No one likes preparing their tax return.  We like even less paying taxes.  Yet paying taxes is a sign of success.  If your business owes money to the IRS, it should be a sign that you’ve done something right this year.

If you showed a loss in your business, it may be careful accounting or it could mean that you are working hard for nothing.  Do you know which it is?

Personally, I am not a numbers person. Details are not my thing but I do it, (with help from people who are numbers people) because I want my business to do what a business is supposed to do – make money.  The only way I know if I am really making money is by paying attention to my numbers. And my 2011 tax return is a good place to look for those important numbers.

Profit and Loss

How much did you make last year? How much did you keep?

If you are not making a profit (and having to pay taxes on your profit) then your business is not yet truly successful.

What does your tax return tell you?

If your tax return shows a business loss, you, as your business leader, you need to know the reason why.

Not paying taxes, feels good.  Getting a tax return feels even better but if you are not paying taxes because your business is operating at a loss, you are missing the point of being in business.

So, if you are getting a return, celebrate your return and vow to do better next year.

If you are paying, don’t complain, congratulate yourself. You are doing something right.

If you have a tax return and would like help developing a strategy to turn your losses in to profits I am here to help.

You can schedule a free session here.

Schedule a Free Session with Dana K. Dwyer

Most independent business owners think of their niche as the people they serve: women, snowboarders, computer owners, commercial businesses in need of light bulbs.  While knowing who you serve is important for finding your market, it is just as important for a business to know how you serve your people.

The question to ask – and answer – is…

So What?

You say you provide coaching services to people in transition – so what?

So they can….

You say you do awesome graphic design for government contractors – so what?

So they can…

I coach independent business owners to build businesses that work….so they don’t have to.

Knowing your “so what will help you hone your marketing message to speak directly to your audience.  The more your “So what?” addresses a real need or desire of your niche, the more your message will resonate and motivate your people to take action.

What’s your so what?

Feel free to share in the comments below.

My favorite part of my travels so far is the small, independent entrepreneurs who populate the street corners where ever traffic slows down.  These determined young men, and some women, are selling small items to the drivers and passengers in the cars.

What interest me is the items they choose to sell.  As a business coach who preaches the importance of knowing your customer and understanding their most compelling needs and wants, I wonder about the market research that goes into selecting items for street corner sales.  On one street corner I’ve see young men selling these items: cell phone car chargers, sun glasses, packages of plastic coat hangers, hats, brooms, and a six inch globe of the world.

I have to wonder about the street corner sales of the plastic coat hangers.  Is this a big seller?  This is particularly interesting to me because I actually need additional coat hangers, and here they are presented to me like abundance from the universe, but I am not yet comfortable enough with this strange new  world to begin negotiations through a car window at a traffic light. My purchasing coat hangers from a street vendor will be an adventure we can all look forward to.

All in all, I bet the vendor of car chargers does a better business than the vendor of coat hangers because car chargers meet a compelling need for a driver with a dead cell phone.  The same is true of sunglasses.   I suspect the seller of miniature world globes is being tested.  If he can sell that item to a passing driver, he will be promoted to a product more likely to meet an urgent need.