November Tax Due Dates

BUSINESS TIP OF THE MONTH

Time to prepare those new storage envelopes for the upcoming year. The holidays will be here before you know it, and you will be too busy to think about your business records. In less than a half hour, you can grab 12 large manila envelopes and label each month for 2009 on the outside. You will be set for keeping receipts and statements for the upcoming year! Keep them stored in a file cabinet or hanging file for easy access.

ORGANIZATIONS-PERSONAL TIDBITS

My son Michael has started Middle School (or Junior High, as I remember it!) He is enrolled in the Expeditionary Learning Program at Mountain Shadows Middle School. This is a fabulous program, which includes a sixth, seventh, and eighth grade class (the 7th and 8th graders share two teachers throughout the day). All of these students participate in "expeditions" that teach them teamwork and problem-solving. One upcoming event is a week in Yosemite for the 7th and 8th graders. 8th graders spend that week backpacking (most likely in the snow). My son (7th grade) will be staying just outside the valley due to the recent rock slides. These kids have to budget and prepare for many of the expeditions. It is inspiring to see, not only a great level of commitment by parents to this program, but total focus by the kids as well. This is an A, B or F course-there are no C's or D's. This means the kids have to work doubly hard to ensure they are turning their work in on time and correctly.

Unfortunately, due to the economy, donations are down for this program. The parents who help to run the program are trying desperately to get donations so they can fund at least one student per year. The cost for one student in this program is approximately $1,000. This is a public school with an awesome program. If you or anyone you know would like to donate to this program, please let me know. The donation is tax deductible and would mean a lot. I have already donated additional funds to the program. These kids are inspiring, and have some pretty amazing brains. They are our up-in-coming scientists and engineers and doctors. I have talked with some of these young men and women and am just astonished with the vocabulary, manners, and attitudes they present! For this age group, they are very respectful of others and accept differences. (I wish the program had been available when I was this age.)

GROWING MY BUSINESS

This month is a great month to think about archiving your old records, and creating a new QuickBooks file for future bookkeeping records if the old one is over 10 years. This is a good idea not only for ease of use of your QuickBooks file, but also for having a safe backup. I am also happy to help those who are looking to reorganizing how you they do their bookkeeping and record filing. If you or someone you know needs help in retrieving data, or managing it better, please give me a call.

VIRTUAL JEANNIE VIRTUAL SPOTLIGHT

This month's spotlight is on Trent Taylor, who owns Make It Yours Marketing. As a follow-up to Caren's information from last month, Trent has great perspective on keeping your business moving forward.

Some Thoughts About Marketing In These Challenging Times

Trent Taylor, Make It Yours Marketing

Like most of us who operate small businesses or who are Sole Proprietors, Jeanne has to wear many hats. And she has learned that simply working in her business-no matter how much time and energy she invests, won't grow her business or ensure that she will earn a consistent, reliable income. Like Jeanne, it is critical for all of us to set aside time on a regular basis (ideally weekly) to work on our business instead of in it. Following through on doing this requires that you have a good time management system. If you find yourself being controlled by time instead of being the one in charge, give me a call. I'm happy to share a simple, no-cost, low-tech strategy that's really powerful.

One of the most effective, low-cost strategies that Jeanne and I both use to work on our businesses is through networking. And one of our networking strategies is to attend a weekly BNI (Business Network Intl.) meeting. It is a business and professional networking organization that works to build strong trust relationships between business people that will result in qualified sales referrals. If you would like to know more about how BNI could improve your business, be sure to contact Jeanne or me. Of course, there are many other good formal and informal networking opportunities. Chambers of Commerce, community service organizations like the local food bank and even your child's sports club, are just a few examples. The point is that whether you are an attorney, chiropractor, hair stylist or "Joe the plumber," you must promote your own business. The twist in referral networking is that you have others do it for you while you do it for them. This strategy builds strong partner relationships and is a proven method of increasing your business.

In these challenging times, your small business marketing has to be so much more than an attractive logo on your business card, an ad in the Yellow Pages, or an interesting website. There is no question that these are important marketing tools. But can you afford to completely rely on passive, wait-and-hope-someone-finds-your-business traditional marketing tactics? Remember, if you don't promote your business, who will? Fortunately, small business marketing doesn't have to cost a fortune. As a small business marketing specialist, I help you and anyone you refer to me, to use a powerful but inexpensive system of strategies to build relationships with past and present clients that will produce consistent, reliable future business. If you are either a Sole Proprietor or small business owner who wants to maintain or even increase earnings, then call me to schedule a complementary meeting to review your goals and current marketing strategies. If you would like to find out how even your voice-mail message can generate referrals, schedule a complementary meeting with me. Together, you and MIY Marketing will make that market out there, YOURS!

Trent Taylor, MA
Owner, Marketing Specialist
Make It Yours - MIY Marketing
Direct: 707-696-2628
E-mail: tataylorx2@att.net