Of all the taxes and fees that business owners must pay (and there are many), the least understood is probably the tax on tangible personal property (TPP).  In fact, many small business owners don’t even know what constitutes TPP.  The confusion is intensified because the requirements vary from state to state.  For example, some states consider certain types of vehicles to be TPP, while others do not.  Some states will tax inventory, while others specifically exclude it.

All states do agree that tangible personal property is best described as everything that isn’t real property.  Real property is the ground and everything permanently affixed to it.  So, the building and the land are real property.  The “stuff” inside the building is generally TPP.  TPP for a typical business would include computers, furniture and fixtures, leasehold improvements, and supplies.

An important thing to remember when preparing your TPP return is that every asset that is physically located at the site carries some value for taxation purposes.  Depreciation for your county’s TPP return is not the same as depreciation for federal income tax purposes.  While an item can be fully depreciated on your federal return, it will never reach $0 value on your local return until it is disposed of and physically removed from the property.

The best rule of thumb for reporting your tangible personal property is to report everything with ample detail.  If you made a significant software purchase and you’re not sure if your state taxes software, report it but spell out clearly what it is.  Your county officials will exclude it if it isn’t, but you’re not risking the penalties associated with not reporting.  You can’t lose by giving too much detail on your TPP return.

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to assume a leadership role in a variety of settings, including family, church, private industry, and public service. Different situations may call for different types of leadership. If you understand the nuances of the particular circumstance, you can choose the leadership style that will work to your maximum advantage. The best place to learn the dos and don’ts of leadership is by looking at the great leaders of the past.

Great leaders have demonstrated specific qualities of leadership that we can emulate to lead successfully. Whatever you may think about their politics or religion or anything else, there is a lot that can be learned from men and women who lead successfully.
One of my favorite leadership examples came from US President Ronald Reagan. Reagan had a paperweight on his desk with the slogan “It’s amazing how much we can get done when we don’t care who gets the credit.” That simple phrase has had a big impact on the way I view leadership. I’ve found that credit finds its own way to the right source, with or without my help. Taking that pressure off myself has allowed me to see my goals more clearly and focus my efforts on attaining the goal without wasting my resources on attribution.

For example, a recent system upgrade at my office required inter-departmental collaboration from a number of directors, supervisors, and IT staff. Although I was not in a hierarchical position to be the leader of the assemblage, I saw that there were significant shortcomings in the project plan that needed to be addressed. Because of the makeup of that specific grouping, I knew that a ‘soft touch’ would be required. I was able to guide the group to the requirements documents and lead them to the logical conclusion that some changes were necessary before continuing to the implementation phase.

It wasn’t my project. I didn’t get any accolades because the project was a success. Even so, we accomplished great things because that was the focus.

Come back for part 2 of The Leadership Secrets of… in three weeks.

I am so impressed with the innovators of this world.  People have taken the frown of a down economy and turned it upside down with some fantastic ideas.  Their ideas are saving bundles of money and helping small time or new writers hang with the big boys.  One such idea is a blog tour.

As an author, I have learned that starting out is tough.  When no one knows who you are, you don’t sell books.  On top of that, I can tell everyone how great of a writer I am, but why should they believe me?  In fact if I am so great, why aren’t other people telling you how great I am?  Self promoters are a dime a dozen these days and through avenues likes Twitter and Facebook, they are well…annoying.

As I was working a deal for my new site, I noticed this writer was going on a blog tour.  That sounded awesome, and I wanted more details.  I was floored with what she said.

A blog tour is the Internet version of a book tour.  Instead of paying thousands to run around the country and promote your book, bloggers do it for you.  People are spending more and more time on the Internet these days and usually frequent a few blogs for entertainment, news or even inspiration.  Blog tours take advantage of this.

The host or a writer for that site does a book review, interview and some even host videos about the book or its content.  These writers know the language of the daily traffic that comes through there and relate the book to them.  More importantly, these are the writers that readers know and trust.  They are giving their endorsement, not you giving yourself an endorsement.  Then naturally, there is information on where to buy the book.  Some bloggers just want the content and free book; others ask for a commission.

Writers have tour dates where the post will go to each site.  Writers can tour the world in their pajamas with the only cost being the books for the sites to review.

When you’re starting a new venture or even a new website you have to create a brand.  This is how your customers will know you and why they’ll come to you over your competition.  Most people look at branding as if it’s a game of bowling, but it’s really more like a round of darts.

What do I mean by a game of bowling?  We start our new business by trying to reach as many customers as we can and trying to please everyone.  It is like we are trying to knock down all of the pins.  The problem with this is that this takes an intense amount of focus.  In reality, you are trying to target ten different markets at one time, and none really know exactly what you are really about.

When I started my writing career, I launched a website www.inspiretomorrow.com to help my readers grow spiritually, mentally and physically.  I wrote on every single topic that I could and learned a lot.  However, it took me a couple of years to build enough content to drive any real traffic.  If I had been depending on making a profit, I would have went under in the first six months.

