WELCOME

Help the Marines Help the Children

As in year’s past, Midlantic Business Alliance will be collecting toys for the annual Marine Corps “Toys for Tots” program. This is one charity that seems to tug on everyone’s heart strings in spite of a troubled economy. Who doesn’t want to give a toy to a child at this time of year?

The mission of the foundation, in part, says “…to assist the U.S. Marine Corps in providing a tangible sign of hope to economically disadvantaged children at Christmas…” So, I am asking MBA members, and all others who may read this message, to pick up a toy(s) and drop it off at a Toys for Tots drop-off location. Currently, MBA has two big, empty containers just waiting for some toys for tots.

Your toys should be new and unwrapped. Visit us in Broomall with your toys. Ask for Libby and we’ll have a cup of coffee. See you then.

Libby Beatty, Chair
MBA Board of Directors

NEWSWORTHY

Did You Know?

As a means to celebrate entrepreneurism, November has been declared National Entrepreneurship Month. The Small Business Administration is celebrating in a number of ways: the launch of a Student Startup Plan; hosting a Young Entrepreneurs Series; and kicking off the Apps for Entrepreneurs Challenge.

Check out these SBA’s projects as well as other new ways to strengthen the entrepreneurial spirit.

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INSURANCE

The Administrators, Inc., Midlantic Business Alliance’s endorsed insurance administrator, has supplied the following article:

Evaluate your First Aid Kit

Every business should be prepared for injuries, whether it’s a scrape or something more serious. At the very least, purchase a first aid kit or even make one yourself. Store in a secure place away from children, and keep the contents up-to-date. such as checking for working batteries and replacing disposable latex gloves. Suggested items include:

• Various bandages, gauzes and adhesive tapes
• Antiseptic ointment
• Flashlight and batteries
• Instant cold compress
• Scissors
  

For a complete list go to www.redcross.org, and search for “first aid kit.”

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MARKETING

Marketing Local Alma Maters

Marketing to students and parents of local colleges and high schools represents an opportunity to penetrate a niche and expose a huge undercurrent of potential customers:

Colors: High school and college colors are widely sought after. Use these color schemes to make purchasing decisions about products and to create local ad space that appeals to staunch school supporters. You can even implement them into the design of your business space.

Announcements: Displaying booster banners and schedules for big games and events lets the community know that you’re a supporter and that your business is ready to service fellow fans.

School Discounts: Offering discounts to students and faculty will get you noticed quickly. Buying ad space in college and high school papers is also an inexpensive method to get a coupon and your logo in front of students.

Variety: The Spice that Perks Up Sales

Research on how consumers make choices repeatedly shows that the more variety you give a customer the more likely you’ll be to make a sale. Here’s how to use variety to adjust your offerings and increase the chances of making a sale:

Hot Items: Your popular products/services are a great place to start. By slowly adding variety to your hot products/services, you will be able to streamline your purchasing and start to decrease the amount you invest on items that only collect dust.

Dust Collectors: Don’t be too hasty when it comes to phasing out unsuccessful products. Look to other businesses that sell the same things and try to trump them by offering a greater variety than they do.

Categories: Simply offering greater variety isn’t enough. Many people will be turned off or overwhelmed by the number of changes and offerings. By using categories that are meaningful to customers’ needs and interests, you will be offering a tool to help navigate their decision- making process without overwhelming them.

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YOUR FINANCES

More Tips to Reduce Tax Burden

It’s not too early to think about your taxes and how you can reduce them. Here are some strategies that you can implement now to save later:

Use Independent Contractors: When you use independent contractors you don’t need to withhold federal and state income taxes from their earnings. You will also save on SS and Medicare taxes too. Check with a tax professional to make sure that you correctly identify the contractor as a non-employee, or the IRS could slap you
with a fine.

Pay Bills by Year’s End: If you have bills or outstanding accounts that are due in early January, you can pay them off before the new year in order to help reduce your taxes.

Hire Special Interest Employees: The Work Opportunity Tax Credit and the Welfare-to-Work federal tax credits are available to businesses who hire individuals that represent groups that have special needs or come from a group with a high unemployment rate.

