United States Charity

Nate Stockard asked:


When considering different forms of advertising, always think about postcards. When I refer to postcards I mean 4 inch by 6 inch (4″x6″) flyers. I have many reasons to use them, especially in small business marketing, and I have found them to be very effective. Here are five good reasons why postcards should be included in your marketing campaign.

Reason #1: Low cost to print.

4″x6″ postcards are pretty inexpensive to print in comparison to most other printed items. I can have a box of 5,000 cards designed, printed, and delivered for under $500. Brochures can cost that much for 500. When dealing with small business marketing, these flyers can save a huge amount on marketing and printing costs.

Reason #2: Size.

I’m sure everyone has seen a 4″x6″ flyer at some point. Many times they are placed on your car or left in your door. These flyers are easy to handle, distribute, and save. If someone receives a 4″x6″ flyer with coupons on it, they are more willing to save it than if they receive the same coupons on an 8.5″x11″ sheet of paper. Obviously, everyone will have different reasons for using flyers, but 4″x6″ postcard-size flyers are effective in just about every situation.

Reason #3: Postage Costs.

Postage goes up quite often. It seems like every time I go to the post office, it has gone up again. When determining how small businesses will market to their target markets, postage is always part of the equation. If you are mailing a 4″x6″ flyer, it will cost you the postcard rate, not regular first class, which saves you almost half. Many people tell me they use a mailing house and it helps reduce costs, but I have used them before also. The savings you receive in postage is usually eaten up by the mailing house’s fees, and even before those fees, you still save money with 4″x6″ flyers.

Reason #4: Quality.

4″x6″ flyers are used quite a bit, especially by the entertainment industry. For this reason, there are many printers available for 4″x6″ flyers. You have to be selective in choosing your printer, but the better printers provide a top-quality finished product. The price I quoted earlier is for UV-coated, 14 pt stock, and full-color on both sides. Most small businesses struggle with price of printing because they usually can’t order large quantities. They usually end up using weaker quality products to save money, but 4″x6″ postcards can be top-quality and still save money.

Reason #5: Attention-Grabbing.

Many direct mailers tell me I should send a letter, sample, pen, and other garbage in an envelope. Besides the outrageous cost this brings, it weakens the response. People see a marketing piece in the mail a mile away, including postcard flyers. Will they take the time to open the envelope, maybe. Will they read the postcard flyer because the information is staring at them, definitely! Test the theory yourself: see how many envelopes you decide to open versus the number of postcards you read.

Alen Smith asked:


Small business PBX system is a powerful communication tool which can project a positive image of a growing company. Generally, the hosted PBX system service is provided to small businesses by an Application Service Provider (ASP).

With hosted PBX system one can get all the functionalities of a high-end corporate phone without making any huge investments for purchasing or installing expensive switching equipments in the company premises. The service providers maintain all the hardware and software at their site and perform all the call routing and call handling tasks from their center. The calls are transferred to the appropriate person over a dedicated phone line or a high bandwidth internet connection.

Auto attendant, caller ID, call screening, call forwarding, call transfer, voicemail, fax to email, web administration and music on hold are some of the features that come with a small business PBX system.

One can program a list of phone numbers where he can be available in the PBX phone directory. The find me follow me call forwarding feature in the hosted PBX phone system utilizes this list of phone numbers provided by the person to trace him. Thus, when a call arrives at the users’ office extension number, it will be automatically redirected to the alternate phone numbers associated with that particular person.

An extension is associated with a particular person and not with a phone in a hosted PBX system. As a result, a person can receive phone calls independent of his location.  Thus, with hosted PBX phone system one can manage his business from anywhere, home, hotel, office or even when on the move. Therefore, the small business PBX system can create the impression of a single office location for businesses having employees working from different geographical locations.

Owing to the scalability of the virtual phone system, any number of extensions can be added to it in the future as per the phone requirements of the small business. Easy web administration enables the user to make the changes within a short period of time. Hence, PBX systems are definitely advantageous to small businesses.

