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5 Tips to Go Green and Save Money
Barbara Weltman
BarbaraWeltman.com
The recent celebration of Earth Day reminds us of the value of conservation efforts to the environment. Adopting “green” strategies, however, can reduce carbon emissions as well as costs to save your business money. Here are five ways you can do this:
1. Conserve energy usage. Cut your electric bills by using less energy. Do this by turning off unused equipment (especially after hours, over weekends and on holidays). Watch thermostat settings to save on heating and cooling costs. As a rule of thumb, each 1° adjustment can save about one percent on your fuel bill for each eight-hour period. This means raising the thermostat to 78° instead of 75° in the summertime can result in about 12% savings for the day.
2. Drive energy-efficient vehicles. You’ll save on fuel consumption (the higher the price of gasoline, the greater the savings). Even if you don’t own a newer, fuel efficient model, you can get the most mileage from your vehicle by keeping it in good repair, making sure tires are properly inflated, and by avoiding idling The Department of Energy suggests turning off the engine when parked or stopped, other than in traffic, for more than one minute.
*Bonus: If you buy certain types of vehicles, you may qualify for a federal tax credit. There are credits for buying hybrids and plug-in electric vehicles. For details go to www.irs.gov and search “hybrids” and “plug-in vehicles.”
**Even better: Fuel efficiency is great but you can save more money by changing the way in which you do business to cut back on the need to drive. Work from home, at least some of the time, to eliminate commuting and allow staff to do this, too. Consider conferencing with customers and other business associates online or on the phone to save on travel costs.
3. Use energy-efficient office equipment and machinery. Again, this will reduce your electric bills. There are also tax breaks for buying new equipment in 2009 to lower the after-tax cost of making purchases, including a first-year expense deduction up to $250,000 and bonus depreciation of 50% of the cost of equipment in the year of purchase.
*Bonus: If you participate in cash-back programs, such as by shopping online through Bank of America’s Add It Up shopping portal, small business owners can earn up to 20 percent cash back from more than 270 retailers when they shop online with their Bank of America check card. Participating retailers include top names such as Staples.com, HomeDepot.com, Walmart.com, and Costco.com.
4. Invest in renewable energy. You can obtain tax incentives for adding solar energy, wind power, and other renewable energy sources for your business. For example, there is a 30% federal tax credit for the cost of solar panels, fuel cells, and small wind property. The credit applies even if the project is subsidized by energy financing. Find links for new federal energy breaks from the IRS by clicking here.
5. Adopt a green purchasing policy. Buy recyclables and implement policies for a greener office. There are many websites that provide tips and guidance to help you create a greener office.
**Even better: Instead of merely using recycled paper, reduce paper usage. Print on both sides of paper (“duplex printing”) to cut usage in half. Send and receive faxes via computer rather than by paper. Sign contracts and agreements online with e-signatures, which are just as binding as those in ink as long as federal rules are followed.
About Barbara
Barbara Weltman is a top selling author, attorney, tax and small business expert. Barbara serves as an expert on Bank of America’s Small Business Online Community. Barbara has also authored several books include “J.K. Lasser’s Small Business Taxes” and “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Starting a Home-Based Business.”
How to Market a Book on a budget!
Dan Fitzpatrick
Author, Vision: Evan’s Book
www.dansvision.com
When I entered into the writing world I had no previous writing experience, no advertising experience and basically nothing to lose. However, I had to find ways to get my book out there. Obviously there were a few things that entered my mind such as; how much will it cost? How long will this take? Should I be finding an agent?
I will begin this little article by saying this; if you want to find an agent, get ready for all of your time to go bye-bye. Finding an agent is a job in itself and it takes too much time. I have done extensive research about how to find an agent and to be honest with you; I don’t have that kind of time or patience. Some of you may but I don’t. I just simply wanted to write a book and try to sell it the best I could. Trust me, if an agent contacted me with interest I would definitely go with it, but I personally don’t want to put all that effort just to wait six to eight months (at the minimum) just to hear a response I don’t want to hear. Since I’m not Miley Cyrus or Paris Hilton, I don’t really see a 7, 6 or even a 5 digit contract in my writing future. Hence, this is why I tried to be as creative as I could to promote on my own. I figure if I could break even with the money I paid for professional editing and publication, I would be a success story. So with that said, I wrote a few ways I have learned to publicize my book with little to no cost.
