IRS Survival Tips!

Eight IRS Survival Tips
by Rate Nerd on ratenerd.com

The IRS audited 11 percent more returns in 2010 over the year before, and more than double the agency’s pace just eight years earlier.

That’s almost 1.6 million individual taxpayers in 2010, and that pace may continue rising as the government works harder to collect every dollar it’s owed under the tax code.

If you get a letter from the IRS, don’t take it personally. “The government isn’t accusing you of dishonesty, it just wants to make sure your return is accurate,” says Walbert. To get through an audit as smoothly as possible, follow these common-sense rules.

1. Know your rights. Before your audit, read IRS Publication 1, “Your Rights as a Taxpayer.”

2. Be honest. Lying to the IRS can trigger heavy fines and even jail time.

3. Consider hiring help. You can be represented by an attorney who has experience in IRS audits and processes, a CPA or a federally authorized enrolled agent or tax practitioner.

4. Get organized. You’ll have more credibility if you can quickly answer questions and produce what’s asked of you. If you need time to get your act together, request a postponement.

5. Stick to the topic. Whether you’re answering a question or responding to a request for records, only give the IRS what it requests.

6. Take notes. Keep track of the examiner’s questions and your answers.

7. Be courteous. Don’t be hostile. If you think you’re being treated unfairly, share your feelings with the examiner’s supervisor.

8. Consider an appeal. If you disagree with the auditor’s findings, you might first try talking to a supervisor. You also can send a protest letter to the IRS Office of Appeals within 30 days of receiving the report.

Should You Rent or Buy??

Homeinsurance.org gives a great graphic for you to look at when deciding whether to rent or buy.

 

Your Fiercest Competition Creates Success

By: Elinor Stutz, posted on Personal Branding Blog

Your fiercest competition is You!

Are you able to outperform everything you have done in the past? When relentless, and sometimes unusual requests come your way, do you move with agility to complete them on time and in perfect order? Are you doing everything in your power to win?

The real competition

My personal example is that of an event on which I am working designed to teach people how to more easily get hired. An acquaintance sent an article featuring “Betsy” who appears to be in the same realm.

Betsy, like me, has a corporate background but in marketing rather than sales. She is also a certified Coach, resume writer, holds impeccable credentials in the recruiting field, and has held many admirable interviews. My acquaintance asked, “Is Betsy your competition?”

My response was to examine the question from multiple angles. The multi-pronged approach is a good practice for all business endeavors. In the corporate environment, particularly sales, we view the world as being highly competitive. Being alert to everyone around you and embracing flexibility are requirements. Not only do you need to play defense, but at times taking the offense stance becomes a necessity, too.

No competition?

However, in the entrepreneurial online world, I learned there is no competition. This viewpoint is the exact opposite of corporate. Can this possibly be true?

We each have our unique talents that no one else can quite match. Until we clone people, our DNA ensures we are unique. Although someone may try to copy your work, it will never be 100% the same.

Returning to the question about Betsy being my competitor – Yes, we are in the same realm. The initial difference is Betsy brings the marketing side to the table whereas I’m sales specific. She is heavily trained in the career realm whereas I am not. Her credentials are impeccable. My role in the career transition market has always been to provide this portion of my work as community service.

When your competition makes you blue

With all that said, it sounds as if I’m blown out of the water by my “competition”. But there is always the other side of the coin or second side to every story. And this is what you need to keep in mind when you feel knocked down by your so-called competition.

My credentials are having the ability to always get any job I ever wanted even as a teenager. Unknowingly, I used the sales trial-close technique at age 15. As an adult, I once applied for a job that at the time was several steps above my capability. I scrambled to grow into it, and it turned out to be the best of my career. All of my experiences led to writing a book on how to interview best along with community service work of teaching others how they too may have an easier time with the interviewing process.

Is Betsy my Competition? Job applicants, similar to anyone else who is about to purchase, need to go through their qualifying process to determine which road will match their needs best. In my opinion, we are on completely different paths. My talent or DNA type is instructing on how to use sales techniques to sell yourself on interviews, and I do believe it’s quite unique without competitors in this area. This endeavor completes my personal brand.

You be the judge – come join us on April 27 for an Evening of Inspiration, or “Be Inspired to Get HIRED!” Let us know your thoughts. Our mission is to help you achieve your goals.

Embracing the concepts of multi viewpoints, you are a unique being, and working each and every day toward your vision will steer you to the Smooth Sale!

Author:

Elinor Stutz, CEO of Smooth Sale, LLC, (800) 704-1499, was honored by Open View Labs with inclusion in their international list of “Top 25 Sales Influencers for 2012.” Elinor authored the International Best-Selling book, “Nice Girls DO Get the Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results”, Sourcebooks and the best selling career book, “HIRED! How to Use Sales Techniques to Sell Yourself On Interviews”, Career Press. She provides team sales training, private coaching and highly acclaimed inspirational keynotes for conferences. Elinor is available for consultation.

