Greetings From California!

Hi there,

We are a team of software engineers, web and app developers, web designers and marketers from California. We work with startups worldwide helping them succeed through results-oriented websites, custom software and marketing solutions.

We are happy to become contributors to the forum and also learn from others! Feel free to ask any questions you might have about websites, apps and marketing. You can also contact us for any related service or cooperation!

Have a great day everybody!

Tractus Team

Lapsed Patent Question

Looking for a simple answer to this question but no luck so far...

I am developing a product that is similar to a product that was patented about 10 years ago. My product is slightly different and may still be unique enough to warrant a narrow utility patent. Once I complete my preliminary patent search I will discuss this with a patent attorney.

My question is what, if any, residual rights does a patent holder have for a patent that has lapsed? The particular patent my idea is similar to has lapsed due to non-payment of the maintenance fees by the patent holder. I don't know why the payments were not made. Perhaps the original patent holder could not make the product successful and decided to stop making the maintenance payments.

If I am not able to get my own utility patent I'd still like to produce the product. Does the original patent holder still have any intellectual property rights on the patent if that patent has lapsed?

Thanks

How do I deal with insubordination?

In the past I've been responsible for managing subordinates, and had a difficult time doing so due to my race and age in my opinion --i'm in my 20's and African American, and was that way during that time. My decisions were met with questioning, opposition, and dismissals when choosing how I wanted subordinates to function/operate constantly. I experienced being mistaken within the workplace for service employees like a delivery guy, doorman, assistant, security guard, and lower level employees of another sort, and denial when complaints were made about my unique difficulties and struggles within the workplace.

These experiences have been embarrassing to say the least, and I want to know what I should do if they are to arise in the future. I aspire to own a business one day, and management skills is a must to have for any employer from what I can see.

Any advice? How should I handle difficult employees? How should I handle being "out of control" as a business owner/authority figure? How do I correct the behavior of difficult employees? Insubordination? Have you ever experienced anything like the above mentioned? What did you do? Did you fix it? How, if so?

Hi Everyone

Hi Guys,

My name is Tanya and I am the owner of Tdfolio Creative. I provide branding and design services to small and medium sized businesses. Hopefully I can help others who are taking that entrepreneurial leap forward and pursuing their dreams. Thank you guys and have a great day!

Telesales Services for Small Business

I everyone,
I have started small Telemarketing company and provide outsourcing services to UK USA and other European countries. The problem is that i am struggling for a client, i do not understand that how to reach clients for telemarketing prospect. Please help me for the this if anyone have experience or information about this.

Newbie here

Hi all

I have been trying to start some sort of online business for a while and as the saying goes 9 out of 10 business fail within the first 5 years.. and what most financial guru would advise is to keep trying until you find that business that works. Most of these books say don't go for the money and instead go for the NEED.

Well having tried many times to find a product to sell and works.. we have dealt with a lot of different China factories.. good and very bad ones.
I have read on many forums of the same issues that we have faced dealing and trusting China factories. Which is why a group of us started this site Search4Factory | Search4Factory

It's aim is to help any new or existing small business find the right suppliers in China. We all know how time consuming it is waiting for suppliers to reply. We have found a unique and efficient way to do this.We all know the pros in having China suppliers, and we try to eliminate some of the cons.

We also have a premium service, which basically is 3rd party factory inspection, for anyone who wants to check out the factory and their products independently rather than incur expensive travel fee flying to China themselves.

Let me know what you think. Love to hear any comments, good or bad so we can refine and provide a better service.

thanks

My Plan for a Business Plan

I joined this forum a few weeks ago. I have spent many hours reading the interesting posts on this here - some stretching back years - to be a better informed poster before I started asking questions. All good stuff!

I have developed a new product as an accessory for consumer electronics, specifically for laptop and tablet computers. I don't want to divulge the product yet because I am going through the patent process at the moment. For the sake of the discussion let's just say it's a new kind of computer case.

I've spent a lot of time thinking about the product design, materials, potential producers, packaging, sales and distribution processes, who to market to, etc. I've talked to the local University business outreach center and their standard response for start-up support is to send me a B-Plan template and tell me to complete it and when finished come back to see them. I think this is fine if I were starting a restaurant or convenience store, but I don't see it as being helpful for a company that is developing, producing and marketing its own products.

I've worked in the corporate world and the military for a number of years, and one of my pet peeves is to generate paperwork just for the sake of generating paperwork. I don't intent to go to a bank or to investors to get a loan for this business for now so I don't see any value in completing some of the standard sections of a traditional B-plan.

So my plan is to create a different plan, but one that serves my priorities for the business. I will be starting the business from a spare bedroom for now so I won't have B&M overhead or HR issues to contend with. The focus of my plan will be on the steps and timeline I will need to follow to develop and market my product. In this plan I will flesh out:
1. Proposed marketing channels, such as retail stores, internet, Amazon, Ebay, Wholesalers/Distributors, Tradeshows, etc. and how to reach them
2. Identifying contract manufactures
3. Protecting the product (patent)
4. Packaging, Trademarks, Logo, Branding
5. Website development
6. Sales fulfillment and distribution
7. Acquiring business support systems, such as QuickBooks and/or inventory tracking software.

These are the high-level topics. Is this a sound approach? Am I missing anything? What else should I be considering when introducing a new product.

Thanks,
Pita

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Top DIY Mistakes When Designing a Website

There's always discussions about doing it yourself when it comes to web design. Usually the DIY'er is doing it to save on costs.
I'm always of the opinion that this is the worst place to look to save money, especially when most times the DIY'er expect their site to play a significant role in their sales and marketing. When you have no design or marketing skills, it's basically shooting yourself in the foot.

Here's a good article that discusses the pitfalls and mistakes of trying to do it yourself the first time out with no skills.
Web Design: The Mistakes of the

Buying another business to increase my business?

I've documented elsewhere that I'm consciously trying to expand my business this year, adding a couple of guys to take on projects I didn't have time to do. They're working out well, they're slowly ramping up revenue/income from their projects, customers appear to be happy with their work, so I'm happy (and relieved!). We have other developers ready to start working with that team when we get more projects for them, so we have bandwidth, but haven't been moving fast to add more projects until we are sure we have our processes down pat.

And then yesterday I got an offer in the mail to buy another small consulting firm in my area. Revenue appears to run from $300-400K, income appears to be around $100-130K, so it's either one or two people working at this company. Government agencies make up 75% of the business, the rest is SMBs.

And that got me thinking...

Is it a good idea for me to take on a small consulting firm's book of business and what would I pay for it? What do I need to know?

Hello to Everyone

Hello,

I am John from CA, USA and I just joined this forum to get now ideas and knowledge about Business Marketing.

Hello friends

Hi,


I am new to this forum and glad to join here.Hope that you all are doing great here.

Who are consultants you can hire to create a more efficient company?

Looking at small to large sized businesses what type of consultants are hired in order to create a more efficient company?

Business analyst
Accountant - analyse financial
Marketer

What are others consultants that large companies hire? Nike, Apple, reebok, mcdonalds for example. Surely with their resources they have a large budget to hire consultants/companies in several different areas of the company.

With companies that are that large do they typically not have to hire outside help as they have marketers on the payroll or are some of these tasks outsourced to large firms that deal with marketing?

unsure about business idea

I've been thinking about making and selling gaming computers. I love gaming and I like building computers. I've been trying to get my friends to buy or build gaming PCs so they can play with me but they are reluctant to switch from consoles to PC. They think it's expensive and difficult to get in to while the consoles on the other hand are plug and play. Actually a lot of gamers share that same belief. I want to start small and make some PCs in my spare time and sell them before I become a full blown business. I work 2 jobs 7 days a week so my spare time is limited but I want to be able to sell enough computers to where I can quit the part time job with little to no loss of income. If I can reach this level of success I will put more focus in to becoming bigger and start a small information/advertising campaign to tell people that getting in to PC gaming is not difficult and that no IT degree is required. I think I will do this via blogging and social media. I've noticed that other companies that do sell gaming computers tend to advertise their PC as the one that will give the person the edge in online gaming and that the person who spent less is going to lose and that they never stood a chance. So when a person sees a couple of different models lined up the company will say that their most expensive model is the one that will win they will probably be discouraged to buy it because gamers don't play to lose and they will think "Why should I spend all this money to have a level playing field when I can get a cheaper xbox and not worry about it."

