Your CPA said what?

Independent Contractors vs. Employees

I received a lot of feedback after our recent newsletter article on the rules for distinguishing between independent contractors and employees. In this podcast I'll expand on this topic and talk about the basic differences between the two, why both employers and workers tend to bend the rules in favor of contractors and the risks of being too agressive.

download the Independent Contractors vs. Employees podcast

Note: clicking on the link above should play the pod-cast using your browser software and associated plug-ins. If you would like to subscribe to the pod-cast using Apple's iTunes software see the post "Subscribe to Axiom's Podcast."

Benchmarking for Small Business

Benchmarking is the process of comparing your business to other best in class businesses. It is not uncommon to read of Fortune 500 companies studying each other to discover best practices. For instance, a hospital chain may study an airline and car rental agency to develop a better registration and admitting experience for patients. Since the hospital will never compete with the airline or the  rental agency there's a good chance they will all share information openly that can help one another. Small business owners can take advantage of a similar process if they scale it down and get to know the best in class companies in their own community. In this podcast we will give you some ideas for getting started.

download 060902-Benchmarking.mp3

Note: clicking on the link above should play the pod-cast using your browser software and associated plug-ins. If you would like to subscribe to the pod-cast using Apple's iTunes software see the post "Subscribe to Axiom's Podcast."

My Odeo Channel (odeo/8d7aa8f524df8b4f)

Understanding, Building and Using Comparative Financial Statements

Businesses are accustomed to using financial statements and some even use comparisons to last year to gauge improvements in sales or other big line items. But in-depth planning and strategic decision making require a much bigger picture. In this pod-cast I talk about comparative financial statements, what they are, how to create them and some of their uses.

download 060901-comparative.mp3

Note: clicking on the link above should play the pod-cast using your browser software and associated plug-ins. If you would like to subscribe to the pod-cast using Apple's iTunes software see the post "Subscribe to Axiom's Podcast."

My Odeo Channel (odeo/944e8c75044ca3e4)

Improve Your Hiring Process

People are the heart and soul of any business, but the hiring process is far from enjoyable for most business owners. It usually goes something like this...

Business is good. So good in fact that you need more help to get everything done. You place an ad, put out some feelers and collect some resumes. After one or two rounds of interviews you hire the person with the most experience, the best qualifications and someone you think can work well on your team. But after a week or a month the paperwork, the training time, the extra questions and hand holding start to dampen your initial enthusiasm.  It's not uncommon for new hires to add more stress to your life than value to your bottom line.

In our work with clients there is always room for improvement when it comes to adding people. In this podcast we'll cover some best practices and things we've seen work for small businesses when it comes to generating profits with extra manpower.

download 060825-NewHire.mp3

Note: clicking on the link above should play the podcast using your browser software and associated plug-ins. If you would like to subscribe to the podcast using Apple's iTunes software see the post "Subscribe to Axiom's Podcast."

Why Second Locations Fail

The vast majority of new businesses fail and an even greater percentage of expanding businesses fail to find success when opening a new location or branch office. While there may be many contributing factors for this three major shortcomings usually stand out above everything else.

1. A lack of defined roles in the organization.
2. A lack of defined processes.
3. A lack of management.

This podcast elaborates on each area and gives you ways to make sure your new location doesn't become another statistic.

Download 060818-Why2ndLocFail.mp3

Note: clicking on the link above should play the podcast using your browser software and associated plugins. If you would like to subscribe to the podcast using Apple's itunes software see the post "Subscribe to Axiom's Podcast."

What is Entrepreneurship?

This week I'm going to steal a podcast from someone else rather than create my own. If you read the July newsletter that came out this morning you know I'm a huge fan of the Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders lecture series podcast put out by the Stanford University. This lecture featuring Jeff Hawkins took place May 18, 2005. Hawkins is the founder of Palm Computing and Handspring and he has what I think is the best conceptual framework of entrepreneurship that I've ever heard. Check it out.

http://www.stanford.edu/group/edcorner/uploads/podcast/hawkins050518.mp3

Note: clicking on the link above should play the podcast using your browser software and associated plugins. If you would like to subscribe to the podcast using Apple's itunes software see the post "Subscribe to Axiom's Podcast."

Managing Risk

How to migrate from taking risks to managing them.

When helping new business one of the things that we try to do is make sure they are managing risk properly. There are three questions we pose to assess the extent to which risk is being managed versus an attitude of reckless abadonement.

1. Have alternatives and options been considered?
2. Have the financial and intellectual resources been gathered?
3. Have you figured out how you are going to monitor your progress?

This podcasts talks about each area and how business can go from taking risks to managing them.

download 060718-risk.MP3

Note: clicking on the link above should play the podcast using your browser software and associated plugins. If you would like to subscribe to the podcast using Apple's itunes software see the post "Subscribe to Axiom's Podcast."

Audits, reviews and compilations

Think you need an audit? Most small businesses really don't. There's a misconception that 'audited' financial statements are frequently required when the reality is that most of the financial statements provided to banks, insurance companies and creditors are compilations or reviews. Find out what these terms mean and how the differ from one another.

Download 060711-audits.MP3

Note: clicking on the link above should play the podcast using your browser software and associated plugins. If you would like to subscribe to the podcast using Apple's itunes software see the post "Subscribe to Axiom's Podcast."

 

Internal Controls for Small Business

Internal controls are simply the business practices within an organization that help it safeguard assets and protect against fraud and mismanagment of resources. Internal controls have received much more attention since Sarbanes Oxley begain requiring their documentation in large companies. However, small business and particularly small business owners can benefit greatly from implementing a few best practices with regard to cash, accounts payable, accounts receivable and fixed assets. These are the areas we discuss with regard to internal controls in this podcast.

Download 060703internal_controls.MP3

Note: clicking on the link above should play the podcast using your browser software and associated plugins. If you would like to subscribe to the podcast using Apple's itunes software see the post "Subscribe to Axiom's Podcast."

Budgets (part 2 of 2)

The previous podcast was directed at those without a budget. This time we talk about how to get the most out of the budget process after you have gone to all the trouble to create one in the first place.

Download 060626budgets_part2.MP3

Note: clicking on the link above should play the podcast using your browser software and associated plugins. If you would like to subscribe to the podcast using Apple's itunes software see the post "Subscribe to Axiom's Podcast."