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  • Hidden Costs of Running a Small Business

    Hidden Costs of Running a Small Business

    Many people dream about starting their business and being their own boss. Only one small part of them have a real and achievable plan, others just want to run away from boring 9 to 5 corporate jobs. First-time entrepreneurs often underestimate costs their new company requires which leads to financial troubles and possible bankruptcy. In this article we listed some of the hidden costs entrepreneurs tend to overlook.

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    Employee turnover

    Having talented and steady workforce is a life saver for any small business entrepreneur. Unfortunately employees tend to leave their firms in order to find better conditions, higher salaries or positions among company’s ranks. When this happens entrepreneurs face several different costs, including:

    Unemployment benefits claims- unemployment insurance costs will rise if entrepreneurs don’t contest their ex-employees benefits claims.
    Recruiting replacements- recruiting process can be very difficult and tiresome and it also costs a lot of money, especially if it is done by outsourcing HR firm.
    Training- new employees require long and difficult training. It can be internal or external and both kinds cost a lot. First one will take a lot supervisor’s time and the second will require fix rates that should be paid to licensed firms.

    Legal fees

    One time or another every entrepreneur is forced to settle some business dispute in court. The dispute can start from a simple copyright or patent infringement and it can turn into frivolous lawsuit that will hurt your company’s finances and reputation. There are plenty costs that are tied to this lawsuits and these are just some of them:

    Attorney costs- if you don’t want your company to bankrupt over a minor patent infringement or employee dispute you need to hire an expensive attorney;
    Settlement- best way to end a lawsuit is to reach a settlement, but this will also cost you a lot;
    Higher insurance costs- your insurance rates will definitely increase, after you have been sued by bogus lawyers;
    Lost opportunity- time you will spend on preparing your defense can be used in much more productive and profitable ways.

    Maintenance and office equipment costs

    Entrepreneurs usually count operating costs in their budget, but smaller maintenance and office equipment costs usually passed unnoticed, at least until the printer or the computer breaks down for the first time. Many companies that require lots of printed documents are closely following their monthly printing costs, and constantly trying to make their business more efficient. This is always recommendable, and cost-reevaluating concept should be applied for all equipment costs.

    Professional help

    Even in the first phases of your business development you will need professional help for various tasks. You will definitely need to hire some sort of tax lawyer or accountant to help your with your finances. Tax agencies won’t give you a free pass, which is why the whole accounting process should be done by professionals. Also you should be aware that tax laws defer from one country or state to another, which is why you need to hire local accountants. If you running your business in New South Wales, you should contact accountants form Sydney CBD, while if your company is registered in California hire accountants from LA, San Francisco, Oakland or some other city in CA.

    Insurance

    All smart business people know that insurance is very important for corporate level risk management. Other than regular insurance companies should choose policies that fit their business model in the best way. Some of the things your business should be insured from are: illnesses, negligence, work-related injuries etc. You should try to negotiate better deals with insurance agents. Try to tailor several policies and pay them in the bundle. Even if you succeed you should review your coverage at least once a year to see whether they meet your business needs.

    Even with all these unexpected costs, entrepreneurship is still one of the most dynamic and rewarding ways to continue your career after you quit your corporate job. With minding every detail and hiring professional help when you are in doubt, you will be able to boost your company growth and continue its development even in the toughest moments of your entrepreneurship career.

  • Protect Your Family against all Odds with Savings Plans by Bharti AXA Life Insurance

    Protect Your Family against all Odds with Savings Plans by Bharti AXA Life Insurance

    You must be planning wisely to invest your hard-earned money at different stages of life in order to gain the maximum profit in the future.Well, before youactually start investing, you must have adequate knowledge of the specific area of the market, as it might be risky and could lose your lifelong savings in the name of investment. Bharti AXA Life Insurance offers you the best investment plans to live up to the expectations of your family members. These investment plans power you to live out your dreams and realize those of your loved ones going forward.

    Bharti AXA offers a variety of life insurance plans, savings plans, protection plans, health plans, and rider options.Below are its investment plans explained:

    Bharti AXA Life Future Invest Plan

    This investment plan requires you invest your money for a specific period to gain considerable returns when the policy term ends.You can avail these benefits over a period of 10 years by paying a single premium or for 5 years.