That's where the console companies shine. They all market their consoles as something that everyone can enjoy. They like to show people of all demographics sitting down together, playing games, and having fun. The gaming PC on the other hand shows a guy sitting too close to the monitor while the advertisement says "buy this or you will lose" or anything pretty much saying only the best buy this. It creates feelings of exclusion and discouragement because it tells the would be customer that they have to spend tons of money to have a good experience when they really don't need to spend that much money and that they are not real gamers if they don't spend the money on "the good stuff". Gaming PC companies are simply horrible at marketing. It may appeal to the gamer who likes spending tons of money on the best GPUs and other hardware but completely turns off a much larger market.

I'm not sure how I want to sell the computers either (brick and mortar vs online). I think maybe I'll rent a kiosk at the mall or something for starters. I used to do inventory at Office Depot but I was often asked to help customers who were looking at computers, routers, printers, etc because I am very knowledgeable about technology and I was very good at closing sales and attaching extras and service plans. I also knew that customers aren't looking to spend tons of money and that trying to sell them the most expensive things will usually drive them away. So while I may have been selling the cheapest computers in the store, I was selling a lot of them. That's going to be one of my core advertising ideas, that you don't need to spend tons of money on the very high end stuff to do what you want. This is to help the customer feel included in the gaming community and that they don't need to spend a ton of money to have a good gaming experience. Not only that it's better to sell a bunch of cheaper product quickly than to sell a few expensive products slowly.

Any ideas or advice. I'm sure this whole post sounds jumbled and mixed up but it's late at night, I'm exhausted, and I have to get ready for work tomorrow but hopefully not for too much longer. I'm absolutely tired of working for other people. I know it's about time for me to get on the path to self employment. I'm just trying to figure out how.

Business approachable for everyone

Welcome every one!

My name is James and I come from Poland. I'm about to go to college so I've started to look for some source of income as I don't want to ask my parents for money. Some time ago I found this company Colway International. Colway is a Polish company that has a great products in a health branch. It's innovative solutions and patented technologies of producing cosmetics and suplements are really impressing. The company is currently conquering european market and intends to soon go beyond europe.
That is why we (people from Colway) are looking for business partners abroad. We are seeking people who are enterprising, open minded, eager to cooperate and help the others. Colway is MLM so of course working hours are entirely flexible.


If I got your attention or you are just curious about our products please visit this website: http://ift.tt/1HVQFRv

or email my if you have any questions or doubts: collagen.health@wp.pl :)

how do I charge sales tax

Hi I have started my new LLC business for IT support in NYC. how much I can charge sales tax?

Is it time I leave the corporate world?

I am a 32 year old salesman at heart and on the edge of leaving a guaranteed salary to manage our family business. Lately I have been overwhelmed with the amount of work and I finish my day mentally drained. Last year I took on this job to generate more income for myself. I opened a second hair salon/barber shop with my single mother. The shops were both steady through out the early part of the day. This left an open opportunity to fill my day with a second job. Early this year we opened our third shop. Business is good and we can maintain but now my days are really short. I handle weekly payroll, schedules, product, shop maintenance and upkeep. We have 16 employees in which i inherited all their problems as we all do in small businesses. My third shop has been doing really good but I'm afraid i don't spent as much time as i should be. I want to take the leap and become a dedicated full time barber but Im afraid as I will probably be taking a paycut for the first months until i generate a good solid customer base. I work already on the weekends and I stay busy all day. After writing this post i realized that i havent mentioned my other job. Im a foot soldier for US Foods and most of the work i do at home on the computer. Its exhausting after answering emails, riding along with our manager, creating leads and signing up customers. What do you think i should do?

Does your business accept checks?

Does your small business accept checks? Why or why not? And if you do how is it working out for you?
Thanks!!

sell backpage account

Hello, sell backpage account(or i create ad for you) , 50% of the balance
skype david.rose418

How to make a squeeze page ?

I,m a new Internet Marketing, I'm working in the affiliate market with ClickBank, I've made a squeeze page to build my list and I've been uploaded it to my host since a moth, please check it here (tahlawy.com) and tell me why it's not working well to grow my list? and tell me if I can make a better one more effective to build my list? and how I can make it?

If any one have an idea to make the work in affiliate marketing more easier and better please provide it, I have some ideas I can share them with you too.

Thank You!

The End of Dextron

Well it's official ladies and gentlemen. Dextron has been shut down...



I know, I know it's sad. But save the tears. I'll tell you all about it, and don't worry, I'm gonna need some advice so please sit down and grab the popcorn.

WHAT THE BILL COSBY HAPPENED?!
I'm not going to point any fingers, it was both our faults. We really couldn't stick with and create a solid (not patented) concept. That always put some weight on our shoulders. On top of that, the motivation was...pathetic to say the least. Me on the other hand, I'm so ambitious my goal is to be Elon Musk, but my partner didn't have anywhere near the same spark. For the past month or so it's been him talking about this new job he has and college. He's going to be at this job only for the summer, then he's going to leave for another larger company called Pratt and Whitney. Basically, we started to argue because he underestimates how challenging starting a company is, and he wants to work on the company after work and on the weekends while I dedicate day in and day out. Of course, I'm not going to do that, I want a partner just as dedicated as me. I asked what was more important, he said college and his job, so I told him that this partnership probably won't work out. We decide it's time to split up and do our own thing, Kulin (good friend, I'll explain him in a minute) finds out, and next thing I know I'm strongly considering completely abandoning Dextron and its name, and starting a different company, this time with Kulin.

Kulin, who I mentioned before, is just as ambitious. He didn't start Dextron, and is waiting to be apart of it when my house is done being built (he's been texting me constantly). As I mentioned in previous posts, Kulin is a former colleague of mine who comes from a long bloodline of businesspersons. His great grandfather started a bakery, his grandfather took over that bakery until it was bought in the mid-1980s, and his dad started a computer company in his early 30s. Kulin is going to be going to school to get a business degree like me, so of course, this works out great. Plus we're closer in age (9 months apart), so the age isn't as crazy as before.

So basically, Dextron is done. It's not longer a sole proprietorship or whatever we were before. So, R.I.P. Dextron.


For now, I shall begin a new journey. I shall start this company properly. No more dicking around! No more waiting and relying on one person! I shall start what I originally wanted to do (but Ryan thought it was stupid, yet in reality it was pretty badass. He just wanted to do 3D stuff), and I shall ben referred to as Owen Musk from now on. Stay tuned, I'm sure I'll need some more advice.

Now comes the whole reason I just wrote that entire post. Where do you think I should start after the business plan? I know that always comes first lol. What should I do differently?

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR THE WONDERFUL ADVICE FOR DEXTRON!

Attached Images

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Is your business a high risk business?

If your in any one of the businesses listed below, I can get you a merchant account. The days of paper checks are over. If you're interested please send me a message.

Adult Related Services
Electronic Cigarettes Online – e cigs
Online Gun Sales
Collection Agencies
Auctions of Any Type
Charities Through Outbound Telemarketing
Future Delivery Beyond Three Months
Golf Clubs / Accessories
Home Based Gun Dealers
Import/Export of Any Type
Outbound Telemarketing
Credit Repair
Loan Modification
Adult Related Products or Online Services
Payday Loan/ Cash Advance Companies
Smokers Accessories (Head Shops)
Technical Support (U.S. Based Only)
Continuity (Free Trial Offer)
Loan Modification
Multi Level Marketing
Interest rate Reduction
Gun Auctions (Online)
Travel/Tour
Dietary Supplements / Non FDA
Hookah Lounges
Live Video Feed
Tax Relief / Enrolled Agents / IRS
Insurance Non Bonded
Magazine Single Copies
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Vitamins – Nutraceuticals – Supplements
Hotel Accommodations
Game Credits
Loans – Business or Personal
Document Services
IT Companies
Web Development
Computer Repair
Online Education – Student Loan Companies

International company with multi-national subsidiaries.

How do taxes work in that situation? I Assume you must pay taxes in each country where a subsidiary is, but would a US citizen, with a company HQed outside of the US, still have to pay US taxes?

International company with multi-national subsidiaries.

How do taxes work in that situation? I Assume you must pay taxes in each country where a subsidiary is, but would a US citizen, with a company HQed outside of the US, still have to pay US taxes?

LLT Sublime Instant Lift. A Virtual Miracle

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It is designed to fight signs of ageing. It has a perfect base for make-up. It assists in reduction of fine lines and wrinkles. It improves the texture of the skin. It can be easily absorbed.
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How to Attract 30 Million Viewers to you business or product in less than a year

Hello,

It marks the 10 year anniversary of Million Dollar Homepage. 2015's new website has officially been launched today and we welcome all new start ups to be a part of our anniversary!

