WELCOME

Resolutions: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The beginning of the year is, typically, the time for a new year’s resolution; whether it’s losing weight (probably if tested, would be number one), organizing something (doesn’t matter what, just organize something) or signing up for that community college class on keyboarding (computers require that basic skill).

And since I’m thinking of New Year’s resolutions, I’ll share mine (if you’re interested). Business writing, ideally, should be close to perfect; no grammer errors, typos or commas where they shouldn’t be. But the following are three mistakes that are hard to forgive.

Numbers, particularly in a letter that estimates a job, should be double checked. How awful to find one less or one extra number in your estimate and worse, it’s been mailed.

Be sure you’ve spelled names correctly in everything you write.

Anything specific to your customer like company and product names, trademarked names or program titles or should be 100 percent correct. If the customer’s name is OpenDoor Company, then be sure you write it that way; capitalization, unusual spacing and lack of abbreviation should all be recognized.

These three are major gaffes, and you can be sure they’re unforgiveable in your customer’s mind. So, as my new year’s business resolution, I pledge to try for perfection in my business writing, although nothing and nobody is perfect. Especially those organizing and losing weight resolutions.

Libby Beatty, Chair
MBA Board of Directors

NEWSWORTHY

Desktop Calendar Tool

Install the IRS CalendarConnector and access Important Tax Dates for Small Businesses right from your desktop, even when you're offline. As new events are added, they will be automatically updated via the desktop tool.

This customizable tool allows you to specify what types of events you wish to view (general, employer, excise, or all) and how you want them displayed (by day, week or month).

Install the IRS CalendarConnector

Print the Calendar
Print a PDF version of Publication 1518, Tax Calendar for Small Businesses and Self-Employed in either English or Spanish.

Print the Tax Calendar (English) (PDF)
Print the Tax Calendar (Spanish) (PDF)

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MARKETING

What Sound Does your Marketing Make?

From jingles to popular music to sound effects, the use of sound in advertising and marketing has a profound effect on customers. So how are you using sound to get people’s attention? One study at Loyola University showed that slower, more relaxing music raised sales.

Companies like DMX and Play Network offer offices and retail spaces with customized sound tracks to help induce shoppers into a more favorable state of mind. Here are other ways to use sound to increase the power of your message:

Welcoming: Use a funny or memorable sound effect to welcome visitors to your website or office/retail space.
Background: Create an original jingle that is played in your store or as background music on your website.
Phone: Use songs or jingles to occupy customers when they are put on hold.

Tips for Business Photos

If the photos you use on your business literature and website seem to be uninspiring or dreary, you are giving your audience the idea that you’re less than professional. Here are a few techniques to use with even the most basic photo-editing software:

Cropping: Cropping can help you remove unwanted objects or add emphasis to your photo. Cropping can also be used to center certain objects drawing the eye and attention to the object that you want to emphasize.

Sharpen: Blurry or fuzzy images tend to lack emphasis and are jarring and confusing to the eye. By using the sharpen feature you can make “soft” images look “sharp.” This can make a dull photo pop with dimension and life.

Vibrancy: Also known as “saturation,” this feature balances the brightness of colors in the image. This means that you can add life to dull colors without bleeding the already vibrant ones.

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YOUR FINANCES

Know Your Investor

Angel and VC investors could mean great things for your growing business, but it’s essential that you research and learn all you can about your potential partner. Here’s how:

Web Research: Visit the investor’s website to see who they have worked with previously, who are their partners and to see what industries it favors. An investor with experience in your industry is ideal. LinkedIn and TheFunded are other great sites to get reviews and learn more.

Business Bond: Get to know as many of the people and partners in the firm as possible. This way you will be comfortable working with multiple contacts should the organization undergo personnel changes.

Warning Signs: Some investors want to take advantage of growing businesses. Terms like “2x Liquidation, Weighted-Average and Offshore Funds” are a warning that you need to make sure all terms are agreed upon and understood. Investors who seem hesitant to divulge information should be regarded with suspicion.

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FOR THE HOME-BASED BIZ

Spouse Trap

If a couple is married when they file their taxes but divorced or separated when it’s time to pay, one spouse can attempt to file as an “innocent spouse.”

The Innocent Spouse Relief (Form 8857) is a request for a separate tax liability than your former spouse. These should be filed within the first two years of the debts announcement. Typically, the IRS denies more cases than it allows based upon the difficulty of proving that one party was unaware of the activity.

In these cases the IRS weighs their decisions on the amount of the item versus the other items on your return, your business experience and the extent of your participation in the “erroneous” item. This claim is challenging to prove and you should seek legal advice before investing time and money trying to battle the case.

To learn more, visit the IRS info page here.

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HUMAN RESOURCES

Minimizing the Risk of Employee Liability

Employee liability issues represent a great risk to small businesses but are often overlooked by entrepreneurs. If you are unfamiliar with state labor laws or lack an employee relationship policy, here are some tips to help protect your business:

Policy & Procedure: Employee policies need to be clearly outlined and should be presented to employees for reference and signature upon hiring. Keep it simple by outlining office protocol like work hours, absenteeism, vacation, behavior and terms of termination.

Job Description: This should clearly outline the role and duties of the position. It serves to create a basis for wage rates but can also be used as a tool to hold employees accountable in the case of termination or litigation resulting from wrongful termination claims.

Records: File all employee documents from hire to fire in one place. This also includes performance reviews, nondisclosure agreements, formal warnings and tax documentation.

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IT

Website Checklist

Having a website with a lot of fluff and design won’t make it effective. To have an effective website that can turn sales, take the following steps:

SEO Research: Google’s keyword tool is free to use and will allow you to test any keyword and tell you how many times that word was searched the previous month. Then take that word and use it to boost your search ratings.

Visitor Data: Capturing visitor data like an email address is a great way to build a marketing campaign and track prospects. By offering a discount, coupon or anything that you can give for free, the person will be more likely to leave their email address.

Content: Your website should answer the question that your customer is asking, so make your content accessible, complete and up-to-date. Photos, video product demos and industry news helps boost your search ratings and keep shoppers coming back for more.

Communicate Great

The following web tools will give your business communications the boost they need to get your message across in a big way:

Tube Mogul: This site takes your business video and posts it on all the big video sites: YouTube, Google Video, AOL Video, etc. It’s totally free and will give you stats about video views.

SEO Book: This site has all the SEO (search engine optimization) know-how that you need to get found on the web. The cost is $100 a month for a membership, but the site has lots of freebies to help you raise your search rankings.

Copy Doodles: This site sells handwritten characters that can be added to sales letters and used as web graphics. You can purchase customized characters or select from a variety of pre-made graphics that catch the eye and spice up your business copy.

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MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Get to know MBA members!

This section will highlight several member small businesses, what they do and how to contact them. Consider these companies if you're interested in their market, and please call us if you would like to be listed here too!

Call Libby at (610) 604-4994, ext. 131or send an email.

Click here to see this months member spotlight..

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Unless specifically indicated, MBA does not intend mention of companies, products or services discussed in this publication to be construed to be endorsements. The information in this publication is offered as examples that may be useful to our small business readers. Please consult with an industry professional before implementing any of the tips or subscribing to any of the services described above.