Canadian Small Business Women

Connection, Synergy, Community

Business Use of Home Expenses

Note: This information differs slightly for employees who are required/allowed to work from home.

Many entrepreneurs love the idea of starting a business from home because now they get to claim the home expenses – or rather a portion of them – as a business expense! BUT entrepreneurs beware there are conditions to be met!

You need to meet ONE of the following conditions:

  1. It needs to be you principal place of business OR
  2. You use the space only to earn business income AND you use it regularly and on an ongoing basis to meet your customers, clients or patients.

So what does that mean?

If you always meet clients at a coffee shop, restaurants or their place of business, and never in your home, it can be a challenge to justify why you need to claim a home office.  Furthermore, if you are also expensing a secondary office space (meeting rooms, rented office spaces) justifying the need for a home office becomes even harder. Needing a place to keep your computer and files often is not strong enough.  However taking calls, doing client work, and using that room for other functions relating to contracting business can be a better justification. Note there is also an implied expectation of a separate room or dedicated work area; using the kitchen table does not cut it.

Once you have determined that your home office you can claim a percent of the following expenses:

  • Heat
  • Electricity
  • Insurance
  • Maintenance
  • Mortgage INTEREST
  • Property taxes
  • Other expenses (such as water)

It is important to also mention that the amount you deduct cannot be more than your net income; so the expenses relating to the home office cannot create a business loss. So we recommend calculating your net income (Revenue less expenses) for everything else first, then seeing if home expenses make the cut. These expenses can be carried forward with certain conditions.

When you sell your house, there will be what’s called a recapture if you have deducted depreciation on the value of the house so our recommendations is not to do any depreciation relating to your house!

 

 

 

“Behind Every Great Business is a Great Accountant”

For more information on how to keep your business tax efficient, or to get a consultation on whether you are making all the right tax choices for your business, contact Dharna CPA. www.dharnacpa.ca. Info@dharnacpa.ca

What Is HR & Why you need it!

Human Resources (HR) is defined as: “The division of a company that is focus on activities relating to employees. These activities normally include recruiting and hiring of new employees, orientation and training of current employees, employee benefits, and retention. Formerly called personnel.”[1] To break that down further HR is a company’s best friend; helping to make sure the employees and the employers are protected and everything is taken care of and in accordance with the law and regulations. With the constant updating of both laws and regulations it can be hard to know if you are in accordance, by having an HR professional you won`t ever have to second guess as they are up to date and informed about all the changes and how to make you and your business compliant.

HR is a key player, in helping to make sure employees are trained fully, and that your retention rate is higher than your turnover rate. Many companies don`t understand why they have to keep hiring new employees; with The Staff Room and TSR Canada,  you don’t have that worry because of the careful recruitment process they go through to ensure you have the right employee for the job. Here at The Staff Room our recruitment process ensures the employer is getting a top quality candidate for the position.  When we receive a resume, we examine it to select and highlight certain skills and previous work experience the candidate has had in the past. This enables us to organize each candidate into various job categories to ensure we are matching their skills with job positions we have available and that are right for both the employer and the candidate.

After the recruitment process, comes the law and regulation side; with new legislations coming into effect, such as CASL[2] and the AODA[3], many companies are unsure if they are compliant or not. Here at The Staff Room and TSR Canada, we pride ourselves on being informed and helping to inform others; always ready to answer questions and help you and your business be compliant with new and changing legislation, laws and regulations. CASL and AODA can greatly affect your company if you are not compliant; including hefty fines of $50,000/day for the AODA, which can drastically affect companies, their employees and their day-to-day business. That is why companies like us, The Staff Room & TSR Canada, exist; to help make sure your company is compliant and is aware of the changes in legislation.

HR can be intimidating, especially if you have more questions than answers. That’s why companies like us, The Staff Room & TSR Canada, exist! We exist to help you and your company succeed and grow; we have the answers to your questions and the solutions to your problems.   We are dedicated to providing a continuous stream of human resource services and consulting solutions that will equip individuals, teams and organizations to do their best and to flourish.  What sets us apart from other HR companies if our focus on local business. We recognize that all aspects of human resources is just as much about the people as it is about lows and regulations.