The goal is to attract at least 30 Million viewers to our website for small business owners to get the press and coverage they deserve. The site sells pixels for $1 with a minimum order of (10x10) which is $100. By the time we are rolling along, your product, website, business will potentially have 2 million visitors every week which is what we are going to accomplish. The bigger the ad space, the more noticeable you will be.

We will be sending out our press released to 50 plus Countries in the very near future so reserve you space now before its too late. Just imagine what a small investment will do for your business. Angel Investors from around the Globe will be keenly watching the site for the next big thing so if you got it, flaunt it!

thirtymillionviewers.com

Baidu instead of Google

As you may know, the Chinese government blocks Google and all Google services. Baidu is the search engine here that most people use. This provides an extra challenge to website design, usage, and SEO. Baidu looks for different things than Google. For example, Baidu looks at quantity of content, frequency of update, and it looks at images' ale text more. It is a very interesting challenge!

How should ownership divided if I add partners to expand my business (LLC)?

Hey Everyone, I know this is starting your business forum, but in my case I am a single member LLC business looking to move to a new location and add partners, so it's very similar to opening a new business!

I own a small Auto Dealership in Seattle, and have been running it for the past 12 months since I got it off the ground by myself. It was a rough first year, but I finally got it profitable, but not by a lot, I am still making less money personally than if I had stuck to selling cars for a franchise dealership and working more hours also.

I have been in the car business for many years, and for me, I don't see a lot of growth working it like this by myself, as it is only one person's capital and credit worthiness, and a dealership needs a lot of credit and capital for keeping inventory on the lot, advertising, insurance, etc.

My business currently is set up as an LLC, and ownership would be divided by percentage.

I've got a couple friends, people I've worked with in the car business who are interested in partnering up to lease a larger location, have more inventory etc. The place we're looking at can hold 100 cars, versus 20 at my current location. Bigger building can also house a maintenance shop and detail shop, vs me sending those out currently.

One of the potential partners I've worked with for years and he has a lot of connections in the finance departments and can get sub prime credit customers loans, and also connect to the Latino community, which not too many dealers have in our area.

The other potential partner I've worked with also for years, and he doesn't have as much experience in sales and finance, but has experience in running the service department of a dealer, which is what we want to get into with the new location. He also will be able to invest more funds than the other two of us will, by probably double what me and the first partner can bring to the table.

My contribution to the business besides cash contribution would be getting new inventory at auction, checking out cars to buy, this is one of the most important things for a dealership is to have good cars to sell. I also have an existing line of credit to buy inventory, as well as a base of customers and reputation for my business online (5* on yelp). Others would be advertising online, management, and general running the business in terms of paying bills, keeping track of license updates and code, etc.

All three of us know how to sell, and we would all do this in the beginning in addition to our other duties until we get busy enough to hire salespeople.

So what I wanted your opinions of is how should this be divided up in terms of ownership? I might just be greedy, but I feel that I should have a little more percentage as when we first start, I will be using my dealer license to get the new location running and retailing right off the bat; generally a new dealer has to wait 2 months before the state will issue a dealer license. We would probably keep the same business name, as I have built up a customer base, and won them over with great service, hence my online reputation (5* on yelp, pretty rare for a used car dealer)

Thank you

Advertising my resume writing service in schools

As a way of creating awareness for my resume writing business (which is what I am retooling my site (Ted Perrotti, Copywriter | Stories That Sell) to focus on, I am going to be contacting several local colleges and universities and asking permission to advertise my services to students in their career centers and around campus. Have any of you also done this? Who should I approach? What should I ask them? What if the school already has some sort of resume service in place?

Many people--including soon-to-be graduates--have done and accomplished many things that, if told correctly, can powerfully and dramatically demonstrate the values and qualities many employers are looking for. And yet, they just don't know how to put this amazing story of themselves into resume form. I want to use my interviewing and writing skills to help them do that. However, first I have to let them know that I am here.

I look forward to your suggestions and tips! :)

Greetings from Texas

Figured I'd stop by here and say howdy to everyone. My name is James and looks like y'all have a nice place here, thanks for having me !

When did your company gain traction?

Starting out your company what are some things you needed to change/ optimize in your (that saw positive results)
operation,
management,
business plan,
philosophy

When and how was the transition from being unknown to gaining recognition. I understand it is difficult to pinpoint exactly why things worked out..

__________________________________________________ _______________________________________________
If you would boil it down to 3 sentences what you say to yourself when you started your business, to guide yourself to the entrepreneur you are now.

Ritesh Jha, from India

Hello Friends,

This side Ritesh Jha, from India. i am familiar with lot of Industry and working as a Internet Marketing Expert.

Where to HQ an international company?

I hope this is the right forum category for this post, sorry if not. So, my eventual goal is for me company to be international, with subsidiaries in several countries around the world. I am a US citizen, but I do not want to base it in the US, because taxes are high, regulation is high, and I personally prefer to live elsewhere. So, where do you think the best place to place an international business's headquarters would be? Bahamas? Hong Kong? etc.? Here are the things I am looking for:

1. Low or no taxes.
2. Ease of legal incorporation.
3. Great place to live, as I plan to live here too, and travel to subsidiaries regularly.
4. Business-friendly environment.
5. Safe living environment.

Thank you.

Shipping Cost - How can we get it cheaper than the consumer?

I know that UPS and FedEx have deals with high volume national accounts and shipping cost get drastically lower than the consumer shipping prices. But how can a start-up small business dip into the savings? It's all about volume, but how can I get volume with high shipping rates to begin with? Are there any consolidated shipping centers locally that get better shipping rates than the USPS? How do you all get better shipping rates? Thanks!

Two Companies - Non Profit Company & Profit Company - (No Salary in Non-Profit)

Hello Guys,

So, here is my question. I have been running my own Profit company for several years now, it is an Internet Marketing company, which offers services such as Social Media Marketing, SEO, Web Design, Web Hosting, etc. It is a profit business, meaning that we sell products/services, I pay the expenses out, pay the employees, and then from time to time, take a draw out of the profits as I am the owner.

Now, last week I decided to start a "Non-Profit" organization for individuals with Kidney disease. I understand when it comes to "Non-Profit" companies there has to be a difference in the way money flows in and out of the company. I don't plan on taking any salaries from the Non-Profit even though I will be the one handling all the day-to-day operations and things. However, I do see this company growing alot quicker and bigger than my actual PROFIT company above.

So, my question is this. Since many of the Programs we will be offering through our Non-Profit organization will be helping individuals through "social media campaigns" is it illegal or wrong to be essentially "Hiring" my other company to perform those services? Or is that the way it is normally done? As I will own both companies, but my team from my MARKETING company will essentially be the ones PERFORMING the campaigns for the Non-Profit company.

I want to make sure this is not illegal, as I take draws and things from my PROFIT company, NOT my Non-Profit, I will NOT be taking any money from the Non-Profit company, but I DO take money from my PROFIT company, so I want to make sure that there is no illegal issue there or anything of that nature.

Free text to speech program for auto attendant system?

Hello!

For the past 4 years, I have been using just a standard landline, 1 line phone with a cordless system w/ 3 units. Now we are switching to a multi-line phone system, with an auto attendant. None of us in the office want to record the greeting ("Thank you for calling, for general info press 1. For courses press 2... and so on).
Does anyone know of any text to speech programs (hopefully free) that have natural sounding voices to create the greeting for us?

Thanks!
Reyna

Hello from Idaho! Owner of first response training Center

Hello!

I came across this site and fell in love with it. There are some awesome posts that have great information for small businesses!
I am an advanced level nurse, diabetes educator, and Trauma Counselor from Idaho, and founded and have been running a first response & healthcare training center for 4 years, offering basic & advanced rescuer level CPR & First Response classes, OSHA mandated classes, and OSHA standard classes.
As the business expands, and my assistant director for the last 4 years has retired, I have found myself needing help in some areas. Hopefully this website will give me some answers to some of my mind exploding (at least for me) questions.

Have a great day!

Reyna

Is cricket wireless retail store a good business to start?

I have been selling phones at my check cashing place for the past five years. Since I do not have a solid carrier backing me up. I have hard time selling alot of phones. So I just do force selling to people who comes to my store for other service.
But now I have a opportunity to open cricket wireless retail store. And since they got bought buy ATT, I thought it was a good idea.
I am trying to open my first store at crofton MD, a upper class area with no prepaid cell phone stores near. WIth rent about 4k and payroll about 3-5k plus other cost a total of 10k monthly cost. So I need to sell about 200 phones monthly to make some profit.
How likely will be for me to sell 200 phones monthly? Right now I sell about 80 phones monthly but again without having a company backing me up, It do becomes difficult.
Any advice or ideas will be helpful.
Thanks

Learn How To Write Copy

Want to learn how to write copy? Start writing with a pen and paper!

