Evernote Coming Out With New App Just for Businesses

Evernote Coming Out With New App Just for Businesses
Competitive Research Through Social Media for Small Business
#StartupLab Offers Free Mentoring to Entrepreneurs
Successful S-Corp Owners: Watch Out For A Tax Increase
SEC Proposes New Rules for Crowdfunding

Posted: 03 Sep 2012 01:00 PM PDT

As Americans become more mobile, business professionals have been relying heavily on their own mobile devices to accomplish business tasks. There are plenty of tools and apps available for individuals to help get more done, but not all of them have business customers in mind.

Now, popular productivity app Evernote has announced that it will launch a new business version of the app in December.

Evernote Business will allow business owners and administers to manage company data, create directories, share information with employees, and more. The business app will still include all of the features that are currently available for Evernote users, but with a business focus and a number of new features to help business owners and professionals get more done.

With nearly 40 million individuals currently using the Evernote app, many of whom already using it for business or work purposes, more business centric features seemed to be the next rational step.

The new version will cost businesses $10 per user per month. One of the features touted by Evernote is its simplified billing, so businesses can choose to pay for all of its employees together, either monthly or annually. And companies can add employees to their plan at any time.

Business users will also have access to support when needed, and all data stored on the app is still owned by the company or organization.

If you aren't already familiar with Evernote, the app's purpose is to help users remember, save, plan, research, and sync all of that information together, saving it in one app that can be accessed from multiple devices. The app is available on nearly all major browsers and smartphones.

For now, Evernote offers a variety of different products and apps and has launched a business site, Evernote Business, where business users can learn more and sign up for the new app when it is launched.

From Small Business Trends

Evernote Coming Out With New App Just for Businesses

Competitive Research Through Social Media for Small Business

Posted: 03 Sep 2012 11:00 AM PDT

When we think about social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, we tend to focus on customer demographics, forgetting that we have just much – if not more – to learn from our competitors' presence on those same sites.

spying

If you aren't paying attention to your competition on social media, I want to help you start practicing. The fact that so many small businesses are on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and elsewhere means that there are plenty examples out there of what's working – and what's not working.

Let's look at four questions you can ask to guide your competitive research in social media:

Who are your competitors targeting?
How often are they talking? How often are they interacting?
Are they peppering their conversation with valuable content or sales-y pushes?
In what light do they cast the competition (i.e. you)?

Targets

The first thing you want to look at is whom your competition is targeting. Before I start working for any client, I always ask whom their target audience is. Sometimes I'll get the frighteningly naïve and enthusiastic answer, "Everyone!" False.

Other times, I'll get a more specific answer like, "Middle class, suburban, stay-at-home moms with a household income between $60,000 and $80,000." Okay, now we're getting somewhere.

But really, even this answer leaves something to be desired. The fact of the matter is that very few of your customers are going to read all of your social media outlets, your blog, and everything else that's published under your name. You have to narrow your demographics to determine exactly who is on your Facebook page v. your Twitter page.

In order to narrow these demographics, check out what your competition is doing. Ask yourself who they're targeting, and whether or not it seems to be working. Collect your answers; now do it better.

Frequency

Next, I want you to look at how often they're talking. The general rule of thumb is that you want to post at least three times a day to Twitter, and definitely no more than that to Facebook. However, these "rules" vary from industry to industry.

But, it's not just about how often your competitors post, but how often they interact. Many companies are great about sharing content on Facebook, but, there aren't nearly as many companies that interact consistently.

Make observations about what percentage of customers your competition is replying to. Does everyone get an answer, or do only the "interesting comments" get responses from the company?

Value Versus Sales Driven Content

So, you know who to target and how often to target them. But, what about balancing value-driven content with sales-driven content. What's the appropriate ratio? Well, in all honesty, that's kind of a trick question. Every piece of content should be valuable.

Of course, it's okay to have some sales content from time to time, but even this sales-driven content should have value. Take a look at what your competitors are doing, and try to match or beat their ratios… the more non-sales content you can offer, the better.

Treatment of Competition

How do your competitors treat the competition on their social media pages? If you're on their radar as a competitor, how do they treat you? Bashing the competition is never okay and it definitely doesn't help your case as a small business.

