Watch this cool clip which shows HOW QUICKLY social media has connected us all globally.

Social Media Video 2013: Social Media Revolution 4 was written by international best selling author and keynote speaker Erik Qualman. It's part of a series of social media videos that are the most watched in the world. Erik thanks everyone for their ideas and support! Video produced by equalman productions

Question:

Hi Nicole,

I'm looking at starting an online shop selling tobacco pipes and accessories. I recently purchased a questionnaire-driven business plan from MasterPlans.com. Some of the questions are pretty straightforward, others confuse me and I don't know where to start. Seeing as I'm still pre-funding (until I get the business plan done) funds are very limited so hiring a CPA at this point isn't practical. A lot of the business plan questions have to do with 3 and 5 year financial outlooks, projected revenue, customer demographics, etc. My main question is how do I go about doing the research to come up with these numbers? When responding to questions about growth objectives, how do I come up with realistic growth rates, in terms of sales? Also, the questionnaire asks about business loans and my expected short-term interest rate. Do I just look at small business loans for the amount that I'll be requesting and find the average interest rate? Thank you!
Answer:

Your future does not have to be a repeat of your past. Share in the comments below a story where you shoulda, coulda, woulda, but didn't and what you learned from the experience.

Points taken from Lindsay Dicks' article Building Your Business Blog Empire

1. Expert Status. Today, the first thing someone
does when making the decision to do
business with a company is check them out
online. A well-updated blog with valuable
content is a great way to showcase your expert
status to your prospects and show that
you are well informed.

2. Real-time Discussion. Blogs are instantaneous
and allow you to share information
directly (and quickly) with your clients
and prospects. They also provide a way for
your clients and prospects to engage with
you by leaving questions and comments on
your posts.

3. Boosting Traffic with Backlinks. You don’t
have to limit your blogging to just your own
blog. Being a contributing blogger to traffic
sites can be a great way to create quality
backlinks and increase traffic.
4. Good SEO. One of the keys to SEO (search
engine optimization) is to make sure your
website is constantly being updated with current,
relevant content. Blogs make it easy for
businesses to add fresh content to their websites
on a regular basis.

5. Low Cost Marketing. Blogs are a very
cheap way to keep your customers informed
with new products/services you are offering.
They are also a wonderful way to continue
building your relationship with your customers
and prospects.

6. Keeps You Ahead of Your Competition. In
today’s competitive industry, a blog can help
to distinguish you from your competition. By
showing your personality and keeping up-todate
information about your company and
your industry, a blog can give you that little
extra boost to rise above your competition.

See the full article here:

Celebrity Branding Agency.com PDF

Question:

Hello, I am looking for a grant that will pay to repair a brick street
Thanks! 

Back in the day, marketing was a pretty shiny brochure and print ads in the local or nationwide paper hoping and praying for sales soon to follow. Here we are near the end of 2011 and oh how those times have changed! There are so many ways to market now: “viral videos”, social media networks and the like were not even on a single person’s tongue 20 years ago.  The births of these new technologies are being left to bear the pointed finger deemed murderers to news in print and even glossy magazines.  For all that has changed there are a few things that have remained the same, namely that marketing in whatever form is right for your business is meant to sell your widget off the shelves, and preferably like hotcakes. The minimum expectation is brand awareness. Even if it is the tiniest of space in one’s mind the marketer is able to capture, every seed has the opportunity to grow and eventually plant roots. As a small business, you'd better go viral with your marketing strategy or just go home!

Viral marketing is definitely not a sterile sounding name and it’s not meant to be. Just like snot that flies (when a gross person chooses not to cover their nose and mouth when they sneeze) this form of marketing is meant to spread and spread fast infiltrating the people’s psych it touches. Seth Godin an expert in this field has studied this idea and given it voice through his popular thumbed through books and scrolled through articles on the web. Where before marketers just wanted YOU to buy, the new focus  is YOU and YOUR 10 CLOSEST FRIENDS in one of your many networks.

So, don’t just make marketing  or advertising that is "sticky" make it infectious something so fantastic it is not even seen as being “sold to”, it is just funny, brilliant, shocking or worth knowing.  However, beware you are not as good as you say you are. You are only as good as your last raving fan says you are. Just like a person your brand needs an identity and it can’t be some teen-aged going through the “finding out who I am and who my friends are phase” you have to know what that brand is and base everything you do around it. The more visual the better, people will eat you up  if you speak to them and THEIR needs not YOUR bottom line.

 Connect with people and their life and the more your brand will seem like a person that they know, like, and trust. The more relatable the brand is the better and the less likely the consumer will feel like they are dealing with some stranger who is trying to use them to get something. 

David Klein knew from the age of 6 he was going to be in the candy business. His aunt, grandma, and grandpa owned a liquor store. He would do various work around the place like organizing the returned empty bottles as well as go on inventory runs with his aunt to Smart & Final to get candy. What kid wouldn't gain an interest in such a yummy subject? 

His early enthusiasm for candy lead to the dissection and research of the candy business. Making candy wrappers the epicenter of his studies he began to learn the companies that made each candy bar. In junior high his fantastic memory on the subject lead to a parlor trick he still has at his disposal. 

   When the teacher needed to leave the class be it for a bathroom break, or a coffee refill in the teacher's lounge she would ask “Dave you wanna come up and entertain the class?” Then began a pastime the class loved to participate in, trying to stump him on his candy know-how. No matter how hard the quizzing there was not a question asked that he could not answer, he was never stumped. His prowess on the subject sure didn't stop the class from trying anyway. He could recite history of candy companies better than most baseball enthusiasts could rattle off batting scores. He had made it a point to learn everything he could about the industry and sucked it all up like a sponge. I decided to have an interview with Mr. Klein and discover his sage advice on business and being a struggling yet passionate entrepreneur because I, much like him will devour any information on the subject within my reach. These are the lessons I've learned from David's long, challenging and sometimes painful journey in the candy industry.

