07/29/2010
Those of you looking for new B2B lead generation avenues will want to read this case study from Business.com’s B2B Online Marketing blog:
Priceless Imprinters Finds New Revenue in Online Q&A
It’s the best kind of success story. Priceless Imprinters, a promotional products supplier in New Jersey, started responding to questions from small businesses on Business.com Answers a few months ago, and they’re already seeing tangible results: $5,000 in revenue from new clients who found them through their posted answers.
Is online Q&A a good source for new B2B leads? Priceless Imprinters certainly thinks so. Read the case study for details. You might also like this article: How to get B2B leads through online Q&A.
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Posted by Daniel Kehrer
07/29/2010
If you hope to sell your business someday, the time to think about increasing its value is now. Too many business owners are shocked to find out the business they’ve been running isn’t worth nearly as much as they thought, says John Martinka, VP of Partner On-Call Network, a Kirkland, WA-based firm that helps small businesses prepare themselves for sale.
Here are 10 ways to make your business more valuable to potential buyers: Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Daniel Kehrer
07/22/2010
If you’re a small employer with a health insurance plan and pay at least half of employee premiums, you might qualify for a new health care tax credit worth thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars for 2010. Or if you don’t yet have a plan, here’s incentive to get in the game.
Example: An auto repair shop with 10 employees whose earnings average $25,000 can get what amounts to a 35% “rebate” on its health insurance premiums. Based on typical costs, that would be a credit of $24,500 this year, according to IRS estimates. Not bad. And that’s a credit – which directly lowers your tax dollar-for-dollar – not merely a deduction. It’s the closest thing to free money that Uncle Sam offers (well, unless you’re General Motors).
Here’s what you need to know… Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Daniel Kehrer
07/15/2010
It took Lisa Zawacki 58 seconds to earn her Atlanta-based small business a complete ecommerce site makeover and other services worth $20,000. That’s the running time of the video she produced in an ecommerce makeover contest that asked entrepreneurs to describe why they needed help selling online.
Zawacki is founder of Gorilla Sacks, a company that makes a line of tote bags, slings, handbags, laundry bags and more from the recycled vinyl of defunct billboards. She says her old ecommerce platform calculated shipping charges incorrectly, costing her money. Paypal integration never worked, and she couldn’t make changes to the site herself. In short, it was a mess. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Daniel Kehrer
07/13/2010
Smartphone applications that can help you boost sales, manage customer relationships and basicaly run your entire business are getting better and more plentiful by the day. This is the second in Business.com’s series of posts that will profile smartphone business apps that can help you: Complete credit card transactions; Manage customer information; Access documents; Complete and send business forms; Track your time; Capture and manage voice recording; Manage and track assets, inventory and employees; Track sales and assign tasks; Manage schedules and projects; Monitor patient care and services.
This post profiles four mobile apps for managing customer information and relationships. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Daniel Kehrer
07/08/2010
Smartphone applications that can help you boost sales, manage customer relationships and practically run your business are getting better and more plentiful by the day. And business owners are embracing these apps with gusto. Mobile payments – just one of the many functions your phone can perform – are expected to grow 50 percent annually over the next five years.
In this and future columns I’ll profile smartphone business apps that can help you: Complete credit card transactions; Manage customer information; Access documents; Complete and send business forms; Track your time; Capture and manage voice recording; Manage and track assets, inventory and employees; Track sales and assign tasks; Manage schedules and projects; Monitor patient care and services.
This post profiles three mobile apps for processing credit card payments on your smartphone. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Daniel Kehrer
06/23/2010
While it’s still early to project the financial consequences of health care reform on small business, a few emerging themes make it possible for business owners to head off some costs and taxes, says Rick Kahler, a certified financial planner who heads the Kahler Financial Group in South Dakota.
Here are five ways health reform could impact your finances, and what you can do about it: Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Daniel Kehrer
06/22/2010
Amex is absolutely intent on being much more to small business than a credit card 
company. And to prove it the company just launched SearchManager, the latest in its fast-growing suite of both free and fee-based small business tools that already includes online invoicing(AcceptPay), insurance shopping(InsuranceEdge) and international money transfer(FX International Payments). SearchManager is an online tool that lets you manage your entire search marketing (paid search) effort in one place, thus taking a complex task spread among multiple websites and putting it all in one simple place.
Amex has aligned the new offerings as part of something the company has dubbed “Booming,” which it defines as “using a system of cards and digital tools from American Express OPEN to help your business realize its full potential.”
Search engines are an increasingly influential resource for customers looking for products and services, and small businesses are spending more every year to advertise online. According to the latest Forrester Research Interactive Marketing Forecast, search advertising leads the pack among interactive marketing tactics and will grow 15 percent annually. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Daniel Kehrer
06/22/2010
Americans are starting businesses at a faster pace than ever before, reports the 
Kauffman Foundation, a think tank for entrepreneurship. According to Kauffman’s latest survey of U.S. entrepreneurial activity, the number of new businesses created since the recession started in 2007 has increased every year, to record levels.
“Challenging economic times can serve as a motivational boost to individuals who have been laid-off to become their own employers and future job creators,” says Carl Schramm, president and CEO of Kauffman. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Daniel Kehrer
06/15/2010
Roadside billboards are expensive and impractical for many small businesses. But you can turn any business or personal vehicle into a rolling billboard – seen by 
thousands of people daily – with attractive and affordable vehicle magnets. Think of it as a way to “go mobile” with your marketing that doesn’t involve smart phones or other pricey technology.
For what amounts to pennies a day, low-cost, highly flexible magnetic signs will give you more bang for your advertising buck than just about anything else out there. Vehicle ads are great for all kinds of small businesses, from contractors, realtors and pet groomers, to computer repair services, catering companies, landscapers and painters, among hundreds more. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Daniel Kehrer
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