Major changes are happening in the way businesses operate. Here are our predictions for 2010 and throughout the next decade.

Money Management Prediction 1 – Business Operations Will Be Streamlined For More Efficiency. With the technological advance of computers and the Internet, faster communications at lower costs will become even more important to increase efficiency and production with less chance of error. This will show up in more electronic faxes being sent and received by e-mail instead of using costly fax telephone lines.

(We recommend checking out eFax and MetroFax for these secure communications)

Money Management Prediction 2 – There Will Be More Complex Computer Data Security Issues. Enhanced computer security issues will become the most important to protect a person’s information as well as data files. Backing up data files in a remote location that double encrypts the information will give the computer owner more peace of mind than having only a tape backup or an external hard drive which can be damaged or vulnerable to attack.

(We recommend Carbonite for protecting your computer data files)

Money Management Prediction 3 – Automated Email Follow-Up Selling Systems Will Become More Popular. With the advent of so much more information available on the internet to business owners and consumers, they are making buying decisions themselves without the aid of a salesperson or receiving something in the regular mail. Therefore, customer follow-up done on an automated basis using Email will more efficiently prompt the customer to buy products. Building an email list and using an automated response service (called a follow up email autoresponder) to keep in touch with prospects and customers will save businesses time and money.

(We recommend checking out Aweber , 1ShoppingCart and Infusionsoft autoresponder services)

Money Management Prediction 4 – The Availability of Business Credit Will Remain Very Tight. Despite the government’s insistence that the banking and credit industries loosen lending to businesses so that they can survive, expand, and create jobs, credit will remain very tight. Both the banking and finance industries are working to clean up past mistakes so that the world monetary systems can operate once again, but right now they are hoarding money and will remain reluctant to lend. As a result, both consumers and businesses will learn to operate using less credit and should be cutting expenses to operate on cash. Everyone seems very tired of having debt and will be working to become debt free.

Yes, we offer cash flow management software, training products and consulting for help to reduce debt and increase profits.

Money Management Prediction 5 – Businesses Will Diversify To Survive and Expand. With the current state of the economy, businesses will diversify more than ever by providing new product and service lines in order to survive and expand. Old business models will not be totally abandoned, but will be revamped to include new offerings, faster delivery and abundant vale for the price. Fickle shoppers will go elsewhere for a better perceived value for the dollars they spend. Emerging niches that cater to new technologies will expand the most quickly. One interesting example are the new electronic cigarettes Luci and Smoke Stik. Even Walmart home delivery service will become common.

Money Management Prediction 6 – This Will Be Known As The Decade of Video Internet Advertising. Internet video advertising will be the most popular marketing tool in the coming decade as people have less time to read lengthy pages of information when they can listen to and watch a short video to decide if they want more information. Traditional mail and print marketing will continue to be used for a secondary follow up mechanism to the prospect and/or customer, especially for those ‘brick and mortar’ retail businesses who rely on physical customer traffic for sales.

Money Management Prediction 7 – Paper Phone Books Will Become Obsolete. Consumers already favor getting information online by using their computers, mobile phones or other Internet-based applications for this purpose. Businesses will spend less on printed yellow page ads and more on increasing their internet presence.

Money Management Prediction 8 – Mobile Phones Will Be Used As Computers For People On-The-Go. There will be thousands of applications available for mobile phones to do banking, stock trades, pay bills, order groceries, make restaurant reservations, schedule vacation packages, run scenarios for every type of question for answers, etc. More video advertising will be available through phone applications. There will be less “brick and mortar” type business locations opened because of the expenses of running such businesses. Instead people will do more business over the Internet from their home computers and their mobile phones. Businesses will “farm out” more projects to outside resources to increase efficiency, cut costs, and expand their businesses.

Money Management Prediction 9 – Businesses Will Hire More Independent Contractors instead of traditional employees so that business owners can reduce their payroll tax and benefit costs and acquire more talented people in remote locations to work for them for quantified periods of time. Those more qualified and talented people will desire a flexible work schedule.

Money Management Prediction 10 – Business Owners Will Remain Uncertain About The Economy. They are worried about making payroll, about not being able to get a loan, about rising costs of doing business, about demand for their products weakening, and underneath all that is a fear of higher taxes to come. There will be less business travel because video and teleconferencing will be used instead to conduct meetings. This will have an effect on the airline, hotel, and rental car industries. More businesses will move toward commission based pay instead of the standard hourly wages for employees, and toward shorter work hours in the office to avoid overtime pay and more utilization of part-time staff. Better worker performance will be required, assisted with computer programs to track results and make corrections quickly and efficiently.