- Create a Website: I can’t stress how important this is. There are many different web hosts out there for very little money. I recommend SiteCube. It is affordable and it has numerous options to make your page fun and flashy. I have seen many different author websites and a lot of them are very bland and uneventful; that just isn’t me. If you have ever seen my website (www.dansvision.com), I use color, animation and music. I have had rave reviews about it and I would definitely recommend something flashy rather than plain and simple. (Did you notice that little advertisement?)
- Creative Advertising: I know advertising seems obvious but hence the word ‘creative’. We can all spend hundreds, even thousands of dollars in advertising and it could get us nowhere. Unfortunately, self-published authors are inferior to traditional authors by reputation (even though I disagree with it.). To quote Peter Gallagher’s character on American Beauty, he says, “In order to be successful, one has to project an image of success.” That is very true and that is one of the mistakes I made early on in the game. I put very little effort into my promotions and I have every intention on correcting that with my next book. I didn’t get my name out there enough. Nobody knew who I was. I’ve learned that there are so many inexpensive ways to promote your work that you don’t hear about too often, at least I didn’t. I even painted my car windows with my book title and a catch phrase. With simple creative advertising, you don’t even have to hire anyone. Here are some examples; keep in mind that some may work, some may not. Time and effort goes a long way.
- Make Business Cards: You can go to Staples and have a thousand business cards made up for about $40. Always keep some with you to hand out. Give them to people you meet; store clerks, waiters/waitresses, book store managers, and even complete strangers walking down the street. Throw one in an envelope when you mail your bill payments out. Give some to friends to hand out to their friends, and so on. I always leave a card on the table with my tip at a restaurant; like I said, get creative.
- Create Flyers/Posters: You can basically do everything with flyers you do with business cards. Go to stores (especially bookstores) and ask to hang them up on the door or window; you’ll probably get a ‘no’ most of the time, but I got lucky in a few places. Hang them around college campuses with all the rave and party announcements (who doesn’t read those?); hang them on bulletin boards at work and in town. I even often accidently drop one in a shopping cart when I am done shopping, at least one person will see it.
- Alert the Media: This one is huge but not so much on the creative side; however, you can make it creative. I went to our local top 40 radio station here in Keene, NH and gave a book to each of the morning DJ’s. As I was driving home that very morning fifteen minutes later, they were talking about my book on the air. I didn’t have to do a traditional press release and make it all official. I simply went in and said, “I have a special delivery for so and so.” Two weeks later, I was featured on two radio shows. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing and think of the little effort it took on my part. Also, hit the newspapers. This is a tough one because they always get tons of stuff that people want printed in the paper. They have to pick and choose, as do publishers. So, with that said, be creative. Give them a reason to print your article. What makes you so special? Why should they put in the time for you? I can’t tell you how to do that, you have to figure that out for yourself.
- Dress to Impress: You are not just advertising your book, you are advertising yourself. If you are out and about trying to promote your book, dress professionally. If someone pitched you an idea on the street about something, who would you most likely listen to, the guy wearing the suit and tie, or the guy wearing ripped jeans and a t-shirt? This was one mistake I made. When my book was first published, I went into a local bookstore to give them the PR. I was dressed comfortably and not to impress. I was wondering why I was getting the looks I was getting, but a few weeks later I went back in wearing a suit and tie. It was a whole different ballgame. They were more helpful, respectful, and interested in what I had to say. For the record, there is nothing wrong with regular clothes, I wear them, but if you are trying to be a professional, you must look and act like one. By looking professional, people will think that you are serious about what you do, especially those that don’t know you.
Last but not least…
- Social Networking: During this day and age, I really hope I don’t have to explain this one. Between Myspace, Facebook, Squidoo, and the millions of other SN available, the opportunities for gaining a fan base are infinite. However; you have to be very careful; DO NOT SPAM! People don’t like that and you will most likely get booted from whatever networking site you are on. I should know because I got booted from Facebook because of it. The funny thing is that I wasn’t even spamming. I got booted because I had too many people on my friends list. That’s a whole different story. Join writing groups, online and locally. Get on those sites and put in your information, without forcing it on anyone. Let people make the decision of whether or not they want to participate in your book life. Join blogs and participate in writing threads. The possibilities are endless on this topic.
