Equipment, Supplies, and Training for the Professional Refinisher
NAPCO Refinisher
According to the 4th annual Success Study by The Hartford on small business owners, there appear to be fewer owners in 2014 who are concerned about economic issues outside of their control such as slow economic growth, taxes and healthcare costs compared to when owners answered the question in 2012. This greater sense of comfort with outside financial factors may explain why more small business owners are confident in seeking out additional funding to grow further.
However, the big surprise of the study is that even though small business owners are finding it easier to get a commercial loan, they’re not necessarily choosing that as their first option for funding.
Instead, they’re 39% more likely to turn to their own personal funds to help finance their operations than compared to two years ago. By personal funds, we mean personal savings, retirement savings or obtaining loans from family and friends.
Thinking the personal funding route might be the way to go for you too? Consider the risks. It’s one thing to use a portion of your savings that isn’t generating a great deal of interest toward your business. It’s quite another to ask a loved one for money, especially since it could alter the relationship permanently.
Before jumping to conclusions that certain sources of funding aren’t for you, do your research. Talk to a community bank or credit union about the necessary qualifications for loans. You may even explore the terms of alternative loans such as peer-to-peer loans. Compare these avenues to personally funding your growth. Then you’ll be ready to make a more informed decision on an option that matches not only what you best qualify for but what makes you most financially comfortable as well.
Click here for more of the Hartford Study.
According to the 4th annual Success Study by The Hartford on small business owners, there appear to be fewer owners in 2014 who are concerned about economic issues outside of their control such as slow economic growth, taxes and healthcare costs compared to when owners answered the question in 2012. This greater sense of comfort […]
Too often, small business owners like to reflect on the financial year they've had when New Year’s Eve is rapidly approaching. But that can be far too late for some important decisions you may want to make in relation to your finances.
See, you don’t have to be a large business to stay on top of your finances. Everybody can – and should. Here are some good tips to follow now before the end of the year so you can go into 2015 with your business’ financial house in the best shape possible.
- 1. Stay On Top Of Your Numbers
It’s hard to know how good of a year 2014 was for you if you don’t have a great handle on your expenses and income.
First, let’s take a look at your receipts. Are you good about tracking what you spend as a business? For example, what kind of equipment do you invest in or do you keep track of your vehicle mileage? On the other hand, do you also keep records of your invoices, checks and other receipts that show income?
2. Have It Down To A System
There are a number of solid systems you can use for tracking your numbers, QuickBooks being one of the most popular. But it’s not about just finding the right software. It’s about being consistent with entering in your monthly information. Because if that doesn't happen, it may not matter what kind of system you have.
3. Plan Around Your Cash Flow
Over time, you probably see a bit of a pattern month-to-month or quarter-to-quarter. Perhaps you see a typical time of when cash tightens up more and the receivables take longer to come through the door. All the while, you’ve got bills to pay – many of them likely within the same month.
You don’t have to feel powerless here. It’s a cycle of cash flow that every small business needs to recognize. It may take a while to see it, but the more in touch you are with that ebb and flow of your business, the better you can prepare for what lies ahead in how you budget your finances and your time
4. Deduct And Conquer
Getting fully familiar with those items you can deduct will help you plan which purchases you should make before the end of the year. For instance, what kind of equipment or supplies do you need for your business? Do you have a vehicle that’s dedicated to business use? There may be an opportunity to buy these items and take a tax write-off if they are essential to your work and adding to your income.
To get a more definitive sense of what you can and can’t deduct, have a conversation with a recommended accountant who can help you better understand how to maximize your deductions.
Being proactive with the finances of your small business now may not only help you gain some great advantages come tax season but may also provide just the momentum you need to keep track of your business finances more efficiently for next year and many years to follow.
Too often, small business owners like to reflect on the financial year they’ve had when New Year’s Eve is rapidly approaching. But that can be far too late for some important decisions you may want to make in relation to your finances. See, you don’t have to be a large business to stay on top […]
Since 2008, getting a home isn't as easy as it used to be. Thanks to the financial crisis that year, mortgage lenders in response have tightened their restrictions for prospective homebuyers with less than stellar credit. Consequently, even with mortgage rates being very low, consumers with lower credit have often seen a roadblock from lenders which offsets the market, making it a very challenging climate for some buyers to obtain a home loan.
However, in the wake of a new deal just announced between Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, we may see that tide shifting and opening up a lot more opportunities for borrowers to get the home loans they seek and home sales to rise right with them. The agreement between the mortgage servicing companies eases credit barriers so that potential home buyers with weaker credit ratings may finally gain access to home loans. For example, the talk is that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may install programs that enable lenders to offer a mortgage to a buyer with a down payment as low as 3%. This could help buyers who were otherwise shut out from the market come up with the necessary down payment they need while easing credit requirements for them to quality for a mortgage.
