Monthly Archives: September 2020

Training in The Era of Social Distancing

Every business that wants to be successful wants people that understand the culture of a business and they want to have their current skills sharpened so that they are regarded as talented assets in the business. 

But what about social distancing and training during the COVID-19 pandemic

The challenge to continue with training

There have been challenges to sustain business activities during the pandemic, and while situations are different for every business, depending on internet access, manufacturers are coming up with alternate plans. In fact, challenges and problem-solving is the basis of what lean six sigma deployment is about. 

Agility, for instance, is an aspect of six sigma, and with lockdown and also the re-opening of businesses, training of employees on the likes of social distancing and safety protocols becomes a necessity. 

Six sigma helps in terms of training of employees on the various aspects surrounding business and coronavirus. Managers encourage continuous development, and connecting staff at home with training programs shows that they are invested in their staff’s growth. They do this by providing them with the tools to learn to gain a greater insight into the business. 

Lean-based training ideas

Faced with questions about how to continue operations throughout the pandemic, some businesses are looking at lean-based ideas, especially important for companies providing essential supplies. 

Six Sigma certification comes in different skill levels and must be obtained through an accredited body. Peter Peterka is the President of SixSigma.us and has more than 20 years of credible experience performing as a Master Black Belt. 

He works with many different types of companies to apply Six Sigma methodologies to a variety of processes. He has developed Six Sigma deployment strategies and training for Product and Process Development and Manufacturing and Business Process Improvement. 

Training in certain professions ongoing

Training is as important as ever and always ongoing in certain professions such as emergency services. The emergency management profession is of critical importance as chaos and disasters are becoming ever more rampant. In training courses for product and process development, it is important to teach new skills. Remote training has become the norm. 

All kinds of businesses have flexible offerings to train their team, from online workshops and courses to videos to podcasts and others. Many of these online training platforms will even notify managers when staff working at home have completed a learning activity.

Easy access to learning

During the pandemic, your staff may all be working at home, juggling work activities with home activities. Apart from working remotely, as a manager, you may have gone and added in some training sessions as well. These can cause lots of stress as those working at home try to fit this training into their existing schedule. 

Even for the less tech-savvy employee, as a manager, you will need to consider the actual training and make it a streamlined process. Most people these days are on their mobile devices. Therefore, it becomes important to ensure that the training program is mobile-compatible so that people can access the training wherever they are. 

Training on any device

Not everyone has access to the same resources, and users need to be able to access e-learning from not just their PC but other devices too. 

Nearly everyone today, regardless of how poor, has access to a smartphone, and online training courses can be viewed on all kinds of devices. 

The coronavirus has forced us to look at options that require no physical contact, and with technology, e-learning has replaced classroom learning. The integration of lean and safety is helping businesses remain competitive while doing the same level of business but with fewer resources.  

Office Interior Basics: 5 Steps to Setting Up Your Working Space

Our jobs take up most of our time and it is said that we spend at least sixty percent of our life at work. Your office is essentially your home away from home. It is the space in which you need to be most efficient, productive and think clearly. 

How you set up the interior of this space has a large impact on your productivity and comfort while working. There are a few basics that you should always consider. Here are five steps to setting up your workspace. 

Keep it at a Comfortable Temperature

The temperature of your working environment as the seasons change plays a key role in creating a productive and comfortable workspace. 

Since office spaces are usually built with functionality rather than comfort in mind, the space seldom comes standard with heating, cooling, or any other set-up to make it a comfortable space to spend hours of your day in.

Heating your office in winter and cooling it in summer to become a comfortable working space does not have to be a budget breaker. PTAC Inc has made this even easier with its wide range of heating and cooling units. You can choose from a wide range of reworked and new PTAC units as per your choice.

Start at Ground Level

The flooring in any space is the basis and foundation of the area. It also helps create the overall ambiance of the environment. Concrete flooring can be very cold, dusty, rough, and sometimes uneven, but is often the go-to method of building contractors when it comes to mass build functional office spaces.  

Adding some carpeting or even laminate wood flooring over the concrete are some options to look at to make the space more comfortable and appealing during all seasons of the year. 

Leveling out an uneven floor will be very necessary when it comes to bringing in your desk and chairs, so that will be a must. These options are also easier to keep clean and are dust-free. 

Light it Up

The lighting in a work area plays a very specific role in productivity and getting it just right is important. The existing lighting in most office spaces is often very harsh and very bright as its original purpose is just to form only one function – lighting up the space as much as possible. 

