The “Founder’s Mentality”
The Founder’s Mentality
Remember the days where you woke up excited, energized and optimistic about your business? When there was vitality, innovation and agility? Now you wake up, slump through your morning routine and drag into work to face all of your day’s challenges. There are endless meetings, approvals to sign, phone calls to answer and emails to reply to. And you wonder how this is any different than the corporate job you so readily avoided when you began your own company.
The remedy? Bain & Company calls it the “Founder’s Mentality.” They teach:
“Young disruptive companies with ambitious founders know how to deliver on the front line. If they want to sustain growth in the long term, they will have to achieve scale without losing their insurgent mindset.”
The definition of insurgent from dictionary.com is, “rising in active revolt… a rebel or revolutionary.” Are you at war on behalf of your customer? You used to be!
It’s time to bring that back. To burn out the bureaucracy, bring back the innovation and start moving fast! When you think like a founder, you put it all on the line because every dollar is yours. Think back to the days when you started the company. What was it that made you passionate? What was it that got you up early and kept you up late? Write it down, put a note on your desk or picture on your wall but never forget what gave you the “Founder’s Mentality”!
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Boost Your Brain Power
Boost Your Brain Power
The mind is a muscle and according to a recent article published in Success Magazine, our brains start to power down in our early 40s! I imagine that like me, everyone wants to hang on to that brain power and do whatever it takes to make that “mind muscle” work for you. Lets identify some of the things that contribute to this mind weakening and talk about how to avoid them.
Strong brainContributors to diminished brain power:
- Frequently and quickly switching back and forth between tasks
- Over focusing, remembering every little detail
- The need to instantly respond to emails, text messages, etc.
Here are a few tips to boost your brain power from the Center for Brain Health at the University of Texas at Dallas:
- Rest your brain: Give yourself some quiet time each day. Even just a few minutes of mental rest can help your decision making, problem solving and productivity.
- Take things one task at a time: Focus on one task at a time. Finish one thing before starting the rest. This is easier said than done in a fast paced workplace that puts high value on multi-tasking but its essential to improving accuracy and productivity as less focus shifting helps you spend less time on each task in the long run.
- Prioritize: Make and to do list and tackle the most crucial items first before moving on to less important tasks. This will help improve your productivity and efficiency.
- Mix it up: Just say no to the status quo! Mix it up. The more creative you are at work the more your brain is stretched and grown in turn producing even more creative solutions and ideas.
We hope that with these few tips you’ll be better able to boost your brain power and run your business. Being an entrepreneur is no easy task and we all can use a little boost in the brain game!
Market Disruption and How to Confront It
Market Disruption and How to Confront It
So you’ve owned your business for five, ten maybe twenty years and things are going along just fine. Then suddenly a new way of doing things comes along. The internet, mobile devices, a new type of forklift that’s ten times lighter, but just as strong as yours—whatever it may be—and now things have changed. People don’t want to come to your office for an initial consultation, they want to pick you from your website, and now they want the work done twice as fast for the same cost. Welcome to the world of disruptive technologies—new developments that have the power to change the pace of customer demand and that if left alone, could take away the majority of your business, if not all.
Clayton Christensen entrepreneur, professor of business administration at Harvard University and author of many books on disruption and other topics, has spent the majority of his professional career studying these situations. In his bestseller, “The Innovator’s Dilemma,” he describes in detail this situation in various industries and provides “how to” advice in order to adapt and stay competitive. Today we’re going to touch at a very high level just one principle: Separate the business.
In studying great firms that were once industry leaders and then later failed due to disruptive technologies, there was one common theme among that survived—They set up a completely separate business that adopted the change and kept the original business but made some adaptations. The idea is that if you try to make a huge shift in the way you do business, you’ll lose a large portion of your current customer base and die from lack of income, but if you don’t make changes, you won’t be able to acquire the new type of customer and in the future you’ll be out of luck. The solution is to build a separate company with separate processes, separate employees, and separate financials that can rigorously adopt the disruptive changes taking place.
While this is easier said than done, it is a must do. For more on the subject, see “The Innovator’s Dilemma” or other sources of literature that discuss this process. In a world of fast changes, you’ve got to change fast!
– Your financial, legal and tax professionals at GQ Law.
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Accidentally Self-Employed E-book
Accidentally Self-Employed E-book
Need help starting your new business? Not sure if your business is set up properly?
We can help! Having worked with entrepreneurs just like you and being an entrepreneur himself, Attorney Gary Quackenbush is a small business expert. Inspired by Gary’s own experience ending up “accidentally self-employed” and starting up a law practice on his own after his firm dissolved, his user friendly ebook is just the thing to get you and your business started on the right foot.
