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7 Cash Flow Secrets Your Accountant Never Told You
Looking for ways to boost your cash flow? As a small business consultant, I make these recommendations to my cash strapped small business clients: 1. Shoeboxes are for shoes, not business records. Pardon my candor but, you will never have a...
Business or Hobby...What Would the IRS Call YOUR Business?
One thing we know for sure… direct sellers start their businesses for a wide variety of reasons. Some want to build a dynasty, some want the tax benefits, some do it to buy and share a product they believe in, while others are simply looking for...
Coming to a business like yours: webware
COMING TO A BUSINESS LIKE YOURS: WEBWARE! By Alan Canton Whether you sell a product, a service, or a combination of both, those who are successful have one thing in common... an efficient back-office. But the “cost” of an efficient office has...
How To Start Investing For Financial Independence, Part 2
Last week, we started a multi-part series about how to go from being a beginning investor to being “financially independent” in a steady and predictable way. Many, many people want to overly complicate this process so let's briefly, let's recap...
Innocent Spouses - Relief From Taxes
Historically, tax issues arising from bad marriages fell into the category of “better or worse” for marriages. The IRS granted no innocent spouse tax relief, but has changed its views.
Tax Relief
When a marriage has problems, finances are...
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How To Touch The Hands Of Greatness
I knocked on the door nervously and waited.
Finally a tall young man opened the door and looked at
me calmly. He was tired.
"Yes?" he asked, expressionless.
"Is D-D-D-Dave there?" I stammered.
"Sure. Just a minute."
Chris disappeared as quickly as he appeared, leaving the
door slightly open. That's a good sign, I thought.
The door opened again and there he stood,
Dave Brubeck, one of America's greatest jazz pianists.
I couldn't believe it.
There I was, face to face with my idol, in a dingy
backstage hallway in North Manchester, Indiana.
We just stood there, looking at each other.
I was so nervous and excited, I didn't know what to say.
Dave had just finished performing. I've seen him play
numerous times, and never get enough. He's come to
Indiana four times in the past 15 years, for reasons
I'll never understand, and I always manage to find out
about it and get a ticket.
As soon as the concert ended, I made a beeline backstage
and started knocking on doors.
Something inside me said "I've got to meet him."
Now the moment was here and time was standing still.
And my mouth wouldn't work. Damn those marbles.
"W-W-W-ould you s-s-s-ign this?" I finally asked.
I handed him an old book of sheet music. It contained
some of Dave's greatest songs.
"That's an old one. Where did you get this?" He was
impressed.
I started to answer but no words would come out.
Dave saw my struggle and smiled while signing
his name. He gave me back the book and pen, then looked
at me patiently.
"C-C-Can I see how l-l-l-long your fingers are?"
God only knows how I got the words out.
As I help up my right hand, Dave instinctively put up
his left hand. As expected, his fingers were several
inches longer than mine.
"Wow. S-s-s-so that's how you play all those big chords."
We stood there laughing, hands touching.
I didn't want to stay any longer, although I probably
could have. I told him how much I loved his music,
shook his hand, and left.
The whole exchange took less than five minutes. But
I remember it like it was yesterday.
My brush with greatness.
***********************************
I don't have many idols. There's my father. And
Dave Brubeck. And that's about it.
But I've had many influences. People who've touched
my life and changed the way I think.
People who've had a profound influence on me.
In business, Dan Kennedy comes to mind first.
Never met him, but hope to
some day.
How about you?
Who are your idols? Who would you love to meet,
if only for 5 minutes to shake hands and say
"thank you" for the way you've helped me.
As you think about your business or career,
are you happy with your current situation?
Are you doing what you really love to do?
Are you making the kind of money you want to make?
If not, consider this:
Maybe you need a mentor. Someone who's had
success in your field and can provide guidance
on how you can succeed, too.
If you are struggling to get to the next level,
or maybe just to get a new venture off the
ground, finding a mentor can make all the
difference in the world.
As you look for a mentor, keep these 3 tips in mind:
1. Find a mentor who's actually done what you
want to do, and has done it consistently and
successfully for many years.
You don't want to hook up with a rookie. You
want a veteran.
2. Find a mentor who is accessible -- someone
you can reach out and touch.
I've never met Dan Kennedy, but he's made himself
accessible to me through his books and tapes.
One of his marketing home-study courses included
a consultation certificate that allowed me to
send him one of my sales letters for his review.
(Now you know why I include a consultation
certificate in my information products.)
So I sent Dan one of my sales letters and, true
to his word, he critiqued it.
I've still got that critique. It started out
by saying, "Overall, a solid job." Then it went
on to offer suggestions for improvement.
Man, was I excited! I knew I was on the right
track. After many unsuccessful attempts at
direct mail as a marketing strategy, I finally
had the confidence to try again.
And that sales letter that Dan critiqued enabled
me to double the size of my business in 3 years --
from one sales letter.
3. Realize that mentors don't come to you.
You've got to go to them.
To become great, sometimes you must first
touch the hands of greatness.
Whose hands are you going to reach out and touch?
It's up to you to get out of your chair
and find that person, that mentor.
It's up to you to make contact.
About the Author
Wayne M. Davies, jazz lover, is Fort Wayne's only short,
bald, stuttering tax accountant. He is also the author of
3 tax-slashing ebooks for the self-employed, available
separately or as a 3-volume set, "The Ultimate Small
Business Tax Reduction Guide."
http://www.YouSaveOnTaxes.com/ultimate-guide
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| Internal Revenue Service |
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| TurboTax Premier For Federal Returns 2005 Win/Mac, TurboTax Total Tax Solution Deluxe 2005 with State Win/Mac, TurboTax Basic 2005 Win/Mac... ... |
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| Taxes - Tax News for Home and Business from CNNMoney |
| The latest in tax law updates, news, forms & advice from CNNMoney.com. Includes a refund savings calculator, and interactive tax lessons. |
| money.cnn.com |
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| The Tax Foundation - Educating Taxpayers Since 1937 |
| Devoted to educating taxpayers about tax policy and the total tax burden borne by Americans at all levels of government. |
| www.taxfoundation.org |
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| Welcome to the Vermont Department of Taxes |
| Welcome to the Vermont Department of Taxes... ... Changes to Property Tax Adjustments in 2007 - updated 10/18. - Tax Expenditures Transition Report on ... |
| www.state.vt.us |
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| Franchise Tax Board Homepage |
| The department that collects state personal income taxes and bank and corporation taxes for the State of California. Access to forms and tax information. |
| www.ftb.ca.gov |
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| HM Revenue & Customs: Home Page |
| News and information on tax and national insurance, including downloadable leaflets and forms and the latest news on filing tax returns on-line. |
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| State and Local Tax |
| Piper Resources; State Tax Rates and Structure ...Federation of Tax Administrators; State Payroll Taxes Information ...Symmetry Software ... |
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| Quicken.com |
| www.quicken.com/taxes/ - 3k - Cached - Similar pages |
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| Information on all phases of tax planning and preparation. |
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| Online Tax Advice - Tax Preparation Help - Income Tax Tips |
| Income Tax Tips - MarketWatch offers online tax advice and tips. ... IRS inflation adjustments mean tax break on next year's taxes. ... |
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