Can Your Boss Count on You?

From Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

Can Your Boss Count on You?

You know what I've realized in my tenure as a manager? The number one quality I appreciate most in a direct report is reliability. By reliable, I mean a person who says she is going to do something, and then actually does it in the agreed-upon manner.

You’d think this one would be kind of a no brainer for employees, especially when it comes to the boss who hands out the paychecks. But time and time again, in both my personal and professional life, I come across people who nod and smile when I ask them to help out with something, make promises they never intend to keep, or volunteer to assist with projects because it makes them look good.

As a result, I develop the dangerous expectation that I can stop worrying about that particular aspect of the project, that I can count on this person to take care of it. And imagine how disheartened I am when the deadline approaches (or worse, passes), and I either have to nag my report to complete the task and put it back on my own plate. I’ve fallen victim to my mother’s old warning: “if you let someone else’s lack of planning become your emergency, you’re a fool.”

A lot of the time, people who don’t keep their word aren’t doing it maliciously. They fully intend to get the task done, but they forget, get distracted with something else, or keep telling themselves they’ll get to it eventually. Nevertheless, it’s exactly these types of situations that make me a manager who delegates reluctantly. I know that if a project is in my hands, I can control how and when it gets done. But if I have to trust another person, it’s a different situation entirely.

I know that I’m not alone in this. If you want to be the kind of employee bosses love, do your job without being prodded, and once you agree to a task, don’t let it slide. Always meet your deadlines, and if something comes up that makes that impossible, give your manager plenty of heads up. Never underestimate the importance of being the person who brings peace of mind to the team, the person who makes it possible for the boss to ask once and then walk away confidently, knowing that the task in good, capable hands.

Your Facebook Could Use Some Spring Cleaning

Spring is here, which means it’s time to de-clutter and reorganize your life, your home and just about everything else. But, have you ever thought of spring cleaning your Facebook account? What better way to do this than starting with your news feed.

According to a recent msnbc.com article, Facebook has a list feature that allows you to control who you are sharing your posts with and who is seeing yours. Although this feature has been around for a while, many people don’t use it or are unaware of it.

I have heard of this feature before, but never looked into how to do this. We all have our fair share of acquaintances on Facebook or the people who post every 2 minutes, so hiding their posts may be a good place to start. This article suggests taking this list feature into account, before having to de-friend someone and worry about the awkward aftermath. The best part is that Facebook even suggests people you should put on this list, just like “People You May Know” section.

To start this spring cleaning, just go to your “Friends” page, click on “Acquaintances” and then click on “See All Suggestions”. Since it’s so easy, I’ll probably spring clean my Facebook because sometimes you just don’t want to read about what kind of coffee someone ordered that morning, the drama in a relationship or a detailed gym workout.

Courtesy of March Communications

Match Made in Heaven

For the past year gsSCENE has done everything they can to spread the word to local nonprofits on why they should have and NEED young professionals on their nonprofit boards. With the gsLEAD program, we are slowing making progress. A post from The Good Counsel Blog shows that this pairing of young professionals and nonprofit boards are a better match than one might think!

"Assuming a nonprofit organization has the right young individual for board service, it can be a mutually beneficial experience. The right candidate has to be a person who has a deep passion for the mission of the organization. I would never advocate putting a twenty-something on a board just because he/she fills a demographic hole. The individual MUST believe in the organization mission, or it doesn’t matter how old he/she is, it won’t be a good fit.

Those dedicated young professionals who really love an organization have oodles of value. It’s often up to the board’s leadership to know how to channel this talent productively. For example, many young professionals have large online networks and know how to build them, something many nonprofit organizations are trying to do.

Young professionals are often very savvy at online marketing and social media strategies. Even if they are not willing or able to run the online presence for an organization, they are usually willing to teach someone else how to do so.

Additionally, younger people tend to be more generous with both time and money than the boomer generation (based on disposable income). Many young people are more willing to give up time to an organization, which many groups will tell you can sometimes be more valuable than money."

Posted by The Good Counsel, by Dania Toscano Miwa on August 29, 2011. To read full blog post click here.

Reaching a New Group!

Today gsSCENE participated in the Coastal Carolina University Career Fair. When we signed up to have a booth, we looked at it as a way to get more exposure and maybe get a few graduating seniors interested in our program. This demographic is a great base for gsSCENE to draw members from because here are people that are "fresh" to the workplace and WANT to get involved! But after getting to the career fair and seeing the response, we were amazed!

Our booth was slammed! I was so happy to hear all the students talk about how they had heard about us and how they really did want to get to know more people when they graduated and got into the working world. Of course, many thought we were hiring or trying to get interns and while some immediately left us when we told them we weren't, the majority stayed and seemed very interested in what all we had to offer.

So hopefully at our April 7, birthday celebration we will have a lot of new faces! If you see someone at the event you don't know....go talk to them. Isn't that why everybody is there? To network and meet new people? And you think you know everyone, after meeting this whole new group of young adults...you don't!