 WELCOME
Health Care Reform
A $950 Billion Bestseller
Many people and their businesses are about to "welcome" the Obama health care reform law. I began reading the basics of the new law and realized quickly that it is not only an expensive piece of legislation (CBO estimates the cost to be $950 billion over a ten-year period) but a confusing one.
The new law is overflowing with new taxes and tax increases, but it will be years before we have to deal with most of it. The one part of reform that is effective this tax year is interesting for a number of reasons.
First, the law: Tax credits are given to small companies as incentives to provide first-time or continuing health carecoverage, starting this year. To qualify for the full tax credit of up to 35 percent of the premium, a business owner must employ no more than 10 full-time employees with average pay of no more than $25,000. The tax credit decreases as the number and pay of employees increases. And disappears completely if a company has more than 25 employees or average annual wages of $50,000 or more. This part of health care reform is effective for 2010 and continues through 2013.
Officials have touted its "broad eligibility" for small businesses with fewer than 25 workers and average annual wages under $50,000. But if your company goes above 10 workers and $25,000 average annual pay, then the credit drops off sharply. The law is apparently targeting the credits to a very small number of low-wage and small businesses.
Health care reform will probably apply to most everybody in some way, so you should read it. Frequently-asked questions can be found on www.irs.gov.
Libby Beatty, Chair
MBA Board of Directors
NEWSWORTHY
Free Credit Report
But is "Free" Really "Free?"
It's a pretty well-known fact that a credit report can be obtained for free. 
But keep in mind that, as always, there are unscrupulous advertisers that take advantage of this information. Consumers have reported fees and services that had to be ordered before receiving their "free" credit report.
So beware of these advertisers and take note that The Fair Credit Reporting Act guarantees you access to your credit report for free every twelve months by using AnnualCreditReport.com.
You can also contact this source by phone at (877) 322-8228.
Note: A new law requires commercial websites offering free credit reports to include a box saying that a free credit report is available at AnnualCreditReport.com.
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MARKETING
Small Business Signage Hits the Bricks
Sidewalk signs are one of the most under-utilized forms  of advertising available to retail shops in busy shopping areas. Cheaper than both radio and print ads, sidewalk signs offer durability, versatility and visibility while being extremely cost-effective.
A sidewalk sign serves as a friendly "hello" to pedestrians and serves as an invitation to "come inside" for a free gift or coupon. Most sidewalk signs are easy to change offering your shop a cheap and effective way to keep your sales and promotion messages current. The possibilities can be as endless as the flow of foot traffic.
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YOUR FINANCES
Fishing for Investors with your Dashboard
Generally speaking, a dashboard is a single screen that displays  information and metrics of a business, a system or a piece of hardware/software to give the viewer a real-time overview. Recently, dashboards are being used as a means for businesses to share and pitch themselves to potential investors. Consider what you would want to see as an investor: sales trends, milestones and cash flow, etc. If you already use accounting software you probably have the option of feeding your current data right to your dashboard.
Here are some more tips for what to include in your dashboard when it's time to send a streamlined version to investors:
Basic Finances: This part of the dashboard displays your basics: operating costs, cash flow, revenues, etc. Consider adding metrics that are particular to your business like web traffic or cost per acquisition that help you determine actual results instead of projections.
Customers: Indicate the type of customer and the average size of the order/sale. Also be sure to have an actual or planned outlook for future business.
Projects: This part of your dashboard displays your plans and focus for the future. You can use monthly or quarterly layouts to display your projects and desired outcomes.
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FOR THE HOME-BASED BIZ
Growth Opportunities Home Business
Creativity is your most valuable asset as a small business owner,  so when you're looking to expand your home business go beyond the obvious means of obtaining financing and marketing exposure to reveal more options:
Co-Brand & License: Try joining forces with a company who services the same clientele or offers complementary products/services. You can then license your product to these companies allowing you to reduce your own marketing efforts while expanding your reach.
Economic Development Grants: These federal redevelopment funds are available in rural and urban areas. Listings of federal agencies and available grants can be searched and viewed here.
Consignment: This allows you to build an inventory at no cost and no risk. If the product doesn't sell, you simply return it. What you learn from the product traffic is valuable information that you keep as market research.
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HUMAN RESOURCES
Don't Juggle Meetings, Tungle Them
The time spent trying to arrange and schedule meetings can take a  hefty bite out of your productivity. But with the web application Tungle, you can arrange meetings and synchronize schedules with little time and effort.
Using your calendar and contact list, Tungle can sync with non-Tunglers who use Outlook, Google Calendar, Apple iCal and Entourage. This allows you to propose multiple meeting times that give your associates the option of choosing the one that best suits them. (Even if a contact doesn't use Tungle, they can still use the Tungle.Me option to propose a meeting with you.)
Tungle automatically adjusts for time zones and alerts you if you double-book. You can even use your RSS feed to get meeting updates in real time. Tungle has a no spam policy and all the data is encrypted and approved by VeriSign. Tungle is a free service that doesn't require any downloading. To learn more go to Tungle.com.
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IT
YourVersion of the Search Engine
As the growth of the Internet continues unabated, so does the frustration of how to make the most of the abundance of information available. With smart search engines like YourVersion, this is quickly becoming a problem of the past.
YourVersion uses your interests and your past search queries to recommend new and related content by searching across blogs, multimedia sites, Twitter and social sites to give you real-time updates and recommendations. The user can give thumbs up/down approval ratings to help refine future searches as well as bookmark, auto-organize and share results.
With the ability to do all this in one place you will save time, save disk space and find more relevant research. The service is free and available as a free app on the iPhone.
Client Show: Pitch Collaboration for Creative Professionals
As a creative professional, having the ability to collaborate with clients in real-time can make or break a sale. Client Show is an online application that gives design, marketing and advertising professionals that ability. The platform is broken down into four sections.
- The "pad" functions as an organizational dashboard that lets you view clients, projects, schedules, notes and sessions at a glance.
- The "work" section is where you prepare your sessions using a drag and drop interface to help you manage your project.
- The "pitch" section is where the client will view the actual pitch with the ability to make notes and comments in real-time.
- The last section - the "vault" is where client feedback, comments and session reports are stored.
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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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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.
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