Nick Pegley asked:


Can your small business get both affordable professional-class IT service and peace of mind? The secret lies in having a technology services provider handle your technical solutions.

To stay competitive, small businesses must make the most of current technology. But it’s expensive, time consuming, and inefficient to maintain a full-time IT department like larger companies. A true Professional Technology Services Provider offers on-demand talent, depth of experience, deep resources and huge economies of scale. Here are the top 10 benefits you’ll see.

Benefit #1: Stay Focused On Core Business Functions

People are happiest doing what they do best. And they get frustrated by tasks that distract them from it. Researching solutions, implementing new technology and fixing IT-related problems are extremely inefficient for non-IT professionals. Free up internal staff for revenue-generating functions and the business of business.

Benefit #2: Tap Economies Of Scale And Purchasing Power

Due to a single focus on IT, sechnology services providers achieve greater efficiencies and economies of scale. They consolidate purchasing power and have access to deep and broad knowledge bases. Using developed best practices, tasks are completed more efficiently than small businesses can do on their own. The means real cost savings– both in time and money.

Benefit #3: Reduce Cost and Control Operating Expenses

The business value of technology services providers results in very hard dollar savings. In almost all cases, small businesses will spend 25% to 50% less than the cost of even one mid-level IT professional. Then take recruiting, training, vacation, sick days, turnover and other management issues out of the equation to see even more savings. Costs are budgeted, predictable and controlled.

Benefit #4: Access Highly Specialized Talent

Small businesses cannot cost effectively achieve the scale and flexibility to properly support their technology environments. Even a very experienced and dedicated IT employee has limits to skills and avenues for help. Professional technology services providers offer access to teams of IT specialists that deliver the cross-sectional IT knowledge needed to provide both on-going and critical support for small business networks.

Benefit #5: Get Services On-Demand

Many small businesses face the challenges of growth and the burden of scaling back. Both cases present a genuine HR problem when relying on in-house IT resources. Small businesses need the agility of just-in-time resources for emergencies and the flexibility to adjust technology support levels. With a professional technology services provider, sudden changes won’t affect the livelihood or morale of employees.

Benefit #6: Help Employees Innovate and Stay Productive

Communication, collaboration, and knowledge sharing allows employees to innovate. These capabilities are delivered through a multitude of technologies including file servers, central databases, broadband connectivity, mobile platforms, email communications, and many others. However, true productivity and business benefit can only be realized when this complex technology is properly planned, implemented and maintained. The best practices and comprehensive experiences around planning, implementing and maintaining such systems allow technology services providers to successfully deliver these productivity improvements.

Benefit #7: Reduce Downtime

Even a few minutes of systems downtime carry enormous business costs. Maximizing uptime must be a high priority. Small businesses can longer afford issues with internet connectivity, email communications, corrupt data or systems failure-the cost of reacting to these events is just too high. Professional technology services providers offer planned, measured approaches to pro-active systems maintenance, security, backup and disaster recovery.

Benefit #8: Get A Technology Edge Over Competitors

Don’t just level the playing field: take advantage of new technologies for a competitive advantage. Technology services providers keep up with the latest solutions through ongoing training and real-world experience. They know how to implement the latest hardware, software, and network applications available. Just as important: they know which technologies are not worth the investment.

Benefit #9: Attract and Retain Employees

Employees want to work in an environment where their computers are up and running. Employees want to be competitive with their rivals and they want the technology tools that really help them deliver. Potential new talent will weigh your company’s technology prowess. Utilizing a professional technology services provider allows small businesses to meet these expectations and increases the ability to attract and retain employees.

Benefit #10: Access Otherwise Unavailable Vendor Support

Access to manufacturers is crucial in effectively supporting complex technology. When available, technology manufacturers traditionally provide basic or unreliable direct end-user support. With a well-established professional technology services provider, small businesses enjoy the benefits of priority access to Microsoft, Cisco and thousands of other technology vendors.

