Archive for August, 2021

Would you like to be a Virtual Consultant?, but you don’t know how to get started as a Virtual Consultant?, then this Video is For You!

Would you like to be able to work from virtually anywhere?
Would you like to be able to work whenever you want?
Would you like to be able to do what you want?
Would you like to be able to work for yourself?
Then this Video is For You!

In this video we will walk you step by step through how to get started as a Virtual Consultant.

🔴 Please also Join us in the Virtual Consulting Community by Subscribing to the Virtual Consulting YouTube Channel at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFSf6INwnjzWf-nk8sZc4Ww and Please Click the Bell Icon so that You are Notified and Never Miss an Episode, All for FREE.

🔽 RESOURCES 🔽
✅ The Virtual Consulting Firm’s web site | http://www.TheVCF.com
✅ The Virtual Consulting Firm on Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/TheVCF
✅ The Virtual Consulting Firm on LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/company/252661
✅ HostGator | https://referral.hostgator.com/s/smslapis124

Would you like to be a Virtual Consultant?, but you don’t know how to get started as a Virtual Consultant?, then this Video is For You!

Would you like to be able to work from virtually anywhere?

Would you like to be able to work whenever you want?

Would you like to be able to do what you want?

Would you like to be able to work for yourself?

Then this Video is For You!

In this video we will walk you step by step through how to get started as a Virtual Consultant.

🔴 Please also Join us in the Virtual Consulting Community by Subscribing to the Virtual Consulting YouTube Channel at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFSf6INwnjzWf-nk8sZc4Ww and Please Click the Bell Icon so that You are Notified and Never Miss an Episode, All for FREE.

🔽 RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO 🔽

✅ The Virtual Consulting Firm’s web site | http://www.TheVCF.com

✅ The Virtual Consulting Firm on Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/TheVCF

✅ The Virtual Consulting Firm on LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/company/252661

✅ Website hosting by HostGator | https://referral.hostgator.com/s/smslapis124

Thank You again for taking the time to watch our Virtual Consulting video(s)! and Have a Great Day!

Image via Unsplash

Starting a Nonprofit? These Tips and Resources Can Help

For those who are passionate about changing the world and making our communities better places to live, nonprofit work is the perfect solution. And while there are approximately 1.6 million existing nonprofit organizations in the U.S., there’s always room for more. From education and healthcare to social services and international aid, nonprofit professionals can work in a variety of career fields to tackle major issues affecting people, the environment, animals, and our communities.

With the following tips and resources, you’ll learn how to start a successful nonprofit organization of your own and get one step closer to making a positive difference in your community. Now let’s dive in!

Learning Resources for Nonprofit Leaders

To become the best nonprofit leader you can possibly be, you may wish to further your education before launching your nonprofit organization.

• Use free online resources to learn as much as you can about social trends, marketing, fundraising, and technology.
• Learning about information technology will help you to lead your team, improve your business skills, and protect your organization’s tech devices from costly (and embarrassing) security threats.
• Join Facebook groups for nonprofit professionals to connect with and support other leaders in the nonprofit sector.

Nonprofit Startup Tips

Are you ready to launch your nonprofit organization? These tips will help to get your nonprofit off the ground.

• Work with The Virtual Consulting Firm for virtual consulting services like sales, marketing, and web design.
• Compare the different types of nonprofit organizations. These include charitable organizations, labor unions, chambers of commerce, recreational clubs, and childcare organizations.
• Gather everything you need to write your mission statement, assemble your Board of Directors, incorporate your organization, and apply for tax-exempt status.
• Look for funding opportunities. Several available options include government and foundation grants and funding from individual donors.
• Before hiring workers, make sure you’ve thought about employee benefits, sick leave, payroll taxes, annual salaries, and insurance.

Nonprofit Management and Compliance

Once you’ve launched your nonprofit organization, these resources will help you to manage your team and comply with IRS requirements.

• Take some time to understand nonprofit governance, risk, and compliance (also known as GRC).
• Keep good records and stay on top of all financial statements, tax returns, and board meeting minutes.
• To successfully manage and lead your nonprofit, be sure to set short- and long-term goals, collaborate with other community organizations, and share your impact stories with donors.

If you’re passionate about using your business skills and experiences to make a positive difference in the world, it may be time to launch your own nonprofit organization. These tips and resources will help you to further your education, launch your organization, and effectively manage your nonprofit — regardless of any challenges and obstacles that may arise along the way.

This article was written by a guest writer, Vanessa Holwell.

Vanessa Holwell and her husband, Rick, created HiringSquad.net after losing their jobs during the financial crisis in 2008. The site is designed to be a forum for people to share advice on how to get hired, provide job search resources, and give you the tools you need to get the job you want.

Image via Unsplash

Five Steps to Becoming a Digital Nomad

While the pandemic has introduced many challenges, it has also inspired innovation. Around the world, businesses started working remotely in response to lockdown. Even though the economy has started to stabilize, many businesses continue to encourage remote work.

The future of remote work appears to be a permanent adjustment, and this has a direct impact on the business landscape. Another development has been the rise in the number of digital nomads. If you’re a budding entrepreneur with the desire to start your own business and work remotely, then now is the time. In order to enjoy the many benefits of the lifestyle, proper preparation is needed. Here are five basic steps to start working as a digital nomad, brought to you by The Virtual Consulting Firm.

