WELCOME

Can you imagine if Santa had to conduct his business as an S corp.? All the elves would get 1099s if they operate under their own company names. And Mrs. Claus would be the president, leaving Santa to oversee operations. And the shipping. He'd have to use DHL if it wasn't for the sleigh.

But back to business. Santa, with his years of experience, doesn't need a seminar telling him how to "start." But maybe you do. Even if your company is 20 years old, you can probably use some up-to-date information about regulations, marketing and how to write a business plan. Did you ever write one? If you did, you may still be referring to it as your guide. If you didn't, it's not too late. Analyzing your methods of doing business can only be good.

Which leads me to an MBA upcoming seminar, Want to Start Your Own Business? It's an event we present once or twice a year, not only to assist new businesses, but to strengthen existing ones. Hope to see you there. And happy holidays to all our members and their families.

Libby Beatty, Chair
MBA Board of Directors

NEWSWORTHY

IRS Warns Taxpayers of New E-mail Scams

What would you do if you received an e-mail from the IRS…

• indicating that you are eligible for a tax refund
  
• asking for you to send a charitable contribution to victims of the recent Southern California wildfires
  
• advising you of an $80 rebate you may receive for completing an IRS customer satisfaction survey

Here's the real deal: The IRS does not send out unsolicited e-mails or ask for personal and financial information. The above are new scams with more being discovered all the time.

Recipients of questionable e-mails claiming to come from the IRS should not open any attachments or click on any links. Instead they should forward the e-mails to phishing@irs.gov.

Employment Laws:
Help from the Department of Labor

Log on to the Department of Labor's website to check out interactive e-tools that provide easy-to-understand information about some of the employment laws of the federal government. Choose from one of the topics listed on the site to find an elaws Advisor of interest to you.

Two new elaw Advisors are listed on the site. One is the Fair labor Standards Act (FLSA) Overtime Calculator Advisor which helps employers and employees understand overtime pay principles and allows them to calculate overtime pay based on their own data for a sample pay period.

The other is The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) Advisor which helps employers and workers understand the requirements of WARN - a law that, in certain circumstances, requires employers to provide advance notification of layoffs and plant closings in order to provide workers with sufficient time to seek other employment or retraining opportunities.

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MARKETING

Card-Carrying Creativity

Having a standard size business card makes it easier for your card (and your business) to be kept, stored and hopefully used by prospective customers. If you want to get even more out of (and onto) your card, consider creating a card that folds over.

The extra space will allow you to provide more information about your business. Consider using the inside of your card as a "mini-brochure" and include your company's products and services.

Less Display Space can
Lead to Greater Profits for Retailers

Try this idea if you're a retailer looking to keep customers coming back. Instead of using all available space to display merchandise; try using it to build relationships with your customers. Use space to hold demonstrations, classes or lectures relevant to your products or services.

Then use these events to create excitement (and press) around your business. Send press releases to event calendars of local papers, distribute fliers with class schedules to current and prospective clients, send personal invitations to your best customers and make signs to attract those that pass by your storefront.

Remember, the more time the customer spends with you the better chances you have of seeing them again.

YOUR FINANCES

Controlling Your Cash Flow

Cash is the life-blood of your business. Here are some strategies you can use to strengthen your awareness of your company's cash flow so your next P&L statement won't stop your heart:

Accounts Payable: Don't pay your bills too quickly unless you are receiving discounts for your early payments. Paying bills too early could be putting an unnecessary squeeze on your cash flow. Instead, try scheduling bill payments for their due dates.

Billing and Collection Protocol: Accounts-receivable systems need to be managed strictly and within certain parameters. Try collecting outstanding receivables within 30 to 40 days.

Bang for your Bank: Consider comparison shopping for new cash-management strategies and services from banks. Try to find a bank that has lower fees for your budget and more convenient services for your schedule.

Is It Time to Go Out?

Outsourcing enables you to focus on more beneficial activities for your business. By finding an outside source to rely on for activities such as payroll, accounting, computer services, etc., you can devote more of your time and energy to the business-building activities of marketing, selling, etc.

Here are some things to help you decide if it's time to send out a job:

• The job is routine and wastes valuable resources
• The activity is not integral to generating profits
• The task is temporary and recurs in cycles i.e. taxes
• The job is less expensive to outsource than to do in-house
• The skill required to do the job is specialized

Always remember to research the companies you hire to help you do business. This should include client references, any experience in your field and ways in which they can accommodate your business specifically.

With categories represented from accounting to wholesale specialties in MBA's online marketplace and print directory, you may find help close to your location. You can also turn to MBA's free member-to-member consultation network for a free half-hour of advice for many of the services you would consider outsourcing. Contact MBA Member Services at 800-533-3732 for more information.

Tax Breaks for Small Biz

The new federal minimum wage law passed this year was accompanied by roughly $4.8 billion in tax breaks aimed to minimize the burden of our small businesses. Two of the provisions begin this year:

The Work Opportunity Tax Credit is aimed at businesses who hire specific classes of workers. It was due to expire this year but was extended until 2011. The credit is for 40 percent of the first $6,000 to a new employee in a qualified group.

Section 179 Deductions allow businesses to take an immediate write-off on equipment rather than letting it depreciate over time. The write-off rises from $112,000 to $125,000 for 2007.

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HUMAN RESOURCES

From the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Employment Eligibility Verification

All U.S. employers are responsible for completion and retention of Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This includes citizens and non-citizens. On the form, the employer must verify the employment eligibility and identity documents presented by the employee and record the document information on the Form I-9. Acceptable documents are listed on the form.