Evan Berlin asked:


There’s a lot of doom and gloom out there. Economists from around the country seem to agree that the US economy is in a downturn. How deep or how long it will last is anyone’s best guess. Even the ever optimistic Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffet, said recently, “My general feeling is that the recession will be longer and deeper than most people think. This will not be short and shallow.”

While recent research from National Small Business Association (NSBA) survey of Small and Mid-Sized Businesses and American Express OPEN seems to back up those assessments, many small business owners remain optimistic about their ability to have a successful year. Among the highlights:

* Increased energy costs have led 37% of businesses to increase their prices, yet 18% have invested in energy efficient equipment or upgrades

* 70% of small business owners remain confident in the outlook of their own business

* 70% of businesses have been able to secure adequate financing, up from 67% in 2007

* 71% of business owners plan to grow their business over the next 6 months

* Almost 40% of small business’ plan to hire in the next six months

* 86% of entrepreneurs describe themselves as “glass half-full” people

As Eric so eloquently spoke of in his recent post(on PaySimple’s blog), and Sarah discussed last Monday, small businesses provide the fuel that powers the US economic engine. On the heels of small business week, and in the midst of what most experts believe to be a recession, we at PaySimple wish you all the best in 2008. We know things are tough yet we remain confident in your ability to remain strong in the face of adversity. We are 110% behind all of you who strive for better lives and a piece of the American Dream.

Jason Farley asked:


Just because you own or run a small business doesn’t mean that everything has to be a compromise compared to products used by big companies.  There are some areas where it makes sense to save money by using shrink wrapped solutions instead of investing in enterprise-level versions, but your telephone system probably isn’t one of those.

Think about it.  If your company is growing to the point that the single telephone line and  fax machine simply aren’t going to cut it any longer, do you want to invest in a Small Business Phone System that you may outgrow in a few years?  I’m not suggesting that you invest in a massive, enterprise-level system.  While there’s no argument that those systems are incredibly capable, they’re also overkill for most small and medium sized companies.  The initial purchase price is high, setup and configuration can take days, monthly costs can be very expensive and the systems are complex enough that you would likely have to hire a consultant to assist with the initial configuration as well as ongoing maintenance of the system.

Off the shelf solutions aren’t always the best answer either.  While relatively inexpensive and less complicated to install, most of these products offer a limited feature set and don’t scale very well.  Which means that you run the risk of outgrowing the system and ending up frustrated by a lack of flexibility or dealing with customers who hang up when a phone system overwhelmed by volume ends up dropping their call.  Then you have to start all over again with new equipment, another installation round and all the disruption that entails.

What many people don’t realize is that there’s a third option.  I’ve been following a company offering an innovative solution that offers the best of both worlds.  With an in house development team and significant product investment, this PBX system offers the feature set and scalability of enterprise level systems.  However, the simplicity of configuration, low monthly cost and lack of long-term contract requirement more closely resembles the off the shelf solutions.  This option gives you features and room for growth without complexity and cost.

Theodore D. Lanzaro, CPA asked:


Whenever advertising or articles regarding pension plans are mentioned, they are usually ignored by small business owners and the self-employed. Small businesses are often under the impression that pension plans are only for large corporations and do not apply to them. However, by ignoring these messages they are missing the opportunity to take advantage of the benefits that pension plans have to offer.

Businesses that offer this type of fringe benefit increase job satisfaction among their employees which can often result in a decrease in staff turnover. Another benefit pension plans can provide significant tax deductions for business owners and deferred earnings for employees.

Nowadays there are an abundance of plans and options to choose from. Many plans are very convenient to implement and require very little paperwork. So, there is no time like the present to implement a retirement plan for you and your employees.