Gary’s E-Book Accidentally Self Employed gives answers to the most common new business questions. Read your free copy to learn what type of business is best for you and your business goals. Click on the link above or image below to request your FREE copy. It’ll be sent to your email inbox right away.
The book clearly explains the ins and outs of the various business entities available, guiding you as you make one of the biggest decisions in starting a business- what type of business to form. With details about sole proprietorships, limited partnerships, limited liability companies (LLC) and California corporations, this book is a must read on your journey through the business formation process.
Click on the image below to request your FREE copy today!
Optimistic Entrepreneurs
Optimistic Entrepreneurs
San Diego is home to many optimistic entrepreneurs- why not join them! San Diego entrepreneur and San Diego business attorney Gary Quackenbush can help!
According to a recent Union Tribune article, San Diego entrepreneurs have hit an all time high in optimism. The article references the Union Bank Small Business Economy Survey, a survey of 631 entrepreneurs on the West Coast. The survey found that (more…)
Living Trust Basics: Gary’s NEW E-Book
Living Trust Basics
He’s done it again!
We all know and love Gary’s first e-book Accidentally Self-Employed and now he’s published a new e-book, Living Trust Basics.
Simple and easy to read, Living Trust Basics is a must read for EVERYONE! Gary answers some of your most pressing Estate Planning questions and teaches you how to make sure your future, your loved ones and your assets are properly protected in case something happens to you.
Do I need an Estate Plan?
How do I avoid Probate/Conservatorship?
What causes Probate?
What are Power of Attorneys and do I need them?
What is the difference between a trustor and a trustee?
What is a beneficiary?
How does trust funding work?
Gary’s goal in writing this e-book is to provide lively, informative, and comprehensive information about personal estate planning.
All of us want to avoid death, disability, and taxes. Not one of us can avoid death, but each one of us can minimize the effects of death or disability on our families, and avoid taxes if we know how. The purpose of this ebook is to tell you how.
Gary A. Quackenbush
Click on the links above to request your FREE copy today! Also tune in to 1210AM radio in San Diego from 5-6pm tomorrow, Tuesday April 28th, to hear Gary LIVE on the radio talking about his new book. You can also listen live online at www.kprz.com you won’t want to miss it!
Entrepreneur Tax Tip III: 5 Quick Tips to Get Ready Now!
Entrepreneur Tax Tip III: 5 Quick Tips to Get Ready Now!
You may be confused as to why this post is coming out now that the tax deadline has passed. To that, we answer, 2013’s has passed, yes. But 2014’s is on its way!
That’s why we’re going to give 5 quick tips, adopted from Amrik Andhawa, Entrepreneur columnist, to help next tax season go easier (full article here).
1. Get organized
Amrik, entrepreneur and product developer himself, suggests having standardized formatting for invoices and other legal documents as well as designating a good place to keep necessary documents, more than just a shoebox or plastic bag.
2. Get reconciled
This will save a lot of headache come year end and truthfully, it’s just good business practice for cash flow planning!
3. Review quarterly payments
Amrik suggests, “This exercise can help you get budget for what you might owe or what sort of refund you might get, and it gives your accountant some useful benchmarks when it’s time to prep returns.” This will help eliminate that unpleasant surprise of owing much more tax money than expected.
4. Keep track of legal paperwork
Specifically, keep good track of the W9’s. This can get messy when needing to issue year end 1099’s to contracted work over $600. This ties into number 1, but hey, it’s important, so we can reiterate.
5. Consistently keep books
Keeping books, like keeping reconciled is important not only to your business decision making but for making tax season easier. The more prepared you are for your accountant/tax preparer, the smoother the process will go.
Can you imagine a stress free tax season? Well, here are 5 small tips to making everything much more manageable. Then, while competition is bogged down doing paperwork, you’re out making sales.
We’re here to help, so please don’t forget to include your tax professionals here at GQLaw. Good luck!
What is Probate?
What is Probate?
Probate is a term that is used in several different ways. Probate can refer to the act of presenting a will to a court officer for filing — such as, to “probate” a will. But in a more general sense, probate refers to the method by which your estate is administered and processed through the legal system after you die.
Dummies.com
Many people think that “Probate” only applies to those who do not have a will. This is incorrect. Probate is the process that helps transfer your estate in an orderly and supervised way. There is a big difference, however, in how the probate process works depending on whether or not you have a complete and valid Will. If you have a valid Will, this process is pretty painless and easy for those you leave behind. Without a valid or complete will the laws where you live will determine who gets what, or in other terms- your assets are tied up in an ugly, oftentimes long court battle.
Losing a loved one is a sad and difficult time for family, relatives, and friends. In addition, those left behind must often figure out how to transfer or inherit property from the person who has died.
