Bookkeeping For Small Businesses - Information & Advice

There are three options for small businesses when it comes to bookkeeping. These are to either do it yourself, use special bookkeeping software or hire a bookkeeper to do it for you. Either way, bookkeeping is not something that can simply be ignored, as it is a legal requirement for businesses to keep track of and make available their financial records.

By Rheza Sulaiman

There are three options for small businesses when it comes to bookkeeping. These are to either do it yourself, use special bookkeeping software or hire a bookkeeper to do it for you. Either way, bookkeeping is not something that can simply be ignored, as it is a legal requirement for businesses to keep track of and make available their financial records.

If a small business owner chooses to do their bookkeeping themselves, either with a pen and paper or using a standard computer spreadsheet (such as Excel), then they must feel confident in their ability to deal with numbers and to understand and comply with the financial regulations in their country. The good news is that for very small businesses, doing this is not rocket science, and most businessmen capable of running and managing a business have the skills required to adequately produce the bookkeeping records.

When it comes to managing the information manually there’s 1 unique drawback, if you make a mistake, which is something that can happen, otherwise you misread or perhaps misplace particular paperwork, it is possible to encounter fines for affirming the wrong taxes financial obligations or profits. There is also the fact that an individual experienced within taxes regulations are going to be proficient of all the ways you save cash, as apposed to a business owner simply doing taxation on their own.

The use of bookkeeping software can make life easier for a business owner, this software will guide you through the process and show you what information is required to go where. Once it has all been filled in the software will create all the finance reports you need to take care of your taxes, they will be in the appropriate format and everything will be exactly where it needs to be.

You can find a couple of difficulty with taxes computer software even though. Firstly, it can be really complicated to use for first time users, especially for those who usually are not particularly adept with personal computers in general. Second of all, even though great bookkeeping software program will tell you just what data to feedback and also wherever to be able to input it, it’s no way of knowing if your data you could have contained is actually incorrect. As a result, much like performing taxes personally, a person constantly be in danger of errors of rich.

A final option you could have is always to employ an expert bookkeeper. The huge benefits to achieving this will most likely outweigh the initial price in order to employing this particular bookkeeper. In fact, you will sometimes help to make your money back in the foreseeable future because of the accountant having the particulars of the actual program and also understanding how far better spend less. In addition to this the business enterprise proprietor may throw open their own period to pay attention to other more considerations.

For information click here. Read On : Blacktown Bookkeepers.

Branding, Publicity and Marketing Success Secrets

Discover the secrets to career and business success using publicity outreach for branding and marketing. Find out how to showcase your credentials, experience, wisdom and expertise using publicity success principles and strategy.

By Annie Jennings

Is there a secret to success? Is there more than one? Yes! Let’s find out what successful people, consultants and business pros believe and do that helps them achieve their optimal potential. What is it that they have in common, whether it’s in their beliefs or in their actions that makes them successful?

First of all they use resources available to them including publicity, self-promotion, branding and marketing to create their outstanding advantage in the marketplace. The rest comes naturally. The major opportunities go to the ones who are visible, making a difference, seen and heard by their target market.

Successful people know that they have to take responsibility and follow it up by taking action. You set you own limits.  You are defined by the intensity of your commitment and the depths of your knowledge. In other words, commitment without knowledge can equal frustration and limit your potential. The idea is to add the right knowledge to your ambition so you can climb the ladder for yourself.

Those who make it big believe certain things and do certain things to back up their beliefs. They are ready to invest in themselves. They believe that they are they best investment. Successful people create a business model that meets the demands of their target market. Successful people are ready for action, they are committed and they are willing to go for it with gusto.

Showcase your knowledge. Showcase your talent using media outreach. Your clients will love seeing you out there in the media sharing what you know and commenting on the issues. They enjoy hiring a tried and true professional who understands how to deliver the specific outcome. By doing publicity, marketing and promotion, you let your clients get an idea of your knowledge, wisdom and experience. You client will want to hire you. Clients want certainty. They want to hire the best. In the end, your clients want to buy outcomes and are happy to pay for your services if you are able to define the return on investment and clearly state how your services can help your clients.

Content is critical when showcasing yourself and your knowledge. The media is your opportunity to shine.  Do an outstanding job, pack your commentary with valuable content and share your wisdom and experience in all of your marketing materials including your email newsletters. Be sure your website helps you educate your visitors and your clients.

Success is in your own hands. Taking responsibility for both the successes and failures empowers you to make the changes necessary to turn the situation around or to expand on your success.  If you feel powerless in both the good and the bad, you will get stuck in your thinking and in your progress.

Have a terrific attitude. Commit to proven publicity, branding and marketing strategies. Do not fight success the whole way. Be optimistic. Success will come easily to you and it will seem as if everything you do has a terrific outcome. Have confidence in yourself. Go with your gut, your intuition and your instincts when making choices. Be high energy. Be ready for success & take action. P.S. Don’t stop until you get enough success!

Access tremendous publicity resources for both your career and your business at Annie Jennings PR. Free publicity, branding and business marketing special reports are available as well as free MP3 audio recordings to empower your corporate communications strategy. Contact Annie Jennings PR at 908-281-6201

Pioneer Marketing For Small Business Owners

The hot new thing in big marketing these days is "relationship marketing." The truth is, that's not new at all. In this article, Sue talks about Pioneer Marketing and going back to business that is based on an immutable law of human nature.

By Sue Painter

When I was a kid living (briefly) in Oklahoma, one of my favorite times was the local “Pioneer Days.” Everyone dressed up in pioneer clothing, old Conestoga wagons were brought out of barns, and re-enactments of the early days of the town were carried out in the town square and at the fairgrounds. Everything was “old-timey“—the way it used to be. Some of the men would even grow their hair long and sport the old fashion handlebar mustache and side lamb chops.

I’m convinced that we are now in the pioneer days for marketing. If I’ve read one article about how push marketing doesn’t work anymore and that it is now all about building relationships with the consumer, I’ve read twenty. And every time I read one I shake my head and wonder why no one writes that this is back to marketing’s pioneer days. We now have “Pioneer Marketing.” It’s what our forebears did in every single city and town, and what the best and wisest businesses still do.

Pioneer Marketing (I think I just coined a new term) has one main tenet, and that tenet is infallible. It works every time because it is based on a law of human nature. What’s the law? “People respond positively and in a timely manner when they are treated with respect, courtesy, honesty, and in a way that has their best interests at heart.” That one law, rigidly adhered to, will win out every time. Your attention may be diverted by aggressive and shiny marketing for a while, but in the end you will go where that law of human nature is adhered to.

Simply put, our prospects and existing customers don’t want to be sold into a product or service that serves the seller and doesn’t serve the buyer. They are tired of push marketing coupled with shoddy goods and lacking customer service. And this is one huge reason that you, as an entrepreneur, have it over the big guys. The big guys have used push marketing, shoddy goods, and lacking customer service for so long that they are scrambling right now to turn huge, bloated, bureacratic businesses around to save their sales. Meanwhile, you and I can “float like a butterfly and sting like a bee,” meeting and forming relationships with our prospects, selling our expertise, servicing our customers, and making the transaction into a win-win rather than a win-lose. We have memorable and recognizable faces. Large, bloated businesses give you a new and usually non-caring face every time you walk in their door or buy from them online.

