Twitter Chat: Securing and Protecting Mobile Devices …Now! |  |
- Twitter Chat: Securing and Protecting Mobile Devices …Now!
- What’s Your Biggest Small Business Challenge?
- Legal Structure: The Difference Between LLCs And LLPs
- 9 Tweet Types For Your Twitter Strategy
- Environment Improving for Small Business?
| Twitter Chat: Securing and Protecting Mobile Devices …Now! Posted: 25 Apr 2012 05:27 PM PDT
Mark your calendar and be sure to join us next Wednesday, May 2, 2012, when we'll be holding a Twitter chat on a timely topic: mobile device security. Joining me will be representatives of Symantec, a leading provider of information protection solutions for SMBs. Do you keep hearing that every year is going to be THE year of mobile? One thing I know: mobile usage is growing much faster in 2012 than in the past. And just like with your computers and servers, there are security issues around mobile. You may not even be aware of just how many risks there are. Have no fear! That’s what we’re here for. We’re going to cover key security aspects you need to know to protect your business — and still get the benefit of being mobile and serving your customers who want to be mobile. Here’s a sneek peek of the questions the experts will be discussing:
Be sure to join us for this timely topic discussion : TOPIC: Mobile Devices: Secure and Protect… Now! DATE: Wednesday, May 2, 2012 TIME: 7:00 to 8:00 pm ET (New York time) — 4:00 to 5:00 pm PT (California time) WHERE: Twitter.com, of course! Simply follow the hashtag #SMBchat. SYMANTEC SPEAKERS:
Be sure to follow us, @smallbiztrends as well. I hope to see you there! PS: if you’re new to Twitter chats, check out Lisa Barone's “How to Participate in a Twitter Chat”. From Small Business Trends |
| What’s Your Biggest Small Business Challenge? Posted: 25 Apr 2012 11:30 AM PDT On any given day, what's the biggest challenge you face? If you're like most entrepreneurs, the answer is simple: getting it all done. No wonder, then, that 38 percent of small business owners in the eVoice Technology and Your Business Survey say their time was the most valuable asset their businesses had. ("Time" narrowly edges out "computer," cited by 36 percent as their most valuable asset).
The survey also asked entrepreneurs to name the most difficult part of being a small business owner. "Covering multiple jobs" (sales, shipping, receptionist, customer service, business development, etc.) is the top answer, cited by 53 percent of entrepreneurs. With this many roles to fill, it's no wonder that 50 percent say that "not enough time to get everything done" is their number-two challenge. Rounding out the top five challenges: "making a profit" (35 percent), 22 percent say its "staying ahead of the competition," and 12 percent struggle with "managing employees." When asked how many roles they fill in a given day, the most common answer is "3 or 4" followed closely by "5 or 6." Out of all those roles, which do entrepreneurs enjoy the least? No surprise to me that "accountant" leads the pack at 41 percent. We don't much like being salespeople, (23 percent), and we aren't crazy about the office manager/receptionist role (22 percent) either. Least disliked was marketing (12 percent)—maybe because these days, social media makes marketing kind of fun. I'm surprised that being your own IT person didn't make the list of least-liked roles. For me, staying on top of IT issues with no in-house help has been the biggest change from being a corporate employee to an entrepreneur. Seems I'm not alone: "Keep up with technology changes" (30 percent) was the most challenging IT issue facing small business owners in the survey, ahead of "no IT support" (16 percent) and "being more mobile" (15 percent). With so many things to do and so little time to do them, it's hardly surprising that entrepreneurs would pay money to squeeze just one more hour into the day. Asked how much they'd pay for an extra, productive hour, 25 percent say they'd give more than $500, 24 percent would give $200 and 30 percent would pay $100. Of course, this isn't just a hypothetical when it comes to our businesses. How many times have you found yourself struggling to complete some task that's not really in your wheelhouse (wrangling a printer, trying to do your own SEO, calculating your taxes…I could go on) because “it's easier to do it myself?” But is it really? How much would it cost you to hire someone to handle what you hate? How much time would you gain—and what could you spend it on? With 79 percent of us saying we'd willingly pay to gain some time for our business, are we putting our money where our mouths are? What would you do with an extra hour in the day?
From Small Business Trends |
| Legal Structure: The Difference Between LLCs And LLPs Posted: 25 Apr 2012 08:30 AM PDT As an entrepreneur, new business owner, or investor, you understand your market, your customers, and your competition. But for many, the process of picking a business structure is an unfamiliar road to navigate.
