I've seen a few people post around asking about invoice software, so I thought I might share what I use in the hopes that it will help you get your small business organized and streamlined. I use software called ProBooks to do all my invoicing and estimating. It's available on your phone and on the web, which is super convenient. It only costs about $3 per month and allows you to create invoices, track payments, manage clients & provide statements, and even tracks when your customers open the invoice! All data is synced in realtime as well, so you never have to worry about losing your data. I've tried a few of the comparable invoice software out there, but this is certainly the best. Hopefully it works for business!
mercredi 30 novembre 2016
Understanding Capital Expenditure
Hello Everybody,
My new accounting blog is out - this month blog is about "Understanding Capital Expenditure"
As always, thank you for your questions and please, feel free to share my blog and keep those questions coming.
Business Growth & Accounting: Community Question - Understanding Capital Expenditures
My new accounting blog is out - this month blog is about "Understanding Capital Expenditure"
As always, thank you for your questions and please, feel free to share my blog and keep those questions coming.
Business Growth & Accounting: Community Question - Understanding Capital Expenditures
Understanding image copyright on the internet
It's 2016 and I still have new clients who, when asked if they have any images, say "We'll just find some good ones on Google images".
Many of you know that you can't do that. That you can't just grab random images from the internet to use on your website, blog posts, social media posts, promotions, brochures and so on and so on.
Take it from experience, nothing makes you feel stupider or more like an amateur than being contacted for violating image copyright. It happened to me once for an image I used as an avatar and displayed when I made comments on a website. Yep, even using it like that.
I always give clients a simple rule: If you didn't take the image, purchase the image, or otherwise don't own it or have permission to use it...don't.
Hootsuite gives a little more info about image copyright and usage here:
http://ift.tt/2gJulkf
Many of you know that you can't do that. That you can't just grab random images from the internet to use on your website, blog posts, social media posts, promotions, brochures and so on and so on.
Take it from experience, nothing makes you feel stupider or more like an amateur than being contacted for violating image copyright. It happened to me once for an image I used as an avatar and displayed when I made comments on a website. Yep, even using it like that.
I always give clients a simple rule: If you didn't take the image, purchase the image, or otherwise don't own it or have permission to use it...don't.
Hootsuite gives a little more info about image copyright and usage here:
http://ift.tt/2gJulkf
Hi!!
I'm from Seattle, WA and I'm just starting my custom furniture business...check out my site and let me know what you guys think? Just wanted to say hi!!
Villa Shifting in Abu Dhabi | Packers & Movers in Abu Dhabi | Abu Dhabi Packers and M
Best Abu Dhabi Packers Company provide Quality Packing and Moving services in Abu Dubai. This Company offer Villa Shifting Services in Abu Dhabi, and more Packing & Moving Services.
mardi 29 novembre 2016
Hello Everyone
Hi, I am a new member here just joined the forum, need assistance to post or to participate in discussions, my interest is in marketing, advertising and business.
New to this forum!
Hello, everyone!
My name is Kevin Ahn from Good, LLC.
Joined this thread to learn and connect with fellow entrepreneurs out there!
Good, LLC is an All-In-One Digital Solution company, that brings digital presence to small/local business owners.
I know I know... there are a lot of "digital agencies" and "freelancers" who builds websites and gets the job done.
But we're different from them all!
We believe in delivering true value.
We believe a website is just the core of the online presence.
We believe in bringing business for our clients.
We connect the business owners with online platforms to ensure they're found with the correct data.
We build a professional website that outline their value as a business.
Best of all, we bring business directly to their doors.
My partner and I founded Good, LLC. to genuinely support the small businesses.
I would love to get to know the community!
My name is Kevin Ahn from Good, LLC.
Joined this thread to learn and connect with fellow entrepreneurs out there!
Good, LLC is an All-In-One Digital Solution company, that brings digital presence to small/local business owners.
I know I know... there are a lot of "digital agencies" and "freelancers" who builds websites and gets the job done.
But we're different from them all!
We believe in delivering true value.
We believe a website is just the core of the online presence.
We believe in bringing business for our clients.
We connect the business owners with online platforms to ensure they're found with the correct data.
We build a professional website that outline their value as a business.
Best of all, we bring business directly to their doors.
My partner and I founded Good, LLC. to genuinely support the small businesses.
I would love to get to know the community!
Trademark dispute with a giant company, should I just give in or fight?
Hi everyone! I am currently in a very frustrating situation and sincerely hope someone could give me some advices.
To avoid legal issue, I can not list the name of the company which I am having a trademark dispute with.
I started running my yoga products business since January. It was not easy to start. My products use eco-friendly materials and more costly when manufactured. Consumers tend to buy cheaper products regardless of whether they are eco-friendly. There were not many sales in the first few months. I have invested a lot in advertising and spent a lot of time on social medias promoting the concept of eco-friendly yoga products. From this October, I started to see the result of my work; sales start to pick up and my brand has got much more recognition.
Seeing my business start to grow encourages me to work harder. In order to protect my brand, I applied to register my trademark via USPTO. While USPTO has approved the filing and published it, one of the biggest television network says no to our application. The company's lawyer told me that the company doesn't allow anyone to use "and the city" and wants me to change my brand name to avoid litigation. The reason the company gave is that they have a tv show with a name including that string of words.
I checked trademark database and found that most applications for brands including that string of words have been canceled. I guess those applicants (spa owner, grocery store owner,...) might have received calls from the lawyer of the big company.
I talked to a lawyer friend, and he told me that the tv network doesn't necessary have very solid arguments because tv shows and yoga products belong to two completely different trademark categories. However, a big company like that affords to hire lawyers and have a years-long case, while small business owner like me can hardly afford that.
Can someone please give me some advices? I wonder if small business can do something to defend ourselves even when it looks like a mission impossible.
Thank you so much in advance!
To avoid legal issue, I can not list the name of the company which I am having a trademark dispute with.
I started running my yoga products business since January. It was not easy to start. My products use eco-friendly materials and more costly when manufactured. Consumers tend to buy cheaper products regardless of whether they are eco-friendly. There were not many sales in the first few months. I have invested a lot in advertising and spent a lot of time on social medias promoting the concept of eco-friendly yoga products. From this October, I started to see the result of my work; sales start to pick up and my brand has got much more recognition.
Seeing my business start to grow encourages me to work harder. In order to protect my brand, I applied to register my trademark via USPTO. While USPTO has approved the filing and published it, one of the biggest television network says no to our application. The company's lawyer told me that the company doesn't allow anyone to use "and the city" and wants me to change my brand name to avoid litigation. The reason the company gave is that they have a tv show with a name including that string of words.
I checked trademark database and found that most applications for brands including that string of words have been canceled. I guess those applicants (spa owner, grocery store owner,...) might have received calls from the lawyer of the big company.
I talked to a lawyer friend, and he told me that the tv network doesn't necessary have very solid arguments because tv shows and yoga products belong to two completely different trademark categories. However, a big company like that affords to hire lawyers and have a years-long case, while small business owner like me can hardly afford that.
Can someone please give me some advices? I wonder if small business can do something to defend ourselves even when it looks like a mission impossible.
Thank you so much in advance!
Introduction
Hello everyone,
How are you?
I am Jeff and I am new in this forum. I want to discuss about trade show booth design. We offers booth design, banner, pop-up, trade show services.
Thank you,
jeff
How are you?
I am Jeff and I am new in this forum. I want to discuss about trade show booth design. We offers booth design, banner, pop-up, trade show services.
Thank you,
jeff
lundi 28 novembre 2016
Black Friday Online sales hit record breaking $3 billion. $1 billion by phone.
I remember when holiday online sales were $100 million and how astounding that was. I remember when 10% of those sales being from mobile devices was a big deal.
If you haven't figured it out yet, phones are going to be the most used internet device. For many, it already is.
Black Friday online shopping is continuing to grow, and this Friday was another record-breaking day. According to a new report out this evening from Adobe, which has been tracking e-commerce transactions throughout the sales holiday, Black Friday is on track to set a new record by surpassing the $3 billion mark for the first time. It’s also expected to become the first day in U.S. retail history to drive over a billion dollars from mobile sales.
I'm curious how mobile friendly everyone is. Are you completely accessible to people on phones? Could someone find, do business with your company by phone alone? Can your website make the sale all by itself if needed?
Do you still have work to do? If so, where do you think you're missing the boat?
If you haven't figured it out yet, phones are going to be the most used internet device. For many, it already is.
Quote:
Black Friday online shopping is continuing to grow, and this Friday was another record-breaking day. According to a new report out this evening from Adobe, which has been tracking e-commerce transactions throughout the sales holiday, Black Friday is on track to set a new record by surpassing the $3 billion mark for the first time. It’s also expected to become the first day in U.S. retail history to drive over a billion dollars from mobile sales.
Do you still have work to do? If so, where do you think you're missing the boat?
How to Build Highly Converting Web Funnels
Hey guys!
I just want to share a tool that I've been using in the past few months--and it's really awesome!
It's a funnel builder that's great for anyone who doesn't know how to code or maybe finds it too time consuming to build and split test pages on their own. It's power packed with a lot of cool features that help you track conversions, boost conversions, and even see what works and what doesn't.
Check it out here:
http://ift.tt/2fE8ZCP
They offer a free 14-day trial too! (I started with the trial and loved it!)
Hope this helps!
I just want to share a tool that I've been using in the past few months--and it's really awesome!
It's a funnel builder that's great for anyone who doesn't know how to code or maybe finds it too time consuming to build and split test pages on their own. It's power packed with a lot of cool features that help you track conversions, boost conversions, and even see what works and what doesn't.
Check it out here:
http://ift.tt/2fE8ZCP
They offer a free 14-day trial too! (I started with the trial and loved it!)
Hope this helps!
dimanche 27 novembre 2016
Thankful to be here.
First of all I want to thank you all for being here and being a team among small business owners and quite frankly human.
It is nice to know there are other good people out there.