If you still have questions, we are here with the answers! Contact us today for your FREE 30 minutes consultation and see the difference that we can make and how we can help you and your business.  We can be reached at: 289-842-7181 or info@the-staffroom.com

 

 

[1] http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/human-resources.html

[2] http://fightspam.gc.ca/eic/site/030.nsf/eng/home

[3] https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/05a11

6 Tips for Managing Your Employees

Praveeni

Managing people is a tricky job, even for the most skilled business school grads and experienced professionals. Running a business and managing staff is more than just delegating tasks and supervising employees; it means you are accountable to both your clients and your staff.

Here are a few tips for managing people :

  1. Delegate work according to skill level and capability
    As an entrepreneur your staff is there to help you achieve your goals and grow your business. Being in charge is doesn’t give you the right to palm off tasks you don’t enjoy on your staff. You must delegate work according to your staff’s skill level and capabilities. Each member of your staff is unique and has different strengths and weaknesses;  it is your job to recognize their strengths. You need to get to know your staff and their capacities in the workplace. Remember to be fair in your delegation, resist the urge to pile work on your strongest staff members and delegate easier tasks to those who might be struggling. Make sure everyone has a fair share of responsibilities within their assigned roles.
  2. Hold weekly meetings
    Weekly meetings are a common practice in most workplaces as it gives co-workers and managers alike a chance to discuss progress, plan the coming week, and initiate new tasks. Make sure you get status updates on the work you’ve delegated and ensure the participation of all your employees in weekly meetings. This  will allow you to assess how employees are dealing with the workload and determine where changes need to be made.
  3. Schedule open door time
    The “Open door” policy isn’t always the best approach to increase productivity. As a business owner and manager you may need time alone in your office to work, brainstorm, meet tight deadlines, and sort out your thoughts. However, your employees will have questions and concerns to discuss with you, designating a time when you will be available to address these concerns is a great way of showing your concern and approachability. It’s a good idea to schedule “open door time” every day or at least 3 times a week; this way employees know they can talk to you about their concerns.  This practice is often adopted in academia where professors have “Office Hours” within which students can meet them to discuss grades, assignments etc.
  4. Exercise open and effective communication
    Open communication is the key to effective management. Bosses are often the bearers of good and bad news. Inform all employees at the same time. Some business owners feel that they should only share information with certain employees who they determine “need to know it” or for whom it is “relevant”. However this scenario often results in closed door meetings between bosses and just a few staff members, leaving other employees feeling left out, suspicious and anxious.  Engaging in closed door meetings of this sort is highly discouraged as it promotes division and suspicion. Of course some information needs to remain confidential but as a business owner you must be discrete about how you go about disclosing information to staff.
  5. Keep it professional
    Sometimes as a business owner it may be tempting to befriend your employees since you hired them and they work directly for you, but it’s important to keep it professional. You may be closer to certain members of your staff than others but attempt to maintain the same level of interaction with all employees. Avoid going out to lunch with  the same staff members every week or sitting next to the same people at meetings. This makes others feel like you’re playing favourites and will result in jealousy, competition, and workplace conflict as everyone wants to be close to “the boss”. You can engage in conversations with employees outside of working hours but remember to keep your composure.  Be polite and keep it professional, don’t get too personal.
  6.  Introduce team building initiatives
    Initiating team building activities is a good way to foster a collectivist environment within your business and make employees feel included and welcome. Introducing office outings such as a lunch out of the office will allow you to connect with your staff in a new environment and boost morale. If going out is not feasible, organizing a potluck or simply celebrating employee birthdays with a cake or dessert is a great way to promote interaction. As a business owner you need to make sure employees are team players working toward a common goal.

Praveeni Perera is the CEO and co-founder of Professional Edge Consulting a corporate training company based in Ottawa offering training and coaching services to clients around the world.  She can be reached via Website, Twitter, Facebook or her Blog.

