5 Ways To Make Your Business Work Harder for You and Your Family
Many business owners are working so hard at their business that they fail to enjoy the rewards of being the business owner. If you are letting the life of your business overrule the business of living your life, then it is time to begin turning the tides.
Finding ways to make your business work harder for you and your family is the reason we all started our businesses in the first place. If your business is obstructing your efforts to enjoy life with friends and family, this is a problem. We all know a lot of work goes into building a successful business, but if it is consuming all your time, effort and energy… is it worth it?
Why this coordination is important:
Every time you find new ways to help your family benefit from the efforts of your business, your life balance and family life improves.
If your business consumes your entire life and your family life suffers because of it, your spouse and children may actually resent the time that you spend there. Even if it provides a great deal of income, the value of family and social life may be sacrificed.
Make your business help you, your family and your social life. You will be happier, healthier and live a longer more rewarding life.
5 Ways To Consider:
Consider paying children’s education expenses as wages for work
Many small business owners make a good living and have higher than average incomes. This can cause their family to qualify for little to no college financial aid when their children are ready to attend college.
If you are going to have to pay for it anyway, why not pay your children to help out at your small business. Pay them as an employee, contractor or consultant to do work for you and your business.
If you pay them enough to cover their college costs, you will receive a tax deduction for the cost of their college education by deducting their income from your business. They will be responsible for helping out with your business and they may surprise you with how much value they add to the business. New ideas, new technology, a new and different viewpoint might be just what your business needs.
Schedule family vacations around business travel
When a family vacation is something you’re considering, think about coordinating it around a work trip. Do you need to go to conventions, trade shows, seminars or other training for work? If you drive to go to those business activities, your gas mileage is tax-deductible regardless of how many individuals you have in the car with you. Does this conference or training trip require you to stay in a hotel? Your hotel expenses for that night can also be deductible regardless of whether you have your family with you in the room.
Scheduling family vacations around business travel can help make it more manageable. This allows you to enjoy time with your family or friends while also working on your business. Consult with your spouse or family to coordinate the two.
Manage taxable income and year-end purchases to lower tax bracket
Operating and owning a business requires seeing the big picture and planning for the future. Your business will likely need new or updated equipment, computers, other technologies etc. to operate smoothly and efficiently. Be able to forecast these needs.
Here is where you coordinate your tax situation with these needs. If you know you are in need of new equipment, computers, etc. in the near future, look at your taxes. If you are looking at a higher tax bracket for the year you may want to make these necessary equipment purchases sooner than expected. Or you may want to wait until next year. This requires consulting with your business advisor to determine the best option.
Use Retirement Plans
Consider reducing your current income by using a Retirement Plan. Not only will this help you once again for tax purposes, but it’s also helping you and your families future. So many small business owners neglect to put retirement needs on their priority list. Often we hear “my business is my retirement plan.” Putting all of your eggs into one basket can be extremely risky and even dangerous for your future.
You may want to consider adjusting your salary in order to account for contributing to a retirement plan. There are many ways to rearrange things to make it possible to contribute. The tax savings alone can help justify the redirecting of your income into a retirement plan. Be sure to look at all of the different options and scenarios as this will provide further clarity.
Also if you choose to offer your employees a retirement plan, this will help attract quality employees, retain them and allow for an additional tax savings for any company match. You may even be able to take a few days off without worrying about the business functioning without you! Think of how that would allow you more family time. Consult with your financial advisor to clarify your options and the benefits to you, your business and your family.
Consider adding or using a home office arrangement
There are many benefits of utilizing a home office arrangement for you, your business and especially your family. If you’re currently renting or paying for office space it may be feasible to create or use an office space at home. With technology today, working out of the house has become much more functional.
If you’re solely stationed out of your home, this provides for another tax benefit. You are able to write off the portion of your mortgage that accounts for the square footage of your home office. Also any improvement expenses, internet expenses, utility expenses or taxes that are directly related to your home office may also be deductions. Finding ways to cut taxes is crucial for a small business owner.
If your line of work makes it unable to be based completely out of your house, even just working a day or two from home will allow you to spend more time around your family and add some flexibility to your work schedule.
Your Challenge:
Here are 5 ways to help your business work hard for you and your family. Share your ideas with your spouse, children and business advisers. In every case that we have executed these strategies properly, the rewards were three-fold. Family life improved, your work-life balance improved, and the business also benefited.
Are you a woman entrepreneur who’s frustrated in your 6-7 figure business?
Are you feeling overwhelmed, over-stressed, and not sure where to turn?
Are you so busy doing everything in your business that you never have time to focus on those high level tasks that will truly bring direct growth to your business?
