8 Things Entrepreneurs Do Differently

Entrepreneurship goes beyond Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. It is mostly an approach to life that favors creativity over conformity and action over inaction. Author and investor, James Altucher says that “Being an entrepreneur doesn’t mean starting the next Facebook.” Or even starting any business at all. It means finding the challenges you have in your life, and determining creative ways to overcome those challenges. It means finding the challenges you have in your life, and determining creative ways to overcome those challenges.”

So even if you’re not tinkering away at the next world-changing invention or looking to set up shop in Silicon Valley, there are aspect to the entrepreneurial mindset that will enrich your work and life. Here are 8 things entrepreneurial people do differently.

–          They’re brave enough to commit to their dreams.

• Entrepreneurs choose to forego the security and familiarity of a ‘regular job’ to live an uncertain and insecure lifestyle. It takes a lot of bravery to make that tradeoff, but for icons like Walt Disney, the potential reward is worth it.

–          They think of their customers more than themselves.

• Entrepreneurs are rarely out to seek fame for themselves. Instead, they’re more concerned with the people they want to help or the problem they want to solve. This infuses their task with a layer of meaning that can be the difference between success and failure when things get tough. A quote said by Guy Kawasaki: “In your darkest, most frustrated hours, remember the value you are trying to add to peoples’ lives, the satisfaction you’ll feel, or the cause that you’ll further.”

–          They never stop learning.

• Since they’re in the business of creating new products and inventing new ways of doing things, much of what entrepreneurs do can’t be taught in a classroom. They know that the most important lessons are learned through living, so throughout their lives, they remain open, flexible, and curious in order to absorb as much as possible.

–          They never give up.

• Rarely does an inventor or entrepreneur success on the first try. To create something lasting and worthwhile, it usually takes years of hard work, focus, and dedication. An idea is just a starting point. Persistence is a critical element of entrepreneurship.

–          They love failing.

• For most people, the fear of failure is entirely paralyzing, but for entrepreneurs, failure is something to embrace. It’s an indication of pushing the limits, and inevitable when one is constantly trying new things.

–          They find and fill a need of the world.

• Entrepreneurs want to do more than indulge their own interests – they want to solve a problem or create a product that satisfies a need. Some started businesses because of frustration with an inefficient or defective system. Others were moved by a personal encounter with poverty or misfortune.

–          They take old ideas and make them way, way better.

• While one might think that entrepreneurs are focused mainly on never-seen-before ideas, they often revamp an existing model or upgrade an outdated product. Sometimes, these reinvented ideas change the way we exercise, read, or eat.

–          Above all, they act.

• Entrepreneurs execute when for many others, an idea simply fades into the past. They are masters of turning abstract into the concrete. This seemingly simple action is one of the great challenges of life and in the end, it’s what defines an entrepreneur.

 

***ARTICLE WRITTEN BY JOE VAN BRUSSEL OF HUFFINGTONPOST.COM***

Small Business Success Story – Chad Mureta (App Empire)

Chad Mureta ran a real estate business when the impossible happened: A devastating car accident has caused to be delivered to the hospital, nearly taking out his arm. His business could not continue without him being physically present, but Mureta’s mounting medical bills meant he had to find an alternative source of income.

After reading a magazine article about mobile apps during his hospitalization, Mureta decided to try his hand at producing mobile applications. At the time, the industry was relatively new, but he felt the growth potential was worth the risk he would say.

“Lying in my hospital bed, I decided to take a Hail Mary shot and get into this industry.” Mureta said. “I needed a new business and decided to jump in with both feet.” Immediately, he started sketching out ideas for his own apps on pieces of paper. Soon after, he found a development company and outsourced all his work to create his first app.