The question whether to form an LLC or LLP doesn't have to be complicated once you understand how these two entities are created, who can create them, and what legal protections and tax benefits they offer. First, let's start with the basics. An LLC is a Limited Liability Company. It's a separate legal entity that protects owners from liability found with the company (similar to a corporation), while also offering the pass-through tax benefits of a sole proprietorship or partnership. The LLC is free of much of the legal requirements and red tape that govern corporations, such as director meetings, shareholder requirements, etc. The LLP (Limited Liability Partnership) is a general partnership whose partners enjoy some level of protection from personal liability. Similar to the LLC, the LLP is a hybrid of both the corporation and partnership, to give the greatest advantages for taxation and liability protection. The LLP is not a separate entity for income tax purposes and profits and losses are passed through to the partners. Which is better: the LLC or LLP? To determine what's better for your company, let's explore the differences: State Laws Before we dive into the differences, it's critical to understand that laws concerning LLPs vary widely state by state. Generally speaking, LLCs can be formed by any business, persons, or person, while LLPs may be restricted to licensed professionals, such as attorneys, doctors, engineers, architects, and accountants. For example, in California and Nevada, licensed professionals can form an LLP, but cannot form an LLC. This is why a large law firm will opt to form an LLP, as they can operate as an LLP in every state, but would not be able to operate as an LLC in every state. You'll need to check with your state's secretary of state office to determine the specific rules for your state. Legal Protection Both the LLC and LLP provide personal asset protection, but there can be crucial differences. For example:
Tax Implications In general, both LLCs and LLPs do not require the business to pay income taxes on its profits; rather any profit or loss of the business is passed through to the members (LLC) or partners (LLP). By comparison, a corporation pays income taxes on its business earnings and then if those earnings are distributed to owners, the owners must pay taxes on them again in their personal tax return. A single-member LLC is considered a sole proprietorship and the member must pay self-employment taxes. It's important to note that while most LLCs opt for pass-through tax treatment, some may choose to be taxed as a Corporation. LLPs are treated strictly as partnerships and profits are passed through to the partners. The Bottom Line By mixing some of the properties of corporations, partnerships, and sole proprietorships, the LLC and LLP offer compelling benefits for new companies. While both entities have distinct tax advantages, only LLPs give partners legal protection from the actions of another partner. For this reason, the LLP is better for a group of professionals who plan to actively participate in the company. If you're forming a business, take a look at your state law to first determine which entity is allowable in your state, as well as the state laws regarding personal liability for each entity.
From Small Business Trends |
| 9 Tweet Types For Your Twitter Strategy Posted: 25 Apr 2012 05:30 AM PDT Working as a social media consultant I've noticed that it's not the social media sites themselves that clients have a difficult time mastering, it's figuring out what to say once they get there. They're excited to have a new platform to talk to their customers and to be part of this ever-growing social conversation, but they're lacking those handy conversation starters and the types of tweets they should be sending out to the masses. That's where the bottleneck happens. So they say nothing at all.
To help those that may be stuck, below are nine types of tweets to try and incorporate into your Twitter strategy. If you don't know where to start, start here: 1. Questions: Whether you're looking for a new social media tool or you want to know if The Three Stooges is worth bringing your family to this weekend, sending out questions to your Twitter followers is a good way to engage them and show them that you value their opinion. Ask questions related to good people to follow, product ideas, blogs to follow or anything else related to your business. This kind of intel not only increases engagement and starts conversations, when used properly it's an invaluable way to get instant feedback related to your business. 2. Information Sharing: One of the most valuable ways to use Twitter is as a platform for information sharing. This refers to sharing content that is NOT created by you, but that you think your audience can benefit from. Tweet links to interesting articles you read, industry research, studies or anything else you think your audience would enjoy. Sharing and talking about interesting content is a great way to start new conversations and attract new followers. By making yourself the source of their content aggregation, you brand yourself as helpful and worthwhile to their Twitter stream. 3. Solve Other People's Problems: Spend a few minutes on Twitter and you'll inevitably find people asking one another for help. One Twitter user wants a recommendation for a Twitter app, another has a question about mobile marketing, another wants to know if Pinterest is really worth all this hype. Find a question you feel confident to answer and then hop into the conversation. Solving other people's problems is an effective way to brand yourself as an expert, helpful, and the type of person people want to follow. It's also a great way to form relationships you can use down the road – like for potential guest posting opportunities or partnerships. 