The Virtual Wire

Learning from one another - a valuable resource

I've met and worked with many small business owners throughout my life.  In my VA practice now and while working in the "brick and mortar" world, I've learned a great deal from these extraordinary, entrepreneurial-minded business owners. I am grateful for my experiences, and continue to learn from these every-day exchanges, which I find invaluable.

An important matter that affects the small business community in a critical fashion, is the issue of health care coverage.  Regardless of the unique perspectives through which we each view this concern, I think an important factor (and one not easily attained) is finding good, credible information on the topic.

For such a resource, I've found "Fixed for America" to be a great help. You'll find a ton of information on their site - here's an example of their 10 Principles: Small Business Principles for Healthcare Reform page.  I'm in the process of continually reading, researching and learning more - I know I'm not alone.  After all, I hope, we're together learning and growing - and positively affecting one another as we progress onward.

B2B help is here

One of the byproducts I've encountered in my practice has been the amazing intersections it has created.  I've encountered a multitidue of people representing a variety of organizations and companies I find quite interesting.  I imagine many of you have found this to be the case, it's not unique to me.  There are many folks busy about doing good - in their own personal lives and in the businesses and organizations they represent.

This past week, as a result of my work, I came upon another interesting organization and corresponded with them on behalf of my client.  April 16 has been designated as National Business Helping Business Day.

I've decided to subscribe to the effort after reading the following blurb on their Web site about April 16 and this initiative:

"Today, more than ever, small businesses are feeling the pinch of the global economic crisis and must rely on each other to weather the storm. National Business Helping Business Day highlights the significant contributions small businesses make to the global economy and ensures the selfless acts of others do not go unnoticed. To help facilitate this initiative, BusinessHelpingBusiness.com has been established as a free forum, available 365 days of the year, that brings to the forefront the Needs and Haves of businesses around the world."

An excellent mission, I thought.  Yes, I want to be involved. 

It seems the 'downturn" of the economy has precipitated other similar measures by thoughtful and intelligent people.  I can think of a few others, too, many of them operating on a local level and affecting their local communities.  I imagine you've become aware of such actions.  They represent part of the good and positive side of facing difficult times.  It's encouraging to me to come across this type of an organization and to "meet" some of the fine people involved behind the scenes.

Women and business ownership

I chuckled the other day when I read some Tweets discussing how the number of women-owned businesses seems to be growing by leaps and bounds.  This is not a new wave of entrepreneurship, the number of women owning businesses has been on the rise for a long time. The following fact was noted in a January Newsletter published by Barbara Weltman: 

"Women own 20% of $1 million+ businesses. According to new research - one in five $1 million+ revenue businesses are owned by women. However, fewer than 3% of the 10.1 million women-owned firms in the U.S. make it to that million-dollar mark. As of 2008, there were a total of 10.1 million firms owned by women, employing 13 million people and generating $1.9 trillion in revenues."

The research paper is packed full of great information, here's something I thought you'd enjoy learning today:

 “This research reinforces what many involved in women’s advocacy efforts have known all along: that women business owners create jobs and generate revenue from which we all benefit,” said Amy Fitzgibbons, senior manager of American Express OPEN.  “Identifying and sharing best practices of successful women business owners is the key to helping even more women entrepreneurs achieve that same level of success.”

You may enjoy reading through the entire research report; I found it quite encouraging.

It's about worker classification - something you need to know

Did you know that more than $1.6 billion of the $345 billion annual tax gap is the result of worker misclassification?  That's an interesting statistic and one that cannot be ignored. 

Thanks, once again, to Barbara Weltman and her "Idea of the Day[sm]" this issue was brought to my attention recently.  Barbara reports that the director of special programs in the Small Business/Self-Employed division is coordinating with all business divisions, the Criminal Investigation Division, and the Office of Chief Counsel to target this issue. 

As Barbara mentions, if you're needing help to determine whether or not you're operating your business lawfully, there is a training manual used by IRS employees to determine worker classification.

Remaining open to the possibility of good things

Despite the current state of affars, which we're all more than slightly aware (I'm assuming, I know, but I cannot imagine otherwise), I'm choosing to carefully guard my attitude. 

Yes, I'm choosing to guard my attitude; I do not want to succumb to unconstructiveness - in any shape or fashion.  It's not easy, of course, although, who says it needs to be? 

Owning a small business, or working as an independent, self-employed professional or solopreneur requires an enormous amount of tenacity, courage, perseverance, and more . . . as you have found (I'm preaching to the choir, eh?). I imagine you've discovered, too, that maintaining a good, constructive, healthful attitude is key to managing this process.

I don't have a specific how-to list for achieveing this. Mostly, because I believe your list would be uniquely yours - just as we find motivation and inspiration in various places.  The point is that each of us find what works. 

