WELCOME

We're from the Government and We're Here to Help

Did you ever think that you might scream if you read one more detail about the “new” healthcare coverage? Well, here’s another. Read at your own risk.

HR 5054, originally introduced into the 111th Congress, is now being reintroduced as “Prevent IRS Overreach Act” which would prohibit a massive expansion of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) needed to enforce provisions of Obama’s healthcare plan. This bill would prohibit the IRS from hiring additional auditors, agents and employees to enforce federally-mandated healthcare plans.

Whether or not you agree with the new provisions of healthcare for Americans, surely the use of 1,000 or 16,000 new agents (as some have predicted) give “government control” a more powerful meaning. To me, anyway.

Libby Beatty, Chair
MBA Board of Directors

NEWSWORTHY

On January 18, 2011, Tom Corbett was sworn in as Pennsylvania's first Republican governor in eight years. According to his website, the new governor wants to "make Pennsylvania more competitive by reducing tax burdens on businesses and cutting regulatory barriers that are crushing companies and their ability to create jobs."

BACK TO TOP

MARKETING

Marketing with your Online Newsroom

Creating a "newsroom" on your website is a great way to build brand awareness, boost your SEO ratings and bolster the support and interest of customers and browsers.

Here are some tips for creating a dynamic newsroom that delivers more than news:

Creating a Trusted Portal: By creating and maintaining a newsroom that is full of industry links and news that is regularly updated, you convey your business's awareness of current trends and that it is concerned with more than its own success.

Content: If you go beyond just news, you can boost your SEO ratings by baiting people with great content. Articles and photos about partners, employees and links to RSS feeds and social networking pages will tempt others to create a link to your site.

Extras: Freelance journalists can help you save time by creating original and interesting stories surrounding your business and industry. Google Analytics and Yahoo! Site Explorer are two tools that can help you track who is linking to your content and the origin of your traffic.

Strategic Social Media Marketing

Creating an online presence through social media is an easy and inexpensive way to find and court new customers.

Here are some tips to strategically use social media:

• A Clear Message: Your message could be used to convey news, build customer communication or create sales leads. What you say should spur conversation and highlight the sense of community around your brand.
• Your Audience: Different social outlets yield different listeners, so make sure you know where your target audience surfs. Facebook is good to reach the latest generation of media users, while MySpace tends to speak more to users of the last generation of social media. LinkedIn is good for professional networking and blogs can be searched to find a more specific niche audience.
• …And Listen: After you get the conversation started, listen. By following conversations you gain valuable guidance into who your customers are and what they think.

BACK TO TOP

YOUR FINANCES

What to Ask your Next Lender

With the economy making a slow mend, small businesses are poised to go after lenders with great enthusiasm.

Here are some important issues to consider as you approach your next lender:

1. Can they meet your needs?
   With the staggering number of small businesses seeking loans, ask your lender if they have the resources to finance your needs on top of everyone else's.
   
   
2. Do they trust me?
   A sharp lender will want to know if you can be trusted to repay your loan whether through success or failure. In order to prove your worth, make sure to represent yourself with a strong credit history and references. Be honest about good times and bad; this helps the lender get a better idea of your history and will help build trust.
   
   
3. What are the risks of repayment?
   A good banker will help you indentify challenges that you may face in loan repayment. If your business carries a high risk, then be sure to discuss terms to protect yourself should the business fail. This usually leads to negotiating collateral and guarantees into the loan.

Joint Ventures Boost Your Bottom Line

A joint venture is a great way to breathe new life into your company, create valuable business alliances and grow your customer base. They can be low-cost and require minimal time and effort.

For example, a simple coupon or discount offer is a good place to start. Begin by looking for a business that shares something in common with yours, or offers your customers a service that is complimentary to yours. Then create an arrangement in which the partnering business distributes your coupons to their customers. You will do the same in return.