I decided this was not the path I originally set out on and wanted to revamp the site.  It was not an easy decision to give up on the 7,000-9,000 hits I received each month.  What did make the decision easier is that I did not have a dedicated following just a bunch of Google hits.

Instead, I got out the old dart board and pinpointed my target.  I aimed, and we will see if the dart hit the right number with my new design and branding.  I decided to focus on one audience, Christians.  The site was totally revamped to hit this one market and my one true passion.

So far, I’m optimistic.  With zero advertising, I already have hits from three continents and 13 dedicated viewers in just one week.  Once I officially launch, I am expecting to grow very quickly not because of me, rather the focus.

Before we even start, let me be clear about this one thing: the earthquake in Haiti and the resulting devastation was a terrible, terrible thing. We Americans, individually and collectively, should do what we can to help the people of Haiti recover from this disaster. I am not in the Rush Limbaugh, “Let ‘em take care of themselves” camp.

Having said that, this is a business blog, not a humanitarian aid blog or a general current events blog. So, it is appropriate that we take a look at the long term impact that this disaster may have on business, divorced from the tragedy itself.

In the short term, there are a few companies and industries that will benefit from the devastation of a small island nation within spitting distance of US airspace.  The same old, big players who rush to the rescue, to the benefit of both the victims and the company’s bottom line.  They know who they are.

A less obvious, longer term impact on the US economy will be the certain influx of many thousands of Haitians to the United States.  There will be a sudden and pronounced increase in the pool of unskilled and unemployed workers, which already is pushing maximum capacity.  Southern states, Florida in particular, are likely to be hit the hardest by the influx of Haitian immigrants.

While that’s good news for citrus farmers and housekeeping services, it’s not so great for those currently looking for a job or those workers in unskilled jobs fighting to cling to their current position.  There is a very real possibility of a flood of immigrants so extreme that it overwhelms the capacity of some municipalities to deliver services to those in need.

The writing is on the wall.  The influx is coming.  The question remains: how can you position yourself or your business to profit, or at least not suffer, from the coming events?  By proactively considering the impact that this disaster will have in your area, you can put yourself in the best possible place to reap the rewards of looking ahead and being prepared.

I recently was reading an article by one of my favorite authors, Mike Holmes, about how the Bible is needed in the business world today.  His article got me thinking about the universal applications of the Christian message.

Mike wrote about how doing business wrong has no long term sustainability.  Those doing business wrong eventually get discovered and have to pay the cost.  They are going to prison and paying major fines.  Careers are being squashed, and company reputations are smeared.

The Bible teaches wisdom on how to associate with others, such as the popular Golden Rule.  There are many other verses and parables about relationships with others.  Teachings are not only about love but also about dealing with other business people.  For example, Proverbs 27:12 states the wise sees the evil in others and avoids them and those who don’t pay the penalty.  Had that warning from King Solomon been listened to there would be much less economic turmoil.

There are values of hard work highlighted, like Proverbs 6:6-8.  This verse talks about modeling our work ethics after the ant.  The ant labors during the good times to prepare for the bad.  We have seasons of prosperity and then blow it, thinking they will never end.  When the tide rolls out, we are stuck with nothing.

Proverbs 27:23 gives us some advice on our workforce.  We are told to know the face of our flocks and to tend to our herds.  We need to get to know our employees and learn their needs.  If their needs are not being met, they will seek to have them met elsewhere.  They might steal or gossip to others running your name into the ground.

Obviously, the book of Proverbs is my favorite when discussing the business world.  That is because the author, King Solomon, was considered the richest and wisest man ever.  He built massive fortune for the nation of Israel because of his wise ways.  Even those who are not believers would benefit from reading this book of the Bible.  You will be amazed at how implementing some age old wisdom could transform your company.

This week I am going to dive into part four of a concept I created called the Learning Phase.  This is part four of the five part series, and this one covers complacency.  The first three phases of struggle, capable and comfortable are required to gain a new skill or learn a new task; this one is not required.

Complacency is more of a pitfall in the road to learning.  However, it can be a great teacher, too.  Quick review.  We struggle to learn a new task and are clueless.  Then we become capable and still need to have our hand held. Then finally we are comfortable and can do a task on our own with very few problems.

This comfortable feeling is what leads to the complacent behavior.  We get the feeling that we can do the task with our eyes closed, and sometimes we even give it a try.  Remember when you first learned to drive.  You got your license and maintained the ten and two death grip on the wheel.  Every time a car entered your radar, you straightened your posture and focused big time.

After awhile you got used to other cars and were comfortable on the road.  You even were not scared to drive closer than the three car lengths behind anymore.  Why should you?  Nothing has ever happened yet.  Then one day while you are changing the song on your iPod…CRASH! Right into the back of another.  You got complacent.

