Month: June 2022

Six Types of Deductible Continuing Education

In this article we would like to talk about continuing your education as a business professional. There are many things you can do to learn more about your trade, and many of them are also tax deductible, so they can save you money in the long run. So let’s talk about six types of continuing education that are deductible on your taxes.

1. College classes. Taking college classes to improve or maintain your business is tax deductible for your business. The cost of tuition, books, class fees, materials and supplies, and the gas or mileage to get there are all deductible.

2. Seminars. Throughout the year there are many seminars put on by many different organizations on many topics. Most of them charge a fee to attend. Some give credit if your type of professional license requires it and some do not. But regardless of whether credit is given or not, if it is a seminar about something that can help you as a business owner, it is considered continuing education. The fees to attend and travel expenses are all deductible.

3. Trade shows. A trade show is a show that has vendors with products and services that can help your business. The most common trade shows are in the construction industry, but there are many other types of trades and businesses that have them. Attending these shows helps you to keep updated on current products that can be helpful to your business. Again the entrance fees and travel expenses are deductible.

4. Vendor sponsored events. Businesses you work with or purchase product from sometimes sponsor events. Sometimes they are to promote their product or service and sometimes they are just helpful events to get you to like them. Either way the goal of the event is to teach you something. These events are often fun as well as informative, but they are still considered continuing education and the same things are deductible.

5. Conferences. As accountants, we attend a conference sponsored by the IRS every year in order to obtain credits to keep our license current. This conference is never closer than 600 miles away. They have them all over the country, so we always choose the one that is the most convenient for us. There are many types of conferences for many types of businesses. Conferences generally have classes you can attend about various subjects pertinent to your profession. They also often have a banquet and networking sessions to help you connect with others. Sometimes there are even sightseeing excursions you can take advantage of. Conferences can be both informative as well as fun and definitely fall into the continuing education category. Many people take their families with them and do fun things in the evenings or in between conference sessions.

6. Educational events you sponsor for your employees. It is important to keep your employees educated and informed as well as keeping moral up. Many companies hold events for their employees for those purposes. Some have a weekend retreat and some go on a cruise. The most important thing about this is to have some sort of training experience while at the event. Anything the company pays for such as transportation, food, lodging, or educational materials is tax deductible for the business. Anything the employee pays for is deductible to the employee.

What Can You Do With a Master’s in Business Administration?

With thousands of MBA’s conferred each year both online and on campus students are now asking themselves what can they do with their degree. This is a very important question and hopefully this article can help answer it. Many students go back to school because they cannot get a job. They feel it is their best option to make themselves more marketable. Or, they have hit the glass ceiling in their current company and they need an advanced degree to move into a higher position. Both of these reasons are prime examples of why both students and adults decide to pursue higher education. An MBA is a generalized degree with courses in marketing, management, finance, and accounting. These are all very important courses and can help you make important budgeting and overall business decisions. In this article we are going to discuss some of your career options when it comes to trying to find a job with your MBA.

Depending on where you are in your career a manager or director position is not out of the questions with your MBA. The good thing is an MBA is so versatile you can look into many different industries. You can manage a sales team, an office staff, or even a retail store. You have the knowledge you need to manage a team; you just have to figure out what industry you want to work in. For instance, because of the economy many individuals are getting into the healthcare field. Do you want to manage a Dr.’s office, a hospital, or even a pharmaceutical sales team? If you are already a mid-level manager the next step is a director. If there is no room in your current company for another director make sure to look elsewhere. Do not limit yourself to just your current company!

Another great feature about an MBA is that you have general knowledge in many different areas. Have you ever considered starting your own business or consulting others how to run/operate a successful business? This is another option for MBA graduates. If you don’t have an idea for a business or the start-up capital you can always get paid to help another business be more successful. Use your tools you learned from your program and show them how to be more efficient, more profitable, and overall a more successful company. Business consultants typically make their own schedule and charge a lot of money for their services.

Learn More About Learning Styles

Would you like to know more about how your adult students learn and interact with the learning environment, whether they are on-ground or online? A theory that addresses how adults learn is collectively called learning styles. Every adult has a unique approach or preferred method of learning, which can include one particular learning style or a combination of more than one. Learning styles, or descriptions of the way that adults learn, provide an explanation of how they interact with their classroom environment and process information. This offers another perspective of the process of learning, which will help you gain a better understanding of your students and is likely to increase your effectiveness as an instructor and in the process, teaching will become more effective. When instructors gain insight into the different ways that adult students interact with their environment they can adapt their instructional strategies to engage students in the process of learning through a variety of techniques and activities.

There are four primary measures of adult learning styles that have been developed and they remind instructors that a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching is not effective. It is possible that adult students will not only have a primary or distinct approach to learning, they may have a combination of one or more. These assessments help students and instructors identify elements related to the process of adult learning, which students may not be able to presently identify or understand. The Myers Briggs Type Indicator utilizes a set of questions that focus on perceptions and the results produce one of 16 possible personality types. This measurement can relate an adult student’s personality characteristics to the process of learning from a perceptual perspective.

