By Debbie Gregory.

All businesses pay taxes, there is not any way of getting around it.   However, depending on where you start and operate your business, you may be able to minimize the amount of taxes that you pay. We aren’t just talking about income or property taxes either. Certain taxes are higher than others and each state has its own tax rate for each item taxed.   Taxes such as property, sales, excise, unemployment insurance, franchise, and income taxes for both the business and your personal income vary depending on where you live and run your small business.

What are the best states in the nation to start a business and minimize your overall taxes?

• Alaska: Alaska has no sales tax and no personal income tax. It does have particularly high excise taxes as well as some of the highest property taxes nationwide.
• Florida: Florida has no personal income tax, but their sales tax is 6% and is higher and lower than other states. Florida excise tax is also quite high.
• Ohio: Ohio is one of the six states that does not have corporate taxes.  However, Ohio is the seventh highest personal taxes in the country.  The sales tax rate in Ohio is 5.75%
• Nevada: Nevada has no corporate income tax and no personal income tax. Property taxes are also fairly low. However, they the sales tax rate in Nevada is on the high side at 6.85%.
• New Hampshire: There is not an income tax and the sales tax is zero and cities and municipalities do not have a sales tax.  There is an 8.5% tax assessed on income from conducting business within the state of New Hampshire.
• South Dakota: South Dakota has no corporate income tax and no personal income tax. Their sales tax is quite low at 4.5%. However, the franchise tax rate in South Dakota is high.
• Tennessee: There is no state income tax but Tennessee has one of the highest sales taxes at 7% and cities and counties can add as much as another 2.75%.  Tennessee’s excise tax, which effectively is an income tax, is a flat 6.5% tax on net earnings from doing business in the state.
• Texas: Texas does not have a state income tax, but the sales tax rate is 6.25% and localities can also add their own sales tax rate, so it is as high as 8.25%.  Texas does not have corporate taxes.
• Washington: Washington is one of the states without state income tax.  However, the sales tax rate is 6.5% and depending on local municipalities, the total sales tax can be as high as 10.4%.  There is also a business and occupation tax (B&O).
• Wyoming: Wyoming has no corporate income tax and no personal income tax. Their sales tax is one of the lowest in the entire nation at 4%. However, their property taxes are quite high.

VAMBOA hopes this state tax information is valuable to you and your business.

By Debbie Gregory.

In today’s business world it is imperative that you have protection for your business in case someone files a lawsuit against it. One of the smartest ways to have some peace of mind in our litigious world, is to have enough insurance coverage for your business. It is important to make sure when looking at insurance for your business that you select the right type for it.

The two most commons types of insurance that are available for a business are general and professional liability insurance.

How do they differ.  What types of claims do they cover?

General Liability:

General Liability Insurance covers damages and lawsuits against your business for property damage, bodily injury, libel, and slander. This includes accidents on your business property, damages done to someone else’s property or advertising mistakes and copyright infringement.

Professional Liability:

Professional Liability Insurance overs claims against your business service or advice including if errors or omissions were made. Basically, these are errors or omissions or any mistakes made because of advice you gave or a service you provided.

Best Ways To Protect Your Business From Liability:

There are three ways to help you protect yourself and your business from lawsuits.   You should form and LLC or corporation that will  protect you personally, obtain liability insurance, and run your business with integrity and safety always front and center.

• Form an LLC – This would transform your business into a limited liability company which will shield your personal assets from any lawsuit against your business. You may also decide to incorporate and become a corporation.  This decision is one you should make with your attorney.
• Liability Insurance – It is always best to err on the side of caution and have enough insurance coverage on your business in case of a lawsuit including a frivolous lawsuit. This type of insurance should also help to cover your legal fees from the lawsuit as well as any settlements or payouts.
• Run your business with integrity and safety– The best way to avoid a lawsuit is to make sure that you do not do anything that would prompt someone to sue you. Make sure that you, and any employees you may have, run your business as safely as possible and with as much honesty and integrity as possible.

As the threat of a lawsuit continues to grow for every company, regardless of size and industry, it is critical to know what type of insurance you need and to have the correct coverage for your business. It is always best to consult an insurance professional if you have any questions or concerns about coverage for your business.

By Debbie Gregory.

Part 3 of 3

What You Need to Start and Run a Business : Online Resources and Tools

Often starting and running a business means that you are doing most of everything all by yourself. The good news is there are a multitude of resources out there that can help! Thanks to technology, there are tons of affordable and easy to use tools that can automate some of your most redundant tasks. Whether you need a hand starting your business or you are already up and going, below are some great resources to bookmark and take advantage of.