In order to choose the plan that fits your company’s needs, you must begin with a sound understanding of what your options are. There are pros and cons to every plan so each should be carefully considered. To assist you in making the right decision for your company, below is an overview of the current and most common plans:

The 401(k) Plan

A 401(k) plan is a retirement plan sponsored by employers. With this type of plan, employees may choose to have a portion of their salary deferred to any of the 401(k) investment choices that have been selected by the employer. The employer may also contribute to the employee’s 401(k) by matching a portion of the investment. The benefit of a 401(k) is that employees are not taxed on the contributions they or their employers make until they withdraw from the plan. Another benefit is that accumulated earnings on the account are tax-deferred as well.

A 401 (k) can be more complicated to establish and maintain then other types of plans and there are annual IRS reporting requirements associated with it as well. Also, the law requires that if low compensated employees do not contribute enough by the end of the plan year, then the limit is changed for highly compensated employees.

There are individual 401 (k) plans that can be set up by a company (incorporated or unincorporated), in which the owner is the sole proprietor and/or only employee. The key advantage to plans such as these is that they permit larger contributions than other plans. The individual 401(k) also tends to be a little less complicated than the traditional 401(k).

Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) Plan

Often referred to as a SEP-IRA, this is essentially a retirement plan set up by a small business employer or by a self-employed person. This pension plan allows employers to contribute to SEP-IRA plans on behalf of their employees in an amount greater than traditional IRA limitations. The main advantages of the SEP-IRA to the employer is that the administrative burdens are few, the plan is simple to install, and it does not have the start-up and operating costs of conventional retirement plans.

Because you decide the amount to be contributed each year to SEPs, this plan can offer a great deal of flexibility. However, they can only be funded through employer contributions and annual contributions are limited to 25 percent of each employee’s pay. Another benefit of SEPs in contrast to other plans is that you can establish it up to the extended due date of your tax return.

Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE)

The SIMPLE plan gives small businesses an affordable way to offer retirement benefits through employee salary reductions and matching contributions similar to the SEP. A SIMPLE plan is available to yourself and eligible employees and is made up of individual retirement accounts (IRAs). A SIMPLE plan can also be set up as a 401(k) plan. Both of these types of SIMPLE plans can be established easily using a “model” plan document which is available from the IRS. With a SIMPLE plan, employers offer matching contributions equal to employee contributions or fixed contributions equal to a percent of employee wages.

Requirements and limitations for the SIMPLE plan dictate that employers must have fewer than 100 employees and must generally be established before October 1st of the calendar year. Employers that currently sponsor another retirement plan generally cannot sponsor a SIMPLE plan.

The Keogh (H.R. 10) Plan

A Keogh (or HR 10) plan is a tax-deferred retirement savings plan for self-employed individuals and their employees. Most self employed individuals who have earned income from self-employment are eligible under this plan.

Keogh plans have gained popularity in recent years thanks to tax legislation that has made it possible for contributions made to Keogh plans equal to that of plans held by large corporation. Outlined below are the two key types of Keoghs:

1. Defined contribution plans: These plans come in a few different forms such as target benefit plans, money purchase plans, and profit sharing plans. Each plan requires contributions that are based on either a percentage of an employee’s wages or percent of an owner’s profits. The amount the contributions have accumulated by retirement will dictate what benefits the participants will receive when they retire.

2. Defined benefit plans: Plans such as these have a set amount of retirement benefit that the plan will pay out upon retirement and contributions made are based upon the payout amount. Any benefit that a participant will receives upon retiring is limited by law and requires actuarial calculations to determine the amount of annual contribution needed.

One major drawback to all Keogh plans is that the reporting requirements are more complicated than the SEP and SIMPLE-IRA plans. Another disadvantage is that a business owner is required to make contributions for eligible employees and therefore cannot only cover themselves.

Contributions can be made to Keogh plans up to the company’s tax return due date (extensions included). However, they must be established no later than December 31st of the tax year that you will begin taking a deduction for contributions.

