by Joyce
I was sitting here cooking up new and improved marketing strategies for my business (and an accompanying action plan) when the curiosity bug hit me. I began wondering what other folks are doing, folks like you – Mr & Ms Reader… what are you doing to ‘fill your funnel’…
I know it may seem a little random for an accountant/accounting blog to be concerned with such things but at the beginning and end of the day – I’m a small business owner too.
Affiliate Marketing – Strategic Alliance – Joint Ventures – Pay Per Click/Adwords – Cost Per View/Pay Per View – Referral Programs – Directories – SEO Strategies
So I ask: How do you fill your funnel? What’s working for you (and what’s NOT)?
(post a comment to let me know)
by Joyce
Now I’m sure that title created an interesting visual…let me get to what I’m talking about. How it happened and played out was almost like watching a movie… a constant, continuous confirmation that I’m doing what is right for me and right for my business.
Last week I did a post about selecting a target market (Hit The BullsEye), then I read a blog post/article about Charging More Than The Other Guy, then I had a conversation with a “virtual co-worker” that circled around both of those things. In brief, we were talking about a third party, a friend of hers, that is a bit all over the place when it comes to their side hustle. Let me tell you what I mean – said third party is a Jill of All Trades. She is a “fundraiser”, “event planner”, “marketing consultant”, “graphic designer”, “sales consultant”… and that’s just the the stuff that I remember.
Now I don’t profess to be a marketing expert… but I’ve been in business long enough and I’ve read enough articles, blogs, and books to know that people don’t take you seriously when you are all over the place. When you are all over the place, you don’t get (consistent) business or referral business because the person who would have referred business to you doesn’t know what the heck you do… nor are they convinced that you do any one thing well enough to warrant them sticking their neck out on the line to provide you with the referral. And when you’re all over the place, you can only charge “novice” prices. If you’re charging novice prices… well, you can figure out the rest.
By the end of the conversation with my virtual co-worker, we had both turned the spotlight off of the third party and began to focus on ourselves. *scratching head* So that got me to thinking, is my business all over the place? Am I presenting a “Jill of All Trades/Master of None” persona when it comes to my service offers?
I’m sure I’m not the only one in the blogasphere who’s had a business related identity crisis. Have you had a similar issue? How did you handle it? Help me out here! Tell me all about it…
by Joyce
What exactly IS cloud computing? As I understand it and in it’s simplest terms, it’s remote software hosting. If you’ve created and stored a document or presentation using Google Docs, then you’ve been exposed to a version of “the cloud”.
Why is this important? As a SME (small/medium enterprise), why should you care? Well, to be honest – it kinda levels the playing field, making it so that the small guys can play with the big boys – at least when it comes to IT. By using remote software hosting/utilizing the cloud, SME’s can do things they couldn’t afford to do before – such as – allowing their employees & contractors to telecommute.
Allowing and encouraging telecommuting is just the beginning of the snowball effect that the cloud can bring. Telecommuting can lead to not only outsourcing your IT functions but now that your staff (employees & contractors) spend less time in the office, they can share space… if they share space, you need less space. Instead of providing 1 desk/1 office space per person, you may be able to cut back to 1 desk/1office space for every TWO or THREE staff members (referred to as “office hoteling”). So in addition to saving on the capital expenditures on IT… converting those to operating costs, you can also save on the overhead costs of office space, computers, telephones, etc. How big the snowball gets is up to you.
Enough about the other benefits…back to the cloud itself. Here are some IT benefits to The Cloud…
- Reduced Costs – instead of buying all the hardware/software yourself, you pay a provider incrementally (monthly, quarterly, yearly) – therefore lowering the “cost of entry”
- State of the Art Hardware/Off-Site Backup
- Increased Mobility – staff is no longer tied to the office or their desks
- Greater Flexibility & Security – SME businesses don’t necessarily have the most secure internal infrastructures when it comes to IT; with the use of the Cloud, these same businesses can reach and exceed compliance & industry security standards
- Automation & Shift IT Focus – Using the Cloud, the SME no longer has to focus on server updates, maintenance, backup issues or software updates.
Are you ready for The Cloud? The choice is yours… but I’m ready to take the leap. And I taking my clients with me … even if I have to drag them there, kicking and screaming!
by Joyce
About a month ago, I set out to write an e-book about something I know. So I started with the obvious, starting a bookkeeping or accounting business.
Freebie Alert… but you have to give to receive (read post to the end)
Right now it’s rough for pretty much everyone. So many people have decided to start businesses… so why not you?
Starting a bookkeeping business, or any business for that matter, is not rocket science but it does take some planning and it helps a little bit if you have some guidance from someone that has been there and done that. There will be days when you simply don’t feel like it, when you feel like you can’t do it, when you feel like this hair-brained idea that you had won’t work but I’m here to tell you that with perseverance, it can and will work… you just have to stick with it.
Remember, do what you love and everything will naturally fall into place. You will make tons of mistakes along the way but the more you fail, the closer you will be to success so don’t be afraid to fail. Dispel your fears because they aren’t real after all. FEAR is just False Evidence Appear Real.
For the next week, I’m offering a FREE Preview Chapter, my chapter on Marketing.
Want more info about the ebook? Click Here!
Want the entire ebook ~ How To Start A Bookkeeping Business? Click Here!
by Joyce
This question seems to come up more often than not – Am I (should I be considered) an independent contractor or an employee? The answer to this question is critical for both the employee (who could lose benefits, such as the right to claim unemployment, and incur higher tax liability) and the employer (who could incur interest and penalties in the case of misclassification).
So how do you define an independent contractor? And what do you do if you believe you have misclassified? Let’s take this one step at a time…and start with the definition of an independent contractor, or at least how the IRS defines it. The IRS uses three broad categories to determine IC status: Behavior Control, Financial Control and Type of Relationship.
“Behavioral Control covers facts that show whether the business has a right to direct or control how the work is done through instructions, training, or other means. Financial Control covers facts that show whether the business has a right to direct or control the financial and business aspects of the worker’s job. The Type of Relationship factor relates to how the workers and the business owner perceive their relationship.”
What do you do? As with most things, the lines can get murky so if are unsure about your work status or think that you may have been misclassified,you can ask the IRS to make the determination by filing a Form SS-8 – Determination of Worker Status for Purposes of Federal Employment Taxes and Income Tax Withholding.
You can learn more about the critical determination of a worker’s status as an Independent Contractor or Employee at IRS.gov by selecting the Small Business link. Additional resources include IRS Publication 15-A, Employer’s Supplemental Tax Guide, Publication 1779, Independent Contractor or Employee, and Publication 1976, Do You Qualify for Relief under Section 530? These publications and Form SS-8 are available on the IRS Web site or by calling the IRS at 800-829-3676 (800-TAX-FORM).
Related:
Employee vs. Independent Contractor – Ten Tips for Business Owners
Publication 1779
Publication 15-A
Form SS-8
Publication 1976
Disclaimer: This blog post/article is not meant as tax advice. Please consult a tax professional regarding your specific situation.
