Taxes & Stress: 5 Steps to Simplify and Soothe

Taxes and stress go together like death and taxes. No wonder we get stressed and put off the pain as long as possible. Stress amps up our fight/flight alarm system. Breathing – even 5 or 6 breaths stimulates the relaxation response and both systems can’t be active at the same time.

No wonder we avoid doing the things we KNOW we SHOULD be doing. But make a VOW to yourself to follow these simple and key guidelines to make Tax Season easier next year.

The Inner Procrastinator is quieted with baby action steps along the way. Baby-steps feels doable and build confidence and STOPS the avoider in her tracks. We all have to do our taxes, eventually and if you're a woman in business, you don't want the stress or weight of back taxes weighing you down with guilt.

5 Steps to Simplify and Soothe:*

1)   Gather Your Records In One Place: This includes mortgage payment receipts, medical bills, donations, expenses. Designate a file folder. Start NOW.

2)   Expenses – Especially if you’re Self-Employed. Have a TAX FILE with a folder or file for receipts.

For example: When I take a prospect to lunch or coffee as soon as I get home I write the name of the person on the receipt and file immediately. 

If Self-employed Medical, Dental or long-term care Insurance is deductable.

TAX TIP for Self-Employed: Business expenses must be ordinary and necessary to be eligible for deduction. Ordinary is expense common in your field. Necessary is one helpful and appropriate for your business.

3)   Use Quickbooks for easy reporting or hire a bookkeeper and ask her/him for reports each month so you know your numbers throughout the year and how much to be saving for quarterly taxes year end.

4)   Britany suggests keeping up-to date on tax laws but I would be totally overwhelmed by that. If at all possible, hire a tax preparer or use the Quickbook reports each month and then give a year-to-date to your Tax Person.

5)   Retirement Plans:  Up to 40% of women retire in poverty. Sad fact and social security isn’t enough to maintain a decent lifestyle.

ESSENTIAL MONEY STEP:  If you don’t already have a retirement plan START ONE this year. Ask your friends and colleagues for a reputable planner or advisor. A planner has more education and initials after their name and look at the big future picture.

I recommend looking for women planners / advisors in your area – meeting with 2 or 3 and then making a decision. One of my 30 something clients started saving $250.00 a month last year automatically. She said she’s not missing it and if she doesn’t touch it, by the time she’s ready to retire she’ll have a good next egg. Another started with $25.00, but in 6 months will up it by 10%. That’s great because it’s building a habit.

We get more overwhelmed when we’re not prepared. Start NOW for 2015 Tax time and you’ll be happier and more peaceful. It's the best gift you can give yourself - and then treat yourself to a new pair of shoes?

**Adapted from Britney Castro, CFP, CRPC  article posted at LearnVest.com 15 Tax Saving Tips You Can Take Now

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Certified Money & Business Coach, Professional Speaker & author, Lynn Telford-Sahl, writes the weekly PowerUP Your Money blog for women in sales and small business. If you’re ready to PowerUP your Money, your Business & your JOY get your FREE Financiial Strategy Session with Lynn at www.powerupyourmoney.com or take The Money Quiz to find out your Money Strengths & Challenges.

Women in Business 3 or More Years - Assess What's Working - What's Not?

If you're a woman in business and you've been in business 3 years or more January is a great time to assess how it's going. You're hitting the crucial 3 to 5 year mark where, I'm sorry to say this, most businesses fail. Or, your business may bump along, more in the way of a hobby than a real business.

First assessment question: Are you making money?  If not, then your business is a hobby. If that's true, don't despair.  This is when you get serious about how to make your business profitable, or decide you're ok with a part time business that's fun, but not necessarily making money.

Here's the big question: What's Working and What's Not Working about your business?  Now, sit down and make a list first of what's working. Really, right now. Give yourself credit for what's going well and the Not Working list tells you where you need help. Keep the not working list short and those become your goals to fix in 2014.

One area to assess is your  Power Team. Do you have a CPA, bookkeeper, Attorney, Assistant, Coach on your team? Here's a hint - in the beginning you can do your books yourself - but it takes time away from being in front of clients or prospecting. As soon as possible - DELEGATE that task to a bookkeeper. Not a CPA - use the CPA for your tax preparation and any questions you have. That's a good use of your dollars and will make you money. When I did that my income went up.

Other areas to assess include:  Sales, sales follow-up, systems including time management (watch out for email, Facebook time wasters), bookkeeping, bill paying, procedures and polities, forms or templates particular to your business. For example, I have templates set up for new clients where I insert information and send. My assistant can do this work also.

We've all heard the phrase that most of us work too hard IN our business with the daily activities and don't spend enough time working ON our business, which is the planning and strategizing for success.  In our business is the small picture  -  ON our business is the big picture.  

At the heart of my business I want to make money, of course, but my goal is to have FUN. I totally agree with Colleen C. Barrett, American Businesswoman that “Work is either fun or drudgery. It depends on your attitude. I like FUN."  

Check out Lynn's FREE monthly Webinar: Step on the Gas Pedal 

Want to use this article in your newsletter or website? 

You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

Certified Money & Business Coach, Professional Speaker & author, Lynn Telford-Sahl, writes the weekly PowerUP Your Money blog for women in sales and small business. If you’re ready to PowerUP your Money, your Business & your JOY get your FREE Strategy Session with Lynn at www.joywithmoney.com

4 Hurdles of Women Business Divas & 4 Reasons Why Women Shine!

Lynn’s definition of Diva: Women determined to BE their best, DO their best, serve others in the process, make more $$ and have more FUN!

