Is it “The End” or “The Beginning”?

Your Choice dictates your Success!

The final tax deadline of the season is upon us. October 15th and the tax year is behind us, or is it? Did you use this opportunity or just see it as another year of taxes associated with a governmental burden?

Taxes and their associated deadlines can be a blessing or a curse depending on how you use them and what you choose to draw from them. Stay with me here, you are about to discover the opportunity that this government imposed system brings to the business owner as well as the individual.

Experiencing the Mediocre:
We grudgingly gather up all of our information to take to our CPA. It’s that time again. He/She helps us fill in as many of those expense lines as possible, juggle things around and pay as little tax as legally possible. Everything goes into the box and we keep our fingers crossed in hopes that we don’t have to face one of those dreaded audits.

Whew! The taxes are done!

But Wait!!
Is there something to be gleaned from this governmental requirement???

Efficient, Effective and Informative:
What did you do this past year? How did it compare to the prior year? What about the year before that? Where did your business line up in relation to the Industry Standards, your goals and plans? Are the minutes for your Corporation complete? What about the Minutes for your LLC? (Did you know that you should keep minutes on all of your entities to enforce your entity status?)

What about rolling monthly planning? Did you update your 10/5/3 Program ™? What is your plan for the coming year? Are you on track based on your business planning?

The Beginning:
Obviously, you say there is always a beginning to get to the end. But are you conscious of your beginning and your ultimate end or exit? Are you living by default or by conscious, strategic planning?

As an IRS Enrolled Agent, licensed by the IRS, with thirty years of tax preparation and planning background, it is natural for me to think in terms of taxes and tax deadlines. However, during all of those years as a tax accountant, it never occurred to me the benefit of this annual ritual and what it could mean to me as well as my clients. It wasn’t until I became an Exit Strategist for Businesses that I saw what an opportunity the annual tax preparation requirements could be.

Currently, I am preparing a training program for my clients that I call “The Beginning of a Successful End” As an Exit Strategist and a Certified Business Intermediary, I am constantly in touch with Business Owners who don’t want to think about leaving their business. When it is brought up they often say, “Well, I was thinking somewhere in 3-5 years”. The translation “I don’t want to think about it”. Three to five years is far enough away that it is not threatening but close enough that it feels possible.

Just as Trusts and Estate Planning are one of those things we get to “someday”, Exit Planning is something we just put off if we do it at all. What I have found is that those who do not do their Exit Planning also do not prepare Business Plans or Strategic Life Plans. They simply live by default. Are you living a life of mediocrity? Could you utilize the requirements that we all face as a jumping off point to a life of satisfaction and fulfillment?

We are all creatures of habit. Deciding to utilize the tax deadlines as a business and year end review as well as a time for planning while everything is at your fingertips is an excellent utilization of an imposed requirement. Why not plan to take advantage of this time to really get and stay on track, utilizing it as a tracking and updating point for your overall business and life plan. I can hear the groans now, “It’s too much work! My CPA barely has time to do my taxes, let alone anything else!” There are a myriad of excuses and complaints.

It’s your life and your choice! You can continue down the road of excuses and mediocrity or begin the path to planned, monitored, and informed success!

Your Choice dictates your Success!

I am putting the program “The Beginning of a Successful End” on our www.gotexitstrategy.com web site. It will be offered in the Subscribers Section. I will discuss each section (See Outline below) and what you need to be aware of to put your Exit Strategy in place. Everything begins with a thought and the purpose of this is to stimulate the questions that will lead to that beginning.

For those that are looking for the Full Meal Deal, meaning I want it and I want it now. I am offering an in depth Webinar that will cover the topics outlined. It will be in four sections and will be covered over six weeks beginning with the Introduction, Sections 1 – 4 and a final wrap-up in the sixth week.

Finally, I will be offering a coaching series for each section of the Webinar. This is for those who are really ready to prepare and implement their plan. This will follow the Webinar and take each section to the next level.

Click HERE for the article including the course outline

Bruce Ackerson :: Oct.08.2007 :: Business Owners - General :: No Comments »