All You Need To Know About The Employer Identification Number

by akhil shahani The days of business planning, incorporation and start-up pains are over. Everything is set for you to start off your new business. Just when you think all the paperwork is done, the Employer Identification Number stares you in the face. What is it? Well, you know that any business entity is required to file tax returns every year. Will your Social Security number suffice for that? Not quite. Unless you are the only person working in the business, you need to get an identification number for your enterprise. This is a unique nine-digit number assigned by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to business entities operating in the United States for the purposes of identification. When the number is used only for identification, it is usually referred to as Tax Identification Number (TIN) and when used for the purposes of reporting employment taxes, it is known as Employer Identification Number (EIN). So, it’s clear that all new businesses need to obtain an EIN. The only exception is for sole proprietorships which do not have any other employees. However, it is a good idea even for sole proprietors to obtain an EIN, so that they can use it instead of their personal Social Security number on bank accounts and legal paperwork. Confused? We’ll make it easier for you. You need an EIN: 1. When you have employees in your company 2. When you purchase an ongoing business 3. When you change your organization type - for example from a sole proprietorship to partnership or corporation 4. When want to hold different accounts in your bank and use EINs for your business and Social Security number for your personal accounts 5. When you have a qualified retirement plan 6. When you file any of these tax returns: o employment o excise o alcohol, tobacco and firearms The EIN is specific to a particular business and you cannot transfer it if you sell or otherwise divest your company. It is very much like your Social Security number which is specific to each individual, and is usually written in the form 00-0000000. To obtain an EIN for your company, you have to file Form SS-4, which is the prescribed application format, with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The forms are available at all IRS and Social Security offices. You can apply for it over phone, fax, mail or online. There is no application fee but the form can take several weeks to process depending on how you ask for it. You may also have to apply for a state EIN in states that charge their own income tax. If you do not have your EIN by the time a return is due, write "Applied for" and the date of the application in the space shown for the number. Do not use your social security number in place of your EIN. With that out of the way, you are truly set to be in business! Hi, I'm Akhil Shahani, a serial entrepreneur who wants to help you succeed. If you like to work smart, check out http://www.SmartEntrepreneur.net . It's full of articles and resources to help you start and grow your business successfully. Please visit us & download our special "Freebie of The Month" at http://www.smartentrepreneur.net/freebie-of-the-month.html Article Source: ArticleRich.com

The 3 Major Reasons why ALL Business Owners MUST GET a Business Coach

by Dominic Ashley Timms In times of economic difficulty, it is a brave man indeed that invests heavily for the future of the business - yet this is the one thing that has been consistently shown to be the key to longer-term survival. Acting against the herd (who are all pulling in their necks at this time), means that businesses that have carefully directed their investments and have strengthened the key attributes of their businesses, will be those that enjoy the most explosive growth when the economic shackles are loosened! Employing a Business Coach at a time when money is generally tight may seem like an indulgence. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth - if you are going to focus on ensuring your future business success, then where will you actually start? More importantly, will you actually start? A Business Coach can work with you to quickly assess where your efforts should best be directed in order to capitalise on your business strengths - remember, at difficult times, it is all too easy to become a busy fool, which for most of us means that we shall fail to capture the best from the inevitable upswing when it comes. At any time, practically every business suffers from one of the following issues - if any of these speak to you then perhaps it is time that you had a good long look at your likelihood of sustaining your business into the medium-term. 1. You have lost sight of where your business is going and why? We have all suffered this at times in our careers or within our businesses - our heads are down so much we forget to focus on the horizon. During these times, it is even more important to know exactly where you are going so that you can develop some more of the 'how am I going to get there!' As an 'outsider', a good Business Coach can see the wood for the trees. They are not blinded by industry preconceptions or your business' previous way of doing things - "we've always done it this way" is not in their vocabulary! They will ask you the difficult questions (that perhaps you have been avoiding yourself) and challenge you to take action. 2. Your business does not generate enough profit to justify your efforts. Then why, exactly, are you in business? If you want to continue doing what you have always done it should come as no surprise that you will always get the same results! This incidentally, is the definition of insanity...! A Business Coach will challenge your thinking and help you to get focused on taking the actions that will drive your business forward and grow your profits. This will involve a level of change (remember if you've always done the same thing...), so you need to be open to this for it to be successful. A level of commitment is also required if you are to change what has been and drive for growth. The results though could substantially increase your revenue and profits within only a few months of starting work with your Coach. 3. Because you are already good and recognise that it's going to take that bit extra to become Outstanding! What is it in each of us that leads us to believe that we should be able to make a success of our business all by ourselves? We aren't all born great entrepreneurs, and for most of us this means a lot of hard work. Let me tell you, I have been in the Personal Development field for over 20 years, and I still don't know it all! Seeking out coaching support is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of strength, a recognition that to be the best, we need external support to motivate us towards higher performance. In the same way that top sportsmen and women will always seek out the top coaches in their field in order to excel, you too need a Business Coach if you wish to excel in your business. Your Business Coach will motivate you to want to excel, will hold you accountable for your performance, will demand results from you pushing you forward, will cajole you (at times) but will also be there to congratulate you on a job well done! Next steps - taking Action This is one of those periods that will sort out the weak from the strong in business - those who have the strength of will to focus on what needs to be done to ensure their business success, and those that will hold their heads in their hands and bemoan what's happening all around them. Do yourself a favour, get yourself a Business Coach and get your business into shape. Dominic Ashley-Timms runs the UK's leading Business Coaching company; BusinessCoaching.co.uk, representing the Top Business Coaches across the country. To find out the other reasons why you should work with a Business Coach click the link to download the full article from our website www.businesscoaching.co.uk Article Source: ArticleRich.com

