Posted by Biz Central USA Marketing Team on February 25, 2010 under Small Biz and Entrepreneurship,Small Biz Marketing,Small Biz News | 
Website, e-mail blasts, business cards, print ads; all of these methods of marketing can be confusing and unknown territory for a small business owner whose focus is keeping the business running. One of the oldest and more cost-effective forms of small business marketing is and will continue to be word-of-mouth. If your business can get new business by referrals then you have the best marketing team already acting on your behalf: your current customers. If your business is not getting new business, give your current customers an incentive to promote your services or products. Referral programs are easy to start and don’t cost very much to maintain. If your small business isn’t getting new customers, you might want to give your current marketing strategies a tune-up.
If you are looking for different creative ways to market your company without running up your marketing tab, here are some examples to get you started:
Print Material (business cards, logos, brochures) – Small business owners have relied on this relatively inexpensive method of conveying marketing information: cards, brochures, and circulars. Keep in mind when purchasing these items that you want your business card to stand out from your competitor’s business card. You want people to remember who you are because of a catchy name or a printed material that really catches their attention.
Samples and free offerings – When considering this method of marketing, the question you need to keep in mind is, “Can my business truly afford to offer something for free?” Giving away services or products that you make is usually an inexpensive small business marketing strategy that will leave customers appreciating the value of your products. Customers never get tired of these special offers and great treatment. On the other hand, if you say that the goods or services are “free” or “without charge,” be certain there are no unstated terms or conditions that qualify the offer.
Coupons and Discounts – Making coupons available on your small business website will always attract potential customers to your site. By drawing them into your website, they may simply purchase the service or product because the coupon exists. This strategy of “pulling” customers in also gives them an opportunity to check other services they may be interested in. Consider using a coupon mailing service to send coupons to homeowners in specific neighborhoods in your local area.
Public relations – To get your business in the news, send a press release you draft yourself to every newspaper in the area. The trick is to give the reporter an angle that makes the story interesting to readers; examples would be such events as a grand opening, a contest, a new product line, a new service launch or charitable activities your business is sponsoring.
Signs – Don’t forget about “signage.” Signs work best if they’re bold, edgy, professionally done, and consistent with your business values. Keep in mind that they should be well-lit, and tell the viewer your message quickly. Signs don’t have to be in stationary locations. Examples would be items such as T-shirts, shopping bags, and bumper stickers. These items are creative forms of signs and can do a great job of advertising your goods to new potential customers. Another great sign that is often times overlooked is your vehicle; you can get a magnetic sign for your car door with your business name, logo, and slogan or some art.
Have any other small business marketing suggestions to offer to the community? Share them in the comments box below!
Posted by Biz Central USA Marketing Team on February 17, 2010 under Small Biz and Entrepreneurship,Small Biz Certifications |
When looking at the Woman/Women Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) Certification, the question I get asked most frequently is. “Is there really a difference between which WBE certification I receive?” The very honest answer to this question is yes. It makes a large impact which agency you choose to certify your business through. If your business is 51 percent owned, controlled, operated, and managed by a woman or group of women then you are eligible for certification. There are generally four different levels of WBE certifications:
1. Local – This certification can be obtained by a local government certifying office, such as a city or a county. You would want to obtain a local certification if you want to increase your chances of getting business from that particular local agency (such as the city or county in which your business is located).
2. State – This certification can be obtained in most (not all states have a designated program) states through a state certifying office. You would want to obtain a state certification if you want to increase your chances of getting business from one or more state government agencies.
3. Federal – These are self-certifying, and allow you to sell to the U.S. federal government. So if you want to sell to the federal government, then you can self-certify that you are a WBE enterprise.
4. National – This is the type of certification you would consider if you want to have large corporations (both privately and publically owned) as clients. Some large corporations will accept either a National Certification or a State Certification, so before you rush out and get a National Certification, you would first want to see what the requirements are specific to that corporation.
If you are more interested in doing work in the private sector, particularly with publicly traded and privately owned companies, WBE Certification by a third-party certifier is going to be the recommended option. Third party certification (national agency) is geared to the private sector. Such agencies as the WBENC and the NWBOC are third-party certifiers. This indicates that these agencies are an independent entity other than the small business owner or the corporate purchasing entity and are ensuring that the small business is in fact a woman-owned entity.
