. In addition to the cash and the mentor the women’s grant program also provides recipients with a wide range of web design and marketing services from Yahoo! Small Business.
So all of you women entrepreneurs interested in obtaining a small business grant. Don’t waste any time the deadline for entry is April 6. You can submit your application online right here at Seeds for Success. The grant winners are scheduled to be named later in April. Although the twenty thousand dollar cash grant and services are substantial. The promotional support that your small business will receive from Yahoo! and fwm (Finding What Matters) will most likely allow your small business to increase revenues far beyond the amount of cash grant. Also after the three finalists receive their small business grants. The day will be observed for the following six months. The finalists that is capable of accelerating their business the most at the end of that period will win an additional ten thousand in cash, mentoring services from Carolyn Kepcher, a trip to NYC to meet the providers of the women’s small business grants, and additional media support to drive even more attention to the winning business. It’s an incredible opportunity, make sure you fill out the application for this women’s small business grant immediately!
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03.10.08
Posted in Small Business Tax at 5:49 pm by Jacob Wren
The self employed must estimate tax payments throughout the year to avoid penalties
If you are self-employed, or you make money that isn’t subject to taxes you will need to estimate tax payments, not only at tax time but throughout the entire year to avoid paying a harsh penalty when you finally do file. For example, if you earn rent or alimony him in interest from investments or prizes and awards from various sources. You could find yourself having to pay a large penalty when it comes time to pay the tax man.
Also, if you’re self-employed, you need to pay an extra tax on top of your her regular income tax. It’s not too difficult to estimate your tax payments. There are even worksheets from the IRS that you can use to estimate your payments quarterly. Without going into too much detail. Basically if you think you’re going to owe more than a thousand dollars, have to you subtract your current withholding and credits you will most likely need to pay the quarterly estimated tax payments. However, this number is likely to change as it gets adjusted by the IRS now and again.
Estimated tax payment requirements can vary for individuals or corporations
Depending on whether or not you are a sole proprietor or her operate a limited liability company, or even a corporation your estimated tax payments can be varied. It is definitely worth checking the IRS. For most self-employed people, however, you can use Form 1040-ES to calculate your estimated tax payment. And you can also use your tax return from previous year to guide you brings you calculate the actions and your expected income and things of that nature. Be sure to consider changes in tax laws, however, before making your final estimation.
The 1040-ES Form includes a tax rate schedule that you can refer to one see you figure out your taxable income. Also you need to pay self-employment tax on top of your regular income tax. Here’s where things get sticky. You need to pay close attention in the cause there are different rates for different self employment income brackets.
Also to make things even more confusing, only 92.35% of your self-employment income is subject to this tax. Why the other 7.65% isn’t subject is a mystery, but the important thing is that it’s clear. Let’s run some example numbers. Suppose you earned fifty thousand as a self employed freelance writer. You need to multiply $50,000 by .9235 to calculate how much of your over all self-employed income will be subject to the self-employment tax. In this example that’s $46,175. At a rate of 15.3% that’s $7064.78 now you need to remember that this is in addition to your regular income tax.
As you continue to work your way down the sheet your final figure that represents your estimated taxes for the year will become apparent. If you are or are going to owe more than one thousand dollars you can divide that number by four to estimate your quarterly payments. These payment due dates her scheduled by the IRS and aid to change from year to year, but the first one is usually due around the middle of April with the next one. Around the middle of June. To make things just a little easier payment vouchers are included on the worksheet.
Through the year of course your estimated income can change, hopefully for the better. You can also use the ES sheet to recalculate your estimated tax payments and make changes to your remaining payments for the year. To remove this is an important step to avoid awaiting more tax than you figured in case you earn more money than you figured. Or in the case that you unexpectedly earn less. It can help you avoid overpaying your taxes.
Now you’re going to need to pay estimated and self-employment taxes no matter what you do so. It’s a good idea to stay on top of the situation with every payment you earn. Not only in April, but throughout the entire year. It’s a good idea to stay aware of what percentage of every bit of money you earn is going to need to be put away for these special taxes for the self-employed. We suggest even keeping that money in a separate account just so you don’t assume you have much more money to work with than you really do.
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03.05.08
Posted in 2008 Election, Small Business Contracting, Barak Obama at 7:03 am by Jacob Wren
Of the three leading presidential candidates have ideas to help entrepreneurs, leading Democratic candidate, Barak Obama appears to be getting the most support from the small business community. Recently, the American Small Business league has endorsed Senator Barak Obama for president.