I hope this helps some of you struggling authors out there. Don’t get discouraged and don’t give up. It is a very hard world to be successful in. I should know because I struggle too.
Use LinkedIn Applications To Drive Traffic
Joshua ‘The Red’ Russak, MarketingBlog.NET
LinkedIn recently added several applications to its services to help users connect with their network. One of those is WordPress, allowing you to “connect your virtual lives with the WordPress LinkedIn Application. With the WordPress App, you can sync your WordPress blog posts with your LinkedIn profile, keeping everyone you know in the know”. (LinkedIn) Check out my LinkedIn Profile to see the WordPress App in action.
So far there are 10 applications! These applications aim to help you stay current and competitive as a busy professional. (Read the original LinkedIn Application Announcement) They have already added 1 applications since the initial launch and I imagine the list will continue to grow:
PRO’s: This is great for driving more traffic to your website. In the past, your profile allowed for only 3 “outside links” with minimal Title customization. Now with the WordPress and BlogLink app, your company can link to their blog and other RSS feeds. Another great application, Slideshare allows you to post up power-point presentations, which acts as great PR for your profile.
CON’s:It seems LinkedIn is moving into the “facebook” application craze, cluttering up profiles with applications and causing millions of users to suffer from scroll-down syndrome. Leave PacMan and Scrabulous to facebook!
Social media for small business
Patrick Mason, TechMarkets
Because social media can be faster and cheaper than traditional tools it can sometimes be the best way to get the job done. Small businesses are often under-resourced and typically have a to do list a mile long. As such, social media tools should make a lot of sense in certain situations.
Below is a simple, light and lean framework to help you get your social media project off the ground. It’s called OASIS and is is a five step process that stands for Objectives, Audience, Strategy, Implementation and Sustainmnet.
The first step to any social media project is to define an objective. Define your top 3-5 business goals and write the steps you plan to use to accomplish each one. Social media projects work best if they have a specific goal. As such, you will probably find your goal somewhere in and around the tactics/plan level.
Tip: Do not worry about what technology can or cannot do at this phase or you will hamstring the possibilities.
For each goal, define the audience involved and make sure to include everyone. Next, determine the on-line habits of each major group. If you don’t know, you can make some working assumptions using free on-line tools here, and then refine your knowledge with actual experience.
Tip: If you are confused about whom your stakeholders are, think about it from the perspective of a value chain and define who is involved from start to finish.
Next is strategy. Given your goal and audience, whom should you try and connect with whom (that’s the social part) and what should they say to each other and how to help accomplish your goal (that’s the media part)? If you are trying to keep customers from switching to the competition your strategy might be; “We would like existing customers to tell new customers how they can implement/configure/ use our products so that we become more entrenched in their business”, or if you are trying to reduce service costs you might say “We would like to capture the knowledge our customers have in troubleshooting our product so other customers can start solving their own problems.” Statements like these will allow you to then draw some conclusions about who you want to connect and why.
Tip: Try to avoid technical considerations here, that comes next.
The next step is implementation. If you are not familiar with the tools, you can get a great education at Wikipedia. Generally speaking, there are a lot of choices so take some time to look at the options.
Tip: A lot of tools are free, so don’t assume you need to build anything yourself, just use what’s out there already.
Finally comes the issue of sustainment. Successful conversations do not necessarily end. Part of the planning process will be to look at how you will manage for the long term. If you are successful, this may be one of the most valuable assets you have, so think about how you will stay engage with your stakeholders for the long haul.
Good luck! For more information, advice and free social media tools, feel free to visit our blog, or drop us a line.
* Patrick Mason is the owner of TechMarkets, and a successful entrepreneur specializing in technology and marketing, specifically targeted at new Social Media techniques and technologies. As Managing Partner and co-founder, Patrick is SocialMedia404’s CCO (Chief Chatting Officer) and is responsible for business and product development.
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What to tell brand companies about social media
Barbara Coll, WebMama.com, Inc
I have been thinking a lot about how to respond to requests from potential clients about a social media strategy. Joe Jaffe is right – Social media is a commitment, not a campaign. So how do you tell a client that is familiar with and bought into outward bound communication with a potential customer being a Press Release or an ad that they aren’t ready for ’social media’? They are still caught up in making the best website ever and may not be ready for engagement outside of the walled area of their site. How do you show them the value of their brand engaging in open environments when you can’t show the value from a lead generation point of view. It isn’t about direct response initially.