Family-owned businesses, solo professionals, and entrepreneurs can step up and capture market share right now. Most of us have a familiar face to our prospects and customers. Many of the big guys don’t, and now that they realize that, they are all about “relationship marketing,” thinking they have discovered a whole new world. It isn’t a whole new world at all, it’s the world that many small business owners never left, the one that our pioneer forebears lived in. Everyone knew the business owners up and down the street and how they treated customers. Everyone knew who to avoid and who to buy from. Business was good or bad depending on the business owner’s savvy and her ability to form and keep relationships. Reputation was everything, and was based on something real, not something manipulated by copious marketing.

People respond to Pioneer Marketing because it is in our human nature. We are wired for relationships. On the frontier, relationships and trust in others meant survival. In the marketplace, it means survival for you, the business owner. And it is coupled with a sense of trust and satisfaction in our customers, as well.

You don’t have to put on a pioneer costume or grow a mustache to use Pioneer Marketing. Just plaster that one law of human nature up where you can see it, and build your business from that place. Let your marketing, advertising, customer service, and sales be aligned with that law. Couple that with good business skills, and you are good to go. The next time you hear about the new “relationship marketing” just smile. You are already there. So hip, so pioneer. That’s you!

Sue Painter coaching mindset and marketing for solopreneurs. Check out her marketing tips at http://www.confidentmarketer.com and on the YouTube channel confidentmarketer. Sue's marketing expertise and strong insight leads her clients to call her a marketing therapist. She can help you build your business from the inside out.

Your Client Attraction Secret: Speaking!

How you can create comfortable and interactive speaking engagements that attract clients!

By Chris Makell

I won’t go into all of the strategies and facts on speaking and how it’s the thing people least like to do even more than dying. Or, how it’s just too hard and nerve racking to do. You’ve heard it all.

I will say that how you approach speaking will either make this true for you or not. I have spent many years in corporate, delivering presentations to as few as one senior vice president to a group of 50+. No matter how well I knew every word and bullet on my transparency, or foil (remember those?), slide or PowerPoint, it was not always an easy thing to do. I was nervous, every time. Because this was something I wanted to be better at, I’ve taken fabulous presentation courses and improved my delivery as a result. It’s created more confidence and less nervousness.

Now that I’m leading my own business, speaking for me is, very, very different. No longer do I need to convince someone that I know what I’m talking about and that my recommendations will help them have better results. I have the opportunity to take a much different approach. And I guarantee you that if you add these simple strategies to your speaking toolkit, you’ll achieve the client attraction success I have experienced.

Strategy #1: Approach the presentation with a desire to share your knowledge

Ever wonder why teachers don’t get nervous each day in front of the classroom. I’m sure some do that first day… Though I don’t know this for a fact, I do know that having a desire to help others learn can erase that nervousness and give you the passionate energy that all great speakers thrive on. When you’re putting together your presentation, ask yourself what am I teaching my audience? How can I help them achieve success from what I’m about to share? Just using this approach will shape the tone and texture of your presentation and build your passionate (not nervous) energy!

Strategy #2: Select a topic that will be of interest to your specific audience

So that means you can’t use a “canned” presentation. You have to demonstrate your ability to connect with an audience where they are. As a result they’ll see that you are able to address their specific client challenges.

Strategy #3: Put your audience to work!

Use handouts that keep them on track with your presentation and that requires them to take notes so that they are active and learning during your presentation. Ask your audience what they got from the presentation at the end, to deepen the learning and keep them connected to you.

Strategy #4: Create a way to “stay connected”

Bring your business cards, sign up sheet for your newsletter, brochure, announcement of an upcoming event you’re hosting, etc. Give the audience a way to stay connected to you after your fabulous presentation!

Using these simple strategies will make you and your business more “client attractive”. And you’ll get an incredible rush from sharing your knowledge, expertise and passionate energy!

Break a leg and get a client!

Chris Makell helps coaches, consultants, and other solopreneurs who want to live their life's purpose transition smoothly from unfulfilled full-time employees to successful full-time entrepreneurs. To learn how to make more money doing what you love, visit www.RadianceMarketing.com to claim your free special report, "7 Surefire Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Time and Marketing Dollar."

How To Obtain Small Business Financing Help When Banks Say No

This article provides some realistic small business financing options for commercial borrowers to consider if their bank cannot help. What to do if their bank says no to a request for commercial loans and working capital is on a growing list of problems that small businesses cannot ignore in the face of commercial banking difficulties.

By Stephen Bush

Because of a deteriorating commercial lending environment, some of our earlier advice is now likely to be especially relevant for many businesses. Banks are currently saying “no” more frequently than they have in decades, and we provided advice a few years ago about what actions business owners should consider if their bank rejected a small business financing request.

A bank saying “no” can actually lead to an overall improvement in commercial financing options under many circumstances, although a business owner is not likely to hope for the business loan rejection in the first place. With requests for needed business financing and working capital, small business owners are increasingly hearing their bank say “no”. Most commercial borrowers are often not sure what to do next since such an awkward situation represents uncharted waters for them.

Banks are routinely saying “no” to small businesses which are both profitable and long-term customers. Because this has become such a widespread commercial lending problem, it is now common to hear phrases such as “business loans without banks” and “thinking outside the bank” when talking about strategies small business owners might need to analyze.

There are two financing situations that businesses should especially be prepared for banks saying “no”. One of these involves working capital loans (including commercial lines of credit) and the other commercial real estate financing. While a small number of banks are still proving to be reliable sources for some business financing options, recent nationwide commercial lending reports clearly show a drastic reduction in commercial loans for commercial real estate financing and working capital loans.

Small businesses have only rarely pursued the option of replacing their bank. There is little recourse but to pursue such a path when their bank says “no” to routine requests for business financing, and astute business owners need to quickly accept this harsh reality. Improvements to the overall financial health of a business will be achieved in a pleasantly surprising number of cases even though this search for new commercial finance alternatives is undertaken under protest by most commercial borrowers. Keep in mind that in many cities and communities, one or two banks frequently operate in a near monopoly environment. When small business owners have literally been forced to find new business finance options, they are often pleased to discover that they can not only replace existing bank financing satisfactorily but also improve their bottom line in the transition.

A prudent starting point for commercial borrowers to adequately evaluate how to get working capital and other business loans when their bank says “no” is likely to be a lengthy conversation with a small business financing expert. A critical step to eventual success in formulating a strategy for obtaining new sources of effective commercial finance funding is likely to be finding and selecting such an expert, but it should be realized that this is not likely to be a quick or easy task for business owners. Ensuring that the commercial financing expert chosen is totally independent and not affiliated in any way with the bank which said “no” is an especially crucial aspect not to be overlooked in locating a reliable expert to help.

Stephen Bush has provided candid advice to business owners for 30 years and is a commercial loan expert. AEX Commercial Financing Group offers small business financing and working capital options

Like-minded Connections ... "the Best Stuff" To Explode Your Business Results

Masterminds are powerful tools for the solo entrepreneur. So how do you create one or join one? Here are three quick strategies to help you get started!

By Chris Makell

Just by virtue of its title, the solopreneur or solo entrepreneur can be a lonely job. You’re primarily heads down, with “one focus” to create value for your customers and delivering it with just two hands or maybe with a small team. And yet, there are the times when you pause and begin to wonder:

Is there anyone else facing the same challenges?

Are they hitting the brick wall on ideas?

Have they reached a plateau?

Can they be searching for new and fresh ideas to re-ignite their business?

Have they lost some of their passion?

Yes, it can be tough being a “one person” show. But it’s also pretty cool, right? You get to call ALL the shots. You say, go “left” and you don’t have to get 3 levels of approval on the use and relevance of the word “left”! It’s exhilarating to be able to shape your own destiny. You can deliver “the promise”, in the way your clients want and deserve. And you get to fully enjoy the exchange of money for the service you deliver! Yes!

