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This is the premier edition of Missouri Business eNews. Recipients include clients of the Missouri Business Development Program and individuals that have signed up for the newsletter via our web site at www.missouribusiness.net

We will include news about Missouri businesses and business trends, updates about our programs, announcements about training activities and other offerings, and information on business or technology tips, "how-to's" and tools. Our goal is to contribute to your success!

Business Going Green

What is "going green" and how does it impact business?

Have you always thought that a business had to choose between being environmental and being economical? The two are not incompatible. Welcome to "Business Going Green," a new column featuring Missouri businesses making environmental choices to improve their bottom lines!

"Business Going Green" doesn't mean your business has to go organic or recycle its Post-its, and it doesn't mean you need to bicycle to work! It includes some common sense changes that can result in big savings, such as replacing lighting with energy efficient fluorescents, tightening  operations efficiency, working with vendors to reduce packaging, and recycling items of value rather than paying to throw them away. Businesses will share their experiences – what they're doing, why they do it, the results and their advice for those who want to try going green in their own businesses.

It will also feature technical and financial assistance programs available to businesses that want to increase energy efficiency, use recycled materials to manufacture new products, reduce waste through process or purchasing changes, and navigate the confusing sea of environmental regulations.

Here are a few of the "Business Going Green" subjects to be featured in upcoming issues of this newsletter:

• A Missouri city that provides economic incentives to industries that use post-consumer wastes as feedstock in the manufacture of new products.
• A state agency that provides $50,000 grants to manufacturers that use recycled materials.
• A retailer that discovered a niche market of consumers seeking environmentally friendly products.

We also welcome hearing from you – stories about your own environmental successes, ideas for future columns, and questions. Please send "Business Going Green" communications to the Missouri Environmental Assistance Center at MOEAC@missouri.edu.

-- Marie Steinwachs, Director, MU Environmental Assistance Center

'Tis the Season

How to make the calendar work for your business

What does your calendar say today? No, not the month and date, but more importantly to your business, the holiday or event. Is it Veterans Day, National Clean Up Your Computer Month, or Cinco de Mayo? Positioning your business with major events, promotions, and holidays is a must-do in today's competitive business world.

Just as you remember your grandmother's birthday and send her a card, you must remember your customer's special events and offer them incentives to select your services or products. In the highly demanding marketing world, successful businesses must every opportunity to offer unique, personalized products and services, and using the retail promotions calendar can help you do just that. Read the full story at www.missouribusiness.net/docs/making_calendar_work.asp

-- Wendy Harrington, Business Development Specialist, Monroe County

IRS Roundup

Home office tax deduction reminders

Generally, expenses related to the rent, purchase, maintenance and repair of a personal residence may not be deducted as a business expense. However, taxpayers who use a portion of their home for business purposes may be able to take a home office deduction if they meet certain requirements. Expenses that may be deducted include the business portion of real estate taxes, mortgage interest, rent, utilities, insurance, painting, repairs and depreciation. Note: The amount of depreciation deducted, or that could have been deducted, decreases the basis of your property.

In order to claim a deduction for that part of a home used for business, taxpayers must use that part of the home:

• Exclusively and regularly as their principal place of business, as a place to meet or deal with patients, clients or customers in the normal course of business; or
• On a regular basis for certain storage use such as inventory or product samples, as rental property, or as a home daycare facility.

Computing the Home Office Deduction
Typically, the amount of the deduction depends on the percentage of the home that is used for business. The deduction will be limited if gross income from the business is less than the total business expenses.

A taxpayer can use any reasonable method to compute business percentage, but the most common methods are to:

• Divide the area of the home used for business by the total area of the home, or
• Divide the number of rooms used for business by the total number of rooms in the home if all rooms in the home are about the same size.

Taxpayers may not deduct expenses for any portion of the year during which there was no business use of the home.

For examples, more specifics and links to other relevant publications, see the complete story at www.missouribusiness.net/news/irs_news_092506.asp

-- Internal Revenue Service Fact Sheet

Changes in Columbia

New Small Business and Technology Development Center offers variety of services

Greg Steinhoff, Director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development, helped kick off the opening of the newly created University Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (UCIE) earlier this year. He called the center, which is a partnership of University of Missouri Extension and the MU College of Engineering, a tremendous resource for entrepreneurs in central Missouri and statewide.

"We've been extremely busy since we opened our doors late last year, and since the grand opening, we are even more so," says Mary Paulsell, director of operations for the University Center.

"It just demonstrates the need for the services we provide, and it's encouraging to know there are so many entrepreneurs in central Missouri seeking to start new ventures or expand existing ones. We have the potential to have a dramatic impact on the area's economic development."

The UCIE is an expanded version of the Missouri Small Business Development Center (MO SBDC) formerly housed in Cornell Hall in the MU College of Business. The new expanded center now offers the services of the the MO SBTDC, MO PTAC and FAST in one location. It is convenient to University faculty interested in forming an entrepreneurial enterprise or spin-off company based on their University research. The center continues to partner with the College of Business, which supplies graduate interns and student teams to work on client cases conducting marketing research, assisting with business plans and financials and helping diagnose client issues.

The UCIE also facilitates University/industry partnerships to enable private firms to tap into the institutional expertise at the University to solve problems, refine technology, obtain individualized industrial consultations and participate in developing the high-technology infrastructure in Missouri.

Through the UCIE, businesses can obtain access to a wide range of resources including federal agencies, state agencies, other technical assistance providers and a broad network of state universities and economic development partners who participate in the MO SBTDC, MO PTAC, University Extension, EDA and College of Engineering programs.

"Our goal is to be a comprehensive access point for entrepreneurs," Paulsell says. "If for some reason we do not possess the skills needed to address a particular problem, we have access to an extensive network throughout the state and can find our clients the most appropriate resource for their needs."

A full training curriculum and more information about the center and the staff are available at www.missouribusiness.net/ucie.

INVenture Business Planner

Online business planning tool now available

A free, online business planning tool is now available from Purdue University Extension's website at https://www.agecon.purdue.edu/planner. The INVenture Business Planner offers a self-assessment that asks key questions and produces a downloadable, personalized business plan. A tutorial provides a helpful walkthrough of how to use the tool.

Read the full stories and archived prior newsletters on our website at www.missouribusiness.net/newsletter/index.asp

The Missouri Business eNews is published monthly by University of Missouri Extension's Business Development Program.

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The Missouri Business eNews is published by University of Missouri Extension's Business Development Program office: W1051 Lafferre Hall, Columbia, MO 65211; 573-882-4321. Questions and comments should be submitted via email to bdpwebmaster@umsystem.edu