How to Get Your Business Involved in a Charity

Being a part of your community means giving back. Businesses that give time, money and other resources to their communities reap many benefits. They have employees who are more involved and productive who are willing to stay. Being involved in the community improves brand visibility and facilitates networking.
"It’s a great way to retain and recruit quality personnel," says Pete Parker, managing director at NPcatalyst, a Reno consulting firm that helps business and nonprofit interactions. "If you let me volunteer a couple of hours a month or week and carry the company name, that makes me proud to be a part of the company."
Here are some suggestions for businesses that want to start giving back.
Think local
Look around in your town, city or region to see which charities need help. Think about small charities, nonprofits and local chapters of larger organizations.
James Coburn, owner of Harbor Consulting IT Services, has set a goal of donating 20 percent of his company's profits each year. Much of that goes to local organizations.
"It started out with local charities like animal shelters, and now we’re pretty involved with a cancer program," says Coburn. "Always remember where you came from."
Do your research
It's vital to research charitable and nonprofit organizations to make sure they're reliable, responsible, open and honest. Nonprofit consultants like NPcatalyst can help you filter out the better ones. You can also research organizations through sites like CharityNavigator and GuideStar.
Consider what matters to you
Find nonprofits that speak to you in some way. This might mean choosing nonprofit organizations related in some way to the mission and expertise of your business. Or, choose groups that speak to your own concerns, or the interests of your employees.
“If you’re going to do it and are able to do it, find something that means something to you," emphasizes Coburn.
Give employees free choice
Some businesses give employees the chance to donate time or money to nonprofits. When employees are allowed to choose which charities to contribute to, employee satisfaction with the charitable-giving program is greater. Employees like having a personal investment in the process.
Keep records
Remember to track all charitable projects for tax and other purposes. Record what money and time is given, as well as when, how and to whom the company donates. If you don't have the resources to do this record-keeping in-house, hire an outside firm or consultant to handle this part of charitable giving for you.
Getting help with the administrative side of charitable work and donations will give you and your employees more time to devote to the charitable work itself.
Gang up
When groups of employees get involved in charitable giving, they build teams. Consider giving time for the whole office, or designated teams, to volunteer at a local event or charity. This practice brings more help to the organization and increases the team spirit of your employees.
One of Parker's clients is a bank that encourages groups of seven to 10 people to work on a project together. It might be clearing trails or packaging food at a food bank.
"The benefit there is employee bonding, and there are a lot of benefits that come out of that," says Parker. "And it’s free—you don’t have to pay for a ropes course."
Though small businesses might not think they have the resources to devote to charitable activities, often they have more resources than they realize. It's a matter of setting aside time or money and understanding how charitable involvement can benefit the business's bottom line as well as the community.

4 Big Business Secrets for Finding New Customers

Let’s face it: most big companies aren't known for being trendsetters. But they are pioneers when it comes to finding new customers. Because large companies operate on such a large scale, mistakes can be very costly. This forces them to carefully choose, refine and innovate to find the best sales techniques. Here are four big business tactics you should put to work.
1. Go mobile
People everywhere have adopted the mobile phone as their device of choice. There are more than 6 billion mobile connections in the world, compared to under 2 billion PCs. Big companies have seen the light and are scrambling to take advantage of mobile’s potential. Small businesses can do the same.
Consider creating a mobile-friendly website if you haven’t done so. More businesses and consumers are looking for products and services on mobile phones, and websites designed for PCs typically don’t work well on small screens. You may want to develop a mobile app to make interactions with customers and prospects easier. Also investigate mobile barcodes—known as QR codes. People are increasingly using these codes, which can provide an instant link to businesses and their offerings.
2. Research your market
A big company tends to be detached from its customers, so it must go the extra mile to learn what makes them tick. It must continually investigate its market and learn how customers perceive it, how it compares to competitors and how it can expand its products or services.
Small businesses are closer to their customers, so they frequently underestimate the importance of research. It’s easy to take customers for granted and not delve into information that could dramatically improve your offerings or reveal how to find new customers.
Try to take advantage of every personal encounter to gather information, and consider organizing events that can increase that interaction. For example, an auto dealer might host a customer appreciation day several times a year. Also take advantage of social media like Facebook, Twitter and online directories to learn what customers have to say about your business.
3. Go digital
Industry researchers continue to predict dramatic increases in spending on online marketing—via e-mail, desktop computers, laptops, smartphones, tablets and other devices. Online ad spending in the United States is expected to grow 23 percent to nearly $40 billion in 2012, according to research firm eMarketer. Big businesses have found that online marketing allows them to offer easy purchasing through e-commerce, forge deeper customer relationships and reach consumers and businesses all over the globe.
To help ensure you make the most of online marketing, take a closer look at your company’s website. Can users search for your products and understand your services easily? If you engage in e-commerce, is the buying process smooth and intuitive? Do you regularly refresh the site with new information and special offers?
Also, are you taking advantage of interactive tools to establish a dialogue with prospects and customers? For example, are you using banner and search engine advertising to get the word out, and are you using e-mail to promote marketing offers? Finally, are you making your company and its products or services easy to find by posting business listings on online directories?
4. Plan and track
Planning and tracking may sound antithetical to innovative marketing, but it is key to hitting the mark and closing sales. You’ve probably heard the saying attributed to merchandising king John Wanamaker: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted—I just don’t know which half.” Well, now you can. Analytics tools allow you to track responses to your online marketing, and fortunately many of them are free or relatively inexpensive.
You can help get the best results from your online advertising by tracking the click-through rate. Test different ads and adjust your efforts to focus on what works best. Also look at performance data for your website, mobile messaging and social media activities. Metrics to examine include:

• Who’s visiting and what they do
• Who’s buying and what they buy
• Who clicked on an invitation or offer
• How much time they spend on your site
• What they say about your products or services

AT&T offers a number of tools and services to help your small business adopt these and other big business tactics. In particular, consider AT&T’s mobile marketing, interactive and Web hosting services.
Alice Bredin is an internationally renowned small business expert. She is founder and president of Bredin Inc., a marketing consultancy that helps Fortune 500 firms develop profitable, long-term relationships with small and medium businesses. She has advised millions of business owners over the last 20 years through her books, syndicated newspaper column, radio commentary and forums.
Photo credit: iStock

