CorpNet Launches Free Corporate Filing Compliance Service |  |
- CorpNet Launches Free Corporate Filing Compliance Service
- TaskRabbit for Business: Online Alternative to a Temporary Help Agency
- 10 Small Ways to Combat Big Employee Conflicts
- App Purchases Up at Google Play Store – Numbers Impressive
- What If I Share a Celebrity’s Name? Google Reputation Management Nightmare
| CorpNet Launches Free Corporate Filing Compliance Service Posted: 29 May 2013 04:00 PM PDT
Business filing company CorpNet.com recently launched a free alerts service designed to help entrepreneurs keep compliant with state corporate filings, to avoid late fees and penalties. It’s called the Business Information Zone (B.I.Z). This online tool is not limited to existing CorpNet.com clients, but is available to any small business. CEO Nellie Akalp saw a need for the corporate filing compliance service after watching clients miss important filing deadlines and incur penalties. ”Clients would call in, not knowing why their business was in bad standing with the state and why they owed all these high penalties. Clients would find their company being dissolved by the state, and would complain that they hadn't gotten any notice about it.” As a business owner, once you are granted a corporation or LLC, you may think the work is done. But that's not the case, says Akalp. Many don't realize they need to file regular paperwork to stay compliant. Failure to do so risks being charged late penalties — or worse. With rising budget deficits, states are looking to increase revenues by ramping up collection from small business owners who don't file on time. As an example, in California, a business that fails to file its annual report by the deadline will be hit with $250 in penalties and fines. Akalp says CorpNet’s new service aims to educate business owners “about all of these due dates and requirements and keep their business in compliance throughout the lifetime of their business.” Akalp calls CorpNet's B.I.Z. service a "personal concierge service for your business at no charge." Competitors offer similar services, she says, but they charge for it or require paid registered agent services. How The Corporate Filing Compliance Service WorksOnce business owners sign up, they can receive email reminders on tax and compliance alerts. They can also store their business documents, and keep a personalized business profile that tracks important data about their company — such as formation date, Federal Tax ID number, business licenses and permits, and more. Users can also order other services from CorpNet within the platform, such as filing for a fictitious business name/DBA, obtaining stock certificates, or apply for a sellers permit. While use of the B.I.Z. monitoring platform itself is free, filings may involve charges. The idea is to be a “one stop shop” for all corporate and state filing needs. It eliminates the need to navigate multiple websites — like those for city, state, or county governments, the IRS, or the Franchise Tax Board — to find the proper applications and information. “CorpNet aims to make it easier to take care of such paperwork at a click of button,” says Akalp. While the new service is available to any small business, it’s aimed at solopreneurs and DIY small business owners who aren't accustomed to filing the paperwork necessary for corporate annual reports, business license renewals, tax filings and so on. CPAs and attorneys who manage their clients' businesses are also taking advantage of the platform. The post CorpNet Launches Free Corporate Filing Compliance Service appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| TaskRabbit for Business: Online Alternative to a Temporary Help Agency Posted: 29 May 2013 01:30 PM PDT
TaskRabbit started as an online service to fill odd jobs – a sort of “gal Friday” service. Need someone to do your grocery shopping, walk your dog or assemble that IKEA dining room set? TaskRabbit is where you could go. TaskRabbit for Business takes that concept and ports it over to the business world. Last week TaskRabbit launched its business-oriented service. It’s designed for businesses to find vetted (background-checked) temporary help. TaskRabbit for Business focuses on what they call “long term” help. That’s a relative term. TaskRabbit has up until now been largely about one-day gigs or very short-term needs. Long term could include something that takes more than one day or perhaps an ongoing worker in a business working X number of hours each week. TaskRabbit says 35% of regular tasks posted have been by businesses, and this is in response to demand. "Over the past few months, we've noticed a trend in companies using the TaskRabbit platform as an easy and reliable way to staff temporary employees," says Victor Echevarria, TaskRabbit's Head of Business Development. "We've learned that many businesses are frustrated with the current temping solutions, which often prove slow, expensive, and inefficient. Hiring managers are tired of spending enormous amounts of time sifting through online classifieds and job boards, and completing the endless paperwork associated with W-2 employment." But Will it Be Attractive to Small Businesses?The answer to this question depends on the nature of the job (whether you need on-premises help vs virtual help); the size of the job; and where you’re located. TaskRabbit for Business