Why You Maybe Shouldn't Incorporate Your Small Business

Why You Maybe Shouldn't Incorporate Your Small Business
Incorporating a small business sometimes delivers big
benefits. Liability always gets limited at least a little
bit. And often times, incorporating means the business
reduces its income taxes or the payroll taxes or both.

But incorporating creates some extra costs and headaches.
And some business owners--in spite of the
benefits--probably should not incorporate. Consider these
risks and headaches:

Headache #1: Payroll

If you currently operate your business as a sole
proprietorship and you're the only worker, or you partner
with one or more people and only the partners work in the
business, you don't have to deal with employee payroll.

When you incorporate--even if you or you and your partner
are the only employees--you do have to do employee payroll.
Which is a headache.

Payroll processing costs money. You need to regularly
prepare payroll checks and deposits. You also need to
prepare quarterly payroll reports for Social Security,
Medicare, state unemployment and workers compensation
insurance. And you need to prepare annual payroll reports
like W-2s for employees and the annual federal unemployment
tax return.

In some cases, you will also increase the payroll taxes you
have to pay simply because you've recategorized a sole
proprietor or partner as an owner-employee.

The headache of payroll means you need to be cautious about
incorporating a one-man business or a business staffed by
its partners. The time and money related to processing
payroll easily costs a thousand dollars a year--which may
eat considerably into the savings or benefits associated
with incorporating. Bummer.

Headache #2: More Complicated Accounting and Taxes

Incorporating also creates a second and related-to-payroll
processing headache: Incorporation means that the business
requires more complicated tax accounting.

A sole proprietorship gets to report its income and
deductions inside the owner's individual tax return on a
one or two page, very simple Schedule C tax form.

In comparison, a corporation actually requires its own,
separate tax return for the federal income tax and state
income tax purposes. The returns can easily ten or twenty
pages--which means the returns require much more work to
prepare.

A corporation tax return also requires more tax law
knowledge--which usually means the small business owner
can't do the tax return him- or herself. The small business
corporation probably needs to have an accountant prepare
the tax return. And that's not cheap. A combined federal
and state corporation income tax return can easily cost
$1,000 or more when all is said and done.

Headache #3: State Registrations and Related Red-tape

One other incorporation headache must be considered by
small businesses considering the corporation option--the
darn paperwork.

Setting up a corporation automatically requires a certain
amount of paperwork and fiddling. On an annual basis, the
states in which the corporation operates also require
annual re-registration. In addition, corporations usually
require their shareholders, directors and officers to
conduct regular meetings and to maintain detailed records
of the items discussed at these meetings.

The work of registering and then annually re-registering
coupled with the extra organizational busywork mean that a
business owner shouldn't incorporate a business unless he
or she can confidently keep up with the study flow of
paperwork.

Summing Things Up

Can incorporation save your business taxes? Does
incorporation reduce your business liability? A resounding
"yes" answers both questions.

However, the tax saving and the liability protection costs
you at least one to two thousand dollars a year in extra
taxes. In addition, you'll have a lot more paperwork to
deal with.

In many cases, very small businesses--such as part-time,
hobby and home-based businesses--will not be able to
economically justify incorporation.

----------------------------------------------------
Accountant Stephen L. Nelson wrote the bestseller
QuickBooks for Dummies. He also edits the
http://www.llcsexplained.com and
http://www.scorporationsexplained.com web sites.

Entity Formation Fundamentals

Entity Formation Fundamentals
One of the most important steps in any tax strategy is
determining what entity should be formed to hold your
businesses and investments. For legal purposes, there are
four basic types of entities: sole proprietorship,
partnership, corporation and limited liability company. The
entity you choose should take into account both the tax
effects of the entity and the legal aspects of the entity.

-Sole Proprietorship-
Let's examine the tax and legal aspects of each entity,
beginning with the sole proprietorship. A sole
proprietorship is not really an entity. It's what happens
when you don't have an entity and you don't have any
partners. Sole proprietorship is the simplest form of
business. You simply report your income on Schedule C of
your personal income tax return. You don't have to keep a
balance sheet and only a limited income statement. Sounds
good, right? Wrong! This is one of the worst forms of
business both from a tax and a legal standpoint.