To do this, you must usually go to court. And dealing with the courts and the property of someone who has died is very complicated. Sometimes, however, family or relatives may be able to transfer property from someone who has died without going to court. But it is not always easy to tell whether you need to go to court or qualify to use a different procedure…we still encourage you to talk to a lawyer to get specific answers about your situation. You can usually pay the lawyer’s fees from the property in the case.
California Courts official website
With or without a Will and complete Estate Plan, the Probate process is a bit complicated. We are here to help! We here at GQ Law have been helping people through the Probate process- whether your deceased loved one had a Will or not, since 1989. Please contact out office today to set up a FREE initial consultation to talk about your particular situation.
Let the experts at GQ Law walk you through this complex process.
GQ Law 858-549-8600. We are here for you.
Common Tax Mistakes: Tax Season 2015
Common Tax Mistakes: Tax Season 2015
With tax season in full swing its time to remind ourselves of the common mistakes that tax payers make when filing taxes.
A recent article published by ABC News outlines some of the most common tax mistakes made by filers each year. Many of these mistakes can be avoided by proper planning and organization and a good, thorough proofreading of your return. Want more return filing advice? The IRS lists out their top 8 common tax mistakes in this article. Here are the highlights.
Social Security Numbers: Be sure to double check your SSN, that of your spouse and dependents. If they’re not correct, your return will get rejected.
Double check names: Misspelled names will get your return rejected as well.
Paper returns: Don’t forget to attach W2s and other documents if you file by mail. The IRS actually recommends that you file online.
You can avoid most tax return errors by using IRS e-file. People who do their taxes on paper are about 20 times more likely to make an error than e-filers. IRS e-file is the most accurate way to file your tax return.
Proofread: Be sure to proof read your returns for type-os.
Math mistakes: Be sure to double check your calculations.
We hope this tax season goes smoothly for all of you and that you can avoid these common tax mistakes. As always, if you are in need of tax help whether that be help with filing your return this year or getting out from under back taxes, we are here to help! Please call our office today to set up a FREE initial consultation with Attorney Gary Quackenbush and his team. 858-549-8600
I’ll Will it to You: Should Parents Tell Adult Children About Their Estate Plan
I’ll Will it to You
We’ve all seen the happy little Grandma in a movie scene, sitting with her darling granddaughter who is drooling over her precious pearls and heard Grandma tenderly say “I’ll Will it to you Janey dear.” Some of us have probably even been told we will be “willed” something by our own parents or grandparents. Hearing this as an adult, we’d assume that when Grandma or Grandpa’s time on earth expires, we will get that item free and clear because they “willed” it to us. Since most people do not itemize every single item in their possession, when push comes to shove, Janey dear may end up fighting cousin Sally for Grandma’s perfect pearls.
We’ve also all seen the classic TV or movie scene where soon after a tearful funeral, family members each get a letter inviting them to come meet with a stiff necked lawyer to “reveal” Grandma’s will. Bankrupt son Kevin sees this as his jackpot, finally a way out of the financial hole he’s dug himself, only to find out that she left him a “priceless” gift, a note with life lessons on it, and left all her assets to the Humane Society.
With those images in mind, we can imagine that there is some debate over whether or not parents should tell their adult children about the contents of their Estate Plans, including their Will and Trust. In a recent wealth management.com article author Patricia Angus argues that parents should tell their children what’s in their Estate Planning documents but cautions that parents should consider their own family and financial circumstances before doing so by assessing the following:
What to tell: At a minimum parents should tell children where the Estate Planning documents are located and who the key advisors are, including the attorney, accountants and financial advisors involved. Parents should then remember that if there are unequal bequests or if they have made arrangements with one particular child, it is the parents’ responsibility to explain their reasoning to the other children.
How to tell: Most families find it best to gather adult children and have a conversation all together. Sometimes these conversations are best facilitated by a third party like an attorney or other involved professional party.
Special Circumstances: If there is a family business to consider or special needs in the family (i.e. disabled children or family conflict between siblings) parents may want to consider additional family discussions to make sure decisions and desires are clear and that nobody is blindsided by the Plan upon the death of the parents.
What not to tell: Its best to avoid sharing specific financial information with regard to the Will and Trust because often times the amount of assets in the trust is greatly depleted by the time the parents go. This also allows parents to keep some autonomy in their lives.
To read the full article click here and to get your complete Estate Plan set up or updated, contact our office at 858-549-8600 where our experienced staff are here to help!
Attorney Gary Quackenbush and his team have been helping people with all aspects of Estate Planning since 1988 and are ready to help you and your family too.
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This information is not intended as legal advice and does not substitute the council of an Estate Planning professional. Please contact our office today to set up a free initial consultation and allow us to advise you on your particular situation.