Another similar measurement is called VARK. It is based upon the senses and is comprised of Visual (seeing), Aural (hearing), Read/Write, and Kinesthetic (bodily/physical). The Multiple Intelligences inventory developed by Dr. Howard Gardner lists eight types of learning styles and includes verbal, musical, logical, interpersonal, visual, intrapersonal, bodily, and naturalistic. The fourth common theory is the Kolb Learning Style Inventory, which is based upon a circular process of learning that considers the adult student’s experiences, reflections, thoughts, and consequent actions. Kolb’s theory developed four learning styles that are based upon various combinations of these components of the learning cycle: feeling, thinking, watching, and doing.

Knowledge of adult learning styles provides the most benefit for classroom instructors. When a course is developed by a curriculum designer their primary focus is typically on the creation of learning outcomes for the purpose of meeting accreditation guidelines and standards. Activities are designed as a means of helping students meet the expected course outcomes. This means that the curriculum designer may not include activities that address every learning style. What often meets the needs of each learning style is the approach that an instructor takes with their lectures or presentations and the strategies they implement for facilitation of the class. As an example, by knowing that adult students interact with information and process it in a variety of ways, an instructor can add interactive elements to their class presentations and lectures. In addition, instructors can identify their own personal learning style and recognize how it can impact the way that their adult students learn.

The process of learning often requires an adaptive approach by instructors and students. For example, students that are primarily visual learners will likely enjoy reading the course materials. For auditory learners, instructors may add videos or audio clips to enhance the process of learning. For students that prefer a hands-on approach to learning it may be beneficial to offer additional options that allow those students’ needs to be met. The purpose of adding interactive, supplemental resources and activities, while modifying teaching and instructional techniques, is to make the process of learning more accessible to students of all learning styles and abilities. By offering options, such as visual, auditory, and hands-on features, it becomes possible for an instructor to stimulate students’ interests and increase their cognitive abilities, while leading to their overall intellectual development.

Advance Your Career With Basic IT Training

In a world filled with computers and an ever growing internet, basic IT training should be a priority for all employees in just about any field. Basic knowledge will vastly improve the individuals’ chances of advancing their career or obtaining a job no matter what kind of employment they might be looking for. Here is a brief look at the different IT training available and how you can use it to advance your career.

Almost all companies, large and small, have moved over to a completely electronic form of business. Hardly anyone uses paper datasheets and file cabinets to save records and receipts. This means that their employees are going to have to be equipped to handle and prepare spreadsheets, build databases, work with email, and work with software programs to make work in the business place much easier and less cluttered. Companies will look to hire individuals that are trained to handle these IT basics.

The employees also have to know how to work the most basics of the internet. You would think in this day and age that most people know how to use the internet, but surprisingly enough, there are still many people that have somehow managed to stay off of the internet. This is a big turn off for companies looking to hire someone in the IT field or for any position. Basic IT training in the internet department will involve things like being able to find things in the search engines, answering emails and sending files through attachments and documents.

Many businesses have hired someone to create their own programs and systems on their computers. These companies want to hire someone who is able to come right in and work on these types of systems without having to invest too many resources to train them on how to work them. The people who can prove that they are computer literate and efficient at picking up the know how to operate foreign systems will be a big plus.

Basic IT training will offer you many positions over those without the training. A company is more likely to hire someone who can come in and prove that they are able to handle IT skills like operating computer hardware and software systems, internet, and other technological machines. Hiring someone who is capable will save the company money and time it would normally have to invest in the training for the individuals who are not already skilled in this fashion.

Small Business Course: Learning to Succeed With Your Own Business

Running a successful business does not come without proper training and experience. Finding a small business course to take will surely develop your skills enough for you to learn all of the things necessary to succeed and run your own profitable business. Here is a brief article explaining these courses more in-depth so you can understand what you will learn and where you can find places offering these courses. These courses offer their students the skills they need to thrive in a competitive business world today. If you want to succeed and make money with a small business you are going to have to compete with other businesses for their customers. In order to do this, you will need to learn skill sets and establish knowledge in the field of business. These courses will provide you just that.

More specifically, a small business course will train you on the subtleties of being an entrepreneur. Success in this field relies upon self-management and organization. Since you are your own boss you have to hold yourself accountable for getting things done and making sure that your business is always moving forward. You will have no one there to tell you to do things and give you deadlines to have them finished by. Your success depends solely on your abilities to know what to do and how to do them without anyone else there to help and to guide you.

If you have never been in a position of running a business all by yourself, a small business course will teach you all of the ins and outs associated with a business. They will teach you about accounting, budgeting, marketing, sales, human resources, e-commerce, business ethics, finance, economics and to name a few. There really are many aspects to learn even for a small business. The more that you learn and the more skill sets you begin to adapt, the better chance you will have to succeed and make money with your specific business.

Thanks in great part to the internet you now have the ability to be able to enroll in these courses online. This means that you won’t have to take time out of your busy schedule to physically go to class to learn and take tests. All this can be done at your own convenience and in the privacy and comfort of your own home. You have no excuse these days not to learn to be more competitive with your business. Sign up for a small business course today!