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Gold Alliance Group | May 2012 | Online Invoicing

Tue, 08 May 2012 00:42:06 -0400

May 2012 Dear Subscribers, Finding an affordable way to invoice customers is essential to your bottom line no matter what kind of business you run. Read about a free online invoicing service we recommend in the Tips section below. -Linda Gold Alliance Group Tips Online Invoicing If you are a freelancer or home business owner, you should try Curdbee.com for invoicing your customers. Curdbee's basic service is free with a user-friendly interface that makes creating and sending invoices by e-mail a breeze. You can also store your customers' contact information for easy-access, and create custom invoices by adding your logo or special color scheme. Once you get use to the features of the basic service, you may find that upgrading to the Pro or Big service will benefit your business. The Big service (which can run up to $20 per month) includes access to recurring billing options and credit card payment processing through PayPal, Google Checkout, Authorize.net or Stripe. Eventhough these options are totally worth the monthly fee, the great thing about Curdbee is that you are never forced to upgrade. Unlike competitor sites, Curdbee allows you to create and store zillions of invoices without cutting off service features, so you can take advantage of the upgrade only when its right for your business or freelance operation. Curdbee is a useful online billing service, and an economical option for many small businesses. Try the demo page at Curdbee.com. Read other tips for small business owners. Discounts Buy and download ebooks for business. Get 10% off your purchase of two or more items using coupon code REWARD10. Tools Save on Office Furniture: 5% to 15% off select orders at Everything Office Furniture Website Solutions: Save on annual hosting plans Ad Solutions: Advertise your business on Amazon.com Social Media Solutions: Facebook course for business. Office Supplies: Order Ink today for your printer- Free Shipping Telecom Solutions: RingCentral Mobile 40% OFF - First 3 Months

Gold Alliance Group | Apr 2012 | Payment Processors

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 20:38:13 -0400

April 2012 | Payment Processors Dear Subscribers, One of the most important services you will select for your business is payment processing. Make the selection process easier by reading these tips from Greg Wong... -Linda Gold Alliance Group eBooks and Spreadsheets for Business » Tips Payment Processor Services - What's The Right Fit For Your Business?Author: Greg Wong A payment processor, most commonly referred to as a payment gateway, is often a third party manufacturer or service provider established for the purpose of completing a transaction. Payment processors may specialize to the different types of payments such as online transactions, phone, or fax while the form of payment can be electronic checks, paper checks, money orders, ACH or Automated Clearing House, and of course most commonly credit or debit card payments. Payment processor services provide the following depending on the company: A secure payment processing software solution. Support services especially to businesses who want to build their own payment processing systems. Employment of the payment gateway system to businesses or individuals as a partner to allow payment processing transactions. When selecting a payment processor service for your business, pay close attention to: The security of payment processing services. Because payment processing entities are often third party institutions, they make it a point to offer security in their partnership. Data encryption helps secure the purchasers information privacy and some processors provide additional information transmittal security features that can benefit your customers. For a business online, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to take cash payments. For this reason, stick with credit and debt card processing services that provide benefits and features catering to your specific needs. For a new business, the cost of opening and maintaining a merchant account can be high as you may not meet the transaction volume minimums required to offset fees. Keep in mind what your projected sales volume will be when selecting the best processor for your business. For a merchant who specializes in certain products, it may be best to settle with a payment processor. This is because some payment processor services are only paid when used, programs that can be especially beneficial to high transaction amount but low volume merchants. If you are a merchant operating overseas catering to international clients from various countries choose a processor that can accept payments in the countries you could likely foresee a client. Let the needs of your business dictate the right processing service. When recommending the best payment processor service for your business, we take into consideration the following: The needs of your business. Not all businesses are alike, but your needs should dictate your decision. Is your product or service considered high risk? Will you need wire transfer functionality? Do you only require credit card processing? What level of support do you require? Account for what your business needs to thrive before shopping for a payment processing service. The clients for your business. Clientele varies. Make a projection of what your expected transaction amounts will be and what volume you expect? What is the preferred method of payment in your industry and will your processor provide added value to your client base? The business equipment. A business operating online will have no need for equipment as compared to one who operates in a physical location. Some services offer credit card processing terminal rentals or provide purchase options that can benefit your business. The business payment input options. Some businesses offer the option to take payments through mobile phones. Other businesses are online only and require a payment gateway that is secure internet transmission. Your business might need a terminal to be provided by your processor for onsite transaction processing. Your needs will help determine the best solution. The processing costs and fees. Any business should aim to maximize profit and minimize costs. Fees are a major consideration and should be compared when selecting a company for payment processing. Payment processors follow certain fee structures relative to how they operate and the range of services they offer. One consideration for the business owner may be on whether he will use all offerings a payment processing service has, there is no need to pay for features you don't expect to use. The payment processing company's reputation. Awards, testimonials, online reviews and comparative guidelines are available and can help you guage reputation of a service you are considering. The best in the market provide exceptional support, integrated solutions, friendly staff, and hassle free solutions to your needs. The payment processing speed of service. Because of batch processing, time becomes an important consideration for merchants. The time between the merchant submitting the batch information and the duration until the merchant receives funding is worth a careful review. Ultimately your business should be authorization, batching, clearing, and funding in a smooth, effortless manner. In these times where convenience can mean the difference in business success, finding the right payment processor service is worth your time to research properly. Your customers will thank you for the extra effort it took to work with a top provider that provides true value and hassle free services. Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/payment-processor-services-whats-the-right-fit-for-your-business-5619736.htmlAbout the Author If you're serious about adding the amazing income growth accepting payment processor services can provide for your business. If you are sick of unnecessary fees, hidden charges, bait and switch nonsense and other merchant account tricks... then you found the right person. I'll make finding the best credit card processing service easy and enjoyable for you... AND NOT BORING! First, click recommended payment processor services to read the powerfully revealing actual user reviews of the so called top companies. This will get you the immediate feedback help you need to choose wisely now. Second, look around my website as there are a number of other resources to help, including easy to follow guides on how credit card processing works, top provider lists, recommendations and advice to help make the complex process easy to understand. Third, with my advice you can stop paying business success crushing rates and instead with confidence, know you have selected the best merchant service for your needs. You've heard it all before... I get it. But we've helped save 1000's already, and know all the 'tricks' in the book to help you get the right company to fit your needs. Fourth, there is no fourth. Simply enjoy the resources we compiled for your benefit, take action, and use the money you save to further build your business! If you don't find a solution to your right now credit card processing need... I'd be amazingly surprised! http://www.ratecreditcardprocessing.com/ Read more about payment processors at GoldAllianceGrp.com » Discounts Quickbooks Business Software: Up to 20% Off » Tools Save on Office Furniture: 5% to 15% off select orders at Everything Office Furniture Website Solutions: Save on annual hosting plans Ad Solutions: Advertise your business on Amazon.com Social Media Solutions: Facebook course for business. Office Supplies: Order Ink today for your printer- Free Shipping Telecom Solutions: RingCentral Mobile 40% OFF - First 3 Months