Sony Shakes Things Up Under New CEO, Reorganizes For The Post-PC Era

Sony enters a new era April 1st. On that day Kazuo Hirai will replace Sir Howard Stringer as Sony’s president and CEO. The challenges ahead are massive; Sony is facing a financial and organizational calamity. Sony is simply too big and has fallen too far and Hirai is tasked to bring Sony back to glory.
Sony just announced a new corporate organization that shows drastic change is underway. Under this strategy, dubbed One Sony, separate Sony divisions will share management, hopefully streamlining decisions and creating a more unified end-user experience that better utilizes Sony’s content offering. Sony under Stringer was an unwieldy multi-headed beast. Hirai is clearly trying to tighten the reins. It just might work and it has to work.
Prior to Stringer, Sony was led by Nobuyuki Idei who started feeding the hungry Sony machine. Under his watch Sony established Sony BMG Music Entertainment and purchased Hollywood’s Metro-Goldwyn Mayer studio in 2005. He entered into the joint mobile-phone venture with Ericsson. He was also the Sony exec that green-lighted the loveable, but still a bit strange, Aibo robotic dog.
Stringer was left with a bit of mess when he took over in the summer of 2005. At that time Sony was far from being just a consumer electronic company and majorly involved in nearly ever aspect of media creation and distribution. Now, in 2012, Sony’s once-mainstay TV division is drowning in red ink, the company just dissolved its partnership with Ericsson, and there is little, if any, compelling reason for a consumer to use one of Sony’s many media distribution platforms over Netflix, iTunes or Amazon.
Sony is simply not built for the current consumer electronics game. We’re entering into the age of digital appliances, a post-PC era if you will, and 15 years ago Sony would have been the top player. But now, in 2012, Apple and Samsung are the big kids on the playground; Sony is hiding under the slide doing his homework.
The PlayStation happens to be the one bright spot in Sony’s recent history. Sony’s incoming CEO, Kazuo, led that division for the last 5 years. There is hope, Sony fans.
Under the One Sony structure, Sony sees digital imaging, gaming and mobile devices to be the three cornerstones of its electronic business. Hirai himself will be in charge of Sony’s troubled HDTV division. The company will still pursue the medical technology field but what was separate medical-related divisions within Sony will be consolidated into one unit. Perhaps most promising though, Sony is appointing Kunimasas Suzuki, currently Executive Deputy President of Consumer Products. & Services Group, to be the officer in charge of unifying Sony products and creating a better user experience across the company’s entire product and network service line — something the company desperately needs. He is also in charge of Sony’s mobile business, showing that Hirai understands that going forward user experiences start in the mobile sector.
Sony of old is long gone. Sony will never be the same nimble company again. However, with the proper structure and leadership Sony might once again regain its swagger. Sony was once the shining example of user experience and hardware design done right. Sony needs to find its soul. If any company can properly battle Apple in the arena of consumer electronics, it’s Sony. After all, it’s Sony that Apple and Steve Jobs were aiming to dethrone 15 years ago.

Employee Passwords Are None of Your Business, Says Facebook

If the growing number of companies and law enforcement agencies asking job applicants for Facebook passwords was encouraging you to do the same, think again.
Facebook Friday issued a warning to employers that requesting passwords is an invasion of privacy that opens companies to legal liabilities.
The world's largest social network also is threatening legal action. Wrote Erin Egan, Facebook's chief privacy officer, in a lengthy post: "We'll take action to protect the privacy and security of our users, whether by engaging policymakers or, where appropriate, by initiating legal action, including by shutting down applications that abuse their privileges."
The company says it has seen a "distressing increase" of reports of employers attempting to access user accounts, Facebook's Egan wrote. "The most alarming of these practices is the reported incidences of employers asking prospective or actual employees to reveal their passwords," she said.
A user should never be forced to cough up private information just to get a job—"and as the friend of a user, you shouldn’t have to worry that your private information or communications will be revealed to someone you don’t know and didn’t intend to share with just because that user is looking for a job," Egan wrote.
The company has changed its Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, making requests to share or solicit a Facebook log-in a violation of the rules.
The American Civil Liberties Union this week used the reports to urge support for its "Demand your dotRights campaign."
ACLU attorney Catherine Crump called the password solicitation an "invasion of privacy."
"You’d be appalled if your employer insisted on opening up your postal mail to see if there was anything of interest inside," she said. "It’s equally out of bounds for an employer to go on a fishing expedition through a person’s private social media account."
The ACLU of Maryland currently is fighting for a social media privacy bill in the state, where the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services asks applicants to "voluntarily" provide access to their social media accounts during interviews.

Women in Tech to Watch

MSNBC's Your Business: Top Five

Female entrepreneurs are leaving their mark on all different industries. Here are five women to watch in the world of tech courtesy of Inc.com.

New Ways to Fund Your Startup [VIDEO]

MSNBC's Your Business:
 Where's the Money?

It's not easy to go to the bank and get a loan these days. If you're looking to secure some funding for your startup, there are some options you may not have considered. Venture attorney Jennifer Hill has tips for new ways to find money.

Eyeing An IPO, Kayak 2011 Revenue Up 32 Percent To $225M; Net Income Up 21 Percent

Travel search giant Kayak just posted new revenue numbers for the fourth quarter and full year 2011 in a new S-1 filing with the SEC. As we heard last September, Kayak put its IPO plans on hold until market conditions improve. Now that the markets are more stabilized, it should be interesting to see when Kayak makes the push to become a public company. For the year, Kayak generated $224.5 million of revenues, up 32 percent from 2010.
Net income for the year was $9.7 million, up 21 percent from 2010′s net income of $8 million For the fourth quarter, Kayak saw a 27 percent increase in quarterly revenue, posting $53.9 million in Q4 2011 sales. In contrast, revenue grew 28 percent in the third quarter.
But the company says that typically its highest revenue quarters are the second and third quarters.
Kayak says it finished 2011 with 899 million user queries processes for travel information, representing growth of 42 percent from 2010. For 2011, Kayak had 7 million downloads, up over 70 percent from 2010.
Despite the IPO being on hold, Kayak has been consistently trying to improve its core product and add additional functionality. The company has been heads down on product development and improving customer experience over the past few months, as the company battles with Google in the travel search space.
In December, Kayak redesigned its iPad app and consolidated the app with its iPhone cousin. The company’s website most recently got a big UI upgrade, creating a more universal and comprehensive consumer experience across all Kayak platforms: web, mobile web and apps. And the search engine just debuted direct booking for flights.

Should Small Businesses Follow Everyone Back on Twitter?