As a result of easier access to home loans, the housing market could receive a much-needed injection of new life from a new category of borrower. That’s potentially good for lenders, developers and more.
That said, there are also arguments against making it too easy to obtain a home loan – namely, some industry analysts worry that loosening credit standards and simultaneously offering programs with very low down payment options could take the housing market down a slippery slope it’s encountered before. “When you intersect both low down payments and weak credit profiles, that to me is a recipe for problems down the road,” says Greg McBride, Bankrate.com Senior Financial Analyst.
The key piece of this agreement appears to be creating stronger guidelines that attempt to right some past wrongs due to poor underwriting of loans and lack of income verification. These guidelines could provide lenders with greater peace of mind in lending to a borrower who is higher risk but can still technically qualify for a loan. The revised minimum down payment of 3% would also be in line with what the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insures to first-time and lower income buyers.
Time will tell if lenders feel more at ease but it’s clear from this type of agreement between Fannie and Freddie that there may be a realization that the housing market can only grow so much depending solely on highly qualified buyers with excellent credit able to make 20% down payments. With new safeguards in place for lenders, we may see a more moderate climate that opens home ownership to a broader audience.
Since 2008, getting a home isn’t as easy as it used to be. Thanks to the financial crisis that year, mortgage lenders in response have tightened their restrictions for prospective homebuyers with less than stellar credit. Consequently, even with mortgage rates being very low, consumers with lower credit have often seen a roadblock from lenders […]
You like to think of yourself as a customer service master. You’re someone who’s always there to answer every last customer question. Phone call for you? No problem. Emails later at night? Sure thing. Even that customer who loves to chat with you when a job wraps up when you’ve got another job to get to. It’s all in the name of transforming a prospective customer into someone who becomes one or possibly recommends you well after the job is done.
Yet, what happens when one or two of these prospects begins dominating your time and interfering with existing work you have to get off of your plate that day or for that matter, time with your family?
There are a few smart rules for keeping your customer interactions efficient especially if you’re dealing with someone who will take and take more of your time if you don’t take more control.
1) “How much time do you have? Because I have ___ minutes before I have to get to my next appointment.”
It’s not being rude to set guidelines at the onset of a conversation or if you feel yourself trapped in a conversation that could be going long. This is your time, after all. If you don’t stand your ground to some degree, you’ll be caught in a cycle of catching up all day (or longer). Letting the customer know that you have a defined window in which you’ll be glad to talk to them gives them a sense of hopefully respecting that time frame.
2) “This email explains exactly the scope of the job, the cost and the time frame. The next step would be…”
Whether it’s an email, phone call or text message, the last thing you want to do is deliver your communication to them in so many bite-sized pieces that they dissect it backwards and forwards. That could lead to a lot of separate emails for every question that comes to mind. Instead, set up the purpose for why you’re communicating, what they’re about to view and what you want them to do next. Giving them a clear, efficient path of select steps will provide a greater likelihood that the customer stays focused on what you want them to do rather than wandering into countless tangents.
3) “We can talk about some additional items you have in mind, but just to be clear, that is outside of what we originally discussed for the job. We may need to talk about some additional charges if you want to go forward. Would you be comfortable with that?”
Sometimes when you give a little, they can take a lot. That goes for when you give in to one extra customer request. And then another. And then another. Those extras can add up, especially if you aren't charging for them. Otherwise, it’s not about just eating into your time but eating into your profitability. And you do have a business to run.
Is it easy to set limits on those extra-long customer interactions? Admittedly, probably not at first. It may feel a bit awkward. But remember, you’re doing what you have to do in a professional, respectful way that maintains not only the customer relationship in front of you but many more than demand your time. And that’s just good business.
You like to think of yourself as a customer service master. You’re someone who’s always there to answer every last customer question. Phone call for you? No problem. Emails later at night? Sure thing. Even that customer who loves to chat with you when a job wraps up when you’ve got another job to get […]
Small businesses don’t always have small expenses. As larger needs with your business come up, you’re going to want to explore some financing options. And that’s where it’s smart to know what a lender will be looking at in order to potentially approve you for financing.
Credit is credit, right?
Wrong.
There’s a difference between business credit and personal credit. Mistakes can happen when reporting on either, so don’t merely monitor your personal credit and think you’re in good standing if you haven’t checked on your business credit score. There could be errors in a business credit report you’re not aware of that may be interfering with your ability to get financing. Monitor that regularly too so you can catch surprises and hopefully clear up any problems that much faster.