And when you’re at a place where routine has set in and you’re craving something new, you can always read more or attend a teleseminar or workshop. But nothing beats being with and around those in your same field, industry or as part of an issue-based forum, be it virtually or in person.

When you connect with these like-minded individuals, in this case solopreneurs, there is a charge, a spark of electricity that ignites new strategies and a call to action! You hear the new ideas and approaches in a fresh way and the inspiration just surges through your brain. You’re seeing a whole new way to deliver value to your clients and to re-energize your passion around your business.

Let me give you a quick example!

Tom still loved and spoke passionately about his business; however he didn’t know what else he could do to bring in more clients beyond networking and speaking. He had heard about the power of masterminding with other successful business owners to learn more successful strategies. And he thought the accountability and support would help him achieve better results, faster.

He asked his network about how he could find a group of like-minded business owners who were in a mastermind or who could direct him to one. Having found his mastermind, Tom began actively participating with members of the group who opened his eyes to additional approaches to attracting new clients, based on their success.

By engaging in a mastermind group with others in his industry, he learned about more value-based offering his clients would be interested in. He just hadn’t thought anyone else was successfully doing it! The group gave Tom the insight and the steps to take immediate action. As a result, he’s launched a new campaign that brings him more clients than he anticipated!

Connecting with like-minded individuals in a well managed and facilitated mastermind can create untold business opportunities for you, because it leverages the powerful knowledge and experience of a team.

Here are 3 strategies to help you connect with like-minded solopreneurs, today, and create greater value for your business and your clients.

Strategy #1:

Plan to attend a one or two day conference in 2010, if you haven’t already. You will establish new connections to call on and learn new strategies for your business. And by the way, it will pay for itself in new ideas and actions to attract and deliver value to your clients and increase your income.

Strategy #2:

Do a search (either online or ask others while networking) and find associations/communities of solopreneurs in your industry, specialty, etc. Attend their meetings to learn more and leverage their knowledge. Request an opportunity to speak or contribute an article, so that others learn from you and recognize your expertise.

Strategy #3:

Look for and participate in a mastermind group. This collection of like-minded individuals will help you explode your results in a powerful and highly supported way. You can check in with your current network, as Tom did!

Connect with like-minded individuals and build the mastermind that takes you and your business to more profitable levels easily.

Chris Makell helps coaches, consultants, and other solopreneurs who want to live their life's purpose transition smoothly from unfulfilled full-time employees to successful full-time entrepreneurs. To learn how to make more money doing what you love, visit www.RadianceMarketing.com to claim your free special report, "7 Surefire Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Time and Marketing Dollar."

First Law Of Networking: Scratch My Back And I'll Scratch Yours

The law of reciprocity says that after you do something for me I will feel obligated to pay you back. Say hello and I answer you back. Ask me how I feel and I respond in kind. Hold a door for me to enter and I will thank you and be more inclined to hold it for the next person. This is the most important principle of networking.

By George Torok

The law of reciprocity says that after you do something for me I will feel obligated to pay you back. Say hello and I answer you back. Ask me how I feel and I respond in kind. Hold a door for me to enter and I will thank you and be more inclined to hold it for the next person. This is the most important principle of networking.

Give me a business lead and I’ll start thinking about who I can refer to you. That’s the fundamental principle of business networking.

You can apply this law in two ways. You could wait for someone to do you a favor. After they do, you can pay them back. That makes you even. But is your goal to be even?

I suggest that in networking your goal is to be uneven. Not only uneven but to keep increasing the balance of what is owed to you. Every time that you do a favor for someone in your network you write an IOU. They owe you a favor. This is like building your bank account.

Build your bank account of IOUs by doing favors for others in your network. The more favors you hand out, the more people will feel obligated to pay you back. Not everyone will pay you back. Don’t worry about that. Instead realize that if you give out nothing till you get something you might never be out of pocket and your bank account will be zero.

Your networking bank account grows by the number of favors that others owe you. Keep depositing into this bank account because some will pay you back and some will pay back with interest.

How can you use your time wisely so you get the best return on your investment?

Imagine that you attended a networking event, walked around the room and gave everyone a dollar. You told them the dollar is a gift. You told each person that they can keep the dollar as long as they want. If fact they don’t need to return it because it was a gift. If they wish to they are welcome to give the money back to you with or without interest.

That would probably freak a lot of people out. Some would return the money. Some would keep it.

But consider the obligations and goodwill that you would build with every dollar you gave away. The main limitation on you would be your supply of dollars.

Now imagine a similar scenario but instead of giving away dollars you gave away favors - leads, referrals, introductions, advice and news. Now the limitation on investment is removed. You can give an almost unlimited number of favors. The only limitation is in using your time wisely.

Instead of giving out dollars, give more favors and watch your networking bank account and business grow.

Business networking works on the principle that if you scratch my back I’ll scratch yours. Get out there and scratch more backs.

© George Torok is the author of "Your Guide to Networking Success". Discover how to build a more profitable network in 30 days at http://www.powermarketing.ca/networking_success.html Find more free networking tips at http://www.Business-Networking-Tips.net To arrange for George Torok to speak to your conference or business team call 905-335-1997

Small Business Coaching On Why Leads May Not Be Converting

For a lot of small business owners, leads may not be a problem. They may be receiving lots of leads. It's the conversion of those leads that may be the problem. So in this article, let's explore 4 reasons your leads may not be converting and what you can do about it.

By Allison Babb

1. Lead or Prospect Mismatch
Some people believe you have to get LOADS of random leads then some may shake out to be your ideal customer or target market. That’s a laborious process and it also produces false leads - people who were never really interested in what you have in the first place.

Leads may not be converting because they truly aren’t your ideal customer and they never were. If that’s the case, evaluate who those leads are, and check that they match the profile of your target market . If they’re not an ideal prospect, don’t waste time following up. Instead focus on generating more qualified leads that truly reflect your target market who is hungry for what you offer.

2. Follow-Up Fortunes
One of the things I discuss with clients is setting up a follow-up process for their business. There’s a fortune in the follow up, and honestly, there may be people out there just waiting to whip out their credit cards if only you’d pick up the phone and follow up with them.

When we’re pondering how to sell services, it’s important to create great follow-up systems that produce sales. A clear set of steps you take to follow up with someone who expressed interest in what you have to offer but hasn’t made a buying decision yet. The thing to remember is that customers buy not when we want them to buy; they buy when they are ready to buy. And this is why it’s important to have a follow-up system where you continue to provide value and you also remind them of how you can help.

My weekly Ezine is a good example of a follow-up system. It shows up every week with valuable information in response to subscriber questions, and it’s also a reminder of how I can help further if you’re interested in going deeper on any of the topics I discuss.

3. The Sting Rejection
Sometimes when we follow up, we essentially get a “No thanks, I’m not interested.” Ouch. But is it really an ouch? To me, sales is all about genuinely finding out the customer’s need is first, and listening very well to see if I truly have a solution to those problems/challenges. If I do have a solution that can help, then I’ll share what options exist. And I do so by giving the prospect all the information they need to make a decision.

Sometimes we are not converting leads because we’re very afraid to follow up. Afraid of rejection. Afraid of bothering or pestering people. I’d invite you to embrace that the sale is not about us (as small business owners). It’s about the prospect or client. Avoid getting emotionally attached to the outcome of following up.

