Amazon Down 15 Minutes, Loses Over $66,000 Per Minute |  |
- Amazon Down 15 Minutes, Loses Over $66,000 Per Minute
- Calendar vs. Fiscal Year: What’s Right for Your Business?
- Briggo Will Change Your Morning Coffee
- Franchising Social Media: Then And Now
- Fiverr Celebrates 2 Million Gigs
- Few Americans Invest in Startups
| Amazon Down 15 Minutes, Loses Over $66,000 Per Minute Posted: 19 Aug 2013 06:41 PM PDT
Amazon stock investors took a deep breath this afternoon as online retail giant Amazon went down for a brief time without warning. Media accounts differ on the exact duration. Reuters and several other news outlets put the downtime for users in the U.S. and Canada on both Web and mobile at around 15 minutes. However, some sources suggest downtime was longer with GeekWire putting it at about 40 minutes. Amazon has offered no response to most media inquiries. (Small Business Trends also tried to contact the mega online retailer earlier today without success.) However, in a brief tweet CNBC claimed Amazon told the cable news channel its site was down for “improvements” and would be open again for business soon.
Less than one hour’s downtime may not sound like a lot in the overall scheme of things. But when you’re as big as Amazon, minutes mean big losses. Forbes calculated that given Amazon’s most recent annual numbers, the company probably lost about $66,240 per minute in sales. So that’s almost $1 million in lost sales if you buy the 15-minute explanation. If the site was inaccessible for closer to 40 minutes, that’s over $2.5 million in lost sales. Of course, Amazon can easily survive those kinds of lost sales. With a market cap of $130 billion as of today, a few measly millions are a rounding error. However, as a small business, if your site goes down, you may be hard-pressed to bounce back as quickly, especially if you use outside tech help. By the time you contact your tech help, and they free up from other demands, several hours could have gone by. And while your site is down, not only do you have to contend with potential losses — but your company could lose credibility, especially if the outage continues for hours or days. Here Amazon did a smart thing. The company had a branded placeholder screen ready. Within a few minutes, the placeholder page saying “Oops!” went up. So instead of simply getting a screen with an alarming error message, such as “500 internal server error,” you saw a page that looked like an Amazon.com page of sorts (image above). Even though the site was still down, it wasn’t quite as glaring an issue, because it looked like an Amazon page. You, too, can minimize the loss of credibility and resulting fallout, by putting in place your own custom error page. Watch the video below for a simple tutorial on how to install your own error page so you’re ready the next time your site goes down. If your server has CPanel installed, it’s not difficult. For most small businesses, the reality is, you’re likely to experience the occasional outage. It’s better to be prepared. The post Amazon Down 15 Minutes, Loses Over $66,000 Per Minute appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Calendar vs. Fiscal Year: What’s Right for Your Business? Posted: 19 Aug 2013 04:00 PM PDT
Upon launching a new business, you might be faced with the question of choosing a tax year for your business. Should your accounting period be aligned with the regular calendar year (as you've probably been accustomed to with your personal taxes) or should you define your own start and end dates for reporting your tax year? Who Can Change Their Tax Year?Before we wade into the nuances of choosing a tax year, it's important to realize that not every business has the flexibility to pick their tax year. For example, sole proprietors don't exist apart from their owner, and therefore they need to use the calendar tax year (like the owner's personal tax return). Likewise, partnerships and LLCs typically need to use the same tax year as the majority of the owners. And generally speaking, S Corporations need to follow a calendar tax year. In the cases above, if you want your business to adopt a different fiscal year, you'll need to petition the IRS for special permission. In this case, the burden is on you to convince the IRS that you have a real business purpose for using a different tax year. For this reason, the C Corporation offers the most flexibility in terms of choosing between calendar year and fiscal year. Many accountants will advise their clients to opt for a C Corp if using a fiscal tax year is critical. What's the Advantage of Fiscal Year Reporting?A fiscal tax year is basically a period of 12 consecutive months beginning on a date other than January 1. Calendar tax year reporting is very simple, and you get to follow the same schedule as your personal taxes. So, why would a business want to complicate things by using a different reporting schedule? The key reason to switch from a calendar year is to better match your business' income and expenses for the reportable tax year. For example, maybe you have a seasonal business where the bulk of expenses are in October-November and your income is made in March-April. A regular tax calendar would split these times, so your expenses for the season wouldn't be matched up with the income. Another example is with companies who seek crowdsourced funding from sites like Kickstarter. For example, let's say your business received its Kickstarter funds in November (and these funds are taxed as income), but you're not going to start the project and incur expenses until February. With calendar tax year reporting, you'd have unusually high income for the first year that wouldn't be offset by expenses. In this case, you might opt to form a C Corp and choose a fiscal year of Nov. 1 – Oct. 31. How Do You Change Your Reporting Calendar?If you've already filed a tax year for your business, but would like to change your schedule, you'll need to file IRS Form 1128, Application to Adopt, Change, or Retain a Tax Year. Calendar Photo via Shutterstock The post Calendar vs. Fiscal Year: What's Right for Your Business? appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Briggo Will Change Your Morning Coffee Posted: 19 Aug 2013 01:30 PM PDT