Mureta took out a loan for $1800 to produce his first app. Fingerprint security – Pro. It soon became one of the 50 most popular apps in the App Store, earning him $140,000 in the process. From there, Mureta founded and sold three app companies – Empire Apps, Best Apps, and T3 Apps and now is currently running a blog called App Empire. He has produced 46 apps to date, and authored “App Empire: Make Money, have a Life and Let Technology Work for You”

Mureta advised other entrepreneurs to not be intimidated by their lack of experience in an industry if they see an opportunity. With a thirst for knowledge and the willingness to find and connect with the right people, anyone can begin to carve out an entrepreneurial path for him or herself, he said.

“I’m still not a tech guy,” Mureta said, “I couldn’t tell you how to program an app, but I can tell you how to make it a success. I researched the market and the consumers, and saw opportunities for people like myself. I kept researching and kept expanding my knowledge to grow my business and income.”

 

***ARTICLE BASED ON BUSINESSNEWDAILY.COM, WRITTEN BY NICOLE FALLON TAYLOR***

How to Know What Passions to Pursue in Business

We all have that question where we ask ourselves: “I have a passion for a lot of things. How do I know which one I should really choose?

Well, we all have heard many times in our lives, if you want to make a living, do something that you love to do. But our biggest concern is: how do we know if your passions can become a successful business? Fortunately, according to entrepreneur.com. there is a formula for determining if an idea is a viable opportunity.

It is a two-step process.

First: You look at the idea itself and see if it meets the criteria for success.

Second: You examine the industry to see if it is an attractive field for launching a new business.

If you launch a true opportunity in an attractive industry, your chances of turning a passion into a viable business go up dramatically.

THE FIRST STEP

Most of us have several things that we are passionate about. The trick is to pursue the one that has the strongest probability for success. Start by evaluating each of your passions against the criteria for a true business opportunity. Here are the critical components:

–          Need – You have to obtain first hand evidence that people really need your product or service.

 

–          Experience – You need to understand the industry from working in it or from regularly using the products.

 

–          Resources – Cobble together the resources to create an initial prototype of your product or service.

 

–          Customers – You have to find customers how are ready to buy your product as soon as you launch venture.

 

–          Model – You need a sound business model where pricing, costs and margins allow you to make a profit.

Let’s take one example: Marshall Miller is a great example of turning a passion into a true business opportunity. He had a corporate job for eight years that he didn’t like. On weekends to maintain his sanity, he would take to the skies parachuting, paragliding, and base jumping. He and his friends started talking about how they might make a living doing this. They approached GoPro about filming their feats and making the footage available to the company – this was the birth of the GoPro Bomb Squad. Marshall now has a number of companies that sponsor his jumps. He displays their logos on his helmets and parachutes, and provides incredible footage they use in commercials and custom videos. Marshall has been doing this full-time for nearly 10 years and is one of the top human flyers in the world.

THE SECOND STEP

The second step for turning a passion into a business is to launch in an attractive industry. Research suggests that about 30 percent of success in business is a result of the industry you enter. Some are more attractive than others. Here are some tips:

–          Size – You want an industry with at least 50 million in sales, but not more than a billion, that means there would be too much competition.

 

–          Growth – You want an annual growth rate of 10 percent or more which means the industry is not shrinking.

 

–          Margins – You want gross margins on products of 40 percent to 50 percent and profit margins of 10 to 20 percent which means it is possible to make money.

 

–          Competitors – You want a handful of competitors but not hundreds which indicates that the market is overly saturated.

 

–          Customers – You want multiple market niches for your product or service as opposed to a single group of buyers.

 

 In sum, list the things you are passionate about and see which ones can become true business opportunities. Then evaluate each industry to see which ones have the highest probability for success. When you launch a true business opportunity in an attractive industry, you can create the company of your dreams.

 

***ARTICLE BASED ON ENTREPRENUER.COM***

 

7 Businesses That You Can Start With Less Than $100

There are always many obstacles to starting your own business, but money is not always one of them.

Many people have dreamed of owning a business, however, the biggest problem that many people face is that the amount of capital it takes to start it up and to also keeping it running in order for the business to keep going for as long as it can. Over the years, people have done many odd jobs to work. It does not matter if you’re a handyman or an Orange County CPA, you can make extra money on the side.

