Does Your Business Still Fit You?
We talked a lot of business at a party I attended last weekend. And why not? Almost everyone there was either in business or in a business-related profession.
Interestingly, although the guests' businesses ranged from operating a hair salon through insurance underwriting, one theme kept cropping up in conversations, the need to get a better fit between business and lifestyle.
Several of the people I talked to described their businesses as too successful.
They weren't complaining about the money, mind you, but were finding that their businesses were taking over their lives to the extent that they didn't have time to do anything much except tend to their businesses. In some cases, family, friends and healthy habits were all falling by the wayside - there was just no time left over to deal with them.
Interestingly, too, they had come up with different ways to deal with the problem.
One woman I spoke with had sold her successful catering business and was in the process of starting a new business grinding coffee beans. The new business, she said, would allow her and her husband to have a much more flexible schedule and maybe even do some travelling.
Unlike most of the people I spoke with, she had gone into her catering business with her exit strategy already in mind. If your current business and your lifestyle are now a total misfit, selling your business and moving on may be the best thing to do.
The trick is to be certain that the second business fits your lifestyle requirements. What Kind of Business Should You Start? will lead you through a decision making process that will help you find the type of business that's the best match.
Most of the people I spoke with weren't ready to sell their current business though. the problem for many was that they really loved what they did. They just didn't want to do it all the time. If this is the position you're in, How to Downsize Your Business presents strategies you can use to get your life back.
Related Articles to Read:
- 11 Time Management Tips
- 5 Tips for Selling a Business
- A Checklist for Closing Your Business
- Top 7 Ways to Maximize Your Exit Strategy for Maximum Profit
Image (c) Thomas Northcut / Getty Images
6 Steps to Starting a Home-Based Business
Want to run a home based business of your own but having trouble deciding what to do and getting started? Then this article is for you.
It will show you how to build a home based business from the ground up - a home based business that will succeed rather than just being a drain of your time and money.
Stuck at the idea stage of starting a home based business? Maybe one of the business ideas in one of these articles will inspire you:
- Top 10 Home Based Business Opportunities
- Home Based Business Ideas Gallery
- 7 Inexpensive Business Ideas
And of course, whether you're starting a home based business or a small business with separate business premises, the procedure for starting a business in Canada is the same. Steps to Starting a Business will tell you what you need to know to get your new home based business off the ground.
Image (c) Pamela Adam
How to Write a Vision Statement
Business planning is extremely difficult without a vision statement.
What does a vision statement do for you?
Provide the destination and the inspiration you need to get to where you want to get to.
So if you don't have a vision statement, follow the three easy steps in How to Write a Vision Statement to create one today and get inspired!
Like to see some examples before you write your own? Here's a page of Sample Vision Statements.
And here's another page of vision statement samples that you can add your vision statement to when you're done.
Read More About Mission and Vision Statements
- Mission Statement vs. Vision Statement
- The Vision Statement of Tata Motors and Yours
- How to Write a Mission Statement
Image (c) Tim Robberts / Getty Images
About Small Business Canada: Weekly Roundup June 11 to June 17
Think you may have missed something? Here's your round-up of the past week at About Small Business Canada so you can catch up with all the new articles, blog posts, and new reader submissions!
Posts & New Articles
Taking Care of Business Means Working Overtime
12 Wacky Business Ideas for Successful Businesses
Customer Service Guide for Small Business
Are You Ready to Start a Small Business? Take the Quiz
Self-Employed? The Income Tax Deadline is June 15th
About Small Business Canada: Weekly Roundup June 4 to June 10
New Reader Submissions
Taking Care of Business Means Working Overtime
One in five business owners work 60 hours or more per week, with an average of 51 hours a week, according to a recent poll of 500 Canadian business owners by Pollara on behalf of BMO Financial Group.
Here are the details of the weekly hours small business owners in Canada are putting in across the country so you can see how your weekly hours compare:
| 41 - 60 Hours | 60+ Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| BC | 51% | 10% |
| Alberta | 45% | 20% |
| Prairies | 49% | 16% |
| Ontario | 48% | 22% |
| Quebec | 45% | 17% |
| Atlantic Canada | 62% | 9% |
| Overall | 51% | 18% |
There are two points to make about these numbers;
1) If you look at the overall percentage of weekly hours worked, they don't add up to 100%. Does that mean we can assume that the "missing" 31% of business owners worked less than 42 hours a week?
And 2) According to these figures the average number of hours Canadian small business owners are working is going up; Small business owners worked an average of 48.7 hours per week in 2011. ( See Statistics on Being a Canadian Business Owner).
Although seven out of ten small business owners across Canada surveyed in this BMO poll said that they would like to scale back their work hours to spend more time with family, I bet most of them would also agree that the hours they're putting in are worth it.
As Steve Murphy, Senior Vice President of Commercial Banking, BMO Bank of Montreal. "Owning and operating your own business can be time consuming. At the same time, being your own boss can give you greater flexibility in your life and also provide an opportunity to build something truly unique."