Here are a couple of tips for getting started:

A Need: Your JV should be built around a business that fills a need of your customer. For example, if you're a plumber, your customers may be in need of a carpet cleaning service to repair water damage in their home.

Think Local: By asking or reading the shopping bags of your customers you may discover a local business that seems to share your customer population. Even if the businesses aren't complimentary, you still have a client base in common.

Raising Prices without Raising Eyebrows

One way to start moving your business towards recovery is to raise your prices. This idea may scare many small businesses, but if done right - you can adjust your pricing without upsetting your customers. Here's how:

• Less Popular Products: Try raising prices on products/services that aren't your best sellers so customers are less likely to notice. Small increases of even two or five percent will add up quickly and are less noticeable than a 10 percent increase.
• Busy Bump: If you are a sole proprietor and have a new customer or you are trying to keep up with your growing success, you can raise your rates based on demand. A good way to implement this strategy is to start with low-profit, high-maintenance customers. If they jump ship, you learned a valuable lesson at a minimal cost.
• Rebates: Rebates are a great alternative to discounts because they don't affect your immediate cash flow and they help deter one-time shoppers. Create a rebate that kicks in after a certain amount of purchases or money spent. And make sure that the rebate is easy to redeem.

BACK TO TOP

FOR THE HOME-BASED BIZ

Sprucing Up your Home Biz Online

As we begin to think about spring, maybe it's time for some website "gardening." Here's how to clear out the old and make the most of what's new:

Weeding: Remove outdated services, products and promotions from your website. This also means removing dead links and old contact information.

Planting: New features should include new products, resources and promotions. You can clear out old inventory by creating a sale page. Be specific with the keywords to help improve the placement of your site in search rankings. Resources can include informational pieces, useful links, blog access and a tips/FAQ page.

Maintenance: The graphics, copy and colors of your site can be touched up. Even if you like the present appearance, small changes catch the eye of visitors and give the impression that the page has improved and is up to date. Do some research on colors to see if you can find a more effective color scheme for your page.

BACK TO TOP

HUMAN RESOURCES

Avoiding the Drama of Family Business

Some of the most common problems with a family sharing a business could be avoided with a little bit of planning.

Here are a few tips:

• Clear Hierarchy: A clear chain of command helps let employees, customers and family members know who is in charge of what. This means instituting job descriptions and clear protocol when making business decisions.
• Compensation: Create a compensation plan based on the expected results of each position. Then determine if there are any important family dynamics that need to be addressed based on that structure.
• Entry/Succession: By creating an entry plan, you can establish prerequisites for younger family members to be hired, including experience or a training period. Succession of the business should be determined by the family and an estate planning attorney who will help draft a plan and gather the correct documentation.

BACK TO TOP

IT

PandaForm

If you're a freelancer or own a small business, the ability to create forms, track clients and receive payments in one spot is invaluable. PandaForm can do just that and it's relatively inexpensive. In a couple of minutes you can create a custom form for your customers and embed it on your website or Facebook - or simply e-mail it.

When the forms are resubmitted, Panda helps you organize and access all the forms in order to keep track of your clients and their data. It also gives you the option of collecting payments by integrating with your PayPal account.

Pricing varies based on the number of forms, submissions and memory that you use. This simple-to-use platform is ideal for business owners who lack the technical know-how to create online forms with the benefit of off-site data storage. This helps to save system memory while managing customer data and payments at anytime from anywhere.

Get the Picture

Want tools that will edit your business photos to get them exactly how you want them at exactly the right price…free?

1. Fix Picture: This image-editing software is great for those who don't already have software or are working from a remote location. The mini-suite can perform all the basic functions of a full editor and is a breeze to use.
2. Cool Iris: This free tool makes picture browsing a snap by installing a small button on the corner of the image that when clicked enlarges it to view full screen. The software works with Facebook, Google and Yahoo Images and other popular viewing sites.
   

BACK TO TOP

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.

BACK TO TOP

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.