Marketers know that Twitter is a valuable tool used to reach thousands of customers. But it's not just the output of content that's valuable—the people and other businesses you follow on social media are of equal worth.
Unless your account is private, you have no control over who is following you (unless you block them). But as a business with thousands of followers, is it wise to follow every single person who follows you?
"Don't fall into the trap of something I call a 'courtesy' follow—that is, following someone that has followed you out of a desire to appear grateful," advises Sheena Medina, community manager at Fast Company.
Medina, who says this "does nothing but fill your stream with noise," cites President Barack Obama's account, @BarackObama, which at one point was following 702,586 users—the most on Twitter. The account, overwhelmed by tweets, is in dire need of a bit of damage control. But, unable to dump seven hundred thousand followers at once, the admins must slowly reduce its followers in order to keep the President's social media-friendly image intact.
On the other hand, some say that businesses should follow back so that their followers may DM them privately.
"Here's a way to look at it: would you put up a Web page without adding your e-mail address or a contact form so that people could reach out to you privately?" asks Laura "@Pistachio" Fitton, inbound marketing evangelist for HubSpot, and lead author of Twitter for Dummies. "As a business, not following someone back means you're telling them, 'Thanks for your support, but you're not important enough to us to be willing to listen to you privately.'"
Fitton says she tries to reply to all of the genuine direct mentions, and when possible, she will thank or respond to @-mentions and retweets.
"Above and beyond that, stuff like retweeting their content, asking them questions and truly listening to their answers, giving them interesting stuff to interact with are all good ways to engage your community," she says.
Both Fitton and Medina encourage businesses to refrain from using an automated "thanks for following" mention. If you do decide to follow everyone, authenticity is key. Your followers will be able to tell whether they're talking to a robot or a person—and a real person is always more valuable on Twitter.
If you do decide not to follow everyone on Twitter, Medina advises to be strategic about curating your stream on Twitter—knowing your audience helps, but you must also think about what sort of content is going to be useful and entertaining to you.
"We're not one-dimensional people," says Medina. "And increasingly, businesses are using Twitter to show how multifaceted they are. Your stream should reflect the dynamics of your personality and business."
As a small business owner, do you follow every follower back? What ways do you show appreciation to your fans?
American Express OPEN offers YourBuzz, a free app that can help you manage your online reputation and connect with customers via one easy-to-use app.  For more information or to get started, visit YourBuzz.com/freeapp.

Top 10 Entrepreneurs Under 30

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only nonprofit organization comprised of the country's most promising young entrepreneurs. The YEC promotes entrepreneurship as a solution to youth unemployment and underemployment and provides its members with access to tools, mentorship and resources that support each stage of a business's development and growth.
When recently asked to name the top entrepreneur under the age of 30 who deserved an award for the work they've done in the past year, YEC members had the following to say.
1. Dave Morin of Path
It's been inspiring to watch Dave and his talented team at Path take their app from something that no one was paying attention to to one of the top apps out there. Path revolutionized iOS design by releasing one of the most beautiful apps out there, and has been on a roll ever since. —Ben Lang, founder of EpicLaunch
2. Shane Snow of Contently
Shane Snow is absolutely the most impressive individual I know for his accomplishments in recent times. A TechStars NYC alum, Shane developed Contently with his team and recently raised $2 million in a Series A round. In addition to that, he's the top infographic artist, period. Shane is also the coolest journalist you'll ever meet, having written for Mashable, Fast Company and Wired.com. —Danny Wong, co-founder of Blank Label Group
3. Drew Houston of Dropbox
Drew Houston, CEO and co-founder of Dropbox, led the startup from a simple vision—making it easy to store and share files in the cloud—to a massive business success with millions of users and sales. I am so impressed with his focus on an exceptional user experience. Drew and his team created a product that betters productivity and data storage so much, it's hard to imagine the Web without it. —Doreen Bloch, CEO and founder of Poshly
4. Nick D'Aloisio of Summly
Nick D'Aloisio, he's creating a way to summarize the Web. Not only is he young, but he caught the world's attention through Om Malik's expose on his app. The app is a window into a much more powerful concept around how content has become digestible in tidbits—especially content lacking opinion. It could be quite fascinating to companies that manage tons and tons of content that needs to be indexed. —Brian Wong, CEO and founder of Kiip
5. Ben Silbermann of Pinterest
There is a reason why Pinterest is getting so much attention right now. It's a beautifully designed product that solves a problem that nobody knew the Web was facing. It's the co-founder's vision that made it the impressive application that it is today. —Logan Lenz, president and founder of Endagon
6. Ben Milne of Dwolla
Ben Milne is the CEO and co-founder of Des Moines-based Dwolla, a peer-to-peer payment platform disrupting the mobile payments industry. Milne and his team have quickly scaled the business and is now moving over $1 million per day. Dwolla recently raised a $5 million round of funding, led by New York-based Union Square Ventures and a solid supporting team. —Jeff Slobotski, founder of Silicon Prairie News
7. Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook
Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest self-made billionaire in history and arguably the greatest entrepreneur of our time. Facebook wasn't created in the past year, but Zuckerberg has presided over its continued dominance of the social Web and the company's skyrocketing valuations. And he is only 27. —Emerson Spartz, CEO and founder of Spartz Media
8. Catherine Cook of myYearbook.com
While most people want to say Mark Zuckerberg, I'd give the award to his female counterpart, Catherine Cook. Not only was Catherine just 15 years old when she started myYearbook.com, but she managed to stay under the radar by operating outside of Silicon Valley—in Pennsylvania. The site was recently acquired for a reported $100 million...while Catherine was still attending college! —Matt Wilson, co-founder of Under30CEO.com
9. Brent Beshore of AdVentures
Being a great entrepreneur isn't just about profits. Brent Beshore leads AdVentures (which was no. 28 on last year's Inc. 500), so he's made his share of money, but what I respect is his entrepreneurship for his community. When his hometown—Joplin, Mo.—was destroyed by a tornado, Brent used his skills to raise over $1 million in four days to rebuild the city. We should all strive to use our success for good, as Brent does. —John Hall, CEO of Digital Talent Agents
10. Jeremy Johnson of 2tor
Jeremy Johnson is 27 and is already changing the face of higher education. His current project, 2tor, is a visionary startup that helps top-tier U.S. universities bring their degree programs online. Jeremy, along with co-founders John Katzman and Chip Paucek, is on a mission to transform education, and as the highest funded U.S. education tech startup, 2tor is bringing that vision alive. —Zach Cutler, CEO and founder of Cutler Group

3 Things to Remember When Filing Taxes for the First Time

It’s your first year outside Corporate America and, in addition to attending to your mile-long to-do list, your taxes need to be filed. Dread not. Tax time doesn’t need to be painful, especially if you remember to do the following.
Pay attention to deductions
Business owners love deductions and for good reason; even the smallest ones can make a world of difference to a company’s bottom line. Sit down and document every possible expense, recommends Deborah Sweeney, CEO of MyCorporation, a Calabasas, Calif.-based company that helps small businesses incorporate with the government.
Start with your physical location. If you work from home, calculate the percentage used for your business, then deduct that percentage from your mortgage and utilities. Added bonus: You can deduct 100 percent of any renovations done exclusively to your home office.
Next, look at your traveling expenses. “Do you travel anywhere in pursuit of your trade?” asks Sweeney. This includes mileage.
In addition, she says small-business owners can deduct a large portion of the actual expense of going into business. For 2011, that deduction is $5,000 (it was $10,000 in 2010 and there has been talk about increasing the limit, but it has yet to happen).
Business-related education is an added deduction available to small-business owners (i.e. conferences, certification renewals, etc.).
“Another one people don’t think of is bad debt,” Sweeney says. “If someone stiffs your business, you can deduct that cost. This usually applies to businesses with hard goods, not those that provide professional services.”
For more information on deductions, check out the IRS checklist.
Consider your audit risk
Audits will not spell the end of your business as long as you have proper documentation.
“Small business owners can get excited when they start up and deduct everything,” Sweeney says. “That is fine as long as the deductions are legitimate and they’ve been properly documented.”
Keep receipts and write down your mileage. You can now track your mileage using smartphone applications, like Trip Cubby and MileBug.
Know your deadlines
“Business taxes are due March 15, a month before personal taxes,” says Ian Aronovich, co-founder and CEO of GovermentAuctions.org in Great Neck, N.Y.
Don’t freak out yet. This law applies to corporations and S corporations, specifically, not to Limited Liability Partnerships (LLCs), Partnerships or Sole Proprietorships. If your company fits into the first two categories and you aren’t yet ready to file, consider asking for an extension.
“You can get a six-month extension, but you must file for the extension by March 15,” says Aronovich. Extensions can be electronically filed by using IRS Form 7004.
Beware: This form allows you to extend only the date of your filing, not the date of your payment. According to Aronovich, business owners are required to pay their estimated taxes by the original filing date. Failing to pay can result in IRS penalties.
For more information on filing deadlines, check out the IRS breakdown.
Previous article: Should a Small Business Do Its Own Taxes?  | Next article: How to Minimize What You Owe and Maximize Your Return
Katie Morell is an independent business writer and editor, who over the past 10 years has covered topics ranging from business and politics to travel and social justice. Her work has appeared in a variety of regional and national publications, and she has served as an editor for Meetings Media.
Photo credit: iStock