Since 2002 a long series of federal investigations have found billions of dollars in what should have gone to small business contracts finding their way to some of the largest corporations in the world. It is a record of rising above big business influence and other lobbyists. Plus his proven commitment to small businesses have encouraged the American small business league to give them their official endorsement.
This is a bit of a shock sense if you searched Obama’s presidential campaign website for his position on small business issues. You’re not going to find very much. And doesn’t have it’s own category on important issues. Perhaps that has something to do with the fact that it’s not quite as exciting as foreign policy and civil rights. But even in the additional issues section topics such as the arts and hurricane Katryna even sportsmen in transportation seemed to be more important than the well-being of the millions of small business owners around the country registered to vote. You will however find some information on topics that up his rallies. For example, issues such as health insurance trade in research and development tax credits are all issues that we suppose, affects the small business community.
There are however a plan within the Obama campaign to foreword to progress of awarding government contracts to small business that has been stomped on over the last eight years by the Bush administration. Let’s hope all the change we’ve been hearing about will have some effect on small business owners, and not simply turn out to be empty rhetoric.
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03.03.08
Posted in small business insurance at 4:44 pm by Jacob Wren
Insurance needs of your small business is a crucial step for protecting your financial interests
When you begin putting your plans into action and meeting these small business insurance needs should be one of the first things you do. A simple homeowner’s policy usually isn’t enough to cover every facet of a startup small-business. Different policies are designed for many different purposes, let’s talk about some that will protect your small business ensuring its survival even in the face of unforeseen catastrophe.
Some factors to consider when signing up for small business insurance
When looking for small-business insurance considering the following can help you to be sure that your financial interests are completely covered. Be sure to look for a policy that covers replacement cost of the building your business is housed in if you own it. Don’t forget to take into account upcoming changes in zoning and building codes that can change the price of future construction.
Also, don’t forget replacement costs for furniture, supplies, lighting in addition to items specific to your small business like tools, equipment and finished product. Simply replacing all these items in the case of theft or fire would be enough to destroy almost any fledgling startup. Take additional precaution by factoring in fluctuations in activity during different parts of the year. Re-calculating your inventory is total value during busier seasons may be necessary to maintain sufficient coverage.
Be aware of special conditions specific to electronic equipment
Some small business insurance policies have special conditions related to items like computers and other electronics. Be sure to speak with a representative in person if you can’t find specific information related to the topic in your policy’s literature. Just as important as what you specific policy covers, like personal computers or larger manufacturing equipment, is the type of damage it protects against. Is your small business covered for loss of production that can result from mechanical breakdowns that occasionally occur with manufacturing equipment? If you can’t find specific information in your policy, be sure to ask a representative if special coverage is necessary for your computers and company vehicles if you have any.
Does your small business insurance policy protect against natural disaster?
Depending on your location and its extremely important to consider the effects of a natural disaster on your small businesses finances and the extent to which your insurance policy is prepared to cover these unforeseen expenses. Take into account not only replacement costs for items damaged, but lost income, while you’re getting the business up and running in case of a natural disaster. Many small-business insurance policies have an umbrella liability policy that can protect your interests during catastrophic events such as hurricane and earthquake.
Insuring your small business against potential lawsuit
We could write a whole other book on this topic. For now, though, it’s important that you consider protecting your small business against potential lawsuits and the attorney fees and court costs and possible settlements that could result from an unforeseen lawsuit against you. It’s also important to check whether or not your policy includes not only protection for yourself but for your small businesses and insurers and other employees in the event of a lawsuit. Perhaps you should consider incorporating your small business to protect your personal assets.
Periodically review your small-business insurance coverage
You should stay on top of your insurance coverage for your small business. In order to make necessary changes. When I’ve heard you upgrade equipment or have a change in inventory. These new items should be covered in your policy. Also, additional coverage is typically necessary for new add-ons to the building that houses your operation.
Discuss your needs as they become apparent with your insurance agent. Speaking directly with an agent accustomed to dealing with small-business owners is the most efficient way to determine whether your specific operation has sufficient coverage. And just as importantly, once you are covered sufficiently keep your policy in a safe place. Walked in the top drawer of the desk in your office isn’t going to help you if you’re building catches fire. Be sure to keep you your physical policy in a fireproof safe or even better a safety deposit box off-site might be even better.
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