Finding alternative revenue streams is a necessity for business owners trying to weather the recession.
Kyle, Sarasota, Fla.
We’ve run a dinner theater for three decades, and make most of our money during the tourist season between Thanksgiving and Easter. The rest of the year our audience is local residents. We’ve been operating at a loss for the last couple of years, and are unable to get a bank loan. We own the land and the theater building, and have put them up for sale with no success. We even closed the theater for two months this summer to save money. We don’t know what to do.
Even in a recession, savvy retailers can boost their business.
The Flower Lady, Suwanee, Ga.
How does a florist sell more in this economy? We changed our business to designing weddings and events only, as the everyday flowers are not selling. We had to throw out too much product at the end of the week — flowers are perishable!
Sales don't just wander in your front door. Here's how to cultivate up a steady stream of shoppers.
Sanjay, Huntington, N.Y.
We have a retail shop of clothing and jewelry. I sit all day waiting for the customers. How can I utilize that time on my computer, and do something that will generate extra cash for my business?
Finding new clients requires new skills. Here's how to expand beyond your comfort zones.
From OLG
We have a small business with a number of federal government contracts. We would like to expand to the commercial arena, but have not been able to find a service or method that would provide market differentiation (other than offering lower costs than our bigger and better-known competitors). Would acquiring a firm offering a compatible "niche" be the best move for expansion? In terms of growing federal and perhaps state government sales, would hiring a "consultant" be wise? I am interested in hearing from business owners who have tried both methods. Thanks!
Bank vaults have been slammed shut this year to small businesses, but entrepreneurs are pulling cash from other places to get their ventures off the ground.
Victoria Pavlov
In the past year, I made two attempts to take out a loan for my startup graphic design business. All banks demand proof that our business is successful and earned money for the past two years. I tried to make them understand that our business cannot bring in any money — we need equipment that can only be bought with a loan. If I get it, my company will create new job opportunities that will be beneficial for our economy. However, with that said, all banks remain ignorant. What is the best way to take out a loan for my business?
Small companies have a hard enough time finding affordable health coverage for their workers. When your staff is scattered throughout the U.S., it's even tougher.
Barbara, Westfield, Mass.
We are a small company of just over 30 employees based in Massachusetts. Our employees are across the USA, working out of their homes or at clients' sites. We are having a hard time finding good health insurance. Any suggestions?
If you own your own company, you can skip a salary in favor of distributions, but the IRS still wants its share of the money you take home.
Erin, Kailua-Kona
Do shareholders have to take a salary in an S corp? Can they just take distributions? How about an LLC?
A dry cleaner considers turning customers' absentmindedness into a tidy tax break.
Taylor, Jackson, Miss.
I own a dry cleaning business and was wondering what to do with all the forgotten or left-behind clothes. They date back a few months or as far back as a year. I read that by donating them I could get a tax write-off.
Handling the client that wants the goods but doesn't want to cough up a check.
Susan Lewis, Lancaster, Calif.
Can we legally hold a client's paperwork if they haven't paid their bill? We do their bookkeeping and they haven't paid in months. We haven't done any additional work for about two months, and now they are asking for their paperwork back. If we send it to them, we will never get paid.
Business owners can write off many of their health care costs, but complying with IRS rules requires some planning.
Jonathan Cottor, Scottsdale, Ariz.
I have an LLC, and I’m seeking some advice about my family’s medical expenses. One accountant told me they can be run through the LLC as a business expense, and I’ve been paying the insurance premiums and any eligible co-pays and FSA-qualifying-type out-of-pocket costs through the business as an expense. I haven’t set up a separate HSA account, since the medical expenses run through the business and reduce my taxable income anyway when it pulls over to my personal return.
Another accountant has questioned this logic, and advised me that medical expenses need to reside solely on my personal return and are not business expenses. Who’s right? Read more…
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