A little bit about myself, I am 26, and I love building things. The goal for my business is to build quality custom hunting blinds and wooden frame buildings. I work as a heavy equipment operator currently and a part time finish carpenter doing trim, hanging doors and windows, etc. I have always built things ever since I was a little kid and I am just now getting back to what I wanted to do for a long time. I have to slowly transition to carpentry full time due to lack of tools and clients.
I am hoping that this forum and the people in it will be able to help me in this transition to being a small business owner.
Thanks for reading!
Ethan
It is nice to know there are other good people out there.
A little bit about myself, I am 26, and I love building things. The goal for my business is to build quality custom hunting blinds and wooden frame buildings. I work as a heavy equipment operator currently and a part time finish carpenter doing trim, hanging doors and windows, etc. I have always built things ever since I was a little kid and I am just now getting back to what I wanted to do for a long time. I have to slowly transition to carpentry full time due to lack of tools and clients.
I am hoping that this forum and the people in it will be able to help me in this transition to being a small business owner.
Thanks for reading!
Ethan
Do i need to pay income taxes for my drop shipping website?
Hello I am a young entrepreneur who is currently creating an online drop shipping website and I have been trying to figure all the legal stuff that ill need for my upcoming website and one thing that has been on my mind the most is whether or not ill have to pay sales tax or income taxes? BTW I live in Ohio.
united states dollars
if someone who lives in south america buys an established online from someone in the united states assuming its a shoe store or some retailer, after getting paid in u.s. dollars will that payment arrive in u.s. dollars in south america or will it convert to the local currency???????????? rsvp. thank you.
Mailchimp question: image with caption blocks don't line up neatly
Hi Guys,
Looking for a Mailchimp guru here. The Mailchimp knowledge base/help info doesn't address this issue and Google comes up short. I've just started using it and am designing my first campaign email. I chose a template that has three image-with-caption blocks in a row across the page. When I added my three images - every one 500 pixels high - the preview displays them all having different sizes so it looks like crap. I could really use some help in getting them to line up neatly. Any ideas?
Looking for a Mailchimp guru here. The Mailchimp knowledge base/help info doesn't address this issue and Google comes up short. I've just started using it and am designing my first campaign email. I chose a template that has three image-with-caption blocks in a row across the page. When I added my three images - every one 500 pixels high - the preview displays them all having different sizes so it looks like crap. I could really use some help in getting them to line up neatly. Any ideas?
Scaling Web Development Company specialized in producing products for Startups
My name is Petar I and own a small Web development company in Croatia that specialize in developing products for Startups. As of right now now I have 2 full time developers and 1 manager hired. Our projects are coming mostly from a word of mouth, and what I want now is to scale my company and become bigger. Since our focus is only on Startups and building MVP's I wonder where to look for a clients/entrepreneurs online who need this kind of service?
Something that I tried is to call other companies and offered them services, and conversion rate there is around 5%, but requires lots of meetings and time.
I also tried contacting people through Craigslist, 1 out of 10 replies, but the problem there is that they quit very soon. I know the goal in sending cold emails is to get meeting and then sell on a meeting, but they quit just before we need to do meeting.
I have not tried with the PPC, Facebook ads etc, but I would like to try. What do you recommend guys?
Something that I tried is to call other companies and offered them services, and conversion rate there is around 5%, but requires lots of meetings and time.
I also tried contacting people through Craigslist, 1 out of 10 replies, but the problem there is that they quit very soon. I know the goal in sending cold emails is to get meeting and then sell on a meeting, but they quit just before we need to do meeting.
I have not tried with the PPC, Facebook ads etc, but I would like to try. What do you recommend guys?
Making an investment and collecting back with 30% to finance Business.
There is an online finance system you can invest in to increase your investment by 30% to finance your business.
samedi 26 novembre 2016
work experience
where can i gain or learn such valuable, rich experience as far as running an established online business before even purchasing one???????????? do i need a college degree or something to do something like this???????? i have no experience whatsoever managing an established online business! how can such critical, crucial, vital real life work experience even be acquired before purchasing such a business?????? how do i do this???????? can anyone please help me????? rsvp. thank you.
Advise on a new business name
Hi,
We are about to open a a fast-casual dessert bar offering ice-cream sandwiches, donuts and bite-size cupcakes.
We’re in the process of finding a name for our business and would love to hear your thoughts.
we would very much appreciate if you would agree to take part in a brief survey: http://ift.tt/2fkY0D9
These are the options we came up with till now:
Cream Between
Dezzerts
Goloso
Golosos
Oso Goloso
Nene Goloso
Utterly
Purely Desserts
The Nosher
Gordos
Any other suggestions are welcomed.
Thanks in advance,
Karen
We are about to open a a fast-casual dessert bar offering ice-cream sandwiches, donuts and bite-size cupcakes.
We’re in the process of finding a name for our business and would love to hear your thoughts.
we would very much appreciate if you would agree to take part in a brief survey: http://ift.tt/2fkY0D9
These are the options we came up with till now:
Cream Between
Dezzerts
Goloso
Golosos
Oso Goloso
Nene Goloso
Utterly
Purely Desserts
The Nosher
Gordos
Any other suggestions are welcomed.
Thanks in advance,
Karen
Advise on a business name
Hi,
We are about to open a a fast-casual dessert bar offering ice-cream sandwiches, donuts and bite-size cupcakes.
We’re in the process of finding a name for our business and would love to hear your thoughts.
we would very much appreciate if you would agree to take part in a brief survey: http://ift.tt/2fkY0D9
These are the options we came up with till now:
Cream Between
Dezzerts
Goloso
Golosos
Oso Goloso
Nene Goloso
Utterly
Purely Desserts
The Nosher
Gordos
Any other suggestions are welcomed.
Thanks in advance,
Karen
We are about to open a a fast-casual dessert bar offering ice-cream sandwiches, donuts and bite-size cupcakes.
We’re in the process of finding a name for our business and would love to hear your thoughts.
we would very much appreciate if you would agree to take part in a brief survey: http://ift.tt/2fkY0D9
These are the options we came up with till now:
Cream Between
Dezzerts
Goloso
Golosos
Oso Goloso
Nene Goloso
Utterly
Purely Desserts
The Nosher
Gordos
Any other suggestions are welcomed.
Thanks in advance,
Karen
vendredi 25 novembre 2016
Open a Business in Mexico
Since the exchange rate is great, is it a great opportunity?
what are the pros and cons?
what are the pros and cons?
jeudi 24 novembre 2016
Starting a business in Mexico
Should i start a business in Mexico, the exchange rate is 20 Pesos to 1 Dollar which means that the initial investment would be minimal, but i have my concerns like:
-Will i make a decent income if the Dollar is worth 20 times the peso?
-what will happen once the Peso stabilizes?
-What will happen if the Peso keeps going down?
-What will Happen if the peso recovers?
-Will i make a decent income if the Dollar is worth 20 times the peso?
-what will happen once the Peso stabilizes?
-What will happen if the Peso keeps going down?
-What will Happen if the peso recovers?
mercredi 23 novembre 2016
good day and hi!
Im new here and i hope i can learn a lot here and also i want to share my knowledge and experience to help you out! Thanks for having me here! Cheers!
mardi 22 novembre 2016
hey there!
Hi folks -- I'm John, just making my way in affiliate marketing, look forward to sharing ideas and experiences with you all!
Newbie here! Nice to meet you guys!
Hey guys!
So happy to be part of this forum.
I'm a freelance copywriter and I'll be starting my own agency soon. I write any type of web copy (blog posts, website pages, ebooks, landing pages, sales pages, ad copy, emails, etc.) and I offer reasonable rates even for results-getting copy like mine.
You can send me an email at info@copybyraffy.com!
Thanks,
Raffy Marabut
So happy to be part of this forum.
I'm a freelance copywriter and I'll be starting my own agency soon. I write any type of web copy (blog posts, website pages, ebooks, landing pages, sales pages, ad copy, emails, etc.) and I offer reasonable rates even for results-getting copy like mine.
You can send me an email at info@copybyraffy.com!
Thanks,
Raffy Marabut
lundi 21 novembre 2016
Good day, fellow small business owners
Greetings, Everyone.
My wife and I own a small retail business. To be completely truthful, my wife owns it, and I have been incrementally pressed into doing the books, management duties, construction and heavy lifting.
I have a hard time finding resources for many of the questions I have, so I'm hoping to find helpful kindred spirits here.
Looking forward to getting to know you.
AE
My wife and I own a small retail business. To be completely truthful, my wife owns it, and I have been incrementally pressed into doing the books, management duties, construction and heavy lifting.
I have a hard time finding resources for many of the questions I have, so I'm hoping to find helpful kindred spirits here.
Looking forward to getting to know you.
AE
A story
With the freight my factory sends me they use excelsior for dunnage. Excelsior is the “grass” used with Easter baskets. Ours isn’t decorative, it’s a soft yellow color. Back in around 2006 I ran out of the excelsior and was in dire straits. I cannot use styrofoam peanuts or bubble wrap because my product is dense and heavy it crushes that stuff. To give you an idea, I regularly put 65lbs in a 12x12x12 and 16lbs in a 6x6x6. Plus, one of my best customers does not allow peanuts to be used as dunnage.
I spent a week scouring Google looking for the excelsior in the states but could not find it. I even asked the Germans but they didn’t respond. I knew of perforated cardboard and knew it worked well for my purpose. So I purchased the smallest cardboard perforating machine I could for I believe 3500.00. I began getting cardboard from my local recycle center out of their cardboard dumpsters. But after a while, they no longer allow dumpster diving due to liability. They offered to dig it out for me but what took me 10 minutes in the past was now taking 45 minutes. I finally asked the gas station owner in front of our business if he had spare and he said yes and that I could collect on Tuesdays and Fridays.