Gold Alliance Group | Mar 2012 | 5 Reasons Your Website Isn't Working

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 12:00:11 -0500

March 2012 | 5 Reasons Your Website Isn't Working Dear Subscribers, Building a profitable website versus building one that doesn't work is really a matter of subtle differences. If your site is underperforming, it could be related to just a few key issues that can mean the difference between no sales and many sales. Read the article below by Jeffrey Krohnfeldt to learn how to improve your website's preformance. -Linda Gold Alliance Group eBooks and Spreadsheets for Small Business Owners » Tips 5 Reasons Your Website Isn't WorkingBy Jeffrey Kronfeldt Building a profitable website versus building one that doesn't work is really a matter of subtle differences. If your site just isn't working, it could be related to these issues: You are using broad and/or generic keywords - This actually creates two problems for your website; the first being that the competition for these terms is usually extremely intense. This is going to make getting ranked on the search engines an expensive and time consuming endeavor. Broad and generic terms like air travel or household appliances are typically going to be dominated by Fortune 500 companies with budgets way bigger than yours. Even if you were to find success using broad keywords you're going to run into the second problem; unfocused traffic. For instance, if visitors searching with the term household appliances arrive at a site that sells only toasters, all visitors that aren't looking for toasters will be bouncing off of the site very quickly. This can be extremely expensive and time consuming, especially if you're using pay-per-click for your campaign. Your landing page doesn't immediately convey relevance to the keywords that are driving visitors to your site - Considering that you have around 5 seconds to grab your visitors once they've landed, you have to let them know immediately that your page is relevant to their search or they will click the back button and go elsewhere. Your landing page has amateurish content - Your visitors are seeking relevance and credibility when they arrive at your site. Poorly written content will lose them in no time. While not everyone can write impeccable content, they will recognize bad content immediately. Building a profitable website will require it to be seen as credible and trustworthy so mis-spelled words, syntax errors, and/or amateurish content is not going to work. If you're unsure of your content, run it by someone you trust prior to publishing or consider outsourcing that part of your work. Your site has gotten stale - Repeat visitors will return looking for fresh content. If they find new information, articles, blogs, etc., they will be more likely to return in the future. If your site gets stale your previous visitors will likely go looking for new content elsewhere. Your conversion process is too difficult - Building a profitable website will require conversions. Instead of a complicated process, assume that your prospective buyers will have a canary in the coal mine mentality throughout the conversion process and make it as simple as possible. By making your conversion process clear, convenient, and secure as possible you'll end up with a much higher conversion rate. Building a profitable website is really a matter of driving targeted traffic, capturing visitors who arrive at your site and then converting them at as a high a rate as possible. Avoiding the above issues will put you on the right track toward building a website that gets up and running quickly, is cost effective, and makes money. Jeffrey Krohnfeldt writes extensively on the best practices in starting an internet business and offers a free 12 lesson course on getting started in online marketing. The free course can be access by clicking: http://www.madmarketingmethod.com/jskcourse/madlesson_1.php At Jumpstart Online Marketing he covers everything that goes into successfully starting an internet business including money making tips, the millionaire mindset, and the best practices used by the people at the top of this dynamic field. Are you ready to jumpstart your internet marketing? Visit his blog at http://jumpstartonlinemarketing.com/blog Article courtesy Ezine Articles .com » Discounts Quickbooks Business Software: Up to 20% Off » Tools Website Solutions: Save on annual hosting plans Marketing Solutions: Advertise your business on Amazon.com Digital Product Solutions: Sell Downloads, automatically delivery your products and run your own affiliate program. Management Solutions: Search thousands of business guides online

