Oct
26
greg b asked:
I am a small business owner and have been developing my company for the past year. Because I left my previous job to start this business I do not have a current income and because my company only recently officially “opened for business” we do not have a profit line. Do I need to file? What about the business expenses that I incur?
Caffeinated Content – Members-Only Content for WordPress
I am a small business owner and have been developing my company for the past year. Because I left my previous job to start this business I do not have a current income and because my company only recently officially “opened for business” we do not have a profit line. Do I need to file? What about the business expenses that I incur?
Caffeinated Content – Members-Only Content for WordPress
Oct
15
How to write a business proposal for selling a at home business?
Filed Under Small Business | Leave a Comment
Austinite asked:
I have my own wedding and event planning business and I am interested in selling in it. I really want to know the format of a business proposal for selling a business and I would really like to see an example of a business proposal for selling a business (comes with existing advertising and a website). I want a sample so that I can get an idea. Please do not tell me tips. I really would like to see a sample of a proposal for selling a business.
Create a video blog…instantly.
I have my own wedding and event planning business and I am interested in selling in it. I really want to know the format of a business proposal for selling a business and I would really like to see an example of a business proposal for selling a business (comes with existing advertising and a website). I want a sample so that I can get an idea. Please do not tell me tips. I really would like to see a sample of a proposal for selling a business.
Create a video blog…instantly.
Oct
12
Mikelo asked:
I need assistance to get my questions answered regarding starting a retail business:
I need assistance to get my questions answered regarding starting a retail business:
1. Which retail business would be best to start and why: a) Specialty retail business or b) Mail order business?
2. Which type of business is more predictable and does not change often: Specialty retail or mail order?
3. Many people say that PASSION is important when it comes to starting a business because the owner will have to work long hour to make his or her business a success. I agree with that but can you explain to me why there are many people out there who started their successful businesses outside their PASSION?
4. How can I choose products and services to sell that fit my personality and are part of my values?
5. I took a Myers-Briggs personality test and the result of the test shows that my personality type is an ISFJ (Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, Judging). Would someone like me who possess this personality type can become successful in operating his or her retail business?
business
Oct
4
What business degree should I study in and where?
Filed Under Higher Education (University +) | Leave a Comment
Desmond O asked:
I’m planning to get a business degree in the United States but I’m am unsure of what type of business I should major in or even where should i study in.
I’m planning to get a business degree in the United States but I’m am unsure of what type of business I should major in or even where should i study in.
I’m more of an entrepreneur-minded person and I have look into Business Administration for some time now. I’m more of creative person and I love to challenge new ideas.
I am also looking for a university that offers cheap and reasonable fee and good education with good credibility. I’m currently looking into University of Nebraska but I am also interested in other options.
Thnx
Website content
Sep
30
How does a business collect from a customer that has filed bankruptcy?
Filed Under Other - Business & Finance | Leave a Comment
Gina G asked:
Have a small business and have a customer that has run up a debt and their company is now filing bankruptcy. How does a business go about collecting from the business. We are a small business also there has to be laws to help protect us also. Need some advice on how to legally go about being paid as a creditor. Also if a business says they are filing bankruptcy is it public record and what sites show this record.
business
Have a small business and have a customer that has run up a debt and their company is now filing bankruptcy. How does a business go about collecting from the business. We are a small business also there has to be laws to help protect us also. Need some advice on how to legally go about being paid as a creditor. Also if a business says they are filing bankruptcy is it public record and what sites show this record.
business
Sep
28
How important are business ethics to a company and their success?
Filed Under Law & Ethics | Leave a Comment
Trying!! asked:
Discuss the ethical climate at a business that you are familiar with or one that you have researched. How have ethics affected this business? What does this business do to enforce ethical principles? What things could they do better?
Discuss the ethical climate at a business that you are familiar with or one that you have researched. How have ethics affected this business? What does this business do to enforce ethical principles? What things could they do better?
How can we as individual employees influence the application of ethics are our businesses? Give your thoughts and ideas on this subject.
Caffeinated Content
Sep
27
Business….?
Filed Under Small Business | Leave a Comment
Chev asked:
i want to open a business in jamaica what are some of the thing that i would need to start this business?
Caffeinated Content – Members-Only Content for WordPress
i want to open a business in jamaica what are some of the thing that i would need to start this business?
Caffeinated Content – Members-Only Content for WordPress
Sep
25
Opening a business and wondering what types of expenses I can write off?
Filed Under United States | Leave a Comment
Ken asked:
I am opening an online business for website design. (set up as a LLC, I’m the sole owner) Should I start keeping receipts of all business related expenses? Or would my business qualify as a hobby if I don’t make a certain amount of money in the year that I’m filing.
I am opening an online business for website design. (set up as a LLC, I’m the sole owner) Should I start keeping receipts of all business related expenses? Or would my business qualify as a hobby if I don’t make a certain amount of money in the year that I’m filing.
What types of things can I write off onto my business? (dinners, gasoline, etc.) Do I need a seperate business credit card/bank account for the expenses?
Do I have to accept payments towards the business’s services through a corporate account, or can they make the check/payment directly to me?