All was going good till now. The gas station owner hired new people and my cardboard isn’t there when I was expecting it, and I ran out of both cardboard and excelsior. I asked the wife to visit local big churches (they always have a cardboard drop off bin) to collect some for me. She visits a new recycling center we have and they said they have bales of cardboard that weight between 1000 and 1500 pounds, that they receive $150 for. If I give them a donation of $200 we will give you one and load it on your truck for you. Problem solved big time! I rent a truck and pick one up. I thought they would be bales on pallets but they are only bales so I had to unload it the hard way, by hand.
As soon as I begin going through the mess I realize my cardboard perforator can only chew though single and double walled cardboard. The cardboard compacting machine at the recycle center crushed the cardboard in a way making most of it is unusable.
I visited my fabrication shop guy a while back about him taking over my inventory, assembly and logistics. In our conversation he asked about dunnage and told him excelsior and cardboard. He said they wouldn’t work for him, he had to have a constant stream that came to him. When he said this I thought about a machine I’d seen that takes a few sheets of paper off rolls and crimps them into a sturdy yet malleable dunnage. I considered getting one of these machines when I was in dire straits, but decided against it since I didn't know it as well as perforated cardboard and they lease you the machine - you cannot buy one. I have since learned that the paper machine makes a good dunnage.
There I was last weekend for four hours sifting through 1200 lbs of cardboard - most of which I couldn’t use. And I still have many more hours to work with it. A rap song came to mind where he sings about “levels to this stuff” ... only he doesn’t use the word stuff. I started thinking, maybe as the owner of a successful business I should just pay whatever it costs to have the paper crimping machine, maybe I can even write off the expense of having it? Maybe the fab shop guy understands a value I don’t? Maybe what I was doing is what someone starting out does? Maybe I need to recognize, live and work on the correct level.
I spent a week scouring Google looking for the excelsior in the states but could not find it. I even asked the Germans but they didn’t respond. I knew of perforated cardboard and knew it worked well for my purpose. So I purchased the smallest cardboard perforating machine I could for I believe 3500.00. I began getting cardboard from my local recycle center out of their cardboard dumpsters. But after a while, they no longer allow dumpster diving due to liability. They offered to dig it out for me but what took me 10 minutes in the past was now taking 45 minutes. I finally asked the gas station owner in front of our business if he had spare and he said yes and that I could collect on Tuesdays and Fridays.
All was going good till now. The gas station owner hired new people and my cardboard isn’t there when I was expecting it, and I ran out of both cardboard and excelsior. I asked the wife to visit local big churches (they always have a cardboard drop off bin) to collect some for me. She visits a new recycling center we have and they said they have bales of cardboard that weight between 1000 and 1500 pounds, that they receive $150 for. If I give them a donation of $200 we will give you one and load it on your truck for you. Problem solved big time! I rent a truck and pick one up. I thought they would be bales on pallets but they are only bales so I had to unload it the hard way, by hand.
As soon as I begin going through the mess I realize my cardboard perforator can only chew though single and double walled cardboard. The cardboard compacting machine at the recycle center crushed the cardboard in a way making most of it is unusable.
I visited my fabrication shop guy a while back about him taking over my inventory, assembly and logistics. In our conversation he asked about dunnage and told him excelsior and cardboard. He said they wouldn’t work for him, he had to have a constant stream that came to him. When he said this I thought about a machine I’d seen that takes a few sheets of paper off rolls and crimps them into a sturdy yet malleable dunnage. I considered getting one of these machines when I was in dire straits, but decided against it since I didn't know it as well as perforated cardboard and they lease you the machine - you cannot buy one. I have since learned that the paper machine makes a good dunnage.
There I was last weekend for four hours sifting through 1200 lbs of cardboard - most of which I couldn’t use. And I still have many more hours to work with it. A rap song came to mind where he sings about “levels to this stuff” ... only he doesn’t use the word stuff. I started thinking, maybe as the owner of a successful business I should just pay whatever it costs to have the paper crimping machine, maybe I can even write off the expense of having it? Maybe the fab shop guy understands a value I don’t? Maybe what I was doing is what someone starting out does? Maybe I need to recognize, live and work on the correct level.
dimanche 20 novembre 2016
Help on posting to FB
In my area we have tons of online garage sale groups that sell various things. I get a majority of my business using these groups. I basically just post on there what exactly we do and offer. Is there anyone else that has used this method? Does anyone have any tips on how to post a good thread on there that will sell my services and products to the customers??
thanks for all of your help
thanks for all of your help
Data Collection
I am not sure where to put this. I have an electronic repair business and we specialize in computers, cell phones, tablets, networking, etc. I have been trying to find information on this topic online, but not much luck. I am wondering what data should i collect from my customers and also what data I should collect from the device I work on or what forms should be filled out on my end? I do offer warranties to my customers in case that helps. Right noe I collect all of their basic information as well as the model and brand of the device and serial or IMEI #. I cant find anything on what the business should fill out on their end that the customer doesnt see. Any help would be appreciated.
Hi Everyone! From the land of maple syrups
Want to introduce myself and say hi to everyone!
An Engineer by training who moved to Branding early on in my career.
No longer doing the 9-5 now and much happier jumping into the entrepreneurship game.
All in all, I look forward to learning from and contributing to the site. :D
An Engineer by training who moved to Branding early on in my career.
No longer doing the 9-5 now and much happier jumping into the entrepreneurship game.
All in all, I look forward to learning from and contributing to the site. :D
vendredi 18 novembre 2016
CPA Vs Quickbook Vs Tax Lawyer
Hi guys, it's the first i write on this forum.
I am a psychotherapist in California, and my business is slowly starting to take off. To ensure that i don't miss any tax deadline and to comply with all the regulations, I was wondering if you'd suggest a CPA or simply Quickbooks.
My practice is very basic: clients come in on a weekly base for psychotherapy, i bill the insurance, the insurance pays. I do not have a secretary or anybody else in the office. The expenses are somewhat standard: rent, phone bill, car leasing, marketing, health insurance,...
So, in your opinion, should i buy Quickbook and learn how to use it or do I need to hire a CPA (or a tax lawyer)? The cost for a local CPA is $70-$200/month.
Thanks
I am a psychotherapist in California, and my business is slowly starting to take off. To ensure that i don't miss any tax deadline and to comply with all the regulations, I was wondering if you'd suggest a CPA or simply Quickbooks.
My practice is very basic: clients come in on a weekly base for psychotherapy, i bill the insurance, the insurance pays. I do not have a secretary or anybody else in the office. The expenses are somewhat standard: rent, phone bill, car leasing, marketing, health insurance,...
So, in your opinion, should i buy Quickbook and learn how to use it or do I need to hire a CPA (or a tax lawyer)? The cost for a local CPA is $70-$200/month.
Thanks
jeudi 17 novembre 2016
Hi - I'm Heidi!
I am an independent search engine marketing/website design consultant, with 18 years of experience. I resigned from my corporate job, and decided to take my own show on the road when my first child was born - 8 years ago! It was the scariest thing (and the best thing) that I have ever done. I have been working from home, part time ever since.
I hope to meet other entrepreneurs in this forum, as well as to hopefully contribute my online marketing expertise. Thanks for having me!
I hope to meet other entrepreneurs in this forum, as well as to hopefully contribute my online marketing expertise. Thanks for having me!
How commercials to attract people to the mobile operator?
Hey. We would like to shoot a promotional video for a mobile operator. I am looking for an idea. Help!
In OH, I see all these licenses and permits, but which one do I get for blogging?
The title is pretty self explanatory. I was on this website "http://ift.tt/2gnwmpX; trying to figure out what business license I need. I know for a fact when it comes to trademarking my business name blogging would be class 41.
Are people still using simple printed flyers successfully?
Hello everyone!
I'm a newbie to this forum... and online forums in general... so, if I'm breaking any rules or doing something that's otherwise not cool or acceptable, PLEASE let me know. I'm not out to cause trouble. I've just been out of the "business world" for the last decade, most of which was spent as a full-time caregiver for my aging parents. So I'm not totally up to speed on how to behave in online forums.
But now I'm wanting to get back "in the game" and I've been searching for an online community to start getting involved in and add value to. So here I am! :-)
I've got a question... for anyone who might have some experience to share with me.
First though, a tiny bit of background...
During the 1990's, I made my living as a small biz consultant. My area of expertise was marketing, especially in the area of print advertising and direct mail. I used to do a lot of fun stuff for my clients with paper and ink. In addition to very well targeted direct-mail, we'd make extensive use of flyers, brochures and special reports. (If anyone's interested, I can go into detail on some of the things we did.)
(I left that field in 2000 to get into the world of online lead generation. Spent 9 years in that sandbox until I walked away from business completely to become a full-time caregiver for my parents, who both passed away in the summer of 2015. After they both were gone, my family and I took a year off to just re-establish what "normal" is in our lives after having taken care of my parents 24/7 for 6 years.)
A couple years ago, through a very interesting set of circumstances, I became the proud owner of a small warehouse filled with the kind of stuff that you'd find at a FedEx Office or Staples Copy & Print. Dozens of color laser/inkjet printers... pallets of supplies (toner/ink) for those printers... and somewhere around 5,000,000 sheets of paper. (Most of it is plain ol' letter-sized, 20-lb., white copy paper... but there's also a lot of colored cardstock and colored paper mixed in there.) There's also laminating machines/supplies... and coil binding machines/supplies, too. Plus tons of #10/#9 envelopes... and probably 25,000 USPS forever postage stamps.
I got this stuff for pennies on the dollar... and, in all honesty, I could sell the postage stamps alone and recover most of my investment. :-)
Anyway, I put the word out to some friends that I had all this stuff and started doing flyer printing for a few local businesses. (I charge $0.05 for a full-color, single-sided, letter-sized copy. People tell me that I could charge more... but I still make a very nice profit at a nickel a sheet. No sense being greedy) One of my best customers is a Thrift Store that consistently outperforms all of their competitors in their geographic area. Their secret? They have lots of printed materials that they stuff in the bags of all of their shoppers.
