Now that tax season is finally winding down, I bet you’re wondering how long you need to keep your tax records for? While it’s different depending on where you live, here’s the skinny for U.S., Canadian and UK residents:

U.S.

In the U.S., the amount of time you need to keep your tax records depends on whether or not you owe money to the IRS. Keep employment tax records for at least 4 years. If you owe money because you reported a false income, keep your records for 6 years. For all other amounts owed, keep your records for 3 years. If you are waiting for a credit or refund, keep your records for 3 years – 7 years if the credit is from bad debt deduction. If you don’t file a return or file a fraudulent return (not recommended!), keep your records indefinitely.

Canada

In Canada, you need to keep your tax records for at least six years. If you destroy or discard them before that window, you could be in danger during an audit. If you file an amended return after your original one, maintain your files for 6 years after the amendment.

UK

Surprisingly, you don’t have to hold onto tax records for long in the UK. Hold on to them for a full year after you file your returns, in case the HMRC asks to see your records. If you file after the January 31st deadline, keep them for a total of 15 months.

It’s easy to forget exactly how long you need to keep your business tax records for, so to get more detailed information visit the links above or bookmark this post for future reference.

Jessie impatiently combed her hands through her hair, shoving it out of her face. She sighed heavily, staring at the blank screen and blinking cursor in frustration. She felt like such a failure.

She had the opportunity to land a project that was perfect for her struggling branding business. But so far, her proposals had not received the response she had hoped for. In fact, they were not receiving any response at all.

It was sink or swim time, and Jessie needed to start swimming soon or the rent wasn’t going to get paid this month. She needed to figure out what the heck she was doing wrong, and stat. But what did she need to do  to write a proposal that actually gets results?

Unfortunately, Jessie’s situation is more common than you might think. Writing a killer proposal can be an art form, but with a little practice, you can achieve spectacular results.

Let’s Talk Basic Sales

A proposal should be written like anything else in business: clear, concise, and using simple language. Be wary of using lingo that you are not familiar with. You do not want to take the chance of being misunderstood. The winning proposal will be the one that best communicates a core message to its audience.

If you are submitting a two page long email proposal, or sending off a PDF that’s mostly pretty images without much information, you’re probably not going to get the response you’re hoping for.

You’re also not going to win any favors with the busy professional you just sent it to, who is likely wading through an inbox chock-full of business proposals just like yours. Since the business proposal is a tool specifically designed to present and sell your services, learning to create an effective one is time well spent.

Anatomy of a Killer Business Proposal

Proposals at their core should communicate why your particular company or service is right for the job. Regardless of the type of project you are pitching for, a proposal should provide your potential client with everything they need to know about you and your company to make an informed decision. Ideally, this should be accomplished within the first couple of paragraphs. 

The Opening

You can start by communicating your business’ mission and goals right off the bat. Be concise, but also be creative. You want to engage the reader and compel them to keep reading further.

Consider telling a brief story about your business that gives the reader a sneak peek into the integrity of you or your brand’s character. People need to feel a sense of trust in who they choose to hire.

The Pitch

This is where you briefly outline your proposal to the client. Remember to include benefits that might be attractive to them. This will make the proposal feel like it’s about the potential client instead of it being all about you. (It’s just like grade school. No one likes a braggart.)

There are two very simple ways you can do this. You can explain a problem that the client is facing and how you can solve it. Or, you can share a brief story outlining the problem of a past client with a similar situation, and how you solved it for them.

The latter actually does double duty by outlining benefits to the client as well as providing proof, by saying, “Hey, I did this for client XYZ so that means I can do it for you, too.”

Another crucial aspect of a proposal is to know what job you’re pitching for. You’d be amazed at just how many people will randomly submit a business proposal for a project they didn’t even bother to investigate fully. They ignore the guidelines and/or requirements from the client that detail what they are looking for. Stand out by showing that you are attentive to detail and that you took the time to meet their unique needs

Showcase Your Cred

While it’s vital to make sure the focus of your proposal is on your potential client, their needs, and how you can help them solve their problems, you also want to be able to back up your claims with some credibility.

If you are submitting a PDF document, then you can strategically incorporate testimonials from past clients throughout the proposal. If you will be sending an email proposal, you could use a signature file that showcases a testimonial from a high profile client. Or, you could insert small, graphic images of company logos you have worked with in the past.

Remember, although tempting, never fabricate fake testimonials from clients. These things are easy enough to investigate, so why risk being painted with the “Hey, I’m shady” brush?

