Be The Best You Can Be

 

"We can only be more today than we were yesterday" – Mary Morrissey

Keeping Up With The Jones’
What an exhausting pursuit whether you enter the race in your personal or professional life. Wouldn’t you agree?
While on vacation, I realized how much I’d been comparing myself and my business to others. There’s not one bit of empowerment in saying you’re not doing as well as another person.

A Simple Lesson – It’s All Up To Me
Years ago, when I was in retail, we had a year of unrealistic budgets. The calculations made the numbers impossible to achieve.
In order to build momentum in my store, I focused on week to week and month to month growth, rather than the numbers on a page. That shift allowed me to stay motivated, motivate my team and when the new budgets were published, we were poised for success.
I admit, until recently I’d forgotten that lesson. Since vacation I’ve begun to look at myself as my only competition. I compare me to me. “How did I do yesterday?” “How did that compare to the day before?” Not “How am I doing compared to them?”

Be Your Own Biggest Competition
Whether it’s personal or business goals you’re looking to achieve, this shift will rev up your energy rather than tear it down. You’ll also find success much more easily than when you compare yourself to others because there’s always someone new to compare to, but there’s only one you.

Do you agree or disagree? I’d love to hear your opinion.

Jen Vondenbrink
Life Simplified
http://www.yourlifesimplified.com/

Take Care of Your Skin !

Submitted by Patty Nameishi - NuSkin

                                      

Beaches and barbecues await... While you're cooking up those meats on the grill, be sure you're not cooking your skin as well! 

An estimated 3.5 million Americans develop skin cancer each year; be smart about your sun protection. You can avoid this disease, and look younger longer.  

Recently, on the Today Show, Dr. Nancy spoke about the new sunscreen guidelines that will be implemented in the US including requirements to list ingredients in labeling. Some of the labeling thus far has been deceptive, and it's time for this needed change.

SPF 15 cuts out 93% of the suns harmful rays. Most Dermatologists recommend a SPF of 30. "Above 30 or higher you're looking at marketing, not science", a noted doctor stated. Its not the number; you need to keep reapplying, every 2 hours if you are in the sun.

What does SPF stand for?

SPF stands for sun protection factor. SPF is a factor of how long you can remain unprotected in the sun without burning. For example, if you begin to burn after 10 minutes in the sun then applying a sunscreen with an SPF of 15 will allow you to remain in the sun for 150 minutes before beginning to burn.

                                                        

The American Academy of Dermatology recommends people to use about one ounce of SPF 30 to cover their bodies, a glob about the size of a golf ball.

For information on our products and science, please visit my website www.agingmyth.nsedreams.com 

You can view the catalog online at http://www.nuskin.com/global/library/pdf/catalog/EN/2010/pageflip.html

Patty Nameishi
NuSkin


To see what's in Patty's "Summer Survival Tool Kit" including a great special offer for WBN members, Click Here

Tax Tips from Marietta - Child Care Expenses

Qualify for the Child/Dependent Care Credit and claim summer day camp and childcare expenses.

Need to reduce the amount of tax that you owe? Well … you may be able to claim a credit if you pay someone to care for a dependent under the age of 13, or for your spouse or dependent who is not able to care for himself or herself. The credit can be up to 35 percent of your expenses. To qualify, you must pay these expenses so that you can work or look for work. Here are some things you need to know:  

·         The cost of day camp may count as an expense towards the Child and Dependent Care Credit. Keep in mind that expenses for overnight camps do not qualify.

·         You must have paid the child and dependent care expenses so that you (and your spouse, if filing jointly) could work or look for work. If you do not find a job and have no earned income for the year, you cannot take this credit.

·         You must make payments for child and dependent care to someone you (and your spouse) cannot claim as a dependent. If you make payments to your child, he or she cannot be your dependent and must be aged 19 or older by the end of the year.

·         If you pay someone to come to your home and care for your dependent or spouse, you may be a household employer who has to pay employment taxes. Usually, you are not a household employer if the person who cares for your dependent or spouse does so at his or her home or place of business.

·         If you pay expenses to a sitter at your home or a daycare facility outside the home to provide child care, you may get some tax benefit if you qualify for the credit. You will need the name of the child care provider, the address, the identification number, i.e. Social Security number or Employer Identification Number and the total amount paid.