    Eligibility for the plan

    • Policy entry age (minimum): 18 years
    • Policy entry age (maximum):59 years
    • Maturity age (maximum): 69 years
    • Policy term: 10 years
    • Premium payment term: Single or 5 years
    • Modes of premium payment: Single, Yearly, Half-yearly, Quarterly, Monthly

    Features & Benefits

    • Option of flexible partial withdrawals
    • Post-maturity investment option
    • You have full control on your investments
    • Tax benefit u/s 80C and 10 (10D) of Income Tax Act, 1961

    Key Highlight of the plan

    • You get guaranteed good returns at the end of the policy term for an investment over alimited time frame.

    Bharti AXA Life eFuture Invest

    This plan is a unit-linked investment plan and is available online with the benefits of life cover and considerable returns on maturity. With this plan, you can avail benefits over a period of 10 years while premium payment is only a single one or for 5 consecutive years.

    Eligibility for the plan

    • Policy entry age (minimum): 18 years (as on last birthday)
    • Policy entry age (maximum): 59 years (as on last birthday)
    • Maturity age (maximum): 69 years (as on last birthday)
    • Minimum premium:
      • For 5 years policy – yearly: Rs.18, 000; half-yearly: Rs. 9, 000; quarterly: Rs. 4, 500; monthly: Rs. 1, 500.
      • For single payment–Rs. 25, 000
    • Maximum premium:
      • For 5 payments: Rs. 1, 00, 00, 000
      • For Single payment: Rs. 8, 00, 00, 000
    • Policy term: 10 years
    • Premium payment term: Single or 5 years
    • Modes of premium payment: Single, Yearly, Half-yearly, Quarterly*, Monthly*

    *Payments should be through ECS only.

    Features & Benefits

    • Quick and easy online availability
    • No extra charges like processing fee, commission pay, fund management, policy administration etc.
    • No allocation charges
    • Fixed policy term of 10 years
    • Premium payment for 5 years or single pay
    • Higher sum assured at policy term end
    • Tax benefit on premiums paid and benefits received u/s 80C and 10 (10D) of Income Tax Act, 1961
    • Post-maturity investment option

    The protection plans offered by Bharti AXA are not only affordable but also comprehensive. Bharti AXA term insurance is highly recommended to those whoplan long-term goals for their family.

  • Does My Zipcode Affect My Insurance Rates?

    Does My Zipcode Affect My Insurance Rates?

    Although you may not realize it, where you live has a great impact on your insurance rates. Certain zip codes are “red flagged” by insurance companies, and if you reside in that area, you could be in for steeper rates than your neighboring areas.

    This may seem strange, but it is all based on risk assessment. Certain areas simply have more accidents than others. Often, this is due to traffic volume; places with more traffic have more accidents. Sometimes, however, the differences are more subtle and difficult to understand.

    Risk is a calculation the company makes based on how many drivers whose description is close to yours have accidents annually. For example, a forty-five-year-old male with no previous accidents living in suburban Philadelphia or New York will be classed with other forty-five-year-old males in that area. The number of accidents these men have in one year will determine the risk for that pool of insurance applicants.

    This means that risk rates affect your insurance premium rates. While your individual driving record is important, you are also classified with a group over which you have little to no control. This may seem unfair, but it is the way insurance companies are able to stabilize prices for everyone, no matter the groups to which they may belong.

    Sometimes, the presence of large numbers of high-risk drivers may also increase your rates. This is because more high-risk drivers mean more likelihood that you will be involved in an accident, whether it is your fault or not.

    For example, if an area has a high volume of younger or older drivers, rates may be increased. This is because these areas are statistically more likely to have accidents caused by these drivers. While this may seem odd to people living in this area, which may not have a huge volume of traffic, it is explained by statistical probability.

    Similarly, when an area is close to a large city, it tends to have higher rates. This is because it is assumed that people living in this area travel into the city to work, shop, or engage in other activities. Ironically, some of these people in the suburbs may spend little time in the city; however, they still have the higher rates than those who live in suburbs located farther from the city center. In fact, people who live farther from the city and drive in to work every day may actually have lower rates than those who live closer to the city, even if they rarely visit the city itself.

    While this may seem perplexing, it is important to remember that everyone in a particular zip code has the same problem. Higher rates apply to an area, and not to an individual. If your driving record is clean, if you are older than 25, and if you pay your insurance bill promptly, you will enjoy the lowest rates possible for your zip code.

