Archive for June, 2010

3 Money Tips for Entrepreneurs and Self-Employed Workers

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

So you’re working on the next great Web 2.0 startup, or you’re finally shedding your corporate past to work for yourself. You spend all your free time thinking about your business, how to get more clients, and even dabbling in SEO. Well, let’s take a few minutes to make sure your financial house is in order. Here are 3 simple money tips for entrepreneurs, self-employed workers, or anyone going through a career transition.

1. Don’t invest your rent money

If your income is not stable yet and you expect to dip into savings to
pay rent or other living/business expenses, that money should not be
invested in the stock or bond market. Any savings you expect to use
within a year or two should be in very safe, “cash” investments. We’re
talking about the boring stuff here: savings accounts, CDs, and money market funds. You’ll need the money soon, don’t gamble it away.

2. Consider a Roth IRA conversion

If you expect your income to be unusually low this year because your
business is not yet making Zynga money, or you’re just getting started as a consultant, you may be an excellent candidate for converting your old IRAs and 401k’s into a Roth IRA. By converting, you would be prepaying your taxes this year, when you’re in a low bracket, instead of paying them later, when you return to a high bracket. Obviously, many factors go into this decision, so consult a tax expert.

3. Contribute to a small business retirement plan

Once you start making a decent income, saving on taxes becomes a high priority. As a business owner or contractor, an easy solution is to
set up a small business retirement account, like a SEP IRA or
Self-Employed 401k. Your contribution limit depends on your business income, so you may even be able to contribute more than you did with your old corporate 401k. Take a look at Fidelity’s comparison chart to find the right option for you. And if you’re still working a job while starting your business, you may be able to contribute to the small business plan on top of your plan at work.

Edwin Choi is an investment advisor and owner Mariposa Capital Management. Prior to starting Mariposa, he spent several years as a portfolio manager and trader with Merrill Lynch in New York. Subscribe to Mariposa’s quarterly newsletter at http://www.mariposacap.com/join-our-mailing-list/

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Is Twitter a Presenter’s Nightmare or a Dream Come True?

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

Sharing your ideas with an audience can be challenging enough. Doing it in the age of Twitter—when everything you say can instantly be broadcast to a potential audience of far greater numbers—can be downright daunting.

But just like PowerPoint, Twitter is a tool that can be used for good or for bad. To use it for good, start by thinking of it as a means of engaging your audience before, during and after your presentation:
Use Twitter beforehand to research your audience and solicit case studies and challenges they face.
Use it during the presentation when you take Twitter breaks, to answer questions and get a feel for the temperature of the audience.
Use Twitter after your talk to follow up on open items and keep the conversation going. Because you can make a record of all of the tweets your audience has made during your talk, this “Twitterstream” is a goldmine of audience feedback, showing you which of your ideas and techniques were a hit, and which ones were a miss that you can then revise for the next time.

You can best manage the change to the audience-speaker dynamic that Twitter has introduced when you embrace Twitter, and guide it to become the dream come true that it has the potential to be.

Cliff Atkinson (@cliffatkinson on Twitter) wrote the bestselling book Beyond Bullet Points (Microsoft Press, 2007). For more on how you can effectively engage audiences who use Twitter, see his latest book The Backchannel: How Audiences are Using Twitter and Social Media and Changing Presentations Forever (New Riders, 2009), and the companion website at www.backchannelbook.com

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Adding meaning to spring cleaning by Samantha Bennett, The Organized Artist Company

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

Chores are just chores unless they are tied to a higher purpose, so before you start cleaning, organizing or putting things away, I want you to create a short list of how you want your space to feel. Close your eyes – how does the more-perfect version of your space look? Spacious? Clear? Warm? Cozy? Sun-soaked? Elegant?

Now, what do you imagine might happen if the space felt that way all the time? Might you be more productive? Have a more cheerful staff? Be more spontaneous? Spend less time looking for stuff?

Picking out one or two words from each list, let’s put it all together and make a sign that says:

I Want My Space To Feel________ So That I Can _________.

Now we’re not just getting organized (groan); we’re creating a space that feels “Open and Friendly” so that we can “Invite Friends Over Spontaneously” (yay!). Tying the work of organizing to your dreams and values will motivate you to action and help prevent backsliding.

Now, Get Rid Of Some Stuff
Don’t panic – I didn’t say, “Get rid of everything.” I said, “Get rid of some stuff.” Take a deep breath. Take frequent breaks. Don’t forget to eat something. If at any time in the process you feel wobbly, get a drink of water, remind yourself of your dreams and values (i.e., “having an open and friendly space so you can invite friends over spontaneously”) and keep going. Even doing a little is better than doing nothing.

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