The Close

For your pitch to be effective, it should include a call to action within the close. That means you give your reader something to do next. Perhaps you ask them to email you to discuss the project further if they find your proposal intriguing. Or, you can provide them with a phone number to call and speak with you personally.

You might also direct them to an online portfolio and ask them to view samples of past work, and then contact you. It’s all about getting them to take an action that will encourage further exploration into whether or not you are right for their company.

At the end of the day, a winning business proposal can be a powerful sales tool for your business. Even if, like Jessie, you’ve failed a time or two in the past trying to land a gig, it doesn’t mean that you are a failure. As the saying goes, “Fail fast and fail forward.” Figure out what you’re doing wrong, and make it right.

Following these guidelines, Jessie was able to put together a proposal that got the attention of her dream client, securing her a fantastic project and helping propel her business forward.

So, with your next business proposal, take some time to craft it well, respect that the person who will be reading it is a busy individual, and rest assured, you will stand head and shoulders above the rest.

Most people put off filing their taxes to the last minute – not so much out of laziness but out of fear of what’s to come. Small business owners usually have not-so-small tax bills to cover, especially if they don’t prepare for their taxes throughout the year. The question is, what do you do at that point?

My friend Regina faced this very problem the first year she opened her flower shop. She had always worked for other offices in the past, so she wasn’t fully aware of the tax burden that comes with owning your own business. Her profits soared in that first year, and she was making more money than she ever thought possible. That was until she got slapped with a tax bill 5 times what she was expecting.

After going through every stage of stress, panic, and denial imaginable, Regina finally decided to do something about her situation. She talked with a tax advisor about her options, and she was able to work out a plan that she could logically stick to.

Here is a look at some of the steps you can take if you get slapped with a huge tax bill.

Recheck all your numbers

A small calculation error can lead to unexpectedly big debt. The first thing you need to do is recheck all your numbers to make sure you didn’t miss something. Did you add an extra zero somewhere? Did you switch a couple numbers around? Is there anything that just doesn’t add up? If you notice a problem, you can follow some of the other steps below to fix it.

Look for other deductions

If you only had a couple tax deductions this year, you might want to check for others. For instance, Americans who maintain a home office can take a portion of their rent or mortgage payments off their taxable incomes every year. You can also do this with a portion of your internet, phone, and utility bills, representing the percent of the house the office takes up. Talk to a tax agent to see what you might be able to deduct, and then you can potentially cut your bill way down.

File an appeal

If you notice errors in your taxes or missed deductions, you can file an appeal with the government. This works differently in different countries, but essentially you will fill out a form that states what the errors are and why you want them corrected. This is also referred to as an amended tax return. Here are links explaining the appeal process in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada:

• U.S. Tax Appeals
• Canada Tax Appeals
• UK Tax Appeals

It may take several months for your appeal to be assessed and verified, but eventually you will get a new bill that you will have to pay. If you’re really lucky, you’ll get a notice that you don’t owe any money at all.

Setup a payment plan

If you still end up with a rather large tax bill to pay, you may want to work out an installment plan with the government. This gives you extra time to pay off the bill, but it does come at a price. Like with most payment plans, you will have to pay some sort of interest on your taxes. You may also have to pay late fees, not-fully-paid fees, and a slew of other costs you wouldn’t pay if you covered the whole bill right away. Since most of us don’t have that option though, you may just have to suffer through your installments.

The payments you set up will correspond to what you can afford, so if you can only pay $50 a month, the government will let you do that. Just be careful you’re not paying only the amount that covers interest rates and fees or you’ll never get rid of the principle balance. Instead, pay as much as you can over and above your fees to ensure you get your debt paid off in no time.

Use a credit card

If you don’t want to work out an installment plan, there is another option. You can get a credit card with an available balance high enough to cover your tax debt. Then you can just pay everything off and worry about your credit card when you get to it. Of course, you have to weigh out the pros and cons of paying taxes with a credit card, as it could have an impact on your credit score if you have trouble paying off the balance. At the very least though, this will get the government off your back.

Prepare for next year

Assuming you don’t want a similarly large bill next year, here are some things you can do:

• Pay estimated taxes every quarter. Then when it comes time to file for the year, you already have the majority of your bill paid off.
• Keep track of all your business expenses. You can use these as reductions to lower your costs in the future.
• Donate money to charity. Not only will you be helping those in need, but you will be creating even more deductions to use.
• Have realistic expectations. If you know that your bill is going to be rather high, you can save to be able to pay for it.