·         If your employer provides dependent care benefits under a qualified plan, you may be able to exclude these benefits from your income. Your employer will be able to tell you whether your benefit plan qualifies. There are limits to the amount that can be excluded from your income.  

Be sure to take advantage of this credit if you are eligible. _________________________________________________
Here’s a list of helpful IRS forms and publications:

·      Form 2441, Child and Dependent Care Expenses

• Form W-10, Dependent Care Provider’s Identification and Certification

Contact me with any questions or for more information.

Marietta Z. Courtney, CPA, MST

http://courtneycpa.com

Redecorating Dining Room - Select Finishes (3)

Submitted by Dotty Wyman - Dotty Wyman Designs

This is my third blog about redesigning my dining room.  I initially identified the Wynn Hotel lobby as the inspiration for my room.  Next I made a plan of all the tasks I need to accomplish prior to starting work or making purchases for this redecorating project.  I have determined the scope, budget and date I would like to have the room completed.  Now I am able to do more of the fun and creative parts of decorating, selecting the finishes to be used in the room.

 The walls will be painted and wallpapered in a dark brown tone, similar to some of the Wynn lobby walls.  Since the furniture in the room is also dark I have selected a striped wallpaper with a lighter brown color as well.  The wallpaper will be hung below the chair rail and paint above it.  All the moulding in the room will remain white.  This will help to keep the room from getting too dark.  The fabric choices will also need to be light in color to keep the room lively and inviting.

Wallpaper to be used below chair rail

Four fabrics have been chosen for the room.  The window treatments will be made from a bone colored velvet and rasberry/green tassel trim .  The dining chair seats will use a raised velvet rasberry colored dot pattern along with a green fabric used for piping around the edge.  Finally, the upholstered chair in the corner will use an intricate and colorful floral fabric.  The floral fabric helps to tie all the other fabrics together.  Usually, I will find the fabric with the large print and multiple colors first and select the solid, stripe and/or small patterned fabrics after, but this time the floral was the last fabric selected.

Overview of fabrics and wall coverings

Dining chair seat fabric

Dining chair welt around edge of seat

Upholstered chair fabric

Drapery trim

Now that I have made all of my selections I need to verify everything is available.  Once this is accomplished I will order the fabrics, trim and wallpaper.  I will also start the process of hiring the trades people.

Dotty

Dotty Wyman Designs

www.dottywymandesigns.com/

Tips To Maximize Summer for Entrepreneurs

submitted by Jen Vondenbrink - Life Simplified

The sun is out and the days are warm. I don’t know about you, but I’ll admit it’s hard to stay focused when summer calls. All you may want to do is jump in the pool or head to the beach. Memories of a snowy winter are still fresh and staying inside all day doesn’t seem right.

 

Photo credit: myrtlebeachblog via Flickr under creative commons license

Being an entrepreneur isn’t a jail sentence.  You started your own company to have flexibility to enjoy these moments.  Now that your business is up and running, however, you find it difficult to extract yourself from your office.

Fear not.
 Here are some productivity tips that can help you maximize your summer.

Get up a little earlier. 
There’s something revitalizing about listening to the birds first thing in the morning.  Get up about 30-60 minutes earlier.  Do some stretching.  If it’s nice, get a walk in.  Or if you’re like me head to the office

Schedule a personal day. 
Want to go to the beach?  Plan a “personal day.”  You remember those from your previous life, right?  They’re special days you took off during the work week as mini vacations.  Give yourself so many personal days a year, then plan them into the calendar.  There’s nothing better than looking forward to an impromptu vacation.

Give yourself the night off (or even better, the weekend off!).
 Lots of companies have shorter Friday’s during the summer.  Some even went to 4 day work weeks in the summer.  If your business can afford it, plan some of these.

What’s the benefit of taking these few small steps?
Sanity, creativity and productivity.  You’ll find you’re more invigorated when you are working because you have these treats to look forward to.
 