Social media is time consuming and requires someone obsessed with reputation management. They need to be free to step outside the brand guidelines once and awhile, and more importantly, need to be able to react instantly without checking with a lawyer first. This is hard and scary for public brand companies. You need to have a sense of humour because people will laugh at your attempts and comment on your content, even if it is well though out. I would consider a twitter posting a success if people tweeted back in any form thus starting the conversation.
So, what to tell companies that are asking for social media strategies? Social media is a commitment, not a campaign. And to find that right person to start small and give them the freedom to succeed.
Entrepreneur Barbara Coll founded WebMama.com, Inc. in September 1996. Today, WebMama.com Inc., is a $4 million SEM company based in Palo Alto, California.
Prior to launching WebMama.com, Barbara spent 10 years working with the marketing departments of some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley, including Sun Microsystems, Qualix Group (purchased by Veritas) and Ipsilon Networks (purchased by Nokia). More…
Five Ways Leaders Destroy Companies
Kevin Kennemer, SPHR
By Kevin Kennemer, SPHRDoes your company allow bullying to occur in your workplace? If so, does your company also promote themselves as a responsible corporate citizen, espouse social responsibility, healthy living, nutrition and exercise, and charitable giving? If you answered yes to both these questions, welcome to Corporate America’s Hall of Contradictions.
Let’s talk about one of those big, nasty, dirty secrets hanging in the Corporate Hall of Contradictions: workplace bullies and the adverse health affects levied on their targets. Left alone, workplace bullies cause a rolling tide of unjustified terminations, needless resignations, disrupted careers, tormented families, plus excessive and needless medical expenses on their unsuspecting targets. With limited support, denials and misunderstandings by coworkers and family members, feelings of embarrassment, suicide is sometimes the eventual self-prescription for targets looking for escape from these ruthless corporate terrorists. Does this sound like corporate social responsibility?
Workplace Bullying Defined
The Workplace Bullying Institute’s definition of workplace bullying is “repeated, health-harming, mistreatment of one or more persons by one or more perpetrators that takes one or more of the following forms:
- verbal abuse,
- offensive conduct/behaviors (including nonverbal) which are threatening, humiliating, or intimidating,
- work interference – sabotage – which prevents work from getting done.”
Workplace bullying is much more than simple incivility. It goes way beyond rudeness. The problem is that bullies are quite clever in their attacks. With limited or no training to deal with ruthless workplace bullies, the executive team rarely comes to the aid of the target.
When Human Resources is Not Humane
Think your human resources department will help? Think again. Human resource professionals have largely sided with workplace bullies because they lack the fortitude to stand up against tyrants who typically carry political clout inside the organization. Most human resource professionals are more interested in career preservation than upholding a positive and humane corporate culture. Without a CEO who demands zero tolerance for bullies, the inmates soon take control over the prison, if you know what I mean.
The Health Effects
As a result, the continued abuse leads to health-harming treatment. According to the 2007 Workplace Bullying Institute-Zogby Survey, 45% of targeted individuals suffer stress-related health problems, which include:
- Hypertension, strokes and heart attacks
- Neurotransmitter disruption, hippocampus shrinkage
- Immunological impairment; more frequent infections of greater severity
- Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Debilitating anxiety, panic disorders
- Clinical depression
- Post-traumatic Stress Disorder from deliberate human-inflicted abuse
- Lost ability to be left alone to do the once-loved job
The Career Affects
According to the WBI-Zogby Survey, the future is not very bright for the targets of bullying. In most cases, the clever corporate terrorist wins, as depicted below:
- 13% of targets are forced to transfer from their once loved job (a punitive transfer)
- 24% of targets experience constructive discharge without reasonable cause
- 40% of targets quit to reverse decline in health and sanity
Take a Stand
If you have a coworker currently encountering a workplace bully, assemble as many employees and managers as possible to calmly and respectfully fight back. Faced with numbers, a bully will typically back down because deep down they are weak and frightened. Silence, fear and a culture where employees do not come to the aid of their coworkers is an environment that allows this corporate terrorism to thrive.
