Still looking for a way to get organized? Some “organizer” applications take more time to learn than the tasks you actually need to get done. Or maybe you need to organize a project—and that means you need to organize your team as well. Wunderlist offers the solution to both your problems by making the interface simple and allowing you to share task lists with friends, partners and associates. You can print tasks, send them by email or share them in the cloud. Reminders will keep you on schedule; a drag and drop feature lets you organize your tasks easily. Use on the Web or from an app on your mobile device.

Are you looking for new employees? Well, don’t feel your search is limited to those in your own backyard. I’m not talking about virtual employees or outsourcing, either: A new study by CareerBuilder of workers nationwide found nearly half (44 percent) of respondents would willing to relocate for a career opportunity. In fact, CareerBuilder says that off laid-off employees who found jobs in the past year, 20 percent relocated to do so.

At the same time, more employers are struggling to find skilled workers–and are willing to pay to import talent to their city. Thirty-two percent of employers in the survey said would be willing to pay to relocate new employees this year; 19 percent would pay a smaller first-year salary so they could give a relocating employee a signing bonus.

Which types of workers are most in demand? The top areas for which workers were most willing to pay to relocate employees all relate to technology or to revenue-generating jobs:

• Engineering – 30 percent of employers
• Information Technology – 23 percent
• Business Development – 21 percent
• Sales – 21 percent
• Financial – 16 percent
• Marketing – 13 percent
• Legal – 11 percent

If you’re looking for workers out of your area, you might want to check out CareerBuilder’s new site, CareerRelocate.com, which targets workers who are seeking employment outside of their area. Employers can post jobs and find candidates. Job candidates can search by keyword or category search to see where the most and fewest opportunities are for their skills; view jobs in different cities; compare salary averages and standard of living in different cities; and research homes, property values, mortgage quotes and moving and storage costs.

More than three-fourths of workers who relocated in the last year said they didn’t regret the decision. But if you’re planning to hire workers from outside your area, you should be aware of the top problems workers cited with relocating:

• Cost of living is higher – 26 percent
• More stress on the family unit – 24 percent
• Difficult to make new friends – 18 percent
• Feeling homesick – 16 percent

Knowing what issues your new employee is dealing with can help you be proactive in supporting them so they feel valued and welcome at your company.

Image by Flickr user Marxchivist (Creative Commons)

No one likes to wait for the signed document to show up in the mail, but a live signature is still required for many business contracts and forms. e-SignLive.com offers a free high-tech solution and an alternative to the pen-on-paper signature. Signers can sign from any device, and there’s no software to download. You can even have multiple signers, and everything is customized to the authentication level you require. If your business requires similar documents be signed over and over, you can create a template to use multiple times. Also, set a due date so signers know when the signature deadline is coming up.

The sidebar occupies valuable real estate on your blog.  In fact, it’s the second most important space, which is why you should spend some time evaluating and tweaking it.

Your sidebar is the place where readers can subscribe to your newsletter, sign up for your webinar, or follow you on Twitter.  Here are five tips for improving your blog’s sidebar so your readers will do just that!

1.  Get readers to interact with your social media sites.

Using your sidebar to encourage blog readers to connect with you on Facebook and Twitter is an effective way to use this space.  Try posting the latest news and trends on social media–not just from you, but from your fans and the people you follow, too.  You can also ask readers to log into your site using Facebook, for example, to encourage interaction and content sharing directly from your blog.

2.  Use photos to instantly personalize your blog and build trust.

When you include photos of yourself or your employees, readers can immediately feel more connected to the writers responsible for your blog.  Photos offer a glimpse into the personalities behind your blog, and they build trust by showing the faces responsible for the words.  A bonus is that the eye is drawn to images of faces, so you can be sure to get more attention for whatever additional information the sidebar provides.

3.  Lead readers further into your site.

Sidebars are meant to get your readers to take action, which will help you make money.  Think about what you want readers to do.  Are you trying to build an email list, get people to purchase your webinar, or hire you for your web design services?  Use the sidebar to navigate readers toward these actions by including eye-catching graphics or inspiring copy with links to the places on your site that convert readers to customers or clients.  Just be sure to keep the sidebar content enticing, but not distracting – you don’t want to take away from your blog’s main content.

4.  Encourage users to sit and stay awhile. 

Your blog’s sidebar can be leveraged to make your site addictive to readers.  Think about how YouTube sucks users in by showing a continuous stream of related content in its sidebar.  You can use this tactic on your own blog by showcasing content readers might also enjoy in your sidebar.  As they click on links, continue showing them different articles, videos, and other components of your site so they will stay and explore everything you have to offer.

