Home Wealth Project
Extensive Research On How To Build Wealth From The Comfort Of Your Own Home.
Just What We Need: More Tax Forms to File
Dec 22nd
If it’s not already enough of a headache keeping up with business expenses come tax time, small businesses that accept credit cards (both online and in brick-and-mortar locations) now have another element to add to the tax equation. It’s called the 1099K form. Aimed at addressing the fact that the IRS sometimes has trouble tracking small business’ sales income, the 1099K form will be submitted by credit card processing companies and checked against the sales income we small businesses file.
If you didn’t do at least $20,000 in credit card sales and at least 200 transactions in 2011, don’t worry; you won’t be required to file a 1099K. That’s the threshold the IRS is looking for with this new regulation.
Third-party networks like eBay, Paypal and Etsy will also be filing the documents for their sellers.
What You Need to Do
For the most part, the burden lies on the credit card and payment processing companies to file the actual document. Early in 2012, you will receive a copy of the 1099K filed by any payment company you use. It is your responsibility, however, to ensure that your sales records match what your 1099K says you sold. It’s always been essential to keep solid accounting records, but it’s even more important now.
Scott Berger, CPA and tax principal at the accounting firm Kaufman, Rossin & Co., says:
“The biggest foreseeable problem is for those businesses that accept debit cards for payment and allow for cash back. They will need to accurately keep track of the cash back provided to their customers so that it can be subtracted from their gross receipts. This way the IRS will be able to reconcile their actual sales and revenue.”
It’s also a good idea to take a look at what your credit card company says you took in for the year to make sure there were no errors on their part.
One possible issue that comes to my mind is: what if I received a loan from my mother through PayPal? Will that be considered income for my business? What about PayPal fees? Will those be removed from the equation?
Also, it’s my understanding that this $20,000-plus in transactions is across the board. So if you used a physical credit card processing machine for $10,000 in sales, then sold $5,000 on eBay and $5,000 on Etsy, you are still required to have 1099Ks from each of these third parties, as long as you completed 200 or more transactions for the year.
Just What We Need: More Tax Forms to File
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Discover How A Social Worker Earned Us$2000 A Month From Just One Blog
Nov 11th
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Interview With John Lawson: I Wasn’t Cheap, Just Enterprising
Oct 7th
If you’d met John Lawson when he was a teenager, you might have been one of the kids who called him “cheap.” If you rode in his car, he’d ask you for gas money. If you came to a party at his house, he’d charge an entry fee.
“It’s not that I was cheap; I was just enterprising,” he recalls.
It’s that enterprising spirit that landed Lawson on the Small Business Influencer Champion list. These days, he may not be charging for gas money, but he’s still finding ways to make money. Lawson is the founder of the ColderICE.com ecommerce blog, consultant to small businesses on ecommerce, and CEO of urban clothiers 3rd Power Outlet, but he never planned to be the guru of all things ecommerce.
Years ago, Lawson was on the brink of bankruptcy when he had an idea for selling “urban accessories” online. It was a good enough idea to keep him from going bankrupt, and a business that continues to grow today.
The Key to Success
Every small business owner has a different answer when asked what the key to success is, but we all benefit from Lawson’s idea:
“The key to success is patience.”
Patience, persistence and understanding what he wanted all contribute to Lawson’s success as a CEO, keynote speaker and television personality. Business success, he says, is never how you dreamed it, and it never happens overnight. He’s got patience enough for the long haul.
Another factor in Lawson’s motivation is a quote from Wallace Fard Muhammed:
“Big fields are awaiting for the wide-awake man to work out.”
What he takes from this quote is that the world is wide open, and there’s no reason to box yourself into one area. “[This quote] opened my mind to possibilities that I could do things outside of what I had done in the past,” he explains.
Start With a Blank Page
Lawson makes a habit of focusing on the bigger picture of his business, not just the day-to-day operations. The best time to do this? Early in the morning, before his head is cluttered and when he is more conscious. He recommends all business owners do the same thing: Think about what you want out of your business, how you want to market it and where the business should be in a few years.
“Sit down by yourself in a room with pen and paper and just let your brain wander.”
Great advice for all of us.
John was recognized as a Small Business Influencer Champion for 2011. Read more of our Small Business Influencer Champion interviews.