Coupons... sale calendars... etc. They swear by the effectiveness of using simple, paper-and-ink traditional marketing materials to drive customer loyalty and bring in new business. And their bottom line proves it. In an industry where all of their competitors put everything online... they print everything out and hand it to every customer.
So... at least in this one industry, with this one customer... I'm seeing that old-fashioned, paper-and-ink marketing materials DO work. And work extremely well.
My question is this...
Are there any other examples out there of small, brick-and-mortar businesses that are still using things like flyers successfully? Or is my customer an anomaly? A dinosaur in a completely digital world who, for some reason, just happens to be lucky? I'm really curious.
If there IS a place for old-fashioned printed flyers in today's business climate, I'd be interested in seeing if I could capitalize on that, since I've got this warehouse full of stuff that could easily be turned into millions of flyers. :-)
To do that, though, I'd like to find out if there are other people who are having success with flyers. Any insight would really be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
--Jon
I'm a newbie to this forum... and online forums in general... so, if I'm breaking any rules or doing something that's otherwise not cool or acceptable, PLEASE let me know. I'm not out to cause trouble. I've just been out of the "business world" for the last decade, most of which was spent as a full-time caregiver for my aging parents. So I'm not totally up to speed on how to behave in online forums.
But now I'm wanting to get back "in the game" and I've been searching for an online community to start getting involved in and add value to. So here I am! :-)
I've got a question... for anyone who might have some experience to share with me.
First though, a tiny bit of background...
During the 1990's, I made my living as a small biz consultant. My area of expertise was marketing, especially in the area of print advertising and direct mail. I used to do a lot of fun stuff for my clients with paper and ink. In addition to very well targeted direct-mail, we'd make extensive use of flyers, brochures and special reports. (If anyone's interested, I can go into detail on some of the things we did.)
(I left that field in 2000 to get into the world of online lead generation. Spent 9 years in that sandbox until I walked away from business completely to become a full-time caregiver for my parents, who both passed away in the summer of 2015. After they both were gone, my family and I took a year off to just re-establish what "normal" is in our lives after having taken care of my parents 24/7 for 6 years.)
A couple years ago, through a very interesting set of circumstances, I became the proud owner of a small warehouse filled with the kind of stuff that you'd find at a FedEx Office or Staples Copy & Print. Dozens of color laser/inkjet printers... pallets of supplies (toner/ink) for those printers... and somewhere around 5,000,000 sheets of paper. (Most of it is plain ol' letter-sized, 20-lb., white copy paper... but there's also a lot of colored cardstock and colored paper mixed in there.) There's also laminating machines/supplies... and coil binding machines/supplies, too. Plus tons of #10/#9 envelopes... and probably 25,000 USPS forever postage stamps.
I got this stuff for pennies on the dollar... and, in all honesty, I could sell the postage stamps alone and recover most of my investment. :-)
Anyway, I put the word out to some friends that I had all this stuff and started doing flyer printing for a few local businesses. (I charge $0.05 for a full-color, single-sided, letter-sized copy. People tell me that I could charge more... but I still make a very nice profit at a nickel a sheet. No sense being greedy) One of my best customers is a Thrift Store that consistently outperforms all of their competitors in their geographic area. Their secret? They have lots of printed materials that they stuff in the bags of all of their shoppers.
Coupons... sale calendars... etc. They swear by the effectiveness of using simple, paper-and-ink traditional marketing materials to drive customer loyalty and bring in new business. And their bottom line proves it. In an industry where all of their competitors put everything online... they print everything out and hand it to every customer.
So... at least in this one industry, with this one customer... I'm seeing that old-fashioned, paper-and-ink marketing materials DO work. And work extremely well.
My question is this...
Are there any other examples out there of small, brick-and-mortar businesses that are still using things like flyers successfully? Or is my customer an anomaly? A dinosaur in a completely digital world who, for some reason, just happens to be lucky? I'm really curious.
If there IS a place for old-fashioned printed flyers in today's business climate, I'd be interested in seeing if I could capitalize on that, since I've got this warehouse full of stuff that could easily be turned into millions of flyers. :-)
To do that, though, I'd like to find out if there are other people who are having success with flyers. Any insight would really be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
--Jon
KALS Information Systems Ltd Reviews about Software Products/Services
Hi... I want AS/400 Software Services. When I go through few service providers, I came to know that Kals information Systems Ltd in Bangalore is an organization providing Software products and services. Can anybody share the reviews and complaints about KALS Information Systems Ltd?
mercredi 16 novembre 2016
Any product-based businesses here do cost accounting?
I'm a bit disappointed that Quickbooks Online doesn't have much in the way of cost accounting. The products setup screen does have a field for product cost, but that's it. One field. When I did a google search for cost accounting to see what other people recommend doing, all I got were links explaining how to do job cost accounting for service-based companies. I know it's similar. But not quite what I want. Maybe I'm thinking about it wrong.
What I want to do is to track all costs that go into my products. For example a particular dog toy costs me $12.50 to buy wholesale from the distributor. Shipping it to me = shipping cost for the whole package divided by the number of units in the package, say $1.50 each. When my customer buys it, the box I pack it in cost me $50.00 divided by the number of boxes in that package, say $0.45. I stuff a little tissue in the box so it doesn't rattle around and that cost a few cents. Print the order and the postage on standard sheets of paper, so that's a few cents per sheet. A few more cents for tape to seal up the box and tape on the postage label.
I'm pulling numbers out of my behind, just to illustrate what I'm thinking. After I add all that up, I'd get a figure of like $15.75 total cost to me to sell that dog toy. From there, my pricing spreadsheet can help me make sure I don't sell it at a loss. It would be nice if I could do that in Quickbooks instead of a spreadsheet.
Do other product-based services do all that computation up front and then enter the final number into Quickbooks? Or do you use Excel? Am I working to hard at this or on the right track?
What I want to do is to track all costs that go into my products. For example a particular dog toy costs me $12.50 to buy wholesale from the distributor. Shipping it to me = shipping cost for the whole package divided by the number of units in the package, say $1.50 each. When my customer buys it, the box I pack it in cost me $50.00 divided by the number of boxes in that package, say $0.45. I stuff a little tissue in the box so it doesn't rattle around and that cost a few cents. Print the order and the postage on standard sheets of paper, so that's a few cents per sheet. A few more cents for tape to seal up the box and tape on the postage label.
I'm pulling numbers out of my behind, just to illustrate what I'm thinking. After I add all that up, I'd get a figure of like $15.75 total cost to me to sell that dog toy. From there, my pricing spreadsheet can help me make sure I don't sell it at a loss. It would be nice if I could do that in Quickbooks instead of a spreadsheet.
Do other product-based services do all that computation up front and then enter the final number into Quickbooks? Or do you use Excel? Am I working to hard at this or on the right track?
Ponderings on business growth and capital requirements
Hi Guys,
I'm a little bored in my day job at the moment and unable to work on my online shop, so I'm tossing around fantasies of how my shop may grow. I currently operate out of my home. I have an extremely limited amount of inventory that I keep at home (well-organized) and otherwise drop-ship stuff to my customers. I'm an online retailer of pet supplies.
At some point, I suspect in two or three years, I'm going to have to expand out of my house, stop doing the drop-shipping and maintain my own inventory. I'm already chafing at being unable to control my unboxing experience, and as mentioned in another thread here, drop-shipping distributors don't provide decent product photography required for online sales. So if I need to buy wholesale just to take pictures, I may as well hold all of my own inventory.
Luckily, there are tons of available warehouse spaces in my local area. I've been browsing listings when bored, for fun. I am thinking I should start small, about 1500 square feet of space. One "amenity" I haven't seen in any of the warehouse real estate listings is how the service with the post office might be set up. Would I have to ask the local post office (assume just for simplicity that I use USPS and not UPS or Fedex for now) to send a truck by my place once or twice a day? Would it need a contract?
If we're talking purely warehouse/distribution operations, is location much of a concern? (As opposed to a retail space where location is critical.)
What else will I need to know in a few years when I'm ready to start working on this growth seriously?
I'm a little bored in my day job at the moment and unable to work on my online shop, so I'm tossing around fantasies of how my shop may grow. I currently operate out of my home. I have an extremely limited amount of inventory that I keep at home (well-organized) and otherwise drop-ship stuff to my customers. I'm an online retailer of pet supplies.
At some point, I suspect in two or three years, I'm going to have to expand out of my house, stop doing the drop-shipping and maintain my own inventory. I'm already chafing at being unable to control my unboxing experience, and as mentioned in another thread here, drop-shipping distributors don't provide decent product photography required for online sales. So if I need to buy wholesale just to take pictures, I may as well hold all of my own inventory.
Luckily, there are tons of available warehouse spaces in my local area. I've been browsing listings when bored, for fun. I am thinking I should start small, about 1500 square feet of space. One "amenity" I haven't seen in any of the warehouse real estate listings is how the service with the post office might be set up. Would I have to ask the local post office (assume just for simplicity that I use USPS and not UPS or Fedex for now) to send a truck by my place once or twice a day? Would it need a contract?
If we're talking purely warehouse/distribution operations, is location much of a concern? (As opposed to a retail space where location is critical.)
What else will I need to know in a few years when I'm ready to start working on this growth seriously?
If i were looking for a business to start.
I have seen a number of posts from people who want to start a business but don't have any idea what kind of business to do. It seems to me that the real key to success is to find a niche with demand, high profits and little competition and most of those are things people would never think of. The thing I do is an example of something few do. There are around 7 firms in the USA that do what I do for the main part of my business. Finding those things are the tough part.
Instead people open a coffee shop, a pizza joint or become web designers. I won't knock those fields, if someone has talent and gets established with a great product they can be good businesses.
If I wanted to start a business and didn't mind getting dirty I would get into the business of HydroJetting. I did say that the best businesses were things no one would think of and I will bet most people don't even know what hydro jetting is. Basically it is a premium way of unclogging drain lines and sewers. They use a very powerful high pressure washer coupled to a remote controlled hose that shoots one stream of water forward and several backwards and will break through clogged drains that a snake can't do.