Replacing harsh fluorescent tubes with warmer, more appealing light fittings that still allow for a well-lit working environment is the next thing to consider. A warmer light color makes for a homely and comfortable feel. 

The more comfortable you are, the more productive you can be. Add some style and your own personal touch with aesthetic light fittings, and maybe a dimmer switch for those days when late night working is necessary. 

Add a Coat of Paint

The color of the walls and paint choices plays a big role when it comes to the mood, psychology and general productivity of the space. The walls of any space provide a blank canvas on which to start creating the ambiance and energy flow within that space. When choosing your paint colors, think about more than just matching hues. 

Different colors will have different effects. For example, the color blue is linked to creating a calm and productive mood. Green is linked to more creative thinking. Neutral light colors make the space feel bigger and more spacious. Find the color scheme that works best for your own productivity. 

Add some Style

Now that you have looked at the basics to create a more comfortable space, it’s time to look at the aesthetics. This includes the necessary office furniture and equipment that will complete the set-up. Desks, shelving and chairs are the obvious, but these don’t have to be ugly to be functional. 

Adding some vintage furniture, art on the walls and knick-knacks that make you smile will help create an office space that you are happy to spend time in. And when you are happy to spend time in it, you are more productive. 

Adjust to the Reality of Remote Selling

Today companies are exploring ways to equip sales teams for virtual success. Certain basic principles may remain the same but new strategies are becoming necessary. This could involve modifying sales pitches and using scenario-based selling practices to make the most of digital interactions with customers. 

Despite the many benefits of being able to communicate digitally, at times, this means making an extra effort to stay connected, develop good relationships with customers, and demonstrate the value of products or services.  

Stay connected

Remote salespeople who are connected to the rest of the sales team tend to be significantly more successful. One of the biggest challenges of a remote role is a sense of isolation. 

Without team members with whom to talk through any challenges and celebrate wins, remote working can be quite overwhelming. It is essential to have that feedback, especially when working in a remote role for the first time. 

This sense of connection also means being able to promote a more accurate picture of the product or service. For teams who want to learn more about remote selling, Winning by Design offers remote selling skills training and executive workshops. 

Certain activities can help members of a sales team to feel more connected, such as guided activities led by the team leader. 

Have the right tools and systems in place

When selling remotely, it is very important to record everything. Team members continuously need to share documents, updates and more. 

Having a centralized location helps when team members are in different time zones. If everything is in a centralized place, no-one needs to wait for a team member in another time zones before being able to send something to a prospect. 

All team members should be confident in using the systems and tools. There are various different software platforms that record calls to prospects, emails, SMSs and all communication in a single timeline. Free tools like Google docs grant everyone access, so they can also be useful to store documentation.

Sales are not the only goal

Remote salespeople should not make sales their only goal. Better ways to measure success, particularly at first, may be to focus on getting meetings with people and giving demos. 

The ability to gain customer trust is the primary focus for closing deals successfully, even in the virtual environment. The best way to gain trust is by establishing relationships and all communication with prospects should be geared towards this. 

Deliver value quickly

In a virtual meeting, it is important to get to the point quickly. Developing tools like virtual customer conversation playbooks, questionnaires or polls can help a sales team to capture the attention of prospects immediately and to be able to deliver value effectively and quickly. 

A virtual audience loses focus much quicker than a live audience so this needs to be kept in mind when making any virtual presentations. The best salespeople are curious for all the right reasons. They want to truly understand the pain points of prospects and demonstrate the value of what they are offering. 

Find ways to retain attention

Selling in person usually means people are not checking their phones, opening their web browser or checking email. When selling online, it is more of a problem to retain their attention. 

Unless salespeople make the effort to interact, it is easy for someone to sit back, listen to a monologue and work on other tasks at the same time. The background, sound, lighting, video and even the way a salesperson is dressed all need attention. They can all impact a buyer’s ability to pay attention. 

Growth Hacking Strategies to Increase Customers and Sales

Growth is of critical importance for any business and knowing about growth hacking strategies – different from conventional processes – can ensure success when it comes to growing a business. 

Growth hacking is all about being smart, creative, and also original when implementing cost-effective strategies to retain customers. 

Minimum defects in the work environment

In a manufacturing business, training courses for product and process development will help workers understand the total product development process, how to also conduct a project financial analysis and generally get the training that will help them acquire new skills that they can use on the job. 

