Top 6 Tips For Business Success

Sonia Colon offers the six essential skills to business success. Sonia says you may not have developed all of these skills, but like most things in life, you can by learning, practicing and determination. Implement them and you’ll be on the right track.

1. Personal Skills

A healthy self esteem is necessary for you to tackle the day to day tasks of business. As an entrepreneur, you will spend a great deal of time working solo. Listen to your heart but consult your head before making final business decisions. Keep motivated by staying on track of plans and organization.

2. Communication Skills

You must sharpen your communication skills if they have become a little rusty. You may find yourself needing to communicate with lawyers, accountants, bank managers etc. You need to be able to get your message across clearly. Good communication will reduce the chance of being misunderstood. It’s essential to be able to communicate effectively at a variety of levels, in a variety of manners, to a variety of people. There are many self-help books on this topic.

3. People Skills

People will make or break your business. You will make or break your business. You are Your business. The way you deal with people will determine much of you business success. Good manners, politeness, and attentiveness to your customers’ needs are what will ensure repeat business. Customers need to feel that they are important to you.

4. Marketing Skills

To round off your entrepreneurial skills, you will have to have a sound knowledge of marketing your business. Marketing is the ability to communicate to your potential customers and inform them of your products and or services. Know how to define and target your market. You need to know what will work for your business. Read books, talk to others and observe how other types of businesses successfully market their businesses. Usually effective marketing involves a combination of many techniques that can change from time to time.

5. Technical Skills

Read books, attend seminars, workshops, trade shows and conferences to add to your technical knowledge and keep a leading edge on your competition. Don’t make the mistake of working at your business and forget to work on your business. Never cease your education in your area of expertise, and remember to keep up with the changing technology within your chosen field.

6. Financial Skills

You have to be financially knowledgeable in the business world. Your entrepreneurial knowledge should include basic accounting, organizational and administrative skills, an understanding of all tax laws, federal and provincial requirements, and an in-depth knowledge of the business that you are running.

It may sound like a lot to learn, but take heart. You can learn everything you need to know to run a successful business. No one was born a business HOT-SHOT. There are an abundance of courses offering business management training. There are also self-help books that can assist you with the financial aspects of your business needs.

Sonia Colon is writer/publisher of My Fashion E-Mall Blog & The Biz Buzz of a Latina Mom Blog! Writing & sharing powerful business articles & successful Internet marketing tips on starting & maintaining a lucrative work-at-home business is a passion.

Can I Pay My Partner Through The Business?

It used to be common practice to pay a spouse or partner a small wage, in order to utilise their tax free personal allowances, or lower rate tax banding (particularly if they have no other employment).

This loophole has been partially closed in recent years, as any such salary must now be ‘earned’ by the person concerned, which can be difficult to prove when they have a full time job elsewhere.

One way around this, if you run your business as a limited company (and it is likely that you should be) is to issue a number of shares to your partner, so that they are able to receive part of the dividend paid for the year.

Under current legislation, a dividend is classed as investment income, rather than earned income, and, as such, there is no requirement to prove any involvement on the part of the partner. (Also, as investment income, it won’t be subject to National Insurance).

Alternatively, if they do actually play a part in the business (such as bookkeeping, administration or company secretary) then a salary is permitted, as long as it is at a commercial rate. One of the best ways to prove this is to ensure that they sign the odd document, from time to time, such as letters, cheques, etc.

How Do I Run My Vehicle Through The Business?

One area that most new business owners need to know about is how to run a vehicle (including, where applicable, their own car) through their business.

The answer to this will mainly depend upon whether you are running the business as a sole trader or a limited company, as follows:

Sole Trader

As a sole trader, YOU are the business, and your car automatically becomes part of the business, for tax purposes. In this scenario, you are simply required to keep a record of your business mileage, which can then be compared against the vehicle’s total mileage for the year, to give a ‘business’ percentage. If, for the sake of argument, this works out as 60%, you can then claim 60% of the entire running costs of that vehicle, including fuel, tax, insurance, repairs etc.

Limited Company

This is a totally different scenario, as the limited company is a separate legal entity in its own right. This means that, if you simply pay for the car through the business, then the company is, effectively, providing you with a company car, which will be subject to tax like any other employee. The last thing any of us want is to be taxed for using our own vehicle.

The way around this is to use what is know as the Fixed Profits Car Scheme, whereby we can claim a set mileage rate from the business, which we then use to finance the running of the vehicle. This way, the company indirectly pays the motoring costs, but there is no tax implication, and the vehicle remains your own property.

The FPCS rates are 40p per mile for the first 10,000 miles a year, and 25p per mile thereafter.