No one wants to get a huge tax bill, but the fact is that most small business owners experience that problem. All you can do moving forward is pay whatever you owe and find ways to avoid the same problem in the future. With the right planning, you can manage any taxes that come your way.

In the course of running your business, you’ve probably encountered more legal fine print and formalities than you ever thought possible. In this post, we’ll break down the Doing Business As (DBA) to see if your business needs one.

What is a DBA?

In the U.S., a DBA lets the public know who the real owner of a business is. The DBA is also called a Fictitious Business Name or Assumed Business Name. It got its origins as a form of consumer protection, so dishonest business owners can’t try to avoid legal trouble by operating under a different name.

When someone files a DBA, it’s normally circulated in some kind of print newspaper (maybe you’ve noticed all those “fictitious business name” entries in the local classifieds). It lets the community know exactly what people are behind a business.

Do you need a DBA?

In general, there are two reasons why a business in the U.S. will need to get a DBA:

1. For sole proprietors: If you’re operating your business as a sole proprietor, then you’ll need to file for a DBA if your business has a different name than your own name. So, let’s say I’ve started a gardening business called Spring Flowers Gardening; I’ll need to file for a DBA for “Spring Flowers Gardening.”

There are a few other details to know. In some cases, you don’t need a DBA if your business name is a combination of your name and a description of your product or service. In this case, if my business was called Nellie Akalp’s Gardening Service, I may not need a DBA. But, if it’s just my first name (aka Nellie’s Gardening Service), then a DBA is required. If that sounds confusing, don’t worry; just touch base with your local (town or county) clerk’s office and ask them if you’ll need a DBA.

2. For corporations and LLCs: If you have filed to become a corporation or LLC, then you’ve already registered your business name and don’t need a DBA. However, you will need to get a DBA if you plan on conducting business using a name that’s different than the name filed with your LLC/corporation paperwork.

So back to my Spring Flowers business… I incorporated my business as Spring Flowers Gardening. My business will need to file a DBA in order to operate under “SpringFlowersGardening.com” or “Spring Flowers.” Likewise, if I opened a Garden Shop, I’d need a DBA for “Spring Flowers Garden Shop.” In short, you’ll need a DBA to operate with any kind of variation of your original name.

The importance of a DBA

I’m sure this sounds like a lot of unnecessary, extraneous paperwork. Yet there actually are a few important reasons to get your DBAs in order.

1. It’s the easiest way to register your name: If you’re a sole proprietor, then filing for a DBA is going to be the simplest and least expensive way to use a business name. You can create a separate professional business identity, without having to form an LLC or corporation. And for sole proprietors, a DBA is required in order to open a bank account and receive payments in the name of your business.

2. For LLCs or corporations, a DBA will let you operate multiple businesses without having to form a separate LLC or corporation for each business. Let’s say your business wants to expand into multiple websites, stores, restaurants, services, etc. You can create a corporation with a relatively generic name and use a DBA for each individual business. This will cut down on your paperwork and expenses when you’re operating multiple projects.

3. Keeps your business compliant: If your business is an LLC or corporation, you enjoy certain legal protections. However, these protections may be invalidated if you’re operating under a different name and didn’t file for a DBA. For example, I may have incorporated Spring Flowers Gardening, Inc. But if I sign a client contract under Spring Flowers (or some other variation like that), that contract may not hold up in court.

Filing a DBA

The rules, requirements, forms and fees associated with filing a DBA are different in each state and county. The U.S. SBA provides a chart which details DBA filings state-by-state. By using a legal document filing service, you can make sure that you’re following your county and state requirements perfectly and won’t be accidentally operating outside of the law.

About the author: Nellie Akalp is the CEO of CorpNet.com, an online incorporation filing service, where she helps entrepreneurs Incorporate, Form an LLC  or set up Sole Proprietorships(DBA’s) for their new businesses.

Remember back in the day when energy-efficiency involved shutting off the water while you brushed your teeth or turning off the lights when you left a room? Well, we’ve come a long way since then, and although those are still good ideas, there are more ways than ever before to save energy by enacting a few simple conservation-centric initiatives and practices.

As any small business owner, freelancer or service-based entrepreneur will attest, every little bit counts when it comes to saving. Now, you can even get a break on your business bills and taxes by enacting smaller scale efficiency programs on the federal, state and local levels whether you work out of your home or a separate commercial building. Here are some of the biggest standout options at your disposal:

US Federal

Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit

For those small businesses operating out of a home office, this program is a fantastic way to get the federal government to reward you for doing the right thing! Since most (if not all) of you already write-off a portion of household expenses related to the square footage/percentage of your dedicated home office, this is a way to “double dip” into the tax pool come next April.

