Newsletter Issue 2

As an entrepreneur, it was an amazing way to get inspired, informed and challenged. My bold money goal for the next 90 days will definitely challenge me to step up and re-evaluate the way I’ve been running my business. Do you have a bold money goal that has specific steps to prosperity? If not, check out my “7 Key Steps to your Business Profitability” on my website www.marie-gibson.com .

Every business needs a system, a goal, a plan, an image that you specifically and intentionally project. You need a system that permeates the way you interact with your employees, your customers or clients and the business community. This system should become inherent in your interactions with the way you chart your specific goals, market your company and implement your services and products. There should be a coherent theme running through every action that you take daily. Ask yourself, “does this action step take me where I want to be?” If so, great! If not, you may need some help becoming clear about what you want from yourself and your business.

Part of your process of creating this system is defining your niche clearly and understanding specifically what benefits that you provide to your customers. For instance, when a prospective client calls me, exclaiming that she is “traumatized, frustrated, overwhelmed and hates, hates, hates her accounting” (her exact words), I know that the benefits I provide are NOT accounting services. I provide calmness, clarity, ease of decision-making, the ability for her to sleep at night. I remove the ugly gray cloud that hovers over her shoulders — giving her peace of mind and the ability to read and understand her financial reports so that she can use them to run her business profitably. I give her the support and coaching that she needs to move forward out of an awful place into one of success. Speaking of success, I had a terrific interview with Jeffrey Benjamin as we discussed how entrepreneurs, business owners, directors and professionals need to continue moving forward — even in this climate. If you’d like to hear more of this subject, please join me at the SilverSky Group Open House and Q&A, where I’ll be speaking. Be sure to see the link below under our calendar of special events.

Jeffrey Benjamin, Breakthrough Training, was a dynamite interviewer on his radio talk show, which airs on Sundays @ 9:30am PST on 99.1 FM Talk Reno. Listen online – www.991FMtalk.com. I was able to share how my book, SMART BOOKS = SMART BUSINESS, will help you take charge of your accounting and really run your business profitably! Sneak preview available at my YouTube account with this link: http://www.youtube.com/MarieGibsonLLC

Understanding Construction Accounting with QuickBooks – Redfield Campus, Reno – February 16. This class is designed specifically for contractors and builders and will be a full and intensive day. Please register only if you are a builder, contractor, architect, plumber, electrician, etc.

Details: This was a phenomenal class last week . . . stay tuned for the next one.

eWeek Nevada

· Invited speaker at SilverSky Group Open House and Q&A

SilverSky Group invites you to join them at their Longley Lane office for a Q&A session.  A group of Reno professionals will offer general information as to how to start, run and maintain a small business venture.  Information and entrepreneurs go hand-in-hand. Small bites and refreshments will be served.  Join us!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010, 5:30pm – 7:30pm

Location: SilverSky Group, 5422 Longley Lane, Suite B

Price: $20 in advance /$30 at the door (All proceeds from this event will go to NCET a 501(c)3 organization.)

Details: www.silverskygroup.com to find out more about SilverSky Group.  Please contact Jacquelyn jfuzell@silverskygroup.com for more event-related information.

eWeek Nevada

· Presenter – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly:  Unfiltered Advice from a QuickBooks Pro Advisor; Common QuickBooks Mistakes and how to Prevent Them

Learn how your daily transactions feed through the Chart of Accounts directly to your financial statements. Leave this session with confidence that QuickBooks is a program that you will LOVE!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010, 11:30 – 1:00

We’ll start promptly. Light lunch included

Location: Morrison University, 10315 Professional Circle, 2nd Floor

Price: $15; proceeds to benefit NCET.org (a 501(c)3 organization.)

RSVP required – Sorry unable to accommodate walk-ins

http://www.marie-gibson.com/special-events/

NCET’s Entrepreneur’s Expo – Las Vegas – Friday, February 19. What a fantastic event! Thanks Dave and Emily at NCET!

NCET’s Entrepreneur’s Expo – Reno – Friday, March 12. I’m delighted to help support NCET’s Entrepreneurial Expos and eWeek each year. I will be a presenter and an exhibitor in Reno. Details regarding the expos and all the special events and speakers can be found at www.ncet.org . By the way, the Expo is F.R.E.E.!

Introduction to QuickBooks

A two-day workshop, sponsored by the Nevada Small Business Development Center, is specifically designed for new users planning to use QuickBooks. Learn to properly setup, prevent and correct common mistakes, prepare, read and understand common financial reports. Learn how to make your life easier! Attendees take a 200+ page workbook with them. Class is taught in traditional classroom style, eliminating hands-on computer use for optimum learning!