3 Reasons to Consider Hiring a Team

sandra

We’ve all heard it said that there is no “i” in team. Unfortunately, many of us entrepreneurs tell ourselves that we can’t afford to hire a team, especially at the beginning, however, there comes a point where were can’t afford not to.

  1. Few of us are great at everything

I know I can’t be the only one who has wasted valuable time trying to do something that was outside my expertise! I joke that I am a recovering control freak, but there is truth in that statement. It can be easy to think that no one understands your vision for your business as well as you do or that no one will care as much as you do, but that isn’t the case. It’s simply a matter of finding the right people. If you’re spending time doing things that don’t generate revenue, you’re cutting into your money making time. Hire people to do what they do best so that you have more time to do what you do best and money, not only to pay your team, but to pay yourself as well!

  1. Benefit from outside perspectives

We can be so attached to our plans and projects that we can’t see the forest for the trees. Working with others brings fresh eyes and new ideas to your business. Even if you’re not in a position to hire full-time employees, you can hire contract workers who have experience working with entrepreneurs. Working with others gives you the ability to learn from mistakes that you haven’t made. We don’t know what we don’t know, and it is amazing what ideas can come from letting other people in. I know that our businesses can feel like our babies and we can be so protective that we don’t want to let other in, but if it takes a village to raise a child, we definitely can’t grow our businesses on our own.

  1. Burn-out is real

When we try to do it all, the work is never done. There is always more to do. A business owner isn’t all we are. We are friends, spouses, partners, parents, siblings, and we have responsibilities that go beyond what we do to make a living. Working with a team isn’t just good for our business; it’s beneficial to our sanity, our health and our overall well-being. While there was a time when I used to feel awkward about admitting that I couldn’t do it all on my own, I know have no problem asking for help. When I do, it takes such a load off that I gain the clarity needed to create and connect and do the things that I love to do, and that inspired me to start my business in the first place!

I said it earlier, and I will say it again, you may thing think that you can’t afford to hire people to help you in your business. I challenge you to consider that it just might be that you can’t afford not to hire people. If you want to grow your business and expand your reach and the clients you serve, you’re going to need some help!

Sandra Dawes is a certified life coach specializing in helping women who feel unfulfilled with their 9-5 follow their dreams and pursue their passions. She holds an Honours BA, an MBA as well as a certificate in Dispute Resolution.She has completed her first book,Embrace Your Destiny: 12 Steps to Living the Life You Deserve!

Connect:

www.embraceyourdestiny.ca

www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestiny

www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestinythebook

www.twitter.com/sandradawes

Tania DeSa: Canadian Small Business Woman of the Month of July 2014

Tania DeSa

Tania DeSa is a Personal Branding Strategist, Leadership Coach and Corporate Trainer whose mission is to inspire professionals to own their awesomeness to be seen and heard in any community.  She inspires professionals to see themselves differently then kick up their communication style to add value and achieve results- in business and in life.   www.taniadesa.com

Tania draws from intercultural experiences of traveling to over 70 countries and living, studying and working in Australia, Japan, Hungary, Spain, China and Switzerland. She holds an International MBA from ESADE Business School in Spain and Peking University in China, Honors Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada. She is a professionally trained coach from the Coaches Training Institute(CTI).

Tania has thrived in corporate sales and marketing management roles within the healthcare industry in such companies as Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Medtronic, Ecolab, Johnson & Johnson and has led strategic discussions at the World Health Organization in Switzerland.  Tania’s unique presentation style is a high energy collaborative one where she asks powerful questions, offers strategic frameworks and brings in real life stories to engage, educate and enlighten participants.

 

Tania offers customized corporate training programs in the area of Leadership Communication, such as:

  • Powerful Presenting: Empowering managers to enhance their presentation style and content in order to influence and persuade to achieve results. Ideal for marketing, sales, cross functional teams, R&D and management.
  • Leveraging your Personal Brand to Win: Inspiring employees to discover their strengths and learn how to maximize them to perform better, gain fulfillment in their work and create lasting impact. Ideal for new employees, teams, female leadership development and management.
  • Champion Building- How to create raving fans & long term partners: Learning how to create strong partners & key opinion leaders to champion messages and  help launch campaigns/new products in order to catapult sales growth. Ideal for sales, marketing, communications, PR & investor relations, and management.

