Home Wealth Project
Extensive Research On How To Build Wealth From The Comfort Of Your Own Home.
Duvys Media achieves Gold Status Solution Provider in the Constant Contact Partner Program
Sep 1st
| (EON: Enhanced Online News)–Constant Contact®, Inc. (Nasdaq: CTCT) today announced that it is proud to congratulate Duvys Media… |
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Looking for a Simple Bookkeeping Solution? Try Cashflow Manager
Aug 16th
Keeping accurate accounting records can seem a little daunting to many small business owners. It is one of those things that you know you should do but many don’t. So you either leave it up to your accountant or try to use a more sophisticated accounting software package that takes a while to learn.
Cashflow Manager is designed for those of you who have limited accounting knowledge and want to get control of your bookkeeping records. I have been using the trial version of the software and I found it very easy to use. The setup process takes just a few minutes, and the design of Cashflow Manager makes it very simple to see what information you need to put in and how to do it.
The software is an Australian product and helps small businesses get control of their accounting records using what is called the single entry method. Using the software helps you keep accurate records, which is vital for a healthy business as well as ensuring compliance with the tax office. This is important as the Australian Tax Office no longer offers e-Record.
You can just do the simple things like keeping track of your payments and receipts, reconcile with your bank statements and when you need to, you can export the data straight to your accountant. The software is ideally designed for small businesses who use the cash based Goods and Services Tax method and do not have any inventory to control.
What I liked about Cashflow Manager
- It automatically calculates your GST and even produces a report that you use to lodge your Business Activity Statement online. This is a huge time saver.
- When you set up your business you can align it to the software that your accountant uses. This means they can do their reports easily saving you money and your accountant’s time.
- It has videos that you can access from the software to help guide you through any of the different sections as well as a comprehensive user guide.
- The software is particularly suited to small service based businesses
- You can tailor the columns to suit your individual business. This means that you can just have the accounts that are needed for your business.
What could be better?
These are minor suggestions as the software is well designed for most small businesses.
- Although in the guide it has an explanation of the terms, it would be good to have these as pop outs on the columns in the software. For example if you scrolled over a column a definition and examples would be quicker for someone new to the software.
- You can add columns for different accounts. However they are only at the top level. It would be helpful to have the ability to add sub accounts that could then be totalled to the higher level.
Cashflow Manager is particularly suited to small businesses with simple needs regarding accounting record keeping. The product has a free trial and more information can be found on the Cashflow Manager website.
Editor’s note: This review was done of the Australian version of Cashflow Manager. For the U.S. version, visit the Cashflow Manager USA page.
Looking for a Simple Bookkeeping Solution? Try Cashflow Manager
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Experience The Art Of Excellence At Eye Bridge Soft Solution
Aug 4th
| For flexibility, companies are looking for new and improved Internet marketing methods to change their offers continuously and… |
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Fanminder: Mobile Marketing Solution for SMBs
Jul 27th
Mobile is all the rage, at least that what’s you hear from the media. The iPhone and the iPad are everywhere, and smart phones are changing the world. “Droid Does” but do you?
Keeping up with mobile devices is tough enough and keeping up with the mobile customer isn’t easy, either. Fanminder is a service to make mobile marketing possible for small business.
When you hear about mobile marketing, most of the time it refers to sending a text message (also known as SMS, for “short message service”) to someone’s mobile phone. To many this is invasive, but keep in mind that almost all mobile marketing is permission-based or opt-in. A customer gives you his or her cell phone number and asks to be sent appointment reminders, special promotions or simply news (sports scores are common). It is easy to scrape a site and capture someone’s e-mail, but much harder to harvest cell phone numbers.
The challenge for many of us is how to send a message to all the people who want to receive a text message. You certainly don’t want to try to send dozens of customer texts from your phone directly. And you may also be wondering about what you should send.
Here’s where Fanminder comes in: They manage the send part (to as many cell phone numbers as you want) from the Web. They also help you create the content with a step-by-step process that walks you through writing the short, 122-character message (they reserve some characters for opt-outs). You can add opt-in customers manually as well and manage your customer database from the Web. In addition, Fanminder has a terrific learning center. I signed up for the free 7-day trial for this review. (I should also note that the founder, Paul Rosenfeld, is a FoSBT, or Friend of Small Business Trends, in that he has been a guest author on this site previously.)
What I liked:
- It truly took less than five minutes to set up and send a simple promotional message out to a few customers (my test base was family).
- Fans use their phones to sign up automatically.
