The short answer is, yes. Social networking offers a kind of publicity you won’t find anywhere else: free, word of mouth advertising.
If you’ve ever bought a product or gone to a restaurant on the recommendation of a friend, you’ve already seen the power of social networking in action. Sites like Facebook and Myspace take this same idea and add to it the power of the Internet. The result is that people can instantly share recommendations with hundreds of friends and family members in blink of an eye, or rather, with the click of a mouse.
There is no type of advertising that is more effective than word of mouth. The most expensive and colorful advertising campaigns can’t compete with the power of one person telling another person what to buy or where to go. But that’s not all…
Search engines like Google base their search results on more than just keywords. Of course, a good website must have strong content and keywords to be of any use, but even the most well-constructed sites need traffic.
The more traffic a site receives, the more likely it will show up in search results because Google (and others) will assume that this site has the potential to answer questions and solve problems. Search engines also give preference to sites that make use of interlinking. Imagine the Internet as a series of rooms (sites) with hallways (hyperlinks) leading to and from the rooms. The more hallways lead to a room, the more visitors the room will receive, and those visitors will discuss and hopefully recommend the room to others. In this metaphor, social networking is a source of hallways for your room.
While Facebook and Myspace were invented with the intention of keeping people connected with friends and family, they have also presented businesses (particularly small businesses) with a new way to advertise a brand or service. Research on advertising tells us that people are bombarded with upwards of 50,000 ads per day, most of which we ignore. But at the end of the day, the endorsements we remember are those of our friends and family.
One of the services our company offers is help with social networking. Building and maintaining a profile on one of these sites takes very little time and the payoff in visibility is enormous. Please contact us if you are interested in taking advantage of this service.
Tax season is annoying, especially when the IRS enjoys playing little tricks on small and home based businesses. Large corporations can employ people that keep up with the multiple changes that occur each year and have prominent CPA firms to act as watch dogs.
Not true for small business.
We have to rely on keeping up on what is a legitimate tax deduction, and although some employ accountants, I know a lot of businesses submit their own tax report because it’s cheaper.
A prominent tax advisor stated that overlooked deductions every year allow the IRS to pocket $250,000 that should be left with us.
Here are a few thoughts: generally, you can utilize a Schedule C form if “your intent is to make a profit” and you “work consistently for a minimum of ten hours a week.”
Other things to take note of are keeping an appointment book and a phone log, placing business emails in a folder on your computer, maintaining a client database, having business cards and, of course, keeping all receipts. Information on receipts should include: who, what, when, where, and why.
My personal tax adviser never allows me to claim entertainment…dinners mostly. We run it under advertising. Now, if you and your prospect go Dutch treat, you can deduct 50% of your half of the tab. I also use business gifts, particularly when clients introduce me to a potential prospect.
Car allowances are constantly being fiddled with by the IRS. I believe you can write off the entire lease if you use your car for business well over 50% of the time. Just remember when you are going to the grocery store, be sure to stop off and leave a sample or promotional piece while you are out. For those taking mileage, a simple travel log kept in the car is quite sufficient. If you don’t think the price of gasoline is going to skyrocket again, you may consider that Big Vehicle deduction under IRS 179. Just be sure on the door it reads GVWR6001 – I think that means it weighs 6000 pounds.
Travel expense is always fun if you are going someplace you enjoy. Go to www.gsa.gov and compare the per diem costs of the most popular convention destinations. Here is a little trick that the IRS can’t touch. The per diem cost in San Francisco is $48/day. But if you stayed at Aunt Betty’s house and she drove you to the convention, you could still write off the allowable deduction. Neat, eh?
Hire your children and make them work for that allowance and you can write it off. They must contribute to your business, of course.
Presentation expenses are allowed. That projector and screen that is used at trade shows and other venues can also be used to enjoy family parties.
The bottom line is this. If the IRS comes calling you must be prepared with all the records they want to see. A big smack down is writing off a portion of your home as a home office, including a portion of the utilities, taxes, assessments, etc. The IRS has made it clear that the office must have a separate entrance and the room is actually an office…not the dining room table. I stay away from that one altogether.