Gold Alliance Group | Feb 2012 | Are You Limiting Your Income?

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:37:06 -0500

February 2012 | Are You Limiting Your Income? Dear Subscribers, Did you know that you are very likely limiting the amount of money that can come to you through your business? And with one very small addition, that would change? And only you have the power to do that? Read the article below to find out how. Visit our site again to see the new ebook, How to Get More Business: Building Your Sales Funnel Online at http://www.goldalliancegrp.com/more-business.php . -Linda Gold Alliance Group eBooks and Spreadsheets for Small Business Owners » Tips Are You Unknowingly Limiting Your Income?By Sheela Masand Did you know that you are very likely limiting the amount of money that can come to you through your business? And with one very small addition, that would change? And only you have the power to do that? So many heart centred business owners are struggling to just cover their everyday expenses, let alone make any money, and so seeing this one tweak to their business could be the difference between profit and debt, and for some the difference between staying in business and not! And really it is something so simple that when you hear it, if you are anything like me, you'll be saying why on earth didn't I think of that? So not to keep you in suspense any longer... the truth of the matter is that you are limiting your income by what you charge for your services/products. Now you might see this as being very obvious, but hold on a minute while I explain a little further. Whatever your highest price point is for a product or service, is the ceiling you have set yourself to earn as an income. I know this is not rocket science, but I can't tell you how many heart centred solo-preneurs I see limiting their income by not addressing this one major block. So just to illustrate this, if you are a coach and your top of the range programme runs for 6 months and the investment is $2000, you are saying that no-one can pay you more than $2000. And let's say that you can only serve 10 people at a time, that means you have limited your annual income to $40,000. If you added a higher value package to your menu at an investment point of $5000, you are instantly opening up to the possibility of making more money. Say you sold 5 of those in a year instead of the $2000 package, you would have increased your income by $15,000, a 37.5% increase! And of course, the higher the investment point of your top package, the more you are opening up to the possibility of a higher income. The more you are saying yes to the abundance of the Universe and no to limiting the flow. Imagine the flow of money is like the flow of a river and your business is one estuary that runs off it. Every business is an estuary and is connected to the flow of money. Your price points for your services/products determine the width of the mouth of the estuary, the higher the price points, the wider the mouth and the more possibility of money flowing in. Of course, the width of the mouth of estuary also depends on your mindset around money too, if you don't believe it, you've just narrowed it! And just to be clear, this doesn't mean to say that you have to hike all your prices to increase the flow of money, not at all. That's not what I am suggesting. It's about providing a choice for your client. There are some people who will want to work with you intensively one to one, and there are others who prefer a hands off self study style programme. Your potential clients have a choice about where they are going to invest their money, time and energy. If you are marketing authentically and attracting your ideal clients to you, there is a very strong possibility that they are going to want to invest in a top of the range programme with you. Can you offer them that now? Once again, it's all about choice and possibility. By not offering the choice, you are limiting the incoming flow of money and possibly clients too. And by offering a new possibility and a new choice, you are showing your potential clients the possibility of different opportunities for themselves that they many not have thought about. It's a win-win-win situation:-) Sheela Masand was a co-founder and working partner of a multi million Euro business for over 12 years. Having worked through the struggle of how to find clients and make money in her own business, she now specializes in helping other heart-centred service professionals to do just that, all in a very authentic, non sales-y way. Sheela can help you to attract more clients and make more money in a fun and authentic way. Visit http://www.sheelamasand.com to pick up a special free gift Top 3 Secrets to Attracting Clients without Spending a Cent. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sheela_Masand http://EzineArticles.com/?Are-You-Unknowingly-Limiting-Your-Income?andid=6815387 Read more small business tips from Gold Alliance Group. » Discounts Up to 20% off Quickbooks business software » Tools RingCentral Mobile 50% OFF - First Month : Form an LLC or Corp Protect your assets. Gain tax advantages. Fast. Nationwide. Guaranteed. Easy. Website Solutions Save on web solutions at Godaddy.com. Small Biz Guides Search thousands of great products.

