PShizzy: The Blog

Most businesses owners are familiar with their Federal Employment Identification Number, or FEIN. What they aren’t familiar with is that this number does not give you any license to be in business. It only identifies your business with the federal government, similar to a social security number.

Most cities require businesses to have a city business license. Think of it as a license to drive your business within city boundaries. If you drive your business into other cities, you will need a separate license for each. You pick up most license applications at the city’s Planning and Zoning Department. [Read more →]

Tags: business by JTames
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I have a Mac Pro desktop, recently acquired, but my laptop is a Dell running XP. Yes, networking allows them to talk and share files, but it’s not always that easy. I like to consider them digital acquaintances. I need to connect to the network and sometimes enter my username and password to conect to the other computer. Not a big deal.

But it gets worse. What if I have a document, image, or file that I need on my laptop (which I worked on while I was out of the home/office), and I turned off the laptop. When I get home, I now have to get that laptop, boot up, log in, connect to the network, check to make sure my Mac can see the laptop on the network, then pull the file. Fun, huh? Even if I left the laptop on, I’d still have to log in, connect, check the connection on the Mac, etc. It’s not so much that it’s difficult, but it is tedious, and a waste of time, which I value very much.

Wouldn’t it be nice if I could just put my files on my laptop or Mac in a folder, and have that get pushed to the other computer? And I’m not talking about running a program, and putting a file in there, or uploading to an FTP. I’m talking about opening your standard Windows or Mac folder, and dragging and dropping your files in, and that’s it. Now you check your other computer, and it’s there. Better yet, what if I put the files in the folder, and then turned off the computer, but it doesn’t matter, because the other computer can still access the file? And what if I’m at a different computer altogether, and I need to access it via a web interface.

Enter Dropbox. They do exactly what I said, and more. Of course, this kind of timesaver is something I regularly find over at Lifehacker, and they are running a poll comparing five different file and folder sharing applications, which Dropbox is winning. The problem is that Dropbox is so popular that it’s now in closed beta. You can sign up at the Dropbox site, but only to be notified when they open the beta up to the public again. Or, you can be invited, if someone (cough cough, me) has invites to give.

Read on to find out more about dropbox, including a video that shows the features (oh, I forgot to mention, the file syncing is just one of MANY features Dropbox has), a chance to get in on the beta, and how I use it.

[Read more →]

Tags: business, general by PShizzy
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There is no clear-cut answer. The answer is depends. It depends on your knowledge base. It depends on you business experience. It depends on you comfort level.

Most people believe they can setup their Sole Proprietorship or LLC by themselves; install, setup and implement their QuickBooks program by themselves; properly account for all monies in and out by themselves; and transfer such business information to the proper tax forms to accurately reflect, “under the penalties of perjury”, their individual tax liability.

If you can do all of these, you do not need an accountant. If you need help with any of these, you might need an accountant.

The question then becomes not if you need one; the question is how often. [Read more →]

Tags: business by JTames
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The majority of non-profit organizations survive by receiving tax deductible cash and property donations. Many non-profits also survive by having professionals “donate” their time and/or services. However, this type of donation, while benefiting the non-profit, is not tax deductible by the individual or business.

Internal Revenue Service guidelines strictly prohibit deducting the value of services rendered. Why is this? Because while everyone’s time is valuable, there is no standard in determining what that time is worth.

[Read more →]

Tags: business by JTames
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So my friend Joseph Tames is not only a fellow photographer and good friend, but also happens to be my accountant. Being able to pick his brain has really enlightened me as to best practices for my business. But me being me, I’ve asked more of him. I hoped he could occasionally write an article with tips for small business owners, who only hire an accountant on a limited basis, as well as prospective small businesses who want to start off on the right foot.

Joe will be posting an article very soon, so stay tuned!

Tags: business by PShizzy
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