Guest Bloggers

402webpage welcomes guest bloggers on a variety of subjects including business, tax, Internet, IT, cultural topics and more topics of interest to small businesses, organizations and the International business community.

If you are interested in becoming a guest blogger, please contact us at info@402webpage.com for details, questions and to submit a topic.

SCORE Templates to Help Your Business Succeed

In January, we talked about mission and vision statements and how they are important to the success of your business. These were important to help your business focus and stay on track.

SCORE has some great templates to keep other areas of your business on track that include the following:

  • Business Planning
  • Finance
  • Marketing & Sales
  • Management

You can find them at https://www.score.org/resources/business-planning-financial-statements-template-gallery

New Years Resolutions… for Businesses

In our November blog, we talked about early New Year’s Resolutions. If you didn’t make New Year’s resolutions, you can still create a few new ones to help your business. Today’s blog focuses on mission and vision statements. Whether you have them, wish to refine them or be inspired by reading someone else’s, I hope this topic will spark some introspective thinking.

Many studies have concluded that companies with a well-conceived, effective mission and vision statement perform better than those that do not.  A Bart, Bontis and Tagger (Christopher K. BartNick BontisSimon Taggar, (2001) “A model of the impact of mission statements on firm performance”, Management Decision, Vol. 39 Iss: 1, pp.19 – 35) study determined that the degree to which an organization aligns its internal structure, policies and procedures with its mission has positive effects on employee behavior and a direct correlation to financial performance.

Inc. Magazine (Developing Effective Mission and Vision Statements, Feb. 1, 2005)  says having a mission and vision provides direction for a new or small business, which in turn allows the firm to pursue activities that lead the organization forward and avoid devoting resources to activities that do not.

Mission and Vision Statements-Definitions

Before we get into what mission and vision statements do for your business, let’s discuss what they are. Many confuse the two, most commonly talking about vision when they’re really describing the mission.

In simple terms, a mission statement describes the present state and purpose of your organization, and answers:  Who you serve, What you do, and How you do it. It should be written succinctly, in one to three sentences, and focus on your current state.

A vision statement is just that, where you envision your company will be in the future, the desired optimal future state. It provides guidance as to what your company will focus on achieving. It should be a short, inspirational message that’s easy for your members to remember and repeat.

Mission and Vision Statements-Benefits

Mission and vision statements for small business have both internal and external purposes and benefits.  Typically, organizational leaders create mission and vision statements but should include managers, employees, investors and customers. Interviews, working groups, surveys or even focus groups are viable methods to ensure collaboration, ownership and buy-in. The process of small business strategic planning includes the development of goals and objectives, among many other things. This process lends naturally to the development of a meaningful mission and vision – they convey the following:

  • The business’ culture, values and strategy
  • The commitment the business has to its stakeholders: customers (community), employees and investors
  • Buy-in and support throughout the company

Internal benefits of mission and visions statements are:

  • Guide management’s thinking on critical issues during times of change
  • Guide employee’s decision making
  • Help define performance standards and a framework for ethical behavior
  • Inspire employees to be more productive through commitment to common goals

External benefits of mission and vision statements are:

  • Enlist and encourage external support
  • Provide a better link and communications with suppliers, investors and partners
  • Act as a public relations tool to “tell the company story” community, media and others

Meaningful mission and vision statements are important to:

  • Attract, engage and retain the best talent
  • Build buy-in to and increase organizational culture, pride and spirit
  • Leverage company resources dedicated through strategic planning to increase productivity
  • Attract, engage and retain a loyal, satisfied customer and referral base

Mission and Vision Statements-Examples

Here are a few examples of great mission/vision statements:

Cleveland Clinic (Nonprofit):

The mission of Cleveland Clinic is to provide better care of the sick, investigation into their problems, and further education of those who serve.

The vision of Cleveland Clinic: Striving to be the world’s leader in patient experience, clinical outcomes, research and education.

Ford Motor Company (Corporation):

Mission:  People working together as a lean, global enterprise for automotive leadership, as measured by customer, employee, dealer, investor, supplier, union/council, and community satisfaction.

Vision:  To become the world’s leading Consumer Company for automotive products and services.

Allensburg’s Food and Gas (Independent):

The mission of Allensburg’s Food and Gas is to offer commuters on Highway 310 competitive gas prices and great food. The company will make a healthy profit for its owners and provide a rewarding work environment for its employees.

Vision:  To become the preferred stop of choice for motorists on Highway 310 with a known reputation for value, quality and friendly service.

Creating and maintaining impactful mission and vision statements, those in which the key role players in your business contributed to, provides a constitution, a framework, upon which to base everything your company does on a daily basis. Most importantly is communicates the “Big Why” – in other words, answers the question, “What are we doing all this for?”

It’s never too early or too late for an organization to define and write down its mission and vision. Whether you’re a start-up just out of concept phase or you’re an established business, dedicating a modicum of time and resources to clearly an inspirationally communicate your mission and vision will reap rewards.

Mission and Vision Statements-Resources

Different resources are available for developing mission and vision including on-line tools for guidance and creating work groups, pro bono organizations such as SCORE and professional facilitators to help guide you through comprehensive strategic planning.