4. Opinions: You read that article everyone is tweeting around and you hated it. You thought it represented the absolute worst in your industry. Use Twitter to share your opinion. Or you read that white paper about how your industry is changing and now you're feeling really inspired. Tell people about it. By using Twitter to share your opinion and give people that unique insight into your head, you give them something to relate and connect to. This is how people get to know one another. Don't be afraid to let it all hang out every now and then. 5. Link Promotion: Yes, it is absolutely fine for you to use Twitter to tweet links out to your own content or promotions you're running. If you're investing time on Twitter, this is something you'll want to do. Just make sure you're balancing it out with all the other value you're providing to your audience. We'll handle a little self-promotion as long as we're getting something for our effort. 6. Community Highlighting: One of my favorite ways to use Twitter is to highlight people in the community who are doing or saying cool stuff. Maybe someone left a really insightful comment on your blog post. Or someone in your community just released an eBook you want to share. Or maybe one of your long-time commenters was just accepted to speak at an industry conference. Use your Twitter feed to give them an attaboy and share their accomplishment with your audience. By lifting others up around you, you brand yourself as a great community member and you assert yourself as the type of person people want to know. You, of course, also build goodwill with that person you're promoting. 7. Conversation: People are talking all around you. They're talking about marketing their business as much as they're talking about what they'd like to have for lunch. Get in there and become part of those conversations! By jumping into organic conversations happening on Twitter, you show that you're part of the larger community and not just interested in yourself and your business. It's also how you form relationships that you'll be able to use in the future. Once you go from "stranger" to "friend" in someone's circle, you open up a whole new door of partnership possibilities. 8. RTing information: Don't have much to say for yourself right now? Fear not, why not seek out some great content others are sharing and then ReTweet it to your followers? This again reinforces your role as a content aggregator (someone we all need in your Twitter circles) and it can help you get on the radar of that content creator. 9. Slice of Life: What are you thinking about right now? What do you want for dinner? What song just came on that changed your whole day? What movie can you not get enough of? Share it with your Twitter followers. While I wouldn't make these types of "slice of life" tweets the dominant content you're sharing, they certainly serve a purpose and help to make your account feel more human. Above are nine tweet-types that I'd encourage very small business owner to try and work into their strategy. Any that I've missed? Which work best for you? From Small Business Trends |
| Environment Improving for Small Business? Posted: 25 Apr 2012 02:30 AM PDT Is the environment improving for small businesses? Some say it is. Here are some ideas about how to make the most of current trends and about where we, as small business owners, may be headed. Is your business showing signs of improvement? Better BusinessMaking your community business friendly. At one time, the City of Detroit was not the place to do business. Today that has changed. How do you make your community better for business? Some simple lessons may be taken from Detroit’s success. Detroit Free Press Small business loans increasing. There’s more small business lending credit being extended out there. Some call it evidence of a brightening economy. Has your small business noticed better opportunities to access credit? Chicago Tribune Finance OptionsHow to finance your small business. When looking at how to fund your new small business, consider all the options. Realize however, that some funding opportunities will be better for you than others and that some sources may definitely not be the right fit for your needs. Reuters Marketing HelpDoes marketing start with your team or your customers? You might be surprised by the answer. Remember that marketing should be a combined effort in your business, with everyone doing their part. That means having a game plan going in, so be sure you’re prepared. The Washington Post How to market better with great story telling. The truth is stranger than fiction. And the truth is that nothing can sell your product like incredible storytelling. Here are some tips you’ll want to consider to improve your marketing yarn. Copyblogger HR ReviewReplacing the traditional performance review? Have you heard that the performance review might soon be history? As small businesses move into a new, more competitive, and technology driven era, is it time to change the way we look at performance too? Business Execution Blog Full-time employees or contractors? As the small business environment improves and small businesses think about expansion, what kind of help is it wise to consider adding? Do you need full-time employees or will contractors do the trick? Small Business Trends Other OutlooksToo early to celebrate? While there are positive signs in the economic environment suggesting a better outlook for small business, a search of the Web will find some mixed reaction. Huffington Post Problems remain in healthcare and hiring. If you want to know where the real trouble remains in small businesses, look no further than Manta’s Newest SMB Wellness Index and see where improvement is needed. MarketWatch Sales ResuscitationStill having trouble boosting your business? It may not be the economy, after all. The key to small business success, of course, is making sales. If your company is having trouble in this department, the economy may not be completely to blame. Smart Business Guides From Small Business Trends |
Kevin Haley
Andrew Singer
| You are subscribed to email updates from Small Business News, Tips, Advice - Small Business Trends To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment