Welcome to DiVITA Speaks!!

Isn't it amazing how time flies!

By Chloe DiVita

In my world these first few months of the year are the busiest, and I'm finding they are the hardest to make some time to blog. Since this blog has yet to reach it's first birthday, this is the first 1st quarter I have attempted to work and blog.

January is filled with year end payroll reporting (all those lovely reports most people prefer to just not understand), plus W-2s, 1099s, and all the reconciliation that goes into preparing them. Then comes February. My time turns to focus on year end adjustments and producing financial statements so my clients can get there tax returns done. This always flows into March, and even April sometimes. And during this time the day to day stuff seems to always be as busy as it can be, or maybe that's just my perception as I usually feel slightly overwhelmed by my workload.

It's that overwhelming pile of "to do" items that keeps me working late into the night. Although, recently, my body has not been enjoying my late night work schedule. I've found myself struggling to keep my eyes open as the 22nd hour passes me by. How much can I accomplish half asleep?! Don't worry, I know the answer is nothing, and as I reach that point I usually curl up in my recliner and let the TV drift me off to sleep.

I suppose the point of this post is to let you all know that I have not forgotten about the blogging world. I am not ignoring this blog, and I have every intention of trying to make more time to post. I have taken some time to read a few of the blogs I used to frequent daily, only the frequency has turned to weekly, or even bi-weekly. But, I have found some interesting conversation going on. I also feel I have some input to provide on the subjects, like the generation gap discussion over at Lipsticking, or the working women discussion over at Working Solo. So many interesting things being discussed right now, and me with a clogged schedule - not to mention a clogged brain!

Please stay tuned. I will be back soon!

How Much is YOUR Time Worth?

By Chloe DiVita

As a small business owner it’s important to have a price. Whether that price is for a product or a service, there has to be a price. A lot of time can go into coming up with a price. We have to be sure to cover costs, even indirect ones like rent and insurance, and hopefully earn a profit. Strike that. We MUST earn a profit. After all, that is the whole reason for being in business, right?

So, why do so many small business owners feel like they have to justify their price to the point of being worth it? It’s the business owner’s responsibility to be competitive, and justify the cost of services or products to that extent, but to have to prove worth on a continuous basis seems a bit ridiculous.

We are all in business, and our time has value. Let’s not forget that, and respect each others products, services, and prices. If it’s not worth it, we’ll quickly know.

Next time you get a $50 bill from your CPA for a 15 minute phone call, remember that you called him or her for a reason. Being an IRS interpreter should have some worth, and your 15 minute phone call probably isn’t the only one received that day. If he/she did not charge for those minutes the knowledge no longer has worth. And, if you don’t want to pay that $50 – whether it’s to your attorney, your CPA, your doctor, whoever – then see how long it takes you to answer your own question. All of a sudden $50 seems like a great value.

Was the IRS prepared for disaster?

By Benecia Beyer

In our most recent newsletter (do you receive our newsletter? if not - send us an email at info@divitainc.com and we'll add you to our list!) we had an article "Are You Prepared for Disaster" in which we spoke about the 100 year flood for our area and what impact this would have on your business and how you can be prepared by having a disaster plan in place.

I can't help but wonder (although they probably did just fine as they had just recently participated in the Forward Challenge '06 biennial continuity-of-operations exercise - so they were somewhat prepared) how the IRS faired when torrential rains closed the headquarters beginning June 26 after an estimated 5.5 million gallons of water flooded the basement and sub-basement.  The unprecedented flooding caused extensive damage, destroying or heavily damaging electrical equipment and air handlers. The sub-basement was under 20 feet of water and the basement was under 5 feet of water. More than $25 million was spent repairing the building. While all the electrical and air systems have been repaired, some construction work will continue on areas in the basement until approximately April.

The tax agencies IT systems were not affected by this disaster since they are located chiefly at the IRS suburban headquarters in New Carrolton, MD. So the processing of tax returns have been unaffected.

About 2,000 IRS employees, who have been working at 15 other buildings in the Metro Washington area, will be moving back to headquarters in stages.

Black Friday...Cyber Monday-What Next?

By Benecia Beyer

"Cyber Monday," the term coined for the Monday after Thanksgiving, comes on the heels of the busy "Black Friday" shopping day when many brick-and-mortar retailers begin turning a profit. The good news for online shoppers this year, is that "Cyber Monday" is becoming the Web shopping equivalent to "Black Friday" when retailers launch major sales and discounts to drive traffic, analysts said.

According to comScore Networks, a leader in measuring the digital age, during the first 24 days of November this year, total online retail spending reached $8.31 billion, marking a 23 percent increase versus the corresponding days in 2005. "Black Friday" saw particularly high online sales with $434 million spent, up 42 percent versus last year.

Heavy traffic to leading retailers' Web sites - which in the case of Walmart.com resulted in an outage at the site - comScore found high levels of online retail spending on Black Friday (there is a special website devoted to what's available on Black Friday) this year. "With 42 percent growth versus the same day last year, it's clear that many consumers opted for the convenience and sanity of shopping from home in order to avoid mayhem at the malls and to take advantage of the extremely attractive deals being offered online."

Personally -- I participated in neither. I'm waiting for the next new coined phrase -- "Tax Tuesday" or maybe "W-2 Wednesday" !