If you know you can help someone eliminate a challenge or frustration by what you offer, then why not follow up to let them know. Sometimes that requires that you shift your thinking from someone trying to “get a sale” to becoming a provider of solutions. And if that follow-up leads into having a sales conversation where you’re sharing specifics about your offerings, sure, they may say “no.” Their decision is simply a choice and not a rejection of you. All that said, however, you do need an effective sales conversion process… which brings me to my next point.

4. Sales Conversion Process
Prospects convert to paying clients more easily when you have a clear sales process through which you can take them. If you don’t have a clear, step-by-step method to take a prospect from interest to purchase, this may be why you’re not converting them. Sometimes we get stuck because we’re staring the list of prospects but we really don’t know what we would say if we did follow up with them. So we procrastinate and we don’t take action.

And now I'd like to offer you the FREE one-hour audio seminar for solo entrepreneurs on "How to Create a Steady Stream of Clients For Your Solo Business" at: http://www.moreclientsaudio.com Allison Babb is an author, speaker and Small Business Coach to solo entrepreneurs at: http://www.GreatSmallBusinessAdvice.com

3 Marketing Mistakes That Sink A Business During A Recession

A recession does not mean the end of your business unless you navigate those rough waters blindly. Here are three rocks that can sink your business ship unless you avoid them while navigating the dangerous waters of a tough market. You might get wet but no need to capsize.

By George Torok

A recession does not mean the end of your business unless you navigate those rough waters blindly. Here are three rocks that can sink your business ship unless you avoid them while navigating the dangerous waters of a tough market. You might get wet but no need to capsize.

Cut expenses across the board

Cut marketing. Cut staff. Cut all expenditures! This siren call is the most common and foolish mistake. It’s common because it is a knee jerk reaction that requires no thinking. It’s foolish for the same reasons. Making across the board cuts is a political response. It’s not a smart business strategy. If cutting across the board in tough times was smart then raising all expenses in good times would also be smart.

Instead, review all expenditures and categorize each line item into A, B and C categories in terms of ROI. “A” items are those expenditures where you can measure a strong return. Continue spending and maybe even increase these investments. “B” items are those that you believe are good but you haven’t yet developed an accurate measurement. Continue these activities, improve the tactics and improve the measurement. “C” items are losers. Stop these completely.

Cut your prices

You will be asked to cut your price. Don’t act like that is a surprise. And don’t pretend that this is the first time. So prepare for an onslaught of such requests. Prepare to deal with the price issue strategically not as a prisoner. Don’t cut price - without an equivalent exchange in value or a reduction in your costs. For example you might allow a discount for early payment or a larger order.

Another way to deal with price resistance is to introduce a lower value product. At the same time introduce a higher value product so the original product which is now in the middle looks more attractive. This is a variation of the good-better-best positioning. If you can’t afford a Lexus you can always buy a Toyota.

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Imagine how it looks when you stop attending trade shows, discontinue your advertising, shelve your newsletter, stop meeting with clients and avoid networking events. Imagine what your clients will think, what your competitors can say and what prospects might believe. None of it will be positive for you or your business.

When times are bad, people need to hear from you more often. Especially make a point of connecting with your best clients and advocates more often. Make your connections more personable so they can feel your confidence.

For the rest of your clients and contacts find efficient ways to stay connected. Maybe it’s a good time to launch your newsletter - or publish it more often. Explore the tools on the Internet that allow you to stay in touch with people easier and more cost effectively. It might be a good time to launch your blog, build your FaceBook page or post videos on YouTube.

A recession can be tough. No need to panic. It’s time to think and act smart with your marketing. Keep your business off the rocks while aiming for the deeper waters beyond. Don’t stop paddling until you are clear of the rocks.

© George Torok is the co-author of the bestselling Secrets of Power Marketing. It's published in at least seven countries. He helps small and medium businesses gain an unfair advantage over the competition. Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" at http://www.PowerMarketing.ca Arrange for Torok to speak at your conference by visiting http:///www.Torok.com For media interviews call 905-335-1997

Making The Most Of Your Down Business Cycle

Learn how to build an accurate income forecast for your business while creatively taking advantage of your slower months.

By Leah Grant

When I first started coaching my mentor coach warned me that August and December tended to be slow months while January, April and September were the busiest months in terms of clients seeking coaches. Armed with this information, I was able to build a realistic income forecast for my business as well as plan personal downtime.

Planning around my business cycles is one key way I have been able to stay in business for 12 years.

Unfortunately, too many people believe that the amount they make one month will translate to all months and then they’re in trouble when that’s not the case. I have seen it too many times. A business owner will have a big party and overspend after having a great month then they are short when a lean month comes along.

Most businesses have an annual cycle and it’s imperative to know what that cycle is for your business.

Determining The Cycle

If you have been in business for a year or more, go back in your records and chart the amount of business each month. Is it steady? Are some months much higher while others much lower? Use this information to define your business cycle.

If you are just starting out, do some informational interviews with other people in your industry. Ask what the busiest times of the year are and what the slowest are. Ask what affects people’s decisions in buying.

It’s important to make the distinction that the business cycle I’m speaking of in this article is not dictated by the economy but rather by the buying habits of your clients and the seasonality of your market. Slow periods created by a down economy require additional measures be taken to generate business.

Making The Most Of Your Business Cycle

Once you determine your business cycle, brainstorm ways to leverage or minimize the slow times. Here are some ideas:

* Do side work - For example, I teach classes at a virtual university. During slow client months I keep my calendar full by teaching more classes and replace the client cash flow with teaching cash flow. This minimizes the impact of client’s taking vacations and breaks that month.

I would recommend that the side work either relates to your main business, compliment your main business or feed a passion in you. The point is to stay engaged, not to start something completely new and different.

* Catch-up. Although it’s great to think we get everything done we need and would like to, the reality is we often don’t. Make a list of unfinished projects such as scanning business cards, calling old contacts, updating addresses, hiring a new CPA and plan to knock out the list during a slow month.

* Create. Design new products, set-up partnerships or create a marketing campaign that will roll out following the slow cycle.

* Plan. It seems easier to take time to think, plan and strategize when there are fewer day-to-day activities happening.

* Update systems. When fewer people are using the systems you have in place it’s easier to transition to newer, better ones. Some systems to review: credit card processing, database, newsletter provider and communications among your team.

* Schedule doctor’s appointments. I book all my annual doctor’s appointments during my slow months. Doing so keeps appointments from conflicting with my client call schedules and gives me more wriggle room around the appointment so I don’t feel rushed to get back to the office.

* Connect. Meeting friends for coffee or taking the time to have lunch with your spouse can be a luxury during a busy month, so plan some outings when you can.

* Rejuvenate. Slow months can be the perfect time for you to get away because fewer clients will miss you. I take two to three weeks off in December to spend quality time with my family in Colorado. I find that during this time I can turn off my computer completely and enjoy really quality downtime to refresh my creative juices.

To offset the weeks without work, I offer clients the opportunity to pay upfront for the following year’s sessions if they need more tax write-offs in the current year. Typically, two to three clients take advantage of this offer that helps to keep my December income balanced with other months.

No matter how you choose to use the extra time during slower months, make sure you do use it efficiently. Time is a commodity for small business owners.

(c) 2009 Leah Grant Enterprises LLC.

New Business Mentor Leah Grant publishes Startup Success, a weekly enewsletter. If you're thinking about starting a new business or are in the early phases of entrepreneurship get your FREE New Business Startup Kit including the Secrets of Successful Business Owners audio.