This is so easy to do, especially when you are good or think you’re good at a task.  You take away your inner coach telling you the steps to do and start to bend the rules.  Something I find amazing is that the true greats in each field are the ones who continue to develop the basics.  Have you ever seen a racecar driver driving with one hand or changing the tunes during a race?

We need to do the task to the same standard each time while mastering the basics.  When we master them, we actually do them faster and more efficiently.

The past two postings of mine on this site have covered the Learning Process.  It is a concept I discuss in my book, Inspire Tomorrow.  There I only wrote one chapter on the process and wanted to expand on each phase just a little more.  The first week, we learned about the struggle phase.  Last week, we went into the capable phase.  This article is going to dive into the comfortable stage.

When learning a new skill or task you are going to spend time in the struggle phase of not knowing what you are doing and in the capable phase of being able to get by but with questions.  The comfortable phase is the last stage you will go through for a task that you actually learn.  It is the phase where you understand what is going on and can get through a vast majority of the things thrown at you.  If it is learning a new database, you are able to navigate it without having to ask what to do next.  You are even able to use the resources within it to be more efficient.

To get to this stage can be accomplished only with practice and the ability to learn.  If you refuse or are unable to grasp the concepts, you will not make it here.  When you ask a question or encounter a problem and learn how to get through it, you are settling into this phase.  If you are one of those people who refuses to learn from your mistakes or admit you don’t know something, you will not make it here.

In this stage you are capable and comfortable to get through the task without running to ask for help.  In martial arts, it is when I learned a new form well enough to practice at home, without fear of messing up the moves.  I struggled to learn and became capable with practice.  Finally, I was comfortable on my own.

A good indicator you’re in this phase is that people in the capable phase begin to ask you questions about the task.  Welcome to the big show!

I realized that after writing my book, Inspire Tomorrow, people really wanted to know more about the learning process.  Since, the book was about leadership, I only wrote one chapter on the topic of learning.  Hopefully, these next few articles will shed some more light on the process.

In my last article I outlined the learning process.  I then went on to discuss the first phase, which is the struggle phase.  In the struggle phase we learn the steps of a process and practice the new skill.  This phase requires very close supervision to make sure we don’t adapt bad habits.

The next phase is the capable phase.  In this phase you are able to perform the steps or skill, as long as you don’t hit any snags.  When a curve ball is thrown your way you are forced to ask for help or struggle through it on your own.  Those who are capable do not need constant supervision, just make sure there is someone available if a question arises.

To get to this phase you have to start in the struggle phase.  The Air Education and Training Command of the U.S. Air Force has a training philosophy that works for almost everything.  It will get you into the capable phase very quickly.  First, you watch a demonstration of the process or skill.  Here you sit back and just observe; see how it is supposed to be completed.

Next, you try it a couple of times in pieces to understand the individual parts of the steps.  This is where the trainer takes you though this phase giving you detailed instructions.  Finally, you practice.  Repetition will commit this skill to memory.

Once you have the steps down you are in the capable phase and will continue to learn as curve balls are thrown your way.  Capable people slowly become more independent.  Ask lots of questions and learn the variations and you will soon be in the comfortable phase.

Don’t miss part 3 of  this series.  Follow me on Twitter, www.twitter.com/joeylaw or all of Wasabi Media’s writers at www.twitter.com/wasabimedia.

Everyone learns through a particular process.  We all go through very similar stages as we learn a new skill or task.  We struggle, we’re capable, then comfortable, complacent and maybe eventually a master.  I picked up on this pattern as an instructor while teaching a group of students.  I noticed that with each class my students repeated a very similar process as the last one.

Whenever I taught something, they would be absolutely clueless as to what I was saying.  They would learn the terms and go through the motions but still could not function on their own.  If I let them go with only my initial lesson, they would not have a clue and not be able to succeed.  Each time performing the task they would miss steps.

This is the struggle phase.  Here we see or hear something new and want to learn it.  However, since it is new, we do not have the motions or knowledge to make it through each step without messing up something.  In this phase we need guidance.  We need someone with much more experience to hold our hand and point out the missed steps.  We need them to get us to the capable stage.

This phase is the most critical of all phases because of the learning Law of Primacy.  It suggests that the way we initially learn something is how we accept it permanently until overwhelming evidence and practice help us to re-learn it.  Basically, the way you learned to tie your shoes was very specific.  Some learned the two loops and cross method and others learned the loop and wrap way.  You still tie your shoes the same way after all these years.  Have you ever tried to tie them differently?

That is why during the struggle phase, particular attention to detail is required.  If you or your student practices something incorrectly and manages to make it to the next phase, they will have a lot of trouble un-learning the process.

The next phase will be covered in my next article for this site, find out when by following www.twitter.com/joeylaw or www.twitter.com/WasabiMedia.