Enacted through December 31, 2016, this rebate program allows a 30% personal tax credit/rebate for renewable energy upgrades to a residence. Most of these program divisions do not have a maximum limit for taking the rebate (previously, they capped the 30% credit at $2,000 worth of qualifying upgrades) and they do not even have to be made to your primary residence!

In an eco-nutshell, a taxpayer may claim a credit of 30% of qualified expenditures, including labor, assembly and wiring connection, for a fully-installed system that serves a dwelling. Overages can be carried forward for tax years up through 2016 (as of now…) and the systems include:

• Solar-electric systems
• Solar water heaters
• Wind turbines
• Geothermal heat pumps

There are certain requirements the systems must meet (some must be Energy Star certified) and for more information, check out the specs here.

Energy Star Program
Perhaps the most well-known federal platform is the EPA’s Energy Star program for homes and small businesses. Plastered on everything from dishwashers to windows, the widely-recognized Energy Star logo signifies a product’s energy-efficiency and a business’ devotion to conserving resources wherever possible.

The Energy Star website provides a plethora of info for small businesses trying to reduce their carbon footprint and do their part for the environment, available here.

For information on Canadian tax breaks for energy-efficient initiatives, contact your local tax office for details.

State Savings

No matter where you live or the nature of your work, one fantastic state-specific resource for tax breaks offered to small businesses upping the ante on their energy-efficiency is the US Department of Energy’s website: DSIRE – Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency.

Immediate In-House Cutbacks

Although DSIRE’s website lists programs and incentives for specific businesses within each state, there are basic cost-saving remedies to wasting energy and resources that apply across the board. In addition to those pointed out here, consider the following:

• Switch over to a programmable thermostat. You would be shocked at how much electricity is wasted by running the heating and air units when nobody’s around. Instead, set your thermostat to begin shutting down before you leave the office and start running again before you arrive in the morning. By programming a gradual increase/decrease, you can avoid those drastic HVAC spikes in temperature and in your monthly bill.
• Replace air filters on a regular basis, at least once a month. A debris-free filter means cleaner air to breathe and less work for the HVAC to suck in the air that it cools and heats before it pumps it back out into your spaces. Your electricity invoice – and lungs/sinuses! – will thank you.
• If you do not already have energy-efficient windows and cannot afford or do not want to invest in them at this time, a simpler solution is to apply a fresh bead of caulk around the casings or attach new weather stripping. Leaky windows (and doors) account for a hefty chunk of wasted energy in our homes and offices and eliminating most of the problem is easy.
• Get your window dressings to do some of the work for you. If you have blinds, leave them open in the day to allow as much natural light as possible to illuminate your office but close them to keep out heat and harmful UV rays. If you have drapes, line them with a light colored fabric that will reflect the sun’s rays back into the atmosphere, thereby keeping your AC from working overtime to cool down the hot spots of heat that invade your office through windows.

What other ideas do you have about saving money and energy in your small business and entrepreneurship endeavors?

Brent Hardy is Vice President of www.extraspace.com, responsible for all corporate construction & facilities management. He writes about corporate sustainable practices at blog.extraspace.com/category/sustainability

… Unplug.

Technology has revolutionized the way we work, everything from simple conversations to large research projects are now enhanced by the tools and technology at our disposal. But no matter how much we may love our gadgets (and at FreshBooks, we *really* love them), studies show that the world is beginning to rely on technology a little too much.

The average person spends close to 7 hours on social networking sites alone a month and another 23 hours watching TV online. When you think about the amount of time you’re strapped to a phone, tablet, or computer, you might be shocked to see how much life you’re missing out on.

My friend Christina, a freelance community manager, fell victim to the tech trap a couple years ago. She was wired to her business every night when she got home, with her cell phone and iPad ready to go at a moment’s notice. Even though she had recently hired an assistant specifically to work during her off hours, she still managed to spend more time at night working than with her family.

One Saturday while her husband was out, Christina plopped her kids in front of the TV so she could take a quick call with a client in another room. Unfortunately the call went longer than she expected, and her two young boys decided to do some climbing. When the call finished almost 45 minutes later, she walked in just as her two-year-old fell head first from a bookshelf. Luckily, she got to him in time and he was okay, but that potentially life altering moment gave her the wakeup call she so badly needed.