The aim of such a course includes improving all conditions of the manufacturing industry. Implementing Six Sigma also ensures minimum defects in the manufacturing process. 

The benefits of Lean Six Sigma can be the improvement of customer satisfaction, greater productivity and efficiency, the minimizing of errors and a speed-up in turnaround times.

Keeping employee work performance levels high

Never let a lack of organization affect your small business, but rather learn how to improve the way you approach things.

Manufacturing and business process improvement can help you grow your bottom line. Lean Six Sigma deployment methodology is all about making projects more efficient and easier to manage, which contributes to customer satisfaction. Peter Peterka is the president of Global Six Sigma and knows exactly how to take your business forward and onward and avoid problems along the way. 

By adopting Six Sigma, a business can exceed its expectations. Peter Peterka is the first to say that the better an organization manages processes and changes, the more successful they will be. 

Landing pages

This is one of the most effective ways to market your brand. It doesn’t matter how user-friendly your website is; with the absence of a landing page, your customers won’t be up to date on new launches and offers you have. 

The landing page will promote sign-ups because it creates a buzz about a product. To achieve this, the landing page must be easy to use and navigate so that the pages don’t delay the user. 

Make sure to always have fresh, interesting content so that visitors want to come back to see what’s trending. An ‘About Us’ page, accessible on the landing page needs to illustrate all the how’s and what’s about your business. 

Keeping the loyal customers you have

Keeping your loyal, regular customers is more important than making new ones. Yes, growth hacking is about growing your user base quickly, but not at the cost of your regular customers.

By now, you should know what your regular customers are looking for in your products and you want to show them consistently that you can deliver on their preferences. 

Once you have met the needs of your loyal customers, you want to identify the new target market. You need to get to know the culture that they are used to so that you can reach out to them in ways and means that resonate specifically with them. 

Setting clear goals

To attain your growth strategy goals, growth hacking is all about smaller goals that are more measurable and more attainable. You have to be innovative when it comes to setting clear goals because if you simply follow the same old tactics used by everyone else, you can’t expect growth. 

Growth hackers are always creative and original. They look for new ways to rope in customers – ways that will increase blog traffic, generate more leads from social media and gain lots more visitors to your website. 

Make it your goal to be tech-savvy, even as an older entrepreneur, as it will be to your advantage if you have knowledge about digital marketing basics. 

How to Find a Credit Card That Works for You

Choosing a credit card can be a challenge, especially if you want to find one with the type of rewards and fees that will work for you. You will need to take time to compare different cards and decide on one that offers you the best option as there are so many different cards within each category. 

Identify why you want the card

Creditors market different cards for different purposes so it makes sense to decide exactly why you want a card. Match Financial allows you to compare cards and find out more about information like rates, points, rewards and more all in one place. 

For example, you can compare sign-up bonuses and annual fees. Sometimes the annual fee is less than the sign-up bonus. If you want to carry a balance and you can get a lower interest rate if you pay an annual fee, it may be worthwhile. 

Whether you are looking for balance transfer, travel, cashback, business, airline, hotel cards or any others, there will be an option that will make the most sense for you. 

Decide whether you will carry a balance

If you plan to carry a balance, low interest rates will be more important than any reward programs or sign-up bonuses. You must prioritize the interest you have to pay because you will probably only earn between one and two percent in rewards for most purchases but you are likely to have to pay more than 15 percent in interest annually. 

This is especially the case if you find a credit card that offers a promotional zero percent annual percentage rate (APR) on purchases. The APR is the interest rate you pay if you carry a balance. Many cards have a low promotional APR for purchases or balance transfers and it goes up after you have the card for about 12 to 18 months. 

If you can repay what you owe before the promotional rate expires or transfer the balance when the rate rises, you do not have to pay any interest. Qualifying for a promotional balance transfer offer usually requires having good credit. 

Consider your spending habits

If you plan to pay your bill in full every month, you will want to maximize your rewards by finding a card that matches your spending habits best. Many credit cards offer bonus rewards points for certain types of purchases. You may get rewards for buying gas or groceries, travel, going to restaurants or for business expenses. 

More generous rewards may be offered on specific categories of purchases, such as five percent cash back on gas. Check your past few months of credit card statements to see what kind of purchases you make most often so that the card you choose will fit your lifestyle. 

Think about what rewards will be most useful to you

You need to think about the kinds of rewards you will actually be likely to use and that will offer you the most value. For example, if you do not travel that often, you may never use free airline miles so it is not really worth having them. If you go on plenty of road trips, it will help if you can earn points you can redeem for gas. 