What you can expect from this class -

• Become a Confident User
• Master the Fundamentals of QuickBooks Accounting Software
• Expert training and advice
• Set up a simple, inexpensive, hassle-free accounting system
• Learn the Simplest Way to Track Income and Expenses
• Complete Accounting Tasks Quickly and Accurately
• Don’t Waste Time Through Trial and Error
• Prepare necessary records for governmental and other business purposes
• Understand your reports for business decision-making
• How-to manual with directions and examples to take home

Introduction to QuickBooks – Reno, Redfield Campus; March 17 and March 18

Details: https://ssl.nsbdc.org/education/calendar

Introduction to QuickBooks – Winnemucca – March 22 and 23

Details: https://ssl.nsbdc.org/education/calendar

Introduction to QuickBooks – Lovelock – March 24 and 25

Details: https://ssl.nsbdc.org/education/calendar

Introduction to QuickBooks – Hawthorne – April 5 and 6

Details: https://ssl.nsbdc.org/education/calendar

Introduction to QuickBooks – Pioche – April 8 and 9

Details: https://ssl.nsbdc.org/education/calendar

Stepping into your “Power of Profitability!” – Teleseminar Intensive – Starting March 29

Have confidence!  Take charge of your accounting for wise decision-making! If you want to succeed in business today, you need to be able to read and understand your financial reports.  You need to know how much money you earn and by which employees, which jobs and which clients.  You need to speak the language of business!

Even if you delegate this responsibility and have a bookkeeper take care of this part of your business, you will want to know how a system should work properly, how the numbers flow to your reports, how to read reports and how to use them to make your important decisions.  Many business owners abdicate this task completely and find themselves with a sense of anxiety, discomfort and lack of confidence.

Details: http://www.marie-gibson.com/special-events/power-of-profitability/

Business owners no longer need to avoid accounting. Here’s a magnificent tool to make financial reporting an enjoyable adventure. Whether you have an assistant to handle accounting functions or you do it yourself, SMART BOOKS = SMART BUSINESS is the handbook you need to understand your business’ financial picture.

After working with hundreds of students and business clients, I hit upon a system that breaks complex accounting concepts into bite-size pieces so that business owners can easily incorporate them into their business. The system I teach will work if you’re a new business owner, an existing one, an entrepreneur, a consultant, a doctor or other professional services provider, or even if you’re in retail. They even work for non-profits…just as long as you truly want to set up your accounting properly.

For Details: www.marie-gibson.com

How to make your CPA happy and stop your end-of-year panic

Request your copy of the audio recording where you’ll hear me share some of the best tips for your end-of-the-year records.  You’ll save money with these few, simple suggestions and create a better working relationship with your CPA. Details: http://www.marie-gibson.com/solutions-and-products/happy-cpa/

ShoeBox 101 – Basic Bookkeeping for New Business Owners

This special teleseminar, hosted by Meggin McIntosh and led by Marie Gibson, is for those smart people who are not necessarily knowledgeable about what to do with their "books."  Maybe you’re fine with your personal finances (or maybe not), but you’re not so great at tracking what’s coming in and what’s going out…and then being ready for preparing your taxes each year. Details: http://www.meggin.com/ShoeBox101.php

Over the next few months, we’ll be implementing a new automated client and contact list system. If you wish to continue receiving my newsletters and email announcements, please “Opt-in by visiting my website at www.Marie-Gibson.com, and typing your name and email address into the “Free Special Report” box in the upper right hand corner of the website.  As a thank-you for signing up, you’ll love receiving the special report that gives you “7 Key Steps to Run Your Business Profitably!”

If you wish to be removed from my contact list now or at any time in the future, I’ll be sorry to see you go, but you may unsubscribe at any time simply by replying to this – or any future email – with the word Unsubscribe in the subject line; or click on the unsubscribe link below.

I’m excited to be growing my business this year, and my warmest appreciation for your patience as we make some major changes to our operations.

Please include this complete blurb with it: Marie Gibson is devoted to helping business owners make wise business decisions by taking charge of their accounting and running their business profitably! Register for her free weekly guide or her “7 Key Steps to Your Business Profitably” at www.marie-gibson.com. The information presented in this article is for informational purposes only and should not take the place of professional financial consultation.

Marie Gibson Management & Consulting, LLC