touts the quality of its workers. All workers are background checked, the company says. The service also integrates profile data it pulls from LinkedIn. This lets employers see a summary of skills and employment history. It also emphasizes simplicity and speed in hiring. The job posting process is streamlined and quick to fill out. There’s even a sort of “buy it now” feature, called Quick Assign, that allows for the first worker who accepts your price to be assigned to the job. It is especially fast to post administrative, customer service, sales, and data-entry jobs. However, availability of service areas is an issue. If you are looking for workers who work on your premises, you have to be located inside one of the nine large cities TaskRabbit services. For instance, in my small town in Ohio, I was unable to post anything other than a “virtual task.” That was fine for me, because that’s what I would have hired for anyway. Unless you’re in one of 9 metropolitan areas, you’re probably not going to get someone to hop on down to your offices to help you assemble new desks and Aeron chairs. According to its website, TaskRabbit covers Boston, San Antonio, Chicago, Portland, New York City, San Francisco Bay area, Austin, Seattle, Los Angeles and Orange County. Another issue is fees. TaskRabbit charges 26% if the worker is to be treated as a W-2 employee. Or if the worker will be a 1099 independent contractor, the fee is 20% on top of what you pay the worker. While TaskRabbit says those prices are less than what temporary agencies charge, that pricing will cause small businesses to think twice before using TaskRabbit for large jobs and ongoing work. For small tasks of a few hundred dollars, a 20% fee may well be worth the ease of getting someone in fast. And for the 26% fee you’re getting a payroll solution that includes compliance with payroll taxes, workers’ compensation and unemployment compensation. Bigger jobs is where it becomes a dicey proposition. Adding 20% or 26% on top of thousands of dollars drives up your cost of doing business fast. There are many places online today where you can hire “virtual” help (i.e., people who can work from their own homes). Competing services such as ODesk charge considerably less. ODesk charges 10% on contractor assignments, and 20% if you utilize optional ODesk payroll services. Elance charges a service fee of 8.75%. Both services offer an extensive backend system with timesheets, work diaries, reports and management monitoring capabilities. They also offer extensive feedback systems where previous employers can rate workers. TaskRabbit, however, appears to have an edge when you need on-premises help in one of the nine cities it covers. You’d either have to pay a temporary help agency’s fees, which are likely to be higher, and it may take longer. Or you’d have to go through the laborious process of posting on a job board or classified ad, and for small projects it may not be worth the effort. TaskRabbit could be more efficient and cost effective in those circumstances. The post TaskRabbit for Business: Online Alternative to a Temporary Help Agency appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| 10 Small Ways to Combat Big Employee Conflicts Posted: 29 May 2013 10:45 AM PDT
It doesn’t matter how robust the company wellness program is or how relaxing the nap room feels – when two or more employees are stuck in a negative situation, the entire startup suffers. Whether they’re butting heads on a new collaborative project or talking behind each other’s backs about a personal matter, it’s up to the boss to put an end to the conflict and bring the office morale — and productivity — back up to par. We asked members of the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invitation-only organization comprised of the country's most promising young entrepreneurs, the following question about getting a grip on the office grumps:
Here's what YEC community members had to say: 1. Tell It to the Judge “Treat a conflict resolution between employees like a court case. Let each employee produce a brief written statement and evidence to support their side of the story. Review them impartially, and make a swift and just decision. Make sure that the losing party doesn’t receive a punishment too severe, and put all parties back to work.” ~ Anthony Saladino, Kitchen Cabinet Kings 2. Address the Situation Immediately “Employee conflicts that are allowed to fester can have a significant negative effect on the company as a whole. Get the employees together, mediate a discussion and commit to a solution before anyone leaves. Don’t take sides and try to address the conflict objectively. No one likes working in an environment with an air of tension and discord.” ~ Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance 3. Adopt a Proactive Approach “On a small team, it's especially important to address internal conflicts before they escalate and blow up. Coach your team to comfortably handle conflicts in a non-charged fashion, and set an example with your own healthy ability to manage conflict. By doing this, you will build a culture of proactive mediation and conflict resolution. ” ~ David Ehrenberg, Early Growth Financial Services 4. Take the Company’s Side “Choosing one employee over another can be dangerous to morale, especially if you’re not exactly sure what happened. Make it as clear as possible