Four Mistakes Women in Business Make:

1) Women in Business undercharge for their products, time and services. It’s a worthiness issue. 

2) Women owned business are under capitalized. A National Association of Women Business Owners survey found that 75% of respondents did not get loans or credit at all. (I wonder if these women are using credit cards to finance their businesses?)

3) Women don’t have the built in financial networks or support systems that men do. NOTE: It’s only been since 1988 (26 years) that the Women’s Business Ownership Act eliminated state laws that required women to have a male relative co-sign a business loan. Can you believe it?

4) Women in business don’t take enough risks. Probably iin part because they’re underfunded and the worthiness challenge.

In spite of these challenges women SHINE! It’s exciting to see women starting new businesses and up-leveling current ones.  Here are 4 reasons why women owned businesses are going to explode in the next few years.

1) Women are more customer focused. "The only thing ranked higher for women (according to Mark D. Wolf of The Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute, is family and religion."

2) Women multi-task more easily than men – Men might have come up with the fancy multi-tasking word to describe doing lots of things at once, but women have BEEN multi-tasking for eons. We were just too busy to name it!

3) Women value a positive work environment, paying employees better and making employees feel as if they’re part of a team. (I’ve heard the complaints about women’s backbiting and emotionalism, but I have never experienced it.)

4) Women are more collaborative and are using social networks and supports systems for help in their businesses – and to support others. Decide to BE a Woman Business Diva in 2014 and SHINE.

If you're ready to BE a Business Diva in 2014 join Lynn for her Free Monthly Webinar: Step on the Gas Pedal Business Goals & Strategies for 2014  

Want to use this article in your newsletter or on your web site?

You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: 

Certified Money & Business Coach, Author and Professional Speaker, Lynn Telford-Sahl, writes the weekly PowerUP Your Money blog for women in sales and small business. If you’re ready to PowerUP your Money and your Business Success get your FREE Strategy Session with Lynn at www.joywithmoney.com  

*popular article originally published March 2010 and updated for 2014!!

Business Success Isn’t Magic – It Takes Planning!!

Business success isn't magic - it takes planning! We, women in business, work hard IN our businesses, but often don’t spend enough time working ON our business doing the planning, goal setting and strategiziing necessary to achieve our dreams.  

The smart, successful coach Katrina Sawa once shared with me that 1 hour of planning saves 6 hours of WORK.

Let's get smarter!! Be honest - Are you spending enough time planning for your success? It's good to first define what success means because yours and mine are going to be different.  I’m a simple gal with pretty simple needs. Your life dreams & needs may be a Starbucks Trenta or a Grande – mine is more of a Short or Tall. It’s all good – we just need to define it for ouself.

1) What is your definition of success?  For me success is freedom, abundance, happiness and time to enjoy life and yes, to make plenty of money to do all that! 

What’s your definition?  _____________

2) Get Clear About Financial Success by Setting a Reasonably Uncomfortable Financial Goal for 2014.

To come up with this number consider the lifestyle you’re currently living and the one you would like to be living.  And, don’t forget to factor in how hard you are willing to work. There's no right or wrong about this - it's your life and you get to decide.

One business woman, Jodi, hit her goal of $150,000 a year, but she was exhausted. The next year she scaled the number back to fit a more relaxed lifestyle.

Research shows that after $75,000 a year, most Americans have enough to meet their needs with enough extras and that more money only increases happiness by about 9%.  What is your enough number?

Your Reasonably Uncomfortable Financial Goal:  _____________ 

Now, don't just write it down. Tell someone. Last year in my 4th Annual Business Strategy Workshop in January, I asked the women to first write their financial goal and then say it out loud to the person next to them. Uncomfortable. Then I asked those that were brave enough to say it out loud to the group. Vicky Johnson, Financial Planner, of Principal Finance shared with me that was difficult, but by Sept. of 2013 she'd surpassed her goal.

Next blog I'll show you how to work backwards from your financial goal to make sure you meet it!! 

Sign me up for FREE Money Strategy Session

Suffer from Moneychondria - The Fear of Having Money?

Women in business, do you suffer from Moneychondria, the fear of having money?

I know it sounds funny, but maybe you’re more afraid of money than you realize...

Are any of these Financially Stressful things true for you?

* You spend more than you make.

* You “debt,” or consistently run up credit card debt.

*  You under-earn or…

*  You overspend or shop when stressed or anxious

*  You give your money away to children and other “needy” folks and don’t keep enough for yourself – for a safety cushion or retirement.

It’s safe to say many of us have conflicts about money.

Why? We want the American Dream and yet reaching it can prove to be illusive.  After all – how much money is enough? And, how much is too much? 

Get curious instead of furious with your money challenges. Take action to identify money challenges and DO something proactive by creating a PLAN and Specific Steps to move forward.

I help women make more money – by breaking through money barriers to create Prosperity & have FUN in the process. Next FREE Financial Freedom Introductory Webinar for Women in Business Aug 20th http://lynntelfordsahl.com/womens-inner-money-game-free/

Next FREE 3 Steps to Financial Freedom Webinar Aug 20 http://lynntelfordsahl.com/womens-inner-money-game-free/