Networking Strategies For Busy Business Owners

The average business owners realize that they need to network, but they don't know how to get started. After learning a couple quick tips, it is easy to jump out there and get noticed!

By Cori Chaffee

Networking is perhaps the single-most important thing you can do for the success of your business. Most people understand that they need to ‘network’, but the idea confuses them. They aren’t sure exactly how to go about it. So, let’s take a look at the concept!

To get started, you will need to narrow down your target customer. You cannot effectively market to everyone and you can’t effectively network with everyone, either. Decide who your target market is, then determine where you best reach them. For instance, if you are a hair stylist with a small salon in your home, your target customer will most likely be women. (Yes, I know, you are fully qualified to cut men and children’s hair, too. But think about it… if you can get the woman of the house to come in to your shop, it is likely that she will bring her children and husband, too! ). So, you would focus on capturing the attention of women. Consider these questions: Where do women go, what do they do, what do they like? The answers will tell you where to market.

Next, after determining your target client, you need to establish your networks. The average person, given a choice, will go with the person that he/she knows and trusts. This means, you’ve got to put yourself in the position where he/she knows and trusts you! Get involved! Join the networks and civic clubs that your target client will be in. If you are a hair stylist with women as your clients, google women’s associations in your area. Contact your Chamber of Commerce. You will want to be a member, of course, but they also might have great ideas on effective networks for you to operate in.

The next step is to really be involved in these groups. It is not enough to simply be a member and be listed in their directories. This is the most common mistake that people make. They feel it is sufficient to simply be listed in directories. Um, no. There is no way that people can get to know you by reading your name on a list! The goal here is to become known and trusted, remember? The ONLY way to do this, is to become personally involved. You have to put yourself in front of people.

Consider everyone that comes into contact with you as a potential client or an acquaintance of a potential client. Why? Because you never know when someone will refer you to someone else who needs your services. Position yourself so that YOU are the person who jumps into their mind when someone else asks them “Do you know anyone who _____?” This is why you should treat everyone as a potential client.

Another thing you can do is to set up networks with people in complimentary businesses. For instance, if you are hair stylist, set up networks with people like florists. Agree to refer people back and forth. Why a florist, you ask? Because florists and hair stylists are both necessary for weddings. You have to always think outside of the box, and consider every angle of your marketing strategy. I realize that many people don’t like to speak in public. Not many people truly enjoy it, but the fact is, it is a necessary part of life, particularly when you own a business. Contact your local associations (the ones that you have already targeted), in addition to libraries and industry associations and get scheduled to speak at their meetings. You need for people to see you, learn about your business and see firsthand what type of person you are.

Write articles, just as I am doing now. Don’t focus on writing specifically about your industry and the services that you provide, but write helpful articles about issues that your potential clients face. Showcase your expertise by offering helpful solutions for these issues. If you are a hairstylist, write articles about how to avoid split-ends and the most becoming hair styles for different face shapes. Submit your articles to online publications, along with not only your name but your company’s website. The goal is to direct traffic to you and your services.

If your industry has trade shows, participate. Also participate in trade shows for complementary fields. For instance, hair stylists would want to participate in bridal expos. Don’t sit in your booth and play with your iPhone (although that is quite entertaining). Instead, speak to as many people as you can. Develop short relationships with people so that they remember who you are when they look at your card in the future.

As you can see, the only way to successfully network is to do it personally, do it often and never stop doing it. You are a business owner until you decide to close your business. Therefore, you will always be a marketer. Think like one! The importance of networking is proven in the business world. Dive in and make yourself known. It is the only way you will truly become successful.

Cori Chaffee is a female entrepreneur who owns a full-service virtual assistant company. The Perfect Admin, LLC offers a full-range of administrative services, from writing articles, editing and proof-reading to more complex marketing plans. Cori holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration. To learn more, visit her at http://theperfectadmin.com

Explanation Of LLC: What Is An LLC? Why Create One? And How To Do Setup

Seattle CPA Stephen L. Nelson answers the question, "what is an llc"?

By Stephen Nelson

The limited liability company option still triggers questions and confusion among business owners, entrepreneurs and investors, and that’s too bad. One can rather economically provide an explanation of the LLC by answering three questions: what is an LLC, why should one consider the LLC option, and how does someone create an LLC or limited liability company:
What is an LLC?

An LLC is a legal fiction created when someone (perhaps you) files some paperwork with the appropriate state agency asking for permission to create a new limited liability company. If the state grants you permission-which it will if you do the paperwork correctly—you or you and your partners now own an entity that can do a lot of things that, normally, only humans can do.

This sounds confusing, but consider the fact that your dog can’t sign contracts. Nor can your dog own property. Nor can your dog earn income or borrow money.

In a similar fashion, a comfortable leather chair that sits in your living room also can’t do these sorts of things—sign contracts, own property, earn income, borrow money and so forth. As a general rule, only people can do these sorts of things.

The LLC however is an exception to this general rule. An LLC, once it exists, can sign contracts. The LLC can own property. The LLC can also earn income and borrow money—and pretty much do all of the business-y things that a regular human being can do.

Why Setup an LLC?

People setup LLCs, or limited liability companies, for two reasons: liability protection and tax planning.

The liability protection angle is perhaps the easiest to understand: If you operate some business or hold some investment, you can be liable legally for bad things that happen in the business or in the investment by virtue of your ownership. If the business borrows money and then can’t repay the money, for example, you by simple virtue of your ownership may be forced to pay off the borrowed money.

If you own a business or investment through an LLC, however, you aren’t liable for the debts or obligations of the LLC merely because you’re an owner or co-owner. In other words—and this is the part of all this that’s fiction—state laws will say, “Oh, no, it’s not Joe that owes the money. It’s Joe’s LLC… “

Note: A corporation legally protects business owners and investors the same way that a limited liability company. The people who own the shares in the corporation are not simply by virtue of owning those shares legally obligated for the debts of the corporation. As with an LLC, the law considers the corporation to be legally separate person.

Limited liability companies also produce some unique tax planning benefits—specifically the ability to have an investment or business taxed in whatever saves the most tax. For instance, an LLC can be disregarded as a separate taxpayer if that is clear (which means its income and deductions get reported on its owner’s tax return). And an LLC can be treated as a regular corporation or as an S corporation for tax purposes.

How Does Someone Create an LLC?

Procedurally, you create an LLC by filing articles of organization, also sometimes know as articles of formation, with the secretary of state in the state where you’ll operate your LLC. For instance, to create an LLC in California, you file articles of organization with the California secretary of state.

The articles typically name the LLC, identify what the LLC will do, and name the registered agent (a real human being) whom the state can contact if it has questions.

Tip: Many though not all states’ secretary of state websites supply downloadable forms you can utilize to present the articles of llc formation information.

In addition to the articles, people usually create an operating agreement. Akin to a partnership’s partners agreement or a corporation’s bylaws, the LLC operating agreement provides the rulebook for the limited liability company’s activities and specifies how the owners of the LLC operate the LLC.

Finally, in cases where the LLC will employ people or will have multiple owners, the LLC needs a taxpayer identification number from the Internal Revenue Service.

Experienced entrepreneurs and investors as well as small business people operating on a tight budget can often setup an LLC on their own. However, commonly business people and entrepreneurs also work with a paralegal service (if all they do is document preparation) or with a local attorney or accountant (if they need legal or tax advice).

Seattle-area tax accountant Steve Nelson occasionally teaches the LLC versus S corporation graduate tax class at Golden Gate University. He's also the author of the LLCs Explained FAQ article, Explanation of an LLC and the FAQ article, LLC vs LLP.

Small Business Tax Returns - 3 Critical Tax Mistakes You Don't Want To Make

Every year the IRS delays the processing of millions of income tax returns for the same reasons. Here's the scoop on three of the most common tax preparation blunders and how to avoid them.

By Wayne M Davies

Every year the IRS delays the processing of millions of income tax returns for the same reasons. Here’s the scoop on three of the most common tax preparation blunders and how to avoid them.

Mistake #1: Forgetting to sign the return. If you omit your signature, the IRS will not process the return. Instead, they’ll send it back. And if you are married filing jointly, both spouses must sign, and if one spouse signs but the other doesn’t, the IRS will treat such a return as invalid and return it. The solution: e-file your return and the signature issue disappears.

Mistake #2: Math errors. Simple calculation errors are also quite common. With the proliferation of tax prep computer software programs, you would think this problem would have gone away by now. But plenty of folks still do their return the old-fashion way (i.e. via pencil and paper), so if your one of those types, what can I say? I respect you, but must insist you consider spending a few dollars this year on to automate the process. Not only will you eliminate the likelihood of a math error, but you’ll save time and lots of it. Instead of spending 5, 10, 15 hours or more on your return, using a software program will cut that down to 2 or 3 hours.

Mistake #3: Missing forms. Perhaps this blunder is the most understandable of the three. After all, who isn’t overwhelmed by the mind-boggling number of forms you have to prepare for the typical small business income tax return?

The problem here has to do with the omission of the forms that support the main income tax form for your particular type of enterprise. What do I mean by “the main forms”? Sole proprietors file Schedule C; regular corporations use Form 1120 and S corporations use Form 1120S; partnerships prepare Form 1065. Those forms are not the issue. It’s all the other forms that feed numbers into those main forms that folks tend to forget. Let’s call these forms the “supporting forms.”

Here’s a quick review of the most common supporting forms:

Form 4562 is used to report depreciation expense, amortization expense and the Section 179 expense deduction. So if you purchase fixed assets such as computer equipment or office furniture, you must show the details of these purchases on Form 4562. This form is used by business entities of all types.

For sole proprietors, two other common supporting forms are Schedule SE and Form 8829. Schedule SE is use to calculate the hated self-employment tax and Form 8829 is for the home office deduction.

The point here is this: if you report an amount for depreciation expense or the Section 179 deduction for newly purchased equipment on Schedule C Line 13, then you better include Form 4562 with your return. If you take the home office deduction on line 30, be sure to include Form 8829. And if you have a profit on Schedule C Line 31 of at least $400, then you must also prepare Schedule SE. Using a software program will eliminate the possibility of forgetting these supporting forms and schedules.

Looking for more small business tax tips? For a free copy of the 25-page Special Report "How To Instantly Double Your Deductions", visit http://www.yousaveontaxes.com . Wayne M. Davies is author of 3 ebooks on tax reduction strategies for small business owners and the self-employed.

The Easiest Approach For Getting Referrals For Your Small Business

Now here's a secret about customers or clients who refer that can be worth a great deal of money to you. Understand that the person who refers once can and will refer many more people, many more times if motivated to do so. Once a customer or client has referred someone to your business then that source of referral should be worked like the goldmine that it is.

By Dan Kennedy

Many business owners and executives, professionals and even sales people have all sorts of mental hang-ups about asking for referrals. However, most of those hang-ups are invalid and I find that those who ask get!
...simply ask for them.

Now here’s a secret about customers or clients who refer that can be worth a great deal of money to you. Understand that the person who refers once can and will refer many more people, many more times if motivated to do so. Once a customer or client has referred someone to your business then that source of referral should be worked like the goldmine that it is.

You should know that massive research by major to consumer direct sales companies and organizations indicates that the average person has an immediate circle of influence of fifty-two. Fifty-two other people.

The typical executive, for example, knows about fifty other people at a similar executive level in his own or closely related industries. This number tells you that each customer or client who comes through your business could bring you as many as fifty other customers or clients.

You should also know that research by the American Management Association indicates that the average satisfied customer only tells three other people about the satisfactory experience. Moving that person from telling three to telling fifty does require some definite action on your part. That action needs to focus on the giving of recognition and appreciation.

When a satisfied customer sends someone to you the sender should immediately receive some recognition and appreciation. Possibly a quick thank you note or telephone call at bare minimum. That should happen right away. Subsequently some type of thank you gift is usually appropriate and effective.

We send steaks, books, clocks, calculators, small electronic items, knife sets, all sorts of things. I recommend gifts that you do not ordinarily sell and a different gift each time the person refers. You will really be amazed at the positive results from this kind of action.

You’d also be surprised, incidentally, at the negative results of not doing this. The client who refers once and fails to get recognition and appreciation will probably never say anything to you, but to himself and often to a friend or associate he does say, “Can you believe it? I sent that guy a customer and never got as much as a thank you.” And then he never refers again.

Again it’s interesting to note that a basic success principle often discussed in personal development context is also a marketing strategy. It’s called the, “Attitude of Gratitude.”

Finally, if you want to even more directly stimulate referrals from your customers or clients you might want to consider the second party gift certificate idea. Here’s how this works:

You’re a satisfied regular customer of a clothing store. The owner of the store says to you, “John as you know, most of our customers come as referrals from other customers and we appreciate that and try to encourage it. This month we’re doing something interesting that you might want to help us with and be able to do a favor for your friends too.”

The store owner then gives you a ten dollar gift certificate negotiable only by a second party that you, the customer, addresses to and sign it over to. This idea works extremely well for just about any kind of retail business, service business, home products business, restaurants, stores, beauty parlors, carpet cleaning companies and so on.

If you’ll use this idea, you’ll again want to follow it up with recognition and appreciation to the customer who does pass along a coupon that is ultimately redeemed by a new customer.

Author Info: Dan Kennedy is internationally recognized as the 'Millionaire Maker,' helping people in just about every category of business turn their ideas into fortunes. Dan's "No B.S." approach is refreshing amidst a world of small business marketing hype and enriches those who act on his advice.

Seven Reasons Your Online Strategy is Failing

Seven reasons why small businesses fail to get the results they want from their online marketing.

By Mark Nagurski

Many small businesses fail to get the most from their online presence. The solutions are easy enough to adopt, but first we need to look at the reasons.

Oh, and before we get started, this article is for every business owner - not just those that sell online. It’s for professional service firms, retailers, travel and tourism businesses, non-profits and everyone else.

Reason One: Tick Box Marketing - Also known as the ‘build it and they will come’ strategy, many businesses feel that having a website is enough. It isn’t. You need to devote time, energy and resources into promoting your website both online and off.

Reason Two: A Website for You - Your website isn’t for you, it’s for your prospective customers. Your customers want simple information that helps them make more informed decisions. They want to be able to find your contact details easily. They want to be able to navigate your site intuitively. If you’re not sure that your website is up to scratch then you need to ask.
Of course, your site should be attractive but fancy graphics do little to drive business. Ask yourself, ‘what will my customers want to know before making a buying decision’?

Reason Three: No Content - A well developed website gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your expertise and attract visitors in search of solutions. Good websites deliver informative or entertaining content that engages visitors. What content could you add that will show that you know your onions? Think written content, audio and even video. And make sure you keep the content fresh. When was the last time you updated your website?

Reason Four: Bringing Offline Ideas Online - Advertising doesn’t work the same way online as it does offline. People don’t read text the same online as they do in a newspaper or magazine. People don’t find information in the same way online. Do your homework, start by identifying businesses in your industry that are successful online - copy them.

