via: What Obama’s “Startup America” Means for Your Small Business [INFOGRAPHIC]

What Obama’s “Startup America” Means for Your Small Business is a post from: Small Business Consulting San Diego

1. Health care tax credit. Businesses with 10 or fewer employees that average less than $25,000 annually are eligible for a tax credit of up to 35 percent.
2. Depreciation on a business vehicle. Fuel and maintenance costs of your car or truck are 100 percent deductible if you can claim that the vehicle is used exclusive for your small business.
3. Business travel expenses. You can claim all of the costs of out-of-town business travel — that includes the plane ticket, meals, and hotel room.
4. Home office deduction. This is often considered a risky deduction due to its reputation as an audit magnet, but the reality is that virtually all small business owners can take a deduction for a home office space — that includes treating a percentage of Internet and phone bills as deductible expenses.
5. Professional fees and classes. Any fees you pay to maintain your career are deductible. That includes costs for classes, seminars, training, certificates, and membership fees in professional organizations.
6. Retirement tax credit. You can get a credit on the first $2,000 that you invest in your retirement fund.

6 Overlooked Tax Deductions for Small Businesses is a post from: Small Business Consulting San Diego

1. Make It Unique: Stand out against the crowd. Avoid overused symbols like globes and arrows and know your logo doesn’t have to depict your company to the tee. According to graphic designer David Airey, “The Mercedes logo isn’t a car. The Virgin Atlantic logo isn’t an aeroplane. The Apple logo isn’t a computer,”
2. Make It Adaptable: make sure your logo can convey the same message small scale on a business card or letterhead but also on huge billboards. If it doesn’t, it could affect your brand’s clarity.
3. Make It Appropriate: make your logo reflect your company’s essence while still being suitable for your industry. Look into colors too – different colors express different messages and evoke different feelings!
4. Make It Timeless: make a logo that will still be relevant decades down the line. The quintessential example? The “I Love New York” logo from 1975

To read the full article, visit our friends at INC.

4 Features of a Great Logo Design is a post from: Small Business Consulting San Diego

According to their blog, “a convertible note is short-term debt that converts into equity.  In the context of a seed financing, the debt typically automatically converts into shares of preferred stock upon the closing of a Series A round of financing.” In layman’s terms, investors will give money to a startup but instead of getting money back, they get preferred stock in return.

The article we read is part 1 of the series and addresses basic questions like (i) what is a convertible note? (ii) why are convertible notes issued instead of shares of common or preferred stock? and (iii) what are the advantages of issuing convertible notes?

Part 2 will discuss the two most significant issues for founders in connection with the issuance of convertible notes: (i) the valuation cap and (ii) the discount (and how they interrelate).

Part 3 will cover certain special issues, such as (i) what happens if the startup is acquired prior to the note’s conversion to equity? (ii) what happens if the maturity date is reached prior to the note’s conversion to equity? and (iii) what securities laws do founders need to worry about in connection with the issuance of convertible notes?

Interested? Read the 3-part series at Techcrunch!

Learning all about Convertible Note Seed Financing is a post from: Small Business Consulting San Diego

Remember when we talked about crowdsourcing a while back? Well the JOBS Act now officially recognizes the impact of a community investment and created some important rules and regulations to address certain needs and responsibilities. The bill is allowing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 270 days to review crowdsourcing and deliver policies for the public. What do these 270 days mean to investors though? It means they may have to wait until 2013 to make a legal investment towards your startup.

Investors waiting until 2013 may have restrictions to the amount of money they can invest and may have to fill out more forms, including a suitability questionnaire which prepares you for the risks associated with crowdfunding investments.

To read more about how crowdsourcing will affect investors, read the full article at Mashable.

How Crowdfunding will affect Investors is a post from: Small Business Consulting San Diego

1. Single-Member LLC as a ‘Disregarded Entity’ – “As the name implies, you need to be the sole owner of the LLC. This classification falls into the ‘pass-through’ taxation category’ — the business itself doesn’t file any tax forms. As the owner of the LLC, you report business income or loss on your personal tax forms.”

2. Multiple-Member LLC as a Partnership - “For federal tax purposes, if an LLC has two or more members, it will be taxed as a partnership unless it makes an election to be taxed as an S Corp or C Corp.”

3. LLC as a C Corporation - “If you prefer to keep profits in the company (as opposed to distributing any end-of-the-year profits to owners), a C Corporation would work. In this case, only the company is taxed on the profits; individual owners are not responsible for paying taxes on whatever money stays in the business.”