Gold Alliance Group | Jan 2012 | Get Calm Within Your Business

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 08:35:34 -0500

January 2012 | Get Calm Within Your Business Dear Subscribers, Happy New Year! Start 2012 off right by resolving to get calm within your business. Stop the fire fighting and actually make progress towards your goals. Find out how by reading the featured article below. -Linda Gold Alliance Group eBooks and Spreadsheets for Small Business Owners » Tips How to Stop Firefighting and Get Calm Within Your BusinessAuthor: Chantal Cooke Many business owners and managers find themselves caught up in a constant round of fire fighting. There just never seems to be a quiet moment and when you eventually get your head above water - its easy to get knocked back down again and find yourself fire fighting all over again. The good news is - there is a lot you can do to stop the fire fighting and get calm and back in control. I spoke to Hilary Briggs, a profitable growth expert with over 25 years experience, having held senior management positions at Rover Group, Whirlpool Corporation and The Laird Group plc. In Hilary's early career, she found herself in the role of Production Superintendent, responsible for over 80 people working on the door build for the Rover 800 at Rover Group's Cowley Assembly plant. I was running round like a headless chicken and my colleagues seemed to be doing much the same. It would have been easy to assume that this is how it is. However, at the time I was working closely with Honda, and it struck me that there seemed to be much more calmness in their approach; I vowed to create some of that in my section before my team and I burnt out! Within 3 months I had tangible results, and 20 years on I am still using these same techniques. I have used them in every subsequent position, in my current business and with my clients' businesses. So what can you do? Here are Hilary's six tips to help you go from firefight to calm; 1) The Continuum: The first thing is to be aware of where you are on the continuum of fire fight to calm. Think of it as a 0-10 scale, and keep track of any changes. 2) Use Visualisation: If you're in the fire fight side, the second action is to build a strong visualisation, including feelings, of what the calm version would be like. 3) Develop a Plan: Then build a detailed plan of what's required to deliver that - e.g. the number of new customers, number of projects/size/margin, sales conversion rates etc. Identify where things are off-track at the moment and why. It's important to dig in to the detail. You need to delve in and specify how to increase margins, for example. This one step can make a huge difference. By simply looking at the detail and defining it I have seen companies I work with increase revenue by 40%, increase the number of customers re-ordering by 57% and reducing lag time between order and delivery from 30 days to 15 days. All of these impact the bottom line. All of them help to move you permanently away from fire fight mode. This is because once the reality is understood, improvement actions can be planned. Even if the reality is well off the original requirement, and no immediate improvements can be found, it's better to know this and focus efforts on alternative lines of action rather than pursuing the if we achieve X mantra, when you clearly won't in the near future! 4) The 5 minute Mantra: Identify specific actions, and break them down into small pieces. Hilary uses her experience to explain, Back in my production superintendent role, I would tell myself to spend 5 minutes a day doing something to make tomorrow better. Some days I'd manage more and sometimes none. However the forward momentum built and that fed a positive feeling with its own reinforcement. The key is to take actions to prevent the fires happening in the first place. What Hilary saw with Honda was an objective review of plans after every project to refine timelines and other variables. In this way the plans became more and more accurate; for example, actions on a new product introduction plan kept on schedule, to the day, over a two year period! Make sure you engage all the relevant people involved in the activity to get their ideas on how to improve it. When things are planned in a realistic way, there's more time to look at how to do them even better, and the continuous improvement loop is established. 5) Monitoring: Monitor your progress and benchmark it. A common challenge with new business start ups is that there may not be benchmarks available. It's crucial, in these early stages, to be monitoring all aspects of the business to ensure the model is updated and scalability aspects are checked. Use whatever business networks you have to compare data. It's better to have a range of potential values to start with and then check the actual against these rather than operating in complete darkness. Also look for signs of trouble. For example, if a customer or supplier becomes difficult to contact or doesn't return your calls - it's a sure sign that there's a problem, so get on top of it now before it gets worse. All of these actions can give you a significant shift away from fire fighting and towards calm. However, there will be barriers that impede your progress; If you're already in the thick of it, investing further time to get into the detail and collect data etc. is a tough call. In Hilary's experience the no time excuse comes up often. She stresses the importance of establishing a clear vision of the calm state, and breaking actions down into tiny pieces so at least some progress can be made. More fundamental blocks often come from our personality traits, for example impatience, preferring the big picture, or wanting to stay in control (and not wanting staff members to start driving the improvements). All of these can easily block progress. Ask yourself some searching questions and make sure your personality is not the cause of your problem. Coming from a maths and engineering background, Hilary enjoyed charting data to see trends and monitor progress, but she believes that a lot of even quite senior business leaders perceive they lack the relevant maths skills, or at least feel uncomfortable with data handling and would rather not do it. Hilary encourages others to take courage from a foreman from her production days. He made the most progress of anyone in her team. He'd left school at 14 with no qualifications and had never even seen a computer before. He was able to grasp plotting quality data and soon found that this small piece of additional information made a huge difference to his productivity and effectiveness. In the words of quality guru W. Edwards Deming, you do not have to do this - survival is not compulsory. It's your call! Finally and very importantly establish a 100 day plan to help focus your activities on moving up the scale towards calmness; develop the vision, work out the details of what it would take, check the reality and identify where improvements can be achieved. Keep monitoring the data and adjust the plan as you go. Remember the key is to take action to improve the situation. Constantly fire fighting will leave you for ever in that mode. You need to put out the fire and then, crucially, stop a new one from igniting. It's easy to get stuck in the fire fight mode, especially if you are struggling with a lack of revenue (or profit or customers), lack of cash, lack of time, poor delivery, or people issues. Pretty much any time there is a gap between actual and planned performance it can move you in the direction of fire fight and away from calm. Even if you're thinking that's not me - beware. It's very easy to get knocked into fire fight mode. Any change in your business or business circumstances can push you in that direction. For example, changes in the market, the failure of a key customer or supplier, a key customer unconditionally extending payment terms, a project going off track (e.g. internal IT upgrade, or new product development), a member of staff leaving unexpectedly or experiencing extra demands outside work e.g. a young family. All of these have the potential to put you in fire fight mode. Failure to take action on a problem in time means that the fire fight becomes a vicious spiral - as things go wrong, you're likely to get involved in explaining to shareholders/customers/staff/spouse what's going on and what you're doing about it - taking up more precious time. You're likely to feel under pressure and stressed, which further reduces your effectiveness. It can also reduce the effectiveness of your immune system, rendering your body more susceptible to colds etc, having a further negative hit. In extreme cases it can lead to nervous breakdown - something Hilary has witnessed in the car industry on more than one occasion. So take action now. If you are fire fighting already use these techniques to move you towards calm and if you're lucky enough to be in the calm phase, then don't get complacent - make plans to ensure that the unexpected doesn't start a fire under your feet. About the Author Chantal is a professional journalist and founder of award winning radio station PASSION for the PLANET. For 100s more articles and podcasts see http://www.passionforfreshideas.com Read more small business tips from Gold Alliance Group. » Discounts Up to 20% off Quickbooks business software » Tools RingCentral Mobile 50% OFF - First Month : Form an LLC or Corp Protect your assets. Gain tax advantages. Fast. Nationwide. Guaranteed. Easy. Business Loans Learn how to finance your business at SmallBusinessLoanSecrets.com