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FOR THE HOME-BASED BIZ

Improve Your Home-Based Business

Many of the reasons that persuade entrepreneurs to embark on the path of a home-based business end up becoming the reason for that business’ demise. Here are some common reasons and mistakes to avoid:

Time Management: Having the ability to create your own work hours is an enticing prospect for many home business owners, but unless you are relentlessly disciplined with your “office hours” you will quickly create a deficit of productivity. The compromise for the absence of a boss looking over your shoulder means you need to be your own boss and motivate yourself to stay on track.

Distracted by New Customers: Sometimes the lure of new customers distracts us from bolstering the relationships with old customers. The “80/20” philosophy states: 80 percent of your business comes from 20 percent of your client base. New customers cost twice as much as old customers so direct the majority of your marketing efforts at repeat customers which means lower marketing costs and higher profits.

Ask for Help: Small business owners sometimes suffer from a kind of "Napoleon Complex" and believe that they need to do it all themselves to prove their worth. The nature of success contains an inherent need for others, no matter what size business you run. This means asking for help from experienced business people, forming business alliances and outsourcing jobs that are too time intensive. Ultimately, the biggest cost of asking for help comes at the expense of the ego and the fewer egos you have, the more connections you are likely to make.

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HUMAN RESOURCES

Get Employees to Care

Generally speaking, there are two kinds of employees. There are those that lack enthusiasm and will do the minimum to get by, while other employees are excited by their work and will go above and beyond to get results. Although you don’t always know which employees are which when you’re hiring, the way you engage them into your business can make all the difference:

Regular Recognition: Supporting your employees with regular recognition helps them take pride in their work. That pride which motivates them to stay passionate also helps to boost productivity. Recognition can come in the form of a compliment, a job title or a new responsibility.

Keep Them Informed: Although you don’t need to share specific figures with your work force, making them privy to the successes and failures of your business will make them feel like trusted members of the team. This trust also helps to motivate employees, as they see how their contributions play an active role in the goals of your business.

Rewards: Studies indicate that one of the least motivating factors for employees is money. Aside from recognition and trust, try creating a work environment that creates motivation and productivity. An equipment upgrade is a great perk because it helps to expand employees’ skill set and levels of accomplishment, while the business benefits from increased productivity.

Affordable Employee Perks

Employee perks help keep your staff happy and will serve to attract prospective hires to your business. Here are some inexpensive perks that will help boost morale and keep your retention rate solid:

Direct Deposit: This option gives your staff the option of having their paychecks deposited directly into their bank accounts. It saves a trip to the bank and gets them their money faster.

Title and Card: Giving employees a formal title and business cards makes them feel like valuable members of a professional team. The cards can also be viewed as a marketing strategy, doubling the cost-effectiveness.

Interest-Free Loans: If it’s within your budget, offer interest-free loans for car, computer or continuing education. The payments can be automatically deducted from paychecks. Just make sure that you create a formal contract that outlines the policy, the loan amount and time table.

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IT

Free Web Tools for Research

Using the Internet as a research tool can be extremely cost effective, especially when you know how to utilize free tools. Here are some great time savers:

Ask500People.com: This is a free web service that allows you to design and quickly implement a survey that samples 500 people and with results in as fast as a day. You can survey a random population or survey your customers. You can also embed the survey on your website.

Free Library: This is an amazing, free resource for conducting research online. The database is composed of free articles and books from all over the web, dating back 24 years.

PDF to Word: Having the ability to convert PDFs to Word documents can be a real time saver - especially when someone else is doing the work. The service is free for a 14-day trial. All you do is select a PDF and then the format you want it in. The converted file will be e-mailed to you as an attachment.

Secure Mobile Access

Doing business on the go is an enormous asset for an entrepreneur, but that asset also poses a risk to the security of your business data. Here’s how to protect your data and your hardware when computing in public places:

Password Encryption: Set a password that encrypts your hard drive requiring a password to get your system to boot. A password will protect your hard drive even if it’s taken out and connected to another computer.

Firewalls & VPNs: Computing from a public hot spot makes your system particularly vulnerable. Make sure that your firewalls and VPN features are active to protect incoming and outgoing data. If your system doesn’t have a VPN option you can try one for free here.

Update Regularly: Updates often contain added or patched security features that help your programs and hardware stay protected against new threats and programming loopholes.

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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.