Read more about the poll: Profit or Passion (BMO Financial Group Press Release)
Learn About Starting a Small Business
- Thinking of Starting a Small Business?
- 6 Traits You Need to Be Self-Employed
- What Type of Business Should You Start?
- The Two Paths to Starting a Business
- Top 10 Tips for Starting a Business That Will Succeed
- How to Start a Home-Based Business
- 5 Resources You Need to Succeed
- 8 Things Every Startup Needs to Know
- The Steps to Starting a Business in Canada
- How to Put Off Your Excuses and Start Your Own Business
Image (c) Jetta Productions / Getty Images
12 Wacky Business Ideas for Successful Businesses
The last time you sat down you sat down for a turkey dinner did you consider how many people might like to get in on the wishbone pulling action and start thinking about what you could do about it?
Or when you heard about the latest head lice outbreak at your child's school, did you say to yourself, "Hey! There's a good idea for a business - lice removal!"
Well in both cases, someone did...
And turned them into successful businesses. So successful that in some cases, such as lice removal, the original businesses have turned into franchises.
Read about these and ten other business ideas that might seem"wacky" at first thought but have all become successful money making ventures.
Explore More Business Ideas
- The Best Business Opportunities 2013
- Top 10 Home Business Opportunities
- 7 Inexpensive Business Ideas
- Business Ideas Based on Baby Boomer Trends
- The Best Green Business Ideas
- 18 Pet Business Ideas
- Best Small Business Ideas for Businesses That Will Prosper in Tough Times
- The 10 Best Small Business Ideas for Students
- 12 Wacky But Successful Business Ideas
Image (c) Paul Katz / Getty Images
Customer Service Guide for Small Business
Take your small business's customer service to the next level with this Customer Service Guide.
It's designed to take a systematic approach to good customer service. The articles here are ideal for teaching employees what good customer service is and will give you tools to assess and improve the customer service your small business provides.
Share Your Expertise on Customer Service
The Good:
- Readers Respond: Tips for Better Customer Service: Add your tips for providing good customer service here.
The Bad:
- Share Your Story: My Worst Customer Service Experience: What was your worst customer service experience either as a customer or as a small business owner?
Image (c) RL Productions / Getty Images
How to Buy a Printer
Inkjet or laser?
Multi or single function?
Is photo quality printing and/or the ability to print from the cloud important to you?
How to Buy a Printer will lead you through the decisions you need to make to find the printer that's best for your business needs.
"Best of" Printer Articles
- Top Multifunction Laser Printers
- Top Color Laser Printers
- Top Monochrome Multifunction Laser Printers
- Top Multifunction Inkjet Printers
Image courtesy PriceGrabber
Are You Ready to Start a Small Business? Take the Quiz.
What's it like to run your own small business?
What resources do you have to have in place before you start a small business?
Are there any personality traits that would make a person more likely to be an entrepreneurial success?
Find out if you're ready to start a small business with the Starting a Small Business Quiz.
Learn More About Starting a Small Business
- Thinking of Starting a Small Business?
- 6 Traits You Need to Be Self-Employed
- What Type of Business Should You Start?
- The Two Paths to Starting a Business
- Top 10 Tips for Starting a Business That Will Succeed
- How to Start a Home-Based Business
- 5 Resources You Need to Succeed
- 8 Things Every Startup Needs to Know
- The Steps to Starting a Business in Canada
- How to Put Off Your Excuses and Start Your Own Business
Image (c) Yellow Dog Productions / Getty Images
Self-Employed? The Income Tax Deadline is June 15th
One of the odd things about income tax is that businesses have longer to file their income tax than they do to pay. If you have a balance owing on your income tax, payment is due April 30th. However, as a self-employed person, the deadline for filing your income tax is June 15th.
(Note that because June 15th falls on a Saturday this year, you actually have until the end of Monday, June 17th, the next working day, to get your income tax filed without penalty.)
Whether you pay and file or file and pay, the point is that there are only days left to get the paperwork together and get your income tax done and filed if you haven't already.
Remember - whether your business made any money or not, you have to file income tax every year. Late-filing tax penalties are just the start of your problems if you don't.
Getting Your Tax Records Ready for Your Accountant gives a handy checklist of the key records your accountant will need to get your income tax done.
If you're doing your income tax yourself, make the chore easier with one of these Top Canadian Software Programs.
Learn More About Canadian Income Tax
- Canadian Income Tax Due Dates
- How Long Does a Tax Refund Take?
- Canadian Income Tax and Your Small Business
- Business Expenses Index for Canadian Businesses
- Canadian Income Tax FAQs for Small Businesses
- How to Complete the T1 Canadian Income Tax Form as a Business
- How to Calculate Capital Cost Allowance
- Guide to Income Tax for Canadian Corporations
- Investment Tax Credits for Canadian Small Businesses
- Top Canadian Tax Software Programs
Image (c) Peter Dazeley / Getty Images