10 Things You Didn't Know About Your Taxes

March 15 is just around the corner. Which begs the question: What don't you, as a small-business owner, know—but should know—about filing your taxes?
With that goal in mind, we asked Mike Scholz, tax director at Wegner LLP CPAs & Accountants—an accounting firm based in Madison, WI, that focuses on individuals and small businesses—for help in identifying the top 10 things that small-business owners don't know about their taxes.
1. Classify your workers correctly. Scholz cautions any small-business owner to beware paying staff as independent contractors. “Worker classification (employee vs. independent contractor) will be a hot topic for the IRS this coming year,” he says. “The IRS recently released training materials for their examiners, so make sure you are classifying workers correctly. Last fall the IRS announced a settlement program for those businesses that wish to re-classify their workers. Under this program, there is substantial relief from potential past payroll tax liabilities for eligible employers that treat workers as employees going forward.”
2. Late fees can be steep. So be sure to avoid penalties by paying the company payroll taxes and filing tax reports on time. “The IRS penalties for late payments and late filings are horrendous,” says Scholz. “The IRS is serious about collecting all delinquent payroll taxes. The IRS will pierce the corporate veil if the corporation does not pay payroll taxes and go after the responsible officer's personal accounts.”
3. Send out your 1099s. There’s a new disclosure this year related to 1099 contractors to beware of, says Scholz. “Business owners will see two new questions on their tax forms this year,” he says. “The first asks: Did you make any payments in 2011 that would require you to file Form(s) 1099? And the second follows up with: If 'Yes,' did you or will you file all required Forms 1099?” The point is that the IRS is making a rather blatant reminder that Form 1099s should have been sent to people or companies they've paid money to—particularly to individuals, LLCs and partnerships that were paid more than $600 for services.
4. Tax return extensions can be your friend. “The extension of your business return also extends the time to make company profit sharing contributions for the year,” says Scholz. For example if you extend your 2011 S Corporation return until September 15, 2012, you also get an extension to make your 2011 profit sharing contribution to the same extended due date. Plus, the tax filing extension is automatic (no reason needed) just file the one-page form.
5. Don't forget to see if you qualify for the small-business healthcare tax credit. “For 2010, only 15 percent of small businesses claimed this tax credit, so it's worth looking to see if the business qualifies for it in 2011,” says Scholz. “The tax credit is generally available to business owners who pay for at least half the cost of employees' insurance coverage, have fewer than 25 employees and pay salaries that average less than $50,000 annually. You can still amend 2010 returns if the credit was missed on the original return.” (Read more on healthcare.)
6. There are tax credits available for hiring veterans. You can qualify for a credit that's worth up to $5,600 for hiring a long-term unemployed veteran, $2,400 for hiring a short-term unemployed veteran and $9,600 for hiring an unemployed veteran with a service-related disability, says Scholz. “Note that these veteran new-hires need to be certified by state workforce agencies,” he says. “The IRS is working on streamlining the paperwork process to expedite the certification process once a veteran is hired.” (Get more tips on hiring for targeted tax credits.)
7. Take advantage of current year net operating losses. Current year net operating losses (NOL) can be carried back two years and forward 20 years. “These loss carrybacks can generate tax refunds in those past years where the business paid tax," says Scholz. “There are strategies to increase an NOL through equipment expensing elections (Section 179 or bonus depreciation). Many businesses have large NOLs generated during economic downturns. Proper planning will ensure the best tax result, so that NOL benefits are not allowed to expire.”
8. The IRS can request copies of your QuickBooks files. “The IRS has been training revenue agents on how to use QuickBooks and instructing their field agents to request your QuickBooks company file as a part of the audit,” says Scholz. “When a QuickBooks file is provided, it includes not only the current year records but all years' transactions included in the software’s data file. We suggest looking into technology solutions that can block those tax years not under audit to minimize records available to a snooping IRS agent.”
9. Not all business meals are subject to a 50 percent disallowance. “Generally, only 50 percent of business meals and entertainment expenses are deductible,” says Scholz. “There are exceptions which allow a 100 percent deduction for meals as follows: trade-show costs, conferences and receptions that are open to the general public. Employer-provided benefits that are relatively infrequent, minor and administratively difficult to track, such as doughnuts, picnics and costs associated with the company holiday party as well as the summer picnic, are also 100 percent deductible. “Another meal that is 100 percent deductible includes where the business is reimbursed for the expense,” says Scholz. “For example, if a business takes a client to lunch and then bills the client for that lunch in a separate line item on the invoice, then the business can fully deduct that meal.”
10. Don't rely on your credit card statements. The statements alone are not adequate substantiation of a business expense. “The IRS requires that any legitimate deductible business expense must be ‘both ordinary and necessary,’" says Scholz. “An ordinary expense is one that is ‘common and accepted’ in your specific trade or business type, and a necessary expense is one that is also ‘helpful and appropriate’ for your trade or business.” But beware that having an expense item on a card statement for purchases made at Office Max or Office Depot doesn't automatically qualify the purchase as a legitimate business expense. “The IRS suggests that businesses keep the original store receipts that itemize the details of the items purchased,” says Scholz.
Previous article: 3 Most Common Mistakes Made When Filing Business Taxes  | Next article: Top 5 Tools for Filing Business Taxes
Darren Dahl is an independent business writer, who regularly writes about entrepreneurship for Inc. magazine (where he is a contributing editor), The New York Times and AOL.  He has also worked with several high-profile authors, such as Keith McFarland on The Breakthrough Company, as well as intellectual property experts Mark Blaxill and Ralph Eckardt on their book, The Invisible Edge.
Photo credit: iStock

Business Taxes Decoded 2012

Let's face it: Most of us are daunted by tax season. This series on business taxes presents insights from some of the leading voices in small business today to help answer common tax-related questions and help clarify the filing process. This exclusive series features advice from Barbara Weltman, TJ McCue and a host of leading independent journalists in taxation and business.
The Best States for Business
While no business owner can expect to escape taxes entirely, there are states where taxes are lower than in most places.