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Sep
22
Art Activist asked:
There is a lot of talk about corporate responsibility and the environment. Individuals are tiring of the onus being placed on them to change the world. Have shorter showers, water your garden less, switch to green power, change your light globes, car pool, take reusable bags to the supermarket, and recycle. All of these are necessary but pale in comparison to the damage being done by big business and industry.
But what about small business?
Somewhere in between large corporations and the individual, lies small business. Australia, a country of about 21 million people, incredibly has over 2 million small businesses. In the US approximately 99.9% of all business is small. The ecological impact of these cannot be ignored.
It is easy to assume that large corporations are, by the nature of their large profits, less ethical but is this actually the case? Large corporations have large reputations to protect. Often it is more cost effective for big business to invest in environmental impact minimisation than to clean up the mess afterwards. They also have the capital to invest in changing technologies to not only utilise the green machine but to actually profit from it, directly through carbon trading and indirectly through marketing with a social conscience.
So where does small business fit in and what can be done? The answer is very little or a lot. It depends on your business model, your business goals and your values. The advantage that small business has over a large multinational is fewer layers of bureaucracy and more transparency. Big business generally has a board of directors that need to be convinced, then a feasibility study conducted before changes can be implemented. As a small business owner you can conceive it and implement it virtually simultaneously.
Here are some of the things you can do:
- Recycle. Seems simple enough but you may have to find different depots for your various waste such as paper, plastic, printer cartridges, batteries, computers and other electronic parts.
- Switch to paperless billing. It is resource intensive to print and deliver paper. It is also time consuming and unreliable.
- Switch to a Green Power company that derives its energy from renewable sources that do not pollute.
- Reduce water consumption by ensuring your business has dual flush toilets and water efficient taps.
- Choose energy efficient vehicles for your business.
- Choose sustainable suppliers. Research suppliers whose ethos includes environmental sustainability. The potential for eco-conscious small businesses to support each other is large and underestimated.
- Donate to charities. Really any charity is a positive step but a charity that is aligned with your business practice or goals serves to reinforce those values.
- Become Carbon Neutral. This does not simply mean paying for an offset for bad business practice or paying for the right to pollute, this means establishing the carbon footprint of your business, then reducing emissions as far as possible. Once a minimal emissions target has been met the residual emissions can be neutralised by the acquisition of offsets.
The changes that you make may depend on your local economic landscape but have the potential to impact locally and globally. Small business is more important than ever and has a responsibility to future generations.
Caffeinated Content
There is a lot of talk about corporate responsibility and the environment. Individuals are tiring of the onus being placed on them to change the world. Have shorter showers, water your garden less, switch to green power, change your light globes, car pool, take reusable bags to the supermarket, and recycle. All of these are necessary but pale in comparison to the damage being done by big business and industry.
But what about small business?
Somewhere in between large corporations and the individual, lies small business. Australia, a country of about 21 million people, incredibly has over 2 million small businesses. In the US approximately 99.9% of all business is small. The ecological impact of these cannot be ignored.
It is easy to assume that large corporations are, by the nature of their large profits, less ethical but is this actually the case? Large corporations have large reputations to protect. Often it is more cost effective for big business to invest in environmental impact minimisation than to clean up the mess afterwards. They also have the capital to invest in changing technologies to not only utilise the green machine but to actually profit from it, directly through carbon trading and indirectly through marketing with a social conscience.
So where does small business fit in and what can be done? The answer is very little or a lot. It depends on your business model, your business goals and your values. The advantage that small business has over a large multinational is fewer layers of bureaucracy and more transparency. Big business generally has a board of directors that need to be convinced, then a feasibility study conducted before changes can be implemented. As a small business owner you can conceive it and implement it virtually simultaneously.
Here are some of the things you can do:
- Recycle. Seems simple enough but you may have to find different depots for your various waste such as paper, plastic, printer cartridges, batteries, computers and other electronic parts.
- Switch to paperless billing. It is resource intensive to print and deliver paper. It is also time consuming and unreliable.
- Switch to a Green Power company that derives its energy from renewable sources that do not pollute.
- Reduce water consumption by ensuring your business has dual flush toilets and water efficient taps.
- Choose energy efficient vehicles for your business.
- Choose sustainable suppliers. Research suppliers whose ethos includes environmental sustainability. The potential for eco-conscious small businesses to support each other is large and underestimated.
- Donate to charities. Really any charity is a positive step but a charity that is aligned with your business practice or goals serves to reinforce those values.
- Become Carbon Neutral. This does not simply mean paying for an offset for bad business practice or paying for the right to pollute, this means establishing the carbon footprint of your business, then reducing emissions as far as possible. Once a minimal emissions target has been met the residual emissions can be neutralised by the acquisition of offsets.
The changes that you make may depend on your local economic landscape but have the potential to impact locally and globally. Small business is more important than ever and has a responsibility to future generations.
Caffeinated Content
Sep
22
How to Use Net Present Value for Investment Real Estate Valuation
Filed Under How Real Estate Net Present Value Works | Leave a Comment
James Kobzeff asked:
Net present value is the present value of all future cash flows produced by a rental property less the amount of initial cash investment required to purchase the investment property.