Gold Alliance Group | Dec 2011 | Top Four Business Legal Issues to Avoid

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:02:39 -0500

December 2011 | Top Four Business Legal Issues to Avoid Dear Subscribers, Is your small business at risk? Read the article below for tips on how to protect your business from unnecessary legal issues. -Linda Gold Alliance Group eBooks, Spreadsheets and Business Tips » Tips Top Four Business Legal Issues to Avoid All businesses will have legal issues at some point in time. Many will be minor and others can be very harmful to a company's viability. Business owners cannot be expected to know all the legal risks, but there are certain recurring issues which can be avoided through the creation of proper documentation and agreements. Following are some of the most frequent legal errors made by small businesses, along with suggestions for how they can be avoided. The best course of action to take sometimes isn't clear; however, the following paragraphs should help clue you in to what the legal experts think is significant. Improper Employment Documents Maintain a high-quality employee handbook and related documents (e.g., employment applications, offer letters, employment agreements, and termination notices). Properly drafted employment documents are important to prove compliance with employment law. This is an area in which there are significant liability risks for any employer--including expensive employee disputes, wrongful termination lawsuits, and government penalties. Employment documents need to be updated regularly to address changes in the law. Also be aware that labor lawyers will carefully scrutinize these employment documents in the event that your business experiences this type of legal issue. No Written Agreement Have written agreements with those you do business with, thoroughly defining the relationship, rights, obligations and reasonable expectations of each party. Also be sure to use carefully prepared purchase order and invoice forms which clearly detail products ordered and services performed. All agreements should be in writing; otherwise, they are much more open to dispute and sometimes will not be enforceable at all. Good purchase order and invoice forms will put a company in the strongest possible legal position in the event of a disagreement with a customer. No Buy-Sell Agreement Defining what happens if the owner(s) die, retire or otherwise want to move on from the business is essential. The absence of a carefully designed Buy-Sell Agreement can result in legal entanglement when one of these events occur. It is important to consult a legal professional to create an appropriate buy-sell agreement. A thorough review of the owners' insurance coverage, wills and estate planning documents should be done at the same time the agreement is created in order to avoid conflicts. Failure to Protect Intellectual Property Make sure that your intellectual property (IP) is adequately protected: Insist that employees and contractors sign a nondisclosure agreement. Consider registering patents, copyrights, and trademarks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and/or the U.S. Copyright Office, since this formal registration is necessary for protection. It is also good practice to have your website reviewed by a legal professional to ensure that you are in compliance with legal requirements. Much of the value of a company can reside in its IP. The failure to protect that IP can be very damaging to a company's competitive edge. Contact your lawyer before the end of this year to address these important business concerns, and you will go a long way toward reducing your company's legal risks. Read more business tips from Gold Alliance Group. » Discounts Office Furniture Sale and Closeouts: » Tools RingCentral Mobile 50% OFF - First Month : Form an LLC or Corp Protect your assets. Gain tax advantages. Fast. Nationwide. Guaranteed. Easy. Need Capital? Learn how to finance your business at SmallBusinessLoanSecrets.com