Here's two great classic books you MUST get:

Billion Dollar Marketing by Maxwell Sackheim

and

The 100 Greatest Advertisements 1852-1958 by Julian Lewis Watkins

First read Billion Dollar Marketing where you'll learn concepts and applications.

Then I want you to go through The 100 Greatest Advertisements book. This has 100 of the greatest ads EVER and shares a little about them.

Now, this is an idea I got from reading The Gary Halbert Letter. What I want you to do is "hand-copy" each ad in The 100 Greatest Advertisements. Yes, get out a piece of paper and pen (or pencil if you prefer) and start writing out the ads. You don't have to do them all at once. One ad a day will do (well, that's what I'm doing).

By physically writing them out by hand, you'll start to engrave them into your brain so when it comes time to write your own copy you'll have the ideas all ready in your brain on how to write effective copy.

Also, here's a great Gary Halbert Letter where Gary gives a another copy writing exercise you can do just by thinking about your car: The Gary Halbert Letter

That's it. It's as simple as that!

So, get off the computer and start your copywriting exercises!

Things to consider when starting your first business

Hello,

I have been researching what some of the major obstacles are, that people have to overcome to start their first business. I would love to hear what your #1 major obstacle to starting your first business was, and how you overcame it. Hopefully it will shorten the learning curve for others as they read.

Why LED lighting can't be popularized over the world?

As far as I know,LED lights use less power.And has a long life.So many advantages.But it still not being popular.Is this because the price? I'm a sales person in an LED lighting company from China.

Michael from China.

Hi,Glad to talk in this forum.I'm Michael from China who work in an LED lighting company.A manufacturer and exporter as a sales person.Can't wait to make friends with you guys.:)

Earning equity in family excavation business...

I have been working for my parents' excavation business for the past 25 years. Both of my parents have recently turned 65 and we have talked about the business transitioning to the next phase (i.e. me as the future generation) for the past four years. We are all on the same page to make this happen, but my folks are extremely emotionally attached to it, returning all the calls, looking at all the jobs, making all the decisions, etc.

Has anyone dealt with shifting the equity of the business to the next generation in a family business? If so, what did your plan look like? How long did it take? What would you change about how you may have structured it?

In short, my wife and I have considered a sunset provision to slowly earn equity while taking on more responsibility, along with a plan to buy out the equipment over time. What is a reasonable percent of equity to expect to be fair to all? At this time we are taking on all the work, but for the same small salaries.

Sample Orders for New Product

Hi:
So I am starting out selling my product. It's cosmetics (small cream jar). I have retailers ask me for samples and I was wondering: Is it a good idea to send a wholesale order form with it? I do have a product info sheet with sales price and MSRP and size and ingredients, etc. that I will send, but should I go ahead and send a wholesale order form with it? Is that helpful for the retailers or would that be too pushy?
Thanks you for your help!

Help Ebay Seller and Tax

HI Everyone.

After some advice.

Selling boats.

I recently started a small boat business. The majority of my business is repairing boat motors and selling boat motors. I recently registered my first boat under my business name. Is the registration cost a tax write off? Can I use the boat for pleasure until it sells? Can I write off any fuel expenses, if so under what circumstances?

New Member From Houston

Hey, everyone - just signed-up and thought I'd introduce myself. My name is Matt and I am a small business owner here in Houston. Operated my own personal training business for years and then got tied-down to the now ex and went back to the 9-5 grind - all of that is over and I'm back working for myself. Looking forward to gleaning some knowledge from this place, thanks for having me!

CNN Online

I've used cnn online as my news source for some time. I'd leave it open and check it occasionally throughout the day.



Recently they have done some really annoying things. The first one was all of a sudden one of the ads would start to play audio. This happens when you are watching a news video as well so you can't understand the video you are watching. The ad audio walks over the video.



Most recently, the link you click on doesn't match the article or video the link forwards you to. I just got through clicking on a few links and most were unrelated to the headline.



I also want unbiased news.



Where does everyone here go for unbiased news online? Or as unbiased as you can get...

Hello From Arkansas!

Hi, everyone! My name is Becky, and I am an aspiring small business owner. I live in a small town called Mena with my husband and two-year-old daughter (plus one on the way!), and currently am a stay-at-home mom, avid gardener, and community volunteer. My husband works for KCS railroad as a conductor, but recently we've started looking at options for opening a small business in town.



Recently a beautiful historic storefront building came up for sale downtown, with a store on the first floor and a loft apartment above it. We've talked about buying the building and renting out the store for a few years until we can get our own business plans together, with an ultimate goal of opening an ice cream parlor and soda fountain there. The building used to be a drugstore way back in the day, and there are no other ice cream shops in town, unless you count a Baskin Robbins in a gas station. We're both very new to all this, but are intelligent, educated, and highly motivated. Glad to be here!

Tax Help!!

Hello, I started my own Motorcycle and ATV repair/customization shop in Ludlow, MA called Frye & Sons Custom Cycles. I am confused about all the taxes involved with a small business and I have tried to read up on as much as I could but still don't quite understand it all. How much percentage of my money earned goes to taxes? And how do I pay it/ when do I pay it? I also work full time at a grocery storeIi do my own income tax for there every year. I use Quickbooks for my expenses, customers, invoices, Etc. but I notice it doesn't really have anything for the taxes. And since I have to pay taxes, does that mean I charge a tax percentage to my customers even through I'm not selling products, I'm selling a service? Any and all help will be much appreciated!

Attached Images

• Frye & Sons Logo.jpg (22.6 KB)

Financing a Down Payment?

We're looking at a gorgeous historic building located smack on the main street of our small town, with a storefront and a 3-bedroom loft apartment above. Both store and apartment have been beautifully restored, and it's on the National Register of Historic Places. Initial asking price for the whole building is $265k. My husband and I currently own a 2-bedroom house valued at $72k, but we're worried about selling in time to jump on the store building. There's really not many other options for us in terms of buying, as the chances of a bank loaning us that amount without some money down are slim to none. It's a very tempting possibility, this place, with enormous potential for renting out the store/ opening something of our own someday (we're thinking an old fashioned ice cream parlor/soda fountain). Our first big obstacle is the big question: Where are we going to get the money?



Anyone have any ideas, hopefully something other than taking out a second mortgage on our current home? It's a lovely little house and we tried selling a few years ago, but it was a bust. People in this town want to rent like crazy, but not buy.

Questionnaire for SMEs (Small and Meduim- sized Enterprises)

Dear all,



I am a final year BA (Hons) Business Entrepreneurship student at The University of Northampton, I kindly ask those who are currently run a small to meduim sized business to answer my questionnaire as part of my dissertation. The main purpose of this questionnaire is to establish the adoption and usage of social media and in particular investigate the impact it has made amongst SMEs (Small and Meduim-sized Enterprises) within the United Kingdom.



https://qtrial2015az1.az1.qualtrics....gz1FM3EFigHkGN



Thank you for your time and participation

Linux Question

I have a Passport external HD for backup. It connects through a USB port. It's really designed for Windows. It's intermittent, but usually my computers don't recognize it. I'm using Suse but have a new laptop that has Ubuntu installed. I want to switch over to the laptop as my main computer but can't because my external HD doesn't work. To be clear, I have 3 computers in total; main desktop, backup desktop, and Gaming Ubuntu laptop. My backup desktop is a dual boot Suse and Win 7.



Both of my desktops have different issues. I want to rebuild them from scratch. Maybe switch to Ubuntu as it is more popular and there is more info online regarding it.



The immediate problem is I can't do a backup from my main PC to the external HD. Without that I can't move data to my new laptop.



Also I can't get permissions on the external HD to work between computers (when it was working). I 777 the whole drive but it gave a different computer read only access. I'd like to be able to move the external HD from computer to computer including windows.





What do you recommend for an external HD? I have close to a TB of data.

New from New Jersey

Hi,



I am new to the forum and looking forward to networking and learning from other business owners.



I have been self employed now for twenty years as an electronic component distributor.

As the economy and manufacturing has changed over the years I decided to look for other opportunities

that are still in demand with strong future growth.



Besides the component distribution, I also am an agent with a Financial Service Company that offers credit restoration

and other products.



Jim

Do you use Passbook?

The title says it all.



For instance, I use it at Starbucks and that’s all. As for me, it’s weird that businesses don’t support this technology.