If you have a friend or family member who is currently encountering a workplace bully, listen to them and become their advocate. Encourage them to seek professional help from a qualified counselor who has dealt with workplace bullying cases. At some point a decision will need to be made whether a job change should be made and the target will likely need your objective opinion and guidance during a tumultuous time.
* * * * * * *
Kevin Kennemer is president of The People Group, a consulting firm committed to improving employee lives, business performance and society through positive people practices. Kevin is also a board member of Tulsa CASA, a non-profit group organized to speak for the best interest of abused and neglected children in court. Kennemer may be contacted at kevin@thepeoplegroupllc.com.
What are the statistics with small business failure? Should I stick with my day job?
You are definitely correct in saying that so many small businesses fail. According to a report conducted in an issue of USA Today, the statistical failure rate of small businesses is as follows:
- First year: 85%
- Second: 70%
- Third: 62%
How do I know if my idea is good enough?
Many experts would have you do a ton of research to confirm the validity of your idea. While there are rare products and services that might require this type of research, I would suggest you go with your gut on this one. If you feel the need is there,
I’m thinking about starting a small business, but not sure what industry? Does it matter what I end up choosing? How do I know what the safest decisions are?
Great questions! Talking about the startup process and choosing business ideas are two of my favorite topics because they are the most exciting and fundamental elements of kick-starting your
My brother-in-law wants to be my business partner. Do you think its a good idea?
The quick answer: No! It has been my general observation and my personal experience that business partners can make good friends. But friends (and – even worse – family members) usually make lousy business partners.
The longer answer: A business partnership is like a marriage, only with much more personal, intimate contact. It can be a tough relationship.
I don’t know the exact statistics, but many – if not the majority of – partnerships fail. Of the dozens of partnerships I’ve known over the years, the ones that seemed to succeed best have been those in which the partners rarely saw each other, with each focusing on his or her own areas of the business. Many rarely socialized outside of the office.
Roll a family member into the mix, and the stage is set for disaster. Imagine if things go wrong. Not only is the business in jeopardy, but the family is also at risk of being torn apart.
Here’s my personal experience: I took on a partner about six years ago for a great business idea I had. The result was disastrous! The partner, a family member with unproven business skills, became paralyzed by the risks, worried about that first year of projected losses, refused to make decisions and, worse, vetoed every decision I tried to make. Struggling through managerial gridlock, we never made it to year two; the store closed its doors nine months later, a complete loss, and I was out $150,000.
The lessons I learned:
• A 50% partner can control 100% of the business decisions. If you must take on a partner, always retain no less than 51% control.
• Better yet, whenever possible, avoid having partners. Be a control freak. It’s what makes small-business owners successful. For me, it wasn’t that I couldn’t relinquish control, but that my partner became a control freak, something I had not anticipated.
• If you do take on a partner, make darn sure he or she has unique and extraordinary skills that you need. For example, if you are both creative types, that’s bad; if one of you is a creative type, the other a marketing or business expert, that might work out.
• Draft a partnership agreement, so everyone knows what is expected, who owns what, etc. Invest in a good business lawyer to help you.
• Make sure your partner has the personality and temperament to work in the high-wire-no-net atmosphere of business. Business can be a high-stress lifestyle, especially at first. The pressure can bring out the worst in otherwise even-tempered people.
• Most of all, make sure your personalities are compatible and that you have the same work ethic and agree upon goals. (Imagine if you enjoy putting in 60-hour weeks, but your potential partner thinks that owning a business means half days and lots of vacation!)
The bottom line: Most people take on partners because they’re afraid to go it alone. That’s understandable. But if you really do decide you need a partner, make it a steely-eyed, cold, impartial decision to find someone who can help you and your new business succeed.
Work hard. Make money. Have fun.
John R. Ingrisano
The Freestyle Entrepreneur
www.TheFreestyleEntrepreneur.com
How much should I be paying for SEO services?
Pricing for SEO services vary a great deal, making it difficult to know what you are getting for your money. However, you can gert a better idea of the value by requesting a long term roadmap that will show you exactly the type and amount of work that will be done over the course of several months.