If you spend any time at all perusing small business's Facebook and Twitter pages, you're sure to come across some competition bashing. Avoid it like the plague. The reason I advise businesses to look for this practice in their competition is because it should incentivize you to behave properly in case the temptation ever arises.

You Can't Afford Not to Do These Things

The beauty of Facebook and Twitter is how public the platforms are. If you aren't spying on your competition, you're missing out on one of the easiest and cheapest methods of competitive research. Get going by asking these four questions!

After you've perused through the competition's use of social media, what do you think you will start doing differently?

Spy Photo via Shutterstock

From Small Business Trends

Competitive Research Through Social Media for Small Business

#StartupLab Offers Free Mentoring to Entrepreneurs

Posted: 03 Sep 2012 08:00 AM PDT

#StartubLab Lack of guidance is one of the issues that either keeps would-be entrepreneurs from launching a business, or those that have started one from succeeding.

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) says it has a solution for that.

Today marks the launch of #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program presented by Citi and YEC that will connect top young startup founders with aspiring entrepreneurs looking for advice.

Those who participate in #StartupLab will have direct access to mentorship (both virtual and in-person) through interactive live video chats, how-to content, and weekly email lessons.

Startup Founders Will Be Mentors

The #StartupLab endeavor will have a stable of startup founders who will serve as mentors to participants. Catherine Cook of MeetMe, Jennifer Fleiss of Rent the Runway, Slava Rubin of Indiegogo, Jason Nazar of DocStoc, Ryan Allis of iContact, Matt Mickiewicz of 99Designs, and Rahim Fazal of Involver are a few of the mentors who will be available to provide free advice and tips for entrepreneurs.

Those who participate in the program will gain access to four interactive live video chats per month, weekly email lessons, an eBook club, and access to YEC's complete library of how-to articles and videos. If a business incubator isn’t a possibility for you, a virtual mentoring program like #StartupLab may be a solution.

Another Entrepreneurial Effort by YEC

This is another program by the Young Entrepreneur Council. The invitation-only nonprofit, which targets recent grads and young entrepreneurs, has more than 500 members. According to the YEC, the group has collectively created tens of thousands of jobs and over 1 billion dollars in revenue.

Last spring, YEC spearheaded #FixYoungAmerica, a national grassroots campaign and book that sparked student-led rallies on over 300 college campuses. #FixYoungAmerica was designed to provide solutions to unemployment faced by young Americans. Scott Gerber, Founder of The Young Entrepreneur Council, says:

“Our goal is to help mentor, retrain and retool the workforce into a more entrepreneurial one. We believe that giving aspiring business owners access to the minds behind many of the most successful startups in the world will help them to build successful ventures.”

Who Can Participate

Anyone who is interested in the resources provided by #StartupLab can participate, as well as members of organizations including Junior Achievement, Georgetown University, BizWorld, Lemonade Day, George Washington University, MassChallenge, University of Central Florida, North Carolina Rural Center, and others.

Individuals will have access to #StartupLab mentors via YEC’s Facebook Page. For more information, visit #StartupLab’s website.

From Small Business Trends

#StartupLab Offers Free Mentoring to Entrepreneurs

Successful S-Corp Owners: Watch Out For A Tax Increase

Posted: 03 Sep 2012 05:00 AM PDT

The Obama Administration’s plans to increase taxes in 2013 won’t hit all small business owners equally. Owners of successful S-corps and partnerships, it turns out, are most likely to face a tax increase.

sky rocket tax

The economic impact of the administration’s tax plans, particularly their impact on small business is a major political issue. Ernst & Young LLP just released a report, Long-Run Macroeconomic Impact of Increasing Tax Rates on High-IncomeTaxpayers in 2013, commissioned by several business groups, which shows that the tax increases that the President has put in place or would like to put in place in 2013 would have long term negative effects on the economy, including cutting output by $200 billion and eliminating 710,000 jobs.

The left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has countered that these claims are overblown. In particular, they argue, few small businesses will be affected by the tax increase.

