Happy autumn, Profit Planners!
It's a funny thing about this season…even as the year is winding down and we're settling into a natural state of restful hibernation, our business-owner brains are gearing up for the biggest and busiest sales quarter of the year.
Balancing these two opposite states of mind–rest and efficiency–is one of the trickiest techniques a small business owner can achieve.
[Tweet “Balancing rest with efficiency is one of the trickiest techniques a small business owner can achieve. “]The key, my friends, is planning.
If you've got your system on lock…
If you know what paperwork is due when…
If you've mapped out your promotions ahead of time and planned your inventory orders around them…
If you've got a solid Plan B for a last-minute inventory shortage…
…Well, that means that you win autumn!
A good financial plan means you get to cozy up to the fire, sip luxuriously on a warm pumpkin-spicey drink, and enjoy all the meditative mellowness this season has to offer.
With that in mind, here are the upcoming third quarter deadlines to be aware of:
- Oct. 31 – Quarterly sales tax returns are due
- Oct. 31 – Payroll tax due
- Oct. 31 – Federal and state unemployment forms due
- Nov. 1-Dec. 15 – Enrollment is open for healthcare.gov
A note about this last one…
Health insurance is one of the easiest things to put off, when you run your own business. But putting it off just means scrambling to find a decent quote later on.
Doing a little research now means a lot less stress and a much better plan for the coming year.
[Tweet “Doing a little planning now means a lot less stress in the coming year. “]Healthcare.gov is just one of your options when it comes to insurance. It's really not as complicated as everyone makes it out to be. I used it last year and with a little patience, I found a really good plan that works for my family.
Get it in your mind that insurance isn't cheap, but it is important, especially if you've got a family. Whether you use Healthcare.gov or something else, your experience of finding a plan is all in the expectation you begin with. Create space and time to deal with it now, and you'll enjoy a lot more peace of mind afterward.