If you are saving for retirement, it may help to get cashback that you can put into an investment account. If you spend a large amount every month on groceries, getting a card that offers generous cashback rewards on grocery purchases may be able to save you plenty of money. 

Money-Making Opportunities from Home During COVID-19

COVID-19 has placed many families under enormous pressure to make ends meet. Jobs have been lost or employment hours have been cut back to the nth degree. People are scrambling for ways to survive and meet financial obligations. 

This is the time when the resilience of the human spirit comes to the forefront, as many individuals focus on finding alternative sources of income. Here are several methods to make money from home as we wait for the shutdown to be lifted.

Turn your hobby into an income spinner

Maybe you are a DIY person who loves baking, sewing, carpentry or making crafts. Turn your hobby into an income spinner from home to bring in some money. Open a social media account to advertise your products and encourage family members to spread the word via text messages.

You may not make a fortune, but it will be better to generate some additional income to get you through this period. On the upside, your hobby could turn into a lifelong career. Now is the time to show others that staying from home can be a positive experience. Use your skills and talents to motivate others to find the benefits during these tough times.

Graphic design and web development

Graphic designers who enjoyed full-time employment can now turn to the online environment to earn money from home. Several freelance platforms offer the ideal place to showcase your skills and to find work. If bidding for jobs doesn’t appeal to you, create online courses to help others learn graphic design.

Create an online course once and reap the benefits from each sale. Develop an entire course from beginner to expert, and you may find yourself attracting a loyal following. Advertise your new business on social media sites, and your new initiative could develop into something valuable.

Copywriters and editors

Copywriters and copy editors have seldom found it difficult to work from home. Opportunities abound for work in this field as marketing agencies start to get busy again. Online companies are frequently looking for remote workers to pick up the slack because of the cost savings involved when employing freelancers.

Another benefit of remote work as a freelancer in this field is that you can source work from a variety of companies. There is also potential for long-term regular work in these fields as industries begin to recover from the shutdown.

Online betting

Many people are looking for work from home jobs to make money as the effects of COVID-19 continue to batter global economies. One way that people can make money online is to test their skills at sports betting. Centsports offers customers a way to bet on any sport that suits them to add to their monthly income. With little to no money, customers can create a free account and start betting online.

Centsports has provided new sign-ups with $0.10 to get started. Customers can also bet on games if they prefer these to sports. The site doesn’t accept deposits, is completely legal and focuses on being risk-free. Check it out for the potential to make some money from home. You can learn more by visiting Centsports.

Test your writing skills

Write a fictional story, a memoir or DIY book about your work experiences to help others. Publish the book online; advertise your work through social media, and enjoy the income generated from this source. Write a recipe book if that is your area of interest.

Explore crowdfunding platforms that focus on new authors’ work to generate greater interest. Who knows? This may be a work of art that sets you up for life. If not, you may be encouraged to continue writing to add to your ebook collection as a future generator of sales.

5 Benefits to Look Forward to When Moving Across State Lines

Taking a long leap of faith outside your comfort zone is not for everyone. Packing up a familiar home to move across state lines is stressful. Relocating can also be fun once all the hard work is done. 

The trouble is that moving homes is not just about packing. New schools must be sourced, kids can lose out on education time, and you need to become familiar with the new geographical territory. Navigating new areas and jobs is not for the fainthearted but moving does come with benefits.

Career growth

Career ambitions are typical reasons for moving across the country. Excitement sets in when you are appointed to that new position you have been dreaming about for so long. Now you need to prove your metal as the challenge has arrived. Learning new skills (or teaching them) provides the opportunity for growth.

Appointment to a new position means you will be meeting new people, learning about new systems and policies. Generally, your career has taken a step in the right direction if you have decided to move across the country. Excitement, challenges, and growth lie ahead. Before that happens, you need to sort out the move.

Choosing the right company

When relocating thousands of miles from home, a professional company is a wise choice to take care of one element. Select a company to pack and move home belongings to ease your burden. Contact a reputable business that specializes in shipping cars across country. Ship Vehicles is one company that has years of experience in making car shipping easier when moving home.

Prepare your vehicles according to their online guidelines. Then choose from a selection of services such as open, closed, shared or unshared transport. All that you need to do after this planning is to get to the airport.

