Publications by Stephen Windhaus of Windhaus Associates

Virtual Assistants' Startup Guide

"Ten Minute Guide to Getting Organized"

"Every Manager's Desk Reference"

Stephen Windhaus is a published author, contributing editor, columnist and freelance journalist on small business subjects in hard copy publications, e-books and online publishers.

Contributor, authoring the chapter on business planning for virtual assistants from the book, Up Close and Virtual - Second Edition, a startup guide written by Kelly Poelker and Diana Ennen of Another8Hours, a virtual assistant firm located in Illinois.

Four years as the Small Biz Q&A Expert at Bankrate.com, and still comes back occasionally to write a guest column. His work has addressed loans, taxes, cash flow, advertising, market research and many other issues associated with small, existing and start-up businesses. His columns can be found in the Bankrate archives.

Developed a working relationship with Palo Alto Software while teaching his business plan training seminar series in a small business incubator in West Palm Beach Florida. The relationship grew to include writing for the Palo Alto Software Experts Panel.

Contributing Editor for business planning of the e-book, Live Start-up Business Guide, featured in the December 2001 edition of Entrepreneur Magazine. This e-book addresses all relevant issues of business start-up, whether brick-and-mortar or e-commerce. Absent from such publications, Live Start-up addresses sources of funding online and internationally.

Small Biz Advisor writing a series of articles on applying for business loans, government resources, business taxes and employee evaluations for Small Biz Manager, a comprehensive small business portal web site.

"Taxes Depend on Your Business Structure" is a brief and concise description of how your legal business structure impacts obligations with the various public taxing agencies at the federal, state and local levels. It also includes 4 very important hyperlinks to sites on the Internet where you can quickly learn who to contact to learn more about this issue and your company.

Financial Statements	Learn to read the 3 most fundamental financial statements for any small business.
Ratio Analysis	Learn these very simple formulas on your own, and compare your business' performance to your industry.
Applying for a Loan	What the banker expects.
Sources of Financing	It varies from source to source.
Promoting Your Web Site	There are lots of things you can learn on your own, even it you can't afford a webmaster.
Are You Properly Insured?	All business enterprises need to consider protecting their assets; some insurance is mandatory.
Home-Based Business Tax Deductions	Hold on to your expense receipts. Even some home-related expenses, if you qualify, are deductible.
Basic Business Taxes	Some apply to all of us, and others depend on your type of business and where you are located.
Supervisory Skills	Where goes the head so goes the body.
Communicating with Employees	In difficult circumstances there are some do's and don'ts you may want to consider.
Purchasing vs. Leasing Equipment	Consider the financial impact, the content of the contract and the nature of the equipment.
Project Management	An excellent organizational tool for expansion activities. And it can serve the small business as easily as a major corporation.
The Home Office	There is a plethora of products and services that can enhance your image and improve response to customer demand.
Organizing the Office	There are some simple things you can do to make the work easier to accomplish.
Employee Incentive Policies	They can work, but be aware of the impact of costs on income the "key employee" syndrome.
Filing Systems	You don't really need to invest a lot of money to make your files more organized and more easily accessible.
Interviewing Skills	Some basic skills can lead to learning more about identifying a good job applicant.
Working in Culturally & Racially Diverse Environments	For some of us this is not difficult. For others it can be challenging.
Rightful Termination	Many fear legal retaliation. Others take such action unaware of legal ramifications that can occur if not carried out properly.
Internships: Hiring College Students	Internships can be a very rewarding experience for the employer, the student employee and the college or university.