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5 Ways to Rejuvenate, Refresh, and Revive Your Entrepreneurial Passion

Most entrepreneurs would agree that owning a business is an incredible privilege, and they would likely never want to go back to working for someone else. However, we all have our days! And sometimes those rough days can turn into weeks. If we’ve temporarily lost a little bit of our entrepreneurial passion, how can we get that back?  Here are some tips.

Customer Reviews

Reading reviews left by customers about your business can help you see things from your customers’ eyes. If the reviews are positive, they can help you see the impact your business has made on them which can boost your motivation. If the reviews are glowing, then this task alone can fuel your rejuvenation. After all, you have a lot more people you can make a difference with!

If you don’t have reviews, ask for them. The first time you do this, it can be an amazing experience.

Personal Self-Care  

Make sure to allocate enough time for personal care. No one can work 24/7 and survive without burning out. Try soothing activities like yoga, meditation, or a spa day if you just need some tranquility. Make it a regular habit, and you’ll be better balanced when you go to work.

Goal Reset

If you’ve been skirting by the last few years on incremental or unchallenging goals, it might be time to give yourself a BHAG – big hairy audacious goal – as mentioned in the book Built to Last. This is an ambitious, long-term goal that can help to propel the entire company into a mission to reach it.

If you feel your employees could use some rejuvenation as well, schedule a goal-setting retreat for the entire company. Everyone will come back with renewed energy and a new purpose.

Education

The thing about being an entrepreneur is you never stop learning. New skills are required every time you reach a new level in your business. Changes in technology, science, and government compliance trickle down to small businesses, requiring changes to your business processes on a constant basis.

Take a new class or read a book to learn something that will improve your business. You’ll be full of ideas that you can implement to make your business better.

Delegation

We all have tasks in our businesses that we love to do and tasks that we do not love to do.  If you’re doing too many of the “don’t love” tasks and not enough of the “love this task,” this can take a toll on your attitude. If you have staff, delegate the things you don’t love – and find staff that really love to do them. That way, you can focus more on the good stuff for yourself.

New Project

Is there a project that you’d love to do but has been on the back burner forever? Making it a priority may just be the reset button you need. Sometimes things that are urgent get done while things that are important but not urgent have to wait. Change the priority of those projects that are important and you will feel lighter.

Vacation

Last but not least, maybe you just need to get away for a while, then come back with a new perspective. For that, a good old-fashioned vacation, complete with air fares and hotel rooms, is the ticket.

If you’ve been working hard lately and it’s been grinding you down, try one of these tips to relax, refresh, and rejuvenate your passion for your business.

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IRS 2022 Limits

Each year, the IRS adjusts tax rates, standard deduction amounts, and other limits to account for tax law updates and cost-of-living adjustments.

Currently for 2022, there are seven tax brackets: 10%, 12%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%. Your filing status (example: single, married filing jointly, head of household) will be the determining factor of where your taxable income will fall within the tax brackets. Keep in mind that should the Build Back Better Act pass in its current form, tax brackets will be reorganized and expanded.

Standard deduction amounts will increase to $12,950 for individuals and married couples who file separately, $19,400 for head of household, and $25,900 for married couples who file jointly.

Long-Term Capital Gains tax rates (0%, 15%, and 20%) remain unchanged, but the income level has changed:

Married filing jointly:  0% rate for income up to $83,350. 15% rate for income between $83,351 and $517,200. 20% rate for income over $517,200

Single taxpayers:  0% rate for income up to $41,675. 15% rate for income between $41,676 and $459,750. 20% rate for income over $459,750

Head of household: 0% rate for income up to $55,800. 15% rate for income between $55,801 and $488,500. 20% rate for income over $488,500

Other popular limit increases and credit adjustments for 2022 include:

  • Estates of those who die during 2022 have an exclusion amount of $12,060,000
  • Annual exclusion for gifts increases to $16,000
  • Maximum adoption credit is $14,890
  • Earned income credit maximum limit is $6,935
  • Alternative Minimum Tax exemption amount for single filers is $75,900 and begins to phase out at $539,900. For joint filers, the exemption amount is $118,100 and begins to phase out at $1,079,800.
  • Foreign income exclusion amount is $112,000
  • Flexible Spending Arrangement contributions via salary reduction has increased to $2,850
  • 401(k) limit increases to $20,500
  • Educator expenses increase to $300 for expenses paid for books, supplies, and other classroom materials.