Reason Five: You’re Not Active - Even if you pay no attention to the Internet that doesn’t mean that your prospective customers don’t. Take travel for example. Whether you like it or not, if you’re in the travel industry people are rating and reviewing your offering right now. What forums, websites or social media are people using to discuss you or your industry? What tools are they using to find businesses like yours? You need to know what’s going on online, and for that you need to get active.

Reason Six: You Don’t Know the Basics - If you were born before 1980 you’ll be excused for not knowing how Google ranks websites, what Adwords is or why social networking is important. But if you don’t, now’s the time to learn. Attend a course. Hire a consultant for an hour to explain the basics. Spend time in online business forums.

Reason Seven: You’re Not Doing Anything - If you don’t have an online presence, now is the time to get started. More people are using the Internet to find services and research businesses but getting started is less costly than ever before. If online searchers can’t find you - even if they only account for ten percent of your likely customers - then you won’t get that business.

Mark Nagurski is a small business marketer and blogger. His company, Really Practical Marketing advises small businesses and helps them put written content to use in their businesses. If you found this article useful you can access daily marketing tips at >> www.reallypractical.com

Branding, Publicity & Marketing Success Secrets

Discover the secrets to career and business success using publicity outreach for branding and marketing. Find out how to showcase your credentials, experience, wisdom and expertise using publicity success principles and strategy.

By Annie Jennings

Is there a secret to success? Is there more than one? Yes! Let’s find out what successful people, consultants and business pros believe and do that helps them achieve their optimal potential. What is it that they have in common, whether it’s in their beliefs or in their actions that makes them successful?

First of all they use resources available to them including publicity, self-promotion, branding and marketing to create their outstanding advantage in the marketplace. The rest comes naturally. The major opportunities go to the ones who are visible, making a difference, seen and heard by their target market.

Successful people know that they have to take responsibility and follow it up by taking action. You set you own limits. You are defined by the intensity of your commitment and the depths of your knowledge. In other words, commitment without knowledge can equal frustration and limit your potential. The idea is to add the right knowledge to your ambition so you can climb the ladder for yourself.

Those who make it big believe certain things and do certain things to back up their beliefs. They are ready to invest in themselves. They believe that they are they best investment. Successful people create a business model that meets the demands of their target market. Successful people are ready for action, they are committed and they are willing to go for it with gusto.

Showcase your knowledge. Showcase your talent using media outreach. Your clients will love seeing you out there in the media sharing what you know and commenting on the issues. They enjoy hiring a tried and true professional who understands how to deliver the specific outcome. By doing publicity, marketing and promotion, you let your clients get an idea of your knowledge, wisdom and experience. Your client will want to hire you. Clients want certainty. They want to hire the best. In the end, your clients want to buy outcomes and are happy to pay for your services if you are able to define the return on investment and clearly state how your services can help your clients.

Content is critical when showcasing yourself and your knowledge. The media is your opportunity to shine. Do an outstanding job, pack your commentary with valuable content and share your wisdom and experience in all of your marketing materials including your email newsletters. Be sure your website helps you educate your visitors and your clients.

Success is in your own hands. Taking responsibility for both the successes and failures empowers you to make the changes necessary to turn the situation around or to expand on your success. If you feel powerless in both the good and the bad, you will get stuck in your thinking and in your progress.

Have a terrific attitude. Commit to proven publicity, branding and marketing strategies. Do not fight success the whole way. Be optimistic. Success will come easily to you and it will seem as if everything you do has a terrific outcome. Have confidence in yourself. Go with your gut, your intuition and your instincts when making choices. Be high energy. Be ready for success & take action. P.S. Don’t stop until you get enough success!

Access tremendous publicity resources for both your career and your business at Annie Jennings PR. Free publicity, branding and business marketing special reports are available as well as free MP3 audio recordings to empower your corporate communications strategy. Contact Annie Jennings PR at 908-281-6201

10 Steps to Effective Copywriting

Don't waste your ad dollars with an over-the-top sales pitch. Well-written copy follows these simple guidelines.

By Susan Gunelius

Whether you're a small-business owner, a medium-size business owner, an eBay seller, or simply trying to break into the copywriting industry, understanding the fundamentals of writing sales-oriented copy and put you on a path to success. At its core, copywriting is another device in a business' marketing toolbox. Well-written copy can make or break an ad or marketing piece. With that in mind, copywriting can equate to either well-spent advertising investments or a waste of advertising dollars.

Many people misinterpret the uniqueness of effective copywriting. I can't count the number of times I've heard freelance writers say they want to shift from article writing to copywriting as if it's simply an extension of their existing abilities. Copywriting does come naturally to some people, but for most, it's a foreign landscape they do not know how to navigate. Copywriting is about more than writing the hard sell sales letter that many short copywriting courses offer. In fact, I cringe when I see those over-the-top sales letters, which do little more than provide an ugly representation of copywriting, sales and marketing.

Well-crafted copywriting doesn't need to beat a person over the head. It doesn't have to drown in bold typeface and capitalization. The message should stand on its own without an overabundance of heavy-handed sales language and design embellishments. I associate many sales letters that are guilty of this technique with a writer who doesn't truly understand the basic purpose of copywriting. However, successful copywriting can be achieved in 10 easy steps.

1. Exploit your product's benefits.
The first step of the copywriting outline is the foundation for your advertising campaigns. A benefit is the value of your product to a customer. In other words, a benefit is what the product can do for a customer or how the product can help a customer. You need to put into words the reasons your product is the best available and better than your competitors' products based on the added value it provides to your customers. The key to success is for you to fully understand all the benefits of your product. Only then can you ensure that the audience knows them and can relate to them.

2. Exploit your competition's weaknesses.
To write compelling copy, it is essential that you know what differentiates your product from the competition. Once you know your competitors' weaknesses, you must make sure your audience knows them and understands why buying your competitors' products would be a terrible mistake. Get started by thoroughly researching your competition and understanding what they offer in terms of products and services. Next, list the elements of their offerings that are inferior to your own. Feel free to tear the competition apart but be realistic in your comparisons. You want to be able to support your claims if you are challenged.

3. Know your audience.
Every person in the world is not going to see every ad in the world. Each ad has a specific audience that will see it, and it's the marketer's job to find the best placement to ensure the target audience will see it. For example, an ad for skateboards placed in a local senior citizen housing association newsletter is not likely to generate a lot of sales. In fact, it would be a waste of advertising dollars. The target audience for skateboards is teenagers or young adults. The vast majority of senior citizens do not use skateboards, and it is not a product category in which they typically purchase gifts. Before you buy ad space, make sure you're spending your money in the right place to get the biggest bang for your buck in terms of exposure and building awareness of your product or service.

First, take the time to research your customers thoroughly. In most businesses, 20 percent of customers are responsible for 80 percent of sales (this is called the 80/20 rule in case you're curious about the official marketing terminology for this phenomenon). That 20 percent represents your best customer, and your job is to determine who that 20 percent is. Evaluate your customers and put together a demographic profile of your most valuable customer, so you can advertise in the best places to find similar people who are likely prospects. If you're a small business owner, you probably don't have a budget set aside to conduct a thorough research study and analysis of your customer base, so you'll have to improvise by using your own communication skills and visual investigation. Remember, you're trying to develop a basic profile of your target customer, not a CIA profile of each individual who buys your product. Do your best with the information you have.