From a tax standpoint, not only will you pay income taxes
at your highest marginal tax rate on all of your income,
you will also pay self-employment taxes on 100% of your
income. And you will be at least 4 times more likely to be
audited by the IRS than any other business structure. So
unless you have a loss in your business, you will pay the
highest rate of tax in a sole proprietorship.

If that's not bad enough, the legal side of a sole
proprietorship is even worse. Not only are you liable for
all of your actions, you are personally liable for all of
the actions of your employees. Don't take our word for it;
ask your attorney. They will confirm that a sole
proprietorship provides absolutely NO asset protection.

So when would you use a sole proprietorship? ALMOST NEVER.
About the only time you might want to use a sole
proprietorship is for a side business where you are the
only owner, the only employee and there is very little
taxable income or even a loss. However, if you do use a
sole proprietorship because your business will have little
taxable income or even a loss, consider using an LLC for
legal purposes - it can still be a sole proprietorship for
tax purposes. LLCs are discussed in more detail below.

-Partnerships-
For tax purposes, there are two types of partnerships:
general partnerships and limited partnerships. General
partnerships are the simplest form of partnership. In a
general partnership, two or more people share all of the
management and operating responsibilities of the
partnership. In a limited partnership, only the general
partners share the management and operating
responsibilities. The limited partners are passive
investors.

For tax purposes, income and deductions of the partnership
are reported on Form 1065, which is a separate tax return
just for partnerships. The partners each receive a form K-1
that shows their share of each item of income or loss. The
income or loss from their K-1 is reported on their personal
income tax return. The partnership does not normally pay
any income taxes. Distributions from a partnership are not
normally taxed to the partners.

General partners are typically liable for all of the debts
of the partnership. This means that they can lose more than
the amount they have invested. If there is a lawsuit
against the partnership, the general partners normally are
"on the hook" for any judgments that are more than the
partnership itself can pay. Limited partners typically are
only liable for the amount of their actual investment.

General partners must pay social security taxes on their
share of all of the ordinary earnings from the partnership.
Limited partners normally are not subject to social
security taxes on any of their share of income from the
partnership.

-Corporations-
For tax purposes, there are two types of corporations: S
corporations and C corporations. S corporations are taxed a
lot like partnerships. The income is reported on a separate
tax return, an 1120S and the shareholders all receive a K-1
that shows their share of each item of income or loss. The
income or loss from their K-1 is reported on their personal
income tax return. The S corporation does not normally pay
any income taxes. Distributions from an S corporation are
not normally taxed to the shareholder. In addition, they
are not normally subject to social security taxes.

C corporations are different. C corporations have their own
set of tax laws, tax rates and they pay their own taxes.
They report their income on a form 1120 and pay tax
directly to the IRS. Shareholders of a C corporation are
only subject to tax on distributions from the corporation.
These distributions are referred to as dividends and they
are often taxed at lower rates than other income.

Shareholders of corporations are not normally liable for
the debts of the corporation unless they personally
guaranteed the debt. This means that shareholders normally
can only lose the amount they have invested in the
corporation

-Limited Liability Companies-
For tax purposes, limited liability companies can be taxed
as whatever tax entity the owners want them to be. The IRS
allows a limited liability company to decide how it wants
to be taxed. There are some fundamental principals that
apply to how LLC's are taxed.

Single-member LLC's, those with only one owner, are
normally taxed as sole proprietorships. The IRS calls this
a "disregarded entity." So, for tax purposes, the LLC is
ignored. However, the owner of an LLC can elect to have the
LLC taxed as a C corporation or an S corporation (subject
to the rules of ownership for S corporations).