Explore a new environment

On arriving at your destination and after settling in, you can explore your surroundings. Featured attractions such as national parks, architecture, nightlife, sports, and recreation facilities all wait to be discovered. Turning over a new leaf is better than making new year’s resolutions because this is real.

You must make a go of this opportunity to reap the best rewards. Change is stimulating and really is as good as a vacation once you’ve caught up on sleep. Now is the time to expand your horizons by learning as much as possible about what this world has to offer.

New State, home, and friends

Meeting new people is typically inspirational. Take time to learn about cultural idiosyncrasies by participating in events. Find out about family clubs to support hobbies or building networks. Relocation means losing a lot of the familiar support of family and friends.

Now is a good time to build new connections to get you settled in. Be neighborly and knock on the door across the way. Invite the neighbors for a meal or enjoy a cup of tea together. Those living around you will be the best source of great places to visit and where to get what you need.

Personal growth

Personal growth builds as you become a member of the community. Give and take occurs as you mingle with the world around you. Learn to enjoy new foods, weather, and ways of doing things. Even if these are unfamiliar, they prompt you to grow by testing how you react to relatively foreign experiences.

Your life has opened up, so open up to life. Try things you were always too timid to do. If life was stagnating – a move across State lines is just what the doctor ordered. Be bold, be driven and embrace change as you develop into a better version of yourself.

How to Recover from the Loss of a Parent

The death of a parent hurts and the wound cuts deeply regardless of the circumstances or your age. You may be in your 50s and expected to cope easily, but the death of a parent brings back the vulnerabilities of the child within us. It does not matter how close or distant you were to your parent, it still hurts the same way.

The grief is even more devastating for children and young adults who still looked up to the parent(s) for support. It is as if your life just died together with your parent leaving you with a deep void and a sense of hopelessness. Picking up the pieces and moving on can be challenging but here are some tips to help you cope.

Immediately after it happens

People receive the death of a parent with shock naturally, but as adults, they shove this to the back burner and stoically go through the funeral arrangements and the process of internment. 

The responsibility of making the funeral plans with a funeral home can temporarily numb one from grieving until after the burial. However, the children do not have this option and may feel the impact right away although the finality of it hits home harder after burial

Engaging a funeral home to deal with funeral arrangements can help reduce the added stress while grieving. You must also look at Memorials.com for the choice of appropriate headstones for cemetery gravesites during grief periods. 

Allow yourself to grieve

After the burial or cremation, it is time to confront your loss and to grieve for the loss of your mother or father. Expect the grieving to be hard on you and to drain you emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Grieving takes time and although you will recover, it never really ends for some time.

During this trying period, do not let go of your control completely and be gentle on yourself. Self-chastisement and loss of control can easily lead you down the road to substance abuse and addiction or outright depression. Keep your senses and be rational in your grieving while seeking support from friends and family to help you cope.

Seek support while recovering from loss

The best way to grief starts with an acceptance that you have lost a father or mother and that their death is a natural factor of life. Do not suppress your feelings or even memories good or bad of your relationship with the departed parent. Take care of your health, eat well, and provide support for loved ones grieving with you.

It is important to seek support from extended members of the family and close friends to see you through this grieving period. Having people who care around you will protect you from sliding into depression and possible mental health complications.

Accepting and starting over

You will have to give yourself time to grieve for the loss of your parent before moving on. However, to pull out of this grief and recover fully, start by resolving your feelings and forgiving yourself for any guilt you may have over the death of the parent. We often feel we did not do enough for the parent when alive and suffer this guilt long after they are dead.

Allow the loss of a parent to generate a new perspective to life in you and help you appreciate life differently. Accept your new status and use it to support other family members as a legacy to your late parent. Treasure and enjoy those precious memories you recollect of the times shared with the departed parent.

5 Cornerstones of Good Lawn Care

A lawn that is well cared for on a regular basis can provide an oasis of green in a landscape. To prevent the lawn from becoming brown or dying, the following practices are an essential part of good lawn care. 

1. Scarifying

Scarifying lawn is a way of removing matter from around the stem of the grass plant. This matter may consist of moss, weeds, old dead grass and lawn clippings. Too much of this thatch slows down drainage and restricts airflow. 

Some, but not all of it, needs to be removed to keep the growing environment healthy. Removing too much of it can be a mistake as this removes all protection for the grass. 

Spring is the best time to scarify a lawn and a spring tine rake will do the job. It can take some stamina and unless you have a very small lawn, it may be better to hire a machine to do the job or bring in a reputable lawn care company. Landscaping businesses usually offer lawn care as part of their services and GreenPal is able to direct you to the best ones in your area. 

