Small Business And Pricing
By One of the most perplexing issues that every business owner must face is how much to charge for a product or service. This question is far more complex than it appears on its face. Let’s look at the potential issues associated with charging either too much or too little.
Assuming it appears extremely difficult to produce a profit in a company at any given point in time, the first reaction many entrepreneurs have is to raise the price. However, the negative to raising prices is the possibility of declining sales. As everyone understands, declining sales means that fixed expenses, as …
Spring Is The Season Of Decision
As every small business owner knows, spring is the season of decision. The reason is that business owners are far along enough into the year to modify issues that exist within the business. They are open to being crippled for, at a minimum, the majority of the year.
What are the critical variables in a business that must be under control in order for the business to be successful? The most critical variable in any business is control. Control is the ability to determine what areas of concern exist within any business and then take immediate action to modify these …
Healthbeat
CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES: Invest in proper insurance to limit your business’ liabilities and protect personal assets.
Most small- and medium-size construction companies are inadequately insured. It’s easy to understand why, as most never consider their liability and exposure, and besides, no one likes paying for insurance. Owners would rather invest in more workers, bigger trucks, faster computers and other income-generating activities. Further, when budgets are tight, insurance seems like the best place to cut corners.
In today’s litigious society, a few dollars saved could cost owners their entire company, as well as all accumulated personal assets. Learn what your companys’ …
How To Avoid Canada Revenue Agency Tax Traps
Increase your knowledge about the commonly used tax traps utilized by the Canada Revenue Agency to help you better avoid them.
As someone who specializes in Canadian tax law, I believe there are various tax traps utilized by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) of which owners and managers of small- and medium-size Canadian businesses should be aware. Let’s look at several of them.
PROSECUTION
The laws of the land give the CRA an exceptionally wide range of powers and privileges. As such, the deck is heavily stacked in its favor from the outset. According to the Income Tax Act, taxpayers …
The Value Of Planning
The business plan is your statement of purpose for your business. You can’t forget the reason to be in business.
Every football coach tries to devise a winning game plan. Even the best athletes will fail if they don’t have a game plan that is designed to maximize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. Concurrently, that game plan must take full advantage of an opponent’s weaknesses and make every effort to negate their strengths. In the business world, the best game plan (business plan) coupled with superior execution will deliver a winning effort—a profitable and growing enterprise.
A business plan …
What Separates A Great Company From All The Others?
By What separates a GREAT company from all the others? A positive customer experience.
Q. How is a positive customer experience different from quality?
A. Quality is a word that is exhaustively used in describing the mission of practically every business. Every business strives to provide quality products, quality services, quality talent and quality client service. But the word quality has no real meaning because everyone uses it to differentiate themselves from competitors.
The quality of a product or service is certainly important to the success or failure of a business, but it is the quality of the customer experience that …
Marriage: Hope For The Best, Prepare For The Worst
What is a prenuptial agreement?
A premarital agreement (or prenup) is an agreement entered into by a couple before they are married, whereby they contractually agree as to how marital assets will be split upon death or divorce; alimony and/or support payments are also considered. If necessary, the agreement may also establish economic responsibilities during the marriage.
A prenup simply states how assets will be distributed in the event of divorce or death. It is a misconception that you need to be wealthy to obtain a prenup. If you have children from a prior marriage, a prenup can protect their …
Managing A Successful Business
How to ensure your company runs efficiently and profitably
Every business leader’s goal is to produce a profit and provide a standard of living that is acceptable to the business owner. Whether you are an aluminum die casting manufacturer or a service provider, there are standard tenets of business that all companies must abide by to succeed, according to Gregg Steinberg.
What are the keys to building a successful business?
In order to build a successful business, it is necessary for the management, ownership and employees at all levels to be able to measure and monitor daily activity and performance …
Should I Stay Or Should I Go…To China?
It is vital that owners work with their tax professionals to determine whether the cost savings outweigh benefits of domestic production.
When business owners think of ways they can save money on their taxes, one of the first ideas that often comes to mind is establishing some sort of “offshore” account. In other words, filtering income through a foreign country to avoid paying taxes. This technique has been so glamorized over the years that many business owners now believe it is a legitimate tax avoidance strategy. In the popular 1993 film The Firm, Gene Hackman plays the role of a …
Is 50/50 The Best I Can Do?
The world of recruiting has changed drastically throughout the years.
The days of picking up the paper and finding a job that could potentially lead you to a solid career are limited. The same is true for employers. Finding the right candidates through the local paper can be very expensive and may yield minimal results.
In today’s economy, the online job boards have warped the traditional way of hiring. What started out as an effortless way for employers to look at an application has now become a haven for unsure individuals. The typical job applicant views the hiring process no …