Interview With John Lawson: I Wasn’t Cheap, Just Enterprising
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
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Aug 16th
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When the truth is just around the corner
Aug 2nd
…what’s your posture?
Sometimes, we get close to finding out who we really are, what’s the status of our situation, what’s holding us back. When one of those conversations is going on, do you lean in, eager for more, or do you back off, afraid of what it will mean?
Do you go out of your way to learn about your habits, relationships and strengths? Or what’s driving traffic to your website? Or why you didn’t get that job?
When your organization has a chance to see itself as its customers do, do your leaders crowd around, trying to glean every insight they can about the story and your future, or do they prefer the status quo?
There are more mirrors available than ever. Sometimes, though, what’s missing is the willingness to take a look.
View full post on Seth’s Blog
Just a myth
Jul 28th
Why just?
How about, “amazingly, they’ve created a myth…”
I wrote about this five years ago (reprinted below). A myth is why this video is funny.
Isn’t that the dream of any marketer? To create a myth?
Brand as mythology
Just under the wire, L. Frank Baum’s heirs have no copyright protection on The Wizard of Oz. As a result, there are Broadway musicals, concordances, prequels, sequels and more. All of which creates a rich, emotional universe (and makes the copyrighted movie even more valuable).
Most of us remember the mythology stories they taught us in school (Zeus and Thor and the rest of the comic-like heroes.) Myths allow us to project ourselves into their stories, to imagine interactions that never took place, to take what’s important to us and live it out through the myth.
There are dozens, if not hundreds of entertainment mythological brands. James Bond and Barbie, for example.
But it goes far behond that.
There’s clearly a Google mythology and a Starbucks one was well. We feel differently about brands like these than we do about, say Maxwell House or Random House.
Why do Santa and Ronald McDonald have a mythology but not Dave at Wendy’s or the Burger King?
Let’s try the Wikipedia: Myths are narratives about divine or heroic beings, arranged in a coherent system, passed down traditionally, and linked to the spiritual or religious life of a community, endorsed by rulers or priests.
So, if I were trying to invent a mythic brand, I’d want to be sure that there was a story, not just a product or a pile of facts. That story would promise (and deliver) an heroic outcome. And there needs to be growth and mystery as well, so the user can fill in her own blanks. Endorsement by a respected ruler or priest helps as well.
The key word, I think, is spiritual. Mythological brands make a spiritual connection with the user, delivering something that we can’t find on our own… or, at the very least, giving us a slate we can use to write our own spirituality on.
People use a Dell. They are an Apple.
This can happen accidentally, but it often occurs on purpose. A brand can be deliberately mythological, created to intentionally deliver the benefits of myth. Casinos in Las Vegas have been trying to do this for decades (and usually failing). But talk to a Vegas cab driver about Steve Wynn and you can see that it’s been done at least once.
There’s a mythology about Digg and about Wikipedia, but not about about.com. The mysterious nature of rankings and scores and community ensures that, combined with the fact that the first two have public figures at the helm… heroes.
It’s easy to confuse publicity with mythology, but it doesn’t work that way… there’s no Zune mythology, for example. It’s also easy to assume that mythology will guarantee financial success, but it didn’t work for General Magic, a company which successfully leveraged the heroic reputations of its founders, created a very hot IPO but failed to match the needs of the larger market.
It did, on the other hand, work for Andersen’s, an ice cream stand in Buffalo (!?) that has a line every single day, even in January.
Hard to explain, difficult to bottle, probably worth the effort to pursue.
View full post on Seth’s Blog
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Jul 9th
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Happy New Year Again: Let’s Just Start Over!
Jul 3rd
In an effort to inspire people for the New Year, Brendon Burchard, Author of the The Millionaire Messenger: Make a Difference and a Fortune Sharing Your Advice, says “Stagnation equals suffering. Your mental perspective about how this year will turn out impacts how this year will turn out.”
The year is half over. How has yours turned out so far? If you’re less than thrilled, it’s still not too late to make a difference by changing your focus. I say we go for it, but what do we focus on?
In “2011: The Year of…” on American Express OPEN Forum, Laurel Delaney lays out seven trends to pay attention to this year, including cloud computing and mobile entrepreneurship. Laurel says, “You’ve heard of small business, big business and global small business. Welcome to the era of ME: Mobile Entrepreneurs.” Check out this and the other trends that she mentioned and see how they play into your small business as you decide what you’re going to focus on for the rest of this year.