Now Christina spends weeknights and weekends unplugged from her business. Her family is thriving, and thanks to utilizing the help she hired, business is thriving too.

Weekend Well-Being Challenge: Give up your gadgets for 24 hours this weekend. It may seem scary at first, but if you take some time to plan a few activities that don’t require technology, you’ll be amazed at how much fun you can have enjoying the people and world around you.

When you work for yourself as a freelancer or business owner, it’s really easy to procrastinate. You call the shots – you make the schedule – you decide when stuff gets done. As great as that is, it can also come to bite you when you realize you’re late on filing your tax return.

This is exactly what happened to Tina, an old friend of mine who runs a consulting business. She was so afraid of a high tax bill that she avoided filing for a full six months after the deadline. Funny thing is, she didn’t end up owing nearly as much as she thought, but her tax bill was almost double due to late fees.

Assuming you don’t want your profits to be eaten alive by tax penalties, you need to know what they are and how to avoid them. Here are lists of late tax filing penalties in the U.S., Canada and the U.K.

U.S. Tax Penalties

Tax returns in the United States were due on April 15. If you haven’t filed your taxes yet, you may face any of the following penalties:

• The IRS will file a substitute return for you. That means that the government will assess any W-2′s, 1099′s, and similar documents in your name and calculate your taxes from there. You will lose out on any exemptions or deductions you may have gotten by filing on your own.
• You will be charged interest, late fees, and penalty fees – the amount of which will depend on the amount of money you owe or will receive and how late you are.
• The government will start a collection process, where they garnish wages, levy bank accounts, or place federal liens on your property to get their money.
• You will not get a refund if you have one. You must collect this within 3 years or it will be voided.
• If you do not file or pay taxes repeatedly, you could face jail time.

How to Avoid U.S. Penalties

If you want to avoid penalties for late tax filing in America, do the following:

• File some sort of return, even if you can’t pay it right away. The IRS is good about working out payment plans for taxes, and getting your tax paperwork in will ensure that you receive all the benefits you deserve. If you notice a mistake in your haste, file an amended return after the due date.
• If the government has already filed a substitute return for you, file an amended one on your own. They will still honor your deductions and exemptions. You just have to pay the fees for filing late.
• In the future, try making estimated payments to the government so you are less worried when tax season hits. Stress alone may cause you to procrastinate past the due date.

Canada Tax Penalties

The tax filing due date for Canada is April 30. Failure to file before that date may result in the following penalties:

• The day after the due date, you will be charged an extra 5% of your taxes owed.
• For every full month after that, you will pay 1% of the taxes owed, on top of the original penalty. This will happen for a maximum of 12 months.
• If you file late several consecutive years, you may be charged 10% of your taxes owed for the most recent year, plus 2% every month after for up to 20 months.
• If you do not report your taxes for multiple years in a row, you may be charged a federal and provincial/territorial penalty, each of which is 10% of your taxes owed.

How to Avoid Canada Tax Penalties

You can avoid the charges above by doing any of the following:

• Get your taxes filed without worrying about paying them. You can work out a payment plan later. You just need to get the forms in.
• If you notify the CRA about your failure to file for multiple years, they may waive the federal and provincial/territorial fees, depending on the circumstances.
• If you have to file late for reasons beyond your control, file a Request for Taxpayer Relief with the CRA.

UK Tax Penalties

Taxes in the UK were due January 31. If you didn’t file your taxes on time, you may face these penalties:

• If you are one day late, you will be charged £100. This happens even if you owe no taxes or pay all your taxes off that day.
• For up to 90 days past the due date, you will be charged the original £100, plus an additional £10 a day, totaling up to £1000.
• If you are six months late, you will be charged £300 or 5% of your taxes due, whichever is higher. This is in addition to the £1000 mentioned above.
• If you are a year late or more, you will be charged another £300 or 5% of your taxes, whichever is higher. This is on top of all money owed above.
• In serious cases, the HMRC may double the amount of taxes you owe as a result of late filing.
• The HMRC may also send you a tax estimate, which you have to pay (including interest) until you file your late return.

How to Avoid UK Tax Penalties

If you want to avoid the hefty fines above, here are some tips to keep in mind:

• Next time, file your taxes on time. Sounds simple, but it is the most effective way to bypass this problem entirely.
• If you do not have time to file your taxes properly, at least get something turned in and amend it later.
• If you have a legitimate excuse for not filing on time, you can appeal your penalties similar to how you may appeal a false court case.
• Pay estimated taxes throughout the year so you always have them in mind.