Citing a recent Treasury Department study, Methodology to Identify Small Businesses and Their Owners, they explain that less than 3 percent of small business owners are taxed in the top two brackets (which would face tax increases under the plan) when small business is defined as the Treasury Department does in its study.

I have pointed out that the two sides are focused on different dimensions of the debate, with the Democrats concentrating on the number of small business owners affected by the tax increase and the Republicans stressing the impact on income and employment.

I don't want to rehash what I have written about before, nor do I want to discuss whether "true" small businesses are affected by the tax increase; whether the wealthy would bear more than their fair share of the increase; or whether tax increases really lead small business owners to invest and hire less, all of which have been addressed by others.

I just want to point out that the President's tax plans would affect different types of small business owners differently. Many more small business owners who run partnerships and Sub Chapter S corporations will face higher taxes than small business owners who run sole proprietorships. That's because S-Corps and partnerships tend to generate more income.

Of the 30.2 million pass through businesses that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) estimates are in operation in the United States, 77 percent are sole proprietorships.

According to the Ernst and Young report, only 2 percent of sole proprietors have income that would subject them to higher taxes under the administration’s plan. By contrast, Ernst and Young estimates that 13 percent of Sub Chapter S corporation owners and 12 percent of partnership owners will pay higher taxes if all the proposed changes go through.

The effects on income are even more extreme because the income of S Corps and partnerships is more skewed than the income of sole proprietorships. Ernst and Young's analysis shows that the tax increases will hit only 24 percent of sole proprietorship income, but 73 percent of S Corp income and 70 percent of partnership income.

From Small Business Trends

Successful S-Corp Owners: Watch Out For A Tax Increase

SEC Proposes New Rules for Crowdfunding

Posted: 03 Sep 2012 02:30 AM PDT

There are many ways to finance a startup, but after last week, U.S. entrepreneurs may soon be able to add selling shares over the Internet to the list of financing options. The new form of crowdfunding has been on the horizon since the passage of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act in April, but now the details are a bit more clear. In this roundup, we will look at the new crowdfunding rules and other options still available for financing a startup.

What It Means

Rules of the game. After some frustrating delays, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the federal agency that regulates investing and trading of stocks, outlined the rules that entrepreneurs must follow when offering stock over the Internet on sites like Fundable, Gambitious, and Indiegogo. The catch? Investors will need to be accredited. Venture Beat

Unexpected outcomes. Perhaps the emphasis on experienced investors implied by the SEC guidelines is a good idea after all. This post takes a look at the risks inherent in a new era of crowdfunding, especially for inexperienced investors. From shiny new idea to execution, enthusiastic but unsophisticated business backers could become discouraged when results very different than what was advertised. TechDirt

A taxing situation. Business owners using crowdfunding must remember that the money they receive is taxable, unless expenses negate the overall gains, or the funds can be considered a donation or gift. Under the new SEC rules, investment would be considered “capital contributions” and thus not taxable when received. Reuters

Where It’s Headed

Three sites to watch. As we mentioned earlier, inventive entrepreneurs haven’t waited for the SEC to approve regulations before moving ahead with the powerful crowdfunding process as a way to raise money for projects. Here are three sites extremely important to the crowdfunding revolution and a bit more on what each of them offer. Bus!nessSigns.org

Take your pick. One of the most perplexing parts of the new crowdfunding trend is the use of the term itself. Crowdfunding has come to signify many things to many people, and so varied are these meanings that a detailed explanation of the different types of crowdfunding seems in order. Startup Professionals Musings

A source of good ideas. Another exciting aspect of the online crowdfunding revolution is the transparency it has brought to the startup process. With so many entrepreneurs now pitching their ideas publicly online, and more likely to do so in the near future, Iven Widjaya takes us on a tour of some of the projects that most inspire him. Noobpreneur

Other Funding Options

Bootstrap it. One last option small business owners and entrepreneurs take more often than is generally realized is that of bootstrapping, starting a business with little or no money and no outside investment. In the bootstrapping scenario, explains blogger Benjy Portnoy, startups leverage opportunities rather than investment dollars to get their businesses up and running. Small Business Elevator

From Small Business Trends

SEC Proposes New Rules for Crowdfunding