4. LLC as an S Corporation - “Individual LLC owners are taxed on their respective shares of the company’s profits (and profits are not subject to self-employment tax).”

Read the full article at Mashable.

The 4 Ways you can Tax your LLC is a post from: Small Business Consulting San Diego

So what have we learned??

1. Know your numbers.

2. Be a good marketer.

3. Be humble.

4. Understand good timing.

5. Have a good story.

6. Be prepared to walk.

7. Be personable.

To read the full article, with in-depth analysis of each lesson learned, visit FastCompany. And if you are interested in created a pitch deck for potential investors, we at The Startup Garage specialize in doing just that. Contact us today!

What Shark Tank teaches us about Pitch Decks is a post from: Small Business Consulting San Diego

The problem started with a hired accountant that Griffin rarely checked up on, and that rarely checked up with her. There had been no communication until the news came from the IRS and this can easily be avoided by regularly checking up with your accountant. The solution started with Griffin first receiving a line of credit for her bank to the sum of $8,000 and withdrawing $3,000 from her personal savings. Lastly, Griffin contacted the IRS to request an installment plan.

Due to her proactive efforts, the IRS accepted her proposal and begun an installment plan to be paid off over a year and a half. Small business owners should be aware that the IRS allows for installments – note that there are late payment charges and interest on unpaid taxes.

To read Griffin’s full story, read the article at The Washington Post.

How one small business dealt with owing the IRS $15k is a post from: Small Business Consulting San Diego

The Scheduler allows you paste a “Book Now” button on your website that would directly link with the program. With features like adding “Busy Time” to give breaks to employees, as well as allowing for multiple entries for multiple services and staff members, Groupon Scheduler is a very basic yet easy to use system for a small business just starting out – and free!

Groupon Scheduler is still however in beta testing and is likely to change. For more information read the article at: ITWorld

Groupon offers free scheduling system for small businesses is a post from: Small Business Consulting San Diego

Even though many major industries legally require professionals to maintain surety bonds, their costs often come as a surprise to entrepreneurs. Bonding is often the first big budget buster because it’s typically required before an entrepreneur can apply for a business license.

So, what kind of professions require surety bonds?

A myriad of industries require business owners to purchase surety bond insurance before they can be licensed. Surety bonds provide financial guarantees that protect consumers rather than the policy holder. As such, those required to purchase surety bonds typically work in industries that provide services to consumers. The following professions are just a few that almost always require surety bonds as a part of the licensing process:

• auto dealers
• cleaning or janitorial companies
• construction professionals
• collection agencies
• heath care professionals
• mortgage professionals
• telemarketers

The exact bonding requirements entrepreneurs must fulfill vary depending on state laws. For example, an auto dealer in Florida needs a $25,000 surety bonds whereas a California auto dealer needs a $50,000 surety bond.

Generally speaking, the bigger the bond, the higher the cost. Sureties also review the financial records of all clients, and those with low credit scores typically pay higher premiums for their bonds. If an entrepreneur doesn’t set aside the necessary funds to pay for a surety bond, getting a business license could take much more time than anticipated.

What are some other hidden costs to starting a business?

Once entrepreneurs purchase their bonds as required, they can apply for a business license. However, hidden start-up costs don’t stop with surety bonds. When preparing to start a business, entrepreneurs might also need to set aside money for

• license and registration fees
• business incorporation
• rent
• utilities
• Internet service
• office supplies
• background checks for job applicants
• financial advisers/accountants
• lawyer fees

These are just a few examples of hidden costs that can adversely affect entrepreneurial budgets. Without planning for all potential costs, entrepreneurs could run out of funds and find themselves in financial ruin. When it comes to budgeting for a new enterprise, entrepreneurs should know it’s better to be safe than sorry. Eliminating the opportunity for hidden costs to pop up allows entrepreneurs to create realistic budgets they can stick to.

Kevin Kaiser is a co-founder of SuretyBonds.com, a surety bond company that issues bonds to help entrepreneurs get their enterprises up-and-running as soon as possible. As a part of its educational outreach program, SuretyBonds.com provides informational articles to help entrepreneurs understand the legal implications related to bonding and business start-ups.

Surety bonds and other hidden costs entrepreneurs should plan for is a post from: Small Business Consulting San Diego