Business Goal Setting And Then Following Through

Written by Joy Gendusa


Your business can't go according to plan if you have no plan.

What do you want to achieve this year? More new customers per week? Higher average order amounts? Better customer service ratings? No matter what it is you are shooting for, goal setting is one ofrepparttar most important things that you will do inrepparttar 143615 New Year. I’ve got a few tips to help you get there.

1. Keep it Challenging but Realistic.

Any goal that you set for your company should be challenging but don’t over do it. For example, if you had an average order amount of $700 last year, you wouldn’t want to set your goal for this year at $3000 per order. Unless you make drastic changes in how your company runs or what you are selling, that goal is just not realistic. You know best what you may be able to achieve in your particular industry, so be honest with yourself and set your goals accordingly.

2. Write All Your Goals Down.

You may say to yourself on January 1, "I want to get 20 more new customers per week this year." A few months later you will be saying "Did I say I wanted 20 or 30?" Or more realistically, you have forgotten that you even made that goal. If you have all of your goals written down you will be able to not only go back and check them, you will also be able to go downrepparttar 143616 list every few months and check to see how many of them you have completed.

3. Assess Your Current Situation.

To set goals you have to know where you are at right now. In 2003 I wanted to assess our customer service rating so we sent out a survey to all of our customers on which they could rate us in each department of our operation. That helped us establish our base. Now we sendrepparttar 143617 survey to every customer after every order. This way we can keep track of how we are doing and if there is ever a hiccup we can fix it quickly. Don’t assume anything. Always assessrepparttar 143618 current situation before setting a new goal.

It's Only Going to Hurt A Little...

Now, in financial goal setting for your business, one invariably comes torepparttar 143619 question: “How do I decide on a budget when starting a marketing plan?”

This is obviouslyrepparttar 143620 first question that you have to answer in order to get started on your new campaign – and in order to reachrepparttar 143621 income goals you have set for yourself.

Taxing Your eBay Profits

Written by Tim Knox


As a small business person-slash-advice columnist I dreadrepparttar first quarter ofrepparttar 143578 new year. Not because in my mind my own business fortunes start at zero again every January or because I have already dismissed every New Year’s resolution I made whenrepparttar 143579 clock rang outrepparttar 143580 New Year.

No,repparttar 143581 reason I dreadrepparttar 143582 first quarter ofrepparttar 143583 new year is that my email box floods with questions about business taxes andrepparttar 143584 IRS, my two least favorite subjects on earth. It’s not that I am opposed to paying my fair share of business taxes. It’s that I considerrepparttar 143585 IRS to be a little like Beetlejuice,repparttar 143586 movie demon who appeared only after his name was called three times in a row. My fear is if I write too many IRS columns their dark agents may appear on my doorstep, ready to drag me away to an uncertain fate.

Oh well, one must do his duty no matterrepparttar 143587 consequences, so here we go….

Q: I am starting a small retail business. While talking to a potential supplier last week he asked for my EIN number. I had no idea what he was talking about, so I told him I would have to get back with him because I didn’t haverepparttar 143588 number handy. What is an EIN number and why do I need one? -- Robert P.

A: Robert, do you rememberrepparttar 143589 old Johnny Rivers song “Secret Agent Man?” There was a line that said, “They’re giving you a number and taking away your name.” An EIN isn’t as cool as a secret agent number, but it works muchrepparttar 143590 same way when it comes to your business’ relationship withrepparttar 143591 IRS. Instead of identifying your business by name,repparttar 143592 IRS identifies your business by EIN.

EIN stands for Employer Identification Number and is also known as a federal tax ID number. The EIN is a nine-digit number thatrepparttar 143593 IRS assigns to businesses and is used to identify taxpayers that are required to file various business tax returns.

Does your business need an EIN? According torepparttar 143594 IRSrepparttar 143595 answer is yes if:

· Your business has employees

· Your business is a corporation or partnership

· You file returns for Employment, Excise, or Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms tax

· You withhold taxes on income (other than wages) paid to a non-resident alien.

· Your business has a Keogh plan

· Your business involves trust, estate, real estate mortgage investment conduits, non-profit, farmers’ cooperatives, or plan administrators.

Applying for an EIN is a relatively painless task. You can apply online atrepparttar 143596 IRS website (irs.gov), apply by mail or telephone, or if you do business in a state that participates inrepparttar 143597 Federal Employer Identification Number project you can apply through you local IRS office (sorry, Alabama is not one of them).

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