Multi-member LLCs, those with two or more owners, are
normally taxed as partnerships. They can be taxed either as
a general partnership or a limited partnership, depending
on the responsibilities of the various members (owners).
However, the owners of an LLC can elect to have the LLC
taxed as a C corporation or an S corporation (subject to
the rules of ownership for S corporations). Whether and how
distributions from an LLC are taxed depends entirely on how
the members have elected to tax the LLC, i.e., as a
partnership, S corporation or C corporation, and follow the
distribution rules for the respective tax entity.

Like a corporation, owners of an LLC generally are not
liable for the debts of the company unless they personally
guarantee the debt. This means that LLC members normally
can only lose the amount they have invested in the
corporation.

----------------------------------------------------
Tom Wheelwright is not only the founder and CEO of
Provision, but he is the creative force behind Provision
Wealth Strategists. In addition to his management
responsibilities, Tom likes to coach clients on wealth,
business, and tax strategies. Along with his frequent
seminars on these strategies, Tom is an adjunct professor
in the Masters of Tax program at Arizona State University.
For more information please visit
http://www.provisionwealth.com

Tips to help you Decide on the Best Merchant Account for your Business

Tips to help you Decide on the Best Merchant Account for your Business
As a business owner who is deciding to expand into the e
commerce industry online, you need to have a reliable
merchant account. As there are many merchant account
companies providing service you must make your decision
with careful consideration.

Many merchant account providers insist that you lock into a
lengthy contract regardless of whether you end up liking
the service. As you do not want to be paying for a service
you do not want at the same time as having to pay for the
replacement, this must be a matter that is researched in
depth.

There are several helpful tips to take into consideration
when researching merchant account providers. Depending on
the size and type of business you have, you may have
varying needs in regards to providing e commerce choices to
your customers.

If you are a relatively new business or a small business
with limited funds you may want to consider using PayPal or
2Checkout as your merchant account provider thus enabling
the use of credit card processing.

Many small business owners who process up to $1000 per
month in credit card payments find the low fees charged by
PayPal and 2Checkout are extremely reasonable. If you are
considering processing more than $1000 per month in credit
card payments, you may want to look into other vendors.
When you are doing so, be sure to check each vendors
discount rate and the per transaction fees involved.

Although fees vary from vendor to vendor, the discount rate
refers to the actual percentage of the sale that the
merchant account provider will keep. There is normally a
separate rate for swiped and non-swiped transactions. Fees
for every processed transaction range in price on average
from 10 cents to 99 cents per sale.

If you plan to process smaller credit card payments of
under $25, you may want to consider choosing a vendor who
offers a higher discount fee with a lower per transaction
fee, as this will most likely save you money in the end.

There are many other things to consider when looking for
the right merchant account provider such as monthly
statement fees, gateway fees, annual membership fees,
equipment rental fees, batch fees, cancellation fees, and
the length of contract required.

Merchant account services have improved over the last few
years providing business owners lower fees, short-term or
even no contract options as well as customizable account
features. With many e commerce service providers competing
in an effort to attract new clientele; the competition
often results in lower fees and a better overall service.

When thoroughly researching several merchant account
providers, taking the time to compare the pros and cons of
each vendor will allow you to more easily come to a
decision on the best one to use for your own business needs.

----------------------------------------------------
Making money online is easy if you know how. Check out
Warren Knight's website at :
http://www.WorkAtHomeGoldRush.com where he shares with his
secrets and wealth formula that has allowed him to live his
life on a permanent vacation

ISO 14001 and Environmental Management

ISO 14001 and Environmental Management
There is an increasing emphasis on the management of
environmental factors affecting our personal lives, our
community and the world at large. As individuals, it is
difficult to see how our contribution can have any effect
on the grand scheme of things, but equally, any large scale
change comes about as a consequence of numerous small
changes. Individual initiatives tend to be focussed more on
cash savings than on the general good - no harm in that,
but overall, no great benefit either.

At the administrative level, much is being done by
government and by local authorities to conserve energy and
limit waste, particularly through recycling schemes, and
because this has a financial benefit to local authorities
through the levy on buried waste, and on individuals
through the reduction in energy costs, this will continue
for the foreseeable future.