Gold Alliance Group | Nov 2011 | Getting Your Product to Market

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:28:10 -0400

November 2011 | Getting Your Product to Market Dear Subscribers, Do you have an idea for a new product, but don't know how to get it off the ground? Read the article in our Tips section below to learn how using Quirky can get your product from idea to manufactured, to market in no time. -Linda Gold Alliance Group eBooks, Spreadsheets and Business Tips » Tips Quirky: Making Ideas into Reality What is Quirky? Would you remortgage your home to give your teenager $185,000 to start his own business? While a teenager, Ben Kaufman, founder of Quirky.com, persuaded his parents to do just that. When Kaufman was in high school, he had an idea for a lanyard headphone. He persuaded his parents to go along with the idea. When the company became a success, Kaufmann launched more new products. Eventually, he realized that he loved the process of creating products, and Quirky was born. Quirky is a company that accepts submissions from people around the Internet and turns them into fantastic products. Anyone willing to take 30 seconds to create a free Quirky account can submit product ideas, comment on product prototypes, suggest a name for products, and contribute in other ways. Quirky pays the person who came up with the original idea a substantial share of the profits it earns. Other contributors also receive a share of the profits. Submitting an Idea Though it once charged much more, Quirky now charges $10 to submit a product, a relatively small fee that serves to encourage people to only make serious submissions. Each idea spends 30 days under consideration. During this time, users can edit their submission or even withdraw it. Each Friday, Quirky selects two winning products, which it will design, market, and distribute. Prospective inventors can resubmit any idea that isn't picked up by Quirky, and are also free to take the idea and develop it elsewhere if it is not selected. The Quirky community helps Quirky's internal team to identify hot ideas, but it is Quirky's internal team that ultimately decides a product idea's fate. Quirky allows those who have submitted products to see a video of its team members discussing submissions, so that they can see why products are chosen or rejected. Quirky generally does not accept products that retail for over $150 and does not create software. Otherwise, almost any realistic idea is acceptable. Users submit ideas for toys, tools, and almost anything else imaginable. Not every product idea needs to be a showstopper. Many of Quirky's products feature incremental improvements over existing products. For example, Quirky's Go Caddy product is a rolling cart (or granny cart) that offers 7.5 inch wheels for easy stairway navigation and an expandable basket. Quirky's "Click n Cook" is a handle accepts spatula attachments of different sizes. It may not be earth-shattering. But it works, and there are plenty of people willing to buy it. Acceptance and Royalties If your idea is selected, Quirky will do everything necessary to take the product to market. This includes an analysis of the competitive landscape, branding, design and manufacturing. For these services, Quirky retains a relatively low 70 percent of total sales revenue. The remaining 30 percent of its sales revenue is distributed to the Quirky.com community. Of this 30 percent, Quirky gives 35 percent to the original inventor and distributes the remaining 65 percent to community members that help develop the product. Influence Even if you don't have a product idea of your own accepted, you can still make money using Quirky. As each product is developed, members of the Quirky community can comment on existing product proposals, participate in product research, and suggest names for products. As you participate, Quirky may award you with influence. Influence determines the amount of money you receive for a project. For example, if you earn 5 percent of the influence for a product, you will earn 5 percent of the royalties paid. As noted, Quirky pays roughly 30 percent of the money it earns to users, so you could earn several dollars each time a product is sold. This means it is possible to earn thousands of dollars a year helping develop products on Quirky. Quirky awards influence to users who submit a name, logo, design, or tagline to the product. You can also get influence for voting on a winning product idea. You can earn influence in a variety of other ways, as well. Patent concerns Before using Quirky, you should be aware that by submitting your idea, you're placing it in the public sphere. There is no guarantee that someone else won't steal the idea. However, Quirky moves products through the development process very rapidly. A competitor would probably find it difficult, if not impossible, to beat your idea to market. Conclusion If you're the sort of person with millions of good ideas but without a team of designers and manufacturers, Quirky offers you a fantastic means of turning your ideas into reality. Read more articles from Gold Alliance Group. » Discounts 5% to 15% off Office Furniture » Tools BizFilingsThe Small Business Incorporation Experts