5.  Let your brand shine through your sidebar.

The look and feel of your sidebar can help to reinforce your brand, especially when blog articles, full of copy, begin to look the same.  If your brand is clean and modern, use graphic design elements in the sidebar to develop your persona.  Or, if you like to keep things quirky and fun, be sure the sidebar copy reflects these attributes.  I discussed using photos above, and a fitting image of you or your employees can go a long way to establishing your brand equity.

Have you seen any head-turning, hard-working sidebars lately?  What was it about them that made you sit up and take notice?

Image courtesy of creative design agency Arrae

Small businesses who obtain government contracts know that the U.S. government is a desirable client. But how are small companies doing when it comes to landing federal contracts or subcontracts? American Express OPEN’s second annual government contracting survey of more than 700 active small government contractors found they are facing some challenges, partly because federal government contracting spending was down 14 percent in 2011 compared to 2010. Here’s what else the study found:

Small businesses are spending more trying to obtain federal contracts. In 2011, active small business contractors invested an average of $103,827 in both time and money in seeking federal contracting opportunities—up 21 percent from the previous year ($86,000).

Businesses owned by minorities invested more than the average—an average of $139,709, fully 56 percent more than small businesses owned by Caucasian men and women.

Women, overall, were spending less time and money pursuing federal contracts. The average investment by women-owned firms was 30 percent less than that made by men-owned firms.

Small businesses are bidding less often. Even as they spend more on their average bid, small firms are bidding far less. Both in prime contracting and subcontracting, bidding activity has declined by nearly half.

So what does it take to succeed in federal contracting? Here are three tips:

Be persistent. The small business contractors in the survey reported that they had to submit an average of 4.4 bids before earning their first prime federal contract. Once they did land that first procurement opportunity, however, things got easier. Two-thirds of active small business contractors reported they have performed more than one federal contract. On average, it took these firms just under a year after their first procurement to win their second contract.

Be selective. The study found that when it comes to bidding on contracting opportunities, there is
a law of
diminishing returns. Businesses that bid on six or more contracts in a three-year period saw their success rate fall below the overall .379 “batting average.” American Express OPEN suggests the best strategy is to concentrate on just a few procurement opportunities annually; don’t submit more than two or three bids per year.

Be patient. The average success rate in obtaining prime contracts was 38 percent. However, success rates were significantly higher among small businesses that had been seeking federal contracts for 10 or more years (53 percent success rate) compared to those who had been seeking federal contracts for three years or less (20 percent success rate).

Has your business bid on government contracting opportunities? Have you found it growing easier or more difficult?

Image by Flickr user Donkey Hotey (Creative Commons)

An online ad campaign shouldn’t be planned with the attitude, “Let’s throw something out there and see what sticks.” Experiment.ly lets you test and measure the performance of many aspects of your ad campaign before you sink unnecessary dollars into your efforts. You can test anything–buttons, text or images–and there’s no need to get a designer or programmer involved. It’s easy to use, with drag and drop features, so you can quickly create different versions of an ad and see which version tests the best. A free version can get you up to 5,000 unique visitors a month. Other payment plans exist if you want a more extensive campaign.

Could you use a boost to your small business’s marketing budget? You’re not alone. According to the 6^th annual Staples National Small Business Survey, just two-thirds (66 percent) of small business owners have some type of marketing and advertising budget for 2012. Even among those who do have a marketing budget, amounts are small, with the average budget just over $2,000.

The tough economy has affected marketing budgets. Sixty percent of small business owners say they have changed their sales and marketing efforts as a direct result of the U.S. economy.  They are using less traditional media (29 percent) and more viral marketing and word-of-mouth marketing (33 percent) than last year last year. In addition, 35 percent of survey respondents reported that they have increased their social media presence in the past year.

Small business owners have big ideas when it comes to marketing. More than half (52 percent) of small business owners surveyed said that if they had a larger marketing budget, they would invest in more advertising and direct marketing to grow their businesses.

To help, office supply company Staples recently launched the Staples “Give Your Small Business the Push It Needs” contest. (My company is working with Staples on this promotion.) The contest will enable five small businesses to win up to $50,000 each in free television advertising in their home market.

“Investing in marketing to grow a small business is essential, yet many do not have the money to do so,” said John Giusti, vice president of small business marketing at Staples, in announcing the contest. “Staples wanted to do something unique to support small businesses in their local markets.”

Small businesses can enter the “Give Your Small Business the Push It Needs” contest by submitting a 15-second video about their company on Facebook.com/Staples.  Five winning small businesses will be chosen to receive 15 seconds of advertising in a 30-second Staples television ad to run in their local market.  The prize package, valued at up to $50,000 worth of local cable television airtime, includes $500 in Staples Copy and Print or Staples EasyTech™ services.  Winners can choose to receive $50,000 in advertising or $40,000 in advertising and $10,000 in cash.

Learn more about the contest and enter by visiting Facebook.com/Staples.