The focus of this article is on the corporate approach to
environmental management.

Clearly, the benefits that accrue to individuals through
waste reduction and recycling schemes are available to
commerce and industry; however, additional benefits can
come from an independent recognition of an organisation's
commitment to environmental management. Stockholders have
come to recognise that a corporate concern for the
environment is good management practice, and that this good
practice can be a sign of excellence across the
organisation. Share price - a measure of management
success, is enhanced by this recognition. Share value
equals company value.

But what of this independent recognition? How is it
achieved and at what cost, and are the costs really matched
by the benefits?

Organisations large and small have adopted the ISO9001
Quality Management Standard as a mechanism to demonstrate
in some way their concern for customer and stakeholder
interests. Few companies of significance now operate
outside the ISO9001 registration scheme, and while some
might argue that ISO9001 has not materially affected their
business performance, a large proportion claim to hold on
to their registration simply because the market believes
differently.

Whatever the real truth may be, this one fact is clear;
companies holding an ISO9001 registration are well on the
way to being qualified for ISO14001 (Environmental
Management System) registration if the implementation is
carried out efficiently and effectively.

ISO14001 appears to be similar to its companion Standard
(ISO9001), but in detail its requirements are structured
with a different emphasis. While the 9001 document appears
to demand certain attributes and actions, its companion, in
essence, requires only that the organisation develops a
working program to move towards a series of environmental
improvements, over a time scale agreed amongst the
interested parties. In this way environmental improvement
is a steady improvement process structured to suit the
ability of the organisation to achieve its goals. This
steady improvement is in opposition to the ISO9001
structure that demands compliance from the outset.

ISO14001 has a number of documentation and operational
requirements, the 'housekeeping requirements 'aimed at
managing and monitoring the improvement in environmental
performance that already exist within the Quality
Management System, requiring comparatively little
adjustment to fit into an integrated management system.
Integrating the Environmental aspects of ISO 14001 into an
existing ISO9001 Quality Management System should therefore
be a straightforward task, dependant only on the manner in
which the original documentation was assembled. The
application of these Standards can be a straightforward
matter, however, only when there is a clear understanding
of the intent, as opposed to the letter, of each
requirement, with effort being applied to minimising the
bureaucracy of the application. Unfortunately, the reverse
was often true during the early days of ISO9001
implementation, with the quality of the application task
being measured by the quantity of documents produced.

For achieving maximum benefit from a Dual Standard
management system, a review of the original documentation
followed by a rationalisation exercise is the ideal route.
Having reached a stable and acceptable system, compliant
with the Quality Management Standard, the development of an
integrated system combining the Standard for Quality and
Environment is comparatively straightforward.

Organisations determined to adopt this route should beware
of consultants offering to carry out the task for the
traditional 'Daily Rate' compensation. That method of
payment for services leads inevitably to overpayment, due
either to greed or a lack of understanding on the part of
the contractor.

----------------------------------------------------
Meon Consulting, founded by Ed Bones, was formed to assist
clients with managing their businesses in a manner
compliant with ISO9001/14001. Ed had earlier held a number
of senior posts with Hi-Tech companies in the UK, Europe
and USA. He has written and lectured on full range of
topics on quality improvement and TQM.
http://www.rent-an-auditor.co.uk .To obtain your FREE
Presentation please visit
http://www.rent-an-auditor.co.uk/contactus.html

Mileage Log - Life Gets Simpler with a Digital Mileage Log!

Mileage Log - Life Gets Simpler with a Digital Mileage Log!
Mileage log - The mere mention of this term can cause a
panic attack in some folks. If you've ever needed to keep
track of your mileage, then you probably know exactly what
I am talking about.

In the "old" days when your only alternative was some form
of manually keeping track of your mileage, this little
report could turn into a real chore if not a nightmare very
quickly.

A mileage log really is essential to anyone who needs to
keep track of their automobile's mileage. And doing it the
old-fashioned manual way simply wasn't fun at all.
Necessary? Yes. Fun? Absolutely not!

