A seemingly trivial and recent compliment on my pool bag hit me like a ton of bricks (in a good way!) and serves as an inspiring reminder that I wanted to share with you. We all have the power to transform our lives and the lives of those around us. All that is required is belief, planning, effort, shifting our environments (including the folks we rock with), and courage to try again despite fear or failure.

I grew up in the Bronx in the 80s and 90s in a not-so-great neighborhood, raised by my Abuela on a very limited income, because life began for me in an even less great household. I had to claw my way out of the limitations I was born into, working and going to school full time by age 13. Not having much was part of my story for a very long time and receiving a compliment about my shoes or whatever else I was wearing meant that I was about to get jacked. Good thing then was I didn’t have many nice things. Today, at the aquatics center where I swim, this same compliment doesn’t throw me into fight or flight but instead leads to a friendly conversation about where I got this awesome bag made of recycled juice boxes, and a new friend. Life is very different than how it started for me. For those of us that have survived and thrived out of struggle, being hyper aware and grateful of the how and why is built into our psyche.

We can and do anything we put our minds to. It starts with a vision, your big picture and the desire to go beyond and above what you could currently see possible for yourself. It's all a matter of how hungry you are, how hard you are willing to work, and your ability to dig deep driving change as needed. It’s the ability to get out of your own way, to say “to the hell with it” and start over when it’s not working.

Let’s not forget about the helpers along the way that were in our corner, shared what they had with us, told us what we didn’t know we needed to hear, or were our teachers for a season. The cliches of being ‘self-made’ or having ‘no fear’ are bogus. Instead, leaders, especially those of us that have known struggle have an obligation to pay it forward and be the helpers to the next round of leaders.

We’ll talk more next month about how to be that helping leader in the community in which you operate. This month’s newsletter celebrates success – the small wins, the big wins and all of the behind the scenes work everyone around you may not see. We’re sharing best practices and resources well in advance of year-end / tax season so you can plan for success and celebration of wins from a place of calm with your people and organizations.

- Jessica Hornbeck, CEO & The BPR Team
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HERE'S an inspiring video on small steps leading to big change
we found on Reddit, but cannot share as a video directly

Services

Full Year Accounting Update and Tax Prep
Reach out ASAP if you need to get your Accounting and Financials in order along with recommendations ahead of year-end for the 2022 tax filing season. Don’t wait until the last minute to get a handle on your numbers or moves that can save you money!


Operations and Project Mgmt
BPR will deconstruct your Strategic Goals into achievable and measurable Tasks and SOPs. We’ll help you eliminate or reduce meetings! Check out this article on why that should be a thing!


 

Best Practices

Quarterly Taxes (Q3), Personal & S-Corp Tax Returns due September 15th

• IF you expect to owe > $1,000 in taxes, you are expected to pay taxes quarterly (Fed and State)

• You’ll be notified via mail, they won’t call you!

• Year-end tax returns confirm whether you have underpaid (you owe) or overpaid (refund due) throughout the year

• Paying Quarterly helps manage cash flow and avoids surprises

• Financial Reporting (throughout the year) is an essential part of this process, don’t wait until after year-end, aka the busy season
   

Good News – IRS COVID Tax Return Relief

• Available to those that filed 2019 and 2020 returns late during the pandemic

• Many payments to be completed by end of September

• Meant to get the IRS back on track following backlog of processing tax returns in advance of the 2023 filing season (for 2022)

More Information HERE.

BPR Client Spotlight

We’re giving a warm shout out to Hispanic owned and family operated, XRF Research Inc., serving a variety of industries across Compliance, Construction, Legal, Manufacturing, and Real Estate.

Let us know if you have a need for an intro to one of our fast-growing Advisory and Tax clients providing environmental testing and chemistry consulting across San Diego, greater California and Arizona.
 

Cash Flow, Capital Resources & Small Biz Topics

SCORE Hispanic Business Owners Hub
LINK HERE

Federal Contracting Programs
Available to socially and economic disadvantaged groups and areas

• 8(a) Business Development Programs, LINK HERE

• HUBZone Program, LINK HERE

• Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Program, LINK HERE 

Small Business Growth Fund (Grant)
Sponsored by Mastercard, the Hello Alice Small Business Growth Fund is offering small business owners the opportunity to receive a $5,000 grant to help them make their next big move.
LINK HERE

FedEx Entrepreneur Fund (Grant)
FedEx, the Global Entrepreneurship Network, and Hello Alice are proud to announce the FedEx® Entrepreneur Fund to invite military-connected small business owners or entrepreneurs with disabilities to apply for a $10,000 grant to use to support growth and better serve customers.
APPLY HERE 

Womens Net and Amber (Grant)
A list of 16 grants for women biz owners, LINK HERE.

The Entrepreneurial Spirit Fund by SIA Scotch (Grant)
Open to entrepreneurs of color in the food and beverage industry, Sept 26th is the deadline. APPLY HERE 

Restaurant Disaster Relief Fund (Grants)
$10k relief grants available to local restaurants affected by State or Federally declared disasters. LINK HERE 

Founders First Capital Partners
Prepares and invests in under-represented PoC and women owned businesses. Find out more info on their pitch contests, grants, and bootcamps: HERE 

First Citizens Bank
We’ve recently established a partnership with this relationship-based lender that offers equipment financing, lines of credit, and a variety of SBA loan products. Ask us for an intro and support shaping up your financials.

Accion Opportunity Fund Small Business Progress Loan
LINK HERE 

CDC Small Business Finance
An SBA lender, non-profit and advocate for entrepreneurs:
LINK HERE

QBO Capital
Offers short to long term financing tied to your QBO merchant account, fast, easy, capital based on what you process.
More Information: HERE
Schedule Link: HERE