Frances Ray Accounting & Tax Service LLC

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Kill Switch Bunker Games

Posted on by Posted in Area Small Businesses .

Kill Switch Bunker Games

Recently I sat down with a friend, Susan Hogue and interviewed her about her entrepreneurial endeavors. Have you ever been playing a board game or some other type of game and thought about how the maker came up with it and what it would take to make a game of your own? Or maybe you wished there was a game that pertained to a certain subject that you are interested in but you couldn’t find one? Susan had such an experience and she did something about it.

      Before I go into my story any farther I have to get a little legality out of the way. This story contains a link to purchase Susan’s game. If you use this link and make a purchase I could earn a commission but this does not affect the price that you pay.

One year just before the Christmas season Susan was trying to figure out what to buy as a present for her brother. Her brother is very interested in the survivalist movement, also known as being a prepper. Susan wanted to get him a game with the prepper theme. She found that there wasn’t any such game available. She couldn’t purchase what wasn’t on the market. (Doesn’t that make you wonder what ideas or dreams you may have that aren’t on the market yet? Someone could be looking for just that product.)

When Susan and her brother got together they talked about the fact that there wasn’t a prepper themed game. The two of them talked about what might happen if an event happened that shut down society as we know it. What if, when the *beep* hits the fan you are in the city working? You know you need to get to your cabin in the country. What would you do? What would you need to get you there? This was the beginning of the G.O.O.D. (get out of dodge) game.

Together, they drew out a rough draft of a game board on poster board. The map on the board is based on the topography of the state of Washington because this was an area that they were familiar with. It made her “journey” to the cabin more realistic. She could imagine what each consecutive step would be to get to the cabin.

Most board games consist of tokens or pieces that players move around the map on the board. The G.O.O.D. Game does not include such tokens. Having to come up with an item to use as your token is your first act of improvisation in your journey. Once you have decided on a token to mark your space on the board you must start your journey by a combination of rolling a die and reading the instructions on the board and on the cards.

The game took four years to complete. Susan learned a lot about the process of making a board game. There are only a few companies in the United States that manufacture board games and you can’t just walk in and ask them to make you 500 games. They want big orders such as a half million games. There are so many questions that have to be answered just to get the deck of playing cards made. Did they want rounded corners? What color will they be printed in? What size would you like them to be? These obstacles may be why there isn’t another game about prepping. As it would turn out, some players have voiced their opinion that the cards should be larger and stiffer so that they are easier to shuffle.

There were a few other things that she learned during the creation process. The size and shape of a game box can be very important. If you have ever tried to stack up a bunch of games you know how the size and shape can make a big difference. It’s also a battle to decrease the size of the box so that shipping can be more affordable. A major determinate in packaging is how big the game board is and how it fits in the box. One of the many ways to change the size of the box is to change how the board is folded.

Susan enjoys talking to other game creators about the whole process. They can share “war stories” with each other and each one has a little something to lend to the brain pool. They can share obstacles, victories and tips on how to make the process easier.

Susan’s next project will be a more kid friendly version of the current survivalist game. It will be a card game instead of a board game. The name of the new game will be Stock Your Bunker Jr. for ages 6 and up. If you check out Susan’s Face book page “Kill Switch Bunker Games” you will see that she has already been experimenting with different types of graphic for the new game.

The following is an affiliate link. Basically, that means if you click on the picture it will take you to Amazon to purchase the game and if you purchase the game or any other product while on that page I may receive compensation. It does not affect the price you pay at all and it doesn’t affect the amount that Susan receives for the game purchases. 

You can find Kill Switch Bunker Games on Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter, Instagram and at www.killswitchbunkergames.com.

New Attitude! Going A Different Direction!

Posted on by Posted in Area Small Businesses .

Have you ever started a project with the intention of doing something and part of the way through it you realize that you want to go a totally different direction? Well, two years ago I started my web-page. The main purpose of the web-page was to inform people of the different services that I offer in my business. My ulterior motive though, was to start a blog. I thought I would blog about budgeting and give tips regularly on “deals” and couponing.

Recently, I wrote a post telling everyone about Prime Day, a day where Amazon has great deals for Prime members. I intended to follow up with more “deals” or shopping tips. A week or so passed and I realized that back when I first started the web-page everyone was either couponing or wanting to learn how to coupon. The show “Extreme Couponing” was a hit at that time. Since that time the couponing rage has settled down a little and there are well known, established web pages posting all the latest deals.

I also realized that I do not have the time to hunt for the deals and get them passed along. Back when I was really interested in couponing I would sit down with all my coupons and my coupon binder and the sale ads and I would poor over those ads as though they contained the secret to the universe. It took a lot of time. I would get up real early the next morning and I would head out to the stores. I saved a lot of money and I loved to share the information with people but I was only shopping for the things I used. Looking for deals for others can be tricky. Anyways, I have decided to leave that niche up to the established pages such as Money Saving Mom and Passionate Penny Pincher.

Over the last couple of years I have helped a lot of local people get businesses set up. These businesses usually start up from someone’s passion and skill set. Starting a business requires a skill set of its own. As a business owner you have to know things like sales tax requirements, how to apply for a tax ID number, basic bookkeeping and record keeping, invoicing, marketing, payroll requirements and many other things that might be outside of a business owner’s skill set. That’s where I come in. They hire me to take care of these things or sometimes just come in for a consultation for guidance.

