A small business owner can sometimes feel like their company is having trouble doing things right the first time. Or they may be starting a new business and need help with the complexities involved in turning a profit. These are times when it may be useful to get some coaching. Small business owners and their  Continue Reading »

Even in good economic times, Maine-based small business owners can find it difficult to grown their profits. There’s a lot to be gained by learning how to become more profitable without growing the company bigger. Consider a Profit Audit Most small businesses have marketing plans, and even business plans that they can show to bankers.  Continue Reading »

In order for lenders to award credit, they need to see detailed budgets, including cash flow forecasts. These have to include realistic projections, not guesses at profit and revenues. Cash flow projections are especially important as they show how small businesses intend to pay back their loans. Even if a Maine-based small business isn’t looking  Continue Reading »

2014 might not have had a very active hurricane season, but it did have its fair share of other natural and manmade disasters, including blizzards, wildfires, mudslides, and riots. These tragedies serve as sobering reminders to always expect the unexpected. When it comes to your Maine-based business, it’s important to remember that it could become  Continue Reading »

SEP Basics The SEP is a stripped-down retirement plan mainly intended for self-employed individuals and small corporate employers. If you’re self-employed, you can make an annual deductible contribution of up to 20 percent of your income to a SEP account. If you’re employed by an S or C corporation, the company must establish the SEP on  Continue Reading »

As a Maine-based small business owner, it may make sense to share employees with one or more related companies, each paying its share of wages and compensation. This might make sense for a number of reasons, but one important one is that a “common paymaster” approach can help save money on payroll taxes for employees  Continue Reading »

As a Maine-based small business owner, you may be wondering if you can write off bad debts at tax time. Since cash-basis companies don’t recognize revenue until it’s received, and therefore wouldn’t have anything on the books to deduct, only businesses that record income on an accrual basis can write off uncollectible accounts. These accrual-based  Continue Reading »

Baby boomer business owners in the United States are looking to turn their years of sweat and toil into cash for retirement, but the faltering economy rapidly turned the seller’s market of a few years ago into a buyer’s market, negatively impacting value. Adding to their woes, the large number of baby boomers who own  Continue Reading »

Does everyone in your Maine-based small business understand how to make money for your company? It’s easy for employees to view their jobs narrowly and forget that they may be able to contribute help out the bottom line. Ask everyone in your company to come up with a list of ways to meet the company’s  Continue Reading »

Credit sales are a fact of business life. An important skill that Maine-based small business owners develop is maintaining the balance between the total cost of bad debts and profit gains. As a small business owner, you need to constantly monitor your total receivables and bad debts. Part of the process involves weighing the benefits  Continue Reading »