Tax season is over - Whew! May is starting to bring some warmer weather!

 
BUSINESS TIP(S) OF THE MONTH

From Denise Beeson, Small Business Manager / VP, Washington Mutual Bank:

Denise gave a very good presentation at our BNI meeting recently... here are some of the highlights:

Tax Deductions Your Small Business Shouldn't Miss!

• Standard startup expenses such as: professional, legal and accounting fees, prepaid insurance, payroll taxes, rent, phone, utilities, initial stocking inventories, permits and licenses, building improvements, equipment and machinery.
• Auto expenses: check with your bookkeeper/accountant to determine if you should lease or own. Standard mileage deduction in 2008 is 50.5 cents/mile, or keep track of high mileage use.
  Bad debts: if you sell products, you can deduct the cost of goods sold; businesses that sell services cannot deduct any loss.
• Software: when purchased separately is tax deductible; when installed in the hardware it is deprecated.

At Washington Mutual, Denise is your small business banker. For those who would like the personal touch in their business banking, Denise is the one to talk to. 707 694-6826 Mobile

ORGANIZATIONS-PERSONAL TIDBITS

Team in Training update adventure... Less than a month left! Woo-hoo! A few weeks back we did a 70 mile ride. That was a long one! But it was a gorgeous ride. It is truly amazing how beautiful Sonoma County is. Most of us only see a small portion of it when we're driving up 101. We started at San Miguel school in Wikiup, and then rode the back roads through Healdsburg, Geyserville, up to Lake Sonoma, back through Healdsburg, over Wohler Bridge and then back down to San Miguel. The first 25 miles were in a strong headwind (yuck), but coming out of Lake Sonoma it was an awesome tailwind (hard work pays off)! In about a week, we have our last training ride-80 miles! We'll start in Petaluma at the home of one of our Honorees. Phil has been battling Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia for over almost 10 years. He is a wonderful person and upbeat and supportive of our efforts-and of course, we support him in his battle. This ride takes us up through Jenner and back down the coast and through Petaluma back to his house. He will welcome us back to his home after our long ride with a barbeque. It will be a truly spectacular route and I'm looking forward to the ride!

LAST CALL FOR DONATIONS!
 
If you're still thinking about making a tax-deductible donation for this year and wanted to support a great organization, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's deadline for accepting donations is May 15th. Every little bit counts-and a heartfelt "thank you" to those of you who have already donated to support my efforts! Here is My Team In Training website: http://www.active.com/donate/tntgsf/tntgsfJDavis3. Please visit my website periodically to check out my progress. (My picture is up there now... for a little levity!)

GROWING MY BUSINESS

Clients I'm looking for this month: Have you or someone you know been throwing all your receipts into a box or paper bag? That is a great client for me! Now is the time to get those to me so I can sort them and start data entry. We can get you filed by the extension deadline, or give you a great start to filing 2008 on time. I offer a one hour, free consultation to help business owners get their bookkeeping process on track.

VIRTUAL JEANNIE VIRTUAL SPOTLIGHT

This month spotlight in on Joyce Shimetz. Joyce is a business consulting professional who is assisting me in my efforts to convert my growing business from a small business to a company. She is fabulous!

Shimetz Enterprises-Business Consulting

Joyce Shimetz founded Shimetz Enterprises in August, 2006, to focus on the needs of the business community by working directly with entrepreneurs that exhibit a passion for their business. Joyce has a BS in Business Administration, a JD in Law and over 25 years of management experience.

Shimetz Enterprises is associated with a variety of highly regarded industry professionals. Her experience, along with her numerous business relationships, gives her a vast amount of accumulated knowledge and experience allowing her tackle any issue that a small business may need assistance with.

Services include: advice on business start-ups, business plans development, vendor selection and management, office process flow improvement, office organization and physical design, human resources, when and how to hire an attorney, office technology equipment and software (i.e. computers, PDAs, phone systems, copiers, etc.), inventory management systems, bookkeeping/accounting process development and employee training, and customer service coaching/training.

Business Analysis

The first step in the consulting process is to perform a business operations analysis. Joyce accomplishes this by interviewing key personnel, and making observations and assessments about the current operations of the business. Once she completes the analysis, she creates a proposal for recommended services. Services can be provided at an hourly rate or per project.

Business systems analyzed include: planning, financial, management & leadership, marketing, sales, human resources, operations & manufacturing, and office technology.

Benefits

Hiring the services of a business consultant enables you to take your business to the next level or get your start-up off the ground effectively. Entrepreneurs are free to spend their time doing what they love by streamlining the administrative management processes needed to run the business. Avoid the cost of hiring a general manager for your business by selecting projects that you can turn over to a business consultant.

Contact

For more information on how a business consultant can benefit your organization, or to set up a free one-hour initial consultation, contact Joyce Shimetz at 707-542-1003.