Recently I upgraded my Office software to Office 2010 when I got a new laptop. Little did I know that Office 2010 isn’t totally backward compatible with previous versions of Office. It caused major headaches when creating a PowerPoint presentation that my client and I were both going to be editing: formats were lost, charts needed to be reworked, etc. It was a MAJOR headache and caused the client a lot of extra work…not my favorite thing!

Going forward I will definitely be integrating some things into my project launch activities to avoid such tech compatibility problems in the future. I’ll be sure to ask what version of Office my contacts at the client site are using, do some test runs early on to identify any issues, and take the necessary steps on my end to avoid cause client frustration. That should help avoid such a situation in the future.

This got me thinking about other types of compatibility that are important to assess with new clients. Below is a list of things I thought of to cover in launch meetings with my clients to ensure smooth sailing throughout our work together:

• Meetings: In person or on the phone?
• Project updates: How often? What format? How detailed?
• Billing: Payment terms? Who to contact with questions: A/P or my contact? Require PO # on invoices?
• Reports: How detailed? What format? Style requirements (fonts, colors, templates)?

By discussing these things upfront, you can not only avoid irritating glitches in the project, but also show a level of maturity and sophistication as a consultant which shows that you have a wealth of experience and are very customer-oriented and willing to adjust your approach to whatever works best for the client.

What items are missing from this list? What compatibility issues have you encountered with clients and how have you overcome them/avoided them moving forward?

By: Jen Berkley Jackson

The concept of time management remains an enigma for many and it’s understandable. On any given day, we start with 24 hours and within that time-frame process through personal and professional needs, tasks, projects, responsibilities, priorities, and everything else. There are days when we feel very accomplished and others when we feel completely defeated. It can be a continuous see-saw of productivity versus ineffectiveness.

Rather than monitor the minutes and attempt to control every single factor, I suggest a new approach where the focus is on the end result and one’s productivity levels. The goal is to examine life as a whole and consider time from a more broad perspective as it relates to how you live your life or your living style. The approach is called Timestyle, or time management for your living style.

Below is a snapshot of the Timestyle approach to time management, also known as the 5 P’s of productivity.

1. Keep your eye on the prize – In order to get to the bottom of your time management struggle, the first step is to identify why this is so important or what is the intended goal. Most commonly, people want to feel ‘better’ or ‘less stressed’ however that is only part of the prize. Keep pushing yourself to define ‘better’ and ask how being ‘less stressed’ will improve your life. For many clients, tears will roll down their cheeks when they hit on the prize – this is a good sign.

2. Manage your priorities – When asked, most people will say they have eight to ten priorities. The very definition of a priority is the primary or main concern at any given time. In my opinion, it’s almost impossible to have nine main concerns, at any one moment, and still do them well. The challenge is to narrow the priority list to three or four and focus on those. Narrowing the list allows for greater focus and intensity, thus improving your chances of success. If narrowing down the list is too scary, consider this phrase: for now. Simply work on those priorities, for now, and feel free to define ‘for now’ as needed.

3. Plan, plan, plan – If ever there was a secret weapon in the time management war, planning is it. Success levels increase with an element of planning in one’s life. Chances are, if you are habitually late, easily misplacing items and unable to complete projects, it may be because there is a failure or reluctance to plan. Planning saves effort, time, money, and rewards you with less stress and more time to do what you truly want to be doing. When planning, it’s important to do three things:

• Practice T4T. Plan for today and the next 4 days, or 4 tomorrows.
• Start small.  If planning is a foreign concept, focus intently for a short time, 5 to 10 minutes. A lot can be accomplished in a few minutes.
• Note the change. What is different with the advent of your new planning strategy? Are supermarket visits less frequent? Are you early to appointments? Less stressed? More productive and organized?

With practice, planning skills will develop quickly and become second nature. Eventually, planning one month, a year and even five years into the future will become the norm.

4. Identify partnerships – Admittedly, this is where clients push-back the most. The initial reaction is partnering costs extra money and is inconvenient. I’m here to challenge that notion.