We recommend QuickBooks® as the simplest and easiest accounting software and a companion to the Money Management Solutions software program.

Business will be morphing into fast, streamlined operations that are ready to initiate changes quickly in order to remain competitive. It will be interesting to be a part of this evolution as we run our own business and help other business owners to win at their game.

Here’s to your business money management success in 2010!

Many people set new goals for the New Year…losing weight…stopping smoking…cleaning out closets…but what about your financial goals?

If you set your financial goals, business and personal, and get to work figuring out how to reach those goals, you can improve your financial condition.

Make your goals realistic but make them a bit of a stretch too…after all the point is you need to be able to plan on how you are going to reach the goal. Don’t just pull a number out of thin air and then getting discouraged because there is no way you are going to make it.

One way to start your plan is to work backwards, starting with what you want to achieve.

Wealth can be measured by your net worth, so that is the place to start. Figure out what your personal net worth is right now by adding up the value of all of the assets you own and subtracting everything you owe (mortgage, car loan, credit card debt, etc.) Then set a goal of increasing your net worth by some percentage. Work out what you will pay on the amounts you owe without adding any additional liabilities like paying for things you can’t afford with credit cards, and then add a goal for some cash savings that will increase your net worth. That’s two more goals, spend less and save more.

Actions to increase your net worth:

1 – Pay down the principal on your liabilities like the mortgage or car loans

2 – Pay down credit card debt and stop using the cards unless you can pay off the balance in full when you get the monthly statement.

3 – Find ways to cut expenses – we all spend on items that are optional, right?

4 – Put a portion of every paycheck into cash savings toward an emergency fund (set a goal for the amount you want to reach in that fund)

5 – Once your emergency fund is built up, start putting some cash into investments that will grow (don’t overlook the benefits of a retirement savings plan account which can also reduce your income tax liability)

Next step: How much more personal income will you need to achieve that increase in net worth and pay all of the bills you will incur during the year? That number is the basis for setting the goal for an increase in your personal income. If you are earning $60,000 a year now, and you will need to earn $70,000 to make the net worth goal, then figure out what you have to do to make that happen.

The actions you take will differ based on whether you are a business owner or an employee, of course.

If you work for someone else, then the assets you have to sell to increase your income are skills and time. You can increase your skills and make yourself more valuable to your current company and ask to take on more responsibility for more pay. Or, you can get a second job or start your own money-making entrepreneurial activity that you can work on in your spare time.

Don’t overlook cutting back on discretionary expenses. You can save money on restaurant meals when you dine out by buying gift certificates for your own use for a fraction of their worth at http://tinyurl.com/restaurant-gift-certs-4-less and they make great gifts for giving to others.

As a business owner, your increased personal income demand is placed on your business. That means working out a plan to generate more sales and cut expenses wherever possible to pay you a salary increase and cover the increase of the cost of doing business in the coming year.

So, working backwards in the equation, how much of an increase in sales do you need to make that goal? How can you use your cash flow more effectively to generate more cash? Where can you cut expenses without harming the income production and profits of your business?

Becoming financially fit is not all that different from becoming physically fit. You start where you are and train yourself to use discipline and your brain power to perform better and make small, consistent improvements every day. Before you know it, you’re on your way to achieving your financial goals for the new year and better money management habits become second nature.

Money Saving Tips:

Save money on restaurant meals;  buy gift certificates for a fraction of their worth

Lose the fax phone line: Send and receive secure faxes by email and never miss another fax

Buy ink and toner at deep discounts and opt-in to receive the additional coupons by email to save an additional 10 – 15%

Buy shipping supplies at good prices and get cool FREE stuff for yourself or gift giving

Automatically protect your computer files for pennies a day

Do you have other great money saving ideas? Leave a comment and share them with our readers.

The tax planning clock is clicking away toward the end of the year.  Is your business ready to take advantage of the tax saving measures available to you? Tax planning is essential for business owners, and should be done on a quarterly basis. However, it’s not too late if you do it before mid-December. Here are some words of wisdom from financial planner, P. Christopher Music.

Well, the year is coming to an end and many business owners are meeting with their accountants and tax advisors to figure out how to reduce that inevitable income tax burden coming in April.  Here are a few strategic ways to keep some more of that money at home.

Business owners are often successful in earning some money beyond the expenses of acquiring it—in short, profit.  The only problem is, the profit is taxed.  So, we work with our tax advisors to lower this burden by strategically spending money in various ways by the end of the year in an attempt to cut off the bleeding.