If your small business is focused on gaining contracts with a government entity, in most cases each city, county, state and federal agency has their own type of certification program which details an individual and distinct process for that city, county, or state. Now you are probably saying to yourself, “Do I really need to get multiple certifications for different purposes?” Due to recent pressure being brought by women business groups, the government agencies are now beginning to accept other sources of certification in addition to their own program. The key, if you find yourself in this situation, is to certify with your home county or city first. By doing this, most other city and county certification programs will reciprocate your home city certification and you can start doing business with Uncle Sam.
Posted by Biz Central USA Marketing Team on February 12, 2010 under Small Biz and Entrepreneurship,Small Biz Tax Filing |
Preparing Your Small Business for the Inevitable
April 15th, (National Tax Day) is creeping up faster than you realized and maybe you’re not ready for it, but whatever the condition of your small business, you must always pay your taxes! Luckily this year National Tax Day falls on a Sunday and Monday is Emancipation Day so, the deadline this year is April 17th! Either way, you shouldn’t be wasting time.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) states that small businesses pay four kinds of taxes: Income tax, Self-employment tax, Employment taxes, and Excise taxes. The form of business determines what kinds of taxes you’ll pay.
The Upside to Taxes:
Luckily for startups, there are usually many opportunities to claim small business tax deductions. Also, small businesses can often structure their business taxes to accomplish certain goals. Each structure will have advantages and disadvantages, but choose the one that works best for you-LLC, Sole Proprietorship, S Corporation, etc.
Top Ten Small Business Tax Deductions:
| 1. Start up Cost Deductions |
6. Legal and Professional Services |
| 2. Education Deductions |
7. Supplies |
| 3. Business Travel |
8. Insurance |
| 4. Office Expenses |
9. Car Expenses |
| 5. Supplies |
10. Depreciation |
Managing your books and preparing your business taxes is a critical part of owning a business and should not be taken lightly. If the nature of your small business is fairly consistent from year to year, you may be able to manage your business taxes by yourself. However, if you are just starting up you may be better off hiring a CPA to help you along the way. Hiring someone experienced with taxes and bookkeeping can prevent you from filing incorrectly and can really save you time and money in the long run.
Posted by Andrea Root on February 10, 2010 under Small Biz and Entrepreneurship,Small Biz Tax Filing |
Running a business means you have to deal with all types of report forms. You will have forms coming from both your state’s government and the Federal government. Each government department will expect you to know what their forms are for. I’m going to go over some common federal forms you will encounter and what each is used for.
• Form 940- filed annually to report and pay employer’s federal unemployment tax
• Form 941- filed quarterly to report employment taxes (income tax, Medicare, Social Security, etc.) withheld from employees and the employer’s portion of employment of those taxes
• Form W-4- completed by employees so the correct tax amounts are withheld from their paychecks
• Form W-2- distributed to employees each year to report their income and taxes withheld
• Form W-3- filed annually to report income paid to employees and their employment taxes
• Form 1099MISC- distributed to individuals who are independent contractors to report their income
• Form 1040, Schedule C- filed annually to report your profit or loss on a business
• Form 1040, Schedule H- filed annually to report employment taxes for household employees such as nannies, maids, etc.
• Form 1040, Schedule SE- filed annually to report your self-employment tax
• Form 1120- is the corporation income tax return filed annually for C-Corporations
• Form 1120-S- is the income tax return for an S Corporation filed annually
• Form 1065- filed annually to report partnership income
• Form 8829- reports the expenses for using portions of your home for business use
• Form 4562- filed to report depreciation and amortization on property and equipment
• Form 4797- filed to report the sale of business property during the year
• Form 8283- used to report noncash charitable contributions made exceeding $500 including donations of office supplies, property, building materials, etc.
• Form 4868- filed to receive an automatic extension of time to file tax documents but not to pay taxes
• Form 2848- filed to give an attorney, CPA, or EA power of attorney or to act as your representative
• Form 4506- filed to request a copy of your tax returns
• Form 8822- filed with the IRS to change the address on file with them
Throughout the course of running a business you will encounter many different types of forms, both federal and state. State forms will vary with each state that the organization operates within. It is very important that the forms being used are current as filing the wrong form could have consequences for you and the organization. The federal forms will change with time but typically remain about the same with slight changes in reporting rules, deduction limits, and percentages. Hopefully this list will help you keep demystify what the forms are and why you need them.
