The reason your other lists forbid discussions about pricing is so that they do not run afoul of the FTC rules on price fixing. The FTC can make a finding of price fixing even when there is no written agreement among the competitors, using "circumstantial" evidence, which may include any discussion among competitors regarding pricing.

From the FTC website: http://www.ftc.gov/bc/antitrust/price_fixing.shtm

"Antitrust scrutiny may occur when competitors discuss the following topics:

• Present or future prices
• Pricing policies
• Promotions
• Bids
• Costs
• Capacity
• Terms or conditions of sale, including credit terms
• Discounts
• Identity of customers
• Allocation of customers or sales areas
• Production quotas
• R&D plans"

It is probably safe to discuss pricing in general, but if there is a discussion among coaches about pricing for coaching, you may be running some risk.

Mariette CIRCULAR 230 NOTICE: Under IRS regulations, I must inform you that any U.S. tax advice contained herein was not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by the recipient for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed under federal tax law.

One client of mine is using FreshBooks and Outright Accounting, which are free online web-based software. FreshBooks is for invoicing, and Outright is for very simple accounting. They are not anywhere near as full featured as QuickBooks, but if your needs are simple they might do. Might be worth looking at, anyway.

Hope this helps, Mariette

Money, of course! If you can have at least 1 year's living expenses saved up, or a day job/way to support yourself until your business becomes profitable, that makes things much easier.

The other thing I think is most needed is a very specific business plan. It should include specific facts about exactly who your target customers are, how much they typically spend on whatever you sell, when and where they buy it, where they spend their time, and how they can be reached (what media they pay attention to).

It should include a budget of how much your product/service will cost you to produce, including your own taxes, and with 10-20% more factored in for the inevitable extra costs you will run into.

Do as much research as you possibly can before making an outlay of cash for anything. You may find that your store would do better in another location, or your target customers want blue widgets and not red ones, and the time to find that out is before you sign the lease or buy the widgets.

My humble opinion, Mariette

Great article! I'm so glad you shared this information with us. More and more people seem to be looking for platform-independent software that they can use wherever they are.

I do have a client has told me he is very happy using a cloud software solution of FreshBooks and Outright Accounting. I took a look at the Outright Accounting, and it seems easy enough for any bookkeeper or accountant to handle. He's a service-only business with no inventory and no payroll, so YMMV.

This website seems to be a good resource for Software-as-a-Service cloud type business solutions.

http://www.thesmallbusinessweb.com/

Mariette (wish I'd known about you earlier - I have no problem working with MYOB on a Mac, and can certainly understand why you'd prefer it to QuickBooks for Mac)

I feel your pain. We've had so much trouble with the QuickBooks Mac export to Windows thing not working, that we bought a MacBook for our office and installed the Mac version of QuickBooks on it, so that we can serve our Mac-using clients more easily.

That said, I know at least one Mac user who is happy with Outright Accounting, in combination with FreshBooks. They only have 1099 contractors and no employees, though. It's supposed to be more intuitive and easier to use for the non-accountant. It certainly was a piece of cake for me to figure out, but my brain has been contaminated with accounting classes, and I'm not a good judge of what is easy for non-accountants to understand ;)

Mariette

IRS Free File - either use their prep software, or just enter your number into the fillable forms if you've already done them

http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=118986,00.html

Mariette

Hi Debbie,

Please let Barbara have my place - I've got a client meeting.

I hope to come to another event later - maybe in May ;)

Thanks, Mariette

I am an accountant at Greenwood, Ohlund & Co. in Ballard. I have several small business clients, and if you need a CPA, the folks I work with are really great. Our rates are reasonable, and we can take care of all of your state and federal, and payroll taxes,or just one or two small tasks - whatever meets your needs.

Mariette

I'm glad you brought this to everyone's attention - it's a significant change.

Something to be aware of - even though the corporate officers are paying in to Employment Security, they may not be able to collect. 10% shareholders and their blood relatives cannot collect unemployment benefits from Washington State unless the officer resigns or is removed of his officer title or the corporation dissolves.

It still may save people a little money on their federal unemployment taxes though, since they will get credit for paying into the state.

Anyone know where to get the aforementioned heavy theatre curtains, or any sort of noise-reducing thick curtains? I have thought that something like that would be nice on our major-arterial-facing windows.

Thanks, Mariette

Sorry - I won't be able to make this one. I hope to be able to come to another one - I would really like to meet other financial Bizniks.

Mariette

Sorry I have to cancel - dental problems :(

I just joined Twitter to try it out - my name is dbltall. I can't see myself leaving it on ALL the time though - I think I will just look at once or twice a day.

Mariette

This is a very important issue that business owners often do not consider. All business owners should most definitely follow your advice, and consult with their attorney and insurance agent to make plans for the eventuality of their death or disability.

It is also a good idea to consult with an accountant who has experience and education in the area of estate planning for businesses. There are specific tax issues involved, and prior planning with expert advice can help preserve hard-earned assets for the family.

Mariette (I don't practise in that area, but I do know some more experienced accountants who specialise in business estate planning that I can recommend.)

Debbie Stewart, who works at the same firm I do, is our restaurant and bar specialist. She is a very experienced CPA who likes to work with small businesses.

Her email is dstewart@greenwoodcpa.com, and phone is 206-782-1767.

We're in Ballard near the corner of 15th and Market, next to the Shell station.

I am just starting out as an accountant (with previous bookkeeping experience), so I mainly work with people who need payroll, B&O, and quarterlies done, as well as income taxes. All my work is done under the supervision of one of the CPAs here.

Mariette