Starting your professional career can be one of the most exciting (and anxious) times of your life. Whether you are beginning your own business or joining one, there are several important aspects to keep in mind. We have compiled a quick guide that will help you manage your priorities as a new business owner with confidence.

1. Protect Your Work-Life Balance – While you might be used to a heavy schedule during your years in academia, don’t let yourself burn out. You deserve a healthy work-life balance. By setting expectations and following them, you can enjoy your time with friends, family, or hobbies without feeling tread on by your work schedule.
2. Know Your Strengths – Your practice should center on two things: what you are compassionate about, and what you are incredible at. Don’t pursue a specialty just to appeal to your community if it isn’t something you are excited about. Focusing on your strengths will bring you more satisfaction in your work as well as higher quality to your service.
3. Manage Your Debt – Graduates usually have a significant trail of student debt following them. Whether you refinance, make extra payments, or choose an alternate repayment plan, focus on reducing your balance instead of simply paying off the interest. Don’t forget to contribute early to your retirement fund, either. The best time to start saving was yesterday.
4. Successful Business Management – A business needs a strong leader. Schools don’t typically prepare you for the financial and leadership elements of your career, so don’t be afraid to seek coaches or consultants. With the right mentor, both you and your business can succeed.
5. Continue Your Education – The last advice you want to hear as a new business owner is ‘more schooling,’ but it’s true. Once you have settled in, you should look for new opportunities to hone your skills. There exists a world of workshops, lectures, and courses that can further your passion in business, bring you confidence in your work, and improve the value of your company.

With the right mindset and plan, you can build yourself up as a new business owner, achieving your leadership and financial goals. If you are considering starting your own business, our team will be the resource you need to secure your future in success. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.

If you have other questions, contact our office for a business management consultation. 

Apple Guerin Company LLC Phone: (255) 767-1020 6421 Perkins Road, Bldg. A, Ste. 1B Baton Rouge, LA 70808

Baton Rouge CPA

The first step to growing your business is attracting new clients. Your website, social media, and marketing are all geared toward the idea of getting people to call your office. To help convert this interest into new customer appointments, you have probably spent time selecting and training the team members who answer the phones during office hours. But have you considered what happens when a prospective customer calls when the business is closed?

Many businesses do not have any coverage for phone calls outside their hours of operation or during lunch hour. Others have an impersonal answering machine advising callers of the business hours and perhaps offering to record a message. This can be extremely frustrating for your customers, both current and prospective.

If your customer discovers on Friday afternoon or evening that they will need to reschedule an appointment set for Monday morning, chances are that message will not be heard until it is too late to move another patient into the opening. If your phones are being answered outside working hours, this can be addressed much more promptly, leading to better scheduling and happier customers.

You may be wondering how to arrange to have 24/7 phone coverage. There are a few options available, but one of the most economical and most personal for your business is to train some of your team members to share the responsibility. No one has better knowledge of your practice, your customers, and your schedule than your own team. You will want to decide on the best way to compensate them for the added time, such as paying them a set amount per weekend or evening day or an amount per call answered.

Once this is determined, arrange a rotation for the team members who will participate. Your main phone line can be forwarded to a business-owned mobile phone during off-hours, which can be held by the team member on call. Be sure that each person has your after-hours contact information in case of an emergency, especially when you are first launching this system.

After a few months, hold a meeting with all the involved team members to review the number of after-hours calls you receive, what times are most common, and how many are converted into new appointments for your business. This can help you value the ROI for this new plan of action and to determine whether your office benefits from full 24/7 coverage or if a more limited extension of hours is more cost-effective.

If you have other questions, contact our office for a business management consultation. 

Apple Guerin Company LLC Phone: (255) 767-1020 6421 Perkins Road, Bldg. A, Ste. 1B Baton Rouge, LA 70808

Employee embezzlement is not a rare occurrence in today’s society. More specifically, the healthcare industry, including dentistry, consistently ranks in the top three industries in terms of employee embezzlement cases. The average employee embezzlement amount exceeds $100,000. This is a frightening reality for businesses. Often between talking with clients, managing their staff and staying updated on the newest technologies, business owners have limited time for tracking the business’ finances. Below are suggested tips to help reduce the chances of being a victim to employee embezzlement.

Click here to read the entire article.

If you have other questions, contact our office for a business management consultation. 

Apple Guerin Company LLC Phone: (255) 767-1020 6421 Perkins Road, Bldg. A, Ste. 1B Baton Rouge, LA 70808

CPA in Baton Rouge

Hiring is time-consuming, stressful, and sometimes costly. In some cases, this causes business owners to avoid firing an employee long after it has become clear that the person is damaging the overall work environment. Finding the right person for your office can be challenging. However, continuing to retain a toxic employee can be far more costly for you and your business.

What is a “toxic employee?”

A toxic employee is easily recognized for exhibiting several, if not all, of the following behaviors:

• Bad attitude: This includes eye-rolling, muttering, snide comments, complaints, confrontational tone, and passive-aggressive speech or actions.
• Lack of engagement: This can include work-avoidance, lack of enthusiasm, unwillingness to accept responsibilities, and being inattentive in meetings and huddles.
• Dishonesty: Whether this involves refusal to accept accountability, blaming others for mistakes, or outright lies and thefts, dishonesty is harmful to your business and your team.
• Poor work performance: While a new team member may experience a learning curve at first, the toxic employee never rises above the bare minimum of what has been explicitly listed as expected. In many cases, they may not even be fully or properly completing work. They are uninterested in feedback or training and unwilling to work to improve.

Do you recognize anyone in your office from these descriptions? If so, it’s time to pull the plug.

When you continue to keep a toxic employee on your staff, you may avoid the headaches of the hiring process in the short term. However, you are creating a host of other problems for yourself that will cost you a great deal more time, money, and energy to solve in the long term.

One toxic employee in your office can cause:

• Loss of new customers: If a toxic employee is interacting with potential customers, they are creating a negative image of your business, which can lose hundreds or thousands of dollars in revenue.
• Loss of existing customers: If your clients are treated poorly even once, they may choose to take their business elsewhere – and they may tell others.
• Loss of your best team members: Your best people want to work in a positive environment where they feel supported and appreciated. By tolerating the complaints or shoddy work of one toxic person, you risk losing team players to a company that maintains a better atmosphere.

Don’t compromise your business or your best team members by refusing to fire toxic employees. For more strategies to improve your business, contact our office.

Apple Guerin Company LLC Phone: (255) 767-1020

6421 Perkins Road, Bldg. A, Ste. 1B Baton Rouge, LA 70808