Partnerships come in many forms and the goal is to get you focused on doing that which brings you pleasure and value. If running errands or grocery shopping are major headaches, then order groceries online and pay the nominal delivery fee. Find a dry cleaning service that picks up and drops off – again, the delivery fee is nominal and you’re able to do what you’d rather be doing

Be creative with your partners. Get family members involved – there’s no reason one person needs to do the bulk of the work. Even small children can learn to hang their coats and carry in their sippy cups from the car. Visit a recipe website and have weekly menus delivered to your inbox. Shopping lists are often included and you will know ahead of time precisely what’s needed for the week

Professionally, outsource the projects or work you struggle to complete or dislike. Create systems and streamline your workload with templates. Remember, partnerships come in many different forms.

5. Practice. As with any new habit or regimen, it takes practice for the routine to take hold. Dr. Maxwell Maltz wrote in his best-selling Psycho-Cybernetics, it takes 21 days for a new thought or activity to stick.

On second thought, perhaps the last ‘P’ ought to include patience and perseverance as well.

By: Stacey Vulakh

Has your friend, neighbor or colleague told you that if you take the home office deduction, it will be a “red flag” to the IRS that will trigger an audit?  Well, that is just not true!

In order to claim the home office deduction, you MUST QUALIFY.  To qualify, you are required to meet 2 tests: regularly used and exclusively used for business.

Regular Use:  this test is clear – you use the area on a continuing basis.  Occasional or incidental business use does not meet the test.

Exclusive Use:  a specific part of a taxpayer’s home is used for business only.  There is no requirement that the business portion of a room be physically separated by a wall or partition.  But, any personal use of the space, no matter how small, means that it is not exclusive.  There are two exceptions: storage space and daycare facility.

You can have several offices.  The key issue is to determine your PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS.
Your home can qualify as a principal place of business if:

• The office is used regularly and exclusively for administrative or management activities (billing clients, keeping books, ordering supplies, setting appointments, writing reports)
• There is no other fixed location where the taxpayer conducts these activities

A business use of the home deduction is allowed if the taxpayer meets clients in their home.  For example, if an attorney works 4 days a week in his downtown office and 1 day at his home office, he can deduct the home office if he meets with his clients there too.  It will qualify for the deduction even though it is not the principal place of business.

The best thing about qualifying your home as the principal place of business is that the miles that you drive from your home to the first business stop is now deductible.  If your home is not the principal place of business, your first stop is considered commuting and not deductible.

The easiest way to determine the business percentage is to take the total square footage exclusively and regularly used for business and divide that by the total square footage of your home.  Then, you can deduct the following categories on your return for the business percentage:

• Mortgage interest
• Rent
• Property taxes
• Utilities (gas, electricity, garbage)
• House insurance
• Security system
• Home maintenance/repairs
• Depreciation (straight line method over 39 years)

Note: Lawn care/landscaping expenses are not deductible according to the IRS regulations.  However, the Tax Court allowed the deduction where the taxpayer’s clients regularly visited the taxpayer’s home office and where the taxpayer was a daycare provider and the children used the lawn as a play area.

If you painted the office area only, that cost would be 100% deductible.  This is called direct expenses.  However, if you paid for garbage for the home, only the business percentage used is deductible which is called indirect expenses.

If your total income is less than your total expenses, your home office deduction for certain expenses will be limited.  However, these deductions can carry over the next year.  Be aware of that carry over number if this happens in your situation.

If you take depreciation on your home office and you sell your home, you have to “recapture that amount”.  What this means is that the amount you deducted for depreciation reduces your ordinary income – this is good.  But when you sell your home, that amount will increase your capital gains.  The capital gains rate is typically less than your personal income tax bracket.

Years ago, many tax preparers would never take the home office on an LLC, S-corp or C-corp return.  If they did, it would be a Schedule A deduction as an employee, which is not a great deduction due to the 2% limitations.  However, now some preparers are taking the home office for these entities.  The only thing I recommend is not to take mortgage interest or real estate taxes.  Only take the business portion of rent, utilities and insurance.