    It is not always certain that living close to a large city or in a certain zip code results in higher rates. If you take low-mileage insurance, your rates may decrease significantly. This is because low-mileage insurance is designed for people who do not drive very often. It is proof to the insurance company that your risk of an accident will be lower.

    Another case where your rates may not rise is if your auto insurance company makes a distinction between driving to work and driving for pleasure. If your company is smaller and is located in the area in question, they might make a distinction between those who drive in a major city and those who remain in the suburbs. However, most companies follow the process of basing rates on zip codes, rather than making these distinctions.

  • A Few Questions Asked to Tax Advisors Before Appointing Them

    A Few Questions Asked to Tax Advisors Before Appointing Them

    In the contemporary world most of the people manage to earn that much money, which serves the purpose of leading a pleasant livelihood at the end of the day. But with income comes the responsibility of paying the income taxes. We, the common mass, in general are not only confused about the regulations related to the income tax and tax returns and the investments but also are equally confused regarding whom to take tax advice from. As, bad income tax consultants would necessarily mean that you are always at a loss at the end of the financial year. Thus, you need to choose your accounting services carefully and appoint efficient people who can provide you effective tax advices in order to optimize your savings which at the end of your life span helps you to lead a lavish life.

    Here are a few questions that you would need to ask from your tax advisors before appointing them.

    1. How and how much do you charge for your services?

    Make sure that this question is not only asked in order to know the consultancy fee of the advisor but also to know regarding the fact that how they are charged. You must make sure that the person is not trying to make money by selling you a product.

    1. What licences, credentials and certifications do you possess?

    This is one of the primary questions you need to ask to the advisor you are visiting. This helps you in confirming that you have gone to an authentic place and not to a fraud.

    1. What kind of services do your firm provide?

    The answer to this question gives you an idea of whether you have gone to the right place or not. Kindly make sure that the place you have gone to matches your requirement specifically.

    1. Could I see a sample financial plan?

    This question helps you in judging the expertise of the income tax consultants whom you have planned to visit. The sample financial plan they produce will certainly give you an idea regarding their expertise.

    1. What is your investment approach?

    The answer to this question gives you a structured idea regarding the work process of the person you are going to rely upon in relation to optimizing your fiscal resources.

    1. How much contact do you keep with your clients?

    This helps you in judging the client relation and the client friendliness with the person. You can judge whether or not this tax advisor is client friendly or not.

    1. Does the person seem interested in me?

    This is probably the only question in the entire set you ask to yourself. The answer you get will be the most important one which will certainly help you in deciding whether or not you will appoint the person in question as your income tax consultant.

    Thus, it is very important to remember these questions in order to fulfil the selection criteria of the person you are going to rely on for the optimization and maintenance of your finance. Treat them with importance and help yourself secure a better future.

  • Can You Make Money From House Flipping?

    Can You Make Money From House Flipping?

    You’d be surprised just how many people have been in a situation where they have finally garnered enough money to renovate their house and when everything was finished, an idea to sell the whole thing for even more money started to occupy the mind. Well, some of those individuals actually went down that road and made a commitment in order to make a decent living; so if you have the urge to do the same, but aren’t quite sure where to start, let’s get you acquainted with some facts before you go through with this demanding endeavor.

Now, don’t go thinking that house-flipping is easily done like in those high budget TV shows where it takes a few days and a huge crew to turn an old, time-devoured place into an expensive dream-house again. It involves a lot of planning, collaboration with contractors, and rolling up your sleeves and getting dirty. Before you even begin fixing things, know that everything primarily depends on the current state of the house as well as the cash you’ve spent on acquiring it, so you can compare and estimate just how much a house-flip pays off.

Not every house will do you justice
This should be treated like a postulate. It is like when people with big egos who are pretty confident that they can do everything with ease and certainty suddenly face a wall that takes too much effort, money and time to penetrate. No, you have to play it smart, so before you get your demolition hammers and power drills, you need to be able to determine whether a home is redeemable or not to begin with. Learn to pick your battles. Check the entire estate, identify the weak spots, and take a close look at everything possible (living area, basement, attic, backyard, plumbing, wiring, etc.). Once you make a list of things that need repair, do the math and estimate if “flipping” is worth it.
Getting what you want at the best price possible

This may require a little vulture business, but you have to be a bit of an opportunist if you are to survive. The best places to fix are those that real estate agents need sell fast and easy. Homeowners who are willing to sell at a price below the market standards are usually those who have financial problems, are unemployed, are getting divorced, are being transferred because of their job, and other similar reasons. However, bear in mind that structural problems may drastically decrease the value, but it can increase the money needed for investment in order to correct such extensive faults. Once again, a sound inspection is crucial.