However, things have changed for the better in the digital
age. There is a relatively new little digital device that
automatically takes care of recording all of the info
needed to create and accurately maintain your mileage log.
It's called a "digital mileage log" and it's amazing.

Smaller than a dollar bill, it's portable and very easy to
use as well! Just plug it into your auto's cigarette
lighter and then turn it on when you begin the trip and off
at the end. Your mileage data will then be transmitted the
company's website. Then you can login, make any necessary
notes and shazaam! The mileage log you want is ready to be
printed for your expense account report, tax audit or
whatever.

The digital mileage log will put an end to all of the
problems associated with manually tracking your mileage.
You'll never have to keep track of the little scraps of
paper you used to use to write down your mileage figures.
Reports will be a breeze - the digital mileage log takes
care of everything for you.

Believe me, this little gizmo will make your life so much
better - your manual records will be a thing of the past
and you'll marvel at how you did without this digital
mileage log for so long!

Gasoline prices are going crazy in 2008 and consequently
the Federal income tax deduction for business mileage is
over $0.50 per mile right now. It's become essential to
keep accurate track of your mileage. If you're not doing
so, you are leaving money on the table. Plus with the
higher deduction for mileage, the IRS will be demanding a
more detailed and accurate mileage log.

If keeping track of your business mileage is important to
you, you really need to get yourself a digital mileage log.
You'll be amazed at just how simple and easy it can be
maintaining your mileage log.

----------------------------------------------------
For more information on how to produce your mileage log
faster and easier than ever before, visit
http://Mileage-Log-Made-Easy.com

Cultural Diversity Is An Opportunity!

Cultural Diversity Is An Opportunity!
Cultural diverstiy within your business is an opportunity
and needs to be embraced as one. Just take a look around
you. Opportunity abounds because our world is a diverse
place. Whether you have come to realize it or not as a
small business owner, your awareness and respect of
cultural diversity in the workplace truly matters to your
employees and your client base. If you want your business
to be successful and competitive in the future, you will
have to utilize these human resources and participate in
these diversity trends. As we move further along in the
21st century, it will be necessary for business owners to
compete in a more global arena. And that will apply to even
the smallest small business. Because whether your company
is global or not you will eventually have to compete with
those that are.

Successfully managing cultural diversity in the workplace
is a challenge, but one that can be overcome and taken
advantage of. The people you hire will always have diverse
cultural backgrounds. And that culture is not just based on
the color of their skin. They come from different
countries, states, regions, and neighborhoods. They can
tell you things about places you've probably never been and
are not likely to visit anytime soon. They'll be of
different genders and social backgrounds. And they'll
things know of things that can impact your business either
now or in the future.

Cultural diversity in the workplace can help improve the
company's competitive position in the marketplace.
Marketing programs nowadays are constantly geared toward
individual ethnic groups. Take for example the changes that
have come to big box stores such as Walmart and Target.
Once upon a time they believed that what sold well in
places like Green Bay, Wisconsin and Seattle, Washington
would sell just as well in San Antonio, Texas, and San
Diego, California. They didn't care about who the actual
consumers in those areas were.

Everybody wants the same things right? So all their stores
were shipped the same things. Well they've since woken up
to the truth. Different cultures demand different
products! Now many of the largest chains in the world have
given their stores the ability and resources to buy locally.

The management of cultural diversity in the workplace can
be considered a response to the need to recognize, respect
and capitalize on the different backgrounds in our society
in terms of race, ethnicity, and gender. Whether you
realize it or not every day you are exposed to different
forms of cultural diversity. From what you watch on tv,
where you shop, and the places you vacation.

Your small business is a team and just like any team it
should be built to take advantage of its strengths and to
minimize its weaknesses. Differences among team members can
strengthen the bonds formed with clients and customers
throughout the world. Ethnic diversity in the workplace
enables businesses to serve a broader base of clients with
ease. Workers can better relate with clients because more
often than not your clients are likely to be just as
diverse as you. In diversity you'll find that you share a
lot of common ground with your clients. In diversity you'll
find strength!