We just had it done to our drains for the second time. There are only two people in our area that do it. One is backed up 3 weeks. The other charges $ 675.00. His cost is going to be about 20 bucks, mostly for gas driving to the job. It takes about 20 minutes. The guy who did ours said he did 65 jobs last week and 24 so far this week. Well for simple math lets say he did 50 jobs at $ 500.00 each, that is $ 25,000.00 and a cost of maybe $ 1,000. I don't think there are too many coffee shops, pizza places or web designers that generate that kind of profit. I know I don't make that.
I just thought I would post this as some kind of business someone could think about that isn't real common or real competitive. Maybe someday it will help someone.
Instead people open a coffee shop, a pizza joint or become web designers. I won't knock those fields, if someone has talent and gets established with a great product they can be good businesses.
If I wanted to start a business and didn't mind getting dirty I would get into the business of HydroJetting. I did say that the best businesses were things no one would think of and I will bet most people don't even know what hydro jetting is. Basically it is a premium way of unclogging drain lines and sewers. They use a very powerful high pressure washer coupled to a remote controlled hose that shoots one stream of water forward and several backwards and will break through clogged drains that a snake can't do.
We just had it done to our drains for the second time. There are only two people in our area that do it. One is backed up 3 weeks. The other charges $ 675.00. His cost is going to be about 20 bucks, mostly for gas driving to the job. It takes about 20 minutes. The guy who did ours said he did 65 jobs last week and 24 so far this week. Well for simple math lets say he did 50 jobs at $ 500.00 each, that is $ 25,000.00 and a cost of maybe $ 1,000. I don't think there are too many coffee shops, pizza places or web designers that generate that kind of profit. I know I don't make that.
I just thought I would post this as some kind of business someone could think about that isn't real common or real competitive. Maybe someday it will help someone.
Trucking Business
I'm trying to create a Business Plan for my trucking company. Any suggestions? All I'm trying to do basically is to buy a truck and get going.
looking for partner for my online business
2016-11-16_103148.png
My business is for people who looking for travel offers, dining or meeting options around the world. I am still building site, but main site is ready, but in this stage looking for business partner or partners. Business is located in London, but all products are available around the world. If you have any questions let me know. The best option is IT or person from hospitality business. Any person are welcome. visit mybookingbox.co.uk
My business is for people who looking for travel offers, dining or meeting options around the world. I am still building site, but main site is ready, but in this stage looking for business partner or partners. Business is located in London, but all products are available around the world. If you have any questions let me know. The best option is IT or person from hospitality business. Any person are welcome. visit mybookingbox.co.uk
mardi 15 novembre 2016
Accounting Software
I have used Quickbooks for over 20 years. I bought my first version at Sam's Club in the early 90's. It was a DOS version and cost $30 if my memory is accurate. I learned accounting using Quickbooks even though I studied accounting in school. It was excellent software. Each new version was better. Each new version had more features. I bought many upgrades. I still have them. I wrote interface software for Quickbooks using IIF files and something called Intuit API. In my mind Quickbooks and Intuit were the Gold Standard, high quality.
I think the best version was QB 2004. After that Intuit started implementing what I call "customer capture". "Oh, you looked at the new free trial software and loaded you data file? Well that converted you data to the new format which can only be read by the new version. You will have to get the new version."
I sold my business and started a new business where I do the accounting again. I could not use Quickbooks 2004 because I had to get authorization code after 30 uses with a new install. Guess what? The online source for the authorization code is no longer a valid URL and the phone number is no longer a working number. When I bought the software I bought a right to use it forever. Software is no longer sold with those rights that but it was then.
I have used Quickbooks Online for the past 9 months. I am not satisfied with the ease of use, the reports, performance or reliability. I have duplicated all of the nine months' entries into GnuCash, a free, open source accounting program. I like open source and GnuCash is good software. But it is not as good as the old Quickbooks.
I do think the customer should always have ownership and control of the data they enter into software. That is not the way it is in the software industry. I know. My business was a software business.
(I apologize for griping. It is very frustrating to use software that is not as good as it was in the past. Accounting software should be getting better and cheaper but the opposite is happening.)
I do have a question: Does anybody know how I can get "authorization code" for my 2004 Quickbooks so I can use it?
I think the best version was QB 2004. After that Intuit started implementing what I call "customer capture". "Oh, you looked at the new free trial software and loaded you data file? Well that converted you data to the new format which can only be read by the new version. You will have to get the new version."
I sold my business and started a new business where I do the accounting again. I could not use Quickbooks 2004 because I had to get authorization code after 30 uses with a new install. Guess what? The online source for the authorization code is no longer a valid URL and the phone number is no longer a working number. When I bought the software I bought a right to use it forever. Software is no longer sold with those rights that but it was then.
I have used Quickbooks Online for the past 9 months. I am not satisfied with the ease of use, the reports, performance or reliability. I have duplicated all of the nine months' entries into GnuCash, a free, open source accounting program. I like open source and GnuCash is good software. But it is not as good as the old Quickbooks.
I do think the customer should always have ownership and control of the data they enter into software. That is not the way it is in the software industry. I know. My business was a software business.
(I apologize for griping. It is very frustrating to use software that is not as good as it was in the past. Accounting software should be getting better and cheaper but the opposite is happening.)
I do have a question: Does anybody know how I can get "authorization code" for my 2004 Quickbooks so I can use it?
hello friends ! new member
hello friends ... i am from US.came here to share and learn any new things i can get here .
Hello to everyone
Hello! My name is Evgeny. I'm from Russia. I just want to find new partners from all over the world. I cam sell any goods produced in Russia. Just let me knowwhat you need and I'll try to help you. Prices in Russia are much lower than in USA or EU.
Feel free to ask any questions.
Regards, Evgeny
Feel free to ask any questions.
Regards, Evgeny
established online businesses
what are the major risks to buying an established online business nowadays? would there be any major risks in doing so? can someone please tell me. thank you.
lundi 14 novembre 2016
Starting an LLC to plow and eventually landscape
Hello everyone, I am starting a business for the first time. I am starting an LLC and plan on going 50/50 with my partner. We both own trucks with plows on them that are currently privately insured. I've got a few questions:
1. I am plowing in the winter, but I plan on moving on to eventually do landscaping next spring as well. Should I file one LLC, say DWM Landscape, and file two DBA's with my city? Like, DWM Landscape, then DWM Snow Removal, but have them both under the same LLC? Its a tad confusing so I'm not exactly sure if I'm making sense.
2. I am filing for an LLC in Massachusetts. They ask for my EIN number, but I thought you apply for an EIN after you finish filing for the LLC.
3. Specifically for plowing I am transferring my truck to commercial insurance, do I have to lease the truck out to my own business? My partner has a truck too, do we both lease or rent the trucks out to the business? Or can we keep them privately owned and compensate the owner by mileage?
1. I am plowing in the winter, but I plan on moving on to eventually do landscaping next spring as well. Should I file one LLC, say DWM Landscape, and file two DBA's with my city? Like, DWM Landscape, then DWM Snow Removal, but have them both under the same LLC? Its a tad confusing so I'm not exactly sure if I'm making sense.
2. I am filing for an LLC in Massachusetts. They ask for my EIN number, but I thought you apply for an EIN after you finish filing for the LLC.
3. Specifically for plowing I am transferring my truck to commercial insurance, do I have to lease the truck out to my own business? My partner has a truck too, do we both lease or rent the trucks out to the business? Or can we keep them privately owned and compensate the owner by mileage?
Start two business's or one business?
So, I'm starting to plow this year as my own snow-removal company, but I also want to start landscaping in the spring. So, should I start two separate businesses? They would both be an LLC. Can I start one LLC, say DWM landscaping, then file a DBA in my city for both DWM Landscaping and DWM snowplowing? Should I keep one bank account for both businesses?
On a separate note, I need a registered agent. I do business out of my grandmother's house, I live with her, my brother, and mother. Can I make either of them my registered agent? I'm trying to not spend money when I don't need to. Lastly, what should I do first? Apply for a Tax ID number, file an LLC, or file my DBA at my town hall? I am confused because it says I need an EIN to file the paperwork to form an LLC but it also says I'm supposed to apply for the EIN after I form the company.
On a separate note, I need a registered agent. I do business out of my grandmother's house, I live with her, my brother, and mother. Can I make either of them my registered agent? I'm trying to not spend money when I don't need to. Lastly, what should I do first? Apply for a Tax ID number, file an LLC, or file my DBA at my town hall? I am confused because it says I need an EIN to file the paperwork to form an LLC but it also says I'm supposed to apply for the EIN after I form the company.
samedi 12 novembre 2016
EIN IRS Tax ID Number
If you are starting a new business and need assistance obtaining an EIN Number please feel free to contact Document Filing, LLC
gov-icon.jpg
http://ift.tt/2fLFRu3
gov-icon.jpg
http://ift.tt/2fLFRu3
What is the cost of expanding my company from the UK to USA?
I currently own a business based in the UK that operates completely online. My clients are based mainly in the UK and USA. I'd like to expand from the UK and open an office in the USA. What are the costs / requirements for this? How many people will I need to hire?
vendredi 11 novembre 2016
What to Do in the Face of an Ugly Social Media Crisis
We all hope it will never happen to us. After all, we're small. No one is paying attention right? Wrong, some of the biggest social media blunders have happened to unsuspecting people and companies that never thought in a million years that they could be thrust in the limelight.
With the way our knee jerk, constantly outraged society works, anyone, at anytime could be the next viral villain, or target of attacks simply from making the wrong Tweet, wrong response or saying the wrong thing that gets picked up by the right person or group that can make your life a living hell.
Instead of relying on hope, it's best to be prepared so that in the slim chance you are thrust into the limelight that you aren't completely unprepared and make it worse.