If you didn’t submit your taxes on time, or only have a short window left, try to get something in ASAP and you might just be able to bypass these penalties completely.

When was the last time you got any work done on an airplane?

A marketing consultant friend of mine – I’ll call him Frank – used to get so frustrated by how little he could accomplish in the air. After a string of failed attempts and two missed deadlines, he knew that unless he could figure out how to be productive while travelling for business, he’d never have enough time in his schedule to properly run his business.

So Frank began making tweaks and over the years became really good at working on the go, tripling his business in the process.

If you have to fly regularly, you can find ways to be productive. Here are 5 tips from Frank:

Dress for success

No matter how long your flight is, wear the most comfortable clothes you can. Frank always wears hooded jackets with pockets so he can carry his wallet and phone on his flights. Think about function just as much as comfort to get the most done. Wearing a suit on a plane will reduce your arm mobility and make you much hotter than you need to be. If you need to come off the plane looking professional, bring clothes to change into that way you can still maintain the look without suffering during the flight.

Request the best

If your client is willing to pay for it, ask for first class to ensure maximum comfort. You’ll have more room to work and be around fewer people. Since first class is highly unlikely for most, make the best of what you have by requesting a few things in coach. First, see if you can get a seat in the middle section of the plane to avoid distractions from stewardesses who work up front and passengers who head to restrooms in the back. Also requesting a window seat will ensure you don’t have to get up anytime the person sitting next to you wants to move around.

Equip your trip

With the right equipment on hand, anything is possible. Here are some essentials to have while working in the air:

• Laptop or tablet: This will obviously be your gateway to any documents you need to write, edit, or review. It’s hard to be productive on a smartphone, but you can do that too if need be.
• Noise-cancelling headphones: Block out distractions with noise-cancelling headphones, or use they to listen to soothing sounds, music or videos while you work.
• Travel pillow: Keep your head propped up comfortably to reduce neck strain while you do your work.

Prepare for air

While some flights offer wifi service, there’s no guarantee you’ll have Internet access so make sure you’re prepared to work offline by creating an agenda of activities you can do without the Internet. To ensure you’ve got everything you need to complete your work, use a tool like Snagit to take screenshots of web resources.

Learn to avoid stress

Every now and then, something will come up that makes working in the air impossible. Instead of fretting about it, bring a learning resource with you – Frank keeps business eBooks on his laptop – so in the worst case scenario, you can sit back and enjoy some learnings that will also positively impact your business.

If you’re any sort of pop TV nerd like yours truly, it’s possible you were once a Veronica Mars fan. (No fibbing now, ‘fess up!)

Even if you weren’t, it’s a little difficult to miss all the Veronica Mars (VM) chatter blazing across the web like wildfire, due to the wildly successful Veronica Mars Movie Project’s Kickstarter campaign.

Setting two Kickstarter records, the VM fund soared past the $1 million, then 2 million within a mere 11 hours of launching the campaign.

How’s that for breaking the sound barrier? Or some sort of barrier at any rate.

On Friday, the Kickstarter campaign completed it’s 30 day run with over 5.7 million dollars and became the most backed project in Kickstarter history with a whopping 91,585 backers. Well played, Veronica Mars Movie Project.

Of course the show had a killer cult following already, but despite this, there are several things the VM team did well that helped galvanize their campaign. Read on to learn how you can apply their lessons to your own Kickstarter campaigns:

Tapping into a Current Customer or Fan Base

Everyone knows it’s just smart business to focus the bulk of your marketing efforts on existing customers rather than trying to convert new ones.

This rule can and should be adapted and applied to a Kickstarter campaign as well.

How You Can Do It-

If you don’t have an existing fan base yet, your first order of business should be growing an audience. Postpone your Kickstarter ventures until you’ve done so.

Building and nurturing an audience online is tough work; don’t let anyone tell you different. But it’s well worth the effort, especially when you’re seeking something like funding.

When trying to get a new project off the ground, your chances of achieving your goal are that much higher when you tailor your pitch to appeal to the people you know already want to see it happen.

The Veronica Mars Project knew they already had a rabid fan base. So their entire appeal was directed straight to the fans, designed to rally the troops and touch them on an emotional level. The appeal was geared to make them feel that when they donated, they would become part of movie making history. (Luckily, they weren’t wrong!)

Fostering Crowd Involvement

The second thing the Veronica Mars Project did right was in keeping the crowd involved in the process.

