Strassel: Big Business Sells Out Small Business – WSJ.com

Here’s a great column from the WSJ about how Big Business has sold you out.

Strassel: Big Business Sells Out Small Business – WSJ.com.

I’ll have an update soon about how you can properly prepare your business for the fiscal cliff.

Why does my accountant take so long

Or cost so much.

Because:

You never bring the information that I request. Yes I need your W-2, 1099 and every other damned form you get;
You want me to save to save you the most money. Sometimes it takes meditation or a stroke of genius or a bottle of Jim Beam to find the deductions or planning that ordinary accountants miss;
The price is already set and I’m a craftsman. Do you think the Pope bugged Michelangelo while he painted?
There’s a lot at stake. Mess with the IRS? Are you insane?
I am really @#$?&! busy. Working 16 hour days can wear a guy out.

My advice to any client, even if you are not enlightened enough to have me prepare your books and tax returns, is be prepared. If you’ve been working with your accountant for more than one season, you should know what information is needed. Ask questions in August not February. Bring cookies or booze or Rolos when you come to see me. And, realize that I’ve saved people and companies millions of dollars (seriously) in my career. Sometimes it just takes a little longer to get it right.

Small Business 2013 – Saving Money Idea #2

Occupancy is a fancy term for the cost of housing your business. It can include rent, property taxes, utilities, depreciation, maintenance, janitorial and so on. Rent is a major expense for most businesses. If you don’t rent or own your business building, move on to the next post. If you do rent or own your building, here are some ideas for saving money in 2013.

Yes, rent is always negotiable. Even with a signed contract, you may be able to renegotiate your lease and rent expense. Commercial vacancies are down in my area but there are still plenty of vacant offices and buildings. Landlords don’t want to lose a good tenant. You’ll need to have a valid argument for negotiating. Remember that you never get what you don’t ask for.

Reduce capacity. I keep downsizing my office in the same building. I don’t need three offices and a private lobby any longer. My first downsizing saved me $1,200 plus I negotiated to use the private restroom. I’m aiming to save another $2,400 this year my reducing my space and using a shared lobby. My landlord doesn’t mind because he can charge higher rents for my existing space and has trouble filling smaller spaces. Every business should always look for ways to reduce the amount of space they use. It can always be done.

Move. There are plenty of opportunities out there. Remember to calculate moving costs and additional marketing costs into any cost savings.

Share space. Find complementary businesses to share space with you. This takes patience but could save you some cash.

Fight the tax man. Property taxes are crazy here. If you own your space, think about challenging your assessment. If you rent, have your landlord fight the assessment. You might just get a break.

Shop around for lower prices on heat and electric. If your business is a heavy user, you may find some sizable savings.

Next Post: Hello, this is Raj from customer service.

Small Business 2013 – Money Saving Idea #1

I used to pay about $4,000 each year for telecommunications including internet. I also purchased a phone system back in 2005 when I hired employees. My telecommunication expenses were almost as much as my rent expense. My first Money Saving Idea for 2013 is cutting telecommunication expenses.

Do you really need landlines for phones or faxes? I cancelled by landlines and switched to Ooma for phone and Efax for faxes. I needed to buy the Ooma hardware for $99 and ported my phone number for $20. I pay $4 each month for the taxes on the service versus $60 per month for a landline. In two months, I recouped by initial investment. Efax costs $17 instead of $40 for an add on fax line. You will also need a scanner to send documents through Efax but my office printer already had one.

I also have a mobile phone. Wireless isn’t reliable enough in my area to only rely on my mobile phone. But I was able to reduce my monthly expense by $20 by negotiating the service.

I cancelled by 1-800 toll-free number as most of my clients don’t have to pay extra to call me.

I negotiated my internet service down to $50 per month from $70 by saying that I was leaving. Most internet providers will make a deal with you if you call them. You can also look into sharing internet with neighbors. It might not be ethical but it might be all you need.

So in 2012 I cut my telecommunications bill from $4,000 to about $1,700. I think $1,700 is still astronomical but I know that I made better use of the $2,300 in savings.

Next Post: Occupancy

Protected: The Biggest Tax Mistake All New Business Owners Make (Contact for Password)

Starting a Small Business – Crowdfunding

Quickly, Congress passed the JOBS Act this year with a provision allowing companies to solicit investments from “unsophisticated” investors. Previously, solicitations could only be made to high net worth investors. The provisions were to become effective on January 1, 2013 pending rules to be written by the SEC.

The SEC has not written the rules yet and probably won’t by January 1. (I don’t know if that is a permanent link.) This delays everyone and everything related to crowdfunding. DISCLOSURE – I plan both selling crowdfunded investments and providing consulting to businesses wanting crowdfunding. I believe it will help boost the economy.

PROS: Small businesses requiring up to $1,000,000 in capital will have a new source for funds. Owners can cash out of companies without having to sell their entire interest. Ordinary investors can find new revenue streams and investment opportunities.

CONS: There will probably be a lot of con-men involved in crowdfunding. Most business ventures fail and ordinary investors may not be able to handle the failure and loss of investment. Congress will probably overturn the law once some crying Grandma appears on 60 Minutes with a sob story about losing her life savings.