What to Do in the Face of an Ugly Social Media Crisis | Social Media Today
With the way our knee jerk, constantly outraged society works, anyone, at anytime could be the next viral villain, or target of attacks simply from making the wrong Tweet, wrong response or saying the wrong thing that gets picked up by the right person or group that can make your life a living hell.
Instead of relying on hope, it's best to be prepared so that in the slim chance you are thrust into the limelight that you aren't completely unprepared and make it worse.
What to Do in the Face of an Ugly Social Media Crisis | Social Media Today
100 email list challenge
Hello SBF fellows,
I'm from Paris, English is not my first language so please bear with me :)
I am Sylvestre, a freelance web developer who's been reading a lot of inspiring books in the past few months. Long story short, one of the books recommended to listen to podcasts for learning new languages... which I did for learning mandarin.
But then I came across Smart Passive Income (SPI) while I browsed for more podcasts, it's been there for a while (since 2008) but I only discovered it last week. I'm sure many of you have heard of Pat Flynn, that guy got me addicted to his contents... I subscribed to his newsletter, follow him on Twitter, liked his Facebook page and joined his private Facebook group, all that within a day. I'm not here to promote SPI, just wanted to say how pumped up I am.
Now, let's get to the point: SPI started a challenge 24 hours ago which consists in building up a 100 email list in 72 hours. I have 48 hours left and I got 0 email in my list for the moment. It's time to take action!
While I worked for my clients (I'm a web developer remember ?), I noticed that I was doing the same thing over and over again in the beginning stage of the project:
- sign NDA (client rarely has one ready at that point)
- wait for his technical specifications (poorly written most of the time)
- setup a domain name
- setup a web server
- setup SSL
- install my favorite PHP framework on the web server
- more configuration on the web server
- create a bitbucket account
...
and the list goes on.
Days that I spend doing those tasks are actually charged because after all, I trade my time for money. The client also spends a lot of time figuring how to write an NDA, a tech spec document. I can imagine how difficult it is for a non tech person to look for a freelancer when he doesn't even know much about IT web technologies.
That's how I got the idea to create a turnkey package service that we could deliver in a day. Basically, after market validation, the next step is to actually create the online product right? That's where my service kicks in.
Now, if you think that the idea is sustainable and if you are interested in knowing more about my future service, please join my newsletter here:
http://ift.tt/2fHbUuS
My goal is to validate my own market and see what your struggles and needs are so I can offer a better service to everyone.
If you are not interested in my project, please just let me know why, that will also help me improve.
I will keep you updated on the number of emails I collect from SBF.
Talk to you guys soon!
I'm from Paris, English is not my first language so please bear with me :)
I am Sylvestre, a freelance web developer who's been reading a lot of inspiring books in the past few months. Long story short, one of the books recommended to listen to podcasts for learning new languages... which I did for learning mandarin.
But then I came across Smart Passive Income (SPI) while I browsed for more podcasts, it's been there for a while (since 2008) but I only discovered it last week. I'm sure many of you have heard of Pat Flynn, that guy got me addicted to his contents... I subscribed to his newsletter, follow him on Twitter, liked his Facebook page and joined his private Facebook group, all that within a day. I'm not here to promote SPI, just wanted to say how pumped up I am.
Now, let's get to the point: SPI started a challenge 24 hours ago which consists in building up a 100 email list in 72 hours. I have 48 hours left and I got 0 email in my list for the moment. It's time to take action!
While I worked for my clients (I'm a web developer remember ?), I noticed that I was doing the same thing over and over again in the beginning stage of the project:
- sign NDA (client rarely has one ready at that point)
- wait for his technical specifications (poorly written most of the time)
- setup a domain name
- setup a web server
- setup SSL
- install my favorite PHP framework on the web server
- more configuration on the web server
- create a bitbucket account
...
and the list goes on.
Days that I spend doing those tasks are actually charged because after all, I trade my time for money. The client also spends a lot of time figuring how to write an NDA, a tech spec document. I can imagine how difficult it is for a non tech person to look for a freelancer when he doesn't even know much about IT web technologies.
That's how I got the idea to create a turnkey package service that we could deliver in a day. Basically, after market validation, the next step is to actually create the online product right? That's where my service kicks in.
Now, if you think that the idea is sustainable and if you are interested in knowing more about my future service, please join my newsletter here:
http://ift.tt/2fHbUuS
My goal is to validate my own market and see what your struggles and needs are so I can offer a better service to everyone.
If you are not interested in my project, please just let me know why, that will also help me improve.
I will keep you updated on the number of emails I collect from SBF.
Talk to you guys soon!
jeudi 10 novembre 2016
How to retain Employees
5 Reasons to Retain Employees
Employees are undoubtedly the foundation of every organization. They sustain the functionality of the organization by performing day to day operations and maintaining client relationships. It is nearly impossible for an organization to be successful without hardworking and dedicated employees. It comes as no surprise that organizations focus a considerable amount of time on recruiting the best employees. Organizations put great effort into creating these employees with hopes of a high return on investment. But what happens to an organization once an employee leaves? To provide perspective on the importance of employee retention, we have compiled a list of five reasons why organizations should retain employees:
Cost- Organizations with a high employee turnover rate typically incur higher costs. Between advertising, training, and other organizational operations, the cost of replacing an employee can heavily impact the operational budget. A recent study shows that the cost of replacing lost talent is 70 to 200 percent of that employee’s annual salary. By retaining employees, the organization will be able to keep overall costs to a minimum.
Productivity- Once a new employee is hired, it takes significant time and energy from HR and management to help the new hire learn and adapt to the organization. Time spent on training and orientation is time taken away from focusing on clients and the overall goal of the organization.
Competitors- Once an employee leaves an organization, they are placed back into the vast job market. In many cases, employees may begin to work for a competitor and apply knowledge from their previous employment to their new one.
Positive work culture– Employees that work with each other for a long time eventually adopt traits from each other. Whether it’s their strengths or weaknesses, continuous collaboration will eventually lead to adopted qualities from one another. Long time employees can become so in sync with each other, that they can develop a shared process for accomplishing tasks in an efficient manner.
Client satisfaction- An organization’s success is largely determined by its client satisfaction, loyalty, and perception. An organization with a high employee turnover rate, runs the risk of giving the organization a bad perception. On the other hand, if a loyal client develops a strong relationship with an employee that leaves, the client may leave with that employee to their new place of employment. Thus resulting in a loss of revenue for the organization.
Overall, by retaining employees, an organization cuts costs, creates a great work culture, and increases efficiencies. Usually employees that stick around an organization for a lengthy time are treated well by employers. A tight niche organization that is based off of loyalty is looked fondly upon by outsiders and can therefore promote an organization as a top workplace. Keep your employees happy by getting to know each one as an individual. It’s not just about investing time and money in your employees, but a bit of a personal relation as well. By making your employees feel comfortable in the workplace, retention rate will go up and so will the overall success of the organization.
Employees are undoubtedly the foundation of every organization. They sustain the functionality of the organization by performing day to day operations and maintaining client relationships. It is nearly impossible for an organization to be successful without hardworking and dedicated employees. It comes as no surprise that organizations focus a considerable amount of time on recruiting the best employees. Organizations put great effort into creating these employees with hopes of a high return on investment. But what happens to an organization once an employee leaves? To provide perspective on the importance of employee retention, we have compiled a list of five reasons why organizations should retain employees:
Cost- Organizations with a high employee turnover rate typically incur higher costs. Between advertising, training, and other organizational operations, the cost of replacing an employee can heavily impact the operational budget. A recent study shows that the cost of replacing lost talent is 70 to 200 percent of that employee’s annual salary. By retaining employees, the organization will be able to keep overall costs to a minimum.
Productivity- Once a new employee is hired, it takes significant time and energy from HR and management to help the new hire learn and adapt to the organization. Time spent on training and orientation is time taken away from focusing on clients and the overall goal of the organization.
Competitors- Once an employee leaves an organization, they are placed back into the vast job market. In many cases, employees may begin to work for a competitor and apply knowledge from their previous employment to their new one.
Positive work culture– Employees that work with each other for a long time eventually adopt traits from each other. Whether it’s their strengths or weaknesses, continuous collaboration will eventually lead to adopted qualities from one another. Long time employees can become so in sync with each other, that they can develop a shared process for accomplishing tasks in an efficient manner.
Client satisfaction- An organization’s success is largely determined by its client satisfaction, loyalty, and perception. An organization with a high employee turnover rate, runs the risk of giving the organization a bad perception. On the other hand, if a loyal client develops a strong relationship with an employee that leaves, the client may leave with that employee to their new place of employment. Thus resulting in a loss of revenue for the organization.
Overall, by retaining employees, an organization cuts costs, creates a great work culture, and increases efficiencies. Usually employees that stick around an organization for a lengthy time are treated well by employers. A tight niche organization that is based off of loyalty is looked fondly upon by outsiders and can therefore promote an organization as a top workplace. Keep your employees happy by getting to know each one as an individual. It’s not just about investing time and money in your employees, but a bit of a personal relation as well. By making your employees feel comfortable in the workplace, retention rate will go up and so will the overall success of the organization.
Fraud??? Anyone ever run into one like this.
I just got a call from my bank. Before I get into that checks usually come into our office and wire transfers of course go right to the bank. Well, the bank office received a check from Canada made out to us for $ 95,000.00 which is far bigger than any checks we usually get. They called because it seemed suspicious but the only thing they can figure out is that had they deposited it somehow it would enable the writer to clean out our account. They are forwarding it to their fraud department. I have encountered a lot of fraud attempts but never one like this so I am curious if anyone else has encountered something like this.
mercredi 9 novembre 2016
Introduction
Hi All!
My name is Colin I am a young entrepreneur out of Colorado and the founder, owner and single operator of a managed cyber security firm called Orange Ninja Security. I started my first business out of high school and did very well but ended up falling on my face!!! I learned alot and took my experiences to create a newer much better business to which is my baby now. I look to meet all of you and exchange ideas with all of you!