It’s convenient from consumers point of view or it isn’t?

any review about Social Media Services from JSM Consulting?

i have a small business and i am managing majority of its operations by myself.

now a days i am looking to extend my business with marketing, specially social media marketing.

currently i have low funds and also doesn't have much time to learn and do things myself, so i am going to outsource this



i have shortlisted the social media services of "JSM Consulting" their website here JSM Consulting LLC



Kindly share your reviews about them? does anyone used their services?







*ps; i am not sure this is the relevant board to ask this question, @admin move this if it is in irrelevant place

Many incomes — good structure?

Hi everybody,



I'm just beginning to combine a few very different small income streams under one LLC, and wonder how to set myself up:

• Professional photographer


• Image retoucher


• Voice actor


• Writer


• Fiduciary

Each of these endeavors brings in (or will bring in) a small income each month, so I'm planning to combine them as a legal business and so stave off having to jump back into the corporate world again.



Is an LLC a good step here? Basically, I'd be RENROH ENTERPRISES and then D/B/A as photog, voice actor, writer, etc. as completely separate efforts. As a sole individual, it'll be ip to me to manage those income streams, expenses, marketing, etc. But is there a way to set it up legally so that I am (for example):



RENROH ENTERPRISES d/b/a Jeff Horner Photography

RENROH ENTERPRISES d/b/a Jeff Horner Image Production

RENROH ENTERPRISES d/b/a Jeff Horner Voice Talent

And

RENROH ENTERPRISES d/b/a Horner Fiduciary Service




I imagine it may not matter, but I'd want to open bank accounts with those different names, under the same FEIN, etc.



Hope this isn't ridiculous, confusing, or both! Thanks, all.

Jeff (of Many Trades) in Atlanta!

Hi y'all!



(I did that so you could tell I'm from Atlanta, see.)



I have a few different ventures going, so recently decided to form a single LLC and get about the business of business. I'm a pro photographer, pro Photoshopper, writer, voice actor (that's brand-new for me), handyman and woodworker. Featuring the photography, but looking to capitalize on the others as well.



Looking forward to seeing what the forum can offer — I'm a real newbie when it comes to business. Great to see you all here!



Jeff Horner

Atlanta, GA

www.jeffhorner.com

Business idea I'd like to share for your input

Hello everyone.



I have an idea to "bundle" monthly home services like landscaping, house cleaning, pest control, etc.



I personally pay $435/month to these along with a pool cleaner. I also have to deal with 4 separate invoices that come at different times each month, and cut 4 checks.



That's $5,220/year and 48 checks written...not a small amount of money. 10% off would save me $522, and a lot less hassle.



Goal for the customer is to eliminate multiple monthly invoices, checks, and to also save money.



Goal for the home service business is to have another way to market their business, get new customers, and have access to cross-referrals from the other service companies.



Each business would pay an small monthly fee for each customer they get thru the platform, and agree to discount their service...call that 10%.



I'm looking for your input...good idea...stupid idea...etc.



I'm also looking to collaborate with anyone who might want to dive in and help to bring this to market...thanks!

Have store front, need business ideas

I have a small store front that i used as an office for my carpet cleaning business. I have since started running that business out of my house because I have become to busy and my wife does the books from our home office. I still have this space that is in a strip center. It's small, 10'x15' but is very nice and i have storage/warehouse space in the back. I am looking for a small business to put in that location. A good friend of mine is wanting to invest with me in some sort of business since I have that space sitting doing nothing. I thought maybe a gold buying shop or selling knives. Just looking to bring in some extra income and help my buddy stay busy. We are both very passionate when it comes to succeeding. I started my carpet cleaning company last year and it took of tremendously. hard work and marketing are to thank for that. Anyways, any ideas for a business that could be ran out of a space this small would be appreciated.

Hi all from Gustav

Hi

i just joined Small Business Forum to get help and guidance regarding my business

Hello from Germany + search

Hello people,

please excuse my bad english.

I am looking for a company in the field of mechanical engineering or standard parts, we will soon open a company in Germany, also come from Germany, and want something that not everyone has.

We are talking about small machines, we ourselves produce riveting machines.

Maybe someone interested, or knows of a company?

How and when does a distributor or manufacturer get paid by a retailer?

So here is the scenario: Let's say a manufacturer is offering a new brand of shampoo to a retailer. The retailer, just a small individual store, is interested in purchasing a small amount of the new shampoo, such as 20 items to test in their store. Here are my questions about what to do next:



Does the manufacturer send a blank purchase order to the retailer before the order is shipped?

Or does the manufacturer send the product along with a bill "To be paid upon receiving the product"?

Do retailers place orders online and should a manufacturer refer the retailer to place a PO online?

When does the retailer pay for the product, before they receive the product or after?

And what is the most common payment option of retailers for their goods from distributor/manufactures?



In short I would like to know what is the best way to get a product/money exchange underway that benefits both parties and that is most common practice. Thank you for your patience.

Single Page vs Traditional Multiple Pages

One of the trends not is an "infinite scroll" single page, place all of your content here types of sites. I'm not a huge fan of it so far (I'm running a semi test of it on my personal site). I mean if you really think about it, it can't be great for SEO. Since I started it, my bounce rate is super high (SEO factor). It's hard to see what content is being viewed, and it's difficult to generate good SEO content multiple keywords (I'm sure it would be easier but I'm no content writer... content writing is the bane of my existence).



I just don't see having a single page website with all your content in one place being that great. What are your thoughts and concerns? Fill me in on what I'm missing from an SEO perspective if it is viable to have an infinite scroll site that's good for SEO.

Looking for some feedback - Which Slogan works better?

Hello everyone, just as a quick introduction, we're an IT company based in Melbourne, Australia with 17+ years in business. We provide managed IT support services to businesses. Recently we started fine tuning our marketing strategy & part of this has meant searching high & low for a good Value Proposition Offer, along with a good slogan, good action plan and so on.



We've come up with two options for our slogan so far, which ideally will emulate our core values as a company. Would love to know which of these two work best, what kind of impression they give on first sight and how they might be improved. If the kind people on this forum were able to help give some feedback/critique of their own, it would be really appreciated. If you need to know any more info to give better critique, let me know!



Option 1 - "Your In-House IT Department, Only Better!"



Option 2 - "Relentless Perfection. Because Your Business Demands it."



Thanks in advance

Hi!

Hello, everyone!



I'm new (obviously). Through an online class that I was fortunate to take for free, I was talking to some of my classmates through a discussion board about my business idea, and they asked if I looked into an ecofriendly forum, which made me want to look up a small business one. Not exactly sure what to expect from this site just yet, but I'm hoping to find mentors and colleagues that I can share my experiences with!



Some time in the near future, I hope to at least start a part-time, at-home business for creating designs and making printed materials for new and upcoming businesses with ecofriendly materials. I have served five years in the military so far, so I would like to help out veterans and transitioning service members who would like to become entreprenuers also!

Inherited IRA for Startup

I have inherited an IRA from my father, and I would like to do a business startup. I am currently in an established dental practice where I own 50% of the practice. I would like to go solo and leave my current partnership. I have been unable to secure financing through banks and national dental lenders. It is looking more that I will have to self fund in order to start up my new office. Is there a way to use the Inherited IRA money without having to pay income tax on the distributions? I have read during researching this that forming a company retirement plan for the new entity and transferring the IRA over to the company retirement plan would allow me to access the money without paying taxes on the money used for the start up. Is this possible or is it not possible to do this?



Paul

Survey for existing small business owners (internal vs. External accounting)

I am a senior undergraduate accounting student conducting a research survey of existing small business owners for my capstone class.



Please give a few moments of your time to take my survey at the URL below. The survey concerns internal vs. external accounting for your small business. The questions are mostly multiple choice, and shouldn't take more than 10 minutes to complete. All answers are anonymous and solely for the purpose of data. Thank you.



http://ift.tt/1aPnoty

Need Funding for your business?

If you are a Business Owner and need funding for equipment, supplies, payroll, pay off debt or any other need seem fit to you please get in contact with me. I'm from NextWave, one of the largest PRIVATE funding companies in the US. All money that I get to business owners usually hits there accounts within 72 hours. All money is Private, No interest (flat fee instead), uncollaterized and UNSECURE. Please feel free to contact me at anytime at 305-263-3684 or gpiombo@nextwavehq.com

Imports

How many of you have importing as part of your business ? If so have you any tips or things you'd like to share for a newbie ?

I am looking mainly at importing dried food produce but any importing wisdom would be appreciated.



Tfot.

Newby here - S Corp Employer Tax Obligation

Okay folks, I just started a brand new Corporation in Illinois and we elected to be taxed under subchapter S.