Andre Bell asked:


Donald Trump. Love Him. **** him. Feel indifferent. Either way you know who he is — and so does the rest of the informed world. “The Donald” has lost fortunes larger than most of us will gain in our entire lives of earning. How has Donald become a household name that is worth billions today? Two Words: Think Big.

That is where most small businesses fail. I don’t know why I do it. Maybe I’m a closet ********* or something. But a couple of times a year I target 25-50 small businesses and send a carefully sequenced and timed series of letters explaining the possibility of improving the marketing they are already doing or expanding their small business. Talk about an exercise in futility. Most small businesses do not think big.

They have somehow convinced themselves that success will eventually come from putting out daily fires, and then the business with eventually take care of itself. They’re wrong. According to the IRS, 9 of 10 business will go belly up within five years. There’s proof the take-care-of-itself mentality doesn’t work.

What if Trump had decided two decades ago to only focus on the daily fires of running his businesses, where would he be today? Bankrupt. Just another nameless real estate speculator in the crowd. He would not have the success he has today. And he would not be enjoying the freedoms and attention he’s gained along the way.

What about you? Do you own or operate a small business? Have you taken time to assess where you are now, where you want to be, and what steps you are going to take to get you there? If not, you are thinking small. You are hindering yourself from reaching the level of success that could be yours if you were only to think big.

Mike Singh asked:


With tax season just around the corner it is never too early to start thinking about available tax deductions. Small business tax deductions are important to ensuring that you are getting all the return that is possible. Some tax deductions for small businesses are:

* Office furniture * Office equipment and supplies * Software and other subscriptions * Insurance premiums * Retirement contributions

In addition to these deductions there are a few other deductions that should be kept in mind while filing. Simply keeping good records throughout the year will help with these items and will make calculations at tax time less stressful.

Social Security

If you are self-employed or a small business you have to pay double the social security as you pay as both the employer and the employee. The good news is that you can claim back half on your 1040.

Home Office

If you have a room in your house that is used exclusively for your small business it may be used as a deduction. The room cannot be used for any other purposes to qualify. You can claim a percentage of rent or mortgage and utility bills based on the square footage of your office area in relationship to the square footage of the house.

Mileage

Keep a journal in your vehicle of all small business related travel and expenses. At the end of the year this can be claimed one of two ways. It can either be deducted as a straight calculation of mileage times the allocated rate plus other expenses or it can be completed as a percentage of the total mileage on the vehicle plus expenses.

Travel and Gifts

Hotel stays, travel on airlines or other forms of transportation and gifts are all deductible. Saving receipts is critical to be able to calculate this at tax time.

Children working for you

If you are the sole proprietor of your small business and you employ your own child under 17 that child can make up to $4,850 and avoid paying any taxes. You will not have to pay Social Security tax and you can write the salary off as a business expense. This same policy applies if you and your spouse are in partnership together and there are no other partners. It does not apply if you are a corporation.

Business Local Listings asked:


In the midst of the global economic crisis, many small businesses are on the brink of closing down if not enough capital infusion is found. It is now even more difficult to get small business loans from banks, though. Ironically, the exact reasons why small businesses need such small business loans – the fact that business has slowed down and profitability has plummeted – are the same reasons why banks turn them down for loans.

Small businesses now have to be more resourceful in finding alternatives to small business loans.

Government Grants and Contracts Instead of Small Business Loans

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed by President Obama in February 2009 caused the pumping of billions of dollars for the revitalization of the economy. Because of it, there are plenty of government grants and contracts available to small businesses. These can be alternatives to small business loans.

But how can small businesses avail of the stimulus program?

The Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (APTAC) has the responsibility for helping small businesses obtain and perform federal, state and local government contracts. It has Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTAC) throughout the country, ready to help small business owners to get registered and find opportunities in the area of government grants and contracts. Counselors assist small businesses in filling out bids, proposals and quotations.