How to be a Good Manager and Coach

by Madisen Harper Career expert Madisen Harper outlines five simple coaching actions to become an good manager. If you want to know how to be a good manager then you need to learn how to be a great mentor, coach, leader and role model. But despite all their management training (or lack thereof) one of the biggest complaints I hear from clients is that their manager couldn't inspire a dog into action even if they had a steak around their neck! Harsh words! But unfortunately there's not a lot of love in the office and a recent statistic indicates 60% of workers hate their manager. Employees want to be lead by a manager who is clear, focused, results driven, inspirational and most of all team driven. A great leader sees the value of up-skilling their team and are advocates of on-going development. Team members want to work for people they can learn from and coaching is a great way to support and inspire. Here are 5 tips on being a great coach. 1. Ask your team members what skills they would like to develop. I once asked a man in my department, "If there was one skill you'd like to learn, what would it be?" I kid you not, his eyes welled up as he said, "Nobody has ever cared enough to ask that." Wow! Such a seemingly simple question had such a huge impact. In reality, you shouldn't need to ask this question as skill development is usually part of your company's performance appraisal program. Nonetheless, I've discovered, even when it is, there is little activity or coaching to help employees improve their skills toolbox. So put the effort in and nurture your employees. 2. Work on developing 1-3 skills over a 3-6 month period. The bigger the goal, the fewer goals you can work on at any one time. If the goal is complex you don't want to overwhelm or lead them to fail because there's not enough time to invest in success. If the goals are simple, then you can work on a number of them concurrently. 3. Guide, don't give solutions. Coaching is about helping people, help themselves. You can use your expertise to ask people the right questions which in turn leads them to them to the answers they're after. Employees feel a great sense of accomplishment when they realize their success was a result of their own initiative. 4. Uphold accountability. Keep people on track and accountable. Establish tasks that are due every 1-2 weeks and let your team member know they are responsible for completing the tasks and reporting the progress at your next coaching session. If they start to slack off in delivering, it may be a sign of fear, so it's worth taking the time to investigate what's really going on for them. 5. Reward and recognize. It's my personal belief that we need to celebrate life more and a great way to do that is to acknowledge when milestones and goals are met. Sometimes it is as simple as kind words, because quite honestly, we hear so few in our day-to-day lives. Repeat and replicate the above 5 steps as you work through your teams' goals and watch them flourish in their success. Here's to you becoming a coaching sensation. Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com ABOUT THE AUTHOR Madisen Harper is a career expert who provides a proven system to help people take their first jump into a management, team leader or supervisor role. Get her free report on why "Dealing with Difficult People is Your #1 Priority as a Manager" => http://www.BecomeAManagerNow.com . Madisen recently co-authored a book with Dr Wayne Dyer, Brian Tracy & 'The Secret's' John Assaraf & Michael Beckwith.

Personal Swot Analysis for Career Change

Author: Karen Williams

A personal SWOT analysis is a powerful technique that can be used when seeking a career change (or indeed any other personal change in your life). Linked to a strong and powerful goal, it can enable you to take advantage of your skills, talents and abilities to take your career to the next level. SWOT stands for: Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Completing a SWOT Analysis To complete a SWOT analysis, take a large piece of paper and divide the paper into four quadrants and label each area as above. Look at each area and consider the questions that follow and write down the answers that come into your head. Strengths Personal strengths form an innate part of who you are and your characteristics. Consider your strengths as you see them and talk to your colleagues and friends for a further source of support. What skills and capabilities do you have? In what areas do you excel? What qualifications, accreditations or experience make you unique? What would other people consider to be your strengths? What qualities, values or beliefs make you stand out from others? Weaknesses Consider your personal weaknesses and how you may be seen by others. It is important to list any areas you feel may be holding you back. What are the gaps in your capabilities and what skills do you need to develop? In what areas could you improve? What would other people consider to be your weaknesses? What personal difficulties do you need to overcome to reach your goal? Opportunities Opportunities are normally external and may relate to changes in technology, people that may influence decisions, or training, development or support that may support your aspirations. What opportunities are available to you? What external influences can help you to achieve success? Who could support you to help you achieve your goal? Threats Threats are also normally external and are the things that get in the way of your success. What obstacles are you facing? What external influences may hinder your success? Who or what could get in the way of you achieving your goal? The next step Carrying out a personal SWOT analysis can help you to understand yourself and support the decisions you make. It will highlight areas you may not have considered before and may help you to realise a different perspective in each area. It gives you a foundation from where you can move forward with your goal to support your career change and for you to take action. There are various ways in which you can do this. You can review your strengths, and ensure these are reflected on your curriculum vitae or letter to a prospective employer. You can consider ways to address any weaknesses which you want to overcome or develop your skills and capabilities. You can review your opportunities as these can be used to your advantage. Also consider how your threats could be minimised or eliminated. These actions will enable you to take clear steps towards achieving your goal. Copyright Karen Williams 2007. All Rights Reserved