Gold Alliance Group | Oct 2011 | Choosing A Business Cell Phone Plan

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 21:28:06 -0400

October 2011 | Choosing A Business Cell Phone Plan Dear Subscribers, Enhance your business productivity without overspending by learning to choose the right cell phone plan for your business. Check the Tips section below for guidance on simplifying this often confusing process. -Linda Gold Alliance Group eBooks and Business Tips » Tips Choosing A Business Cell Phone Plan Most people agree that a cell phone is crucial to business, but your team efforts can either be greatly enhanced or hurt by your choice of phones and plans. Finding the best cell phone service for your business means evaluating your needs and setting your priorities before you make the choice. Here are some tips for choosing an appropriate plan, and keeping cell phone bills under control: Pull out a copy of your three most recent business cell phone bills. If you do not currently have cell phone service, you can use your land line bills instead to get an idea of how many minutes you typically use. Evaluate your calling patterns to determine what type of service you need. For instance, if you do a lot of international calling, you will need a plan with low cost international calls. Also consider the amount of texting and web browsing that you and your employees will need to do as charges outside of plan limits can add up quickly. Do not automatically choose unlimited plans without first assessing your minute usage per month since these plans can be more expensive than other available plans that may meet your needs. If you anticipate low minute usage, consider pre-paid plans. Check www.best-cell-phone-plans.net to compare phones and plans from major carriers. Plans can vary widely depending on your home base, and travel area so be sure to research carefully. Once you have your business phones and plan, keep track of usage and lower your bills by encouraging your employees to use overmyminutes.com. That way, you can stop costly overages before they happen. If you find that you repeatedly go over your limit, consider changing plans with your cell phone provider. » Discounts 5% to 15% off Office Furniture » Tools Incorporate OnlineLearn more about S Corporations

Gold Alliance Group | Sep 2011 | Reasons to Incorporate

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 13:27:24 -0400

September 2011 | Reasons to Incorporate Dear Subscribers, Are you a sole proprietor looking for ways to save on business expenses? Learn why incorporating your business as an S Corporation may make sense for you and save you thousands of dollars in taxes. Read the article by Wayne Davies in the Tips section below. -Linda Gold Alliance Group eBooks and Business Tips » Tips 4 Great Reasons to Incorporate Your Sole Proprietorship As An S Corporation By Wayne Davies Are you a sole proprietor who's been thinking about forming a corporation? Here are four great reasons to do so. 1. Increase your liability protection. When you operate your business as a sole proprietorship, your personal assets are at risk. Should something unfortunate happen and you are the defendant in a business-related lawsuit, personally owned assets can be used to satisfy the claims of others against you. Generally speaking, if your business is a corporation, you are only liable to the extent of your ownership interest in the corporation. 2. Avoid double taxation of corporate profits. You get the benefit of liability protection whether you form a C corporation or an S Corporation. So which type of corporation is better? Several factors come into play when determining the answer to that question, but one benefit of the S Corporation is that you avoid the C Corporation's double taxation of corporate profits. C Corporation profit is taxed twice - once to the corporation and a second time to the individual shareholders. The S Corporation profit is only taxed once - to the individual shareholders on their personal income tax returns. 3. Reduce self-employment tax. As a sole proprietor, your profits are subject to both income tax and the dreaded self-employment tax. When you form an S Corporation, your profits are still subject to income tax, but profits legally avoid the self-employment tax. If you are working as an employee of the corporation, you will incur payroll tax on that compensation (which is the equivalent of self-employment tax), but paying yourself reasonable compensation will often result in a lower overall tax liability, and the tax savings can be significant. 4. Reduce the likelihood of an IRS audit. It's a known fact that sole proprietors are audited at a higher rate than corporations. Owning a sole proprietorship means filing a Schedule C; and filing a Schedule C is like putting a big bulls-eye on your personal income tax return. Forming a corporation removes the Schedule C from your personal tax returns, because a corporation files its own separate income tax return. Keep in mind that the S Corporation isn't necessarily the best entity choice for all small business owners. For many sole proprietors, it is the best entity. But several other factors come into play, such as the nature of the business, what kind of products or services it provides, and whether real estate is owned by the business. So do not make a decision based only on the four benefits described above. With the help of a competent tax professional, you should do a thorough analysis of all the advantages and disadvantages of forming an S Corporation. Looking for more small business tax deductions? For a free copy of the Special Report How to Instantly Double Your Small Business Tax Deductions visit http://YouSaveOnTaxes.com. Wayne Davies is author of 3 ebooks on tax reduction strategies for small business owners and the self-employed. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Wayne_Davies » Discounts 5% to 15% off Office Furniture » Tools Incorporate Online Learn more about S Corporations