Businesses that have incorporated diverse training into
their strategies have found that the benefits of
incorporating diverse talent into the workforce not only
improves productivity, but also creates a well balanced
pool of knowledge, experience and creativity. Promoting
diversity within the workplace can produce lasting results.
Results that will reverberate within your business for many
years to come.

Promoting cultural and ethnic diversity in the workplace
should begin before you hire even your first employee. You
need to be aware of its strength and the strength that can
be brought to your organization by embracing it!

----------------------------------------------------
Cash Miller is an experienced entrepreneur and speaker who
has spent over a decade as a small business owner. His
years of experience in small business cover such topics as
planning, management, marketing, human resources,
ecommerce, and taxation. If you are looking for more
information on this subject and others related to starting
and running a small business you can visit his website at
http://www.SmallBusinessDelivered.com

Time To Boost Business With A Fresh Conversation

Time To Boost Business With A Fresh Conversation
Have you ever noticed how often your conversations are ...
"reruns?" And have you given any thought to how that
pattern is helping or stifling your business growth?

Let me explain what I mean.

We each tend to spend time with the same people in the same
environments, read the same type of books, watch the same
genre of movies or television programs, follow the same
sporting events... Year after year. Meeting after meeting.
Conversation after conversation. There's nothing wrong with
that ... unless you never create the space for 'new'
conversations.

Many of my clients (financial advisors and business owners)
comment that they're overworked and overwhelmed and don't
have time to think about their business from a new
perspective. And they believe they'd uncover new
perspective if they could just carve out time on their
workday calendar to think.

But they seldom create that time. AND when they do, they
discover that thinking time is not a guaranteed source of
new ideas.

What about leisure time? Well most of us repeat the same
behaviors and same conversations each evening, each
weekend, each vacation. We gather with friends and family
for repeat events and catch up on the same topics we spoke
of the last time we were together.

If you want new ideas, you need new information, new
experiences, and new conversations that change your
thoughts.

I learned this first hand when I moved to New York to work
for Avon Products and needed to find a place to live. My
new 'landlord' was a guy who'd been living in the apartment
the longest - a law school student who had turned down
Harvard in order to join the first law class of Queens
College. The new program emphasized public service law.

One of my other roommates was an opera student, working
evenings as an usher at the Metropolitan Opera House, while
being taught by one of the luminaries of the opera world.
And the third was an independent filmmaker.

And who was I in this mix? An MBA graduate doing strategic
planning for Avon's eight Pacific Rim markets.

We had very little in common in terms of background or work
experiences. So 80 percent of our conversations over many
evenings and weekends were new, fresh, and unexpected. That
time together shaped each of our lives, our choices and the
opportunities we uncovered.

Now I DON'T want you to think that the goal is to have new
conversations 80 percent of your time. It would be
wonderful if it could happen even 20 percent of your day,
but that's probably unrealistic too.

So let me share 3 DO's that create 'moments' when 80
percent of the conversation is 'new.'

DO Mix up the people you're spending time with.

This past week, for example, I shared wine and fine food
with an eclectic group of people - a bankruptcy attorney, a
music producer, a landscape architect, a technology expert,
a CEO of a symphony orchestra. Over the past years, a small
group of us has been the catalysts for these gatherings.

Each of us in is different professions and have completely
different groups of colleagues and friends. We started with
four or five people and invite others who enjoy wine and
conversation and set dates to get together.

Bringing changing mixes of people together has ensured
we've had unexpected conversations. Our discussion this
time lasted for nearly six hours. And less than 20 percent
of our talk was on topics we usually spend time on.

DO Change the locations where you gather.

We've invited people to join us anywhere wine and food
could easily and comfortably be enjoyed. So sometimes we
meet at restaurants, with the clatter of people coming and
going. Other times we meet in conference rooms of office
buildings, using their long table to spread out more than
20 bottles of wine in paper wrappers for an evening of wine
tasting. We've even gathered in homes, standing around the
kitchen and chatting while making the meal.

DO Hold on to your curiosity.