Furthermore, the experience levels of the SEO’s that will be working for you will come into play. Basic SEO is relatively easy to grasp and implement. That type of SEO is cheap, and will supply you with meager results. However, for results that will provide a more substantial boost to your business requires more complex SEO in order to rank for the high-traffic (and therefore highly competitive) keyword phrases.
This requires the work of well-trained experts that have a constant thumb on the pulse of the SEO world, as well as have the technology necessary to constantly analyze the search engines and watch for changes in algorithms. All of these things cost money, and will therefore drive up the costs of SEO.
A few things to ask of an SEO company are:
- How experienced is the SEO(s) that will be working on my site?
- Can you show me case studies of other companies you’ve done work for that were in a similar situation as I am know?
- What kind of results can I expect, and when can I expect to see the results?
You’ll also want to try and avoid paying upfront, opting instead for a monthly subscription. This will not only spread out the costs, but it will also allow you to terminate a relationship with a company that is failing to meet expectations, preventing you from losing any more money than you need to. many agencies require large upfront fees ensuring that they get paid regardless of the value they provide for you. A subscription based model forces a company to provide you with results month to month or risk losing your business.
I think my employees see me as a buddy rather than a boss. Is that a bad thing?
Being a buddy not a boss with your employees is not a good idea. It inhibits you from making tough decisions and exercising your legitimate authority to get things done. Sooner or later you will find yourself in the position of having to make a decision that your employees do not like or need to provide them with some tough feedback on the quality of their work. If your relationship with them is that of a buddy you may find yourself backing off because you know they will not like it. That is not to say that you can’t be friendly and pleasant in your interactions with your employees – in fact you should be, however you should create some distance between you and your employees which so that you can take managerial action when you need to. A way of changing the nature of your relationship with them is to change your interactions with them. Keep some distance between you both at work and socially. Treat people fairly and consistently but make sure that they know what you expect of them. Become a leader! In the long run your employees with thank for it because everyone appreciates good leadership.
I’m really struggling with my time management. I feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day. Any tips?
As a small business owner you wear many hats and it is a never ending challenge to prioritize and manage your time more effectively. One of the first suggestions is to identify what your monthly sales target is, not your annual goal. Then build your day upon three activities of high value from a business development perspective. These activities are usually selected from your marketing plan. Consider these activities baby steps or baby business development steps. When you can complete two or three of them on a daily basis, then you can get on to the other important and urgent tasks. Most professionals focus on the urgent and operational issues hoping they will have time at the end of the day for business development, and then become so consumed and exhausted that the day runs out before doing anything to grow their business or practice. A high value activity can be as simple as making a phone call to a prospect you have been putting off, spending thirty minutes writing an article, or calling a preferred client to coordinate a lunch meeting. It’s that simple. Look to your marketing strategies and the creation of your marketing tools to help you identify these little baby steps. When you create a level of consistency in marketing yourself, you tend to feel better, and as a result create more momentum.You actually become more productive every day because you are focusing on the right things and doing them in the right order. Trust this process and work your plan. The benefits are cumulative and will help you get into shape for success!
Mark LeBlanc
Author of Growing Your Business!
www.SmallBusinessSuccess.com
2007-2008 President, National Speakers Association
I just started my small business – is PR something I should be thinking about now or put on hold?
It’s never too early to think about PR – your reputation and image is something that starts as soon as the business does. Your image and reputation will also need time to grow; there is no such thing as an overnight success. In most cases, the earlier you start the better because it’s very difficult to get attention from the media if you seem to have come out of nowhere. Cultivating those relationships and developing the bedrock of a PR plan in the early stages will greatly help you when you have significant news to share.
Is it necessary to have an employee handbook even if I only have a few employees?
Many small companies do not have an employee handbook (and there is no legal requirement to have one), however having one in place can make life easier and save you money in the long run (two great incentives!). A small company that I know that did not have a hand book ended up paying significantly more than they needed to for employee benefits because they did not have clear policies and procedures in place. According to Tom Ehrenfeld, an employee handbook should be easy to read and do the following things:
· Communicate indispensable company policies and practices;
· Make explicit the mutual agreements between employees and employer without being an actual contract;
· State and express a company’s philosophy;
· Excite and motivate an employee about his or her job; and
· Convey a broader sense of the company mission.