Formats: Multimodal training programs with blend of group workshops and one on one coaching.  Ideal as a lunch and learn series, rotational program/development program course, team retreats, talent pipeline development and executive training.

 

Our Q & A with Tania DeSa

 

*What inspires you?
 People who are creating change in their world in a small way that’s having a big impact. Witnessing random acts of kindness and connection ( in the bus, grocery store or elevators). It’s inspiring to see people recognize their greatness and then act from it- it reminds me whats possible.
*As a small business owner, what achievements make you most proud?
I’m most proud of consistently extending my comfort zone and its always lead to awesome results when I have. First, leaving a very comfortable corporate life in Europe to repatriate to Toronto and start up a new business from scratch ( and to grow myself daily as a result). Second, starting before I felt totally ready- having the guts to make bold requests and pitch to big clients before I felt 110% ready. This year, its already led to running corporate training in the UK, leading workshops in San Francisco and planning a speaking tour in India.  I encourage myself to step over fear more often as its a huge part of being an entrepreneur.
*What advice would you give to other aspiring small business owners?
As Jim Rohn says” You are the average of the 5 people you hang around with most.”
Consciously seek out and develop your A Team- a  community of cheerleaders and supporters, accountability partners,  collaborators, mentors and employees. Invest in your own personal growth and development- I continually invest in coaching, online programs, attending conferences because I find people and resources to help me achieve my wildest goals. And community feels good!
*What new things can we look forward to from your business in the upcoming year?

I’m on a mission to help professionals see themselves differently and then kick up their communication style ( personal brand, presentation skills & leadership style) so that they can add value and achieve results- in business and life. I’m committed to taking this message globally and helping as many people take action as I possibly can. I’ll be running worskhops & webinars for small- large businesses to motivate their teams to take leadership to the next level and by early next year I’ll be heading to India to spread the message there too.

Solopreneurship: reality or illusion?

sandra

I’ve heard the term solopreneur used quite a lot recently, and there was a time when I identified with it.  I am, after all, doing my business solo, am I not?  What I am now realizing is that just because I’m the sole owner of the business, it doesn’t mean that I’m really doing it “on my own”.

Whether it’s the business coaches I’ve worked with, colleagues I’ve masterminded with or the team that I worked with to have my logo designed, there is no way I can say that this has been a solo endeavour.  Not to mention the love and support of friends and family along the way!  My first workshop, ice storm ridden book launch parties and even my very first client wouldn’t have been possible without my support network.

When you don’t have regular employees, it can be very easy to feel isolated and have the mistaken belief that you have to figure out everything on your own, but this isn’t the case.  I know from personal experience that it isn’t always easy to ask for help.  Many of us consider reaching out to others to be a sign of weakness, but this isn’t true at all.  The truth of the matter is that it is impossible to know everything there is to know about your business, never mind be capable of doing it all!

We need to be honest with ourselves about what our strengths and weaknesses are, as well as be aware of what activities generate revenue and those that don’t.  You don’t want to be spending your time doing things you find difficult or challenging if it’s not making you any money!  Hire people to do the things that aren’t revenue generators and focus your time and energy on making that money!

As entrepreneurs and small business owners we can fall into the trap of believing that we’re saving money by doing everything on our own, but that isn’t necessarily the case.  We can be missing out on the opportunity to generate significantly more revenue in our businesses if we focus our energy on doing what we do best and hire others to do the same for us.  Being the sole owner of a business doesn’t mean that we have to do it all on our own.  It means that we must be willing and able to build a team we trust and delegate as needed so that we can provide the best service to our clients!

Sandra Dawes is a certified life coach specializing in helping women who feel unfulfilled with their 9-5 follow their dreams and pursue their passions. She holds an Honours BA, an MBA as well as a certificate in Dispute Resolution.She has completed her first book,Embrace Your Destiny: 12 Steps to Living the Life You Deserve!

Connect: 
www.embraceyourdestiny.ca
www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestiny

www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestinythebook
www.twitter.com/sandradawes

What Sets Us Apart?!?

anna

What sets us apart!