Your business may be ready to hire an Online Business Manager (OBM).
When your business has grown to multiple 6-7-figures, it will require that you begin to step into a CEO and Visionary role to lead your business to higher levels of growth. The business now has a life of its own and if you stay in the doing role too long, you will lose control of your vision.
If you’re like most women business owners, you started your business for some or all of the following reasons:
You wanted control over your time and the money you make
You wanted your work to have an impact in the world
Sick of the 9-5 grind
Have a business you can schedule around your family and personal goals
Commit to something bigger than yourself
Create financial and time freedom
If you have a multiple 6-7-figure business, it may be time to step out of the tasks of day-to-day operations and management. You’re the only one who can lead your company to the next levels. You alone know how to move your business forward. Time and focus are now in high demand for you to lead your company to the next level.
The result of not stepping up will be that the business will begin to stagnate – you’ll hit the ceiling in ability to grow any further. You’ll need to stop trying to do and manage everything on your own because it’s simply not sustainable. You need help in business. At this phase in your business, you have a team that executes tasks.
Now the role you’ll want to hire will be an Online Business Manager, an Integrator, who can take your dreams and goals and make them a reality. You need someone who can effectively step in and manage your team, manage your day-to-day operations and marketing management, manage projects, and analyze and report metrics to determine what’s working – and what’s not.
If you can’t get out from behind the manager’s desk, frustration will overwhelm you… if it hasn’t already. You’ll struggle with “hitting the ceiling” and “feeling stuck” – if you aren’t already. Your life and relationships will suffer because you’re working a crazy number of hours every day just to keep things going. You cannot keep up this pace, and eventually something will give. You’ll burn out. I’ve seen it countless times.
While reading all this article, you may be wondering if it’s time for you to hire an Online Business Manager.
Here are three ways to know you’re ready.
Financial Readiness
Hiring an Online Business Manager is a long-term investment. An OBM does not replace a team of people who are responsible for executing tasks – you can hire any number of virtual assistants for task completion. An Online Business Manager runs your business while you step into the CEO and leadership role.
Psychological Readiness
You’re ready to turn loose a certain amount of control in your business to someone you trust. You know you need help in business, and you don’t want to be the only one in charge anymore. You understand it may be uncomfortable to turn over some control to someone else, but you’re willing to do it because deep down, you know it’s time. And you’re ready to let go of what you don’t truly enjoy to return to using your unique gifts to grow the business.
Lifestyle Readiness
You’re ready to have balance and get your life back. You’re ready to feel a renewed sense of passion for what you do, and you’re looking forward to having the time to create and strategize. As you let loose of the manager’s role, you’ll feel refreshed and energetic, and you’ll step into focusing ONLY on what you can do to grow the business.
If you can’t get out from behind the “manager’s desk” in your business it may be time to hire an Online Business Manager. Life’s too short to be frustrated and over-stressed in your business.
Entertainment Center Buyers Guide
When looking into buying an entertainment center, whether it be a corner stand for your small TV or a huge center for your fantastic stereo, you have to ask yourself which type you would like to buy. In purchasing entertainment centers there are many types to choose from as there are entertainment centers which are cabinets, stands, wall mounts, armoires, and corner units. Entertainment centers can be small, such as stands and corner units or large ones, such as cabinets, armoires, or centers that take up the entire wall of a room. It all depends on what you want, what you want to spend, and how you want the entertainment system to look.There are many entertainment systems which are nicely built wooden cabinets with drawers and shelves to house your entertainment system and accessories such as CD’s and DVD’s. There are open ones, much like large bookshelves, to place your entertainment items on. Some are armoires which open and close depending on if you are watching television or listening to your stereo. Entertainment centers with, hinged or slide doors are nice because they become a beautiful addition to your room.Another important aspect is what you want your entertainment center to be built out of. Wood is what many are built out of as they are a nice addition to the decoration of your room, wood entertainment centers can be selected out of dark or light wood and anything in between. Entertainment centers constructed out of metal are just as nice depending on the décor of your room. Another option is a system that you construct yourself which can be built in various styles and shapes to fit the spatial needs of your room.There are also stands which you can place other things besides your entertainment equipment on. Depending on how many shelves there are, pictures, plants, and books, among other things, can be put around the entertainment system making it multi purposeful as well as practical and decorative.Cost is an important aspect of buying entertainment furniture. Entertainment centers can range anywhere from under 50 dollars to thousands of dollars. It depends on what entertainment center you would like, from home constructed ones to large gorgeous wooden entertainment armoires. The costs vary depending on the entertainment system you have and how large, decorative, and practical you would like your entertainment center to be.