that you’re impartial and that you’re on the company’s side. Going from there can at least help mitigate any bad feelings and will let you fall back on an existing policy.” ~ Thursday Bram, Hyper Modern Consulting 5. Bring in More Objective Advisers “Founders walk a fine line when mediating negative situations between employees — you do not want to be seen as “taking the side” of one teammate. I try to get everyone together as much as possible to discuss the differences and then research for objective advice. Sometimes, that means calling mutual advisers; other times, it means researching on Quora. ” ~ Aaron Schwartz, Modify Watches 6. Look at What the Books Say “I highly recommend reading the books “Crucial Conversations” and “Crucial Confrontations” by Kerry Patterson and looking at the advice and models these books provide for talking through tense situations. Oftentimes, when you have the right model for communication, negative situations can quickly diffuse into positive solutions. ” ~ Elizabeth Saunders, Real Life E® 7. Offer Drinks on You “I pulled two employees aside and said I would fire both of them if they didn't fix their problem by that afternoon, but if they did, drinks that night were on me. #CEOproblems” ~ Jordan Fliegel, CoachUp, Inc. 8. Remember That You All Have One Goal “When conflict arises, always set the stage and remind all parties that everyone has good intentions. Most times, conflict arises between good people because there is bad communication or a lack of information between parties. Remind everyone that, as a company, you have the same goals. Then, work from that shared ground.” ~ Ben Rubenstein, Yodle 9. Watch for a Lack of Resolution “You want employees to be able to resolve things on their own. But when it becomes apparent that this resolution is not occurring, the sooner you (or someone from your top-level team) jump in to mediate, the better. Rarely do these situations resolve themselves and if you let things fester, they’ll spread quickly and create deeper problems.” ~ Anderson Schoenrock, ScanDigital 10. Treat Them Like Adults “Communication is critical between employees who are having issues with each other. Giving them ownership of the situation, reminding them of the greater purpose and treating them like adults who can come to a resolution on their own can work more efficiently than introducing a third-person mediator in some situations.” ~ Shradha Agarwal, ContextMedia The post 10 Small Ways to Combat Big Employee Conflicts appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| App Purchases Up at Google Play Store – Numbers Impressive Posted: 29 May 2013 07:30 AM PDT
According to Google, two business models for mobile apps are growing at a fast clip. Particularly fast growing is something called "in app purchases." In app purchases are when someone buys an additional feature or service while inside a mobile application. This could be extra features, premium content, virtual goods, or simply a paid upgrade to remove advertisements. Google recently announced it has seen a 700 percent growth in revenue from in app purchases over the last year in its Google Play store. And it's not just at the Google Play Store. A report says the Apple store is seeing a similar trend. Earlier this year analysis firm Distimo reported 76 percent of U.S. Apple Store revenue came from in app purchases. About 71 percent of those purchases were from so-called “freemium” apps, the report said. Freemium apps cost nothing for initial download but then allow users to buy additional upgrades or features. The top earners of in-app purchases in the Apple Store so far have been games, Apple Insider reports. However, at least one business app, TurboTax Snap Tax, did break the top 10 in earnings. Google Dishes About Play StoreSubscriptions are another growing business model for app developers at Google Play. Google says revenue from subscriptions has doubled each quarter since the subscription option was launched a year ago. Ibrahim Elbouchikhi, Product Manager of Google Play Commerce, said average revenue per user in the Google Play Store had more than doubled in the past year. He explained each of the two business models behind that growth. “In app,” he said, “is about getting the user to enjoy the application, to really get immersed into it, before getting to monetization. We’ve heard this a lot in all sorts of sayings. You know, ‘Focus on the user experience, and the money will follow.’ And that’s exactly what in-app represents.” The remarks were made when addressing the crowd at the recent Google I/O event in a session called “Making Money on Google Play.” He points out that “in app purchase” business models are not for everyone. Subscription-based business models can be very successful, too. However, he notes, “Subscriptions have a pretty high hurdle. The user has to see continuous value. They have to commit to a recurring subscription…. Yet, we are seeing more and more users taking that step, and it’s because of the applications and the content ….” He points to the success story of Pandora, a top app and “one of the few non-games that’s completely based on subscriptions.” Google representative Elbouchikhi and his team shared other important trends for businesses and entrepreneurs interested in developing apps for the Google Play store. Tablets are better than phones for monetizing an app. The