You may think that is crazy, but you will be surprised after reviewing the 7 business ideas that can actually be launched with less than $100.

Start a Tutoring Business

1. There are a lot of students who need assistance in every subject – whether if it is in elementary school or college. If you have this knowledge, then starting your own tutoring business can become an appealing business idea that requires almost no capital. After all, the students already have the learning materials with them.

 

Start a Homemade Gourmet Foods

1. Whether if it is soup mixes, jellies, or chocolates, people love gourmet food products. And, since you already have a kitchen, you just need cooking supplies, packaging, and basic marketing materials to get started.

 

Affiliate Marketing

1. If you have a blog with a fair amount of followers, then you can become an affiliate. Basically, this just means that you plug other people’s products or services. As an affiliate, you get a special link. Whenever a visitor clicks on that link and makes a purchase, you’ll get a commission.

 

Tax Preparation

1. Preparing taxes is another necessity. But, most of us don’t have the time or knowledge to take of this task. If you’re up to date on the latest tax regulations and enjoy crunching numbers, it can be a nice business during tax season.

 

Start a Personal Trainer Business

1. Even though healthy is a priority for most of it, it can be a challenge to not only stay on track, but also make sure that exercising is done correctly so that you don’t injure yourself. You can become a personal trainer and motivate and monitor people when they exercise.

 

Start a business in Importing products

1. You can purchase products from overseas in bulk and start selling them at markup. This is a very effective way to start. Increase your spending as you increase your revenues.

 

Airnb Host

1. If you have an extra room or home, then rent it out on Airnb instead of just sitting there vacant. One example, was that one of the clients who use Airnb, was able to make $3,000 per month last year just renting out a room downstairs. 

 

***ARTICLE BASED ON JOHN RAMPTON’S ENTREPRENEUR.COM*** 

Tips on How Small Businesses Can Become a Firm of the Future

How can a business become a firm of the future?

 
Well let’s take a step back, what does it mean to become a firm of the future?

 
Let’s look at this example, a firm of the future has been “in business for decades, achieving success using a tried-and-true formula of providing high quality work and or providing great service and product.”

 
Every year as we all witness the everlasting change of businesses, markets, and demands, we; as business owners sometimes worry about our methodology and business practices in our company.We begin to question if our practices are obsolete now, or are they still working for our business? Then the next question arises, how would we grow the practice while maintaining the winning factors that made the firm what it is? And because of this, many business owners worry too much about these changes and will then take up too much time and money.

 

Thus, begs the question: How can do we become firms of the future? Well worry no more! As an Orange County CPA, it is our sole duty to provide fresh tips on how you can become a survivalist in the battlefield of business. We have tips here that will help you achieve that!

 
Do not ever assume that and changes in the market and business world do not apply to you. As George Forsythe states, “even successful and happy firms may not be working as effectively as possible.” Always have a strategic review and assess your plan to measure out the pros and cons to your strategy. If they are working, try to find something that will cause the plan to fail, always assume that there will be change in the future.

 
Figure out where you stand. Create a transitional step tool that a firm can take in its culture, talent, and clients. Use informal brainstorming to identify steps that can help you move your firm forward.

 
Set your own priorities. When you start reviewing your firm’s status, be sure to look out for employees who show a lot of promise in their work. Prepare them for the next generation of leaders, this will ensure the security of your company when you are training new leaders.

 
Do not reinvent the “wheel.” Do not try to create a completely new plan to face the changes your company is facing. Take some of your strategies and create a new way to make them better. Focus on the aspects of creating a simpler, more effective method of that strategy and execute it. Reinventing a new strategy not only makes your employees and partner learn a new method, which takes time, but also, the strategy may not work in this changing marketing and business world.

 

**ARTICLE BASED ON AICPA.ORG***

IRS Scam Update: U.S charges 61 over India-based Impersonation Scam

In one of our earlier posts, we posted up a blog about how we can identify a fraudulent scam from a fake IRS representative.