When things shouldn't get personal…
Some business owners use their personal information to establish business accounts. Big mistake. Rather than use a social security number, use your tax identification, known as an Employee Identification Number (EIN) and your business name where appropriate. If this isn't categorized correctly, you could be helping yourself out on the personal side of things in terms of credit but your business won’t build credit the way it’s supposed to.
Don’t be late with bills. Ever.
Businesses don’t always have the benefit of a long credit history where a “red flag” can fall off a report after seven years. Perhaps you've only been in business for a year or two. So how good do you think it looks to have a few late payments in that short period of time? You guessed it – not the greatest. So take care of your bills on time and build a strong payment history. Doing so will paint a great picture of consistency that can only help your business credit and attractiveness to a lender.
Keep your maximum total to 30% of your credit limit.
Paying on time is probably the #1 factor when it comes to your business credit score. After that, however, is the amount that you owe that’s a percentage of available credit you have. To be specific, you should make sure the outstanding balance on your account is no more than 30% of your credit limit. That applies to your overall balances too, so no matter how many business accounts you have, keep the maximum balance 30% or lower of the overall total credit limit. Going higher than that 30% may drop your score down.
Small businesses don’t always have small expenses. As larger needs with your business come up, you’re going to want to explore some financing options. And that’s where it’s smart to know what a lender will be looking at in order to potentially approve you for financing. Credit is credit, right? Wrong. There’s a difference between […]
In the most recent release of its home price index, the Federal Housing Finance Agency showed that the prices of U.S. homes rose only .8% in the second quarter of 2014. That’s important because while that’s the 12th quarter in a row that we've seen a home price increase, it suggests that compared to the same period of time in 2013, that’s a big slowdown.
What’s more, the supply of homes appears to be generally increasing while the average wage growth can’t keep up. It’s what leads some economists to predict we’re entering “Housing Bubble 2,” a time when the housing and mortgage market could experience a combination of events that leads to declining home affordability now and through next year – translating into more supply and less demand.
Part of the problem? It’s easy to say that the economy has added jobs, but what kind of jobs are they and how do they compare overall with the jobs they replaced in terms of pay? According to Tom Showalter of Digital Risk, “In 2014, new jobs paid $47,171, which was 23% lower than the $61,637 average wage of jobs that disappeared during the Great Recession.”
With less of an average income toward financing the purchase of a home, sales of new single-family homes dropping and interest rates potentially rising, something has to give in order to increase demand in the market. If prices don’t come down even more, lenders may need to make adjustments as far as loosening their standards. Whether or not that actually happens remains to be seen.
There are a lot of factors going into the 4th quarter of this year and next year to determine if the housing market is entering a full-on bubble yet again. In the interim, if new home purchases will be slowing, particularly among the middle-class, it stands to reason that people could be looking to put more of an investment into their existing homes, such as the kitchen and bathroom. This could be a good “win-win,” raising the value of the home in the short-term and hopefully making things a bit easier later on when the homeowner is ready to sell.
In the most recent release of its home price index, the Federal Housing Finance Agency showed that the prices of U.S. homes rose only .8% in the second quarter of 2014. That’s important because while that’s the 12th quarter in a row that we’ve seen a home price increase, it suggests that compared to the […]
Some jobs may seem like “no-brainer” deals where your customer has a need, you’ve supplied a solid bid and the stars should align for a project to come through. And then you wait. And wait. And wait. Time to give up and move on? Before you throw in the towel, ask yourself these questions and go back to the customer at least one more time if they didn't answer them sufficiently:
1. Did the customer see the “big picture”?
Sure, you explained the type of work you’d be doing, how long it would take and even what it might cost. But if they can’t envision the long-term impact on the value of their kitchen or bathroom, they may not feel the urgent need to move forward right now. After all, few things can improve the value of a home like an upgrade to the kitchen or bathroom areas. Did you speak to that part of the equation or did you simply confine your approach to the job itself?
2. Does the customer feel safer doing nothing?
Why would that be? Understand what the feeling of sticking with the status quo is and why it outweighs the reason for making change. To possibly turn the tables, make them visualize what could happen if they don’t start the project now. What’s at stake if they don’t begin? What are they risking?
3. Have you allowed too much time for “second thoughts” to creep in?
They seemed like they were on board with going forward. What happened? Perhaps you assumed too much during what is usually the most sensitive and shaky part of the process overall: That crucial window of time right before they buy. In that period, they’re relatively sold on going forward with you but they still have some lingering “what if” thoughts.
