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We hope you find this arcthve useful. A subscription to The Small Business Advisor Newsletter is free. Subscribe now - it's easy! The Small Business Advisor Newsletter for March, 1999 CONTENTS Notes, tips, etcNOTES/TIPS/etc TAX INFORMATION. The IRS has a web site devoted to small business, called the Small Business Corner. You can find it at: http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/bus_info/sm_bus/index.html. This Web site has tax information for people who are operating a business today as well as those who are just starting a business. It also includes a special section on Employment Taxes. FRANCHISES. I'm not a fan but for those contemplating the purchase of a franchise be sure to request the Uniform Franchise Offering Circular. You should visit existing franchisees and talk with them about their experiences. Lastly do not enter into an agreement without having it reviewed by your attorney and CPA. The fastest growing franchises are Yogen Fruz, McDonald's, Jani-King, 7-11, Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, KFC, Subway and Central Small Business Solutions. TAX DEDUCTIONS FOR YOUR SMALL BUSINESS Most small business owners know they can deduct the office or store rent they pay, their business dues, publications, meals, and a myriad of other common business expenses. But many are missing out on deductions they're not aware of says San Francisco tax preparer Jan Zobel. Zobel, an enrolled agent and author of Minding Her Own Business: the Self-Employed Woman's Guide to Taxes and Recordkeeping,(EastHill Press) reminds us of the following - often overtlooked - deductions: * tips paid on business
meals and travel INTERNET STATS. According to Forrester Research, the major factors driving visitors to websites (in order of preference) are high quality content, Ease of Use, Quick to download, and frequent updates. Forrester also reports that most people find websites by search engines, e-mail messages, websites, and word of mouth. BUYING ON THE INTERNET.
One major advantage of buying producsts on the interest is that you can
do a LOT of shopping from your favorite chair - furthermore you can compare
prices and features easily. Here are some sites to consider: NEED A DICTIONARY? Check http://www.m-w.com/netdict.htm REVERSE TELE LOOKUP. This is handy! Here is a site where you can find who belongs to a tele number: http://www.infospace.com/info.go555/index_ppl.htm Also find people, area codes, businesses. Bookmark this one! SCANNERS. Scanner prices have gone down and performance has gone up. Take a look at the Epson 636 for about $300. ANOTHER SOURCE OF BUSINESS CAPITAL. Check out one of the many "Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFI's) throughout the country. CDFI's are private-sector, financial intermediaries with community development as their primary mission. They find ways to make loans and investments that conventional financial institutions would consider unbankable, and they link financing to other developmental activities. For more details visit http://www.treas.gov/cdfi/ or e-mail cdfi@cdfi.org TELEPHONE TIPS. Don't lose business because of an antiquated telephone system. Consider music or better yet, a sales message on hold; a friendly voice-mail system; additional lines; call forwarding; etc. Check with your telephone company for the services they have available. The Internet Marketing Center, http://www.marketingtips.com/t.cgi/7115 Marketing tips, strategies, and secrets for internet marketing, online advertising and website promotion that will skyrocket your small, medium or home based business profits through the roof. DO YOU NEED A
BUSINESS LICENSE? Depending on the type of business you are starting, you may be required to obtain local, county, State or Federal licensing. It is important to determine which of these will be required before you start conducting any business since heavy fines are usually associated with conducting a business without proper licenses and permits. Most small and home-based businesses will only require a local business license or permit. It is easy to determine what your local licensing requirements are. Simply call or visit your city or county government offices (usually in the courthouse) for information about licensing requirements. Nearly all businesses will require a county or city license to operate. The license is easy to obtain and normally only requires a short visit to the local courthouse. Fees, if any, are small. If you intend to operate a business from your home, be sure to also check local zoning requirements (again, at the courthouse) as well as any property covenants. Zoning requirements are those laws that regulate how property can be used and in some cases, some activities may not be allowed. Certain businesses and professions will also require a State license. Examples include attorneys, barbers, contractors, dentists, most businesses serving food, and social workers. Each State has an agency dealing with these types of businesses. Determine if your business requires a State license by contacting your local government offices. They should be able to give you information as to whether your business will require State licensing. In some cases, these licenses can be expensive. For a very few businesses, Federal licensing is required. Examples would be a business that is engaged in providing investment advice or dealing with firearms. In general, Federal licensing is required if the business is highly regulated by the government. It is best to consult an attorney in these cases. Each State has different business licensing requirements. A good source of State specific information is your local library. Most libraries now provide a "small business" section that includes informative brochures from the local government agencies. Ask at the reference desk. TAX CONSIDERATIONS
FOR YOUR SIDELINE BUSINESS This information has been excerpted from the TaxTalk Newsletter which is always full of useful tax-related information. (For details on this newsletter visit our website, http://www.isquare.com and click on TAX ADVICE ..ed). Always check with your tax advisor for details. 1. You may expense
up to $19,000 of business equipment as long as the deduction does not
exceed your taxable income from the business. HOW TO WRITE
