The Frustrations of Hiring

My Executive Assistant moved on to help run the business she and her husband bought so now I am back-filling the position. While, I have said that there are many opportunities to hire great talent right now, you also have to be careful in this process.

First, smart business owners are keeping their top talent, regardless of their business situation. Good talent is hard to find and harder to replace. There comes a point where if you let go of too many employees you do more harm to your business than good. So with that said, regardless of the position you are hiring for, keep in mind that there are a lot of people out there who were the bottom 20% in their previous organizations.

Second, some people are so desperate for a job that they are responding to almost any job posting and not even reading about the position. I have received people’s resumes with standard a standard introduction and/or cover letter that talks about things that are not relevant at all to the position. If they had read the job posting, they would have known this.

Third, the devil is in the details. Call me picky but when someone is trying to get hired, I expect them to send something where the grammar, spelling, etc. is correct. Since they should be doing everything possible to impress the hiring manager, well you get the point. The number of responses that I received with typos, grammatical errors, etc. was astounding, even for me.

So what does this mean? Well, patience is a virtue. I confess that on more than one occasion as I was slogging through the resumes I just wanted to forget the whole thing. There were certainly other things that I would rather be spending my time on (like getting some work done). There are still gems out in the rough. You just have to invest the time to find them. And of course, for the most part, you can find quality talent at reasonable rates which is a good thing.

If you have an opportunity to hire – go for it! Just make sure you write your job description and key accountabilities BEFORE you post the position. Also, make sure you ask your employees for referrals as they are usually a great source for quality hires. Your job posting should be as clear as possible in terms of what you are looking for. If people don’t read the post you will know it immediately and can easily reject that resume. I would say, have fun, but I know better. To motivate yourself, think about all the great value your new hire will bring to your organization and how they will allow you to go focus on the strategic items necessary to move your business forward. Happy hunting.

Year-end Tax Reminders

I am not a CPA but here are a few year-end tax reminders. The clock is ticking. Here are a fw tips I have picked up that may be of interest to business owners. Please review and talk to your CPA regarding your tax planning.

• If you don't itemize your decuctions, you may still deduct 2009 proprty taxes and pay, upt o a $500 limit for singles and $1,000 for couples.
  
  
• If your small business doesn't have a pension plan, consider establishing one to get a tax credit up to $500 in each of the plan's first three years.
  
  
• Max out contributions to retirement plans. You can put away $16, 500 in a 401(k) plan ($22,000 if you're 50 or older), $11,500 in a SIMPLE ($14,000 for 50 and older), or $5,000 in an IRA ($6,000 for 50 and older).
  
  
• Need a new vehicle? Buy before year-end to take a deduction for sales taxes on up to $49,500 of the purchase price. Income limits apply.
  
  
• Consider buying equipment for your business to utilize the $250,000 first-year expensing option and 50% bonus depreciation.
  
  
• Get your investment records in order so you can make wise year-end sell decisions, either to rebalance your portfolio at the lowest tax cost or to offset gains and losses.
  
  
• Complete annual gifts before December 31 to utilize the 2009 tax-free gifting allowance of $13,000 per recipient.

As I said, I am not a CPA but as business owners smart tax planning is essential for success. It is doubtful that future tax laws will favor the small business owner so do what you can now. Contact your CPA now, maybe you can find some tax-cutting options.