About the Author:

Karen Williams is a Life and Career Development Coach and runs her own coaching practice, Self Discovery Coaching. She has over ten years experience of working in Human Resources, training, coaching and management roles and is a Chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). For more information and to sign up for the Self Discovery free monthly newsletter, go to http://www.selfdiscoverycoaching.co.uk/ and receive a free career e-book.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/career-management-articles/personal-swot-analysis-for-career-change-291607.html

Need a Career Coach? - 10 Ways a Career Coach Can Help You

Author: Karen Williams

The word coaching is synonymous with sports teams. A coach can help athletes to develop the mindset to achieve, to set and achieve goals that to many people seem insurmountable, but with focus and clarity, can be met or exceeded. They can help a sportsperson to reach their full potential by planning structured training programmes, providing feedback on performance, and helping them to become more effective.

However, coaching has become more prevalent in other areas. Life coaching has developed significantly over the last few years, with many coaches specialising in niche areas such as health, financial and career coaching to name a few.

To concentrate on the rising demand for employing a career coach, why should you choose a coach to help you to progress in your career?

A career coach will help you in many ways. Like in the description of a sports coach above, they will help you to develop and reach your potential, be successful and achieve results. A career coach will normally work with you on a one-to-one basis and will often offer group workshops, teleseminars and e-books to support you to progress in your career.

A career coach can help you in the following areas:

Career exploration and discovery

You may be unhappy or dissatisfied in your job and feel that there is something else out there, but are not sure what it is. A career coach can help you to discover what is important to you in your job and make sure that it uses your talents, skills, and strengths, and provides you with the reward you deserve.

Understand your strengths and weaknesses

A career coach will help you to develop an insight into your strengths and weaknesses. This will allow you to understand yourself better and support any decisions you make in your career. It will highlight areas you may not have considered before and you can address any weaknesses that may be holding you back or use them to your advantage.

Develop your career vision and design your career

A career coach can help you to structure a plan to progress your career. By helping you to understand your skills and abilities, they can help you to plan your ideal job and how you are going to get there.

Develop confidence in your own ability

You may have a plan for your future, but you may be consciously or subconsciously holding yourself back. A career coach can help you to develop greater confidence in your ability as well as providing you with the support and motivation to help you to achieve your goal.

Provide job search support

A career coach can help you during all stages of your job search. From helping you to develop your CV, to finding the ideal job and then succeeding at the interview, a career coach will support you every step of the way.

Help you to get ready for promotion

You don't need to want to change your career to benefit from employing a career coach. They can help you to get ready for promotion, plan for the next step in your career, and support you to develop your talents.

Support you in the workplace

If you are unhappy at work, there may be many reasons why this may be so. A career coach can also help you to deal with difficult situations or people and become more assertive. You can increase your profile at work, build better relationships and improve your own personal effectiveness.

Make sure that your goals are congruent with other parts of your life

A career does not exist on its own and is part of your overall life. It is important that a career coach makes sure that your career goals fit in well with other parts of your life. For example, if work/life balance is essential for you, they will ensure that you consider this when planning or progressing your career.

Provide you with greater self awareness

Some career coaches will use psychometric tests or other techniques that will help you to develop a greater self awareness of yourself. A greater self awareness will help you to understand yourself better, build stronger relationships, and communicate more effectively.

Support you every step of the way

Like other coaches, career coaches will support you every step of the way.

Their role is to:

- Challenge you and ensure that you commit to making the changes you desire.

- Hold you accountable to the actions you want to take. You will need to report on your results, which means that as well as being accountable to yourself, you need to demonstrate what you have achieved to your coach.

- Question you and challenge your ideas and thoughts.

- Listen to you without any agenda for themselves, which gives you a chance to come up with your own solutions which are right for you.

- Celebrate your successes and recognise when you have overcome difficulties or challenges.

- Keep you motivated even when the going gets tough!

Copyright Karen Williams 2008. All Rights Reserved

About the Author:

For more information about career coaching, go to http://www.selfdiscoverycoaching.co.uk/ You can sign up to receive the free e-book "7 steps to recession-proof your career" and find out more about one-to-one coaching, group workshops and e-books (http://www.lifecoachingebooks.co.uk) to help you to rediscover your career. Karen Williams is a Personal Development Coach and runs her own coaching practice, Self Discovery Coaching. She has over ten years experience of working in Human Resources, training, coaching and management roles and is a Chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/