THE MILLION DOLLAR SALES LETTER 1. Hit readers with an ATTENTION-GETTING HEADLINE to pull them into the letter. Use offers, questions, quotes or statistics. 2 Use EMOTIONAL APPEALS. Quickly show your readers how your product or service will specifically benefit them. You must answer the questions: "So what?" "Who cares?" "What's in it for me?" 3. Make it as PERSONAL as possible. Try to write as naturally and as easily as you speak. Imagine that your prospect is standing in front of you when you write. Remember that each communication is a one-to-one proposition. Use word YOU as often as possible. 4. Make it EASY TO READ : Verbally, use a simple, clear style (8th grade reading level) with short sentences, contractions, and lots of "YOU's"). Visually, use an attractive format with eye-catching graphics like underlines, bullets, boxes and other vi-sual highlights. 4. PROVE IT! Use testimonials , case studies and a solid guarantee. Answer obvious questions. Give propsects the reasons why you are doing something (the "method behind you madness"). 5. ASK FOR ACTION! Tell your prospects what to do and make it easy for them to do it (e.g. write, phone, ask for free literature, send a check, limited time offer, multiple premiums etc...). End Message with Easy Action: Wrong: "This letter and the enclosures tell you why to use our firm. Thank you Mr. Prospect, for your consideration." Correct: "This letter and the enclosures tell you why our firm guarantees results. Call 444-3636 with any questions or to make an appointment. If you don't call first, you will hear from me next week to see if/how we can be of service. Thank you." 5. Use a P.S. The P.S. is read first, last and remembered longer; Use it to restate your offer, list another benefit, or create urgency! 6. EDIT. Walk away for an hour, a day or a week and rewrite your letter to perfection with fresh eyes. INCREASE YOUR
PROFITS WITH EFFECTIVE FOLLOW UP Everybody knows that sales are vital to building a profitable business. But, few people understand the importance of maintaining a permanent reservoir of potential customers (I call them "hot prospects") from which sales can be made now or very soon. The majority of businesses put most of their time and effort into continually attracting new prospects. They spend very little or no time and effort on following up with previous prospects. Attracting new prospects is important. It's also expensive. Following up with previous prospects is important, too. In comparison with finding new prospects, it's very inexpensive. If you're in business, don't overlook the "acres of diamonds" in your own backyard. You've already devoted the time and spent the money to attract these previous prospects. Most of them who haven't yet bought from you still have an interest in your product or service. It just wasn't convenient for them to take action at the time you communicated with them. You can still get business from these prospects if you stay in contact with them. The cost of getting business by following up with previous prospects will be very low in comparison to getting business by finding fresh, new prospects. How do you handle these previous prospects to keep your name in front of them without becoming a pest? I'll give you two "real life" examples from my own experience. One is a traditional, postal mail technique. The other is an online, e-mail technique. Adapt either or both examples to your operation. You'll see an immediate increase in business with little or no expense. FOLLOW UP BY POSTAL MAIL Before retiring, I was in the financial services sales business. Most of our business came from sales of life insurance and mutual funds. Because the client sees no immediate reward for buying life insurance or setting up an investment account, most people tend to delay taking action. There is never a right time to start. I became very proficient at staying in contact with potential clients. As a result, most of my new business came from prospects I met months or even years earlier. Every 3 months I sent a postcard to each previous prospect offering them something of value. This was usually a free report or booklet of useful information related in some way to financial planning. The postcard kept my name in front of them. Plus, every time they responded to request the new information, I had another opportunity to talk with them about their financial planning. Best of all, the discussion was always conducted under favorable circumstances because they requested the communication. Not me. If you implement this type of follow up, here are two suggestions: 1. Use postcards with just a brief message. They will get read by almost 100% of the recipients. Postcards are easy to print and they're very inexpensive. Plus, the postage for sending a postcard in the US is only 20 cents... and you get First Class Mail service. 2. Send approximately the same number of postcards every week instead of sending a large number at one time every few months. You don't want to generate 250 inquiries this week and none for the next 3 months. You won't be able to follow up on all of them while they are still "fresh". What you want is 20 inquiries per week every week so you can follow up with each one as soon as you get it... while they still have a high level of interest. FOLLOW UP BY E-MAIL The other example of successful follow up involves e-mail. Since retiring, I've written a manual and several reports that I sell on the Internet. E-mail inquiries go to one of my autoresponders or come directly to me. All of them receive an offer with a special price deadline about 15 days in the future. About half of the orders I get come from this first contact. However, the other half results from my follow ups. I use 2 methods of follow up: 1. Five days before the Special Price deadline, I send a brief e-mail message reminding the prospect that the Special Price Offer is about to expire. The reminder includes an offer to send another copy of the original message if the prospect doesn't have it. Only about 10%-15% request the information again. Almost all of them place an order. 2. Every 2 months I follow up again with a brief e-mail reminder of the original request and offer to send my current Special Price Offer if the prospect requests it. Usually 20%-30% will request it. About 50% of my total sales results from inquiries generated by these 2 types of follow up messages. I would have only half as much business if I didn't send those follow up messages. What does it cost me to generate this additional business? Nothing! The money was already spent to get the initial reply. Implementing a follow up procedure can substantially increase your volume of business. Because following up is so inexpensive, the business it produces is very profitable. (Contact Bob Leduc at BobLeduc@aol.com or (702) 658-1707 (After 10 AM Pacific time). Ask about his "How to Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards" manual available for $29.95 plus $3.00 s/h) Return to top of page - Back to Home Page - Back to Archive Index |