You can cancel the ritual run to the coffee shop for everyone in the office. Forget about that intern screwing up an entire pot of coffee, too. Ok, maybe not just yet. Briggo Inc. may have the perfect solution for your office coffee needs, though. The company’s robotic Coffee Haus machine actually aims to make the perfect cup of coffee every time … and you can order a cup from your smartphone. Each “intelligent” Coffee Haus is split into a brewed coffee station and an espresso machine. The coffee is not made by a human barrista. Instead, Briggo’s robotics technology automates the whole process from order to finished cup. The robotic barrista takes less than 30 seconds to make a cup of brewed coffee after an order is placed and up to two minutes to create what Briggo calls a perfect espresso drink. The robotic technology is designed to mimic the motions a barrista would use making you an espresso at a nearby cafe. Each order is ground and tamped individually. Download a smartphone app from Briggo, and you’ll be able to place your order right from your phone. The app even remembers what drinks are your favorites and you can modify the order at any time, like changing a syrup flavor or some other special request. The Briggo robot barista was recently introduced full-time at the University of Texas-Austin. VendingMarketWatch.com reports more of the machines will be placed at hospitals, university and corporate campuses soon. The new technology seems like a great business model. It could also be a great alternative for morning coffee in your office coming soon. The post Briggo Will Change Your Morning Coffee appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Franchising Social Media: Then And Now Posted: 19 Aug 2013 11:00 AM PDT
I first wrote (here on Small Business Trends) about how franchisors were starting to use social media back in 2009. I shared some of the things that franchise industry executives were discussing about social media, including their concerns. Things like:
While some of those concerns still exist, the franchise industry as a whole has successfully traversed through the hills and valleys of what's still a pretty young phenomenon. There's a real – and very hard to explain — energy present in social media. It's always changing and it continues to evolve through new tools and new platforms. And it's being used in ways that none of us, with the exceptions below, could have imagined a few short years ago. None of us except for maybe these social media and marketing experts:
Franchising And Social MediaA year or so after I wrote the post, conversations I was having with franchisors had definitely changed. The things they were asking, as they related to social media, included questions like these:
My answers were yes, yes and yes. And, they still are. Since then, the franchise industry (as a whole) has really become more comfortable with social media and its myriad uses. According to Jason Daley, a columnist for Entrepreneur magazine:
Based on recent interactions with franchise executives and franchise marketing managers, Jason's observation is right on the mark. Now, instead of fielding questions that start with the word, "should," the questions that I've been answering during the past year or so include these:
The ChallengeOne of the challenges for franchisors using social media is actually related to business model itself. Each franchise location is individually owned and operated which makes it challenging for franchise marketing departments to monitor and control. In her Mashable post, Taylor Hulyk of re:group writes:
Franchisee performance is one issue, and franchisors are always trying to figure out ways to improve it. But, there's another issue that seems to be coming up more and more, and it's sometimes more challenging for franchisors to deal with. It's the issue of what I call, "franchisee megaphones." A perfect example of a franchisee megaphone is when John Metz, a huge multiple-location franchisee, and an obvious opponent to Obamacare, decided to pass on his increased healthcare costs to his customers. That went well. Can you imagine what the Denny's Facebook Page looked like during that controversy? The thing is, when a franchisee goes rogue, he or she can't just be fired; franchisees are not employees. That's why more and more franchisors are asking themselves if specific social media policies need to be implemented. Prediction: All franchisors will have written social media policies in place within the next two years. Franchisees need know what they can and can't do when it comes to posting on social media networks. After all, they're representing their brands. When it WorksLED Source, the only franchisor of LED lighting in North America, recently reached out to Facebook fans for a LED lighting challenge. The contest encouraged all staging, studio, installing and corporate theater professionals throughout the U.S. and Canada to submit a video via Facebook of their outdated, problematic lighting systems for a chance to win a LED lighting package worth over $20,000. As video submissions flooded in, a panel of experts selected the top five finalists. Facebook fans then voted on the grand prize winner. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company (CSC) of Ohio was named the winner for their creative and humorous video and received the coveted LED lighting makeover to replace their energy-draining stage lighting. Rhonda Sanderson, CEO of Sanderson PR, who helped put this successful marketing campaign together, told me that their firm leveraged Facebook to hold the actual contest, but then tied all of their public relations efforts surrounding the contest into the social media campaign as well. "Twitter was used to share news surrounding the contest and direct followers to their Facebook page. Additionally, all press secured around the contest and its winners were shared via social media to gain further exposure and increase fans and followers," Sanderson told me. But, the campaign was successful in one other way. "Our current lights are basically the SUV's of the lighting world," said Brian Phillips, producing artistic director of the CSC, after being announced the winner. "We are so grateful for this opportunity, as it will change our lives and our art in a profound and meaningful way." The franchise social media landscape has changed. It feels like everybody in franchising is on board now. Franchisors, would you like to share some of your recent social media marketing successes? Yesterday Tomorrow Photo via Shutterstock The post Franchising Social Media: Then And Now appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Fiverr Celebrates 2 Million Gigs Posted: 19 Aug 2013 08:00 AM PDT