One of the most popular techniques is to “spend the money since it’s going to be taxed anyway”.  I always get a charge out of this technique since it does not evaluate on what the money is spent.  One of the laws of economics is that money derived from production must be reinvested into production to expand the organization.  In other words, the expense must buy something of value that can further grow in value.

This technique can be summed up in “accelerating expenses”.  Next year the company will have expenses like rent, promotion and marketing, utilities, etc.  Accelerating these expenses only defer the tax owed since you will have to do the same thing next year to avoid the tax.  This has some limited workability, especially if you have volatility in your annual income and can pay the taxes at lower rates in a year with lower income.

There are, however, other options.  One of these options is to use some form of retirement plan.  These can range from a traditional Individual Retirement Account (IRA) where a person can invest up to $5000 ($6000 over age 50), to something called a “Super 401k” that combines various types of retirement plans to allow someone to contribute upwards of $200,000 or more per year.  That’s right.  Now, the benefit of this kind of expense is that it can not only save income taxes in the current year, but it will create an additional asset of value that can be used in the future to create retirement income.

If you have a C corporation, there is a plan called a Section 79 plan (so named after the IRS Code section) that will allow a business owner to purchase cash value life insurance with potentially tax-deductible dollars.  Of course, you have to purchase life insurance on your employees (inexpensive term) and you will only be able to deduct a portion of the annual life premiums, but this may make sense if you qualify for such a plan.  This type of benefit plan would allow the business owner to accumulate assets inside a life insurance policy that can later be used to provide supplemental retirement income.

These are just a couple of options available to business owners besides just spending money “because it will be taxed anyway”.  Use the tools available to lower your taxes and build wealth for the future.

For more information, contact Christopher Music. Wealth Advisory Associates www.wealthadvisoryassociates.com a Registered Investment Advisor, is a comprehensive financial planning firm serving professionals and small business owners nationally. We focus on assisting our clients in achieving a truly affluent lifestyle by using the natural laws of personal economics.

Tampa, Florida, 2009 – Money Management Solutions, Inc. is pleased to announce the release of the new Russian language version of its popular business cash flow management software in Russia. The software, created by Sandra Simmons, President and Founder of Money Management Solutions, Inc. is designed to help millions of Russian businesses with solvency and debt issues. The software will be made available through an independent distributor, Larissa Lobova, through her company in Moscow (www.moneysolutions.ru).

‘This is the first foreign language version of our English language software that is currently in use by business owners in 21 countries around the world,’ Ms. Simmons said.  ‘We plan to make the Money Management Solutions software and training course available in several other languages in the very near future. The recent worldwide economic crisis has caused financial problems for businesses worldwide. The sooner we can make our cash flow management software available to business owners who are not conversant in English, the faster they will be able to improve their financial condition and generate increased profits. That will help the larger economy as well.’

When asked why Russia would get the first translated version, Ms. Simmons replied, ‘The Russian business owner is much attuned to dealing in cash and not relying on lines of credit to operate their businesses.  Our cash flow management software is based on this simple principle as well, and it is a good fit with the Russian economic philosophy. Business owners who learn to run their operations without relying on credit cards or lines of credit will be the survivors.’

These successful time-tested principles of paying cash, spending less than you make, and not relying on credit, have long been practiced by the people of Russia.  The Russian national debt is reported to be the lowest of all the G20 countries. According to Ms. Simmons, ‘These same fundamental principles, used in the United States until the introduction of credit in the early 1920’s, are being re-introduced to businesses as credit becomes less and less available. Companies that are able to implement these financial principles quickly will make it through the current economic crisis.’

Money Management Solutions, Inc. has been in business in the Tampa Bay area for 8 years offering business owners worldwide a range of products and services that include money management software, courses, books, financial rescue services, and business consulting.

Sandra Simmons, Founder and President of Money Management Solutions, Inc. oversees the Research and Development division of software and information products distributed to business owners worldwide.  A national speaker, the creator of the Money management Solutions software for business, and author of several business books, Ms. Simmons has delivered training seminars to thousands of business owners and Executives across the United States. Chief Operations Officer of Money Management Solutions Inc., Brian Dawson stated, ‘We are pleased to have the benefit of Ms. Simmons’ 30-plus years working experience with Fortune 500 companies and multiple industries including advertising agencies, retail chains, food service chains, engineering firms, construction companies, health care providers, veterinarians, accounting firms and other service providers.’