Can anyone please help me understand the different taxes that the COMPANY has to pay to the IRS and State Dept of Revenue.



I know that we have to pay 7.65% medicare and file our payroll taxes quarterly. But other than that, I am not aware of any other tax obligation that the business has to pay. (Personal taxes are out of scope for this one, Ill save that for another thread...lol)



Thank you very much

Target Market

How many of you have a clearly defined Target Marget? If you don't have one what are your biggest questions or challenges to creating one?

My Brother Has No Friends?

Alright: I know this is absolutely nothing to do with business, and this is the only forum I'm active on. We're both homeschooled, so he doesn't see the school kids as much as me. Personally, I play baseball so I see people more than him. He doesn't play sports. He has been crying a lot lately because he has no friends, so I don't know what to do. He's incredibly nieve, he's 13 and still believes in the tooth fairy. I don't know what to do. Any ideas?

Hi all :)

Hi SBF, I am tfot,

I plan on starting up a small business soon and thought i'd look around for mentors, helpers and wisdom, I landed here. My business is mainly import and sales based in NZ, at the moment I don't have much else to say about it but i'm looking forward to talking with you guys and learning from you.



Tfot.

Using a credit card?

I was wondering since I don't have alot of capital and etc. Should I just use a credit card for customers parts for repairs. Is this a good idea, I really don't want to use my personal money that I need from day to day. Please help

Now a silent partner in the business I started...

Almost 5 years back I started a company. 2 years back I took on a partner, who is now the other shareholder at 40%, along with myself. I became a silent partner and he took over day to day operations a bit over a year ago. He has invested about 50K in the business along with 6 months working without salary and since then has been taking an annual salary of 60K. I’ve also been taking a distribution of 60K annually, paying down some of the personal debt I took on getting the business going, and help make up for the first few lean years starting the business. The agreement is that I will continue taking a draw until I can replace this income with income from my new business - I hope to do this within the next 12-18 months.



My question is about the fairness of this arrangement for both parties, and especially in what I could do now to avoid road mines in the future…this agreement came about naturally and with little insight from the outside business world. We have nothing firm about an exit plan but have talked of selling the business if it’s the right opportunity down the road. We also agree his salary will greatly increase as the business continues to do better. I’m hoping to gain some insights from someone that has advised on partnerships with good success, so I can help head off any potential issues.

Hello From The Inkable Label Co. Team :)

I'm Zee and we just launched our new product label service www.inkablelabel.com about a month ago. So many challenges getting a new business running, but we're working hard to find ways to engage with people and deliver value.



Just wanted to say that we're looking forward to learning new things, as well as sharing insights with all of you. Thanks for taking the time to read this! Here's a sample of our custom labels:

Attached Images

• INKABLE LABEL CO SAMPLE HOLOGRAPHIC PRINT.jpg (22.2 KB)

Best Way To Grow Your Business

Hello, I have experience doing some SEO with my fathers business. I enjoyed the experience and liked helping him out and want to do the same for others. Consequently I have decided to start my own SEO agency specializing in local SEO for small businesses. I would like to give back to this forum for helping many people out and offer my services to all you business owners, since I am just starting out my prices will be pretty low so I can get more clients and gain experience. I hope this is not coming off as spam, I just am offering some help to small businesses for a lower price, and to gain experience for the future. If you are not interested in my services I would really appreciate it if you could let some fellow business owners know about my service and I will give you a 10% commission and you would be helping multiple people out! If you are interested or know somebody who would please reply to this thread and send me a message. Again I am not spamming or trying to be annoying, I simply want to help people and gain experience. Thank you!

What business entity to file?

My husband and I are opening a ladies boutique. He works full-time and so I will be running the store. Eventually we may hire a part-timer, that will be down the road. I've read the benefits of each entity and I'm curious on how others might file their business entity and why. Sole proprietorship, Corporation, Partnership, Limited liability companies? We are torn between the Sole Proprietorship and the LCC--I'm waiting to hear back from an accountant, but figured I would also get some feedback from you guys.

ty

Does this give me an enough of a competitive advantage?

Hey there guys!



I'm 20 years old, business student, since I was young, I have been very creative and I've always been thinking outside of the box, so I would like to get your suggestions and comments about this situation im currently at, I have recently opened a business in Egypt: Its a catering kind of business that basically deals with chocolate fountains.



My strong competitor is called 'La Praline' located in Egypt. I am starting this business some-how small, but by thinking everyday and innovating I have come to including better-service, and almost the same prices as they rent for.



I cater chocolate fountains (with tremendous flavors such as peanut butter, white, dark, milk chocolate, caramel, and soon in a couple of days: butterscotch, hazelnut cream, apple&caramel sauce, mocha chocolate, coffe chocolate, halawa sauce).



My father owns an italian restaurant since 1986, we have amazing chefs that can innovate and do all this flavorings, I have shown great success at catering (around 15 parties now). and I have recently discovered this competitor that shows better pricing than I used to sell for, with alot larger chocolate fountains.



I will show you a package comparing between me and that competitor, please tell me if this is ENOUGH to be chosen if a customer is placed to choose between me and him:



MY FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/thefountainstation



MY PRICING LIST: UPLOADED AS PICTURES.













COMPETITOR WEBSITE: pralinechocolatier



COMPETITOR CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN PRICING: pralinechocolatier

Survey for my study University of Pécs (SMB IT technologies)

Hi,



My name is Kristofer Wohlgang and I am a student at the University of Pécs, Faculty of Business and Economincs.

I am working on my thesis for my degree and I would like to ask you to fill out a short survey (2-3 minutes) which would be a huge help for me.

The survey compares the IT technologies used in Western Europe, the States and Canade to the technologies used in Central and Eastern Europe.

I recommend that the survey is filled out by the marketing and/or IT department.



Survey link (Created with Google Forms)



Thanks in advance.



Kind regards,



Kristofer Wohlgang

Hello

Hello, How are you all, Hope all doing well. Another newbie here and hope to have a good time

Greetings to everyone

Hi everyone! My name is Andrii Demko. I’m a CEO of The Mobile Cards. We created a software product that links companies with direct consumers through mobile wallets; Apple Passbook and PassWallet for Android.



Our Mission



We believe that consumers’ loyalty is the highest value. The Mobile Cards helps businesses to increase consumers’ loyalty, retain current consumers and attract new ones using new technologies.



We are trying to get rid of our wallets and make lives simpler with loyalty card, coupon, event cards and business cards in our phones.



Thanks for your attention. If you have any questions, will be glad to discuss them.

Young Entrepreneur is All Ears

Greetings All,



Young entrepreneur here. Ever since I graduated High School in 2008, I have been running/building a multi-facet Event Production Company where we provide Sound, Video, Lighting and Staging to Concerts, Festivals, Special Events, Weddings, Corporate Events, etc. where we communicate and 'make the sale' with Event Promoters, City/Town Officials, and people of that sort. We have been coasting along on word-of-mouth business since things started to "take off" in 2009. We've recently seen the need to expand our Coverage and Service Area. In all this time, I have put little to no effort into any Advertising/Marketing to speak of, as Word of Mouth appeared to 'make ends meet' and keep things going as needed. Now, Local competition is getting 'hairy', and we have grown to a caliber where we can compete head-to-head with other companies like us.



Again, I am young but seem to have came along way to keep a business like this afloat for this number of years. Sure, there have been some 'life lessons' along the way, but those are the best ones, right?



Facebook posting seems to be a waste of time lately. Our current page has over 800 'likes' and a post may reach anywhere from 50 to 150 people... the whole 'innerds' of Facebook seem to be pretty out of whack and don't favor the user too much. I may be using Facebook wrong... I have no idea.



I would like to hear advice, trial and error, real-world approach to 'selling our company' to unknown potentials. I have been doing direct mail and e-mail in the last month to 40 or 50 'potentials' where one or two have actually paid off, but I don't know if I am approaching it wrong, not enough... maybe the approach appealed to those two customers. This is new to me.

Tell me what works for you? Your success and failures in similar scenarios? Ask questions to get more pinpointed to my scenario if you must.



I really do appreciate your having this type of forum available, and I look forward to hearing things from you all soon. Let's all be successful together.



Best,

Josh

Hello from Atlanta!

