As most men realize, when you get two or more women together their natural instinct is to conspire. Now, as a woman I feel perfectly comfortable and indeed proud to admit to that. Without productive conspiring (or “brainstorming” as is probably the more politically-appropriate term would say) for the mutual good, we women would not be making use of one of our best skills!

Today’s business women are gathering in record numbers, times, locations, and with record enthusiasm to help one another grow their businesses. Yes, that’s another thing about business women that sets us apart somewhat from business men — that lower level of competitiveness and higher level of appreciation for the joys of helping lift one another up. Now, that’s not always the case, and I know there are some very competitive women at the helm of enormous corporations doing fantastic things in the world, and I admire many of them greatly. But, at the grass roots of business, as we women emerge one at a time into the realm of business ownership, we look to one another for shared wisdom and guidance, mentoring and encouragement, and we are finding it in what many seasoned business people might think the oddest places!

Now, here in the Northwest there is a Starbucks on pretty much every corner, and at times you’ll even find two sharing the same parking lot. You just can’t seem to throw a rock without hitting a coffee house of some sort, and gathered around at least one table at any given time of the day you will find women on laptops and women gathering in small groups talking business, strategizing and encouraging, sharing their experiences and wisdom, ideas and solutions. If you wander into any eatery you will find the same thing happening. The coffee house and quiet restaurant back corner have become our boardrooms where fantastic business ideas are launched and supported, where new connections are made and business relationships are built.

If you go online to places like Biznik you’ll find us there as well, putting together events designed to uplift and spark the creative juices from which great business opportunities are born.

So, if you have an idea for a new business, but you aren’t sure exactly how it might be received, or maybe you would love to have some fresh perspective on it and some really wonderful brainstorming, don’t hesitate to stop and chat a moment with that group of women over at the coffee house who are talking enthusiastically about something. They would LOVE to stop and hear your idea and give you some pretty amazing feed-back and encouragement and offers of support. Seriously — whether you are a man or a woman trying to launch or grow a new business, you won’t find a better think tank than a group of energetic, focused, and dedicated business women who are out meeting in the community just for that purpose — to help others grow their businesses!

Categories: Tax News and Tips
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We’ve talked about this before, but a reminder is always good. In their latest Tax Tips newsletter, the IRS says:

You probably already keep records in your daily routine. This includes keeping receipts for purchases and recording information in your checkbook. Keeping these and other records will help you avoid headaches at tax time. Good recordkeeping will help you remember the various transactions you made during the year, which in turn may make filing your return a less taxing experience.

Records help you document the deductions you’ve claimed on your return. You’ll need this documentation should the IRS select your return for examination. Normally, tax records should be kept for three years, but some documents — such as records relating to a home purchase or sale, stock transactions, IRA and business or rental property — should be kept longer.

In most cases, the IRS does not require you to keep records in any special manner. Generally speaking, however, you should keep any and all documents that may have an impact on your federal tax return:

• Bills
• Credit card and other receipts
• Invoices
• Mileage logs
• Canceled, imaged or substitute checks or any other proof of payment
• Any other records to support deductions or credits you claim on your return

Good recordkeeping throughout the year saves you time and effort at tax time when organizing and completing your return. If you hire a paid professional to complete your return, the records you have kept will assist the preparer in quickly and accurately completing your return.

Categories: Tax News and Tips
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We’ve made some major behind-the-scenes changes to our web site.

Our old blogging engine didn’t work to filter out spambot messages and it quickly became overwhelmed. By overwhelmed, we’re talking more than 1,000 such messages every night – 50 megabytes worth in a month!

The site is now fully functional with a new blogging system and some minor interface changes. Some features are a little bit rough, but it’s tax season and we’ll be polishing things up as we have time.

The new features do allow you to create user name, post comments, gets alerts for updates and much more.

Categories: Full Potential News
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Did you know that most Washington businesses file monthly, quarterly and/or annual reports on 14 or more different forms? And that they report to at least 7 different government agencies?

We will be conducting a free workshop, called “What to expect when you’re expecting business” which is open to all who are interested.* We’ll be covering what to expect when you register a business, such as who to register with, what taxes you’ll be paying and how to know if you’ve done everything right.
*  Just get a free Biznik membership to attend.

The workshop is on Friday, February 20, 2009 at the Inside Scoop in Mill Creek. Space is limited to 12 people.

Categories: Business Tips, Full Potential News, Tax News and Tips
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The IRS has responded to pressures from the Taxpayer Advocates to help those who may have trouble paying their taxes this season. Full details can be found on their site.

One of the things that many people don’t know is that you can make payments by credit card. I don’t recommend this necessarily, since you’ll face an extra fee of about 2.5%. But failure to file penalties are 5% per month and failure to pay penalties can be as high as 10% for payroll tax deposits.

The IRS is also improving how they deal with people when it comes to missed installment payments, collection actions and levy releases.

Categories: Tax News and Tips
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From the IRS Tax Tips Newsletter:

First-time homebuyers should begin planning now to take advantage of a new tax credit. Available for a limited time, the credit:

• Applies to home purchases after April 8, 2008, and before July 1, 2009.
• Reduces a taxpayer’s tax bill or increases his or her refund, dollar for dollar.
• Is fully refundable, meaning that the credit will be paid out to eligible taxpayers, even if they owe no tax or the credit is more than the tax that they owe.

The credit operates much like an interest-free loan because it must be repaid in equal installments over a 15-year period. Taxpayers will claim the credit on new IRS Form 5405, First-Time Homebuyer Credit.

Only the purchase of a main home located in the United States qualifies. Vacation homes and rental property are not eligible. For a home that you construct, the purchase date is the first date you occupy the home.

Taxpayers who owned a main home at any time during the three years prior to the date of purchase are not eligible for the credit. This means that first-time homebuyers and those who have not owned a home in the three years prior to a purchase can qualify for the credit.

If you make an eligible purchase in 2008, you claim the first-time homebuyer credit on your 2008 tax return. If you make an eligible purchase in 2009, you can choose to claim the credit on either your original or amended 2008 return, or on your 2009 return.

The credit is 10 percent of the purchase price of the home, with a maximum available credit of $7,500 for either a single taxpayer or a married couple filing jointly. The limit is $3,750 for a married person filing a separate return. In most cases, the maximum credit will be available for homes costing $75,000 or more. The credit normally must be repaid over a 15-year period starting the second year after the year the credit is claimed.

The credit is reduced or eliminated for higher-income taxpayers. The credit is phased out based on your modified adjusted gross income. In general, for a married couple filing a joint return the phase-out begins at $150,000 and is completely phased out at $170,000. For other taxpayers, the phase-out range is between $75,000 and $95,000.

Not everyone will qualify for the credit. There are other rules that may impact your eligibility and decision to claim the First-Time Homebuyer Credit. Get all the information at IRS.gov.

Links: First-Time Homebuyer Credit Information Center

Categories: Tax News and Tips
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