When you know the rules, there should be no fear around taking a deduction that you qualify for.  So…do you qualify?  If so, take the deduction, reduce your taxes and don’t worry about that “red flag” because if audited, there will be no change on your return because you know the rules!

Consult your tax preparer to confirm your specific situation qualifies!

By: Renee Daggett

There are so many social media tools available it can be overwhelming to choose which to use and how to allocate your time.

Here are my thoughts on which tools are the best choices.

The big four are Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and blogs.

Facebook is by far the largest social media site with over 600 million users worldwide, and 51% of the US population using the site each day (Edison/Arbitron).  LinkedIn and Twitter are much smaller, used by 9% and 8% of the US population, respectively (Ediston/Arbitron), but are highly relevant for business professionals.

Given its massive reach, Facebook is a great place to be, but not appropriate for everyone.  For example, if your business model is to sell to many, Facebook might be appropriate, and if your model is to service only a few clients, then maintaining a Facebook page is most likely not worthwhile.  Facebook is a great tool for maintaining and strengthening relationships, staying top of mind, increasing thought leadership, and ultimately selling a product or service (but this shouldn’t be your primary goal).

While LinkedIn isn’t as huge as Facebook, it’s a must do for most consultants.  Many check LinkedIn profiles after meeting a person for the first time, and those hiring often check a person’s profile in the hiring process.  So it’s important to have a robust profile with a good number of connections, complete information, and recommendations.  Other ways to showcase your thought leadership and expertise are to link your blog and Twitter feed, as well as SlideShare account.  Beyond having a LinkedIn profile, consultants can gain information and network on Groups, and highlight expertise by providing Answers.  And of course there are many job opportunities on LinkedIn.

Twitter is similar in size to LinkedIn, and while not appropriate for everyone, can be highly useful to many.  A recent Jay Baer article quoted Morgan Stewart of Trendline Interactive saying “Comparing Facebook and Twitter is like comparing shopping malls and fashion shows. Malls, like Facebook, have mass appeal and are an expression of larger culture. In contrast, while only a small subset of the population actually attend fashion shows, the interactions that happen there influence the larger culture. Twitter is where online influencers congregate and share new ideas, and that alone is significant.”  I thought that was a great analogy.  Influencers are on Twitter and are fairly accessible.  This makes Twitter a great place to be if you want to get your message out to a broader audience.  And, if you are in marketing or PR you should probably be on Twitter to show that you understand the marketing medium.

Blogs are also a great tool for consultants.  Blog articles can be syndicated to Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, and showcase expertise and build thought leadership.  People like to share valuable content, so creating quality articles will get your message to a larger audience.  Lastly, it is totally appropriate to showcase your products and services on your blog or drive people to your site for that information, hopefully closing a sale.

What social media tools do you think are the most valuable for consultants?

By: Rachel Melia

In 2010, I got a coach, two actually. And it’s been a great benefit to my business and my sanity.

One of my coaches is a benefit of being WIC’s president: a WIC member donates her coaching services to support me during my tenure. She holds me accountable, provides feedback, and is a wonderful sounding board for different ideas. Would I’ve been a good president without her? I’d like to think so. Am I a better president because I’m working with her? Most definitely! Thanks Angel (Rampy)!

My other coach, Kate Purmal, does 1:1 coaching, but she also does group coaching. That’s the approach I’m taking, and I LOVE it!
Coaching Isn’t Just for the Stuck, Overwhelmed, or Uncertain
Many people I know think a coach is needed when progress has stalled. Quite the contrary.

The more driven and successful you are, the more important a coach becomes. It gives you perspective, helps you focus, and keeps you grounded so your engine doesn’t run empty and you perform better, stronger, faster. Yes, I watched The Six Million Dollar Man—and The Bionic Women, too.

And I can’t underscore how important that perspective is. Invaluable.  While most business owners are driven, we’re not always good at taking a step back and assessing priorities, celebrating successes, and letting go of perceived failures.

Driven business owners also juggle many balls – and are often quite adept at it. A coach helps you realize which balls are worth juggling and which are “that bottom 20 percent.”