I am remaining open to the possibility of good things . . . I'l be looking for them!  I like framing it this way, it makes it utterly believable for me, despite what others are saying.  

I hope you find what works for you, and work it!

Free Webinar discussing home-based business

You can update your knowledge on starting and operating a successful home-based business by attending a free Webinar on January 27, from 2 pm to 3 pm ET offered by Bank of America's Small Business Online Community.

 

Barbara Weltman, tax law expert and author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting a Home-Based Business, 3rd edition will be answering questions and offering expert advice.

 

Follow along to learn interesting and helpful information; if you want to submit questions, you’ll have to register (there's no cost).

Privilege or right

A very interesting question was asked on Twitter by @stacybrice (Stacy Brice) a few weeks back: “Why do you vote?” And, it came on the heels of one of those PowerPoint emails with stirring pictures and an inspiring song. Check it out if you can. I got it!

I understood as soon as the first image came up why I vote. My granddaddy was born in 1914 in Virginia. He was the son of a sharecropper. He was pulled out of school at the age of 8 to work the fields to help the family put food on the table. When he got his first pay, he said that he went to the country store and purchased a pencil and a pad of paper. He said he taught himself how to add by counting the money he got. I’m sure the last thing on my granddaddy’s mind was voting. It was surviving! And, while that is true for the then, it wasn’t for later. My granddaddy took that privilege very seriously.

Today, for me voting feels more like a right. The same right as everyone else; yet, I’m haunted by the images in that little slide show. I’m reminded that many people sacrificed much for me to be able to causally approach voting. Not just blacks, but women suffrage as well. While voting is a right that I can neglect if I want, I treat it like the privilege it is for me in honor of the people who suffered to make it so!

Why do you vote? Or not?

Another worthy cause

I love what Kiva is doing!

"Kiva lets you lend to a specific entrepreneur in the developing world -- empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty."

They have a structure in place to allow groups or teams of people to join together, thereby reaching more entrepreneurs as they work together to make a difference. They call them Lending Teams.

Thanks to the VACOC's recent efforts, I am now a member of a lending team. I've chosen a female entrepreneur living in Cambodia to help out this time.

Good news, you can join the team, too!  If you prefer, of course, you can participate as a single lender.

Either way, why not check it out and see if this is a cause with which you'd like to be involved.

There's a new kid on the block!

Who likes being the new kid on the block? No one ever really does, unless you receive the warmest welcome there ever could be. That is exactly the way The Virtual Wire's team have embraced me. My name is Tiffany Odutoye, and I feel really privileged to be the newest VA blogger added to The Virtual Wire. Not to bore you with details about me, which you can read TVW About Us, but I'm proud of our community, and proud of what you each are doing in your respective business – your reading this blog alone speaks volumes!

I'll be here, every Saturday, blogging thematically (unless, something more compelling strikes me and I just have to tell you about it). October will be dedicated to the art of entrepreneurial thinking, or should I say the "lost art". It would be great to hear from you as we explore this topic. There will be resources, advice (like we need more of that) and stories too. To kick this off, visit my blog and see where my motivation began (blog entry: Entreprenuership - principles that recapture the lost art...). If you respond to the call to action, please tell me about it. We all want to hear from you!!

Thank you to the TVW team for having me, and thank you for being apart of this great community!

Virtually yours:)

And the winner is ... AssistU's Community

I love AssistU; that’s obvious as I am a trainer, an active community member, and a volunteer. Stacy Brice did a fantastic job building a business that not only is she very proud of, but all of us that are associated with it are proud of too.

So, this morning, knowing that I wanted to update you on what happened this weekend, I realized that I had to acknowledge my absolute favorite part of AssistU – the Community.

I know I’ve written before about how awesome this group is when it comes to supporting each other and helping out a fellow member in need. Yet, I’m not sure if I’ve accurately conveyed just how invaluable the Community is to the specialness of AssistU. Let me try.

This past weekend we had our AU Vegas Community Recognition Awards. We had a ball as people gathered in Vegas from every where – Alaska, California, Arizona, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, Maryland, and Florida (I hope I didn’t miss anyone). It was great! We laughed, we cried, we ate, we played, and we made friends. The mix of new VAs and their enthusiasm and the blend of senior VAs with their pure love for the business was just right. We shared and learned from each other with the added bonus of it being face to face.
And, back on the home front we stayed in touch with the Community members that were not able to make it. We shared stories via Twitter, Facebook, and our AssistU Community Portal. What an awesome group! We didn’t want anyone to feel left out. Some of us were even texting friends in the community as the action happened. While miles may separate our offices, nothing but a link separates our connectivity. It truly is a privilege to be a part of something this great that words cannot even accurately convey!