GP1 Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 GP1, do you employ people?How are you organized?Do you have an accountant handle your taxes and book-keeping?You talk about grabbing your balls and doing it, but there are a lot of things to be screwed up, particularly when dealing with the government.I searched around the internet for some guru site about this sorta thing, and it almost seems that no one really wants to touch it comprehensively.Yes and no. I hire independent sales reps and will issue 1099s. This is very common in my industry. Independent reps are a variable cost. If they sell a lot, the make a lot, but so do you. If they don't sell a lot, you didn't have to pay them much. They can be terminated with 30 days notice. Keep reps at 10% of your cost of sales.LLCYes, Mrs. GP1, the luckiest woman in the world, is an accountant. She is also the Vice President of the company. A good accountant is much more important than a good lawyer.You can incorporate a business on legalzoom.com for about a quarter of what it would cost a lawyer to fill out the same forms. Be careful not to flush money down on unnecessary legal fees. Lawyers are running almost as big of a scam as the Amish.If you have employees, use a payroll service like ADP. One in ten Americans receives their paychecks through ADP. They handle not only the payroll, but the tax deposits, tax filings, direct deposits, payroll reports and W-2s. They take liability for all of the tax deposits and filings. It is a cheap service. Set up a separate payroll account at the bank and your service will tell you how much money to put into it then they will sweep it. Everything is done electronically. Payroll mistakes can be a huge problem for a company because it is so regulated by the government. Be careful and let someone else take the liability. Set up your account with ADP before you open your doors. You don't have to pay for the service unless you use it. You're right, there are a lot of things to screw up. Accept that you will make mistakes. Just don't make BIG mistakes.Remember, if you are good at the corporate hamster wheel stuff, you can always go back if things don't work out. Owning your own business would make you attractive for a corporate job again and you would probably have a better job compared to the one you had before.I have a decent feeling about next year. Many of my contractors have jobs for January and my backlog is pretty big for that month. I think a lot of building owners wanted to do some work in 2009, but they didn't have the budget for it. Now they have been able to get money for 2010 and they are moving forward with projects they should have done two years ago. Inventories are extremely low at manufacturers and the up-tick could spur more raw material orders than expected. I even know some companies that are going to hire the first week in January. They just didn't have the money in the budget for 2009 and if things do pick up, they will not be able to handle the workload with their current staffing levels. Residential contractors have also become very busy all of the sudden as well....good sign. Maybe I'm being too optimistic, but I think better days are ahead sooner rather than later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1 Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 I simply read The Science of Success. The rest was gravy.That is a great book. It is where I first came across the Albert Einstein quote, "Not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted counts." I told that to a Six Sigma guy once and he almost fainted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctmjbowes@sbcglobal.net Posted December 19, 2009 Report Share Posted December 19, 2009 Damn! I got to start my own business, so I can spend all day sending zingers to the assorted hangers-on at ZipsNation.org. Then the rest of the day, I'll debate the letters to the editor at Ohio.com! Isn't it awesome owning your own business? I had always worked for large companies and did very well. The Koch Industries purchase of Georgia Pacific alone made the time at Georgia Pacific worth it because of not only my stock options, but more importantly the business philosophy at Koch. Charles Koch is brilliant and everyone should read his book The Science of Success. Later I went to work for a Berkshire Hathaway company and I knew it was time to leave when I would sit in my home office with the phone on mute and laugh out loud at the people in the corporate HQ durning conference calls. The people at the corporate HQ were hiding behind the company logo and disguising their incompetence behind a Six Sigma certification. They were absolute fools. They would spend six months putting cause & effect tables together about decisions a sane person could make in five minutes.If anyone out there wants to start their own business, grab your balls and do it!!! I've worked harder than I ever have before and I don't feel like it is work. I can't wait for tomorrow. I even know I'm going to wake up with a hangover, and I can't wait until tomorrow. It's nothing that a little Advil can't take care of and honestly, I'm done for 2009.In a year when most people are worrying about losing their job, I don't worry for a second about paying the bills or what would happen if I lost my job. Tough economic times are when you can break the bank if you are smart about it. Go out and break the bank! History is on your side. A lot of you have received a great education from a great school. Go out there and do something with it. Be different and do something different.Go The University of Akron!Is that The Great GP1 talking or some prozac-crazed maniac? Remember that depression always follows the mania... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1 Posted December 19, 2009 Report Share Posted December 19, 2009 Damn! I got to start my own business, so I can spend all day sending zingers to the assorted hangers-on at ZipsNation.org. Then the rest of the day, I'll debate the letters to the editor at Ohio.com! Isn't it awesome owning your own business? I had always worked for large companies and did very well. The Koch Industries purchase of Georgia Pacific alone made the time at Georgia Pacific worth it because of not only my stock options, but more importantly the business philosophy at Koch. Charles Koch is brilliant and everyone should read his book The Science of Success. Later I went to work for a Berkshire Hathaway company and I knew it was time to leave when I would sit in my home office with the phone on mute and laugh out loud at the people in the corporate HQ durning conference calls. The people at the corporate HQ were hiding behind the company logo and disguising their incompetence behind a Six Sigma certification. They were absolute fools. They would