You Are What You Read

How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a
book.
Henry David Thoreau

You are what you read. Who is your CPA? Find out what they’re reading by visiting their Shelfari site. Shelfari is an internet resource that allows participants to share, discuss, rate, tag and organize books on their own virtual bookshelf.

See the link to the right to visit my Shelfari site.

DOING BUSINESS IN UNCERTAIN TIMES

News reports currently suggest a broad range of terminology to describe current economic conditions. We hear that there is a simple slow down with expectations of recovery before the end of the year to a full blown recession bordering in depression lasting as long a five years. No matter what your beliefs, one thing is for sure, we are experiencing an economy that includes an enhanced feeling of financial uncertainty that is having an impact on business and consumer activity.

This does not have to be bad news. Uncertain economic times create opportunities.

Traditionally recessions are times when the weak get sorted out and the complacent get pushed aside. They are therefore times of great opportunity for companies that see and seek the opportunity to break away and experience unprecedented growth. When times are good, virtually anybody can make a profit. But, in tough times true strengths and weaknesses are revealed.

Strong companies will continue to do what strong companies have always done. They will stick to their mission and vision. They create a strategic plan and related budget. They focus on their core values, customer service and they run their business for continual improvement and innovation.

If your business needs assistance with being a strong company during our current economic times, call a Principa CPA so that you can start a focused discussion.

Are You Working With A World Class CPA?

Recently Michael Gerber, author of The E-Myth, held a teleconference for CPAs titled “Learn the Secrets of Creating a World Class Accounting Firm”.

At one point in the teleconference Gerber describes what business owners want from their CPAs. He sums it up in one word – RELIEF. Gerber says that clients want their CPAs to provide relief from:

1. The unknowns of operating a business
2. The frustrations of day-to-day business activities
3. Mis-understandings relating to arcane financial reports
4. The billable hour

Are you a business owner looking for relief? Working with a CPA, like Brenda Richter, who is a member of the Principa Alliance will provide you with relief. Principa CPAs do the following:

1. Reduce your concerns about the unknowns in your business by helping you create a strategic plan complete with alternate courses of action for different scenarios
2. Minimize your frustrations with your business by assisting with the creation and documentation of your business systems and related KPIs
3. Present you with your financial information in an easy to understand format with full color graphs and plain English commentary
4. Provide you with a fixed price agreement with every project

So, the question is: “How do you spell relief?”

Listen to a snippet of Michael Gerber’s teleconference.

Are We Buying & Selling "Time"?

What’s Time Really Worth?

Jamey Johnson’s song The Dollar (lyrics video) can give us pause to ask some hard questions:

1) Why do professionals charge by the hour?
2) Why do their clients pay by the hour?
3) How much is our “time” really worth?