The 4 Things Every Small Business Should Consider

                                                           






 Whether you have been in business for less than a year or over 20 years like our company you have to consider 1. Your Competition, 2. How the industry is changing. 3. How your company is changing. Now you should consider the following:

  1. The Credit Crunch will be around for a long time. With the passage of financial reform, lenders will have stricter requirements which makes getting loans harder. You should consider keeping higher cash reserves, look at receivables as an option. You should look for banks that truly do want small business customers. Just as banks are becoming stricter on who they lend to, you should become picky with whom you deposit your money with.

   2. You Should Continue to Watch Expenses. Even though the economy is starting to look better it can and may have a relapse. You should consider outsourcing some functions to keep payroll down. You should review and analyze your income expenses every month or at least every quarter.

   3. Review Your Marketing Strategy. A lot of business owners stopped attending chamber networking functions because they either did not have the time to go or did not have someone to send. This is a mistake. You should attend those functions often enough to appear as a regular attendee. Then people begin to trust you and work with you. As an example attend a networking breakfast one time and a networking lunch the next time and you will begin to be recognized by those who attend both functions as a regular.

   4. There will be More Tax Audits. Whether it is federal, state or local all governments are looking for more revenue. Under the new health care law IRS is given the responsibility making sure all businesses comply with the law which means there will be more audits of small businesses. Also, the new rules to segregate income on tax returns and issuance of more 1099's will increase the chances of an audit.

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