Kristin and Rob made a point to provide regular updates on the status of the project goals with personal messages gushing how proud they were of the fan support and how excited they were to see the dream becoming a reality.

When they reached a milestone they made sure the backers were aware of it and what the next step was to keep driving the project forward.

How You Can Do It-

You can do this with your own campaign by making a point to update your Kickstarter page regularly.

Write personal notes, share milestones, run miniature contests. You can even share photos related to the project. Video is great too.

The VM Project made full use of the beauty of technology today by sharing raw video of their reactions to the donations and the big news they surpassed their goal in record time.

You can’t get much more personal with online sharing than raw video. And sometimes it’s those imperfect moments revealed that make the most impact.

Making Backing Accessible for Everyone

You just never know the situation someone may be in. Obviously when you are appealing to an existing fan base, they already love what you have to offer.

That doesn’t always mean they are in a position to help you financially, no matter how much they may want to. Make it easy.

How You Can Do It-

For some people, spending even $20 is a number that scares them, regardless of the potential reward. And for some people, even if they could spend $20 to fund a project they love, they won’t.

They might however be willing to spend $15. Or $10. Or $5.

You get the picture, right? Creating lower donation options makes doing it easier for everyone.

Long story short, the Veronica Mars Movie Project recognized this, and as a way to keep the donations climbing, created a donation amount of only $1 and wrapped it up as a contest to break another Kickstarter record of most backers.

If 10,000 people are willing to spend $1… you do the math!

Tailoring Rewards to the Audience

A part of the Kickstarter process is that every backer, depending upon their donation, receives something in return for helping move the project forward.

The larger the donation, the larger the perceived reward.

Obviously if you are a rabid fan of Veronica Mars, the idea of getting to name a movie character and spending a day on set is something that would make you hyperventilate.

So keep your audience in mind when creating the rewards your backers will receive in exchange for donating their hard earned cash, and make sure those rewards are something they would actually want and consider valuable.

How You Can Do It-

For instance, if you are running a project to write a book you might give away copies of the book to backers for free. Or for the big backers perhaps you pledge to do a personal book signing in their city.

If you are funding production and distribution of a new album, you might give copies away to each backer. For the big ticket backers schedule a concert in their city, or a private performance for a special event.

Bottom line?

Don’t be stingy. Remember that your backers on Kickstarter aren’t “investors”… they don’t typically receive financial compensation if your project winds up being a resounding success.

They are practicing generosity and giving to you out of the kindness of their hearts in order to help you make your vision happen, because they have followed you long enough to know they believe in your vision.

To continue paying it forward, show a little generosity of your own and offer rewards that will actually mean something to them.

Crowd Funding in a Nutshell

At the core, crowd funding is really about like-minded people banding together to help a person they believe in realize a goal… it is truly about people helping people, and the pursuit of a dream.

Remember that when making your Kickstarter appeal to the public. Keeping it real and honest will take you farther than some smarmy sales pitch every day of the week.

About the author: Cori is a wildly hire-able freelance ‘ghost’ as well as the creative brains and dubious brawn behind her blog Big Girl Branding. If you’d like to harness her creative brains and dubious brawn to write for your blog, just stalk her on Twitter and ask her. 

Confidence is a key ingredient to success, but a lot of business owners try to develop it the wrong way. Ben’s inability to find true confidence had stalled his brand consulting business for years. It was actually a mentor of his, another brand consultant named Deidre, who wisely pointed this out to Ben. She tried to help him with his confidence, but to no avail. That’s when Deidre, who I had coached, sent him to me.

Blowing it

When I first got together with Ben a few years ago, he explained his frustration. He’d been out on his own for a few years and the only clients he seemed to ever get were small ones. Anytime he got a shot at acquiring a decent-sized client, he blew it.

Deidre, who had subcontracted Ben to help out with a couple of big projects, recognized his lack of confidence straight away. To help Ben, she advised him to act confident—keep his head high, give straight answers, use a firm tone of voice, etc. He did all that, but getting his own big clients still eluded him.

Wildly successful people

During our first meeting, I told Ben that while Deidre meant well, she’d given him a bum steer. Deidre’s own confidence didn’t come from acting confident, it came from a trait that is common to wildly successful people.

When Ben pushed me to tell him what the trait was I shifted the conversation in another direction, asking him what he’d studied at school, whether he went to industry conferences, what he read and how much. He’d studied marketing and advertising, and he’d been to a few conferences, but none since leaving an agency he’d worked at before flying solo. As for reading, he did a little for pleasure and occasionally checked out industry stuff online. The last time he read a full book on branding was during school.