Jen Vondenbrink
Life Simplified
www.yourlifesimplified.com
Life Enrichment and Leadership Training
781-864-1782

HIPPA laws and your college student

submitted by Karen A. McSherry - Attorney at Law

Graduation season is here.  A joyous time, to be soon followed by a (maybe) heart wrenching time as your “baby” goes off to college to live the life of an adult.  Yes, despite how they appear to us, those 18 year olds are adults, who, with the exception of the right to drink legally, have all the rights and responsibilities of an adult.

So, what does this mean for the nervous parent at home?  Well, despite the fact that Mom and Dad’s names appear on the tuition bill, parents really have no authority to receive grades, talk to the school, or make medical decisions in the case of an emergency.  That is, unless of course, you have had the foresight to have your child execute a power of attorney and health care proxy prior to leaving for college.

A power of attorney can help if you need to straighten out finances either at the school or back home.  Without this document, parents won’t be able to deal with an insurance company for that auto accident or talk to the bank about that overdraft. 

If your child becomes ill while at school, HIPPA laws will prevent the school from releasing information, unless of course, your child has waived those limitations in the health care proxy.

 

Send your child off to school with more than just a laptop and extra long bed sheets for the dorm room.  Send them off with the piece of mind that Mom and Dad can still lend a helping hand.

Until September I will offer all WBN members a discount for children going off to college.  A power of attorney and health care proxy will be $100.00 for both documents.

 

Karen A. McSherry
Attorney at Law
187 Washington St. (Rte. 138)
North Easton, MA 02356
Tel: 508-238-3333
Fax: 508-238-1500
EM: karen@KmcSherryLaw.com
Web: http://www.KmcSherryLaw.com

Redecorating Dining Room - Planning (2)

submitted by Dotty Wyman - Dotty Wyman Designs

 

The planning portion of any design project is the most important. Start by identifying the scope of the project and your budget. These two steps are critical whether you use an interior designer or do the project yourself. The scope of my design project includes painting and papering the walls, replacing the window treatments and reupholstering the chairs. Things I also am considering to replace are the base moulding and adding recessed lighting. My budget is $4,000.

Below I have outlined my project plan. These are all the things I want to have accomplished before I have any tradespeople come to my home or order anything. Remember this is a design plan and may change as the project evolves.

Project Plan for Dining Room

1. Identify scope and budget - above
2. Identify date needed - If you want a project completed prior to a special event try to start it early, 2 to 3 months prior. Design projects always seem to incur delays. Lately, many fabrics are not carried in stock and the waiting time to get them can be 8 weeks. I would like to have my project completed over the summer. I am in no rush, but want to set a deadline for myself.
3. Select finishes - I like to have most or all new finishes and fabrics selected prior to purchasing anything. This allows me to coordinate and see how everything works together. Also, if a finish is no longer available you have the opportunity to change several of your choices if needed. For example, if the paint color is based on the fabric that is now out of stock, you can get a new fabric and adjust the paint color to match. Your choices can't always occur in advance for large projects, but for my dining room project I believe it is the best approach.
4. Hire trades people for each job - I will need to hire a carpenter/painter, electrician (if needed) and an upholsterer. I am hoping the same person can do the painting, wallpapering and moulding replacement, since it is a smaller job. I will use the same upholsterer and electrician I have used in the past. As a designer, I have contact with trades people that I trust and have seen their work. Make sure you hire reliable people with references. I will make the window treatments myself, but have factored their cost into the estimated budget.
5. Timeline for project task completion - Most design projects need tasks to occur in some type of order, because they are contingent on the prior task. The painter/carpenter need to come first, then I can install the window treatments. The upholstery can be done any time (no contingency). If I decide to add recessed lighting, the electrician will need to come first. They will make the biggest mess and the painter can repair any damage.
6. Execute the plan - Purchase fabrics, paint, wallpaper. Have your room ready for the trades people to do their work. Communicate with tradespeople what you want. It's hard to fix something that is already completed.

I am starting to get a good sense of where my interior design project is going. I now have my inspiration, my project scope and the design plan in place to get started. My next step is to start moving on the to do's created in my design plan. I look forward to sharing my fabric, paint and wallpapber choices.

 

Dotty Wyman

Dotty Wyman Designs

www.DottyWymanDesigns.com

info@dottywymandesigns.com