Here is a video post by ABC, featuring USA Today contributor and small business expert Steve Strauss about why starting a small business in this tough economy can deem successful by following 5 simple tips.
Tip 1: Be A Business Person: Learn business and start writing a business plan
Tips 2: Look For Vacuums And Waves: There are 27 million businesses and 99 percent account for small businesses. Your business needs something new and different, the vacuum, and something old and successful, the wave. The vacuum is doing something different, thinking outside of the box. Wave is old that deems successful for other businesses such as a twitter page for your business.
Tip 3: Have A GREAT Online Presence: Set up a Website that makes you look professional and big no matter how small your business is because it can generate more business and profit
Tip 4: Use Available Technology: Buy software that can help contribute to your business and have a professional business space for client meeting
Tip 5: Don’t Lead: Find successful business models in your industry
Despite what some people may think about network marketing, Entrepreneur Andy Willoughby’s 3 Step Plan has assisted many people start and manage home businesses. Willoughby’s members assess how the 3 Step Plan has offered them the financial freedom and flexible hours they have always desired.
Denise and Rob Carver, members of the 3 Step Plan reviewed the system. “Andy Willoughby’s 3 Step Plan has changed our lives. My husband’s income was our sole income for the past 20 years. But everything changed in 2007 when he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and was unable to work. With Andy Willoughby’s 3 Step Plan, we took control of our own finances. The 3 Step Plan is so simple and truly made for anyone to use. We started this almost three years ago and haven’t looked back,” said Denise Carver.
For Patty Messer, a retired school teacher, octogenarian parent and mother to an adult special needs daughter, the 3 Step Plan has allowed her to manage her own schedule and finances. “Retirement means a fixed income, but the cost of living continues to rise. I am not able to work outside the house with specific hours. The 3 Step Plan gives me the freedom and flexibility to be able to work from home while taking care of my family. I am very grateful to Andy Willoughby for providing a method of advertising that is both rewarding and successful,” Messer said.
David Gillispie added that the plan is reliable, easy to use and informational. “Andy Willoughby’s 3 Step Plan has been advertised for several years, people recognize that it is a stable system. This system provides very useful training, support and tools that proved to be successful in building my home business,” Gillispie said.
Willoughby is grateful to those who are successfully utilizing his 3 Step Plan. “I created this business system to give people the opportunity to have financial freedom, and at the same time, to not have their lives consumed by work,” said Willoughby.
I would like to share with all of you about how you too can become a successful entrepreneur. 74 percent of the wealthiest people in America run their own business. By becoming your own boss you can control your own income and have the financial freedom you have always wanted!
What is a good way to start becoming an entrepreneur?
“One of the best and simplest ways today in today’s society is through network marketing because you can start very inexpensively. Just like for instance the 3 Step Plan, the marketing system that I operate. The 3 Step Plan is a way that a person can invest $35 to actually start their business and the rest is all sweat equity.”
Here’s a great article from the small business tips section of Bloomberg Businessweek about how small business owners can create accountability within their company starting at the top. The article reviews several tips for ways to improve day to day productivity.
1. Set clear, attainable goals. Your employees need to know exactly what you expect them to accomplish in a clearly defined time line.
2. You as the boss need to lead by example. If your employees see you commit to a project and accomplish whatever goals you set for that project, it sets a precedent of how things are to be done.
3. Involve your employees in the process of generating ideas. This makes them feel more involved and gives them more ownership of the project.
The problems we face today involving debt have become a serious issue. In Andy Willoughby’s latest video, he discusses why Americans are facing debt problems and what he sees as a solution. Following what society deems as the “American Dream,” has given many the perspective that spending leads to success, but this only digs a deeper hole. As Willoughby explains, the way to get ahead and make the money you deserve is to become an entrepreneur and take control of how much you earn. His low cost 3 Step Plan has shown others the importance of running your own business, and the rewards that come with it. Watch as Andy Willoughby describes how it is possible to make money from home and enjoy living your life.
“Well the reason I think so many people are living in debt is just the challenge of what the society has set forth. I mean, today’s society has been promoted to live the “American Dream.” So people are searching for this dream, and debt is easy. There’s two ways to avoid being in debt. You either have to spend less money or make more money. I think the easiest way to actually be able to increase your income is to become an entrepreneur and develop your own business. Seventy-four percent of the wealthy in America got that way by owning their own business. One of the best and simplest ways today, in today’s society, is through network marketing because you can start very inexpensively, just like for instance with the 3 Step Plan—the big marketing system I operate. The 3 Step Plan is a way that a person can invest $35 to actually start their business, and the rest is all sweat equity. The reason that I started my own business is I found out very young in my life that I would rather be captain of a rowboat than first mate of a battleship. I didn’t want someone else telling me how much I could earn. I always wanted to have that ability to decide for myself. So, I either worked in commissions, where I could earn commissions and control my income, or operated my own business.”
It’s April, and that means the tax deadline is right around the corner. As I was reviewing Business Week’s daily tips for small businesses I came across this information which I feel is very beneficial for small businesses.
Use the Recovery Act’s Loss Carryback Provision
The 2009 tax deadline is quickly approaching. Balancing the demands of running your business with preparing a complicated tax return can be a daunting task, especially with new tax laws in place.
Enacted as part of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009, the loss carryback provision extends the opportunity for small businesses to take those losses and offset income from five years instead of two. To qualify for the five-year carryback provision, a small business must have no greater than an average of $15 million in gross receipts over a three-year period that ends with the tax year of the net operating loss. It is available to corporations and companies organized as a partnership, sole proprietorship, or S corporation.
If you haven’t filed your taxes yet, the loss carryback provision is helpful to keep in mind when filling out forms 1045 and 1139.
Peter Bingaman
Vice-President, Small Business Services
Deluxe
Shoreview, Minn.