And don’t underestimate the value of being grounded. The greater your awareness is, the better your decisions, your health, and your happiness are.
Group Coaching Is a Double Bonus
I love my 1:1 sessions with Kate. I walk away with great ideas and spot-on insight. But I’ve come to really treasure the group coaching sessions every other week.

The women in my group are amazingly smart, successful, talented, funny, and nice. Not only do I benefit from Kate’s guidance, but I also learn from my fellow “Purmalites” and absorb that wonderful energy every meeting, leaving invigorated.

Here are the insanely successful women with whom I have the privilege to spend my Thursday coaching sessions with:

• Kacey Fitzpatrick, an award-winning builder of beautiful, sustainable homes
• Jenn White Topliff, a “kick-ass” graphic designer who specializes in paper invites
• Rose Faler, a go-get-‘em account director who works magic with tradeshows
• Barbara Rice, a marketer focused on breakout product launches, and contributing author to 42 Rules of Product Management
• Alison Macondray, a content strategist specializing in way-cool Prezi-based presentations
• Karilee Wirthlin, a website strategist, former WIC president, and one of San Jose Business Journal’s “40 under 40”

So what say you? Have you tried coaching? What did you think? Thumbs up or down? Why?

By: Avery Horzewski

“Earth people do this every day, so why to bother?” asks Jumba.

“Because if everyone gave up, nothing would get done,” answers Lilo.

Who says you can’t learn anything from cartoons? While brushing my daughter’s hair this morning, Lilo’s wisdom floated into my consciousness, compelling me to write a blog post that was already on my to do list.

Just yesterday, the latest quote on my Women’s Advantage calendar read “Success is a result of diligence, not just intelligence.” (Brenda Nixon) Upon seeing the quote, I thought, “true—but it’s also a matter of perseverance. That would make a nice blog post.” And I promptly added it to my blogging idea list…where it probably would have lingered if it wasn’t for Lilo reminding me of its importance.
The Power of Perseverance
Consulting is a hard gig. It’s not for everyone. Don’t get me wrong. I love consulting—it suits my personality better than a corporate gig—but you have to have a “stick-to-it, go-get-‘em, in-it-for-the-long-haul” attitude to be successful and happy.

There’s no guaranteed paycheck (okay, so in today’s economy, that’s true for every career, but you know what I mean). You have to sell yourself (harder to do when you’re socialized not to brag). Not only do you have to keep up on the latest-and-greatest in your field, you need to be ahead of it. You’re often wearing a lot of hats (although you should offload as many of those as possible). You get the idea—and if you’re a consultant reading this, you’ve probably been nodding your head the whole time, going “yeah, yeah.”

So to be successful as a consultant, you need intelligence, yes. You need diligence—if you’re not thorough, attentive, meticulous, etc., you’re likely to have some very unhappy clients. And you may be equally unhappy with the projects/clients you take on as a result.

But…if you don’t have resolve and determination—the Big P—you’re missing a key component that will help you get through the challenges that are a natural part of running your own business.

The “Big P” is what allowed “The Little Engine that Could” to make it over the hill. He had perseverance in train loads. (Another example of how motherhood helps you in business.) And perseverance is what will help you thrive as a consultant. Actually, it will help everyone, but this is a blog for consultants and small business owners.

So, to slightly revise Brenda Nixon’s quote: “Success is a result of diligence and perseverance, not just intelligence.”

What are some of your favorite “ence” words? Confidence and eloquence are two of mine.

By: Avery Horzewski

If you’ve ever been confused about branding your small business, here’s a simple way to think about it:

Branding Is Your Business’s Fashion Statement.

Here’s how branding is like fashion:

When you’re picking out a fashionable outfit for a night out on the town, there are several angles to consider, like:

1. Your fashion style. Do you consider yourself a sporty dresser, vintage, a bohemian, urban, or a little bit rock and roll? A trendsetter or more classic style? Your central fashion theme figures into your wardrobe.

