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Guiding Your Child Entrepreneur To Business Success

Some people are just born to be in business, and if you see the entrepreneurial spirit in one of your children, you’ll want to make sure they’re set on the right path to make a success of themselves. While there are plenty of youngsters out there making a name for themselves in the business world, behind every success story are dedicated parents who helped them along the way. Below, we take a look at some of the ways you can aid your child’s quest to run their own company.

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Encourage Their Passions

You’ll be encouraging your child in different ways, depending on how old they are. If they’re too young to really make a mark in the world (say, they’re still in school), then foster their entrepreneurial spirit by encouraging them to pursue their passions. If your business minded child is passionate about pets, then you might help them set up a dog walking/grooming business during the school holidays. If they are old enough to go into business (which is anytime over 16), then help them find what they really love doing, and base their business around that.

Help Them With Finances

A lack of finances is probably the biggest reason more people don’t go into business. If it’s tough for adults, you can bet it’s very difficult for individuals who haven’t yet had the opportunity to get a well-paying job and build up capital. Because they’re just starting out, they won’t need too much money – and that’s where you can come in. If you have the money to spare, give their small business a cash injection. If not, there are a range of loans available to you that you can then use to provide them with a head start. Alternatively, if at an early age you’ve spotted your child will one day be a business owner, you can start putting money into a savings account which they can then use when they’re older.

Teach Them The Rules

Your child might have money on their mind, but they won’t have the life experience that’s necessary to succeed in business. You can help this by talking to your child about all the other factors that go into running a successful company, such as man management skills, organisation, showing patience, and so on.

Invest in their Ideas

There’s only so much that your child will learn in school about business. They’ll have to get the ideas that’ll really make them stand out from other sources. By doing things like buying business books and taking them to talks presented by successful entrepreneurs, you’ll be doing your bit to give them the education that the school system just can’t provide.

Use Your Connections

Finally, use your connections to help your child get experience in the business world. They won’t have any connections of their own, but if you know a friend who has a business, you can set up an internship or part-time job and expose your child to the inner workings of the business world at a young age. http://credit-n.ru/kreditnye-karty-blog-single.html

How to Keep on Top of Your Businesses Accounting

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Accounting is one area of business that sometimes even the most successful entrepreneurs get stuck on. They let things build up and get out of control. Then, when it comes to filing a tax return, they’ve got no idea where they stand and have to pay an accountant a fortune to sort everything out.

Even if you’ve got an accountant, it’s a very good idea to keep on top of your finances. This way you’ll always know where you stand, be prepared for any financial issues your business may face, and easily spot ways to save yourself money. Here are some great ways to keep your accounts organized and easy to manage.

Filing

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File everything. Keep a folder for invoices and another for expenses. Organize these into months and type. Then, make sure you use them. The best way to stop things getting lost is to file them straight away before you have a chance to misplace them.

Online

Saving things to the cloud is another great way to avoid losing things and simplify your systems. Saving everything online means it’s there when you need it, wherever you are, whatever device you are using. Keeping things on a screen in front of you also makes it easier to compare and spot issues. Compare your receipts and invoices to your financial forecast regularly to ensure you are still on track for your projections. If you aren’t, make the necessary alterations.

Spreadsheets

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Spreadsheets are so simple to set up; you can just download a template, customize it to your business and get started. Save your spreadsheets each month then when you need figures you won’t have to go trawling through invoices or do any sums.

Set Aside Time

One reason accounts get messy is that people simply don’t make time to look after them. Set aside an hour or two at the end of every week to look through that week’s paperwork.

Prioritize

As with anything else in business, some things are more important than others. You will have financial concerns and issues that need to be dealt with as soon as possible, and there will be things that can wait until your end of week admin slot. You need a small business insurance quote as soon as your old policy is coming up for renewal, but filing the receipt from a business lunch can wait. Write things down, so you don’t forget anything and try to prioritize your tasks.

Regular Maintenance

The accounting and filing system you use when you start your business might be fantastic, but it won’t necessarily keep working well once you take on more clients and your business grows. Regularly look at your systems, make a note of anything that could be better and find new systems. While having a routine is great, you don’t want to get so stuck in your ways that it hurts your business or inhibits growth.

Finances only get out of control if you let them. Try to set up good habits and learn as much as you can about economics and finance as soon as you can to avoid financial pitfalls and continue to develop a successful business. http://credit-n.ru/oformit-kredit-online.html

How to separate your family finances from business ones

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Mixing work and our personal lives never ends up being a good thing in the long-run. Apart from the fear of having your two worlds collide, there’s also the issue of practicality. When setting up a business, it is considered wise to remove all and any traces of your personal life from the mix. This makes it easier down the line when the ol’ tax records are due and even before that. Separating these two makes it easier to track everything on either end and make sure that nothing gets buried in the paperwork.