Should a Small Business Do Its Own Taxes?
Maybe. It depends on a variety of factors. Here's what you need to consider.

3 Things to Remember When Filing Your Taxes for the First Time
Filing business taxes for the first time? Don't fret. Just remember to do these three things.

How to Minimize What You Owe and Maximize Your Return
Twenty-six-year veteran small-business accountant Frank Gutta gives his expert advice.

How to Choose an Accountant You Can Trust
Be sure to ask these four pertinent questions when interviewing your potential adviser.
3 Most Common Mistakes Made When Filing Business Taxes
No matter how you get your taxes done, steer clear of these common mistakes that are made year after year.

10 Things You Didn't Know About Your Taxes
Mike Scholz, tax director of a Wisconsin accounting firm, shares some tax tips for small-business owners.

Top 5 Tools for Filing Business Taxes
Here's our roundup of tools small businesses can use to file their business taxes.

Are You Really Inviting an Audit If Your Office Is In Your Bedroom?
Contrary to popular belief, deducting the cost of your home workspace doesn't call for an automatic audit from the IRS.

The Future of Online Sales Tax
Billions of dollars in taxes on e-commerce transactions go uncollected every year. But that may soon change.

Planning Ahead: 5 Ways to Save Money on Your 2012 Taxes
It's already time to prepare for next year's taxes. Tax expert Barbara Weltman shares some money-saving tips for 2012.

Infographic: A Snapshot of Business Taxes in the U.S.
Curious about how your business taxes compare to your industry's average? Our infographic sheds light on that and more.
Kalina Mazur is the executive editor of OPEN Forum.

Non-Scientists Use Business Savvy to Launch Med-Tech Product

Rebecca Griffin and Teresa Garland had a great idea for a home-health product but they had no scientific background. That didn't stop them.
In 2005, the two Dallas friends were chatting about a friend who was pregnant. She had two girls already and really wanted a boy. An expectant mom can find out the gender of the fetus with the first sonogram, usually at about 18 weeks. But there's a curiosity gap between the first home pregnancy test and that sonogram.
"We said, 'Gosh, you would think there would be a way to tell by the urine whether it's a girl or a boy,'" Griffin says. "How cool would that be?"
Some Internet research turned up an interesting bit of folklore. In the 17th century, women had a fairly reliable test involving grains of wheat and barley. It piqued their interest enough to look for a lab that would work with them.
They were not scientists, but they did know business. Griffin was a partner in a commercial real estate firm. Garland was a business-development consultant for PwC. They called on friends and contacts for referrals.
The search took them to San Francisco, where they found a company known for its quality skin products. It had the expertise and the vision to help them.
"We were on a fast track to get a product developed," Griffin says. "We felt like speed to market was important. We couldn't believe no one had done this before."
In addition to developing a reliable test, the lab had to figure out which week of pregnancy would produce accurate results. It had to keep track of each sample and match it to the sonogram and the gender of the resulting baby.
The lab went down many dead ends, but the biggest challenge was getting enough of "solution," or the urine of pregnant women. It developed a special cup for the solution samples, plus all the packaging and directions.
The two women tried doctors' offices and approached women in malls and offered them $20 to pee in a cup. Finally, they spread the word through churches and schools. Many women began dropping off samples in the mailbox.
"We did a lot of brainstorming and whiteboarding," Garland says. "How do you find the right jar [for the kit]? How do you design your box? Do we need instructions? A syringe? It gets complicated."
Ironically, it took about nine months to create the IntelliGender test. Independent testing facilities have rated it 85 percent accurate.
Both women were still working full-time, investing their own money in the company when the product launched with Internet sales in 2006.
As the orders for the kit increased, with CVS and Walgreens carrying it, Garland and her husband went to work at IntelliGender in 2009 to manage the volume. Griffin kept her job but participated as a full partner in the LLC. The company expanded to Australia and then to 23 other countries.
The kit now retails for $35. The most expensive part of the kit is the syringe for dropping a sample onto the tester—it was the only imported item. To date, the company has sold more than 500,000 kits worldwide.
IntelliGender also sells IntelliCeuticals, natural remedies to support the health of pregnant women and babies. The company aims to bring more complementary products to market.
Looking back, Garland thinks that the partners' business expertise more than made up for their lack of scientific training.
"We both had marketing [experience]. Rebecca had contract negotiations and I had finance and consulting. My husband was IT, manufacturing and logistics," she says. "A lot of inventors have the opposite scenario.
"But if you spend your whole time in the lab, you have no exposure to business. I think that was key to our success. We had the background of how to make it happen."
Griffin agrees. "You can outsource anything you need," she says. "In fact, it's highly unusual that anyone would have all the skill sets you need to develop a product. Tenacity and ambition are the mothers of invention."
Photo credit: Courtesy subject