Hello! I am very glad to have found this site. I live in Atlanta, Ga with my hubby Rick and spoiled Frenchy Cledus. Rick and I run a business together. We serve a community of business owners and managers who just want to safely navigate the state and federal employment law maze. Our motto is "You can't be audit-proof, but you can be audit-secure." We also are very passionate about our project the Andere Foundation. The Foundation educates victims of abuse and helps them gain economic security so they can leave or avoid abusive relationships. Our online business largely funds the Foundation. Thanks for having me! I look forward to learning and giving back as much as possible!

help with income tax

Hi,

I have a situation. I have a company that has been established last year, but hasn't been use yet. My husband is an independent contractor, getting paychecks on his name. Would it be beneficial to get his paychecks written on company's name and I would pay him "salary"? in order to lower income taxes that we are going to pay jointly?

My friends told me the accounter recommended to them to open company and get paid on company for lower taxes. Can anybody explain?



thank you

Google expanding use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal.

Just making sure everyone knows about this. Couldn't find it on here. Official Google Webmaster Central Blog: Finding more mobile-friendly search results

There is also a neat mobile friendly tester. Hope this helps...

Need A Fully Customized Business Plan?

We specialize in business plan writing for Startups and Inventors. Once they are ready to go, we get them funded through our network of investors.





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- Real Estate Development Plans - $5000 to $7500





Please message me for more information. Thank you!!!

Struggling with your business? Get $50 000 in credit. GUARANTEED!

• You've recently started a business?

• Need up to $50k and FAST?

• No Business credit and poor personal credit?



Let us help you establish a solid credit history for your business and secure a MINIMUM of $50 000 or money back GUARANTEE.



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Due to high volume of calls, please give us your name, phone number and the best time to reach you.

Please note that there is a small fee (ONE TIME FEE). This is NOT free, so only serious inquiries please.

Online business idea

I have an idea for an online business but I don't know what steps I have to take to make it a reality. I'm still in school so it cannot take up all of my life, but I have a passion for sewing and I would really like to take requests from customers to make them custom clothing, especially things like prom dresses. I'm currently having a lot of fun making my sister's prom dress and I have been asked to make some of her friends once I am finished. Customers could send a picture of what they want or just explain it to me and I could include them in the dress making process. I have other friends that sew that could help me if I get too overwhelmed. Is this a good idea and what could I do to start this up?

3 Reasons You'll Be Happy You Read My Intro:

Hello fellow S.B.O's!



VweConsulting here! Short for [Versatile Web Experts].

Thanks for stopping by and reading my introduction. I'll be sure to make it worth your while.



Reason #1: If you ever need to get a head start on your social media marketing

with getting likes, shares and follows. Send me a PM.



Reason #2: If you are just starting out and you need to bounce some business

names and taglines around to see what sticks. I'm your designated brain stormer.



Reason #3: If you ever get a few too many slow days and you need some fresh marketing

ideas to get a stampede of customers to your website/storefront. Send me a PM



Overall, I'm really glad I joined. I'm here to help where I can.



Hope to talk to as many of you as possible!



See ya!:cool:

i work for a company that funds businesses with bad credit/banking

Hello I work for a company in Manhattan that helps businesses of any kind receive capital for any reason necessary. Whether you are looking to expand, buy new equipment, restructure, or your simply having a tough time we help. It's a very simple process to get process to get funded and generally the money hits your account within 24 hours. If interested shoot me a message and I will provide more information like my office number, company name, websites that verify the legitimacy of the company I work for, and any other questions you have.

Referral Bonus ideas for existing customers

Hello!



My largest client lives in an area that has tremendous potential for my small business and I am ready to begin a marketing campaign in that area but have a few questions on a referral bonus plan for this customer. I have two thoughts at first, Is it legal for me to offer a "kick back" to the company as a whole or to officers (specifically the GM) in return for leads or referrals that turn into accounts in the future? Second thought: I am concerned about entering into talks with this client about a kick back or referral bonus program because of the thought that it might damage the relationship that we have? IF it is a good idea (or is legal at all) How would I structure it? Percentage based? One time cash bonus? Should it be based on leads that actually turn into accounts or on only the referral alone? I know thats alot of questions... sorry. Any help is welcomed.



Thanks

New Businesses: 19 Things Nobody Tells First Time Entrepreneurs

I found this article on LinkedIn and thought it is a good primer for anyone starting a new business.



Have a great day!



Paul

Using Weebly now, but.....

I have created my website using Weebly. So far it's been working just fine. I pay for the highest account (I think it's called PRO) and it runs me about $30 a month. Our sales are really low right now so it's getting expensive to pay for it each month.



I like Weebly a lot because it's all drag and drop for the design aspect and super easy to maintain and make changes. I don't have the skill or knowledge to build my own site so it's really been a good fit. Easy to add products, the shopping cart is integrated and it all just works. It's not perfect, but right now I can deal with the flaws.



I am looking for alternatives though due to price. Is anyone aware of other options that may be a good fit for me with a lower price tag? I have a shop on Etsy too, but do not want to go to Ebay. I really want to focus on growing our own standalone site.



Thanks for any suggestions in advance!

Staring My Own Business

Hello, I have experience doing some SEO with my fathers business. I enjoyed the experience and liked helping him out and want to do the same for others. Consequently I have decided to start my own SEO agency specializing in local SEO for small businesses. I would like to give back to this forum for helping many people out and offer my services to all you business owners, since I am just starting out my prices will be pretty low so I can get more clients and gain experience. I hope this is not coming off as spam, I just am offering some help to small businesses for a lower price, and to gain experience for the future. If you are not interested in my services I would really appreciate it if you could let some fellow business owners know about my service and I will give you a 10% commission and you would be helping multiple people out! If you are interested or know somebody who would please reply to this thread and send me a message. Again I am not spamming or trying to be annoying, I simply want to help people and gain experience. Thank you!

Photo search optimization

I have been toying for photo optimization for the past year for a car wrapping company (a very visual company). I have named photos such as "car-wrap-city.jpg", "truck-wrap-city.jpg" (various local cities used) and posting them on all kinds of social media and photo sharing platforms but only a few photos from Twitter and Facebook appear in search. The top photos have always been from the website which I do not have access to. The other top competitor photos are directly from their website as well.



So is there a point to sharing photos on social media/photo sharing platforms for photo optimization purposes? It seems like the website is the primary location to be dabbling with. Perhaps the photo sharing platforms are ideal for general search (not photo)?



Also I have read alt tag detail is critical. Where can alt tag information be inserted other than website photos?



Thanks,

L

Just saying "HI" and introducing my business

Greetings from Michigan!

My husband and I started a company a couple years ago because he has a skill and there was a need in the market. Unfortunately, it isn't a large market, especially in our community. I am struggling to come up with ideas on how to advertise our business in the areas where it would be the most successful.

SkyView Solutions builds and repairs conservatories, sunrooms and skylights. We live in a very small village where the residents don't have much disposable income, so local advertising would be pointless.

We have been hired by larger companies to do installations and repairs all over America, and once in Saudi Arabia, but would like to grow our own business and gear our efforts more toward sales and maintenance.

Website isn't doing it's job...

(Thank you in advance for any suggestions and ideas!)

Small towns and villages certainly have their charm and appeal. I love the community in which I now live but it is posing a problem for my small business. My husband and I started a company a couple years ago because he has a skill and there was a need in the market. Unfortunately, it isn't a large market, especially in our community. I am struggling to come up with ideas on how to advertise our business in the areas where it would be the most successful.

We sell, build and repair conservatories, sunrooms and skylights. Our target market is households with an annual income of over $100k. We live in a very small village where the residents don't have as large of an income, in mid-Michigan so local advertising would be pointless.

We have been hired by larger companies to do installations and repairs all over America, but would like to grow our own business and gear our efforts more toward sales and maintenance.

Our budget is very limited at this point and could really use some advice.

Big product in a small community- Need to branch out!

(Thank you in advance for any suggestions and ideas!)

Small towns and villages certainly have their charm and appeal. I love the community in which I now live but it is posing a problem for my small business. My husband and I started a company a couple years ago because he has a skill and there was a need in the market. Unfortunately, it isn't a large market, especially in our community. I am struggling to come up with ideas on how to advertise our business in the areas where it would be the most successful.

We sell, build and repair conservatories, sunrooms and skylights. Our target market is households with an annual income of over $100k. We live in a very small village where the residents don't have as large of an income, in mid-Michigan so local advertising would be pointless.

We have been hired by larger companies to do installations and repairs all over America, but would like to grow our own business and gear our efforts more toward sales and maintenance.

Our budget is very limited at this point and could really use some advice.

Affordable virtual office services

Hi guys!



My name is Sarah & I am the Community Manager for HoldMyCalls.io



You know how small businesses can't afford to miss any phone calls but it is impossible to be available all the time?

We’re a virtual office who has no contracts & you only pay for what you use. This gives you an edge of professionalism without it costing you an arm & a leg.