Make it official

Simple as that, if separation is your goal, make your business official. Choosing what entity to go as is crucial because it affects your finances down the line and legal protection should you ever need it. Because of the gravity of such a step, it is paramount that you run this through your accountant, insurance agent(s) and your legal representative. Two options usually find themselves as a good fit for fresh companies, these are a limited liability company or LLC and an S corp. Both effectively function as pass-through tax entities, this means that taxes aren’t paid on a business level but passed-through to the tax returns of the company holders.

Open a separate account

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When that’s out of the way, the next thing that is recommended for any potential business is to open a separate account. This makes sure that all of your business expenses are separated from your personal ones, making everything transparent and easier to grasp once taxes are due. Another benefit is having the IRS deem your business as valid, as opposed to classifying it as a hobby if you kept everything on personal accounts. The idea of separate accounts can be expanded upon, making the process even smoother – investing in several accounts for the business itself, making each transaction visible in more than one spot.

Use different software

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This essentially ties into the previous idea. If you’re already focusing on separating the two, go the extra mile. It may be a hassle to get used to two different accounting systems, but it will grow into a huge quality of life improvement down the line. Ostracizing your accounts may seem a bit extreme, but it removes any possibility of having errors and mistakes pop up from trying to do your books last minute. Separate software leads to less opportunities for problems to arise and keeps you in good standing which is imperative for a business’ success.

Opt for a business credit card

This goes without saying, a business credit card is your best friend. Every expense, every transaction, every single solitary change in your finances is logged and kept. This may not seem like much, but having actual proof of a transaction is a godsend for anyone who’s had trouble with tracking finances. If you should ever be faced with an audit, these records will help back up your own logs and make the whole thing go a lot smoother. Should your business credit not be established enough to secure a card, work it out, at least try to use on of your personal ones for business to make it easier on yourself.

Consult professionals

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Although mentioned above, it still deserves a segment of its own, consult a professional. No one likes to be the person asking for help, but this is our livelihoods we’re talking about. Seeking out professional help at the beginning is still cheaper than doing something wrong and have your business finances embody the concept of the domino effect. A plethora of companies like Darcy Bookkeeping & Business Services offer free quotes to help you get an idea of where your company’s currently at and where it could go. With a seasoned accountant on board, all of the aforementioned steps get kicked into high gear. Think of it as learning to ride a bike, we all started with training wheels.

Tread carefully

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Even with all of these steps, the road will be difficult. By separating your accounts and keeping them that way, both sides of our lives are given equal opportunity to flourish without impeding the other. Make no mistake, business is all about playing the hand you’re dealt and seizing the opportunities you’re given. We may not be able to predict what’s coming over the horizon, but we sure can prepare for the worst. Just like any venture, a good plan will see us through and that is the point we’re trying to get across – be prepared. http://credit-n.ru/zaymyi-next.html

Preparing Your Kids to Eventually Succeed You in a Family Business

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Even though running a budget of a family business and running a household budget are in no way the same thing, they are more than closely related. In a way, the way in which you handle your family finances reflects the way in which a family business is governed. First, you start with one generation (the parents) who are in charge of running the household/company and then proceed to pass on the baton to their successors.

At first, children or earning young adults are in charge of no more than slightly contributing, while in time they might start to play more vital role in the decision-making process as well. With this in mind, here are a few ways in which teaching your kids about household chores and budget might prepare them to take your place in the family business when the time comes.

1.      The division of roles and responsibilities

The first obvious connection between these two notions is reflected through the issue of roles and responsibilities. Each family member gets assigned tasks that are in accordance with their abilities and experience. For instance, you wouldn’t expect a 10-year-old to do the entire grocery run, but you might ask them to clean the bathroom, wash windows or even wash the car. Nonetheless, once you start adding these responsibilities, you need to give more recognition to your child in order to keep them motivated. Otherwise, you might make them feel underappreciated, which might discourage them from taking future initiative within the company.

2.      Start early

Another thing you need to keep in mind is that the age of the child (we used in the previous example) is not the best indicator of the part that they should take in the company. Corporate experience is a much more reliable factor. Of course, we are not suggesting you should push your child in a company business before they are ready or exploit child labor. Still, you could have them run some business errands during weekends or breaks at quite an early age. In this way, you can include them in the numerous processes of your business and have them learn about the company from inside.

3.      Use the perspective of their generation

From these menial positions, they will later advance to some more delicate administrative tasks and in time even advance to a decision-making position. You see, the generation Z (the post-millennials) tends to be much more hyper-connected to the world and therefore might have some radical new ideas your company as a whole might benefit from.

For instance, you might ask your teen about the advice surrounding your company’s social media campaign, especially if their peers are one of your target demographics. Next, you might consult them when inquiring about LED lighting solutions for your business and see where they stand in this regard. Having someone else (someone adult) actually need their opinion is definitely going to make them feel appreciated.