- Fanminder gives you ideas to create a marketing sign to encourage signups, but the best part is they offer to create one for you. All you have to do is call in to the support line.
- There is a nifty self-subscribe widget for your website.
- They offer a great tracking tool for managing your texts and customers (and allow you to segment them into groups, too).
What could have been better:
Not much, frankly. The only small weak point I noticed was that it took me a while to find the customer testimonials that I wanted to read as a newcomer to mobile marketing. I did finally find them under the Why Mobile? navigation tab under “Fanatics.”
The service seems to me to apply to many industries, but the site highlights six categories: health care, studios and classroom oriented businesses, retail stores, service businesses, bars and night clubs, and restaurants and cafes. The learning center offered sample texts in each of these business categories.
Overall, Fanminder is a great way to reach the mobile customer (and who isn’t a mobile customer, really?). Even though text messaging has been around for years, it is only recently that it has grown in the U.S. I appreciated that Fanminder dedicates a page to give the skinny on what’s real in mobile marketing and to explain the difference between social media marketing and mobile marketing with a page entitled: Mobile vs. Social: “It’s time for results, not chit chat.”
Learn more about Fanminder.
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Fanminder: Mobile Marketing Solution for SMBs
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Credit Union Lending: A Solution to Small-Business Capital Crunch?
Jul 11th
Some people think that higher limits on the amount credit unions can lend to small business will make a difference in easing the so-called entrepreneurial credit crunch. Others are not sure there even is a credit crunch. And to some, this is all about feuding between community bankers and credit unions. Let’s examine what’s happening, and you decide.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) is co-sponsoring a bill that would increase the amount of their assets credit unions can lend to small businesses from 12.25 percent to 25 percent, BusinessWeek reports. The proposal has been included in The Small Business Lending Enhancement Act, which is currently before committees in the U.S. House and Senate, and has bipartisan support in both chambers.
The Credit Union National Association believes raising loan limits could create some 100,000 new jobs and $10 billion in new loans. “More lending means more capital for small businesses,” John Magill, senior vice president for legislative affairs at the association, told BusinessWeek, “and that translates into more jobs at a time when job creation is a national priority.”
However, the concept faces stiff opposition from the Independent Community Bankers of America, a trade association for small banks. The association is battling the proposal, contending that it does not fit credit unions’ mission as tax-exempt organizations. Community bankers also say there’s no need to raise limits in the first place, since most credit unions haven’t come close to hitting the limits. Finally, the bankers argue, making smart decisions about business lending is harder than ever in today’s tough regulatory climate, and most credit unions lack the sophistication to do so.
According to the California Credit Union League in Ontario, U.S. banks’ business lending dropped by 15 percent over the past year, while credit union lending to businesses rose 11 percent in the same period. The average loan amount from a credit union was $210,000.
But one Southern California credit union president told a Press-Enterprise reporter that, while he supports the measure, he doubted it would not much impact on local businesses because demand for loans has dried up.
While community banks and credit unions may be battling each other on this issue, the real question remains how much impact this will have on small businesses. Undoubtedly there are small businesses that need credit, but not everyone agrees that lack of credit is a big problem facing small businesses today.
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Editor’s Note: This article was previously published at OPENForum.com under the title: “Small Business Lending Enhancement Act: Do Small Businesses Even Care?” It is republished here with permission.
Credit Union Lending: A Solution to Small-Business Capital Crunch?
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Announcing a Better Way to Create Money-Making Direct-Marketing Websites: Easier to Use Than Sliced Bread Solution for…
Jul 7th
| Announcing a Better Way to Create Money-Making Direct-Marketing Websites: Easier to Use Than Sliced Bread… Internet Marketing Community |
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The All-In-One Solution to Social Media Noise
Jul 4th
| As a new user who just recently signed up, the depth of info the service provides impressed me, especially when I worry… the social media noise. |
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The 200 slide solution
Jul 1st
The next time you find yourself on the hook for a 40 minute presentation (with slides!) consider, at least for a moment, a radical idea:
A slide every 12 seconds. 200 slides in all.
You’re used to putting three or four bullet points on a slide. That’s at least four distinct ideas, but more often, each of those ideas has three or four sub ideas to it. In other words, you’re cramming 32 ideas on a slide, and you’re sitting on that slide as you drone on and on. Perhaps you spice it up with some reveals or animated bullets, but it’s still 32 ideas going stale before our eyes.
What if you blew it up? Just one word on a slide. Or, perhaps just one image (no cheesy stock please). Maybe you write, “Cheaper” on one slide and, “More durable” on the next…
Slides create action. When did you decide that the appropriate amount of action was six or twelve times every half hour?