Thanks!
-Colin
My name is Colin I am a young entrepreneur out of Colorado and the founder, owner and single operator of a managed cyber security firm called Orange Ninja Security. I started my first business out of high school and did very well but ended up falling on my face!!! I learned alot and took my experiences to create a newer much better business to which is my baby now. I look to meet all of you and exchange ideas with all of you!
Thanks!
-Colin
Hello All!
Hi Everyone, my name is Rai (pronounced ray) & I'm seeking to help those in need of google adwords, pay-per-click (ppc) management & online marketing help. I'm located in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Shoot me an email or give me a call if you have any questions. :)
Hello everybody
My name is Nicolo, I'm Italian and after years traveling around the world I set base in Tel-Aviv. It's now 7-8 years I'm working as an SEO and content marketing specialist, I use to be an employer as well as an employee (like right now), therefore I know and understand both sides difficulties. If I can help with SEO or digital marketing questions or problems don't hesitate to ping me back. :)
IT Proects
Hello Everyone,
I am writing behalf our company and Team. We are planning to outsource our IT services . So We would like to connect with more people in space of Digital and We are looking for outsourcing projects fr USA.
We offers technology solutions & services which are mindcrafted for your business. From strategy to execution.
Specialties
web development, Enterprise Mobility, Quality assurance, Cloud and infra
Regards
Nirmal
I am writing behalf our company and Team. We are planning to outsource our IT services . So We would like to connect with more people in space of Digital and We are looking for outsourcing projects fr USA.
We offers technology solutions & services which are mindcrafted for your business. From strategy to execution.
Specialties
web development, Enterprise Mobility, Quality assurance, Cloud and infra
Regards
Nirmal
Finding Work As A Copywriter/Freelance Writer
I am somewhat new to learning about SEO, content marketing, and website coding (don't know HTML much at all). However, I am able to produce quality content that can be used online or offline. Unfortunately, I simply haven't been able to find much work in the field other than a job that offers terrible pay comparable to working at a fast food joint. I have looked quite a bit for other opportunities but to no avail. I'm sure there are plenty out there, but I have been completely unable to find them :(
My experiences with finding other work have been the following attempts:
-I worked for a website called iWriter for a single day until they blocked me arbitrarily. Later, I realized it was a scam. While I did not fall for the worst parts of it, I did write a couple of things for them and did not receive any payment.
-I worked for a website called Triond, but it was quite brief. I realized that they were hardly paying me anything. I only made around 75 cents from the multiple pieces that I had written. If that isn't bad enough, there were pop-up scam artists on some of the pages that they sent their content to. One of the con artists appeared to be a hacker attempting to trick people into punching in a remote access code!
-I have begun to design my own website, but it is in it's early stages. I will continue to work on designing it, but I am somewhat unfamiliar with how to effectively employ SEO strategies for my site. Of course, once it's up and running, there is the possibility that I could do something with it.
-I applied to several other places online, but my application was rejected.
Recently, I have discovered a legitimate appearing job board on a website called ProBlogger. On this website, there appears to be businesses that are seeking copywriting services. Some of the jobs would definitely interest me, and I would enjoy working for them. However, I'm uncertain as to whether ProBlogger is a legitimate organization. It appears that many online organizations aren't legitimate, and I don't want to get mixed up with any scams. Assuming this is not a scam, what can I expect from using this service to find work? For other copywriters, what resources do you recommend to find employment? I'm assuming that there are probably numerous places to seek employment as a copywriter online. I simply do not know where to look.
My experiences with finding other work have been the following attempts:
-I worked for a website called iWriter for a single day until they blocked me arbitrarily. Later, I realized it was a scam. While I did not fall for the worst parts of it, I did write a couple of things for them and did not receive any payment.
-I worked for a website called Triond, but it was quite brief. I realized that they were hardly paying me anything. I only made around 75 cents from the multiple pieces that I had written. If that isn't bad enough, there were pop-up scam artists on some of the pages that they sent their content to. One of the con artists appeared to be a hacker attempting to trick people into punching in a remote access code!
-I have begun to design my own website, but it is in it's early stages. I will continue to work on designing it, but I am somewhat unfamiliar with how to effectively employ SEO strategies for my site. Of course, once it's up and running, there is the possibility that I could do something with it.
-I applied to several other places online, but my application was rejected.
Recently, I have discovered a legitimate appearing job board on a website called ProBlogger. On this website, there appears to be businesses that are seeking copywriting services. Some of the jobs would definitely interest me, and I would enjoy working for them. However, I'm uncertain as to whether ProBlogger is a legitimate organization. It appears that many online organizations aren't legitimate, and I don't want to get mixed up with any scams. Assuming this is not a scam, what can I expect from using this service to find work? For other copywriters, what resources do you recommend to find employment? I'm assuming that there are probably numerous places to seek employment as a copywriter online. I simply do not know where to look.
Cadet College Pics | Gallery | Cadet College Fateh Jang
Picture gallery of Cadets performing various activities and College Campus. Cadet College Fateh Jang is an established military prep school providing quality education with lowest fee structure across Pakistan since 2001. It is the first and only recognize.
mardi 8 novembre 2016
established online business
is it a good idea to buy an established online business or not? something that has a proven track record so to speak. what types of established online businesses have the best chance for survival like in the jungle where the strongest survive? can someone please give me some feedback. thank you.
"Know your numbers" = exactly which numbers should I know for my business?
I keep seeing this phrase on the great business-fixer tv shows and I want to know more. I know the three basics: P&L, balance sheet, cash flow. I've heard too-quick mentions of others like value of inventory being stored and others. Quickbooks doesn't seem to have reports like that, at least in my subscription level. I might be able to produce them in Excel, if I knew exactly which numbers I should know.
My business is online-only retail sales of high end pet supply products. Toys, beds, collars, that sort of thing, no food or treats. Aside from the basic three financial reports, what are other numbers that I should be tracking on a regular basis?
My business is online-only retail sales of high end pet supply products. Toys, beds, collars, that sort of thing, no food or treats. Aside from the basic three financial reports, what are other numbers that I should be tracking on a regular basis?
Preparer of Annual Report
I am filling a late annual report and personal property return to get my business back in good standing. At the bottom next to where i sign, it asks for the name of a firm as well as a signature of a preparer of the report. I did not use a firm to fill this document out, and was wondering, do I have to have this signature at the bottom? What would happen if I left that blank? how would I signify that I am not using one and thus cannot get a signature there?
This is a copy of the document without any info on it http://ift.tt/2fkGMBX
Thank You Very Much!
This is a copy of the document without any info on it http://ift.tt/2fkGMBX
Thank You Very Much!
lundi 7 novembre 2016
Hello from a new entrepeneur in Virginia!
I launched an online pet supply shop this year (Feb 2016) and it's been a fun learning experience. I have a full time corporate day job, which is good and bad. It's good because I don't have as much pressure to succeed (or rather, succeed asap) with the shop. Bad because I'm already finding that I'd rather spend more time working on my shop than on the day job. I'm mid-50's, so already in the area where companies are disinclined to hire me (agism is real), and married to a lovely man who also has a full time well-paying career. Which makes the online shop a bit of a hobby at this point, but I'm taking it seriously enough to be learning as much as possible. My ultimate goal is to grow the shop enough to replace my day job salary and then I can quit the day job.
My corporate career was a blessing in that it exposed me to many different aspects of business: IT, accounting, customer service, manufacturing and distribution, retail, food service, and local government. That exposure has really helped me with the business tasks required to launch the shop. I am seeing that my weakness is in the areas of marketing and merchandising, so those are my educational focus at the moment.
Hi everyone! I plan to be asking lots of questions here over time.
My corporate career was a blessing in that it exposed me to many different aspects of business: IT, accounting, customer service, manufacturing and distribution, retail, food service, and local government. That exposure has really helped me with the business tasks required to launch the shop. I am seeing that my weakness is in the areas of marketing and merchandising, so those are my educational focus at the moment.
Hi everyone! I plan to be asking lots of questions here over time.
Possibly unanswerable question: inventory risk vs high quality photos
Sorry for the silly-sounding thread title, but there is a character count limit there. What I would like everyone's opinions on is whether it might be worth taking the inventory risk just to build a library of high resolution photos for my online-only shop. I sell a mixture of drop-shipped products and in-house inventory. Because I'm self-funded, I'm running the shop from my home, so space for inventory is extremely limited. I also don't want to carry too much inventory risk. But I have a big problem with the drop-shipped merchandise: distributors provide crappy photos of the product. They are either low resolution or small size or they only provide one photo so you don't get to see all the features. They also don't provide different photos showing the product being used by different people (or in my case, pets). For example, if a product can be used by either dogs or cats, it's ideal to have photos showing both.
Distributors also are still very focused on selling wholesale to brick and mortar stores, so if they include a product description, it's usually bare bones and shitty quality copy. I understand that they don't need to provide quality photography and copy to B&M stores, so they don't... even for drop-shipping. So I need to write my own copy (and already have in some cases).
I asked a distributor once about getting better photos and the answer was a polite version of "too bad, so sad". So in order for my shop to look professional and to actually sell things, I need to build my own library of product photos and descriptions. Which means buying one of each thing. And then storing it until I can sell it. I'm new at this and can't yet tell how long it will take to sell things. But really, I don't want to fill my home with merchandise.
Thoughts?
Distributors also are still very focused on selling wholesale to brick and mortar stores, so if they include a product description, it's usually bare bones and shitty quality copy. I understand that they don't need to provide quality photography and copy to B&M stores, so they don't... even for drop-shipping. So I need to write my own copy (and already have in some cases).
I asked a distributor once about getting better photos and the answer was a polite version of "too bad, so sad". So in order for my shop to look professional and to actually sell things, I need to build my own library of product photos and descriptions. Which means buying one of each thing. And then storing it until I can sell it. I'm new at this and can't yet tell how long it will take to sell things. But really, I don't want to fill my home with merchandise.
