6 Tax Tips for New Small Business Owners
Did you just start your own lawn service or construction company? Launching a business is one of the most exciting things you can do, but you must be prepared for a whole new set of tax laws and requirements for small business owners. These tips can help you remain compliant with all tax authorities and…
Read MoreSmall Business Writing: 5 Ways to Deliver Polished Content
There’s no way around it: for any successful small business, writing is critical. It’s not easy. Check out these verbal hoops you need to jump through: You need to be able to engage prospects in as few as 140 characters, You need to be able to hold prospects’ attention through long-form blog posts, and You…
Read MoreGet Inspired! 5 Tips for Tapping into the Creative Side of Your Business
Staring at a blank page is intimidating. Trust me, I know. Starting this blog post was equivalent to meeting the parents for the first time—except worse because it didn’t invite me over for dinner and drinks. As intense as coming up with new ideas can be, it is extremely necessary for the progressivity of a…
Read MoreAre You Wasting Your SEO Budget?
Search Engine Optimization is still the best way to drive potential customers to your website. Despite the mystique, it’s just another form of advertising. And as with other mediums, you’re making an investment of time, money, or both and should expect a return. With this said, many emerge from the SEO wars with battle scars…
Read MoreHonestly It’s About Honesty
I can remember being in one of my undergrad advertising classes and the professor told us about a recent study that measured the trustworthiness or honesty of various professions. Keep in mind, this was 30+ years ago but I can still see the slides he used to show us the results. The least trusted professional was the…
Read MoreTake Your Products on the Road to Get Them Noticed
We’ve spent a lot of time this year discussing the merits of promoting your small business close to home in myriad ways: local events, local media, local street fairs. You can see where this is heading. Without a doubt, most of a small business’s “business” likely comes from the local community. And that’s great! You’ve…
Read MoreHow to Market to Customers 50+
Whether you market products, services, or a nonprofit mission, chances are you have customers in the 50+ age range. With their current U.S. population of 108.7 million, do you realize how powerful this demographic is now and how much it’s growing? “By 2017, Nielsen predicts this age group will make up half of the U.S. population and control 70% of disposable…
Read MoreGrow Your Reach Using Twitter Chats
Twitter is a great way to connect with others and stay informed. With it, you can easily publish content that will reach hundreds—if not thousands—of people. Even better, you can repost original content to get even more exposure. Why Are Twitter Chats Important for Business? A Twitter chat is a conversation involving a group of…
Read MoreDo You Have the Right Budget for Business Insurance?
Business owners spend millions of dollars annually on insurance, yet most of the insurance policies they rely on cannot protect their businesses from many risks. A 2010 survey by Travelers Insurance reveals that despite only 56 percent of small businesses having disaster-recovery insurance, 94 percent of small-business owners are convinced that their businesses are protected…
Read MoreOnline Reviews Influence Buying Decisions
In a customer service study by Dimensional Research, survey participants were asked if they had seen online reviews of customer service. About two-thirds of participants reported that they did recall reading these online reviews. Review sites were the most common place to read a negative review of customer service where Facebook was the most common…
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