Our area has seen many new businesses introduced in the last year alone. After a recent conversation about how excited it makes me to see someone act on their dreams and start their business, I sat down and made a list of all the small businesses in our area. Iberia has a population of less than eight hundred people but we have more than 59 small businesses, 17 churches and 15 organizations. I say “more than” because I know I missed several in each category. Isn’t it exciting to know that a small community has so much going for it?!

That being said, I have decided to change the direction of the blog portion of the web page. My blog will be about local small businesses. I will introduce you to some new businesses and reintroduce you to some established businesses. I hope by putting the spotlight on these businesses it will give them an opportunity to let the community know what they have going on and what they have to offer. I hope it will also inspire others to follow their dreams and make their ideas come to life.

I plan to post about at least one business or one business topic each month. I hope you will enjoy the posts and that you will share them with friends. I also hope that you will patronize these businesses and keep them growing. The best way to know when I publish a new post is to sign up for my newsletter. When you go to the webpage there is a place to sign up. All you have to give is your first name and an email address. You won’t get bombarded with e-mails and I won’t share your information with anyone else.

I’m really excited to introduce these businesses and their products to you. So stay tuned. (Oops! I may have just dated myself with that comment.) !

My #1 Tip For Someone Starting a New Business

Posted on by Posted in Starting A New Business .

So many times, I have people in my office that are getting ready to start a new business venture. For a lot of these clients this is the first time they have ever dealt with any of the day-to-day back room workings of a business. One of the most asked questions is “What method of accounting should I use?” and for most small businesses starting out I tell them to get the Dome Monthly Bookkeeping book. It is the easiest method that I know of and it doesn’t require any previous bookkeeping experience or computer program knowledge.
To use the Dome system each type of expense has an account number, the most commonly used expenses are already given numbers. Each time you enter an expense you enter the payee, the date, the dollar amount and the account number for the expense. At the end of the month you carry the total of all the expenses with the same account number over to the end of month page. It is super easy to use and keep a running total of all expenses and income throughout the year.
The following is a link to purchase the Dome system. There are weekly and monthly versions available and its up to you to decide your preference.
You should know that this is an affiliate link and I could receive a small commission for any purchases that you should make through this link.
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The Word “Budget” Doesn’t Have to be Dreaded

Posted on by Posted in Budgeting .

Everyone, even a lottery winner, has a limited amount of income. There is even a television show that tells the stories of lottery winners that have lost everything in just a short time period. No matter how much money you have, you can’t continually spend more than you have coming in. Eventually you will use up all of your resources. Overspending can lead to enormous debt, bankruptcy, and/or foreclosure.

Being overextended can lead to bad credit which makes it hard to borrow money for a home, vehicle or other necessities when you need to. Bad credit can affect your ability to rent a home and can increase your insurance premiums.

Budgeting can help avoid bad credit and other calamities. Many people believe that they are already budgeting because they have an idea of what they spend and where they spend it. Some think they are safe because they don’t feel like they spend lavishly.

In reality, there is a little more work involved if you truly want to be a good steward of what you have been given. Creating a budget isn’t something that you do once and you are done. As your income and expenses change so does your budget. Your budget will also change as you get debt paid off, freeing up more money to go toward savings or household expenses or even a vacation.

Don’t let the word budget scare you. A budget isn’t meant to restrict you but to free your money up so that it can be used in the best way to benefit you and your family. A budget can help you get out of debt and take away a lot of stress and worry.

The first step to budgeting is to figure out how much money you are spending and where you are spending it. This can be shocking when you realize how much you spend a week on junk food when you stop to get gas or just run into Dollar General for a “few” things on regular basis. Often one spouse does the majority of the grocery and household shopping and the other spouse can’t imagine what their spouse has done with all their money.

Choose a time period (one month is ideal) to record every transaction. There are apps for your phone that you can use for this or a little notebook works just fine. Don’t wait until the end of the month and try to recreate all of your expenses. You will miss some. Do this as you go or at least at the end of each day.

When you have kept track of your spending for your set time period you will need to add in any monthly or annual expenses that you have. Once you have recorded all of your expenses for your set time period you are ready for step two of making a budget.

Subscribe to my blog to receive a budget worksheet to record your expenses by category. When you subscribe you will also receive an email letting you know when I have posted step 2 of this process.

 

 

Why Create a webpage

Posted on by Posted in Budgeting .

One thing is for sure in this world. We are going to have to deal with money (or the lack thereof) all of our lives. The best things in life are free but those things that we need to live like food and shelter are not free. While bartering is useful, it isn’t always an option today.

The Bible tells us to be good stewards of what we have. That is hard sometimes because we see stuff that we want or our kids want and we spend on impulse. I’m hoping with this page I can help to alleviate some of that stress. I will try to write or share posts that will help you to be a better steward of your funds and maybe help you to save a little.

Not everything that I share will work for everyone and everyone has their own different circumstances. As I add content to this site I hope that many of you will comment on the posts and we can all learn from each other.