Quality isn’t necessarily expensive
Considering that you have completed the paperwork and you are now the owner of the house that needs renovation, it is time to go window shopping. Now, there is a logical assumption that costly fixtures, installations, and other home components are more durable and pleasing to the eye, but we all know that is not necessarily true. Think Conveyancing team advises that sometimes you just have to do some decent searching, make contacts with retailers, experts, contractors, handymen; and with a little luck during negotiations, you’ll be able to get the quality services and items at a much more affordable price. This will leave you enough money on the side for better furniture, wall paint, and other investments.

Conclusion
One final word of advice – check the law regarding such matters in your country/state. Who knows what complications may ensue because of legal regulations, so opt to contact professional help in order to avoid such potential pitfalls. Try to keep things realistic, do more research if needed, and estimate the flip costs, real estate commissions, insurance, taxes, loan interest, utilities, and other financial factors. Prepare yourself! It is a fun project, but nothing close to naïve.
  • Sure-fire Way to Hire Your Next Best Employee

    Sure-fire Way to Hire Your Next Best Employee

    Putting together an awesome team to work for your business will take time and you need to be aware that finding the perfect employee is a difficult and tedious process. Nonetheless, you need not rush into hiring people to have them work for you, if you are missing a key worker. Instead, figure out a way to be able to find the best of the best.

    What Is Your Method of Recruitment?

    You need to ensure that you have the right method for finding potential candidates, because if you have a lack of people applying to work for you, then you must be doing something bad. Ensure that you market vacant positions and that it is easy to find your business. On the other hand, try to avoid filling positions by outsourcing other departments, as your new employee might not be up for the task. Keep in mind that everyone has a special skillset they can bring to the table, and you should not force onto them jobs they are not qualified for.

    Do You Really Need to Hire New Staff?

    While it might seem like a good idea to hire new employees, you should consider whether it will be a good idea or not. Having more people work for you mean that you have to pay more salaries as well, which could be problematic if your profits are not doing so great. After all, bear in mind that it is better to have a good employee, earning a higher salary but making a bigger profit than a higher number of weaker workers.

    Look Beyond the CV

    Even though it is a must for any candidate to bring their CV, you should only use it as a reference to weed out those who do not fit your business. Consider the 7 Cs of what an employee can bring to the company. Commitment and competence will be the most important keys, because if your new staff is unable to perform well, you should not even consider hiring them at all.

    Let Your Employees Evolve

    Each employee will want to become better eventually, and unless you provide them with the opportunity to do so, they will avoid your business at all costs. Hiring a good worker will also mean that you will take care of them and not just look at their current skillset. Your business swill grow and evolve into something bigger as well, and you should have your staff grow together. Otherwise, you will be looking at hiring new employees every so often.

    Have Professionals Help You Out

    As a growing business, it might be hard to put together a team to assess and recruit new employees without making a mistake. Instead, it is possible to hire an outside source, who will be able to objectively evaluate potential candidates and to decide if they will be a good choice or not. Going with a recruitment agency from Sydney you will make sure that your new workforce will be the best, and that you will not have to look into hiring new ones anytime soon.

    Consider Past Experience

    With people coming freshly out of college, with earned degrees, you have to sit down and consider what you really need for your business. Experience can never be learnt, and to gain it, you will need to go through a lot. But, you should also give a chance to those who are new, to be able to grow and enrich your business as time goes on. All in all, make sure your team is mixed with those rich with fresh knowledge and experience, to help and teach each other.

    Hiring the perfect employee will be a demanding task, and you will have to look into a number of factors to ensure that you go with the best. On the other hand, you need to create a versatile team of highly experienced and knowledgeable people who will be able to take your business to the next level. While it is a good idea to give many a chance, it is not the best course of action in most cases. Take your time, and analyse each candidate when hiring, to give your business the push it needs.