Here are several of the items that a typical employee handbook will include:
· Mission Statement/Company Philosophy
· Work Environment
· Compensation & Benefits
· Employee Conduct
· Organization Chart
· Legal Requirements
· Staff Development
· Discipline and Termination
· Grievance Procedures
· Safety and Security procedures and policies
· Confidentiality Clause
Do I have to incorporate my business?
The answer is that you are not required to incorporate your business, but typically a business can benefit from becoming a corporation or an LLC. Some of the benefits include liability protection, tax flexibility, and the ability to attract investors, You should sit down and talk with your attorney and or your CPA and discuss if you should incorporate given your specific situation and circumstances.
I am thinking about starting my own business, but I’m too scared to quit my job. What should I do? Part 2
Here are ten tips to help you beat the odds and launch your business successfully (or maybe to help you decide that your salaried job isn’t all that bad after all):
1. Research! Make sure there is a market for your product or service. Don’t be blinded by a good idea that either nobody wants (such as snowmobiles in Florida) or everybody has already thought of (as in warm ‘n fuzzy coffee houses, which are splattered across every Main Street in America).
How about Franchising?
Franchising is big business … mostly because it works. When considering starting or buying a business, it never hurts to look at franchises.On one hand, buying a franchise can be expensive, and you have to go by their rules. On the other hand, though, if you pick your franchise carefully (remember, do your research!) you get the benefit of their business plan and marketing strategy. As a result, the failure rate for franchises is almost half that for other businesses.
Surf around and plug in search word “franchise.” You’ll find more info than you know what to do with. A good place to start is Entrepreneur Magazine. Their website, www.Entrepreneur.com, lists top franchises and has other good info about the risks and opportunities of franchising.
1. Learn! Read books and take classes about business. Having a great product or service is half the challenge. Learning how to manage a business is the rest. Get ideas from the Small Business Administration (www.sba.gov) and the National Federation of Independent Business (www.nfib.com).
2. Listen! Talk to other small-business owners about your idea. Ask for their opinions…and then listen carefully. Best bet: Find a mentor who is willing to advise you. Where to start: The Service Corps of Retired Executives (www.score.org).
3. Draft a business plan! Commit your vision to paper. If you can’t “see it” and articulate it, odds are you won’t be able to achieve it. There are samples all over the internet, including the SBA (which you might as well bookmark, because it has some great info for small business owners.
Work on it, revise it, re-draft it until it makes sense to you and to others, leaving as few leaps of faith as possible. (Fewer leaps of faith = greater odds of success.) This will be your startup blue print. Most business people absolutely hate doing a biz plan, but virtually all successful business people have them. (Your biz plan is also what your banker will want to see before giving you a line of credit.)
4. Get credit! Set up a line of credit at your bank or credit union, even if you never tap into it. The number one reason for business failures in this country is undercapitalization.
5. Worry! Especially when it comes to money, stress and worry are a natural part of being in business. Get used to it.
6. Master time management! Successful business owners devote 60 to 70 hours a week, especially in the startup years … and that’s not just putting in time. It’s working hard and smart. Learn to make the most of it. Time management is crucial.
7. Keep good records! Otherwise, the IRS could have a field day. Find a system that works for you.
8. Make quarterly tax payments to the fed and state. And if you have employees, get your unemployment and workers comp insurance and tax payments in on time. A lot of businesses go belly up after April 15, when they are surprised to discover that the IRS really does want several pounds of your flesh. Quarterly payments can be painful. But they’re a walk in the park compared to getting clobbered across the bridge of the nose by a five-figure tax hit in April.
9. Commit! Once you’ve done all your homework and planning, you are either in or you are out. Make a decision and do not look back. So, distinguish between a hobby (non-profit) and a business (for profit). Toe dipping, just giving it a try, is a sure way to fail. Even if yours will be a part-time business, decide just how part-time it will be.
The bottom line: Starting and running a successful business is a demanding task. It takes hard work and long hours. Still, while many don’t make it, there are still those millions who have. You could be one of them.
Work hard. Make money. Have fun.
I am thinking about starting my own business, but I’m too scared to quit my job. What should I do? Part 1
The quick answer: Caution is good. Better to err on the side of caution rather than close your eyes and take a flying leap.