If so much time passes that the customer is alone with their thoughts and you can’t be there to address those thoughts, the little nagging voices they have internally are going to only grow louder to the point of where they dominate. So don’t let a few days become a few weeks and assume it’s a “done deal.” This is the moment of all moments when projects don’t come together the way they should. If you’re a resource to act quickly and address the last minute concerns, you’ll go a long way toward clearing up any last reasons for pause in their minds.
Some jobs may seem like “no-brainer” deals where your customer has a need, you’ve supplied a solid bid and the stars should align for a project to come through. And then you wait. And wait. And wait. Time to give up and move on? Before you throw in the towel, ask yourself these questions and […]
How do you always know just what your customer has in mind so you can used those well-polished skills to deliver on the project when it counts? It’s not just about being better when it comes to being hands-on. It’s about using those instruments attached your head called ears – because by improving your listening abilities, you can in turn improve your chances of having a very satisfied customer and possibly hearing the sweet sound of referrals too.
All of us are in the business of making people happy, right? Well, it stands to reason that people are happy when they feel they've been listened to and customers are no different. So here are 5 vital secrets involved with raising your antennae and raising your profitability at the same time:
- Make it all about them.
Resist the urge to launch into touting your skills and everything you’re going to do to make their life better. There will be a time for that, but first, let them lead with their reasons for starting a project, including their questions and ideas. Commit to being a “sponge” that absorbs as much information as possible.
- Make eye contact.
If you can’t look them in the eye, you may not be able to listen very intently on what they have to say either. When the eyes and ears are in sync rather than wandering, you put yourself in a better position to hear every valuable word. Which is especially important if your customer is a fairly fast talker!
- Silence is golden.
So many of us rush to fill up conversation time. Don’t. If there’s a temporary pause, your customer may have some more thoughts to share, which can be that one extra piece of information you hadn't counted on.
- There are no “dumb” questions.
It’s better ask them of your customer to be on the safe side rather than assume. When do they want the job done? What’s their budget? Are there any other details to be aware of?
- Take plenty of notes.
Your ears may pick up a lot of useful insight, but will you be able to recall all the details of the conversation word for word a few days later? Don’t leave it entirely up to your memory. There’s nothing wrong at all with having a notepad (or iPad if you’re tech savvy) to help you better remember the customer’s thoughts.
These steps need to practiced and committed to regularly for them to work, but they’re worth reinforcing. They’ll make your customer feel like they've been truly heard, which can go a long way toward winning projects.
How do you always know just what your customer has in mind so you can used those well-polished skills to deliver on the project when it counts? It’s not just about being better when it comes to being hands-on. It’s about using those instruments attached your head called ears – because by improving your listening […]
There’s one silver lining to an unusually long and bitter Winter that a large part of the country recently experienced: It may have made homeowners all the more anxious to get rolling on home improvement projects.
A recent poll by Piper Jaffray suggests that nearly a third of all homeowners nationwide reported having their home improvement plans delayed due to the severe winter. Yet, of those who had their projects delayed, 69% are now planning to spend significantly in order to complete their home improvement effort within the next six months.
Where in the home are they planning on starting these projects? Good news for kitchen and bath remodelers: Of those respondents, 26% intended to install a bath and accessories while 23% aimed to install kitchen countertops and cabinets.
One interesting possible indicator of high-end remodels that Piper Jaffray took note of – 53% of those intending to begin a home improvement project were planning on using a home equity line of credit or credit card to pay for the project.
Perhaps the greatest reason for optimism of all? Despite one of the harshest Winters ever experienced on record, absolutely no homeowner from the poll said the winter was rough enough to force them to give up on the project entirely. Besides what that brings in the next six month, that strong sentiment bodes very well for home improvement projects in the long-term too, no matter how low the thermometer reaches.
More information can be found here.
There’s one silver lining to an unusually long and bitter Winter that a large part of the country recently experienced: It may have made homeowners all the more anxious to get rolling on home improvement projects. A recent poll by Piper Jaffray suggests that nearly a third of all homeowners nationwide reported having their home […]
The Millennial generation, typically those who are 33 years old and younger, represent one of the largest generational groups in U.S. history after the Baby Boomers. As such, their potential to positively influence the housing market in a big way can’t be discounted. According to an annual survey of recent homebuyers by The National Association of Realtors, millennials are the leading generation of all first-time homebuyers. (more…)
The Millennial generation, typically those who are 33 years old and younger, represent one of the largest generational groups in U.S. history after the Baby Boomers. As such, their potential to positively influence the housing market in a big way can’t be discounted. According to an annual survey of recent homebuyers by The National Association of Realtors, millennials are the leading generation of all first-time homebuyers.