For a detailed list of tax rate schedules and other tax changes, review the IRS’s Revenue Procedure 2021-45.

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Protecting Yourself from Supply Chain Shortages

The past few years have seen major kinks in the supply chain due to a number of reasons: aberrant buyer behavior, source material scarcity, government shutdowns, and worker shortages, to name a few. What can a business owner do to protect their businesses from shortages and therefore, revenue loss? Let’s take a look at a few ideas.

Source New Suppliers

Being dependent on only one supplier for a key item is risky. Increase your options by finding new suppliers to use as backups or alternates whenever you can. While it’s admirable to buy local, it’s not always possible. Expanding your network will provide you with a lot more flexibility, even if you have to pay a bit extra at times.

Understand Your Timeline

How accurate is your prediction of lead time? Are you providing enough time from ordering and delivery before you need the part in house? Timelines have changed a lot in the last year. Spend some time reviewing and recalculating lead time if you need to.

Fine-Tune Forecasting

Get good at forecasting so that you can anticipate and prevent inventory shortages before they occur. We can help you set up the correct spreadsheets and generate the right reports so you’ll have better information for decision-making in this area of your business.

Develop Relationships

The more dependent your business is on a particular supplier, the more you want to develop that relationship. Adding that personal touch might not help you get your orders faster, but when troubleshooting is needed, you’ll want the extra help a personal relationship can provide.

Increase Communication and Collaboration

Increase communication with your suppliers so they can manage their own timelines and supply chains better. Provide them with accurate forecasts and let them know how they can better meet your needs in the present and in the future.

Audit Inventory Records Frequently

If your inventory balances are only adjusted once a year, inaccurate inventory numbers are likely to cause problems. Find ways to take inventory more often, or at least increase the accuracy of inventory balances. The savings will be worth it; you’ll have fewer surprise out-of-stock or back-order situations that can cost not only sales but also customer loyalty.

Proactively Manage Shipping 

There may be times when paying rush charges on shipping is justified simply to get the parts in house. Actively managing shipping and in-transit items will help you keep a handle on this. When possible, line up alternate shipping methods in case one method becomes unreliable. This is especially advised with overseas shipments where more can go wrong.

Create a Supply Chain Task Force

If supply chain issues are critical in your business and have been costing you profits, it might be time to create a dedicated team to manage and prevent crises. Consider putting together a group of employees that can be responsible for strengthening your supply chain.

Try these ideas to smooth out supply chain woes in your business.

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Tax Provisions in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

While the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA) is primarily a bill that improves roads, bridges, and transit, as well as authorizing additional funding for energy, water, and broadband improvement, there are some tax-related provisions included.

Employee Retention Credit Changes

The Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC), which was a tax credit enacted under the CARES Act, is a provision designated to help small businesses retain their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic by refunding payroll costs already spent. The ERTC was extended to quarters three and four of 2021 by the American Rescue Plan Act, only to have Q4 taken away for most employers by IIJA. Under IIJA, only employers who qualify as a “recovery startup business” will have access to the tax credit in the fourth quarter of 2021. A recovery startup business meets the following criteria:

  • It began carrying on any trade or business after February 15, 2020, and
  • Average annual gross receipts is less than $1,000,000 for the preceding three tax years (or in most cases, for 2020 and 2021).

Employers that are non-recovery-startup businesses who qualify for the ERTC based on full or partial government shutdowns or a certain level of decline in gross receipts still have three years to file an amended 941 (or similar return, such as 943, etc.) to claim any credits they are eligible for.