[Click to see full size infographic] Fiverr offers a huge variety of services or “gigs” starting as low as $5. There are potential opportunities here for small businesses seeking services or looking to market them. Last week, the site celebrated a milestone saying it has facilitated two million gigs worldwide. Services Available on FiverrYou can find all kinds of services on Fiverr. Some offer you a professional business logo design or a short video presentation for just $5 and could be a great way to try out new talent. Others, like an offer to get you 1000 Twitter followers in a day (Yup, we actually saw one like this) could easily land you in trouble with your social media platform. In a recent email, the Fiverr team shared some basic tips for business owners both buying and selling services on the site. Tips for Using FiverrFirst, when posting services, break down gigs into smaller tasks you can easily do for $5. You can then add additional services at a higher cost. Second, be sure you set a reasonable delivery time. Repeat and new orders will depend very heavily upon on-time delivery. For businesses seeking services on Fiverr, developers recommend paying close attention to the rating (a percentage based on other customers’ satisfaction) and the votes members have received. These could be indicators of how popular they are in the community and also their credibility among other users. Also check comments and feedback from others who have experienced their work first hand. The post Fiverr Celebrates 2 Million Gigs appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Few Americans Invest in Startups Posted: 19 Aug 2013 05:00 AM PDT
Few Americans finance new companies, particularly those founded by non-relatives, recent studies by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and Babson College reveal. That’s part of the reason why entrepreneurship advocates are frustrated by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) failure to write the rules for equity crowd funding in a timely fashion. Many in the entrepreneurship community hope that crowd funding will boost the fraction of Americans putting their money in start-ups. Few Americans have invested in other people’s newly founded companies in recent years. The 2012 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), a representative survey of American adults directed by Babson College, finds that only 5.3 percent of Americans "personally provided funds for a new business started by someone else, excluding any purchases of stocks or mutual funds" during prior three years. Moreover, the typical amount invested by those providing funds was only $5,000. Few American households hold equity investments in private businesses operated by someone else. The 2010 Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances – a representative survey of the financial position of American households conducted every three years by Federal Reserve Board of Governors – shows that only 1.9 percent of American households holds equity in a business that no member of the household actively manages. Many other assets are much more commonly held than equity in other people’s companies. According to the Survey of Consumer Finances, 68.6 of American households own their own homes; 17.9 percent hold stock in publicly held companies; 14.4 percent have equity in another residential property (rental real estate, a vacation home or time-share); 13.6 percent hold stock in a business they manage; and 8.1 percent have an ownership stake in a non-residential property. The share of Americans who make informal investments — investments in private businesses belonging to friends, families and strangers — has changed little in recent years. In 2007, 4.5 percent of those surveyed as part of the GEM said they had invested in a new business started by someone else, a fraction little different from the 5.3 percent who reported doing this in 2012. The majority of informal investments go to a relative of the investor — 50.2 percent according to the 2012 GEM study. The next biggest fraction goes to friends, neighbors, and coworkers, which the 2012 GEM indicates received 35.3 percent. In 2012, only 11.4 percent of the investments went to a "stranger with a good idea," the survey reveals. Given that there are approximately 235 million American adults, the GEM survey percentages translate to about 470,000 Americans making an investment in a stranger's business every year. The number of Americans who make angel investments is of similar magnitude. The Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire, which conducts quarterly surveys of angel investors, estimates that there were 268,160 active angels in this country in 2012. Entrepreneurship advocates hope that equity crowd funding will help to boost these numbers. The Jump Start Our Businesses Startup (JOBS) Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama in April 2012, allows non-accredited investors to buy equity stakes in private companies through online crowd funding portals, once the SEC writes the rules governing such transactions. Whether the outcome will be as advocates hope remains to be seen, however. As of the date this column was written, the SEC has still not yet finished writing the crowd funding rules, despite a December 2012 deadline imposed by Congress. Money Photo via Shutterstock The post Few Americans Invest in Startups appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
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