4.      Teach them the value of money

Finally, one of the most important lessons that any parent can teach their child is – the real value of money. By introducing them to a family business you can show them where your family’s income comes from and in this way demonstrate that there is a finite amount of it that needs to be managed carefully. Next, instead of giving them an allowance, you can give them a ‘salary’ for all the hard work they invest in the household and family business. In the end, make sure they know the difference between emotional and rational purchases and in this way nurture healthy spending habits. They will need this as both adults and future management of your company.

A lot of young people whose parents own family businesses feel the urge to abandon it and start something of their own. This, however, most commonly happens due to a mistake in the attitude that these parents sometimes assume. You need to make it clear from the very beginning that the company in question is not ‘mine’ but ‘ours’ and that they are the part of it from the moment you start it. Even if they are too small to serve as its active part, these children are probably the motivator of its existence. It is your job to make them feel this way, as well as to prepare them for all that is to come.

The Importance Of Having Childhood Values In Business

From a young age, we are told about the importance of values such as kindness, compassion, and generosity, and this should be no different in business. Teaching children to make good financial decisions alongside being valuable citizens is something that will benefit them and those around them. Unfortunately, there are far too many organizations and businesses putting profit before the well-being of people such as their employees. This is something that we need to move away from, particularly since this will not benefit the long-term health of your business. There are many reasons why you should take care of your employees, principally, because of the very same reasons we were told to care for others as children, but also because a happy employee means a productive and engaged employee.

Workers who engage with their job are more likely to want to stay with their employer and not move to another company, as well as being more likely to perform well. This is because productivity is closely associated with job satisfaction which means that workers who feel valued will have a motivation to do well. The overall reputation of your business will increase if you show yourself to be a company that looks after your workers, and this will encourage people to seek employment within your organization

The key ways to ensure the happiness of your workers, and increase the levels of overall job satisfaction are not complicated. Included below are several straightforward ways in which you can look after the wellbeing of your employees as well as the overall health of your company.

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Pay decent wages

More than any other factor, the amount you pay your employees will directly affect their desire and motivation to work for your company.  Paying a fair, and competitive salary will ensure you lower your staff turnaround, and allow you to keep on quality members of your team who might otherwise go to a competitor who pays a better wage than you. Paying a minimum wage is not the same as a decent wage or even a living wage, and so paying a competitive salary to your workers will be more beneficial for the growth of your company in the long run.

Healthcare

Having a generous sick leave policy and not penalizing your employees who take sick leave, will increase the productivity of your business, as nothing wipes out an office like a round of flu.  In places of work such as offices, germs and illnesses will spread quickly, and you could see half of your workforce knocked out by one employee who decided to come to work. Many workers are reluctant to take sick leave as they feel that they may get penalized for this and will come in even though they are still contagious or not well enough to do their job properly. This is where you need to step in and ensure that your workers feel supported in their decision to stay at home, even if this means working remotely until they feel able to come into the office. Regarding ensuring that your workers are covered for health problems or work-related illnesses and accidents it is important to provide insurance and compensation to cover both their back and yours as well. It is worth investing in a workers compensation lawyer to help you deal with your workers’ compensation claims and make sure that this is handled as efficiently and as professionally as possible.

Create a fun work environment

Creating an enjoyable work environment doesn’t mean that you have to be less professional. It simply means that you provide your employees with certain activities or perks that will increase their overall satisfaction. Some ideas for this include having a designated games room which people can choose to frequent during their break or might include fun snacks and drinks that your employees can freely take throughout the day. Another idea to boost performance is through fun motivational activities; this might be a regular icebreaker each day or a day set aside for team building activities. Many companies are choosing to include casual Fridays, into the working week as a low-cost and easy way to make their employees feel comfortable at work.

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Childcare

A flexible approach to childcare, where your employees can work their children’s needs alongside their work schedule will be appreciated by your employees.  More companies than ever are including on-site daycare options for the children of their employees which save the time spent commuting to other child-care facilities and instead of cutting their work day short, allows parents to spend more time at the office.

Encourage a healthy work-life balance

Professional burnout can occur when a worker is stressed or overworked and can manifest itself in various forms, such as a loss of motivation and productivity and in extreme cases in a nervous breakdown. Avoid employee burnout by encouraging a healthy balance between the hours spent at the office and the downtime of your employees. This can be as simple as having a policy where employees must have a decent lunch break or cannot stay at work past a certain hour.  To avoid certain triggers of stress or anxiety make sure that you provide clear, realistic expectations for your employees to meet.

Have an employee of the month

Having a company employee of the month is a simple way to show your workers that they are valued and that you notice individuals within your organizations. Don’t just make this about who is the most productive or who has made the most sales for example, but make factors such as acts of kindness or generosity an equally important reason for becoming the employee of the month. For example, someone may have covered someone else’s shift or helped another colleague with a project in their own time. Consider providing rewards such as allowing the employee of the month to choose half a day off work that week, vouchers or even a small bonus. Creating small incentives such as this, will increase production and create a sense of unity within a company where the individual is just as important as the whole.