Form I-9 should not be filed with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. The form must be kept by the employer either for three years after the date of hire or for one year after employment is terminated, whichever is later. Form I-9 must be available for inspection by authorized U.S. Government officials.

There have been some changes made on the 2007 form, including changes in the acceptable documents list. Download the newest version.

The Benefits of Educating Employees

Many businesses are investing their time and money educating their employees on how their companies become profitable. These businesses understand that educated employees can help increase revenue and growth, work more efficiently and make better business decisions and suggestions.

To create a business education program as part of your company culture, develop a training program with casual, voluntary learning events. Start by educating your managers so they can answer questions once their staff has become involved in training. Have your chief financial officer give an overview of the budgeting process and your profit-and-loss statements.

Be sure to show staff how their daily work affects your financial statements. Then sit back and enjoy their sense of pride in doing a job well.

What Motivates Your Employees?

With low unemployment and a pending labor shortage, knowing what attracts and retains top talent has seldom been more important. MBA member Dick Cipoletti of the HR firm RCC Associates, is conducting a survey with the students he teaches at DeSales University to determine just what does motivate employees in 2008.

MBA members who encourage their employees to participate in this anonymous survey will receive survey results and also be eligible for a drawing of an HR2U Toolkit CD (retail value $259). The HR2U Toolkit contains over 200 HR forms, over 1,000 job description templates and a mock employee handbook to use as a reference.

Just send an email to your employees with the following website link: http://www.questionpro.com/akira/TakeSurvey?id=814857. The survey takes about ten minutes to complete and will be available through March 31, 2008.

To enter the drawing for the free HR2U Toolkit, simply send a brief e-mail to Dick Cipoletti with your name, company name, address and phone number. Please list your subject line as "MBA: My employees are taking the survey."

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IT

New MBA Member Benefit: Your Input Needed

We continue to evaluate possible business-to-business benefits for members.

We are now investigating on-call computer support for members. This would involve a subscription service for an annual tech support service which would provide access to two hours of support each month.

Please assist us by answering below:

Yes, I would be interested.

No, I would not be interested.

I have questions, please contact me.

Is Your Privacy Policy Posted?

Privacy policies are extremely important to web users because they want to know what happens when they share their information. So remember to post your policy wherever you take information on your site.

Here's a list of steps to create a privacy policy for your site:

Explain the details. Let users know what you will be doing with their information: e-mailing offers, sending newsletters or generating customized shopping experiences.

What's in it for them. Offers like newsletters, coupons and updates are a great way to "reward" customers for sharing information.

Who else will have access? Let your customers know if you plan on sharing their information with third parties. Be honest; customers are very apprehensive about ending up on someone else's mailing list - so tell them your intentions.

Opt-out option. Create a simple and clear protocol that allows users to opt out of your e-mail distributions.

Review Yourself and Raise Traffic

Did you know that your product expertise can increase traffic to your business? Smart e-tailers know that their product knowledge is a defining factor in making online sales.

The Reviews & Guides sections of ebay allow you to write a review or a guide on how to use a product (products that you may sell on your site - hint, hint) and where they can be purchased.

Here are some tips for writing your own review:

What's in a name? Your title should be catchy and informative because it is the first thing that will encourage someone to read your review/guide. Also try to use optimized search engine key words so your review is found more frequently.

Focus your efforts. To reinforce your expertise, include statistics and testimonials to back up your claims. If you are trying to sell a specific product, plug the site and add a link to where it can be purchased.

Do it in 30 words. The first 30 words of your article are what will be seen when readers search for a guide. Use a good topic sentence and a good lead to persuade the reader to continue reading your article.

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NEW MEMBERS

When our member base increases there is more of everything: more creative networking, more benefits and more experienced, enthusiastic business owners. All move our members toward growth, success and the entrepreneurial spirit.

Click here to meet our newest small business partners.

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MBA EVENTS OF INTEREST

Want to Start Your Own Business?
Be careful…It’s Not an Entry Level Position
A Seminar for New and Seasoned Business Owners

While the freedom of being your own boss is appealing, to do so you will need to use your savings, get a loan, risk your home or your severance check…and finding initial funding is only the beginning.

Learn why your trade isn't all you need to know. Topics to be discussed include:

1) Incorporate? - There are more options than there used to be.

2) A business plan - It’s a must-have, but not without additional support.

3) Financing - The money won’t come from sources you might expect.

4) Competition and Marketing – “SIPS” helps determine who you are and how to promote your business.

5) Ownership skills – Do you have what it takes? Surprisingly it takes different strengths for different types of businesses.

Thursday, January 17, 2008
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
MBA Conference Room - Broomall, PA
Free for MBA members, $25 for non-members

Click here for more information

Instant Intros: “Speed Dating” for Businesses

“Speed dating” is nothing more than marketing, and Midlantic Business Alliance (MBA) felt a new marketing concept in one area of society
suggested it would work in business…so we did it.

It worked and 22 companies sat down with each other in face-to-face meetings and started doing business.

Reserve a spot at the next networking adventure, and give Instant Intros a try. Participation is limited to one representative of each industry so call today.

Thursday, January 31, 2008
7:30 AM to 9:30 AM
Papa Rays Sports Bar-B-Q - Newark, DE
$25 for MBA members and non-members with a full breakfast buffet included

Click here for more information

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Sponsors of MBA's AR Online Newsletter

Sage Chiropractic

(610) 325-6037
Experience The Difference

Sun East Federal Credit Union

(610) 485-2960, extension 284
Offer a great employee benefit

Purely Practical Design

(302) 563-6679
Providing creative organizing services for
small businesses and residential clients

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.