Fred Crooks, Author at Checkbox Accounting

24Apr 2013 by Fred Crooks

The Truth About Intelligent Business Relationships

As a business owner, your desire is to develop and keep your professional relationships. But how do you do this successfully? To start, look at your personal relationships -- these will provide perspective into how a business relationship is also created and maintained. Ask yourself the following questions: How do you meet and keep your friends? How do you react to comments or criticism? How do you show you genuinely care? Take a look at these following tips; they will help ensure you that you and your professional relationships will not only last, but THRIVE! Make an Appealing First Impression First impressions mean everything! A first impression sets the foundation for your business relationship. Are you projecting yourself in a manner that will make somebody want to shake your hand…

09Apr 2013 by Fred Crooks

Principle 8: Board Responsibilities

Non Profit Principles: Steering You in the Right Direction

Every nonprofit organization needs to have a governing body that has responsibilities of reviewing and approving the nonprofit’s mission and direction, following an annual budget, and adhering to policies that consists of compensation, practices, and governance. -The board members are responsible for overseeing and governing all the organization’s affairs. -The mission and strategic direction of the organization are set through the board along with the CEO and Senior Staff. And the results should be used as a guide for future decisions. -Having the policies clear is important to help guide and to protect the organization and its board members. LEGAL AND COMPLIANCE ISSUES -All state laws make it a requirement for nonprofit organizations to have a board of directors. -Through the IRS Form 990 has a set of questions that…

01Nov 2012 by Fred Crooks

Fred Goes to College

Uncategorized

Last week Fred Crooks was at UC Davis as the keynote speaker during a full day of training for a delegation of 20 Chinese executive directors and senior business managers from the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) and its subsidiaries. Chen Bo, Deputy Director of Financial Operations led the delegation. The purpose of this visit was to learn about US business best practices. Fred, along with his colleague Neil Paschall from the McLean Group, gave presentations on the following topics: - American modern corporate theory and governance structure - Corporate merger and acquisition processes in the US - Characteristics of mergers, acquisitions and restructuring in the US - Post-merger integrations that help to improve the effectiveness in achieving the firm’s operational and strategic goals, as well as, comply with…

30Oct 2012 by Fred Crooks

Easy Steps to Prepare and Be Remembered at an Event

Business Advisory

We will walk you through the important factors to remember while preparing for an event because many small, yet vital, details could be overlooked. By following this simple checklist many concerns will be alleviated. One important factor to remember is to keep your booth, table, or display to the point and relevant. Not all margins of your business have to be shown all at once. Take time on the more pertinent aspects while slightly giving the anticipation for more to come. In order to successfully set up for an event we recommend delegating certain facets to either your team or willing volunteers. Explain your vision clearly; your team will understand your mission and execute it for a top triumph. -Keep all record of venues information including costs, contact information, allotted…

17Oct 2012 by Fred Crooks

Are You Managing Your Brand Correctly?

FREE Business Tools: Learn the Secrets, Marketing

Brand management is key to business success! You want your clients or customers to see your brand, logo, or design and instantly recognize who you are AND what you do. The second requirement is much harder to determine than the first. Many businesses can recognize the logo design or brand, but when asked specifically about what that company does, they hesitate… “Is it a car brand? Or a tire brand?” Think back to how many times you have watched a commercial on television and really thought to yourself, “What an awesome commercial!!” Can you remember what the commercial was for? Or the brand? Awesome marketing, poor execution of the brand awareness and recall. Brand recall is IDEAL for top-of-mind awareness with marketing. For a person to recall your brand in…

16Aug 2012 by Fred Crooks

Getting Your Employees to Grow YOUR Company: Tool #4

Employees, FREE Business Tools: Learn the Secrets

Use an Employee Suggestion Form! A suggestion is an idea that will benefit the business by solving a problem, reducing costs, improving operations or procedures, enhancing customer service, eliminating waste or spoilage, or making it a better or safer place to work. One of the most efficient and economical ways to gather new ideas is through the use of the people who know your operations intimately - your employees. Listening to and acting upon sensible employee suggestions presents the opportunity to improve profitability (many employee suggestions relate to wasteful practices and irrational policies) and at the same time increase the level of trust and teamwork within your business. At a time when businesses are paying consultants and advisors to find newer, better, and faster ways of doing things, sometimes the obvious…

14Aug 2012 by Fred Crooks

Fred’s and His Son, Kyle: THE Cross Country Road Trip

Archived Posts

My youngest son, Kyle, and I drove from Mesa, Arizona to Erie, Pennsylvania for a total of 2,300 miles that took us three and a half days of uproarious fun. He just started Medical School at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) this week and we are very proud. What better way to celebrate, bond, and laugh than three and a half days of driving? Sitting still in the car was the hard part so we tried to take turns driving every two to three hours. Our goal was to try and eat at as many healthy restaurants as possible. (Laughable, I know!) However, being on the road, it is hard to find a good variety of places to eat and we quickly got tired of eating at…

Author: Fred Crooks