Identify Your Working Role

Many businesses allow their employees to work remotely. Normally, this means working at home or at coffee shops, but within the same city. In some instances, employees are able to travel to further-flung areas. Another way to support yourself as a digital nomad is to start your own freelance business. Forming a limited liability company (LLC) offers several benefits for freelancers. Some benefits include the following:

• Tax advantages such as pass-through deduction
• Limit personal liability
• Less paperwork and admin
• Flexible structure for profit sharing and management

Each state demands its own regulations and legal requirements. Hiring the help of a formation service such as ZenBusiness ensures that all requirements are met, without having to pay hefty lawyer fees.

Make the Necessary Preparations

Working remotely demands a shift in how business is conducted. There are certain steps needed to ensure that you have everything that you require for a productive working environment — whether you’re working at home or 500 miles away.

Some preparations to consider include:

• Digital nomad gear such as laptops, chargers, and power banks
• All necessary documentation for travel
• Lifestyle adjustments and how to adapt
• Availability of a productive workplace

Improve Skills for Remote Work

Working remotely removes the opportunity for water cooler conversations and in-person contact. When preparing to be a digital nomad, it’s important to take stock of your existing capabilities and which skills need to be refined. Certain skills are needed to find success while working remotely. Some areas to focus on include computer literacy, using technological tools, communication efforts, and self-discipline.

Reduce Unnecessary Costs and Items

Saving costs is an important step in setting yourself up for remote work. In many ways, working as a digital nomad demands a minimalist lifestyle.

There are several ways to reduce unnecessary costs and declutter your lifestyle. The following tips can help you save costs and improve profit, as well as help to move from one location to another without much effort.

• Sell non-essential items
• Rent belongings and assets for extra income while on the road
• Streamline your wardrobe and gear

Adapt Your Budget for Travel

While you may not be paying for office space or commute, you will incur travel costs. Working as a digital nomad demands that your budget is adjusted and updated. Certain costs to consider include airfare, reducing costs on accommodation, and paying for visas.

When registering your business as an LLC, you have the added benefit of putting those costs through the business account.

Working remotely as a digital nomad offers increased flexibility, inspiration, and productivity. A little bit of effort can go a long way in streamlining the process and enjoying the benefits.

This article was written by a guest writer, Lance Cody-Valdez, Free-lance-now.com

Lance Cody-Valdez decided it was time to invest in himself. He quit his job the following day and used his meager savings to stay afloat as he built a career as a freelance writer and content marketer. He created free-lance-now.com to help others use freelancing to escape the 9 to 5 daily grind.

Do you want your business to be successful a year from now, 5 years from now, or even longer? Are you thinking about expanding your business by finding investors? If you answered yes to one or both of those questions, it’s essential that you create realistic financial projections for your business. Without these projections, or with unrealistic projections, neither investors nor lending institutions will take you seriously — let alone provide funding.

Even if investors aren’t in your plans, creating realistic financial projections is extremely helpful in your longevity as a successful business. Read on to ensure you’re on the path to success.

The Ins and Outs of Financial Projections

Whether you’re managing your bookkeeping yourself or you’ve got a bookkeeper or an accountant, understanding the ins and outs of financial projections and what it means for your business is essential. No, you don’t have to know everything, but understanding the basics will help you through conversations with potential investors and even your current or future accountant or bookkeeper.

As The Startup Garage explains, “Your financial projections give you an idea of how your business should be doing at any moment in time. It also shows your potential investors how you will be profitable over time.” Businesses that succeed plan for the future, and they are realistic about how things are currently and where they are heading.

But, don’t stress. You can keep your financial projections simple with some strategic spreadsheet usage or use software to help make sense of the numbers. Here are a few common spreadsheet types to get you started: equipment list, balance sheet, profit and loss statement, cash flow projections, sources and uses of funds. While not every business needs all of these statements, these are a good starting point.

Software tools can make it much easier, like PocketSmith, ProjectionHub, or Adaptive Planning. Whichever method you choose, taking the time to understand where your company is at and where it’s headed will help you plan for a successful future, with or without investors.

Inventory Management

A key piece of your financial projections includes inventory management. This means tracking inventory from the ground up to the point of sale. The ultimate goal for your inventory management process is to have the right products in the right place at the right time.

Having a working understanding of your inventory management is one of the most critical pieces to your financial projections. In addition, these types of projections can help your business reduce inventory costs and streamline the whole supply chain process.

It’s not unusual for small businesses to keep track of stock manually and determine the reorder points and quantities in a spreadsheet. Larger businesses will use specialized enterprise resource planning (ERP) software.

In addition to using software for creating and managing your financial projections, automated inventory management software keeps your inventory organized with automated order management and in-store tools like barcode scanners, low-stock alerts, and fulfilling orders from multiple storage warehouses.

The data from such a system can prove invaluable. Because you have easy access to your current inventory and detailed reporting of your inventory history, it makes it easier to mesh realistic inventory projections with your financial projections. This means avoiding costly mistakes, like stocking an excess of items or running out of hot products and thereby missing sales.

Creating realistic financial projections, including detailed inventory management data, sets your business apart and prepares you for a long, prosperous future. In addition, access to software tools that automate processes and provide detailed reporting will make your financial projections easier to manage now and for years to come.

For advice that can help your business do better, connect with The Virtual Consulting Firm.

Photo: Pexels

This article was written by a guest writer, Vanessa Holwell.

Vanessa Holwell and her husband, Rick, created HiringSquad.net after losing their jobs during the financial crisis in 2008. The site is designed to be a forum for people to share advice on how to get hired, provide job search resources, and give you the tools you need to get the job you want.