2. Your personal taste and comfort. Dressing in a style that you like and wearing clothes that you resonate with and that make you feel fabulous.

3. The people you’ll be hanging out with. You want to make sure you’re not under-dressed for the company you’re keeping.

4. Your outfit’s effect on that special someone. If you’re dressing to impress, then you’ll think about who you want to impress and what they like.

5. The climate. You want to pick the right outfit for the weather, so you’re not too hot or too cold.

6. The current “ins” and “outs”. You want to look appropriate for the season’s trends — like you’re keeping up with the times instead of stuck in the past.

7. Matching the pieces of your outfit to one another. You want to make sure your outfit goes together — from head to toe — and that your look is consistent.

You have to watch for all 7 of these angles in your brand as well, by making sure that your brand:

1. Has a strong style and central theme. Your brand has a central theme that’s a lot like a fashion style — your BrandStyle. Once you know this central theme and core message of your brand, you’ll be able to easily style all of your materials to that style to make a clearer statement that’s instantly recognizable.

2. Looks like you, is an accurate reflection of who you really are and makes you feel fabulous. As your vision and mission changes, the appropriateness of your brand may also change. And, you want to make sure that your brand is an accurate reflection of your personality as well.

3. Looks appropriate among your competition. You can certainly make sure that your brand looks better than the competition’s, but you don’t ever want to have the frumpiest brand in your field. Your brand is one of the ways that your customers will compare you against your competition, and you want to make sure that it helps you come out on top.

4. Attracts your ideal clients and inspires them to hire you to work with them on perfect projects. The way to do this is to design your materials with your message and your clients’ visual tastes in mind — so they will be able to instantly see how amazing you really are. This makes you unforgettable and irresistible.

5. Is appropriate for the climate. You don’t have to design your brand to go with the weather, but there are other climate considerations: the social climate and economical climate can influence a brand. Make sure your brand’s message and design keep up with changes in these areas.

6. Keeps current with the trends. This doesn’t mean that your brand should be trendy, but it should look modern and updated. This means revisiting your brand once a year with a designer to evaluate how it looks in regards to graphic trends and trends in your industry.

7. Maintains consistency of message and of design throughout all of your materials. This doesn’t mean that every piece has to look exactly the same — that can become repetitive and dull. But it does mean that your materials should all appear to go together and should build on one another to increase their effectiveness.

If you think about your brand as your business’s fashion statement, then it becomes fun again!

By: Erin Ferree

The Fall 2010 WIC Mentoring Group is quickly taking shape, with just a couple of spots still available.

Again this Fall, WIC Members Desiree Lehrbaum and I will lead the Mentoring Group. We developed and piloted the program in 2009, and also led the Spring, 2010 group.

If you think a peer-to-peer mentoring experience may be right for you, take a close look at this opportunity.

We will meet by webinar (and have an in-person kickoff session, if we can) on Wednesdays, 10-11 am, starting Oct. 20. Our last session will be right before Thanksgiving.

WIC Members pay $125 for the fall session, and WIC Affiliate Members can participate in the program for $200.

The WIC Mentoring Group isn’t right for everyone.

Here are some of the ways to know if you’re a good candidate for mentoring in this particular program:

1. Do you work well in a peer-peer group?

The focus of the WIC Mentoring Program is a peer-to-peer mentoring approach.

Mentors who are experienced in their areas of expertise design and manage the group process, then teach, guide and give feedback to a group of peers, all of whom are learning and making improvements to their businesses at the same time.

When you think back on your experiences in peer-to-peer learning situations, how well did you do in those? Were you able to make your own progress in such a setting, as well as to support a successful group experience?

That will give you an idea of whether you would find the group learning and improvement experience valuable, again.

2. Can you set aggressive, yet realistic improvement goals for yourself?

Six weeks, the length of the mentoring program, isn’t a long time.

But it’s often exactly the right amount of time for you to:
- Look at your business, including what you do well, and areas where you can improve
- Prioritize and plan a few improvements
- Begin to make those improvements

3. Are you open to feedback?

A good part of the success of this program is in the sequence of exercises we guide you through.