spend six months putting cause & effect tables together about decisions a sane person could make in five minutes.If anyone out there wants to start their own business, grab your balls and do it!!! I've worked harder than I ever have before and I don't feel like it is work. I can't wait for tomorrow. I even know I'm going to wake up with a hangover, and I can't wait until tomorrow. It's nothing that a little Advil can't take care of and honestly, I'm done for 2009.In a year when most people are worrying about losing their job, I don't worry for a second about paying the bills or what would happen if I lost my job. Tough economic times are when you can break the bank if you are smart about it. Go out and break the bank! History is on your side. A lot of you have received a great education from a great school. Go out there and do something with it. Be different and do something different.Go The University of Akron!Is that The Great GP1 talking or some prozac-crazed maniac? Remember that depression always follows the mania...I hear what you are saying. The first six months were the most difficult and would have caused any depression. I don't feel the same stress now as the first six months so I think the mania is over. Who knows....maybe I'll be in a rubber room in a few months.....how do you know I'm not typing this post from a rubber room right now. If being a Zips fan doesn't drive you crazy or at least to some level of depression, I don't know what will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJGood Posted December 19, 2009 Report Share Posted December 19, 2009 One thing I don't understand...it has been stated on this board that Frye will stay in league longer because of his starting experience but that the best thing for him now is to not see the field and that his starting this week is a bad thing. Don't those two things contradict each other?Wouldn't Charlie starting the last three games of the season for Oakland just give him more experience and more RECENT experience thus enhancing his chances of a longer NFL career by that same logic? Unless he performs terribly, and he can't do worse than JaMarcus Russell, it can only be a good thing for Frye as I see it.I just hope he isn't too pumped up if he's named the starter in Cleveland in eight days. I'd love to see him perform well in that game, win or lose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1 Posted December 19, 2009 Report Share Posted December 19, 2009 One thing I don't understand...it has been stated on this board that Frye will stay in league longer because of his starting experience but that the best thing for him now is to not see the field and that his starting this week is a bad thing. Don't those two things contradict each other?No, Charlie has started enough and people have seen his act and are not impressed. His experience is important, not his ability at this point. The circumstance in his starting this week lead to a bad outcome. Charlie has been the scout team QB all season so he has not taken snaps in the offense since pre-season. He only has a few days of preparation with the starting unit. Things like timing are difficult to develop with only a few days preparation. The Raiders coaching staff is not good enough to put a game plan together that will give Charlie much of a chance either. I don't care who the QB would be, this is a terrible situation to throw a qb. Charlie would be better off if he was the #2 somewhere because the #2 takes snaps in preparation for the other upcoming team.I mentioned before that everything the Great GP1 knows about WWII and German culture comes from watching Hogan's Heroes. Remember they had the hollowed out tree stump next to the woods they crawled in and out of the tunnel from (why they wouldn't have dug the tunnel an extra 20 feet into the woods is the questions everyone should have asked, but anyhow...). The gang always had to wait for the German spotlight to pass by the tree stump before climbing out of the stump and running into the woods. The key was to stay in the stump so nobody saw you and then run out after the spotlight passed. Charlie is about to climb out of the stump with the German spotlight directly on it. Unless Sergent Schultz (isn't it funny he was the highest ranking NCO at the camp?) is operating the spotlight, Charlie is in trouble. I don't think the Broncos have any Sergent Schultz-type guys on their team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckzip Posted December 19, 2009 Report Share Posted December 19, 2009 One thing I don't understand...it has been stated on this board that Frye will stay in league longer because of his starting experience but that the best thing for him now is to not see the field and that his starting this week is a bad thing. Don't those two things contradict each other?No, Charlie has started enough and people have seen his act and are not impressed. His experience is important, not his ability at this point. The circumstance in his starting this week lead to a bad outcome. Charlie has been the scout team QB all season so he has not taken snaps in the offense since pre-season. He only has a few days of preparation with the starting unit. Things like timing are difficult to develop with only a few days preparation. The Raiders coaching staff is not good enough to put a game plan together that will give Charlie much of a chance either. I don't care who the QB would be, this is a terrible situation to throw a qb. Charlie would be better off if he was the #2 somewhere because the #2 takes snaps in preparation for the other upcoming team.I mentioned before that everything the Great GP1 knows about WWII and German culture comes from watching Hogan's Heroes. Remember they had the hollowed out tree stump next to the woods they crawled in and out of the tunnel from (why they wouldn't have dug the tunnel an extra 20 feet into the woods is the questions everyone should have asked, but anyhow...). The gang always had to wait for the German spotlight to pass by the tree stump before climbing out of the stump and running into the woods. The key was to stay in the stump so nobody saw you and then run out after the spotlight passed. Charlie is about to climb out of the stump with the German spotlight directly on it. Unless Sergent Schultz (isn't it funny he was the highest ranking NCO at the camp?) is operating the spotlight, Charlie is in trouble. I don't think the Broncos have any Sergent Schultz-type guys on their team.LOL. What a great analogy. I actually used to think the same thing about HH.Of course I always wondered why the Robinsons didn't just leave Dr. Smith on a planet, and I wondered why the Professor couldn't find something to fix the hole in the SS Minnow too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopper Posted December 