Making It Legal:

Here’s an example of not-so-smart tax planning:  doing nothing.

It doesn’t take a lot to sit down with an accountant to explore the deductions and credits you’re entitled to as a small-business owner.  For a great overview of the top issues, visit Wells Fargo’s newly released webcast on Smart Tax Planning for Your Business, part of the bank’s series of webcasts for small-business owners.  Moderated by Rich Sloan of StartUp Nation, the panel features Carol Sanchez, CPA, Bruce Willey, JD/CPA, and moi.

Are we taking whatever walks through the door because we’re afraid there won’t be another piece of business .  .  . ever? There’s an old adage, “You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.” You could have the best possible systems in place for handling your clients and delivering your services. But if the raw materials you’re working with–the client–is substandard, you’re bound to run into serious hiccups along the way to getting paid.

Problem clients tend to have identifiable characteristics, as I mention in my article, “Profiles of the Top 5 Problem Clients.” From your first meeting with them, you sense that they are:

• Petulantly dissatisfied .  .  . with everything
• Looking for a deal .  .  . before you even mention your pricing
• Starting and stopping projects with a variety of service providers just like you
• In a crisis, with deadlines of .  .  . last week
• Hedging about your terms, and that collecting will be like grasping smoke

WANT TO KNOW MORE? You can, by checking out my downloadable program, “How to Train Your Clients to Pay You.”  You’ll get lots of valuable insights worth hundreds of dollars for a fraction of the cost!

Turn off the TV.  Leave the e-mail alone for an hour.  The kids will fend for themselves.  It’s time for your Hour of Power–and learning how to create a business partnership that works. Just one hour–8 to 9 p.m. ET–can take you from tailspin to steady . . .  so make sure to sign up for The Entreprenur’s Prenup teleclass now!

If you have any inclination to work with a business partner, I hope you’ll be joining me for my FREE Entrepreneur’s Prenup teleseminar.  It’s easy to identify the high points, but the low points tend to get glossed over.  Learn what they are so that you can avoid them!  Sign up today!

It’s not as simple as it seems.  Business partnerships involve more than just finding a compatible playmate.  Learn how to avoid the pitfalls with my FREE teleseminar on Tuesday, Oct 6 at 8pm ET!  For information and registration, visit The Entrepreneur’s Prenup teleclass website!

Drum roll, please . . .  I’m at T minus 16 for the launch of my latest product, The Entrepreneur’s Prenup: How to Choose a Business Partner Who Won’t [bleep] You.  It’s a home-study course that will take you through the top issues to consider when choosing a business partner and how you can screen for the duds.

But for those of you who just can’t wait for the info, register for my free preview teleclass on Oct. 6: Choose the Right Partner and Change Your Business from Tailspin to Steady! For more information about choosing business partners wisely, visit GreatBusinessLawResources.com.

Beginning tomorrow, award-winning global brand analyst Mary van de Wiel (aka Van) and nine other creative visionaries (including moi) will share their insider strategies with entrepreneurs, small-business owners, and startup CEOs through a FREE online Brand Reinvention Summit.  This innovative summit is designed to help struggling businesses rethink, revitalize and repackage their brands to get a leg up in today’s economy.

Over the course of 48 hours, from 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 1 to 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, Van presents an online interview series focusing on how to take your brand from ordinary to extraordinary (”from blah to zing!”).  The summit will provide inspiration, insights, tips and action steps to help shake things up, change how you think about your business and transform your bottom line.

In addition to Van, the participants are Simon Sinek, Anita Campbell, Kaira Rouda, Liz Taylor, Nick Morgan, Ph.D, Nina L. Kaufman, Esq., Melani Ward, Dianne Legro, and Kim DeYoung.

To listen to the series from the comfort of your home or office, go to the link at www.blahtozingsummit.com and sign up.  You can sign up any time before and during the Summit, but you must sign up to get access.  The free 60-minute interviews will be streaming throughout the day from 10:00 a.m. Thursday, October 1 to 10:00 a.m. Saturday, October 3.  Afterwards, a digital package will be available for sale.

For participant bios, summit topics, and more information, go to www.blahtozingsummit.com or www.zingyourbrand.com.

For a slideshow preview, go to:
http://www.slideshare.net/maryvandewiel/whatsyourzing.

For more information, contact:
Mary van de Wiel, Zing Your Brand
van@zingyourbrand.com
718-909-1140
www.zingyourbrand.com

If you’re an entrepreneur, startup CEO and small-business owner, you know how important your brand is to your success. That’s why I’m thrilled to be speaking at the upcoming Brand Reinvention Summit on October 1 and 2. It’s an interview series that you’ll be able to listen to online and learn about the greatness that comes from taking on the role of the Brand Agent/Provocateur in your business.

I’m going to be speaking about some of the legal risks involved in choosing and using a brand (both online and offline), and how you can avoid them. There are nine other fabulous speakers who will teach you how to revitalize, redirect and repackage your brand.

Here’s the surprising part: This telesummit is f*r*e*e, so make sure you visit blahtozingsummit.com to sign up now.

Want to choose the right business partner and change your business from tailspin to steady?  I will be sharing one of the imperative and significant areas YOU MUST KNOW to be sure you’re on the right path with your business partner (whether current or intended). This call will be jam-packed with info you can use right away. Plus, right on the call I will be offering a special bonus, just for you!   Register at: http://bit.ly/prenup_teleclass

In this economy, cash may be too tight to indulge in those grand expansion plans.  But have you considered looking in your own backyard?  That is, by leveraging the business relationships you already have?

Join me at NAWBO-NYC’s Entrepreneur’s Roundtable from 6 to 9 p.m.  Through an interactive workshop, we’ll explore how to:

• Think strategically about your business relationships
• Find the right alliance partners, and
• Navigate your way through the process.

For more information and registration, visit the NAWBO-NYC website!

Well, is it?  Have you created a company or a product line that someone might want to buy, or have you worked yourself into a job where, if you take time off, you don’t earn money?

If you’re in the New York City area, join me at the Brain Exchange Roundtable from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday evening, Sept. 22.  Moderated by my colleague, Marian Banker of Prime Strategies, I’ll be sharing:

• Three essential facets to running a successful company
• Why to focus on your exit strategy–even at the beginning
• How creating systems for your company can become a business asset
• Tips for avoiding the six most common business disasters using the “Boy Scout” approach
• Top four ways to keep your eyes “above the dashboard” of your business and move it forward strategically
• How I’ve shifted my business model to build the life I want

Yippy kai yay–we’ve made another list!  Check out 100 Best Blogs to Hone Your Entrepreneurial Instinct.  We’re  No. 2 in the “Starting Up” category (which places us, conveniently, at No. 2 on the list overall).  OK, so the title isn’t e-x-a-c-t-l-y right (”Make” It Legal?), but it links back to us and we’re proud.  Also pleased to see some of our WomenEntrepreneur.com colleagues mentioned (check out the section on “Women Entrepreneurs”):

• Bonnie Price
• Joanna Alberti
• Aliza Sherman
• Vanessa Summers (check out the “Money” section)

Congratulations to you!  Off to do another happy dance.