Obviously, I’m in support of the law. I signed a petition here in support of it. I live in a depressed area that could use a capital infusion. I’m sure there are plenty of local businesses that would get a boost from crowdfunding. There are also plenty of local investors looking for a better rate of return than CDs and Money Market accounts. There will be plenty of hucksters (see .com bust and real estate bust). More importantly, there are plenty of good businesses and good business ideas that will benefit from this law.

Starting a small business – Income Tax

I hate paying taxes. I hate when my clients have to pay taxes. I hate when my clients say, “I’m happy that I make enough money to have to pay taxes.” You really shouldn’t be. Imagine what you could do with the money if you didn’t have to pay it – give to charity, invest in your business, invest in anything, save for your kids, pass it on to your kids, etc.

If you own a business and it’s profitable, you will have to pay Federal, State and maybe local income taxes on the profit. There is no way around it. If you don’t, the government will find out and they will come after you. There are basically three ways to report and pay income taxes on business income:

as a corporation;
as a pass-thru entity, and;
as an individual.

The method depends on the legal and tax structure of your business. The rates may be higher or lower for a corporation than the other two methods. A pass-thru entity is a business that does pay the income tax. Instead, it passes the income thru to your individual tax return and you pay taxes at the individual rates.

Pass-thru entities include partnerships and S corporations. Your business is automatically a partnership if there is more than one owner. S Corporation status is an election that your business makes. It can be made for qualifying regular corporations, partnerships and single person LLCs. A Limited Liability Company is a legal entity designed to give corporate legal protections to non-corporate entities. My business is organized as a single person LLC. LLC really has nothing to do with taxes unless you elect to be taxed as a C Corporation or S Corporation.

If your business is a C Corporation, the profits are taxes at the corporate level. The corporation files a tax return and pays any tax due. The owners do not include the corporate profits on their Form 1040. They would only need to report dividend income if the corporation paid dividends.

If you are the sole owner of your business, you will report your revenue and expenses on Schedule C of your Form 1040. The earnings are taxed at individual rates. You are required to pay estimated taxes on a quarterly basis towards your income taxes from your business.

Selection of a tax entity usually makes sense once your business is profitable with annual net income over $40,000 or you have employees. Otherwise, for the sake of simplicity, it is probably best to use the default tax entity based on your legal structure.

Starting a small business – Social Entrepreneur

“I want to make the world a better place.” “I only buy Fair Trade products.” “I want to contribute X amount of my profits to XYZ charity.” I am a newbie to these kinds of businesses. As a misanthropic curmudgeon, I try to maintain an open, however skeptical, mind to these business models.

If you’re interested in this business model, check out lifeoutofthebox. This is a young couple in Nicaragua selling handmade goods and suing some of their profits to supports schools in the country. They are very passionate about their mission and I wish them the best. I’m hoping that they start selling belts soon.

Listen, businesses run on capital (which can be synonymous with cash). No capital means out of business. I like to believe that every business, in its own way, is trying to make the world a better place. But you MUST make a profit to stay in business (or you’re just a private foundation giving all your money away). Profit is just an addition to capital measured over time – like a space time continuum. Profits are not bad or evil. They are only a measure of success for your business.

Businesses must be run in perpetuity and you must plan for that perpetuity. Just because you had a profit in March doesn’t mean you’ll have a profit in April or ever again. That’s why profits are important. They guarantee the continuity of your enterprise.

At some point, I’ll do a post on not-for-profits and how they are generally a bad idea. I believe it is far better to generate a profit through hard work and then freely give that profit, or a portion of it, to a charity. I’ll call this the Carnegie method. So, by all means create your social entrepreneurship but run it like a business and plan on making a profit. Add a line for charity in your budget and hold yourself to it. Or, amass as much wealth as possible and give it all away like Andrew Carnegie did.

Protected: What are the Top 3 ways to save taxes in 2013?

Starting a small business – Marijuana

A few more states legalized possession of marijuana. Check out this map – I can’t verify the information. But it looks like legalization is gaining momentum. Does this mean that you could start a marijuana business?

Farming sucks. You need arable land, water, seed, fertilization, a strong back, hanging barns and security. (I’m basing this on local knowledge of tobacco farms.) You need to know what you’re doing and do it everyday. Once, you grow it, how would you distribute it – straight to consumers, through dispensaries, etc? Farming sucks – 20 hours a day of work and you can’t tell anyone about it.

Manufacture supplies and peripherals? Do you know anything about making paper, blowing glass or making pottery? It might not be enough to make a profitable go. You’ll find too much competition on paper unless you can make organic, bleach free, etc paper. How will you distribute the products? Potentially, you could start a web based store for peripherals but you’ll find lots of competition.

Regulation will eventually kill you. Shortly after legalization will come regulation. (If it makes money, tax it. If it keeps making money, regulate it.) We have a huge, permanent bureaucracy in this country that is always looking to expand. Do you think the FDA and ATFE and related agencies won’t get involved? Do you want to compete against Pfizer or Monsanto (probably not)?

How about downstream? Could there be pot specific munchies that you can make and distribute, especially with Hostess’ demise. How about providing a safe place for people to consume their product? You could teach how-to classes for wannabes and newbies.

I don’t see it as a winner unless you find a niche. As it becomes more mainstream, the Big Boys will enter and crush you. Good luck.