The Sounding Board

I had planned to give a little link love to a colleague this week, but life being what it is, some things have happened this week to change my plans. Next week I’ll post the link love I had originally planned for this week. Today, however, I decided to send out a different kind of love for a very wonderful person who truly has had the greatest impact on me and my business…my Mom, Chris.

This past week has been a rough week for our family. My son, who suffers from multiple neurological and mental health issues, has unfortunately met with some serious struggles relative to his disorders this past weekend. In short, as it stands now, we will be looking into residential treatment for him. As his mother, this isn’t an easy decision to come to and not one I take lightly. It is, however, probably the best choice for him in order to give him all the tools he needs to be able to function as an adult in the real world. At 14, he doesn’t have a great deal of time before he is legally an adult. It’s my job as his Mom to make sure he’s as prepared to live on his own as he possibly can be. I’m not crazy about the idea that in order to accomplish that, my son may have to live somewhere other than the home he’s always known. That is a heartbreaking choice to be faced with, but the fact remains that it is the best choice for him. And until a residential option is determined, he is being housed in a secure facility where he is safe and under doctor’s care.

At the same time all this is coming to a head with my son, my Mom, the strongest woman I know, has had to face struggles of her own. Her 86 year old mother, my Grams, was hospitalized earlier this past week with what was thought at the time to be just a bad stomach flu. She was dehydrated and appeared to have a bladder infection. Since her admission, however, her condition has worsened considerably. She is now suffering acute renal failure, has developed pneumonia, and been diagnosed with congestive heart failure. The doctors have finally said out loud what my mother and the rest of the family already knew in our hearts – Gram’s time is coming. She has lived a long and rich life. She met the love of her life at the tender age of 12 and was fortunate enough to have well over 50 years with him before he left us in November 2006. As much as we all hate to let her go, I know she’s going to a better place. She will once again be with the one and only love of her life and will never again struggle with the difficulties of an aging shell. Like the situation with my son, the situation with my Grams, much though it may hurt and break my heart, it is what it is. Life is not always easy, and it does not last forever, no matter how much we might wish for more time, or better outcomes. Life is life. You have to take it as it comes…good, bad, or indifferent.

The point of my post, however, is not to chatter on about life’s struggles. The point of my post is to acknowledge and celebrate my gratitude for having been given the greatest gift of my life – my Mom, Chris. She is an incredibly strong woman with a wonderfully giving and tender heart. My life has been blessed with her as my Mom & greatest cheerleader. There she sits, watching her own mother slowly slipping away, with the heartbreak that brings no matter how long or full my grandmother’s life has been. She is still my Mom’s mother. It still hurts to let her go. I can only imagine what pain that must bring to my mother’s heart. Yet even in the midst of facing saying good-bye to her mother, what does my wonderful Mom do? She calls to see how things are going here with us and my son. She’s understandably worried and wanted to offer her love and support. She, like she always has, put her own pain aside to be there for her family when they need her most. My Mom has always been there, always offered the kind of love and support that only a Mom can, holding my hand and reminding me I can handle anything – even the struggles of raising a ’special’ child. In the midst of her own pain and suffering, my Mom reached out her hands to me to help me get through my struggles and to let my family and I know that she’s there for all of us whenever we need her – no matter what.

To say that her strength and love touched my heart is an understatement. I am continuously amazed at the amount of strength my mother has to deal with whatever life throws at her or her family. She is by far the strongest person I’ve ever known. And I am truly, truly grateful that she is who she is. I am so proud of her, and sit in awe of her strength and the size of her heart. I am eternally grateful that she’s my Mom. She is the reason I am who I am & Lord knows, I was no easy child to raise. J I couldn’t possibly sit here and thank anyone else for anything they’ve done to help shape my life or my business without first expressing my gratitude for the woman who truly had the most positive impact. She is truly wonderful and I am truly blessed to have her.

Thank you, Mom, for simply being you. For being there whenever we need you, no matter what you, yourself are dealing with. Thank you, Mom. I love you very much. I wish I could be there to hold your hand and wrap my arms around you, to give you back just a little of what you have given me. Just know that even though we are miles apart, my heart is right there with you. Just know that you are loved as much as you have given love, and no matter what life brings, we’ll get through it all…together, as a family, just as it should be.

So what about you guys out there? When was the last time you called your Mom? When was the last time you told her what she means to you?

Every business owner, whether new or experienced, knows that running a business can put a lot on your daily “To-Do” list. You spend your days fighting deadlines, making calls, getting things organized, making decisions, handling customers, tracking orders, not to mention trying to have a life outside of your business. At the end of the day, you wind up feeling drained and flat-out beat, but have you really accomplished much?

As tax season looms near, it’s time to start thinking about your 2007 business taxes. We’re here to help! Are you planning ahead for ad expenses for 2008? Before you jump on a great new idea for promoting your business, or file a deduction for entertainment-related advertising, read this & think about the following scenario:

You love going to your child’s little league games. You look forward to it every season. So why not gain a little advertising by sponsoring the team and deducting it as a business expense, right? Well, before you jump in and order all new uniforms with your company logo & slogan, be prepared to keep records of the increased business you get from your pint-sized walking billboards. The IRS might not agree that your sponsorship is a genuine business deduction. They may see it as your business paying for your personal hobby or entertainment.

A.J. Cook, a CPA Attorney & author of AJ’s Tax Fables, a syndicated newspaper column, tells of several cases where the IRS disallowed “unusual” advertising expenses when the company could not prove they derived any benefit or increase in business. (Read AJ’s article here) For example, sponsoring a racecar to the tune of over $50k was disallowed by the IRS, but later upheld by a judge when the company was able to prove, through documented records, that the sponsorship benefited the business & provided an increase in revenues. However, another company’s expenses in excess of $13k for the owner’s personal boat bearing a flag advertising his business, was also disallowed by the IRS. The owner argued he used the boat to generate new business through his yacht club. The IRS’s decision to disallow the deduction was later upheld in court. The owners could not produce evidence of a single new client or increase in revenues to justify the $13k+ expense.

So, before you jump on a great new idea you have for using your favorite past time or hobby for marketing your business, be prepared to keep copious notes on the leads and new business it brings in for you. And before you go using a sponsorship as a deduction for 2007’s taxes, take a long hard look at the justifications you have documented. It could make the difference between an allowable deduction and the IRS viewing your idea of deductible expenditures as a personal hobby. For more information on allowable deductions & IRS rules for business expenses visit the IRS website for a copy of Publication 535. (This is the 2006 publication; however there is a link to “What’s new for 2007″ that can give you updated information for the 2007 tax year.)