Image Courtesy Staples

PR News Online has compiled more than 300 pages of social media ideas and tactics in a downloadable guide aimed to help anyone with a desire to improve their social media prowess and become an expert at today’s hottest marketing method. Learn how to master Facebook, integrate mobile into your marketing plan, use SEO to boost your press releases and more. Find out whether you need to add video to your marketing strategy and how Google + fits into the social media playing field. Chapters also include case studies, SEO and content curation. Downloadable and print versions are available for $399.

Just because you’re a small business doesn’t mean you can’t have a huge impact on Facebook.  The social network has enabled small businesses to stand side-by-side with large companies to grab customers’ attention and interact with them online.

Even if your marketing department is small, or even if you’re a company of one, you can still learn a lot from the big business approach to Facebook.  Try these four ideas for running Facebook campaigns get big results, regardless of your company’s size.

Plan for success       

One of the major reasons big companies succeed on Facebook is that they plan.  Don’t make the mistake many small businesses do and launch a Facebook page just because everyone else has one.  Do as the big companies do, and set goals and strategies for your efforts online.

Think about what you’d like to get from your Facebook activities.  Do you want to drive more traffic to your online store?  Are you hoping to build your newsletter list?  Or, maybe you want to encourage repeat business and brand loyalty?  Whatever your goals are, state them clearly, and create a strategy that will get you there.

Interact with your fans

Often, the most successful Facebook pages are those teeming with interaction.  This is where big companies have a major advantage, simply because they’re staffed to keep the community active.

To compete with larger businesses, you need to go beyond static content (bio, a couple of pictures, and links to your website), and fill your page with content that engages the community.  Creating a custom tab enables you to offer fun stuff on Facebook, such as contests and virtual gifts.

But don’t think you have to employ a pricey designer or know how to code to get the same eye-catching and interactive custom tabs big companies have.  A custom tab app, like the one offered by ShortStack, can help you create tabs with the same functionality for an affordable price.

Be there for your fans

Big businesses know that social media provides a direct connection with their individual customers, so they hire community managers to communicate with customers on a full-time basis.

Even if you can’t hire someone to tend to Facebook full-time, you still need to check in more than sporadically to build a community.  Try working social media interaction into your routine, being sure to respond to questions or comments on your page at least every day.  You can tag-team Facebook page management among several staff members to be sure you’re covered, and you can hire responsible interns to help with social media management.  Just be sure not to neglect your customers online – if you don’t answer their questions, someone else will!

Take advantage of your smaller size

Being a small company means you’re nimbler and more flexible than your larger competitors.  For example, smaller businesses have the advantage of moving quickly to gather information from their community.  If you want to know what customers think of your newest product, you can create a Facebook poll or simply ask them to post suggestions to your wall – and you can do this without the bureaucratic hierarchy that slows bigger companies down.

Or, maybe you want to scan Facebook for general feedback, responding to customer complaints and compliments.  Because you’re the owner, you can make decisions like this and reply in real time.

Another example of leveraging your smaller size is offering deals to your community when you need to.  If you need to clear inventory quickly, or you want to be sure your venue is filled tonight, you can offer great deals to your Facebook fans right now.  Being a small business means you can avoid the lethargic corporate decision-making process and do what’s right for your business in a flexible way.

Have you noticed other big-business Facebook tactics that can be scaled to fit a smaller company?  Talk to us in the comments section below!

Image courtesy of creative design agency Arrae

Will your business be affected by the new 1099-K form the IRS is rolling out this year? Business Finance reports that businesses accepting payments by credit card, debit card, gift card or online payment options such as PayPal, you could be getting 1099-K forms in the mail.

The form or forms will be sent to you payment settlement entities such as banks if gross payments to your business by that entity in 2011 totaled 1) more than $20,000 and 2) more than 200 transactions. Payment settlement entities report the information to the IRS as well; the forms are due to small businesses by today, January 31.

The new reporting requirement was created as part of the Housing Assistance Tax Act of 2008 and is intended to make sure that merchants accurately report their income from credit and other payment cards. The goal is to increase compliance in reporting income among merchants, and over 10 years, the new requirement is expected to raise more than $9.5 billion in taxes on income that would otherwise have gone unreported or underreported.

Business Finance says the 1099-K forms will include contact information on both the entity filing the tax return and the payee; the gross amount of merchant card or third-party network payments the payee received in 2011, detailed by month. If your company gets a 1099-K, you must report the amounts on your business taxes.

If you sell products and services, you might get a 1099-K and a 1099-MISC reporting the sale of the same service, Business Finance notes. If so, you will have to contact the entity that issued the forms and ask them to correct the error, or they will be reporting your income twice to the IRS.

You can find detailed explanations about 1099-K forms and information on how to report the income on your tax forms at the IRS website.

Image Courtesy Karen Axelton