For me, it’s the year of websites and emails. It’s not my only focus, but I have learned (the hard way) that I can’t do everything at once—and win.
Simple Website Tweaks
In my opinion, certain old school concepts will always have a place in business. Don’t get me wrong, I know that we need technology and innovation, so I don’t support being a dinosaur in life or business. But some of the things that we learned back in the day can go a long way—today.
I heard this as a child: Charity starts at home and spreads abroad. Well, to me your home online is your website, not your Facebook fan page, Twitter account, Google Places website or some co-branded product like Blogspot or Tumblr. You may choose to have those accounts because they do serve their purpose, but ultimately, you need an online home. And like any home that’s cared for, you’re always working to enhance it. In ”7 Website Improvements That Will Increase Sales Now,” on American Express OPEN Forum, Ivana Taylor gives some great ideas for improving the effectiveness of your digital home.
She says, “If your website still looks like an online brochure, then you are missing out on the most effective lead generation tool that you have.” Then Ivana gives us seven simple actions to take. In fact, I double dog dare you (another childhood phrase) to implement or update your site using one of her suggestions today—not tomorrow, but today before midnight. I am working on #3 on her list. Plus, I have commited to tweaking something on my website every week.
Why?
Because (potential) clients find and judge me through my website (the same could be happening to you). For a lot of small business owners it’s the modern-day business office or front desk. So make it inviting and informative.
Email Still Matters
In “What’s the Future of E-mail?” Anita Campbell highlights findings from Score’s 2010 U.S. Digital Year in Review. Anita says, “Total Web email usage declined 8 percent in 2010.” In some cases, it declined even more, depending on the age group—among 25-34 year olds, email usages suffered an 18 percent decline, while among teens it dropped 59 percent. Despite this drop, Anita says, “Email isn’t going away, but it is evolving.”
My personal take on this mirrors another old-school phrase, this time from jazz legend Billie Holiday: God bless the child that’s got it’s own. I believe in having your own connections with your people (your customers) including their email addresses and their mailing addresses (because sometimes there is a need for good, old-fashioned snail mail).
The communication tactics we use in email may have to shift into something more personal, but there is still a place for this kind of connection with your (potential) customers. As Anita puts it, “Unless you market solely to teens, I don’t think you have to worry about email going the way of the dinosaur anytime soon. But you do need to be aware of changing marketing trends and make sure your business keeps pace.”
You may not focus on what I focus on for the rest of the year, but in spite of your schedule, choose something and begin to tweak your strategy in that area. It is amazing what a few focused and consistent hours can do.
Happy New Year Again: Let’s Just Start Over!
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
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Jun 30th
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Did Google Just Create the Click to Schedule Ad Unit
Jun 9th
Did Google Just Create the Click to Schedule Ad Unit
This content from: Duct Tape Marketing
The GMail blog team announced what looks like a much needed enhancement to Google Calendar this week called appointment slots.
This functionality allows anyone to create a public showing calendar offering up times when appointments are available. The idea is that people can visit your calendar and schedule a haircut or consulting session any time day or night.
Services such Tungle, Doodle and TimeBridge were created in some ways to fill this obvious gap. (Although they offer much functionality for, say team scheduling, you do have to wonder how hard this will hit them.)
Once the service is rolled out to all users you’ll see an extra link with the schedule box pops open that allows you to schedule blocks of time that are open for appointments. Choosing this function essentially creates another calendar and since every Google Calendar has its own personal appointments sign up page; you can embed it on your website or give the URL directly to friends and clients. You can find the URL for your appointment page at the top of the set-up page, which you can access via the Edit details link.
Right now, one major limitation appears to be the both the owner of the calendar and those scheduling an appointment must use Google Calendar – not such a big deal for internal teams, but likely a deal killer for a hair salon.
However, think about the implications of Google creating a “Click to Schedule” function for AdWords units, Places Pages, and Review Pages like those in HotPot. For many industries this could be a game changing kind of social action and another big revenue generator for Google.
From a local business standpoint it gives Google another lever into the transaction while adding functionality for both buyer and seller.
View full post on Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing
