03/30/2011
Small-business owners may think they will not be targeted by cyber criminals the way a big company or military contractor might, so it is natural to become lax about cyber security.

That is the mindset a local program wants to change by raising awareness and educating entrepreneurs that they are also vulnerable to cyber attacks.

complete article

03/28/2011
Assuming you can get a connection, here are some time-saving tips I have come up with, along with others that fellow Gadlingers suggested to keep me from pulling my hair out at the local Internet cafe.

complete article

03/23/2011
Philosophies regarding social media networks, such as Twitter, can vary greatly. But similar to email, an unspoken etiquette has emerged for these social websites as well. The etiquette for these social sites does not consist of hard and fast rules, but is simply a list of guidelines for posting. The following is a set of Twitter etiquette guidelines, but can also be applied to other social networks...

Twitequitte

03/22/2011
Nearly three-quarters 72 percent of small companies indicated they use mobile apps in their day-to-day business operations, according to the AT&T Small Business Technology Poll. Furthermore, 38 percent of these respondents said that either they could not survive or it would be a major challenge to survive without these apps.

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03/21/2011
My wife and I put it off for as long as we could. Our friends teased us about it. We had visions of the both of us crouched over on our hands and knees scrubbing the floors all day. Potty training was the one aspect of parenthood that my wife and I absolutely dreaded. Unfortunately, we had to bite the bullet sooner than we wanted to because our preschool forced us to take action. In order for our daughter to advance to the next class level, she had to be potty trained or be held back with the younger kids. And to make things worse, we recently had brand new carpets installed.

Yet in many ways, what instigated my wife and I to start our business and to potty train our daughter were very similar. Some external event forced us to take action and we came out of the experience more confident and more knowledgeable as a result.

How To Increase Sales For Your Small Business By Potty Training Your Child

03/18/2011
The proposal, published Wednesday in The Federal Register and available for public comment, looks to expand the revenue-based size definition of small businesses in 36 industries.

The changes would allow some 9,450 additional companies close to exceeding the size threshold for their respective industry keep small-business status and access to federal assistance programs and contracts, according to the SBA.

complete article

03/16/2011
There is a firestorm in Washington right now over an issue that's complex but has major implications for the 471,000 small businesses in Tennessee, particularly those that accept credit and debit cards for payment. The issue also matters to anyone who is employed by a small business, has a loved one who is, or who ever patronizes small merchants. That is a lot of us.

Last year, when Congress passed financial reforms, it attempted to fix a quirk in the behind-the-scenes marketplace of processing debit-card transactions. The quirk has rendered big banks free from competitive forces that otherwise would discourage or prevent them from gouging small merchants with astonishing fees each time a debit card is swiped. Over the past decade, these fees have risen faster than health-care costs and today bear no resemblance to what it costs big banks to process those transactions. The Federal Reserve estimates that actual cost to be around 4 cents, but debit swipe fees charged to small merchants average 44 cents.

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03/15/2011
The House of Representatives passed the Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act of 2011 by a 314-112 vote. The bill would repeal the expanded Form 1099 information reporting requirements mandated by last years health care legislation. It would also repeal the new 1099 reporting requirements imposed on taxpayers who receive rental income.

1099 Repeal

03/14/2011
You are a small business, so you does not have a hundred grand in cash sitting around to market your small business. Trouble is, without letting the consuming public know about your products and services, you may as  well shut your doors and go fishing. The fish will know you are there because you will make sure they see your flashy lures and smell your tempting bait. We could learn a thing or two from those fish. If you want customers, you need to get their attention and then give them what they want. It does not have to cost a fortune either.

complete article

03/10/2011
Less than 1% of small business owners in the UK connect with clients using social media so that means that a whopping 99% are missing out on an opportunity for online marketing of their small business. Traditionally the small business was trusted by consumers and social media is the modern way of building and keeping that trust going.

The majority of people that buy from small businesses buy from the person behind the small business so as the business owner it is up to you to build and maintain a relationship with existing and potential clients. When you are considering your offline marketing strategy you should also be considering your online marketing strategy, the internet is here to stay so you might as well learn to use it to your advantage.

Social Media and Marketing

03/08/2011
Mistakes on your website result in lost sales and lost customers.

Your website is making at least four out of five of these mistakes right now.

1.Not understanding the problem.
Everyone who comes to your website has a problem that needs fixing.

Showing them that you understand their problem convinces them to stay longer.

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03/07/2011
Check out the logo designs for a new look for your business.

03/03/2011
Small retail businesses who are making the move to an online presence may feel overwhelmed by the process of creating a website. Web templates can often help make the process less painful for a small business. To assist webmasters in the template vs custom design decision, we have outlined the pros and cons to each...

Pros and Cons to Using Web Templates

03/02/2011
Tax season is upon us, which means it is time to start pulling out records and paying the government. While no one enjoys this process, it is possible to make it a little bit friendlier on your pocketbook. With these five tips and a little work, you can master the art of small business tax deductions.

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03/01/2011
Small and medium-sized companies may be overlooking potential business risks from using unlicensed software, which may add up to as much as $40,000 in damages a year, the latest study done for Microsoft by the International Data Corporation, or IDC, suggests.

Small and medium-sized businesses are accustomed to linking the use of pirated software with exclusively legal responsibility, which, though relatively rare, can be quite harsh in Russia (fines and possible imprisonment), but they often overlook the financial losses they may incur from using such software.

complete article

02/28/2011
Though the legal side of your business may not necessarily involve making money or expanding your client or customer base, mistakes can certainly cost you money thus threatening even a profitable business if the errors are particularly costly. Here is the latest from around the Web of legal tips you may want to consider to protect your small business today and in the future.

Small Business Legal Tips