Posted by Biz Central USA Marketing Team on February 8, 2010 under Small Biz and Entrepreneurship,Small Biz Certifications |
If you are a small business owner and are considering applying for the SBA 8(a) program, here are some key eligibility requirements and pointers to help you before you invest time into the application process.
First and foremost the SBA 8(a) program only certifies firms that are currently in business. In order to apply you must be the majority owner and also involved full-time in the day-to-day management of the business to meet eligibility requirements. If you meet these requirements the next key point to consider when applying is the two year business operation requirement. The 8(a)certification program requires applicants to be in business for at least two years before their application will be considered for approval. Exceptions to this rule are sometimes granted but are not guaranteed. If you have been in business for less than two years and have successfully generated profits (this does not mean you have to been making huge profits), and have a successful track record with contract completion a waiver can be 
requested.
Only applicants who are members of socially disadvantaged groups and are economically disadvantaged can be considered for approval to the program. Many 8(a) applicants become ineligible for 8(a) certification due to the $250,000 net worth limit. This limit is defined as a personal net worth of $250,000 or less, excluding the equity in a personal residence or business. It is crucial not to make attempts at hiding assets from the SBA. The SBA has an extensive amount of tools and knowledge base regarding determining the size of a business and looking at two years tax returns to know what an individual’s net worth may be.
It is crucial for the SBA that as a small business owner you have enough working capital and business contracts that they deem your business eligible to have a high likelihood of success. Some planning can be done to mitigate this problem if the individual’s net worth is close to $250,000, such as selling securities and investing the money in the primary residence. Unfortunately for individuals with extremely high net worth’s it is difficult or unlikely to work around this clause in the SBA application.
Finally only applicants who are US citizens are eligible to apply for the 8(a) certification. Each year the federal government sets aside millions of contract dollars for certified small businesses to bid and receive contracts relating to the many federal agencies that exist. Many federal contracts are “set aside” for 8(a) firms, meaning that only certified businesses may apply or be considered. The designation of SBA 8(a) is a highly regarded program, if you meet these requirements you should consider pursuing this designation for your small business.
Posted by Jennifer Nelson on February 3, 2010 under Small Biz and Entrepreneurship,Small Biz News |
A recent poll by the Pew Research Center shows that jobs and the economy are Americans’ number one and number two priorities for 2010. President Barack Obama took this to heart in his State of the Union address where he discussed offering tax credits to companies that hire new workers. So like many of you I was curious to see just how much this proposal would affect small businesses.
The proposal would give small business a $5,000 tax credit for each net new worker hired in 2010. Equally important is businesses that increase wages or hours for their existing workers in 2010 would be reimbursed for the extra Social Security payroll taxes they would not have otherwise paid. This would not affect individuals earning over $106,800 as they are not paying additional Social Security. A conservative estimate by the Treasury Department suggests the program could help one million businesses and would cost $33 billion to implement. One of the suggestions on the table is to funding it with money repaid to the government from the 2008-2009 bank bailout programs.
The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan fact finding agency, recently concluded that a payroll tax credit for companies that increase payroll would be an effective way to improve the economy and job creation. One of the biggest critiques of the program is it could be difficult to administer. Congress enacted a similar tax credit in the 1970s and few small businesses took advantage, according to the CBO report.
The government would have several important policies to ensure small businesses don’t cheat the system. No company could earn more than $500,000 from these combined benefits. This is designed to make the program small business focused rather than opening the floodgates to a few large corporations. Existing companies could not close down, reopen under a new name, and receive benefits, according to White House officials. Organizations that fire workers and then “quickly” rehire replacements are not eligible for the tax breaks.
Startup companies would be eligible for up to $250,000 in benefits from this program. The program is still awaiting congressional approval, and expected to cease benefits on Dec. 31. With the government’s recent initiatives to help small businesses, now is a great time to start your business. Businesses that are operational will be in the best position to take advantage of these new up-and-coming initiatives when they go live.