General Business Guides and Resources

• US Small Business Administration
• Entrepreneur – a well-respected publication on all things business
• The Self Employed – an excellent site for business owners for advice about funding, taxes, and marketing

General Business Programs:

• LivePlan –help develop a solid business plan

Funding and Money Management Resources

Loans: 

• Kabbage
• BlueVine
• Fundbox 
• The U.S. Small Business and Community Development Programs

Grants:

• National Association for the Self Employed
• Small Business Innovation Research Program

Peer-to-Peer:

• Prosper
• Funding Circle

Crowdfunding:

• Kickstarter
• Indiegogo

How to manage money

• Evergreen Small Business

Money Management Programs

• Expensify– can help track your expenses
• Due, QuickBooks, Gusto– and can make your accounting and payroll a bit easier
• TurboTax – helps you do your own business and personal taxes

Legal Assistance and Documents

• LegalZoom
• Rocket Lawyer
• Nolo
• Atrium

Marketing Resources

• Small Business Marketing Guide
• The Beginner’s Guide to Online Marketing for Small Business
• The Beginner’s Guide to Small Business Marketing Online

Marketing Programs

• Google Adwords – pay per click search engine ads
• Facebook Ads – pay per click social media ads
• Hootsuiteand Buffer – automate your social media posts
• HubSpot – all-in-one marketing platform with CRM, marketing, and sales
• MailChimp – generate leads and run an email marketing campaigns
• Intercom– chat and market to your customers

Networking

• YEC– help with networking
• Business Networking International (BIN) – get referrals by connecting with other businesses in your community
• SCORE– pairs businesses with volunteer mentors
• LinkedIn Small Business– to connect, promote, and network businesses
• Volunteer Match– locate volunteer opportunities in your community
• Check your local Chamber of Commerce or Rotary Club for more local networking resources and events.

Other Helpful Programs:

• Google’s G-Suite– free resources to organize and conduct business like Gmail, Google Drive, Google Calendar, and more
• Google Analytics– when paired with your company website it provides demographic and behavioral information about your audience
• Survey Monkey– great to use to hear from your customers
• FreshDesk – automated customer support platform
• LastPass– remembers and stores all of your passwords
• Trello– project management that lets you assign and monitor tasks
• UpWork– a good place to find freelancers
• Zoom, Lifesize, Slackand Skype – great to keep in touch with clients and virtual workers as well as conduct meetings

VAMBOA, the Veterans and Military Business Owners Association hopes that you hve enjoyed this three-part series.  We hope these online tools and resources are valuable and will help your business.   If you are a veteran, former military, spouse or loved one, consider joining VAMBOA.  There are not any membership fees or dues.  Here is a link to join:  https://vamboa.org/member-registration/.

Small Business & DVBE Summit is on 10/18/2019.

Learn From Experts How To:

• Succeed in the current economic environment
• Overcome common small business pitfalls and challenges
• Protect your business from cyber crooks
• Network with individuals and connect your business to resources

REGISTER TODAY!

Read the Full Agenda

By Debbie Gregory.

Part 2 of 3

It is never easy to start a business.  It involves very careful planning, evaluation, and a money to begin. The mindset of the entrepreneur beginning the business is one of the most important parts.

There is not any test or certification out there that states you are prepared to become a business owner or that you will start and run a successful business. Your mindset determines how motivated, driven, happy, and focused you are on making your business successful. Education is always valuable, but it will not fully prepare you to become an entrepreneur.

How do you improve your mindset to be successful?

-Your Responsibilities: You need to know and accept that starting a running your own business is a 24/7 job and that is going to have a major impact on your personal life. You will need to make sure that you are ok with missing events, holidays, weekends, evenings, etc. while you get your business up and running. Find out who you can lean on to take up the slack in your personal responsibilities.

-Your Personality: To run a successful business you need to be i flexible, patient, and prepared for the completely unexpected. If you tend to become overly stressed and/or irritable at the drop of a hat, you will be challenged with the turbulent nature of running a business.

-Your Motivation: Even though you are the “boss” of your new business, you still have customers, partners, lenders, and investors to answer to and they are your focus and priority.

-Your Willingness to Work With Others & Your Management Skills: Regardless of the type of business you begin, you will need to work with many other people including customers, employees, vendors, suppliers, partners, lawyers, accountants, engineers, and others. You can find strength and success in those people.  Take the time and energy to develop your people skills and your relationships.

-Your Network: As the saying goes “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” Carefully cultivating a wide network of other entrepreneurs and professionals can help your business dramatically. Take the time to form relationships with successful people in like-minded businesses as well as differing business services – such as lawyers, lenders, influencers.

-Your Competitors: Knowing who your competition is and how they do business can help you determine what makes you different and how you will stand out. Use this information to build your brand and better your offerings.

-Your Relationship with Money:  Your financial management skills can make or break your business. If you spend money too freely, you will have cash flow problems with your business that can ultimately lead to closing. Make sure that you have the capital in place and you do not overspend.

-Your Scalability: Successful business owners simply cannot do everything on their own.   If your business cannot survive without your presence, you may need to rethink your business structure.

Working on yourself is the best way to ensure you are ready to run a business and make it successful.

Stay tuned for Part 3 – Online resources and tools to help you start your business and run it.