I speak with my entrepreneurs and one question I ask them is “What makes you different?”
The answers vary. Words like “new” technique, “improved” materials, and “specialized”
equipment come into the conversation.

Then I ask them again, “What makes YOU different?” This is when I see the furrowed brow
and confused looks. In a time with prices are competitive, margin is tight and the market is
extremely competitive, YOU become the selling feature.

There are diverse types of consumers. Some base their decision solely on price, others
on easy accessibility to the product or service, many on quality of the product or service.
However, all areas being equal the selling feature will be your customer service skills. I
have included some simple and effective customer service reminders.

1. The quality of customer service starts with you and with your employees. We need to treat
our internal customers (employees) well. It will show. Companies don’t help customers… people do.

2. Who your customers are? Do you recognize your clientele? Could you call them by name? We all
like to feel important; calling someone by name lets them know you value them as customers.

3. Do you go the extra mile? Include a thank-you note; send a birthday card; write a
congratulatory note when they get a promotion. These are all simple ways to keep in touch with your
customers.

4. Always listen to the customer complaint. You will never win an argument with a customer, and
you should never, ever put a customer in that position.

5. If a customer makes a request for something special, do you do all you can? If the
customer cared enough to ask, then do your best to accommodate them.

Such very simple steps that as businesses we need to remember to enhance our reputation.
People do business with those they like and respect. So I will ask you once more….

“What makes you unique?”

Anna Ottaviani is a Board Certified NLP Master Practitioner & Master Coach, Board Certified Master Hypnotherapist,Creating Your Future® , Time Line® Therapist Practitioner and Reiki Master. Her methods are unique and tailored to each individual client. She can be reached at www.sucessfullyyou.ca or by phone at 289-221-5772. You can follow her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/successfullyyou?ref=ts&fref=ts

3 EASY WAYS TO LOSE YOUR BEST EMPLOYEES

diversity

1. Lack of Business Planning

Nightmares begin when an employee realizes that an employer is clueless as to what is needed to drive results and make business thrive. How can an effective business plan be made in the absence of a leader who is resourceful enough to develop a strategic roadmap? How can realistic goals be set? An employer that lacks knowledge in the areas of industry trends, regulations governing the business, and structures necessary for success will always be in firefighter mode; constantly putting out fires that could have easily been avoided by a simple plan. The most dedicated employee will walk away from the constant chaos and instability. Successful organizations have clear visions, goals and mandates. That is, they know what they want, how to get it and set clear rules that guide the “how” in the equation. They are aware of external factors that affect the business and plan by using internal resources to respond.

2. Lack of Consistent Organizational Processes

The absence of set processes that lead to successful completion of tasks can leave an employee feeling that nothing has been accomplished at the end of a busy day. Processes and procedures determine how we get from point A to point B in the business plan. They feed off of the organizational goals set and into each employee’s job description. Yes, I know, as a business you have to respond to changes in technology and marketplace, I agree! However, you must ensure that changes made to processes make sense, are in alignment with business reporting obligations, and lead to goals being achieved.  Don’t forget to attach metrics to changes made. This will track effectiveness and allow you to make adjustments through a continuous improvement strategy.

3. Lack of HR Planning

Human Resource planning is more than just the hiring and firing of employees. It goes beyond recruitment and must include management. Employers often focus on customer retention and plan on keeping even the worst customer happy. But what about employees? How are you managing your human capital effectively? What is your plan to keep your best employees happy? How do you plan on developing the eager but least skilled employees? How do you deal with employees who wreak havoc in the workplace? Bad employers ignore them all and expect that the promise of a bi-weekly pay check is the answer to keeping everybody in line. Successful employers, regardless of size, understand
Succession Planning, Training and Development, and the need for the administration of clear HR policies that protect and support staff. The effective management of Human Resources will allow for the retention of top talent and make strategic partners out of all employees.

Nikki Waheed is a Career Coach and Job Developer, working with employers to increase diversity and equity.  She can be contacted through email via canadiansmallbusinesswomen@gmail.com.