Trade-show revelation

“Ben,” I said, “what’s the first thing you notice when you step into Deidre’s office?”

After naming a few furnishings, he finally gave me the answer I was looking for—the hundreds of books that lined her shelves.

I then told Ben about a revelation I had when I was about thirty. I was at a trade show for financial advisors selling a couple of business books I’d coauthored. When the speaking sessions broke out the trade-show floor would fill with financial advisors—young ones, those in the middle of their career and successful veterans. Milling among the crowd were the speakers, who were all among the world’s top advisors.

“Ben,” I said, “of those groups, who do you think bought more of my books? I should add that our books were geared to the junior entrepreneur.”

“I want to say the junior advisors, but you’re going to tell me I’m wrong, right?”

Bags full of books

As I explained to Ben, very, very few junior advisors bought any books. Some of the middle career folks bought, but a much larger portion of the veterans bought. But what surprised me most was that every single speaker who walked by—literally every single one of them—bought our books. In fact, their bags were filled with books from all the other vendors too. That made no sense to me.

I even advised one of the speakers not to buy our books. I was worried he was going to be disappointed because he would already know everything in the books. He looked at me and said, “I’ve never read a single book that didn’t have at least one great idea.”

Never stop learning

Ever since then I’ve noticed that—almost without exception—whenever I’m in the office of a very successful person I find shelves full of books. Seth Godin, one of the world’s leading marketing and branding gurus has said, “It’s not an accident that successful people read more books.” Most successful people never stop learning, and most successful people are extremely confident. The two things—confidence and knowledge—aren’t unrelated.

The ignoramus effect

There is however an ironic relationship between confidence and knowledge, because they don’t always go hand in hand. Ignorant people often overestimate their abilities—don’t we all have a relative like this?—while those with more knowledge sometimes suffer from a lack of confidence. It’s called the Dunning-Kruger effect. Another phenomenon is that the more you know, the more you realize you don’t know. I remember having that experience when I reached university—the sudden and massive exposure to how much there is to know. It was daunting, and it made me feel small.

Blowhards and masters

In business, the kind of false confidence that comes from ignorance doesn’t fly. Most clients are savvy enough to know they have a blowhard in the room. Fortunately that wasn’t Ben. He fell into that middle ground where many of us linger—an awareness of what you don’t know, leading to doubt. For those in this category, there’s hope, because you can get over that doubt by developing mastery of an area of knowledge. Deidre developed mastery of branding by continuously reading about branding, putting her knowledge to work in the real world and seeing positive results. It’s her mastery of branding that has given her confidence. She’s not acting confident, she is confident, and that genuine confidence is what earns her the trust of high-powered clients.

As I told Ben, if you want to move up market and start working with the big clients, you have to move out of that muddy area of doubt and acquire the kind of confidence that comes from mastering a subject area.

Three super confident words

Oddly, three words that Deidre and many successful people use to inspire confidence are: I don’t know. This phrase shows that you’re comfortable with what you know and what you don’t know. What you don’t know isn’t some monstrous cavern that you’re trying to hide by pretending you know more than you do. People can see through that. By the way, Deidre follows up “I don’t know” with “but let me find out.”

Camp confidence

Ben took our conversation to heart and immediately started a program of self-education that involved picking the brains of his mentor Deidre, going to conferences and reading and reading and reading. As he learned new branding strategies he would try them out on his smaller clients. He would frequently see great results, which would make him feel more confident about his new knowledge. After a year of some solid study and practice he felt an immense sense of confidence. It made him realize how much doubt he used to carry inside. Around that time he got a meeting with the head of a large summer camp, and closed the deal. It was his biggest to date. Over the years since, as his knowledge and confidence have grown, he’s gradually built a clientele of solid organizations.

The big takeaway: confidence isn’t something you can fake. It’s a byproduct of mastering knowledge, which—as the speakers at that financial trade show have proven—isn’t so much a destination as a lifelong journey. But if you don’t set off on that journey the doors to big clients will likely remain closed to you. If you’re not a natural learner, somebody who pursues knowledge out of habit, you may, like Ben, need to push yourself.

If you want to share your own story about how increasing your knowledge has helped build your confidence, please let us know in the comments section below, or shoot me an email at donald (@) freshbooks (dot) com.

Author’s note: this post is based on business owners I have coached. I’ve changed their names and some telling details.

For other stories like this—including one on how I once helped Deidre ensure she got paid for her valuable ideas—step into The Cowper Files.