Bringing Luxury to the Masses

Wouldn’t it be great if there were a place where you could buy designer clothes and accessories at prices up to 90 percent off? If you’re like me, you’ve dreamt of this place for a while. It wasn’t until recently, though, that I found out it actually exists, and not just in my dreams.
It’s called Gilt Groupe, and it's a members-only e-commerce site that offers merchandise like women's sweaters, men's socks, kids' booties and home decorations—all at price points that don’t induce fainting spells. The best part: The site boasts wares from runway designers such as Zac Posen, Carolina Herrera and Valentino, to name a few.
Friends and fellow Harvard MBAs Alexis Maybank, 37, and Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, 35, launched Gilt Groupe in 2007 as a way to bring the New York City sample sale to the masses. The caveat: Those who wanted in had to be invited (today you can ask to be invited), thereby increasing the exclusivity and excitement around the venture. The plan worked beautifully, and today the business boasts $500 million in revenues, more than 900 employees and offices around the world. This year the duo will release a book documenting the company’s meteoric rise, titled By Invitation Only: How We Built Gilt and Changed How Millions of People Shop.
We got in touch with Maybank and Wilkis Wilson to find out how they managed to successfully change an entire industry.
Could you tell me about your backgrounds?
Alexis Maybank (pictured, right): I grew up between Charleston and central New Jersey. I met Alexis while at Harvard undergrad in a Portuguese class. We were a couple years apart and became great friends. After college I worked in Silicon Valley through the first wave of the technology boom. I was an early employee at eBay, when there were just 40 people. We both ended up going to business school at Harvard. While there, I did an independent study with Zac Posen.
Alexandra Wilkis Wilson (pictured, left): I grew up in New York City and after school worked in investment banking in London for a few years. After business school, I switched gears into retail and luxury goods and worked for Bulgari.
How did you come up with the idea for Gilt Groupe?
AM: In 2007, I was coming off an opportunity, and Alexandra was ready for a new challenge. We would often go to sample sales and had family members from around the country that would ask us to pick up items for them. Sample sales really weren’t available to people outside the tri-state area, so it dawned on us to think of a way to bring those sales to a mass-market audience. We started meeting and talking about how to launch the perfect concept.
AWW: Alexis started working on the site full time, and I stayed at Bulgari for a little while longer. She managed the building of the site while I started reaching out to brands.
How were you able to secure funding?
AM: We started talking with VCs about three weeks before we launched and were successful with AlleyCorp, a group started by Kevin Ryan, one of our co-founders. Dwight Merriman, the founder of DoubleClick, was also able to help us. That funding provided us enough to hire a few employees and rent office space.
When did you launch?
AWW: We consider Nov. 13, 2007, our official launch date because that was the day of our first sale, a Zac Posen sale. Two weeks prior, we did a membership launch where we teed up thousands of e-mail addresses to invite them to join Gilt Groupe.
How many members signed up out the gate?
AWW: We got over 13,000 members to sign up, but we didn’t know if that was a good number or not. We were trying to aim even higher and encouraged friends to invite friends with the incentive of a $25 credit.
What challenges did you face starting out?
AM: One of the first challenges was building a team. After two months we realized that we were hiring people just like ourselves, bright-eyed optimists. It didn’t make for a balanced team so we brought in executive coaches to help. About five months in, we hired an excellent woman out of Ralph Lauren. She brought a really measured approach to the business and made decisions based on experience and facts and not as much on intuition.
We also focused a lot on open communication. Seeds of distress can really tear apart startup teams when they aren’t addressed, so we made communication a priority.
How did you survive the recession only a year after your launch?
AWW: While the recession was a terrible thing, it ended up actually helping our business. Many brands were dealing with excess inventory and having a hard time selling things at full price. Plus, a lot of customers still wanted to shop for designer goods but didn’t want to walk around with big shopping bags; they wanted to be discreet. We ended up growing our membership faster than forecasted during that time.
How are you able to offer such slashed prices?
AM: There are two things that help us with pricing. First, we don’t have overhead or pay rent on Fifth Avenue. Second, we work in an industry that has seasonal inventory, so things need to turn over.
What does the future hold for both of you and for Gilt Groupe?
AM: We’ve talked about taking the company public, but at the same time don’t want to lose sight of providing the best possible customer experience. We will discuss the option of going public this year. [Wilkis Wilson reports the company received a $1 billion valuation in spring 2010.]
I love Gilt and couldn’t think of a business I’m more loyal to. I’m happy right now and just had a baby boy two weeks ago. I also have an 18-month-old daughter at home, so raising a family is a big part of my future plans, as is continuing to be involved heavily with Gilt Groupe.
AWW: I really enjoy mentoring young entrepreneurs and am now a mentor at TechStars. As for my future, I love Gilt so much and am still personally learning.
Could you tell me about your book?
AWW: The book is coming out in April, and it really focuses on our early days, getting the company off the ground. We worked on it for about two years, meeting every Thursday at 8 a.m. to brainstorm and go through anecdotes. We are really proud of the final product and hope it inspires other entrepreneurs.
What advice can you give budding entrepreneurs?
AM: Figure out if now is the right time to launch your company. Who is doing it already? If there isn’t anyone doing it, is there a reason why?
Also, execution is so much more important than the idea itself. Get your product out there and get feedback from your customers. The earlier you can get feedback, the better. Don’t over-invest before you know more from your customer base.
AWW: You really need to trust the people you go into business with. If you have any red flags or don’t know the person well, pay attention. It is easy to get sucked in by excitement and adrenaline. Invest time in reference checks.
If you are starting a business and throwing out ideas to consumers and investors, it is important to listen to criticism. That doesn’t mean you should back down on your ideas, but take that feedback to heart and think of how you can apply what people are saying to your business model.
Photo credit: Courtesy company

Don’t Underestimate How Much Capital You Need To Grow

I recently had the pleasure of speaking at the Craft and Hobby Association’s (CHA) Winter Conference in Anaheim, California. The CHA represents small businesses in the craft and hobby industry which together generate around $29 billion in domestic revenues. I was energized by many of the participants who attended my address as they told me about their plans to move forward “full steam ahead” with their growth plans despite difficult economic conditions. After my address, I spent about an hour speaking with attendees and identified a key concern which is shared by most business owners: how to figure out how much capital is really needed to grow. The overwhelming majority of small business owners that I have encountered always seem to underestimate how much money it really does take to grow.
Failing to prepare a proper growth budget can have catastrophic consequences on your business. It’s very painful to set out on a growth plan only to find that you have run out of cash when you are on the cusp of achieving your goals. This happens to companies of all sizes and is most prevalent among business owners who have never managed a process of rapid growth.
When preparing your growth budget, keep in mind the following recommendations.
Your best case is not your base case
Many small business owners prepare a single revenue projection for their growth plan and calculate their cash needs based on this scenario. Some wisely add a cushion to what their projections indicate they need and feel comfortable that this amount of money will allow them to achieve their needed growth. Unfortunately, many revenue projections aren’t realistic or assume that almost everything will go as expected, something that seldom happens. When I look at a revenue projection I always ask “is it realistically possible for you to do much better than this?” If the answer is no, then I tell them that they have just shown me their best case scenario. Their base case—the realistic one—needs to be less aggressive.
Run a cost sensitivity analysis
Scenario planning is also important for projecting the costs associated with your growth. If you have been running your business for several years, then you should have a good feel for your fixed and variable costs and your projections should therefore be defensible. This confidence can lead to overreliance on the projections. Surprises on the cost side can also kill a growth plan and for this reason you need to run a sensitivity analysis.
This analysis consists of modifying your assumptions for key costs and analyzing the impact of those changes on your overall projections. It’s important to run sensitivities on all important costs and combinations of costs. What would happen to your plan if you have to change suppliers and spend 20 percent more for your raw materials? And your liability insurance rates were to double? Or what if gasoline reaches $5 per gallon as some economists predict? Your model still needs to work under these new assumptions.
Work with someone with experience
Experience is the best teacher, but not the cheapest one. Rather than “learn from your mistakes” it’s better to work with someone who has already accomplished what you are setting out to do. Make sure that someone on your team (a partner, investor, advisor or consultant) has specific experience growing your type of business to the level you want to achieve. This is the best investment you can make towards your future success.
Executing a successful growth plan is very realistic for small businesses because there really is almost unlimited opportunity relative to your starting point. But make sure you do it right and follow these recommendations.