Gold Alliance Group | Aug 2011 | Coping with Business Stress

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:30:16 -0400

August 2011 | Coping with Business Stress Dear Subscribers, Many start up business owners have problems with stress while trying to grow a new business. Is your business not delivering as well as you expect? If so, then you may not realize how much this can impact your health. See the Tips section below to learn how to deal with daily stress. -Linda Gold Alliance Group eBooks and Tips for Business Success » Tips Coping With Business Stress In Your Daily LifeBy Elizabeth L Todd Many start-up business owners have problems with business stress if they struggle with money issues while in the first year after starting a new small business. Is your business not delivering as well as you expect? If that's a yes, and particularly if the main cause is cash flow difficulties, then you probably pay a great deal of attention to your bank account balance and budget, but what you would possibly not realize is how much being snowed under with balancing the ledgers can impact on your health. According to a recently released report on business stress the number of small businesses going into some form of insolvency arrangement in the month of April 2011 is the highest April count recorded since 1999. This is a 10% increase over the preceding April and a 23% increase above the mean of the prior 5 years. Business stress management isn't to be shrugged off. If you do not take initial signs seriously, it is possible to run the risk of really serious problems including heart disease, migraines as well as a host of different medical problems that will cost you more than your business venture in the long run. Business Stress Indicators When it comes to your business forecasting and fiscal management, it's essential to set as well as attain all your goals. However, if that effort stresses you to the level at which it will become a significant health problem, it just is not worth it. This isn't to suggest that taking financial responsibility can be a bad thing, but if you are over stretching yourself, it could defeat the most important purpose why you are doing it in the first place - to create a profitable business venture and live a comfortable life-style. A report from Associated Press and AOL does include the following figures: Ulcers: 27% of people with financial difficulties are affected by ulcers or other digestive system conditions as opposed to just 8% of individuals who have no debt troubles. Migraine: 44% of people with substantial financial stress have experienced migraine headaches or other problems compared to only 15% of those with minimum levels of stress. High Blood Pressure: 33% business people experiencing money issues have problems with high blood pressure levels and / or hypertension in comparison to only 26% of individuals with low or non-existent levels of anxiety from finance concerns. Other health concerns experienced at a greater level by most people in financial hardship include anxiousness, depressive disorders, heart attack and sleeping disorders. If you suffer from any one of these health problems, it is the time to stop and get started addressing your business stress Business Stress Control If your small business budget is starting to get of the rails or some other business concerns seem to throw up major obstacles, it is time to take action. Business stress may easily arise from various circumstances. Find the root factors and then start to eliminate these items from your enterprise. Debt: When your unpaid bills are mounting up and you ask yourself how to get out of trouble, begin by searching for professional guidance either by going to a financial advisor or just finding a small business course. I'm aware from practical experience that it may be hard to acknowledge the reality of your money situation, but staying with stress and doubt will never get your business out of the doldrums. The sooner that you start to deal with the matter face to face the more advantageous it's going to be for your own health as well as the health of your business. The further you delay taking positive action, the more you could ruin yourself emotionally as well as bodily and the longer that your business can be affected. Remember as to why you are spending such effort to build your organization at all. It surely isn't so you can keep being stressed over it for a long time. How to handle Stress Where a new small business owner is attempting to cope with financial pressure, it is not unusual to feel entirely swallowed up by it even when it is often just one single aspect of the overall scenario. Successfully coping with your small business pressures needs appropriate realization of the demands which have been placed on you and that make your body behave in this way. Once you are able to do that, try to work out if each of these tasks and your objectives are in fact appropriate and also achievable. Otherwise, re-state and also improve your desired goals to targets that will be more sensible. In the event that your present goals are actually realistic then get an in-depth look at your reason for falling short of your objectives. More regularly than not, handling business stress is really as simple as starting to be more in control of getting on top of the actions that you have established to achieve your goals. One final and all important point; look for time to relax regularly even when it is just short breathers and don't neglect to make time for some physical fitness. Physical wellness produces mental health which in turn is really an important element in how to approach stress. Your business is a considerable combination of varying aspects. Do not allow just one particular problem area to dictate all else. Ensure that you set aside at the very least a small part of a day to having fun with the sort of things that get you away from the business venture and that you love working on. Regardless of what that is, a walk in the park, unwinding with a great book or looking at some Show on TV or DVD, it is important to have time to truly appreciate the finer things in your own life and your business. Developing a profitable new business may be your main aim in your life but if you don't stop to consider the way in which business stress can impact on your overall health chances are you may well discover yourself to be in a position where you won't get to benefit from the fruits of your toil. As I've mentioned before, enrolling in a good quality small business course may well be the first step in the right direction. Elizabeth Todd is a small business development coach with several years experience running her own business. She started her career as a business analyst consulting in the banking, finance and IT industry and subsequently moved into the small business arena. After owning and operating several businesses, she was invited by a business enterprise center to act as their small business mentor. She found that coaching was an extremely satisfying task as it allowed her to provide the practical training that is missing in most other business information platforms. She now likes to use this experience to help other new business owners on their road to success. For more practical help with new business building options and techniques, go to: http://www.incometriggerblueprint.com/ Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elizabeth_L_Todd » Discounts 20% Off Accounting Software » Tools Multiply Your Assets with FOREX signals