Just recently, The US Justice Department charged 61 people and entities on Thursday on October 27, 2016 with taking part in a scam involving India-based call centers where agents impersonated Internal Revenue Service (IRS) where immigration and other federal officials and demanded payments for nonexistent debts.

The scam, which had operated since 2013, targeted at least 15,000 people who lost more than $300 million. Twenty people were arrested in the United States on Thursday while 32 individuals and five call centers in India have been charged, the department said in statement.

The defendants, including 24 people across nine U.S states, were indicted by a grand jury in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

United States Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell said at a news conference that the United States will be seeking extradition of those based in India and warned others engaged in similar schemes.

“It’s really important for the scammers in India to know that the United States is looking at this, is watching them and they could, if they engage in that activity, be extradited to the United Sates and could sit in jail … for several years,” she said.

According to the indictment, the operators of the call centers in Ahmedabad, in the Indian state of Gujarat, “threatened potential victims with arrest, imprisonment, fines or deportation if they did not pay taxes or penalties to the government.”

Payments by victims were laundered by a U.S. network of co-conspirators using prepaid debit cards or wire transfers, often using stolen or fake identities, the statement said.

The call centers also ran scams in which victims were offered short-term loans or grants on condition of providing good-faith deposits or payment of a processing fee, it said.

The Investigation involved immigration and Customs Enforcement, Treasury, Homeland Security, U.S Secret Service and police officials, the Justice Department said.

***ARTICLE BASED ON REUTERS.COM***

 

Wait! Before You Gift Someone Something, Know That Gift Taxes Exist!

Did you know that gift taxes exist?

Let’s imagine that you own a brand new Nissan GTR, and you plan to pass that vehicle down to your family like your son. After going to the DMV to file a transfer and sending the vehicle registration, the IRS will know that you have made this transfer and will include a gift tax on your tax statement at the end of the year. Your son who received the car, will not be paying any taxes. Regardless of who the receiver is, the sender will pay additional tax for gifting them an item.

That’s really unfair of them to impose isn’t it?

Well, thanks to some of our great CPA firms in Orange County, they can educate you on these gift taxes. It is pretty certain that most people do not know what these gift taxes are, and we are pretty confident that this will be useful for most of you.

 

WHO PAYS THE GIFT TAX?

Normally, people who pay the tax gifts are generally responsible for the paying the gift tax. However, the receiver may agree to pay the tax instead. Visit any CPA in Orange County or tax professional if you are looking for this type of arrangement.

But what is considered a gift? Well anything is taxable really. It can go from homes, property, cars, toys, food, furniture, you name it!

There are many exceptions to this rule however –

EXCEPTIONS TO GIFT TAXING

Any gifts that are not more than the annual exclusion for the calendar year. What does that mean? Let’s take a rich person for example, the annual exclusion for 2011 was $13,000, that means that this rich person can gift $13,000 to 10 different people in one year without incurring a gift tax in their statement.

If you gift a tuition or medical expenses by paying for someone, then gift taxes would be excluded.

If you gift to your spouse, you will be exempt from gift taxes.

And finally, gifting to a political organization or charitable organization.

 

CAN YOU DEDUCT GIFTS ON THE TAX RETURN?

If you make a gift or leave your estate to your receivers of the gift, they will not ordinarily affect your federal income tax. You cannot deduct the value of the gifts you make (Other than gifts that are deductible charitable contributions). If you are not sure whether the gift tax or the estate tax applies in your situation, please see CPA Orange County for advice.

Annual Exclusions vary each year, since we are currently in the 2016 year, our annual exclusion is $14,000. However, if you and your spouse own an item or property together, you are both entitled to the annual exclusion of $14,000 each, thus a total of $28,000 can be excluded.

Who should I hire to represent me and prepare and file the return? Since the IRS cannot make recommendations about specific individuals, there are several factors to consider:

–          The complexity of the transfer

–          The size of the transfer (in terms of dollar amount)

–          CPA Orange County firms

People who make gifts as part of their overall estate and financial plan often engage the services of CPA professionals in Orange County. 

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