Think 1st, Jump 2nd

The journey of starting and growing a business is full of many challenges, rewards, and failures.

You already know it demands a great deal of your time and resources. It is also quite safe to say how you handle these demands will impact everyone in your life.

There are days when it will be too easy to feel overwhelmed. The best way to combat those moments is to organize yourself. Organize yourself personally first, then organize your business.

Taking care of what lies between your ears is the foundation for the organization of your business. If you are not organized then your business will suffer sooner than later. Our mental state is very important to our success.

Understanding our priorities and organizing our personal life will enable a better focus on our business; it will be easier to find and accept success.

Good thoughts beget good actions. Getting our thoughts in order directly facilitates getting our actions in order.

Our best thoughts are wasted without the will to put them into action.

These tips may help you get started with your personal journey:

  • Understand the vision for your business.
    • You need to be able to convey that vision in an easy to understand delivery.
  • Organize your business such that it reflects your vision.
    • This will make the challenging days much easier.

Here are some Silver Fox tips for organizing your business:

  • What is the key function of your business
  • What are the essential processes of your business
  • What are the key target results that will measure success
  • Put these processes in writing and revisit them regularly
  • Ultimately your success lies with your employees; encourage and accept employee engagement.
    • Remember good ideas come from all sources, not just you

We have your best interest at hand and work for a lasting relationship with all our clients.

Advice on Incorporating

Many clients ask us about the most effective way to set up their business. Their primary question is whether they should incorporate. While the details can be very complex, we have tried to simplify it as much as possible.

Advantages and disadvantages of incorporating:

General

The biggest advantage of incorporating lies in the limited liability for the shareholders.

Under the law, a corporation is a legal person that is distinct from the shareholders who own it. This means that individual shareholders are not personally liable for the debts and obligations of the corporation. If a corporation fails, the shareholders will lose the amount of equity invested in their shares.

One disadvantage of a corporation is that income is taxed at two levels: first on income for the corporate entity, then at the shareholder level where shareholders are taxed on any dividends they receive.

Specific

  1. The small business tax credit may lower your tax rate for the first $500,000. The breakeven on a professional or self-employment income is around $50,000 net income.
  2. Business tax returns are more complex, so they cost more to prepare. This is factored into the comment above.
  3. If you have major assets built into the business, such as medical equipment, you will require a section 85 roll-over again costing additional overhead.
  4. While dividends are taxed twice, the tax on dividends is still less than the tax on salary dollars.
  5. Finally, monitoring and reporting on corporations are more stringent than for an individual business set up as a proprietorship or partnership.

We have your best interest at hand and work for a lasting relationship with all our clients.