How would your pace change if you had 200 slides? How much better would the integration of slides and talk be?
I don’t honestly expect you to do your presentation with 200 slides. I’m hoping this exercise will help you realize that you might not need any slides. Or that 50 or 100 slides will pick up your energy and make your argument more coherent.
But please, don’t do that presentation you did last time.
View full post on Seth’s Blog
Small Business News: The Small Business Solution
Jun 30th
Banks won’t be loaning any time soon and despite (or perhaps because of) government intervention an economic recovery is definitely in the hands of entrepreneurs. That’s OK by us. Here at Small Business Trends, we’ve always had unlimited faith in the ability and aptitude of small business leaders to change the world. Here, first, are some facts about the state of the economy and the new world in which our businesses will be operating. But this small business news wrap-up is also jam packed with tools that will help you succeed. Enjoy!
Policy
Still no loans for small business. Even after what could be a very costly and heavy regulation of the banking industry, an article reports financial institutions are unlikely to do much loaning. This is because new regulations will reduce the amount of credit outstanding at most banks. Even so, bank officials say, lending rates are down currently because most businesses aren’t interested in the added debt. CNNMoney.com
The true path out of recession? Blogger and professor of entrepreneurship Dr. Jeff Cornwall muses about the debate at the G20 economic summit between a U.S. philosophy based on continued government spending to bring the current recession to an end and a European view of government spending cuts and increased taxes to eliminate growing deficits. He also proposes a third world view with small business and entrepreneurship as the answer. The Entrepreneurial Mind
Book Shelf
Making small towns viable. Pierre DeBois gives us his review of Hollowing Out The Middle, a book on the importance of supporting small town businesses in an effort to save middle America and shore up the national well-being. Certainly small businesses everywhere are critical to the national economy and those in small towns are no exception. Small Business Trends
Product Reviews
Looking for the perfect e-commerce software? So, you’ve got a great product you believe will sell, but finding an efficient way to create your storefront online is another story. If you’re not a software designer by trade and don’t have the budget to hire one, have we got a product review for you. TJ McCue gives us this overview of the Volusion Shopping Cart for your online storefront. See his full review with a rundown of what’s best about the system and what could be better. Small Business Trends
Comparing three online marketing management services. Arkayne, Hubspot and Kutenda provide three separate services that help analyze your Website’s SEO and bring more eyeballs to your content online. There are cost differences, of course, but the comparison doesn’t end there. Read a brief overview with the highlights and key features of each to decide on the right service for your online business.smallbiztechnology.com
Marketing
Does your marketing plan have “the viral factor?” Ed Baker, co-founder and CEO of Freind.ly, a site that helps people interact on Facebook, explains the key components necessary for a successful viral marketing campaign (including a diagram) and shares ideas in this interview about what creates conditions that will make people want to spread your idea to their friends. Entrepreneurial Minded
Online
How’s your Website traffic? It may depend on the tools you’re using to measure it. Website statistics can be key for online businesses both in selling advertising on your site and as important marketing information to learn about the effectiveness of campaigns. See this rundown of the key players in online statistics with their pros and cons. MediaScope
LinkedIn: The Facebook for professionals. This overview of new features for LinkedIn shows how the third big player in the social media revolution has created advantages for small business owners and professionals that easily rival the features of Facebook and Twitter. The post also includes a video detailing how to use one of LinkedIn’s key components, its group feature, to start conversations and create opportunities for your business online. smallbiztechnology.com
Operations
Zen and the art of lemonade stands. When Ken Kauffman’s kids recently made a brief foray into the cold beverage industry, he couldn’t resist giving them a lesson in entrepreneurship. Here are five principals applicable to any business whether you’re selling a glass of lemonade for 25 cents or a new smartphone for considerably more. Ignore these principals at your own risk. CFO Wise
Branding
Are you the face of your business? More than ever before entrepreneurs cannot hide behind their brand or their company as anonymous individuals beyond the scrutiny of the public. In this video and post, we see some obvious examples of entrepreneurs who have used their personal brand to leverage their businesses and build their companies. With examples ranging from Donald Trump to Richard Branson, you’ll also learn some steps you can take to successfully become the face of your company. Business Done Now
Small Business News: The Small Business Solution
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CDC Software Launches CDC Pivotal Social CRM, a New Solution That Integrates with Facebook, Twitter and Other Popular…
Jun 21st
| Another distinctive differentiator compared to other social media systems is that CDC Pivotal Social CRM allows users to post messages and… |
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