Google to Launch TV Service

Google is looking to get into the paid TV business.
The company filed an application last week to provide video service to residents of Kansas City, Mo., according to The Wall Street Journal. If approved, the service could launch as soon as a month from now, according to the article, which cites a “media executive currently involved in negotiations to license channels to the service.” Offerings in the video package would include live TV as well as on-demand and online access to TV channels, according to the report, which was based on an earlier article by The New York Post.
The source told the WSJ that Google plans to look beyond the Kansas City market and into other areas where Verizon’s Fiber Optic Services (FIOS). Controlling the pipes to TV subscribers would offer Google a new revenue stream.
Reps from Google could not be reached for comment.
The Kansas City application coincides with another request to put a satellite antenna farm near the company’s data center in Council Bluffs, Iowa. That addition could allow Google to receive movies and TV shows that could be bundled with a new Internet service in Kansas City that promises to be up to 100 times faster than the average Internet connection.
Google chose Kansas City for its ultra-fast service last March. Kansas City, Mo., and Kansas City, Kan., beat out about 1,000 other municipalities for that honor. That fiber-optic-based Internet service is expected to go live there this summer.
This isn’t the first time that Google’s ambitious plans for TV service have been exposed. The Wall Street Journal also reported in November that Google was in talks with Disney, Time Warner and Discovery Communications about providing content for its fiber-optic based video service in those cities.

4 Rules of Successful Negotiation

Negotiation is part of our everyday lives. We negotiate with our kids about homework, haggle with the farmers' market seller over prices and work out who will clean the dirty dishes at home. Small-business negotiations happen all the time with vendors, employees and customers.
Despite the media's portrayal of contentious negotiations (think pro sports lockout), it's possible to negotiate calmly and come to an agreement that satisfies both parties. Michael E. Sloopka, the negotiating coach, explains how to do it.
Listen
Just because you know what you want, doesn’t mean you should give it away immediately. Ask for the other side’s position first, Sloopka suggests.
“Then you know what you are dealing with,” he says. “If you are looking to buy a car and the price isn’t in the window, you ask how much the car is, you don’t tell them how much you are willing to pay for it.”
If the other party won’t reveal their position, play hardball. Tell them that you can’t give them what they want without knowing what they require, he says.
Follow the process
A successful negotiation follows a three-step process.

• Step 1: Gather opening positions. Your son wants money to go shopping.
• Step 2: Ask for more information What will he spend the money on?
• Step 3: Reach a compromise.

Yeah, right. No way is it that simple.
“Actually it is,” says Sloopka. “Look for a common ground. For example, if you are buying a house, the seller states his opening position, you state yours, you ask what is included in the house, and then you find out what you and the seller can comprise on.”
But what if it gets heated? When emotions run high, you may find yourself at an impasse or deadlock. An impasse, Sloopka explains, is when more can be done but conversations have stalled. In this scenario, he recommends chatting about what each party is willing to give up in order to move forward.
A deadlock is when you’ve completely failed to reach a compromise. In that situation, it’s best to bring in a professional mediator.
Use the magic phrase
"Under what circumstance…?" This phrase can spell the beginning of the end for any negotiation. Under what circumstance would you finance my business? Under what circumstance would you close on my condo by the end of next month?
“Using this phrase is an effective way of understanding what the other side wants, and until you know that, you won’t be able to reach a compromise,” Sloopka says.
Don’t use round numbers
Imagine you find one website designer who offers to host your site for $38 per month and another that charges $40 per month. Which one are you more likely to negotiate with?
When coming to the table, offer an exact number and don’t use zeros, Sloopka says. Why? It makes you look like you’ve done the math on costs required and that fact alone can intimidate your opposing party.
The same goes with concessions. Instead of negotiating prices in round numbers (i.e. offering a product for $10,000, going down to $9,000, then $8,000, and so on), always lead with odd number amounts.
“Don’t present zeros and don’t accept zeros," Sloopka says. "It’s a dead giveaway that you don’t know what you’re doing."
Photo credit: Courtesy subject

Decide if Social Media Is Right for Your Business

Social media is often a big help when you're developing your brand. It allows businesses to connect to customers on a more personal level. But that doesn't mean it's right for every small business.
Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, believes that 9 million small businesses in the U.S. use Facebook.
Twitter and Facebook are useful in different ways. Twitter is known to be better for customer engagement, while Facebook helps funnel traffic to your site. Both sites help you better your search engine optimization (SEO).
Take three steps before launching Twitter and Facebook campaigns and decide which social media platform is right for your small business.
1. Is social media right for your company?
Remember the old question, “If everyone was jumping off a bridge would you do it too?”
The buzz makes everybody feel that social media helps their business. It's likely that's true, but it’s vital that you decide if social media is necessary for your business to succeed right now.
Though millions of small businesses have jumped on the social media train, your target audience might not be caught up in it. If you feel that's the case, it makes sense to hold off. Or, perhaps you aren’t ready to make the most of social media's benefits, so wait until your company is ready.
2. Timing is everything
Having a strong presence in social media takes a lot of time and a lot of resources. If you can’t dedicate the manpower to keeping up a quality profile, it might hurt your brand in the long run.
Look at your team and decide if your business can handle the workload. If it can, then be fully prepared to implement it. Like any good marketing campaign, your social media portfolio has to have a clear identity, and reach your target audience.
If you forge ahead, prepare the information you want to share each week. Figure out what time of the day your posts and tweets have the most impact by reaching your core customers.
3. Set goals and guidelines
In 2011, companies saw a 63 percent increase in marketing effectiveness. But businesses of all sizes are trying to establish a strong ROI when it comes to social media.
Setting goals for the next few weeks, months and years helps you decide if your valuable time is worth the effort and if you’re using social media successfully. It’s also important to set ground rules of who in your company will handle your social media sites.
Decide on what content is and isn’t appropriate to post. Learn how to handle customer interaction and what steps to take if something goes wrong. Then spend some time educating your staff before the first day of having a visible social media profile.
Once you have created a place for your business in the social media realm, look around your direct and indirect competitors' pages. It helps you understand what the best practices are to engage customers.
Also research the different ways social media platforms are reaching out to help small businesses advertise. See if those steps are right for your brand as well.
In the end, social media is another tool for your company’s toolbox. It will only be effective if you can take the time to learn how to use it properly.