There are many attributes you can use to develop a demographic profile of your customers. Following is a list of examples of traits to help you start your own demographic profiling initiative:

• Gender
• Age
• Ethnicity
• Family Status
• Income
• Occupation
• Interests

4. Communicate W.I.I.F.M. (What's In It For Me?)
There are a variety of reasons to create an advertisement or marketing piece. Before you write copy for your promotional piece, you need to understand your goals for that piece. What do you want to get in return? The copy you use in each ad or marketing piece will vary based on your goals for that promotion. While this book does not focus on the development of marketing plans and strategies, I will offer some examples of different objectives for ads or marketing pieces that, in turn, will affect the copy you use:

• Communicate a special offer
• Share information and raise awareness
• Generate leads

Your customers need to understand how your product or service is going to help them by making their lives easier, making them feel better, helping them save money, helping them save time, etc. In this step of the copywriting outline, you'll build on the work you've done so far by taking your product's features, benefits, and differentiators and specifically describing how they directly affect your target audience members' lives in positive ways. Remember the first tenet of copywriting--your product or service is far less important than its ability to fulfill your customers' needs.

Answer your target audience's question "What's in it for me?" Remember, you're paying for your ad space and possibly graphic design too. Don't waste your money by placing an ad with ineffective copy that does not clearly tell your customers what they'll get by buying your product or service. Large companies with big advertising and marketing budgets can test snappy, cliché headlines and copy in an attempt to find the best way to catch their target audience's attention, but small and medium-size business owners typically have limited budgets. For smaller businesses that only have one chance to communicate their message, copy must be written so the message, including benefits and differentiators, is heard and understood by the target audience. There is no room in a small business owner's advertising budget to risk not getting that specific message across to the right people every time.

5. Focus on "you," not "we."
It is essential that you are aware of how you're addressing your customers in your copy. To do this, you need to understand pronoun usage. Think back to your school days. Remember your English teacher explaining first person, second person, and third person? As a refresher, first person (I, me, my, mine, we, us, our, ours) is the person speaking and second person (you, your, yours) is the person to whom one is speaking. It's essential that you write copy that speaks to your target audience and not at them--and not about you. Therefore, the majority of your copy in any ad or marketing piece should be written in the second person. For example, do you prefer copy that says, "Through our first-rate sales department, we can deliver cars within 24 hours" or "You can drive your new car tomorrow"? While the first copy example focuses on the business, the second example focuses on customers and speaks directly to them. It's more personal, and thus, more effective.

Remember, writing in the second person helps your audience quickly connect the points in your copy to their own lives and allows them to personalize the advertisement or marketing piece. This is how the ad is connected to an individual customer's own life. By writing your copy so it focuses on the customer rather than yourself, the customer can personalize the ad and product you're selling and act accordingly.

6. Understand your medium.
As you write your copy, be aware that each different medium where an ad is placed requires a different tone or style. Depending on where you're placing your ad, the copy you use changes based on the audience who will see the ad. Are you placing your ad in a local newspaper or on a billboard? Are you placing your ad in a woman's magazine or in a news magazine? Different media require different copy to most effectively persuade a particular audience to act. Furthermore, different types of marketing pieces require different types of copy. Remember, there are many ways to use copy to promote your business other than traditional advertisements. Use every possible and appropriate opportunity to communicate your marketing messages to your customers.

7. Avoid T.M.I. (Too Much Information)
Never risk losing the attention of your audience by providing too much detail in your copy. Effective copywriting tells your audience what they need to know to act and make a purchase or how to contact you for more information. Extraneous details clutter the minds of your audience, which increases the possibility of them forgetting the most important aspects of your advertisement or marketing program. Unless you're advertising a prescription drug, highly technical equipment, or an exceedingly regulated or complicated product, the best rule to follow is K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid). You're spending a substantial amount of your advertising budget on placing each ad. With each ad, you only receive a small amount of space to get your message across to your audience. Wisely use that pricey real estate to ensure you get the highest return on your investment.

8. Include a call to action.
The goal of any ad or marketing piece is to elicit some kind of response from the audience who sees it. A call to action is the element of copy that tells an audience how you want them to respond to your advertisement or marketing piece. Typically, the call to action creates a sense of urgency around a message and provides instructions on what to do next. For example, a call to action might tell the audience to call the advertiser or visit their store or website.

Including a call to action is by far the most important aspect of effective copywriting. It is essential that you make it easy for your audience to act on your ad or marketing message. You already persuaded them to want your product by following Step 1 through Step 7 of the copywriting outline and by writing influential copy. Now you must make sure your audience can respond easily to your ad and buy your product by compelling them to act.

To start, make sure the sentence structure of your copywriting is in an active rather than passive voice. The reason for this is simple. Copy that you write in the active voice is by definition action-oriented, while copy that you write in the passive voice talks about the action in a remote manner. To further explain, when you write a sentence in the active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action of the verb in the sentence. On the other hand, if you write a sentence in the passive voice, the subject of the sentence receives the action from the verb of the sentence.

The second step in creating an effective call to action in your copy is developing a sense of urgency. Your goal in advertising is to create awareness of your product or service and, ultimately, boost sales. When do you want to do that? Do you want your customers to act tomorrow, next month, or next year? If you're spending money on advertising now, you most likely want your customers to act now. If that's the case, your copy needs to tell them to get off the couch and get into your store now. There are many words and phrases you can add to your copy to create a sense of urgency.

9. C.Y.A. (Cover Your Ass)
While large companies have legal departments that review copy to ensure it does not expose the company to potential problems, smaller companies don't usually have the budget to seek the opinion of an attorney for each ad they run or marketing piece they print. However, that doesn't mean small business owners have any less responsibility for producing ads and marketing pieces that are honest and not considered deceptive. Most small business owners are sole proprietors meaning if they lose a lawsuit, not only can their business assets be used to satisfy a plaintiff's claim, but their personal assets can be targeted as well. When you're writing copy, consider if claims that you can't prove in your copy (or can't provide appropriate disclaimers for) are worth it once you weigh the risk vs. the potential reward.

Aside from opening yourself up to possible litigation, exaggerating or falsifying claims about your product or your competition is unethical and a bad business practice. If you're caught in a lie (no matter how small), word will spread quickly, and your reputation could be irreparably damaged. Again, weigh the risk vs. the potential reward before you advertise using claims you can't prove.

Be careful of using words superlatives such as the examples in the following list:

• Free
• Guaranteed
• Best, lowest, fastest, etc.
• Or your money back
• Risk-free
• No risk
• No purchase necessary
• No cost
• No obligation
• No investment
• 100 percent
• Promise
• No questions asked

10. Proofread.
It is critical that you accurately proofread your copy. One of the quickest ways to lose credibility in advertising is to allow grammatical or spelling errors to appear in your advertisement or marketing pieces. Customers translate carelessness in ads into carelessness in products and service. They ask themselves, "If this company doesn't care enough to produce an ad without errors, how likely are they to care about taking care of me?" Professional businesses produce professional quality ads and ad copy, and that means their copy has been proofread again and again and is error free.

It Really Is That Simple
Copywriting is truly easy. If you do your research and prep work, your copy will shine. Don't be afraid to take calculated risks and learn from your mistakes, but don't waste your limited advertising budget. By doing the legwork first and thoroughly completing your copywriting outline, you'll have a working document you can use as a tool to produce all your copywriting projects now and in the future. Spend some time up-front to develop a first rate copywriting outline, and you'll reap the rewards later with a boost in sales and profits and a higher return in your advertising investments. Now kick some ass.