| Planning | 
| | | Avoid overlooking your tax obligations before it's too late with this guide that gets down to the nitty-gritty aspects of tax planning. The IRS's Definition of Self-EmploymentAccording to the IRS, you're self-employed if you carry on a trade or business as a sole proprietor, an independent contractor, a member of a partnership or if you're otherwise in business for yourself. You can ... | | | Despite Concerns Over the Economy Small Businesses Expect to Increase Technology Spending in 2008 Small businesses will increase technology spending in 2008 with a focus on PCs and communications services according to the results of a customer survey conducted by RingCentral, Inc., whose virtual phone system allows small businesses to unify ... | | | This strategy is a good start, but you need to be realistic about its long-term effectiveness. Everybody wants business planning laid out in a simple step-by-step way. The idea is attractive: Start here, go there next, then there and, hooray, you're done.Unfortunately it doesn't work that way, at least not with business planning. Whichever ... | | | Splitting Heirs Splitting HeirsBy Stephanie CliffordIn which two brothers take over the third-generation family wine-selling business. They quarrel, as brothers do. And now it isn't a family business anymore.This family-business story starts, as many American ... | | | Sometimes even the best business ideas need some adjustments--or a complete overhaul. You've got a great idea. You've researched the market and perfected the products and services. So why aren't the customers buying?The SBA reports that more than 50 percent of small businesses fail within their first five years. This failure rate is ... | | | Partnering with other entrepreneurial companies can help all of you bulk up and throw your collective weight around. Greg James is always on the lookout for the next big hit for his Renton, Washington, video publishing business, Topics Entertainment. Instant Immersion, the company's language-learning software, now has 80 percent market share and is sold at major ... | | | What to do--and not do--if your company comes under the glare of a not-so-positive spotlight. When writing stories, most reporters strive to present an educated, balanced view that neither overly disparages nor glorifies the subjects. It's not in the reporter's or the media outlet's best interests to present a false or biased ... | | | Getting key players involved and brainstorming could be what your company needs to get to the next level. Regardless of whether you develop a full-blown "business plan," you certainly want to plan your business. Planning isn't just about creating a formalized document; it's about figuring out how you'll achieve your goals and tracking progress. A ... | | | IP Audio: A New Way to Teleconference The World Wide Web, with its thousands of sites and millions of pages, is made possible thanks to the concept of Universal Resource Locators (URLs), which are themselves supported by the technical conventions of TCP/IP. The "IP" part of that acronym ... | | | Make Your Web Presence Pay Off Make Your Web Presence Pay Off By Jim DionConsultant and author Jim Dion follows-up his recent Web seminar " -->Turning Offline Buyers Into Online Customers-->" with additional tips for your small business.Understanding some of the sticking ... | | | Need help implementing your ideas? This approach may provide you with the structure you need. Marketing guru Seth Godin recently addressed alignment in a piece about iTunes falling over its own words and intentions. After reading it, I did a quick Google search on "strategic alignment," which brought up a lot of results and a lot of ... | | | Start small and create a timeline for taking your product to national distribution. So you've invented the next great gadget, and you're sure it'll be a hit. In fact, you've got cartons of inventory stored in every room of your house that you're itching to sell, sell, sell. Your test market said they love it, but how can you reach ... | | | Making Cell Phone Usage Pay Off Making Cell Phone Usage Pay OffBy Renee OricchioRelying on employees to have their own mobile devices and plans, and letting them expense their business usage, can be expensive. To avoid the high costs, businesses should manage their wireless plans ... | | | Custom-Made, for Everybody Mass customization is the one of the oldest "new" ideas in business – it's the practice of creating products and services that are geared specifically for individual customers. In fact, it's really the way things used to be. Before the industrial ... | | | You love food, but it takes more than that to start a restaurant. Here’s what you need to write your own recipe for success. The Main IngredientsFor more information, see Entrepreneur magazine’s step-by-step startup guide #1400, Restaurant and 5 Other Food Businesses, available atwww.smallbizbooks.com or by calling toll-free at (800) 421-2300.From poultry to pirogi, steak ... | | | Keeping your networks secure and your data safe is critical to the success of your business. Crafting a Technology Security PlanMost small-business owners understand that complete, end-to-end network security is something they should have--but it’s something they probably don’t. And how can they? With security threats coming from a ... | | | How to get your product a starring role in a TV show or movie Landing Media Placement for Your Product So you’re in the movie theatre or watching a sitcom on TV, and you’re thinking, “How’d this two-bit joke get into the script? They must have known somebody. Why couldn’t the audience be cheering for me?”No, ... | | | Buying to Get Big Buying to Get BigIn recent years, the nation's soaring economy has put both the number and value of business acquisitions on the rise. In 2005, there were a total of 10,511 merger and acquisition (M&A) deals in the U.S. market alone, compared to ... | | | InfoWorld's SOA Executive Forum Series Focuses on the Next Phase of Service-Oriented Architecture IDG's InfoWorld, the leading integrated media brand for IT solutions management, today announced an expanded agenda for its seventh SOA-focused event, taking place on November 7 and 8 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City. Since SOA Executive ... | | | NavQuest is changing the way boaters plan their trips by making it as simple as point and click. Who: Ken Litvack, Harry Sangha and Gaspare MarturanoWhat: NavQuest, online marine mapping and trip planning for boatersWhere: Boca Raton, FloridaBoaters have long been jealous of online mapping tools that make it simple for drivers to get from point ... | | | Use the loss-leader approach carefully Use the loss-leader approach carefully
Q: I have heard about loss leaders, but don't know
what they are. Can you enlighten me?
-- Victor D., Costa Mesa, Calif.
A: The loss leader is a tried-and-true pricing
strategy ... | | | Virtual meetings are keeping quieter employees plugged in. When you think of virtual meetings, you probably imagine computer screens or conference phones connecting offices across the country or around the world. Indeed, companies often see them solely as an alternative to flying everyone to a central ... | | | Sizing Up Your Technology Needs Sizing Up Your Technology NeedsBy Mark HenricksSmall businesses can benefit greatly from planning for future IT needs.Mike Manners doesn't feel the need to think much about the information technology needs of his residential real estate development ... | | | Doing Business in Real Time Doing Business in Real TimeBy Eric J. AdamsHere are three ways of bringing vital, custom, and visually compelling business information to you and your colleagues -- not tomorrow, not next week, but the moment you need it.Wind power is a booming ... | | | Protect your business from a common cause of failure by following these cash management tips. Cash flow problems can kill businesses that might otherwise survive. According to a U.S. Bank study, 82 percent of business failures are due to poor cash management. To prevent this from happening to your business, here are my 10 cash flow rules to ... |
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