Net present value (NPV) considers the time value of money and therefore is a popular real estate investing rate of return. Say, for instance, that you require a 10% rate of return on your investment. Net present value (with consideration for the timing) reveals whether the cash flow produced by that property would give you a 10% rate of return.
How it Works
Let’s say that you require a 10% rate of return. This percentage then becomes the rate at which future cash flows are “discounted”. Moreover, you plan to invest $100,000. This is also known as initial investment and represents the down payment plus closing costs. Next, you estimate what the annual cash flows will be over the next (let’s say five) years. Finally, estimate the proceeds you would receive from a sale of the investment property in the (let’s say fifth) year. Since the money you collect upon a sale is considered income, it’s added to the cash flow derived in that same year.
Here’s how it looks:
Discount Rate: 10.0%
Initial Investment: $100,000
Cash Flow # 1 [estimated first year cash flow]
Cash Flow # 2 [estimated second year cash flow]
Cash Flow # 3 [estimated third year cash flow]
Cash Flow # 4 [estimated fourth year cash flow]
Cash Flow # 5 [estimated fifth year cash flow] + [sale proceeds]
How to Calculate
Okay, now to arrive at a net present value we must do the following.
1. Discount all forecasted future cash flows at 10% to arrive at their present value (PV), remembering to add the forecasted sales proceeds to the cash flow in the final year. Let’s say the present value for all five cash flows plus sale proceeds is $100,000.
2. Deduct the initial investment of $100,000 from the $100,000 present value of future cash flows to determine the NPV. In this case, NPV would equal zero.
What it Means
Net present value is a dollar amount (not a percentage rate) and will always result in one of the following amounts.
1. Greater than zero – this means that the discounted value of the future cash flows is greater than the initial investment and thus you’re getting a higher rate of return than you desired
2. Equal to zero – this means that the discounted value of the future cash flows is exactly equal to your initial investment and thus you’re getting the return you desired exactly
3. Less than zero – this means that the discounted value of the future cash flows is less than the initial investment and thus you’re getting a lower rate of return than you desired
As stated earlier, net present value is commonly used in real estate investing by investors and analysts to evaluate investment real estate opportunities. It should not be used as the only factor to decide whether a rental property provides a good buying opportunity, but NPV does offer the investor a quick and easy way to determine whether a property might yield the investor’s desired rate of return.
You can make your own computations for net present value on Excel, with some real estate investment software programs, or with the help of a real estate professional who understands real estate investing.
finance
Net present value is the present value of all future cash flows produced by a rental property less the amount of initial cash investment required to purchase the investment property.
Net present value (NPV) considers the time value of money and therefore is a popular real estate investing rate of return. Say, for instance, that you require a 10% rate of return on your investment. Net present value (with consideration for the timing) reveals whether the cash flow produced by that property would give you a 10% rate of return.
How it Works
Let’s say that you require a 10% rate of return. This percentage then becomes the rate at which future cash flows are “discounted”. Moreover, you plan to invest $100,000. This is also known as initial investment and represents the down payment plus closing costs. Next, you estimate what the annual cash flows will be over the next (let’s say five) years. Finally, estimate the proceeds you would receive from a sale of the investment property in the (let’s say fifth) year. Since the money you collect upon a sale is considered income, it’s added to the cash flow derived in that same year.
Here’s how it looks:
Discount Rate: 10.0%
Initial Investment: $100,000
Cash Flow # 1 [estimated first year cash flow]
Cash Flow # 2 [estimated second year cash flow]
Cash Flow # 3 [estimated third year cash flow]
Cash Flow # 4 [estimated fourth year cash flow]
Cash Flow # 5 [estimated fifth year cash flow] + [sale proceeds]
How to Calculate
Okay, now to arrive at a net present value we must do the following.
1. Discount all forecasted future cash flows at 10% to arrive at their present value (PV), remembering to add the forecasted sales proceeds to the cash flow in the final year. Let’s say the present value for all five cash flows plus sale proceeds is $100,000.
2. Deduct the initial investment of $100,000 from the $100,000 present value of future cash flows to determine the NPV. In this case, NPV would equal zero.
What it Means
Net present value is a dollar amount (not a percentage rate) and will always result in one of the following amounts.
1. Greater than zero – this means that the discounted value of the future cash flows is greater than the initial investment and thus you’re getting a higher rate of return than you desired
2. Equal to zero – this means that the discounted value of the future cash flows is exactly equal to your initial investment and thus you’re getting the return you desired exactly
3. Less than zero – this means that the discounted value of the future cash flows is less than the initial investment and thus you’re getting a lower rate of return than you desired
As stated earlier, net present value is commonly used in real estate investing by investors and analysts to evaluate investment real estate opportunities. It should not be used as the only factor to decide whether a rental property provides a good buying opportunity, but NPV does offer the investor a quick and easy way to determine whether a property might yield the investor’s desired rate of return.
You can make your own computations for net present value on Excel, with some real estate investment software programs, or with the help of a real estate professional who understands real estate investing.
finance