purchase rate on tablet apps is 1.7 times higher. “Optimizing your application for tablets is well worth while,” he notes. Google has launched resources for developers, including optimization tips for tablet apps, to help developers. The team also said apps making use of the latest Android platform additions had a 2.2 times greater chance for monetization over apps built on an older version. He urges taking advantage of the latest features, too, such as the Google+ login and new APIs. They are more than “nice-to-haves,” he says, because you can double your revenue by adopting these latest features. And of course, quality matters. An app with a 4-star rating almost triples the revenue over a 3-star rating. And revenue on a 4-star app is orders of magnitude better than a 1-star rating. “Replying to reviews, fixing bugs, good customer support … all of that has a tangible impact on your revenue.” See Google slide above. He also pointed out that by getting the application into the Google Play store, you have access to a global distribution network in 134 countries. This means opportunities to market apps through the Google Play Store are growing. Small businesses and entrepreneurs already involved in mobile app technology, or those looking to expand their businesses into mobile, take note. The post App Purchases Up at Google Play Store – Numbers Impressive appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| What If I Share a Celebrity’s Name? Google Reputation Management Nightmare Posted: 29 May 2013 05:00 AM PDT
In an era when people are used to searching others on the Internet that they are going to deal and/or possibly date, controlling your search results is a must for both professional and personal happiness. Not everyone is as lucky as me to have a unique, catchy name like “Ann Smarty” (let’s just pretend it’s real). Many people still struggle to get found on Google. And while having a common name like “Bob Smith” can result in higher competition (that oftentimes is really easy to beat with some basic SEO skill simply because having that skill is a huge competitive advantage), a much bigger problem is when you share a celebrity’s name. Below are common Internet search problems some of us keep trying to solve:
While #1 is more or less clear and familiar, let’s take a look at #2′s case study. There is a very old and still unresolved question on Quora that dates back to 2011: “My name is Alex Baldwin, how can I tell Google I’m a different person than Alec Baldwin?” There’s a lot of “helpful“ recommendations below it from creating lots of (social) profiles to creating an Adwords Campaign. According to Alex, all of those have been implemented, yet nothing has helped. Google isn’t giving the guy a chance:
Even after you confirm you are not stupid and you have typed everything correctly the first time, Google will still not be convinced:
So Why is it Happening?Google’s spell check feature is based on just one data piece: The number of search results. Back in the day, when Google was much more open to revealing the under-lying mechanisms, here’s how they described the spell checker feature:
What to Do?1. Be Unique: Stick to the Name You’ll Have Less Trouble With The truth is, you are unlikely to beat such a popular search as a celebrity name. You have two choices: Either wait for the celebrity’s career end or stop hitting the wall and brand another variation of your own name. The obvious option would be to brand your middle name or the middle initial:
[At least Google doesn't think it's a misspelling.] Another way could be using your personal short name, your daily life nickname or your full name – depends on what you like most and what you stick to. The Main Thing: Start Doing That Very Early The very moment you are smart and mature enough to set a site and start thinking about what Google thinks about you, stick to the name version you are likely to have trouble with controlling search results for. Yes, that’s not the perfect solution but unfortunately, that’s the only way to prevent Google from thinking you are a broken celebrity name. Remember the nasty celebrity news that makes it to the top search results – what if your name belongs to a lesser known celebrity and your future partner or employer won’t even search further? 2. Embrace Google Plus When you are good with the name you plan to brand, use that exact version of your name on Google Plus. If you don’t know how to use Google Plus as well as how to verify the authorship of your content there, see my quick presentation here or bookmark WP beginner‘s guide on getting Google's verified Authorship for your WordPress blog. You can also read up on choosing your best author picture. The most obvious benefit is that the more circles have you, the more people will see your personal results:
The longer-term benefit is that Google is probably trying to use Google Plus as its identity platform and if they are smart enough, they will use it to wisely rank people. So if you embrace it earlier and start building your presence there, you have a good chance to get established well enough to actually control search results. Do you have any personal case studies and/or situations to share? The post What If I Share a Celebrity’s Name? Google Reputation Management Nightmare appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
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