The PTAC holds seminars teaching small business owners all the ins and outs of government legalese, including acronyms and registries. A one-day seminar with PTAC covers what small business owners may take months to learn on their own.

The PTAC then helps small businesses with Central Contractor Registration (CCR), a requirement for doing business with the federal government. This registration can be so complicated that some companies take two days to do it when the PTAC counselor can help them get through it in 15 minutes.

Local PTACs will be of help in acquiring state and municipal contracts.

Other resources that small business owners should consult include the Small Business Administration (SBA) which also coordinates with the APTAC; the General Services Administration (GSA) which acts as the government’s purchasing department and provides information on becoming an approved vendor; the Federal Business Opportunities website (fbo.gov) where federal contract opportunities currently available are posted; and the Small Business Innovation Research website (sbir.gov) where grant and funded research opportunities for small businesses are listed.

Cash Advances from Credit Card Services Instead of Small Business Loans

Another alternative to small business loans are cash advances from credit card services. This option is much easier than winning government grants and contracts.

Most small businesses are already availing of credit card services that enable them to accept payments by credit cards or debit cards. This is practically a requirement to doing business these days, with people hardly paying cash for goods and services. Many small business owners do not know that they could avail of cash advances from these credit card services, though, and that such advances can actually equal small business loans.

The amount that a small business can borrow is based on its average monthly income from credit card sales. This is so because the cash advance does not require collateral and future sales receivables from credit cards stand as the collateral. Payment will also be done through automatic deductions from those future credit card sales. There will be no set monthly amortizations. Instead, a certain percentage of the sales will be allotted as payment. The small business owner, therefore, need not worry over where to find cash for loan payments.

Cash advances from credit card services are the best bet of small business owners as alternatives to small business loans.

Gen Wright asked:


Chancellor Darling’s Pre-Budget Report was a boom for small businesses. A series of measures totally £ 7BN was introduced to help them survive, as the credit crunch bites. This was seen to keep businesses to strive during a possible recession.

We offer a detailed description of how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) stand to benefit…

Because small businesses to benefit from ads today?

? Corporation: The government is deferring for a year, the expected increase in small companies’ rate of corporation tax. The rate remains at 21% in 2009-10, which should be small businesses £ 400 million per year to play with.

? “empty” property “: These properties are rates of 2009/10, while they have a rateable value of less than £ 15,000, which the Treasury is said to the liberation of approximately 70% are empty.

This should help companies build, short-term problems and cash flow is a welcome introduction: There were reports of companies in the demolition of these buildings to avoid paying their taxes.

? BUSINESS AWARDS: The government plans to legislate to ensure the company more time to pay some companies retroactively rates bills issued before 31 March 2010.

Companies, those with these bills in a position to limit their liability for the past few years in equal interest-free installments over eight years rather than immediately.

? Additional resources: In addition to funding from the United Kingdom, UK small and medium-sized enterprises should also be able to benefit from around £ 4BN loans from the European Investment Bank (EIB), from 2008 to 2011. About £ 1 billion for these funds should be available by the end of 2008.

Moreover, the government is a new Small Business Finance System for support of up to £ 1 billion bank loan, together with another mechanism guarantee for up to £ 1 billion bank to help small exporters. It will also make available a fund of £ 50 for the transformation of companies’ debt into capital.

? Tax payments: Companies in financial difficulty may be paying the tax bills for an indefinite period. A New Business Support payment service was launched to help companies calculate what they need time for their distribution businesses, VAT, PAYE, income tax and National Insurance contributions in order to remain profitable and ensure readiness.

? Availability of loans “: The chancellor has announced that it has banks, the willingness and active marketing of competitive loans to small businesses in 2007 levels. Specifically, RBS praised for its display is not going to raise prices on SMEs discovered , Said “should be the reference point for all banks in the United Kingdom.”

? Profits made abroad: Foreign dividends are exempt from tax in the Finance Act 2009 for large and medium-sized enterprises, supported by a stopper worldwide interest on debt