Thoughts?
Whole Sale Trader in UK
Hello,
The Hyperwholesale is a UK wholesale company offering a thousand of products range to retail customers, eBay and Amazon
sellers, eCommerce websites, market traders and many more.
We source quality products to fit within the current market. So not only are we offering high quality products but offering
bargain prices too! allowing you to maximize profits.
Please feel free to email us for more information needed. Thank you!!
sales@thehyperwholesale.com
The Hyperwholesale is a UK wholesale company offering a thousand of products range to retail customers, eBay and Amazon
sellers, eCommerce websites, market traders and many more.
We source quality products to fit within the current market. So not only are we offering high quality products but offering
bargain prices too! allowing you to maximize profits.
Please feel free to email us for more information needed. Thank you!!
sales@thehyperwholesale.com
dimanche 6 novembre 2016
Edible Insect Business- Is it viable?
Hi. I am thinking of starting up a business based around a local insect here called Oecophylla smaragdina, that I think has massive potential to be a versatile food product in the developing markets of Asia.
Research shows it has the potential to be a very profitable product, needing less water, food and room to farm than traditional agriculture.
It is also popular in China and India as a traditional medicine, so already has a good reputation that is just waiting to be capitalized on. It was used to flavour water a lemon lime flavor by the Aborigines here in Australia. And there are health food stores here that sell another unrelated black ant as a tea. So I was thinking of marketing this ant as a tea in China and India, along with a chutney.
What do you think? Could this work or am I wasting my time? Everyone around me is so corrosively skeptical about this, but I think it could work as it has research to back it up.
I'm currently trying to sell the domains on the off chance someone else might be interested in it and has the capital to invest. Otherwise I will try doing it myself, but without the capital or someone to help me can't see this progressing beyond the idea phase.
I've contacted local business people here in Australia, millionaires I saw on the shark tank show, and they all dismissed me. I don't get it. With China consuming 1 billion cups of tea per day, along with India consuming another 1 billion, you have a market of 2 billion cups of tea PER DAY you could try and get in on, and to be profitable you would only have to reach 0.5% of the market. It's crazy I am reduced to trying to sell the domains for this ant like this. I'm unemployed and selling the domains is my last lifeline as without any support, and with the Australian government being so anal on the export of Australian native animal products, your more likely to have success if you set this up in a place like Myanmar, where you are close to India and China and can get labor easily and where your not restricted by all the red and green tape we in the West are.
Research shows it has the potential to be a very profitable product, needing less water, food and room to farm than traditional agriculture.
It is also popular in China and India as a traditional medicine, so already has a good reputation that is just waiting to be capitalized on. It was used to flavour water a lemon lime flavor by the Aborigines here in Australia. And there are health food stores here that sell another unrelated black ant as a tea. So I was thinking of marketing this ant as a tea in China and India, along with a chutney.
What do you think? Could this work or am I wasting my time? Everyone around me is so corrosively skeptical about this, but I think it could work as it has research to back it up.
I'm currently trying to sell the domains on the off chance someone else might be interested in it and has the capital to invest. Otherwise I will try doing it myself, but without the capital or someone to help me can't see this progressing beyond the idea phase.
I've contacted local business people here in Australia, millionaires I saw on the shark tank show, and they all dismissed me. I don't get it. With China consuming 1 billion cups of tea per day, along with India consuming another 1 billion, you have a market of 2 billion cups of tea PER DAY you could try and get in on, and to be profitable you would only have to reach 0.5% of the market. It's crazy I am reduced to trying to sell the domains for this ant like this. I'm unemployed and selling the domains is my last lifeline as without any support, and with the Australian government being so anal on the export of Australian native animal products, your more likely to have success if you set this up in a place like Myanmar, where you are close to India and China and can get labor easily and where your not restricted by all the red and green tape we in the West are.
Website Development Service
Hi,
My co-worker and I are currently starting up a website development business using wordpress and also develop plugins for it as well. We'd like to start our own company given that we had the skills and experience on website building.
What we are currently struggling is getting clients.
The local market where I live is not really into getting websites for their businesses. Our client mostly come from free lance sites that we bid on but its not stable enough to grow business. And selling our services online isn't giving us client at all.
Questions:
1. I'd like to ask if getting into business partners from other countries to do the marketing is a good idea, basically outsourcing the work to us?
2. If it is, what is the best approach in finding a cross-country partner and how much would be an ideal percentage that will go to the marketing partner?
3. If it isn't a good idea, we really appreciate if you can enlighten us with other suggestions.
My co-worker and I are currently starting up a website development business using wordpress and also develop plugins for it as well. We'd like to start our own company given that we had the skills and experience on website building.
What we are currently struggling is getting clients.
The local market where I live is not really into getting websites for their businesses. Our client mostly come from free lance sites that we bid on but its not stable enough to grow business. And selling our services online isn't giving us client at all.
Questions:
1. I'd like to ask if getting into business partners from other countries to do the marketing is a good idea, basically outsourcing the work to us?
2. If it is, what is the best approach in finding a cross-country partner and how much would be an ideal percentage that will go to the marketing partner?
3. If it isn't a good idea, we really appreciate if you can enlighten us with other suggestions.
samedi 5 novembre 2016
OK, so I was wrong to dismiss Samsung
I've been saying "Samsung is dead to me" since they killed the expandable memory and replaceable battery on the Note line. Until recently I had a Note 4 and figured I'd keep it until they pried it from my cold dead hands.
Then the Note 7 fiasco happened, plus the ever increasing price of the phones, and I figured that was it for me. I'm done with Samsung.
Then I lost my Note 4 and the insurance company was out of Note 4's, so they sent me a brand new Note 5.
I won't bore you with the specs, but it's pretty good. First of all 4G RAM is spectacular. Samsung pay is far superior to Android Pay. They've made nice improvements to the S Pen, finger print reader, security, reduced the crap and improved the things that are actually useful.
Yeah you lose expandable memory, and replaceable battery and that was a big deal to me. When my Note 4 was acting up (after 2 years), a new battery fixed the issue. Hate not having that option anymore.
Not sure I would have paid $800 for it since I don't ever want to pay $800 for a phone ever again, but I have to admit that it is a very, very nice phone with many useful features and I need to stop bad mouthing Samsung.
Then the Note 7 fiasco happened, plus the ever increasing price of the phones, and I figured that was it for me. I'm done with Samsung.
Then I lost my Note 4 and the insurance company was out of Note 4's, so they sent me a brand new Note 5.
I won't bore you with the specs, but it's pretty good. First of all 4G RAM is spectacular. Samsung pay is far superior to Android Pay. They've made nice improvements to the S Pen, finger print reader, security, reduced the crap and improved the things that are actually useful.
Yeah you lose expandable memory, and replaceable battery and that was a big deal to me. When my Note 4 was acting up (after 2 years), a new battery fixed the issue. Hate not having that option anymore.
Not sure I would have paid $800 for it since I don't ever want to pay $800 for a phone ever again, but I have to admit that it is a very, very nice phone with many useful features and I need to stop bad mouthing Samsung.
vendredi 4 novembre 2016
Small Business Startup Advice
I received notice today that the franchise lawn care company I work for is selling/shutting down after this season. I was offered a chance to buy out the company. I've worked with the company for 11 years and helped open and manage this franchise for 6 years. I'm interested in purchasing the company but would like to operate it independently and drop the franchise. The company is very small and grosses a bit over 100k per year with basically myself as a full time technician and occasionally a seasonal employee for about a month. So basically my thoughts are to purchase the customer list and most of the equipment. The franchise fees were 8% annually. My customer base has an average retention rate of 87% averaged over the last 6 years. I also am the main technician and have good relationship with my customers...the company has around 350 active accounts. This is all new(received notice this Wednesday) and just starting to formulate a modified business plan. I know I'll have to setup a new LLC and get my own liability insurance. Setup a new shop/setup a home office and modify or get new account management software (currently using RealGreen which should be adaptable but expensive) and get new paper products (cards, flyers, invoice blanks, po box, ect). Also new marketing campaigns (phone book, website, ect). I'm thinking of setting up a meeting with the college business department, they do free small business consulting. The company has been growing about 15-20% annually but not fast enough to be good enough for a national franchise.
I'd appreciate your thoughts, advice, guidance of helping me get on the right track.
Thank You
I'd appreciate your thoughts, advice, guidance of helping me get on the right track.
Thank You
mardi 1 novembre 2016
A BIG Hi from a new member of your forum
Hi, my name is Richard Cameron, a graphic designer that has been involved in the promotions and incentive industry for fifteen years, suppling companies with products printed with their logos.
What surprised me was that most customers sent us their logos as low definition bitmap (JPG, GIF etc.) files which needed to be converted to high resolution files before we could print them.
It became evident that many companies had poor quality versions of their logo which were used for all applications, everything from company stationery to PowerPoint presentations. There was definitely a need for a company that took low resolution logos and converted them to high definition vectorised artwork that could be used for all applications to be ‘fit for purpose’.
That led to us launching FitArtwork.co.uk, a web based service that takes the clients low resolution logo and re-draws it and sends back their logo in a number of formats suitable for all uses at a set fee if £28 (UK Pounds) per logo.
Let me know if you have any questions and looking forward to contributing to the forum.
Richard
What surprised me was that most customers sent us their logos as low definition bitmap (JPG, GIF etc.) files which needed to be converted to high resolution files before we could print them.
It became evident that many companies had poor quality versions of their logo which were used for all applications, everything from company stationery to PowerPoint presentations. There was definitely a need for a company that took low resolution logos and converted them to high definition vectorised artwork that could be used for all applications to be ‘fit for purpose’.
That led to us launching FitArtwork.co.uk, a web based service that takes the clients low resolution logo and re-draws it and sends back their logo in a number of formats suitable for all uses at a set fee if £28 (UK Pounds) per logo.
Let me know if you have any questions and looking forward to contributing to the forum.
Richard
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