Virtuoso Team Consulting, Inc.

I have a dry-erase board, month-at-a-glance calendar, and gCal synced to my iPhone. Every task, be it personal or professional ends up on these. Why am I so obsessed with calendars?

It has been my experience, only things with deadlines looming get done. It forces me to see what is coming up, evaluate where I am in a project relative to its delivery date, and coordinate everything with the rest of my life. Here is my ten cents on getting things done, and done on time.

First, before anything goes on a calendar I ask myself if it will be worth my time. If the answer is no, then it will not make it past that point. If it is, in fact, worth my time, then I put it in the appropriate gCal (personal, family, business) and make any notations about it along the way. For example, let’s say I am meeting with an established client and they want me to figure out some solutions to Problem X, sometime between now and then I actually have to DO that. I schedule times to do the work in the interim, and then ensure I complete it a few days early so I may review it again before meeting with the client. All of this is transcribed on my dry-erase so I have to see it everyday, a not-so-subtle motivation.

What method do you use to ensure you get everything done that you need? Are there any productivity tools you find helpful?

©2008-2009 Virtuoso Team Consulting, Inc.   All Rights Reserved.

One of the biggest inconveniences we are faced with is the innate inability to be in multiple places at the same time. How wonderful it would be to be earning money at the office while being out on the boat with our family, or spending time with good friends, while finishing off that presentation due next week. Every time we make a decision to do one thing instead of another, there exists a cost. Whether it is sacrificing time with your family so you can pay the mortgage, or spending money on dinner so you don’t have to cook, one thing is being exchanged for another.

Recently, I had a friend ask me whether or not I would be able to show a benefit to the bottom line earnings of a company if they hired me. I responded that it would all depend on the business owner.

Why would it depend?

Simple! I gave him an example using his own company. He works long hours, which prevents him from spending a lot of time with his wife and child. He would love to spend more time with them, but cannot because he needs to make money. He bills clients at $50 per hour, and spends 5 hours per week doing his own bookkeeping. A company approaches him and offers to do this bookkeeping for $200 per week. As a business owner he declines the offer, because why would he want to pay $200 a week to someone for something he can do? He agreed with this so far.

I then explained that if he spent those five hours working for his clients instead of balancing his books, he would net $50 more than the cost, or he could work for four hours, break even, and buy another hour of his life back to spend with his family. This news came as a surprise, because he had never taken that approach. I then asked him, how can I show that as a bottom line increase if he were to opt for the hour of family time?

Anytime you are able to make more money doing what it is that you do, than the cost of paying someone else to do another task, it is generally a good idea. There are instances that this is not the case, but that is for each individual to decide for themselves.

©2008-2009 Virtuoso Team Consulting, Inc.   All Rights Reserved.

Taxes are a much maligned responsibility of business owners, primarily because the offices responsible for collecting them do not make the process at all user friendly. While no one wants to pay taxes, they do want the services rendered from their collection. Another issue that I believe should get a small mention is, contrary to popular belief, tax collection is legal and there are plenty of people who have been incarcerated who will attest to this. Whether you agree or disagree with the premise, taxes are what you have to pay when you make money, personally or as a corporation. The important thing to remember is that you only have to pay what you owe, and there are many things you can do to reduce your taxable income. As I have stated before, I am neither an accountant nor a tax lawyer, nor will I pretend to be. What I am is a business advisor, and if your earnings allow it, finding a good accountant is an excellent investment. They will frequently save you more than they charge you, yielding a net positive for your business.

In my opinion, the best way to find a reliable accountant or bookkeeper is through word of mouth. Talk to other business owners, see who they use and then meet or interview those people they recommend. Pretend this person is going to be your doctor; you need to feel comfortable with them. They will be vital in keeping your business healthy. Trust your gut, if someone makes claims that you find questionable or they simply give you an unsafe feeling, keep looking.

Why should I pay my hard earned money to an accountant when I can do my own taxes?

Simply put, the fees you pay to an accountant or tax preparer are tax deductible, and they are better qualified to find deductions you do not even know about. Going back to the idea that you have only two things to invest, time and money, while they are working for you, you can be working on making more money or spending time with family and friends. I cannot stress it enough, whenever able and prudent, it is wiser to let a professional handle some of your business workings so you can manage the part that makes you money.

Another avenue for information is the tax collection agencies. They frequently offer classes or lectures that explain how to figure taxes owed, payment methodology, and answer questions regarding situations specific to your company. Typically these services are free, and are designed to help you fulfill your obligation correctly and with as little error as possible.

Remember, these payments support all kinds of services from the police officers and fire-fighters who protect yourself and property to SBA programs that help small businesses with loans, putting money into the economy. It is the cost associated with being able to follow your dreams. Most successful business owners will agree it is a small price to pay.

©2008-2009 Virtuoso Team Consulting, Inc.   All Rights Reserved.

From the beginning, I knew it would be important to have a website for VTC, and since I had taken the last 8 months off from work so I could concentrate on school, I also knew I didn’t have the money to pay someone to build it for me. Two months later, it is finally ready to be hosted. This brings me to a simple premise; there are only two things we can invest, time and money. I had no extra money, so I had to spend time teaching myself all kinds of things about website development. While I can now speak somewhat intelligently on the subject, I hope to never again do much more than post blogs and podcasts.

The hours I spent working on the site took time away from my family and friends, an opportunity cost, but not one that can be easily measured monetarily. Would I have been better off saving my money in order to have a professional do it? At what cost? If the site had been up earlier, could I have increased my workload and by association my revenue? Questions such as these plague business owners. What I have decided for myself is, sooner is better than later, if the price is reasonable. I now determine “reasonable” by how much of my free-time will remain free, versus doing it myself.

For example, if it takes a professional website developer a week to create the page for VTC, and it costs $750, then I can say it will free seven weeks of my personal time. That is just over $100 per week, which in my mind is a great value. Everyone’s “reasonable” is going to be somewhat different, but it is important to look at the value of your time. Additionally, it is important to ask service providers about payment plans, and to establish the ROI (return on investment) such an expense will provide both you, as the owner, and the company.

©2008-2009 Virtuoso Team Consulting, Inc.   All Rights Reserved.