Did you read the terms and conditions before downloading your newest app to your smartphone? Yeah, I doubt it! A recent report reveals that users of smartphones, are carelessly granting developers access to their most private information stored on their cell. By just clicking "I Accept" without taking note of the terms and conditions in the user agreements companies are gaining access to private text messages, lists of contacts, photos, and e-mails as well as web browsing history; not to mention the exact location of where the individual is at that given moment. Sure it can be spun that the info they are privy to can help them target specific ads that are more relevant to the end user, but every luxury has its cost. Is it helpful that the dry cleaner you just walked by just sent you a coupon via text? Absolutely, if you have dirty clothes, is it creepy? Some may think so. While the benefits can be posed to outweigh the "Big Brother Factor", one can not deny the inevitable feast this creates for those who make prey out of easy targets. Identity thieves have a field day when they use apps as virtual store fronts to mine for data. It's like taking candy from a baby, except in this case the baby is giving it to you freely not knowing that they are. If you bypassed the fine print faster then an Andretti wins a race go ahead and check the terms on the developer's website. If it states things that make you feel violated or make you uncomfortable delete the app ASAP. After all, is some app on your phone worth more then your freedom, your finances, and your future? In the comments below share how many apps you have downloaded after ignoring the fine print.

I got my hot little hands on a copy of The Pumpkin Plan by Mike Michalowicz, before its release date. In a day's amount of time I devoured every page. There was no overuse of needless jargon or a holier then thou pompous tone. It's written by an author who is entertaining to read, and has no lack of self-deprecation or humility to make his point known, a refreshing change given this book category don't you agree? 

Since I am an avid reader a lot of points made, resonated with me and reminded me of various authors and thought leaders in the industry.Throughout the book I kept thinking about Ken Blanchard and his book Raving Fans, and Mike Klinger's stance on what he calls the Empathy Driven Economy. I especially appreciated  a section in the book where Mike talked about using the power of crowd-sourcing. I see this trend being a driving force in our future and how people do business and I'm thankful for his inclusion of the subject in his book. Some other gems to be had in the pages are:

-How to discover the leeches that are sucking your company dry of it's resources, money and talent.

  -How to escape the “do it all” model of doing business, and just do what matters.

 -And the reason why you can't make everyone happy and why that's ok.

This question was from Peter:
Question
Hi, I am a self employed roofer. Occasionally I have to employ labourers to help out on certain contracts. I pay 20% tax on my earnings . Can you advise me on how I should be paying these men? Do I deduct tax from them and if so, how do I let the inland revenue know? Also , if their payment comes out of my earnings, what do I have to declare to the taxman. At the moment, I am paying them cash and they are responsible for paying their own tax, but don't know if this is happening!. Also the taxman doesn't know that some of my earnings are to pay for work done. I have only been entering monies spent on materials when I have done my tax return, but I am sure there is a better way around this. Is there any way you can help me with these questions, please?

Answer
Hi Peter thanks for the great question!

You first start off by asking how to pay your *independent contractors.That my fellow entrepreneur, is solely your decision,but it is advisable that you pay with a company/business check. This way you have proof you paid this individual and also have it for tax purposes at a later date.

If they were employees you would be deducting tax and social security from their checks. When you file taxes with the IRS as a business you will need to file with a 1099 form. You will include information like the wages you paid your independent contractors on this form.From your language used I am gathering that you are new to business since you wrote "Also, if their payment comes out of my earnings" take note that nothing is YOUR earnings.It is your business' earnings and the business pays you a wage or salary. It is common that in the first years of business the business owner might not even get paid in order to afford labor and materials costs until there is real cash-flow.

Paying your additional workers cash is risky in the sense that when people get paid cash they think of it as "free money" that they don't have to claim on their taxes. Which means if you say you paid these individuals on your business' 1099 and they don't claim it on their 1040 tax form things can get sticky with the IRS for them and possibly you. From my understanding you too are filing a 1040 form which means your business structure is more then likely a sole proprietorship. I find this structure to leave you especially a person in the roofing business to be very vulnerable to lawsuits and the like which can deeply effect not only your business' assets,but your own personal finances as well. To help prevent such hazards I recommend in incorporating and hiring an accountant/CPA. If you take head to my advice make sure you follow all rules of incorporation to a tee and do not commingle funds ever, so as not to leave an opening for anyone to pierce the corporate veil.

Incorporating may cost you up front, but it will help
you save in the long-term as expenses like your vehicle, and medical costs can be written off. I fear I am going a little ahead of where you are right now so please look into the resources I offer below. I've listed two books that I
consider personal bibles to business as well as my business site. You are always welcome to ask me more questions in the future, but my company offers services that will give you experts in the legal, and financial fields as well as advice from insiders in your industry.

* Legal definition of Independent Contractor-one that contracts to do work or perform a service for another and that retains total and free control over the means or methods used in doing the work or performing the service.

Resources that can help you:

Straight from the horses' mouth

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=179115,00.html

My site- I suggest you look into getting the Legal Plan for the Self Employed as well as the Standard GoSmallBiz Toolbox

http://www.nicolebienfang.com

Books:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FA5QEk/?tagchicago06e20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001OXCERE/?tagchicago06e20

I hope this helps, may your future be prosperous!