We also have a referral program, that pays ongoing for the life of the client. You receive 10% of everything the client you referred uses each month. Plus, there are bonuses if you sign over 10 or 20 new clients a month.



If you'd like to know more you can check out our website here: HoldMyCalls.io

Or you can feel free to contact me: sarah@holdmycalls.io



Kind regards,

Sarah

Fashion Business

If you are Interested to start your own clothing line.If you have any Questions just ask please.I have many years of experience in the industry.so feel free to write me Back.

Partner Wanted in local area

Hello, I'm currently located in Vancouver, BC, Canada.



As to keep confidentially to what exactly the company does, to avoid losing advantage and having the idea repeated by someone else. I am looking for a younger partner who is interested in an online consultation buisness. Although most particulars are figured out, I would like a second opinion. This idea is still that an idea, I would like someone to help bring it from idea to a full buisness. Please contact me if you live in nearby area and are interested in the opportunity.

Question about being acquired / merging

Need some advice please.

I opened a medical staffing practice (rehab and nursing) over 3 yrs ago. Some of the details …

I own 100%

Gross Sales for 3 yrs is $350k and expect to do $250K this year

There are only 2 of us on the admin side doing this

I am very burnt out on doing this alone and have had a couple of conversations with some groups to merge with. Stress is simply killing me.



Where I need advice – I am being offered the deal below. This is the 30,000 ft view.

Larger staffing company with many resources and capital wants my company to merge with them. They do not currently offer rehab or nursing anywhere. I bring many MSP contracts and other contracts that would take them 1-2 yrs to get. They admit that. They would hire me on to continue to grow the book of business in this region. They would want to pay me some (not much) cash on the front end. I would be on salary (roughly $65k) plus commission and have a share (small, 5-10%) of what the company does in this region. This would be an actual share that would pay off if the company sold.



My biggest concern is to be let go shortly after I come on board since they would then have my contracts and book of business.



Any thoughts? Has anyone ever been in a similar situation? My apologies if there is a better place to post this.



Thanks in advance!

Business staples

I'm a partner in a Cyber Security company and we provide security to medium+ sized businesses with servers and IT infrastructure. The problem is that security is a necessary evil and may cost a pretty penny with little-to-no ROI (except in that we work to ensure that your business and client information remains safe and protected). Also, there's no guarantee that we can prevent 100% of attacks to a network, but we do our best to keep the integrity of the business safe.



That's a generalization of what we're doing. It's a fairly new business that has kind of run aground since the CEO has his own life to be running and doesn't want to let someone else steer the flagship. It's more that he doesn't trust other people to run it. He trusts me, but apparently I 'don't think like a business person' so he wouldn't want me going off to meet and greet potential clients and not have the answers they want since the final say is not my own.



Well I kinda took it personally and I'm working on getting into that mindset. I found a mentor who has online webinars and podcasts and such and I'm learning a lot, but it's not exactly what I'm looking for. So what I'm going to ask is:



What are business staples that every business should have?

How DO business owners think?

What should I know about other businesses that I should know if I'm going to try to help build a company that provides services to other them?

Website contains some hidden scripts, unable to finding the location.

I just build a product which is based on web mail system is actually a Roundcube Skins or Themes for Email Sharing purposes. I personally need some advice or suggestion. Actually I Scan my website on free website malware and security scanner. The Tool has found a hidden and suspicious javascript (or iframe) . So, i have tried to remove it manually by finding it on back end but didn't got the scripts which contains the unnatural content. What should i do to make it malware free.

Sole proprietor vs. partnership

Trying to help grandson with taxes. He and his buddy have a small company making T shirts and other items he designs. This is their third year of filing taxes. They seem to have each chosen to file a Schedule C for sole proprietor, listing their expenses and income, etc. identically on their taxes. I would have thought any time there are more than one person involved in a business it would have to be the partnership route. Please advise.

Stopping by to say Hello!

Hi There!



I just joined today! My name is Patricia and I run a family owned wholesale/retail jewelry/accessories business here in South Florida. We've been in business for about 20 years now but would love to take our "mom & pop" business to the next level. In addition to the jewelry business, I also am interested in the real estates.



I am looking forward to learning from everyone here and hopefully, I can be of benefit to others as well.



Good Luck to All!!

Patricia

Hello from Buzzworthy!

Hi everyone!



First day posting. We're a start-up that specializes in online marketing and web design for SMBs.

What does everyone else do?



Eve :)

Anyone else running the Technical Preview of Windows 10?

So I've been playing with Windows 10 through the technical preview via the Windows Insider Program.

Download Windows 10 Technical Preview ISO - Microsoft Windows



I watched the MS 10 announcement back in Jan and have been waiting to play around with it.

I know people love beating up on Windows and many times it's justified, but I can see that they are not only improving the experience, but it some ways making it not just simpler, but a lot more user friendly.



Besides some of the integrations like XBOX, having Cortana on all devices ( not just mobile ones), and Holo Lens, I really like it.



Oh yeah, and they're dumping IE as the default browser for Spartan. I haven't played with Spartan (probably not the launch name) yet.

Has anyone else been playing with the build version?

Estimated taxes

Hey everyone!



I have a question about estimated (quarterly) taxes. (I own a single-member LLC) I know I need to use form 1040-ES, but am wondering if I need to pay estimated taxes for just the business or both for the business and for myself. I have not paid myself a salary this year, soI am wondering for now and for the future.



Thanks in advance!



Dave

What are your biggest concerns as a small business owner?

Hi all!



As a small agency who serves small businesses, we want to find out more about the issues facing SMB owners.

By taking our 5 minute survey below, you'll receive a full analysis of the results along with our guide on how to tackle these concerns.



Survey link: http://ift.tt/1CLm44r



Thanks for any input - you'll be helping to make us better at what we do!



The Buzzworthy Team

My regards from Turkey

Dear Small business forum followers,



After 12 years experince in textile and machine made carpet industry,

I have established my own import,export and trading business in Turkey 4 months ago.

and also i give inspection services for textile and machine made carpets' buyers.

Iand i find it more beneficial for me for the buyers. Because I am not very strong financially and I am not a manufacturer.

So this situation doesn't attract the customers buy from me. However, they are not also very sure about the products quality when they give orders to the factories. So this is the area I am more stronger and offer my expertise both in production and exportation of the goods. I started with some of my customers in middle east. But I am also seeking opportunities to find reliable customers in North America as well for offering my services.

If you don't meet the customers face to face it is also very hard to convince them about your reliability. Is there anyone who can advise me for marketing my service in North america, please do.

Website contains some hidden scripts, unable to finding the location.

I just build a product which is based on web mail system is actually a Roundcube Skins or Themes for Email Sharing purposes. I personally need some advice or suggestion. Actually I Scan my website on free website malware and security scanner. The Tool has found a hidden and suspicious javascript (or iframe) . So, i have tried to remove it manually by finding it on back end but didn't got the scripts which contains the unnatural content. What should i do to make it malware free.

Personal Guarentee

Hi there,



I just wanted some advice on some things regarding a personal guarentee.



I went into business with a friend because he had an opportunity. We looked for finance and we had a few parties interested. He wanted to go with his parents money because he wanted to make them money in the business. In return they wanted us to take a personal guarentee for their money.



In return they get unlimited monthly payouts and 6% equity of the business. The persoanl guarentee gets wiped away once we pay half the loan from sales recieved.



The issue with it is that the other member has another directly competing brand. I knew about this but didn't how how much it would affect us. He has yet to tell the other shareholder in the other brand that he is doing this brand with me and his parents.



I am a bit worried now because



1) he would be technically in breach of his fiducial duties I am guessing. My interests are this business and looking after the investment, whilst my partner has two interests. This and the other competing brand.



2) Financially I could lose a lot because of this



I have yet to sign anything (personal guarentee form and shareholder agreement etc) and I wanted some advice on this.



I didn't need to take on this business or was forced. I did it because it seemed like a great opportunity and it still is. However a lot of things are out of my control and this puts me in a position of helplessness. everything in the business is in my name (bank etc) because the other partner had debt problems in the past.



I would be interested in hearing how people with experience would approach this. We have pretty much spent the capital on what we need so are getting to market fairly soon.



I just want to make sure I protect myself as things seem to be getting deeper and deeper and it's burning me out. I did speak to the other partner in an email explaining that if things with his other business were to cross the line with this one I had to make sure I am putting this business as a priority and as a director of this company I need to act in order to protect it. He came back and pretty much said I was blaming him. We have a generally good relationship but still I am kind of concerned.



What would be your view and approach to this?



Thanks,



Akira