Regardless of how you do it, it can only benefit your organization by communicating your culture, goals and values, and tie everything you do into why you’re in business in the first place. Consider this:

“Goals in writing are dreams with deadlines.” Brian Tracy — Dream Big, but be sure to have a plan, or else you’ll just keep dreaming. (Brian Tracy International)

Now it’s time for your feedback. Does your business have clearly defined, meaningful mission and vision statements? If not, why? What’s your plan to take this essential step? Would you like to see more topics about how to create smart, driven and effective mission and vision statements?

Happy New Year! Say It in Several Languages!

At Little Mountain Web Design, we enjoy meeting and greeting people from all over the world and connecting online.

Here is how to say “Happy New Year” in  several different languages:

Melkam Addis Amet Yihuneliwo!     (Amharic)
Kul ‘am Wa Antum Bikhair     (Arabic)
Sun Nin Faai Lock     (Cantonese)
Felican Novan Jaron     (Esperanto -Conlang)
Bonne Annee     (French)
Kali Chronia     (Greek)
Shannah Tovah     (Hebrew)
Felice Anno Nuovo     (Italian)
Xin Nian Kuai Le     (Mandarin)
La Multsi Ani      (Romanian for Many Years)
Prospero Año Nuevo      (Spanish for Prosperous New Year)
Ruhus Hadush Amet     (Tigrigna)
Chuch Mung Nam Moi      (Vietnamese)

Please feel free to post a comment and to  add more languages.

All rights reserved. This article and all articles are copyright Little Mountain Web Design.

Guest Blogger:Kam Wiese, CPA: 2014 Tax Extender Bill

2014 Tax Extender Bill

Finally we have 2014’s tax rules, two weeks before the end of the year! Plenty of
time to go out and purchase some appliances or carpet, right? Note – these breaks
have only been extended through 2014, an effort to extend them through 2015 fizzled
out once the President said he’d veto a long term tax package.

Breaks that expired 12/31/13 that have been revived include:

* Itemized deduction for sales tax
* Above-the-line deduction for up to $250 of educators’ classroom supplies
* Exclusion for up to $2 million of forgiven debt on primary homes
* Qualified charitable distribution from IRA for those over age 70 ½
* 50% BONUS DEPRECIATION!!! (This allows landlords to expense up to 50% of carpeting and appliances, also ups the tax break for buying a heavy SUV.)
* Section 179 expense limitation was restored to $500,000

A new provision included in the bill is a tax-deferred ABLE savings account for
the disabled. Starting in 2015, nondeductible contributions of up to $14,000 can
be made to ABLEs for those individuals who are blind or disabled before the age
of 26. Money withdrawn from the account used for housing, transportation, education,
job training etc. are tax-free.

Please feel free to contact Kam Wiese, CPA at Kluge and Wiese LLP at (402) 332-3387 if you have additional questions.

Advice contained in this communication, including any attachments, was not intended
or written to be used, and it cannot be used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties
that may be imposed on the taxpayer by Internal Revenue Code.
Additionally the unauthorized disclosure, copying, distribution, or other use of
the contents of this message or any attachment(s) hereto, in whole or in part,
is prohibited without the expressed authorization of the originating party.

Kluge and Wiese LLP
(402) 332-3387
620 N. Highway 6
Gretna, Nebraska 68028
All rights reserved.

New Year’s Resolutions in… November!

While most people in the US make their New Year’s resolutions on New Year’s, we’ve been experimenting with a different way.

We make our resolutions on or before Thanksgiving with the goal to finish old, outstanding, in-house projects before New Year’s. Like many companies, we have projects that we want to do for our company that often get pushed aside because the clients always come first.

This year, we got our new website up and running at http://www.littlemountainwebdesign.com.

We also do “Follow Wednesday” or “Follow Thursday” instead of “Follow Friday” with the thoughts of helping people find us when they do their social media ritual on Fridays.

What will your company’s resolutions be for 2015?

What does your company do to stay a step ahead?

Send us your thoughts and ideas to info@402webpage.com and have a Happy Thanksgiving in the US!

National Disability Employment Awareness Month

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. This year the theme is “Expect. Employ. Empower.” The goal is to bring awareness to issues that keep people with disabilities from working. This includes barrier removal. Many people with disabilities want to work but there are different physical and attitudinal barriers in their way.

Learn more at http://www.dol.gov/odep/topics/ndeam/index-2014.htm

Do… Mix Business and Pleasure

The old saying, “Don’t mix business with pleasure” has certainly changed in 2014. When starting or joining a business, many are choosing a business that is their pleasure. The buzz word, passion, is constantly being used whether it is on cooking shows on TV or the business news. Many people are trying to turn their passion into a business and looking for ways to do what they love.

This is at the heart of the entrepreneur as well. Besides having a good idea, funding and other resources, the desire to work hard doing what you love is central to being a successful enterpreneur.

SCORE, Free Small Business Resource

Another fine organization is SCORE, a 501 (c) 3 organization. The acronym stands for Service Corps of Retired Executives and the organization was initially started with retired persons who shared their experiences and advice. Today, you do not have to be retired to volunteer for SCORE.

SCORE provides many free services to small business owners including business plan reviews, mentoring and workshops on different topics.

Visit their website at https://www.score.org for more information.