It's all about attitude. Everyone who sat around the table
this week enjoyed the mystery of being with new people and
the possibilities that creates. Wine tasting is our excuse
for coming together and less than 20 percent of our
conversation.

Whether you meet over wine, or at a non-profit activity, or
hiking, or playing golf, use these DO's to meet people you
don't yet know, to rejoice in the fresh conversations and
stir up new possibilities in your business and life.

----------------------------------------------------
Management expert, consultant, and coach Linda Feinholz is
"Your High payoff Catalyst." Linda publishes the free
weekly newsletter The Spark! to subscribers world-wide and
delivers targeted solutions, practical skills and simple
ways to build your business. If you're ready to focus on
your High Payoff activities, accelerate your results and
have more fun at it, get your FREE tips like these visit
her site at http://www.YourHighPayoffCatalyst.com

Coaching Skills Training: Coaching and Personality Disorders

Coaching Skills Training: Coaching and Personality Disorders
When I train managers as coaches I always warn them to
respect the power of coaching questions and to recognize
the possibility that what starts as an innocuous, business
related conversation, may lead to the unveiling of a deeper
issue. Coaching managers would be advised to develop at
least a little insight into the signs of abnormal
psychology. Consider for example, the two main types of
personality disorder, Multiple Personality and Antisocial
Personality Disorder.

Multiple Personality

It is increasingly being recognized that it may be possible
for more than one personality to exist within the same
individual. This is a fascinating area of abnormal
psychology but must not be confused with schizophrenia
which is about divisions within one personality.

In studying sufferers of this condition, psychologists and
other observers may notice two or more distinct
personalities emerging. The emergence of one of the
'alternative' personalities will be marked by obvious
changes in posture, language and tone. Sometimes that
alternative personalities may not be aware of the existence
of each other and each can be quite different - a kind of
'good side' and 'bad side' of the same person.

It is thought that the condition arises when an individual
slips into a kind of self hypnosis or fugue state perhaps
to cope with a traumatic experience such a physical abuse.
If this works as a source of relief, the method is used
again and again until the alternative personalties become
more or less fixed and capable of being summoned at will.

Thigpen and Cleckley (1954) uncovered 'Eve White,' 'Eve
Black' and 'Eve Grey' within the same young lady, each with
a very different personality. It is easy to see why, in
less sophisticated times, sufferers would be dismissed as
being possessed.

Antisocial Personality Disorder

Once called Psychopaths or Sociopaths, the distinguishing
feature for sufferers of this condition is that there is
little if any personal trauma. The sociopath is perfectly
self-content but a danger to society as the condition is
marked by an absence of morality or conscience.

Symptons include: emotional flatness and a lack of empathy,
a disposition towards senseless, often violent crime and a
tendency towards lying, theft and vandalism.

Treatment is very difficult; Imprisonment simply gives
access to other criminals, physical punishment is
counter-productive and psychotherapy usually fails to bring
about the required insight. Moderate, non-institutional
punishment is considered most effective.

The sociopath has provided a rich vein of source material
in recent times for the writers and producers of written
and filmed thrillers. The most (in)famous example being
Thomas Harris's creation Dr Hannibal Lekter.

What then of the coaching manager who perhaps unwittingly
uncovers signs of such issues when coaching around workload
management or time keeping? Best advice would seem to be to
keep to good coaching principles. Ask questions designed to
raise awareness, generate responsibility and build trust
then listen carefully and attentively to the responses.
This is highly unlikely to make things worse and may
actually do quite a lot of good.

After that, it's a question of referring the coachee to the
relevant professional. For this reason I recommend that all
coaching managers familiarize themselves with their
organization's welfare procedure.

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Matt Somers is a coaching practitioner of many years'
experience. He works with a host of clients in North East
England where his firm is based and throughout the UK and
Europe. Matt understands that people are working with their
true potential locked away. He shows how coaching provides
a simple yet elegant key to this lock. His popular
mini-guide "Coaching for an Easier Life" is available FREE
at http://www.mattsomers.com