Ask SmallBizClub

5 Tips That Can Help You Avoid A Lawsuit During The Pandemic

As a business owner, it’s essential to take steps to protect your customers and employees from the novel coronavirus. Not only can this help you keep people safe, but it can also protect you from…

What are the pros and cons of using QuickBooks?

Tax & Accounting | Rick Gossett

With user-friendly software such as QuickBooks available, many business owners feel they should be able to keep their records on their own, even as they wrestle with finding the time and wonder if they’re doing things correctly.

What is an effective way of motivating employees to understand that they are not cost effective until they generate 5 times their pay?

Human Resources | Will Adams

While it is important for workers to experience transparency in their company and understand where the company is and where they need to be, you also do not want to attempt to motivate employees, especially sales team employees, through fear of losing their job if they don’t make more sales.

I am doing bookkeeping for a restaurant, are the tips received and reported by the waitress taxable for unemployment purposes?

Tax & Accounting | Rick Gossett

Tips reported by a restaurant waitress to an employer are taxable for unemployment tax calculation purposes, subject to certain thresholds and guidelines. Also, there are additional tax treatment considerations for different types of food service businesses and tip and gratuity procedures that…

Where could I locate a non-compete and non-solicitation document that I could customize and have employees of a Georgia-based business agree to and be bound by?

Legal | Bill Wortman

Non-compete, non-solicitation, and confidentiality agreements or separate clauses in employment agreements are common in hiring situations. However, it is important to note that a number of considerations can affect whether a non-compete agreement is a lawful and binding contract, including state and local law which varies as to the terms and enforceability of non-compete agreements

What’s the best way for my test-only smog station business to negotiate a deal with other auto repair shops?

Marketing | Bill Wortman

Networking and cross-marketing with complementary (transmission, air conditioning, body shops, towing services, etc.) auto repair businesses and other parties in the industry can be very helpful in reaching more of your target market customers as a test-only smog station.

Am I on the right track with my elevator speech?

Marketing | Bill Wortman

You are correct that you need to make it clear exactly how you help your clients and/or exactly what your mission is. Also, if you can leave people wanting to learn more, that is a plus.
“Solutions” is vague business jargon in our opinion so you may want to consider how to focus more effectively on the benefit that is derived from your services or on how it helps clients rather than on the mechanism.

What is the fastest way to get my credit cleaned up?

Legal | Bill Wortman

Credit laws provide for fixing errors on credit reports and The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) also establishes various timeframes under which both negative and positive entries on a consumer credit report must be removed or “cycled-off” the report.

I have a storefront selling both retail and private label herbal supplements. I am considering direct sales, where do I start?

Marketing | Will Adams

Network marketing, or MLM, is now a large and mature industry with numerous offerings. Though consumer products (household items, skin care, etc.) are marketed differently than business products, certain basic marketing techniques or principles apply to essentially all MLMs.

Where can I buy the lowest price international domain names that have country extensions?

Marketing | Ed Fox

You can view international domain pricing through well-known and reputed domain service companies such as GoDaddy, Network Solutions and 101 Domain, each of which we have provided a link for below with pricing information.