Get More Business With LinkedIn

When LinkedIn went live in 2003, it made its mark as a place for professionals to network and job hunt. People signed up, posted their resumes and waited for good things to happen. Now the social networking site is evolving into a robust tool for helping individuals and businesses succeed.
That’s right, businesses. There are 2 million business pages on LinkedIn. Viewers can learn about a business, “follow it” to hear about its latest products, and of course, search for job openings. Many employees also are linked to their employer’s company page, making it easier for businesses to find connections and sales prospects.
If you’ve kept a passive LinkedIn account for years, consider strategies for using the service to benefit yourself and your company. "Is there a place for small business on LinkedIn? Absolutely, yes,” says Lori Ruff, a social media trainer who wrote the book Rock the World with Your Online Presence with her partner, Mike O’Neil.
“If you ask small business people where their business and leads come from, most will tell you it’s from referrals,” Ruff says. “They can mimic that same behavior in the online space, and they will be more successful because it just enhances everything. You can speak to 10 to 15 people at a networking event, but on LinkedIn you can speak to hundreds of people and tell them so much more.”
O’Neil and Ruff own Integrated Alliances, a consulting firm that trains people and companies on effectively using LinkedIn. Here they share their tips and tricks for boosting sales, finding new opportunities and making a better name for your company.
Spiff up your profile
Add detail to your job descriptions and make sure to use keywords that are relevant to your industry. That way, your name or company page will show up more often in search engines, says O’Neil. Include details like organizations you belong to, specific accomplishments, the value your company brings to clients and complete contact information so that people can reach you.
Use LinkedIn’s tools to their full advantage
Write a snappy headline and use the 120 available characters to describe what you do in an attention-grabbing way, Ruff says. Also, be sure to use all 2,000 characters allotted in the summary space under your bio. Compose an elevator pitch that tells prospects who you are and how you can help them. Then end with a call to action.
“That call to action really makes a difference,” Ruff adds. “You’re telling people, ‘Here’s how you can do business with us.’”
Build your network
At a minimum, your company should have 500 connections or followers to make sure you’re generating traffic to your profile or company page, O’Neil says. Once you achieve 500, aim for 1,000. The more people you’re connected to, the bigger your network—because your network is made up of your connections’ connections (second-degree connections) as well as their connections (third-degree connections).
When you meet someone at an industry or social event, drop him or her a personal note to connect. “It should be a regular process for you to invite people you meet. It just cements those relationships,” O’Neil adds. “Being connected on LinkedIn causes you to look at each other from a business perspective.”
Be a joiner
Connect with industry groups and organizations to which you belong or want to belong. All other members of these groups or organizations then become part of your network, even if you’re not directly connected to them. This vastly broadens the number of people who can see your profile or company updates, O’Neil says, and you can e-mail them through LinkedIn’s InMail.
Work the tools
Use your newly robust network for recruiting or sales. “Now we get to have some fun,” says O’Neil. “It’s like in sports—you’ve built the stadium and the team, and now the team is going to play.” LinkedIn can be used for territory selling; plug in a ZIP code and a few keywords to find prospects. Then you can view their profiles to gather information about them to use in sales calls, he says. The best part? It’s all free.
Reach out
Build stronger connections with your connections. Follow their companies and “like” their status updates. On a group’s page, join an ongoing discussion by making a comment. “It gets your name out there,” says Ruff. “Show yourself to be a listener—someone else commenting on the discussion posts will take notice of you.”
Eventually, you might find yourself with new clients, stronger relationships with your customers, and a whole different way of hiring new employees who can help grow your organization.
Suzy Frisch is a Twin Cities–based freelance writer. She’s covered business, politics, law and many other topics for a range of publications, including Twin Cities Business magazine, the Star Tribune and the Chicago Tribune.

What Every Successful Small-Business Website Needs

Having a website is a must, if you want to establish and build a successful business—large or small.
Creating the perfect website isn’t an exact science, but a few guiding principles will help you attract and retain an audience of loyal customers and clients.
To find out how to make your website stand out, we spoke with Ron Wright and Tony Escobar. Wright has helped businesses build a solid Web presence since 1998 at Accentix. Escobar is a 25-year-old entrepreneur who helped launch AMTG Solutions to provide web services to small businesses.
Escobar says you need to make your business stand out and get your visitors to act. Refining your website in a few key ways helps you present the best product to your online clientele.
Quality content
Content is the most important foundational element of any small-business website.
If you're selling a product or service, offer enough information about that product or service that prospective customers understand what it is. They should also be enticed to buy it, based on the function you describe or the need your product satisfies.
“The whole point of the website is to get visitors to contact the company, make a purchase or visit your location,” Escobar says, and that hinges on its content. “A good site provides users the exact content the company wants them to act on.”
All the text on your site must be written well. If writing isn't your thing, Wright suggests leaving it to a professional by contracting out the work to a freelance copy writer. It might seem like a big up-front cost, but it's actually an important investment to make.
Clear vision of the audience
Without a keen awareness of who your ideal customers are, it's hard to properly tailor your content and website to appeal to them.
Small-business owners often don't narrow their focus enough.
“I always try to counsel my clients to consider who the visitor is and then give that visitor a clear path on what to do next,” Wright says. That’s hard to do if you’re targeting too broad an audience.
Keywords
It's important to understand what search terms and keywords drive visitors to your site. That way, you know which words to use when you describe your products or services to maximize page traffic.
Google, for example, uses a keyword-based algorithm to rank search results. There are tools to help you understand whether you're taking proper steps to capitalize on that.
You can advertise your business on Google using Google AdWords. It has a feature that helps you find out if your keyword choices are on-point or off the mark. Additionally, analytics software like Google Analytics allows you to see which search terms and other Web pages steer people to your site.
By taking stock of that data and regularly monitoring it, you can build comprehensive strategies that will help search results tip in your favor.
A clean, readable look
Aesthetics are subjective, Wright and Escobar agree, but designing a website according to your own tastes is a big mistake. Instead, keep these few guidelines in mind.
First, be professional and have a look to match. You want people to take your company seriously? Then invest in a site that looks legitimate. Unless you're a savvy site-builder, hire a consultant. Your website is the image you're sharing with a whole world of potential customers. Make it good.
"Any hint of being outdated or having an unpleasant design can be a major turnoff for prospects," Escobar says. "After all, small businesses are not alone, they have to compete with the guy next door. The company that provides the best first impression usually gets the sale."
Second, don't overwhelm. Lots of graphical additions and colorful sections on your site looks messy and confusing. Keep a streamlined approach and focus on simplicity.
Simple navigation
A comprehensive (but to-the-point) sidebar that displays each of your pages' offerings is the easiest way to shepherd visitors to the various parts of your site without frustrating them.
Keep it simple and straightforward, Escobar says. For example, say "About" instead of "About Our Office" to avoid clutter and confusion.
About your company
The autobiographical section of your website, the About tab, is a crucial trust-builder and attention-grabber.
This page should never be generic, Wright says. It's a history of your company that details who you are and what you do, written in a tone that matches your company's culture. Include personal bios of your top management staff. That gives a sense of transparency and openness to what you do and fosters connection with prospective customers.
"People are not as concerned with what you do as who you are," Wright says, noting that the About sections of a website are among the most-read.
Contact us any way you want
Contact information tells your customers you are reachable and at their service, whenever they might need you.
Don't be shy about listing ways to get in touch across platforms and devices, Wright says. It gives the best impression of accessibility and engagement when you offer e-mail, phone, mail and social media options.
Escobar suggests going a step further and including contact information at the footer of each individual page, where visitors are accustomed to finding general information.
Social media integration
Building in social media, like your Twitter and Facebook feeds, to your website helps boost your engagement on those platforms and allows you to more easily keep in touch with your customer base, Escobar says.
He suggests adding social icons in the main navigation bar and in the page footers.