Business is applied learning…not theory. And to really learn, you must do.

That means we have you do homework to apply what we’re teaching you. It helps you to lock the learning in, and to begin to make real, not theoretical improvements in your business.

4. Are you willing to take action to make the improvements you say you want?

Change takes more than just good intentions. It takes action, as well…outside of the homework, and beyond the six weeks of the mentoring experience.

You own the changes you make in your business.

In the WIC Mentoring Group, mentors and peers help to pace and support you through the initial stages of change.

Beyond that, it’s up to you. It’s your choice about what changes you want to make, and will see through to completion.

Six weeks isn’t a long time.

But it’s the perfect amount of time to get a great start on business improvements that can make a big difference in your success.

If you have questions about the WIC Mentoring Group, let me know. You can reach me at jan@jgrichardsresults.com.

If this style of mentoring program is right for you, we hope to see you in this, or a future mentoring group.

By: Jan Richards

According to an article in the February 18^th San Francisco Chronicle, every business with gross receipts over $100,000 has to register with the Board of Equalization by obtaining a use tax account by April 15th, even though the business is not required to hold a seller’s permit or certificate of registration for use tax. The law came into effect in July 2009, but they had no money to advertise the fact so it may come as a surprise to many self-employed consultants like us!

According to the Board of Equalization, you must obtain a use tax account if you meet all of the following conditions:

• Receive at least $100,000 in gross receipts from business operations per calendar year. Note: Gross receipts are the total of all receipts from both in-state and out-of-state business operations
• Are not required to hold a seller’s permit or certificate of registration for use tax (under section 6226 of the Revenue and Taxation Code)
• Are not a holder of a use tax direct payment permit as described in section 7051.3 of the Revenue and Taxation Code
• Are not otherwise registered with the BOE to report use tax

This is to collect use taxes on supplies purchased out of state (usually over the Internet). Since 1930, it’s been up to the business and individual to pay use tax on items purchased out of state even though the vendor does not charge you sales tax.

They are requiring that businesses go back three years (2007-2009) and pay any use taxes that they neglected to pay for those years. However, there may be a penalty for the late 2007 and 2008 taxes and an investigation if the Board feels that there was intent to defraud.

For more info:

• SF Chron article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/18/BUVQ1C33I3.DTL
• BOE FAQs: http://boe.ca.gov/sutax/useTaxRegFAQ.htm#usetax31
• BOE Registration: http://www.boe.ca.gov/info/reg.htm (I was told I had to fill out form BOE-404-A Use Tax Registration and mail it into the local field office).

By: Deborah Hoard

I just heard last night about a California state proposal to begin to require companies to withhold three percent of all monies paid to 1099 independent contractors.  MANY organizations are opposing this for the following reasons:

• Extra costs for local governments to enforce the withholding
• Extra costs for businesses to administer the withholding
• This is not incremental revenue for the state…just accelerated revenue

These are some good reasons…but I have a few more that impact me personally…

• I use subcontractors and pay at least 10 subcontractor invoices each year…I would need to do accounting/reporting/payment on each of those to the state (monthly? quarterly?)
• This is a double-hit since I would be receiving three percent less on all of my own project invoices, even though I’m already required to pay 70% of my estimated state taxes by June 30th for at least the next two years

Any of you who are independent contractors and 1) pay estimated taxes and/or 2) hire subcontractors/1099 resources will also be impacted.

The California Chamber of Commerce, California Special Districts Association, and others are encouraging anyone in opposition to this proposal to write letters to your California Senators and Assemblyman.  See this link to get the info you need to identify who to write to, including their mailing address.  See a sample letter/template to inspire your creativity (you’ll need to ‘make it your own’ since this is a template for businesses/CEOs to send).

Hearing about this proposal makes me realize that I need to stay much more informed about legislative issues that impact my business…good sources of information for small businesses and independent contractors: California Chamber of Commerce, National Association for the Self-Employed, and National Association of Women Business Owners.   We all need to stay informed!

By: Jen Berkley Jackson