The longer answer: Whether you’re thinking about turning your picture-framing hobby into a full-time business; pulling your professional skills out of the corporate world to set up shop on your own; or tackling a mid-life career change that takes you in a totally new direction, going into business for yourself can be the most exciting and terrifying challenge you’ve ever undertaken.
If you’re thinking about taking the entrepreneurial plunge, you’re not alone. Nearly 650,000 new businesses were started in 2006, according to the SBA (www.sba.gov). Of the nearly 27 million businesses in the United States, 99.9 percent are labeled as “small” by the government. That puts you in good company.
The rewards can be great, not the least of which is the money. Affluent people tend to be business owners, enjoying median annual household incomes of $436,000, according to the 2000 book The Millionaire Mind by Thomas Stanley. That’s about ten times higher than the average.
But money isn’t everything. There is also the freedom – the opportunity to take charge of your own destiny and to do so on your own terms. Not dependent on anyone but yourself, you can take full responsibility for your own success or failure, determined to make or break it based on your own efforts, talents and hard work.
Okay, enough of the rah rah cheerleading session. (Besides, I look lousy in a skirt.) On the downside, when you start a business, the risks are great, and there are no guarantees. I mentioned above that about 650,000 new businesses were started in 2006. Well, do not forget that nearly 565,000 businesses closed that same year.
So, the odds are long for those who do not plan and prepare. Between the grueling hours, the financial uncertainty and the daily surprises and frustrations, entrepreneurship can wear you out, run you down, leave you pulling out your hair.
Do I Need SEO Even if I’m Not an Online Business?
The answer to this is, “It depends.” It depends on whether you care about growing your business or not. If you want your business to grow and succeed, then yes, you need a Web presence and you need people to be able to find you on the Web.
The statistics are staggering, showing that having a Web strong presence is favorable for all types of businesses. Ten years ago, it wasn’t so important to be on the Web because relatively few people had Internet access. Today, however, the Web is quickly replacing traditional media in many areas. A perfect example of this can be seen in the recent decline of yellow pages usage in favor of the Internet when looking for local business information.
Let’s take a look at a very well-known example of a non-Internet based business: the fast-food restaurant chain Wendy’s. Despite not being an online business, they have a website. Why? Because they know that there are a lot of people like me that want information about what’s on their menu, how many calories are in their single-cheese combo, where the nearest Wendy’s is when I’m in unfamiliar territory, and so forth.
In fact, recent research conducted by Marchex shows that 86 percent of Internet users in 2007 preferred to use search engines to research or find local businesses. This number has been trending upward over the last several years.
Since search engines are the #1 place people are going to find a place that offers the products and services you provide, not having a website can be quite detrimental to your business, especially if your competition does have a website.
Just as bad is having a website that nobody knows about. In other words, yes, you will benefit from SEO regardless of the type of business you run.
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What is Search Engine Optimization?
The simple answer to this question is that search engine optimization (or SEO as it’s commonly referred to as) is the process of optimizing a webpage or website to rank well for specific keyword terms and phrases in a search engine such as Google, Yahoo!, or MSN. The complex answer to the question is, well, more complex.
Search engines use complex mathematical algorithms to calculate what words a particular webpage should rank for and where it should appear in the rankings. These algorithms are, allegorically, a search engine’s secret sauce. And they, like restaurants, keep the ingredients for their secret sauce very secret. One reason why search engines keep their algorithms secret is to prevent webmasters from abusing the knowledge to rank higher for certain keywords that they probably shouldn’t be.
Since people generally use search engines to find information, search engine programmers wanted to be able to provide the most relevant information to its users so they would come back again next time they were looking for information. They weren’t doing a very good job of this in the mid nineties, as was obvious to those of us who remember.
Then along came Google and turned the search engine world on its side with a new-fangled algorithm that seemed to give everybody the exact results they were looking for. It worked great, until somebody who wanted to sell snake oil to people looking for camping gear figured out a way to abuse the new algorithm.
To stay ahead of the game, search engine algorithms are in constant flux in an attempt to provide us users with the information we desire while keeping out irrelevant results.
So, to get back to the original question, SEO is about showing the search engines that your site is relevant to whatever keyword term you are attempting to rank for. This requires keeping a constant finger on the pulse of the search engine world, knowing proper search engine strategies, and having the ability to implement them all while being flexible enough to adjust to the constantly changing world of search engine optimization.
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