2. Regular mowing

The more regularly you mow your lawn, the quicker it grows. Mow it once a week in summer and at least once every two weeks in spring. Dull mower blades will shred grass rather than cutting it so make sure they are sharp. Setting the blades too low and cutting the grass too short can make the soil underneath dry out too quickly. 

As a general rule of thumb, do not remove more than a third of the height of the grass at each mowing. Leaving grass clippings on the lawn can help to fertilize it naturally but if you do not want to do this, toss the clippings on the compost heap. 

3. Feeding with fertilizer

It is important to always use the best quality fertilizers. There is a huge variety of fertilizers available and you should select one that is drought resistant and encourages root and leaf growth. If you do not want to use the chemical varieties, liquid seaweed is a good alternative and you can use it once a month throughout summer and spring. 

Do not use fertilizer at a time when a lawn is brown as you do not want to promote leaf growth when the roots have little access to moisture. Do not use it on newly sown grass or turf either as this will make the grass go brown. 

4. Proper watering

If you want your lawn to stay green in the summer months, you will need to water it regularly. Depending on the type of lawn, this may be anything from once a week to once a month. 

Do not overwater and use a sprinkler in the morning or afternoon so the grass has time to dry before nightfall. It’s best to water lawn deeply about once a week, or when the grass looks a bit wilted, and give it about an inch or 3cm of water each time. Frequent, shallow watering can result in weak roots that will not survive the summer heat. 

5. Getting rid of weeds

Weeds in grass not only spoil the looks of the lawn but they compete for water, light and nutrients so you should not ignore them. The best way to get rid of weeds is to create an environment where it is difficult for them to flourish. 

Compacted soil, water-deprived turf and low-mowed grass all encourage weed growth. By reversing these problems, you will not only have a healthy lawn but you can say goodbye to weeds. 

How to Handle Your Small Business Back Taxes

The IRS has various ways to collect back taxes. If your small business owes back taxes, it is subject to tax penalties and interest and will not get away with not paying them. 

If you do not have all the money to pay them, it may be comforting for you to know that the IRS may threaten to close down businesses but it hardly ever does so. As long as you co-operate, working out a solution to your business back taxes is possible. 

Keep communicating with the IRS

If you are behind on your business taxes and you want to stay in business, ignoring the IRS is the worst thing you can do. Even if they do not follow up with you for a while, they will always come back. 

The longer you put off paying back taxes, the more your tax debt grows due to penalties and interest. The IRS has power given to it by Congress to collect taxes so you only need to receive a letter of demand before it acts. It can seize your business assets and close it down. 

Fortress Tax Relief offers tax resolution services and will intervene with the IRS on your behalf and help you to resolve your back tax issues with favorable terms. 

You have time to strategize

The IRS is often slow to react, which gives you time to take action. As the IRS has limited personnel, it usually resorts to various other measures before assigning a human being to your case. You may receive many tax bills and telephone calls before you actually have to confront a tax collector face-to-face. 

Every year the tax collection system is getting faster, however, and you cannot afford to relax because you think you have plenty of time. Remember, you do not have to disclose anything about your assets or finances to an IRS collector unless you receive a formal summons. 

Ask for a payment plan

Consider asking the IRS for a payment plan. Most businesses that owe back taxes are allowed to pay off their old tax debt in monthly installments. It is important to set up an installment agreement with monthly payments you can afford. If you default on an installment agreement, the IRS will be less inclined to allow you to set up another one. 

Request an offer in compromise

Requesting an offer in compromise can be a lengthy process. The business owner needs to fill out an IRS form providing detailed information about the financial status of the business and request that the IRS accepts only a percentage of what the business owes. 

The IRS is likely to accept the offer if it believes that accepting a compromise is better than not getting anything at all. 

If you do not qualify for such an offer, you can reduce the amount you owe to the IRS by obtaining an Abatement of Penalties. To obtain this, you need to make a formal request with a persuasive argument for reasonable cause and documents to back it up. It helps to have an experienced attorney to assist you with this. 

The last resort

If your business is in a truly dire position, the IRS may temporarily give you “uncollectable status,” which means it will leave you alone for some time. 

It will not actively engage in any collection efforts during this time but you will still owe the back tax and penalties and interest will continue to accumulate. As a last resort, you may consider filing for bankruptcy, which can wipe out some of your tax debt.