Hope this helps…we have a little time left. If you have thoughts or comments on this topic, I’d love to hear from you.
Best,
Ruth Ann Hall
In the April 2009 issue of Decanter magazine, author Margaret Rand discusses how wineries are dealing with the recession. She makes an interesting point about how small businesses are persevering while the big guys are drowning in debt and going out of business.
Quoting wine consultant Mike Paul, Margaret discusses wineries in the context of small businesses in general:
“‘How will the independents cope? The usual ways, is the answer: by being flexible and imaginative, by giving better service, and by being leaner and fitter than their rivals.’ On the plus side, Paul says that ‘family businesses are six times less worried about going under than normal businesses. Their cost base isn’t that high, and they have less debt and are better prepared for a recession.’”
Six times less worried? I’m not sure worry can be measured this exactly, but the sentiment is an important one. Small businesses are always in a sort of recession. We have a lack of cash flow, a small pool of resources, and we constantly worry about whether we will succeed in both the short and long terms. It’s so refreshing, in the context of panic and the collapsing of some of the country’s largest companies, to hear that small businesses are more likely to “make it.”
Perhaps in the long run the country will be better off for the elimination of big companies that have dominated, and in effect, monopolized, many of our industries. Small book stores that can’t compete with Barnes & Noble would get more business if Barnes & Noble wasn’t around. A small grocery store would welcome a new flood of customers that used to shop at a nearby Schnuck’s.
Can we get back to the days of the corner market, instead of the corner strip mall? I think so. Is it possible that this recession will leave behind an economic climate more friendly to small businesses? I hope so!
We all love some of the things small businesses have to offer, like primo service, unique products, and the feeling that our money is feeding someone’s family as opposed to financing a 12th vacation for a CEO. But many of us compromise all of those good feelings to save a few bucks by shopping at a conglomerate. Is it worth it?
I think now would be a good time for all of us to patronize small businesses. Let’s discourage the monopolizing of every industry and get ready for what lies ahead. Perhaps small businesses are our future.
In the end, it’s the hard work and blood, sweat, and tears of small business owners that will see this economy through the rough times. Making sure the rich stay rich can’t be our priority anymore.
We can help! See our Small Business Web Marketing Website for more information. Free phone consultations available.
I want to expand a bit more on why I named this blog with such an obscure name. I wanted to use outsourcing, but was advised by friends that it would probably be met negatively. You know, American jobs going outside our country is kind of negative.
Actually, I went to my trusty Webster’s Unabridged and looked up outsourcing and you’ve got to check it out to believe it. Outspanning was the very next word! The derivation was explained in our Welcome post, so if you missed it, just check it out.
I thought I’d really caught on to something unique.
While visiting my son and his family recently, I picked up the St.Louis Women’s Journal while having my favorite breakfast (lox/bagel) at Einstein Bros. in Kirkwood.
I read the headline…Can You Blend with an Enemy to Make a Friend? The use of the word “blend” seemed odd, so I read on.
I found I’m not the only one looking for unique words to spice up the vocabulary of old problems. For the next few minutes I was fascinated by Ms. Judy Ryan’s explanation and use of entrainment.
Sidebar: It has nothing to do with railroads.
First, she explained how one must first notice and appreciate the other person. You must have heard the expression, “the customer is always right.” Although Ms. Ryan’s exercise in Emotional Intelligence wasn’t directed toward small business, I picked up a lot of pointers from her article…like agreeing with others’ opinions and being SINCERE about it. She insisted on “entering fully into their viewpoint and how they see the world.”
This stuff has application for business and your life with friends, family members, and enemies. Check it out in the Archives of: www.stlwomensjournal.com – February/March 09.
“Can You Blend With an Enemy to Make a Friend?” ~by Judy Ryan, Expanding Human Potential
I’m actually going to give this a try…perhaps with my husband first.
Seriously, check out this article and please comment on it. It struck me as such a fresh approach.
Best,
Ruth Ann