19, 2009 Report Share Posted December 19, 2009 Isn't it awesome owning your own business?Sometimes, yes .. other times .. not so much.We need an applet where you can play music behind a post when someone is reading the post. This one needs the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" .. nice motivation speech. I'd have written the exact same thing 10 years ago. Might be interesting to revisit in 5, and then again in 10 years. Hope it's a prosperous 2010.Opportunity does flourish amid chaos.Go The University of Akron!And that too!Go Zips! B) B)This song would make more sense for GP1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1 Posted December 19, 2009 Report Share Posted December 19, 2009 Isn't it awesome owning your own business?Sometimes, yes .. other times .. not so much.We need an applet where you can play music behind a post when someone is reading the post. This one needs the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" .. nice motivation speech. I'd have written the exact same thing 10 years ago. Might be interesting to revisit in 5, and then again in 10 years. Hope it's a prosperous 2010.Opportunity does flourish amid chaos.Go The University of Akron!And that too!Go Zips! B) B)This song would make more sense for GP1.Good post!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
you am i Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 Halftime: Oakland 13; Denver 6. I'm following the game on CBSSportsline gametracker. Charlie is 8/15, 57 yards, 0/1. Apparently, they are keeping him on a short leash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zipmeister Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 GP1, do you employ people?How are you organized?Do you have an accountant handle your taxes and book-keeping?You talk about grabbing your balls and doing it, but there are a lot of things to be screwed up, particularly when dealing with the government.I searched around the internet for some guru site about this sorta thing, and it almost seems that no one really wants to touch it comprehensively.Yes and no. I hire independent sales reps and will issue 1099s. This is very common in my industry. Independent reps are a variable cost. If they sell a lot, the make a lot, but so do you. If they don't sell a lot, you didn't have to pay them much. They can be terminated with 30 days notice. Keep reps at 10% of your cost of sales.LLCYes, Mrs. GP1, the luckiest woman in the world, is an accountant. She is also the Vice President of the company. A good accountant is much more important than a good lawyer.You can incorporate a business on legalzoom.com for about a quarter of what it would cost a lawyer to fill out the same forms. Be careful not to flush money down on unnecessary legal fees. Lawyers are running almost as big of a scam as the Amish.If you have employees, use a payroll service like ADP. One in ten Americans receives their paychecks through ADP. They handle not only the payroll, but the tax deposits, tax filings, direct deposits, payroll reports and W-2s. They take liability for all of the tax deposits and filings. It is a cheap service. Set up a separate payroll account at the bank and your service will tell you how much money to put into it then they will sweep it. Everything is done electronically. Payroll mistakes can be a huge problem for a company because it is so regulated by the government. Be careful and let someone else take the liability. Set up your account with ADP before you open your doors. You don't have to pay for the service unless you use it. You're right, there are a lot of things to screw up. Accept that you will make mistakes. Just don't make BIG mistakes.Remember, if you are good at the corporate hamster wheel stuff, you can always go back if things don't work out. Owning your own business would make you attractive for a corporate job again and you would probably have a better job compared to the one you had before.I have a decent feeling about next year. Many of my contractors have jobs for January and my backlog is pretty big for that month. I think a lot of building owners wanted to do some work in 2009, but they didn't have the budget for it. Now they have been able to get money for 2010 and they are moving forward with projects they should have done two years ago. Inventories are extremely low at manufacturers and the up-tick could spur more raw material orders than expected. I even know some companies that are going to hire the first week in January. They just didn't have the money in the budget for 2009 and if things do pick up, they will not be able to handle the workload with their current staffing levels. Residential contractors have also become very busy all of the sudden as well....good sign. Maybe I'm being too optimistic, but I think better days are ahead sooner rather than later.Yes the Amish are a devious bunch. Why in world would they limit the number of Heat Surges each household can purchase to 2? That's absurd. Sure they are on wheels and you can roll them from one room to another, but wealthy folks should be aloud to buy more than 2 so they don't have to roll them so much. And who do they think they are fooling with that "Buy the cabinet and the heat surge is free" routine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UA Fan Posted December 21, 2009 Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 Raiders win !! Way to go Charlie ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
you am i Posted December 21, 2009 Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 Raiders win !! Way to go Charlie !Charlie was injured, in the 4th quarter, I think. Jamarcus Russell came in for the winning TD drive. Who knows who will start next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1 Posted December 21, 2009 Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 Raiders win !! Way to go Charlie !Charlie was injured, in the 4th quarter, I think. Jamarcus Russell came in for the winning TD drive. Who knows who will start next week.Was Col. Klink coaching Denver today? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zip Watcher Posted December 21, 2009 Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 Don't know .. don't care .. that game knocked 50% of the remaining players out of a survivor pool I'm playing. :bow: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant Zip Posted December 21, 2009 Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 Raiders win !! Way to go Charlie !Charlie was injured, in the 4th quarter, I think. Jamarcus Russell came in for the winning TD drive. Who knows who will start next week.Coach Tom Cable said that Frye would be the starter against Cleveland, if healthy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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