The ERTC is a complicated area affected by several different pieces of legislation and rules that vary from quarter to quarter and situation to situation. Please do contact us if you feel your business may be eligible for the ERTC.

Cryptocurrency Disclosures

The IRS is giving fair warning on cryptocurrency that they will be focusing more and more on this area in future years. While the disclosure question about cryptocurrency first appeared on the 2020 Form 1040 tax return, the wording has been modified slightly for 2021:

“At any time during 2021, did you receive, sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of any financial interest in any virtual currency?”

Digital assets are defined as “any digital representation of value which is recorded on a cryptographically secured distributed ledger or any similar technology.” The definition of brokers is also expanded.

Deadline Extensions for Disaster Victims

For taxpayers affected by federally declared disasters, a 60-day extension is granted for:

  • Filing income, estate, gift, employment, or excise tax return
  • Payment of income, estate, gift, employment, or excise tax
  • Filing a petition with the Tax Court or filing a notice of appeal on a Tax Court’s decision
  • Allowance of a credit or refund of any tax
  • Filing a claim for a tax credit or tax refund

To read more about the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, review the fact sheet released by the White House.

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Five Ideas to Attract Staff During the Great Resignation

You’re not alone if you’re having trouble attracting and keeping staff. A convergence of issues has created one of the greatest talent shortages in our lifetimes. With boomers retiring in large numbers, pandemic and opioid deaths, people not wanting to work for low wages, child care availability disappearing, tighter immigration policies, people rethinking their life choices, and so many other factors, it’s no wonder small businesses are having trouble finding workers.

The good news is small business owners still have a lot in their control to be able to attract the perfect candidate to our workplaces. Here are some ideas to help you do just that.

  1. Be open to multiple options when it comes to what an employee looks like

If you require a 40-hours-a-week, onsite worker who has to dress in formal clothes to come to work, you need to rethink everything. Many talented people are choosing to work part time, and it might just be easier to find two part-time workers instead of one full-time employee.

How much of the job can they do virtually?  This opens up your hiring pool nationally and perhaps even internationally. Consider also temporary versus permanent. And consider outsourcing certain functions as well.

The key is to be open to creative ways to get the job done.

  1. Make fun a vital part of your workplace

Even if there are numerous deadlines and serious work to be done, your workplace can still be fun. A good start is bringing food to work; camaraderie always blossoms around food.

Add in extra activities like movie or games night, take weekly team lunches, start an amateur sports team, or encourage co-worker get-togethers after work. Decorate the office for each holiday, and celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and employee successes. Create fun projects such as a volunteer day for a local charity, or support a team entry at a local fun run.

In short, create a culture where employees can not only have fun, but be themselves.

  1. Add perks, and not just the usual suspects

Employees are demanding more of their employers, and the best businesses are listening and delivering. Beyond increased pay and the usual benefits – 401K, health insurance, vacation, and PTO – here are some new additions:

  • Flex hours – more say in when they work
  • Work-at-home days – more people are working at home at least part of the time
  • Pet insurance – a New England CPA firm offers this to workers now
  • Extra PTO – one marketing agency in Texas provides unlimited PTO, no questions asked
  • Child care – any way to make this easy on parents is a plus

Other perks to think about are holiday gifts, bonuses, free dry cleaning, free car washes, and employee discounts.

  1. Embrace technology

Employees want the best tools you can give them so they can do a good job.  Be sure your employees are fitted with the latest hardware and software so there is less stress around the inevitable tech glitches that occur. There’s nothing worse than having a deadline and coming across a software glitch that wastes precious time.

  1. Apply marketing techniques to hiring

Instead of posting the old boring job ad, create a campaign to find employees. Make sure your social media is up to date and mirrors the fun culture of your organization. Be sure to look in places you may not have traditionally looked for candidates. Create a job interview process that’s interesting and enthusiastic. You’re definitely competing for talent, so doing all of these things will help you win.

We may be in a period of staff shortages, but there are still millions of people who want to work. Do just a little more for your employees and candidates than the small business down the street, and they will want to keep working for you.