Taking Care of Business

I'm sitting here at my desk on a Sunday afternoon, taking a few moments away from my tasks for the day to jot a few words down. Why am I sitting here on a gorgeous California Sunday afternoon? Why am I not at the park with my kids, or at home doing any one of a hundred more exciting tasks? Because I have to take care of business. Yes, like anybody else, I have bills to mail, mail to open, records to organize.

Small business owners find it easy to get excited about the sales and marketing part of business. When you make a sale, you see money come in. That's exciting!

Dealing with the paperwork is not exciting. That's why most new small business owners tend to let it go.....and that is a terrible mistake.

Not only can you get caught watching money go out (late fees, penalties and interest to the IRS, etc.) if you don't take care of business, but if you don't stay on top of your financial records, it's very difficult to make appropriate decisions for operating your business.

I struggle with this side of business a lot. I have learned some important lessons the hard way.

This might be a good time to read some articles I have written on staying out of trouble with the IRS. The first one is called 10 Ways Small Business Owners get in Trouble with the IRS. The second is a page from the Your Small Business Guide website that focuses on what you need to know as you start a business.

Do yourself a favor. take a few minutes every day to stay on top of the business side of your business. You'll be glad you did.