Filed under: Small business

“It’s common for business owners to want to manage everything,” said Fabio Rosati, who is the CEO of Elance, which is a web-based system to help businesses find, hire, and manage professionals. “But it’s now getting easier to outsource no-core functions, which is what bigger companies are doing.”

Basically, outsourcing can be cheaper and mean higher quality (do you really need to comprehend payroll?). More importantly, you will have more time to focus on the things you do ideal, which should help to grow your business.

So what are some of the things you can do?

Time audit: As a result, it’s a good idea to do a “time audit.” That’s, where is most of your time being spent? And can some of these activities be offloaded — leaving you more time to make money?

Find qualified people: No doubt, there are several people who want your business — but, of course, they’ve varying levels of quality.

To deal with this, you might want to seek out prospects from your own network, such as by sending out an email to trusted friends or perhaps use your LinkedIn network.

Another approach is to use on the internet platforms, such as eLance or RentaCoder.com (to hire programmers). These sites usually have community rankings of the service providers.

Baby Steps: Outsourcing can be tricky so be careful. “I recommend starting small,” said Rosati. “Also, make sure you spend time defining the scope of the project. And since the communication is likely not to be face-to-face, make sure the communication is clear.”

Think out-of-the-box: Just about anything can be outsourced.

Look at Jonathan Fleming, who is a real estate agent. He outsources: sales letters, his blog, and his customer database. “The ability to have a corporation of people working for me without people on my day payroll is amazing,” he stated. “You have your army when you need them.”

Interestingly, Timothy Ferris wrote a book on this topic, The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich. His virtual assistants help him with scheduling, reading his email and even on the web dating.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook. He also operates DealProfiles.com.

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Filed under: Next massive thing, Small business

I’m a big fan of LinkedIn, which is a social network for professionals. In fact, the service has helped me get sources for some of my stories.

But competition is starting to emerge, the latest comes from Hoover’s, a part of Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE: DNB). Hoover’s has acquired Visible Path, which develops an enetrprise-class social networking platform.

So what makes Hoover’s Connect different? Essentially, it’s a LinkedIn for individual companies and the system integrates with Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)’s Outlook and other products.

Perhaps the biggest key, however, is privacy. After all, if you’re a major executive (who has the power of the checkbook), do you want your contact information freely available?

Hoover’s can also leverage its big base of business customers. For example, it is possible to use the system to develop referral paths for various companies, making it to make it easier to make a connection. Actually, according to a study from the University of Chicago and University of North Carolina business schools, it is 16 times more prone to get a response from a trusted source versus a cold call.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook. He also operates DealProfiles.com.

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Filed under: Good news, World wide web, Google (GOOG), Amazon.com (AMZN), Next massive thing, Small business

Often, startups will issue a stuffy press release when announcing their venture rounds. But in the case of Etsy - an on the web platform to purchase and sell handmade goods - there’s actually a detailed blog post from the co-founder Robert Kalin, which even includes a video.

In all, the company raised $27 million in a venture round. The investors include Union Square Ventures, Hubert Burda Media and Accel Partners. In fact, Accel Partners’ Jim Breyer is taking a board seat (keep in mind that he invested in Facebook in the early stages).

Kalin goes into lots of detail on the “use of proceeds.” Etsy is going to invest about $5 million in hardware and servers, and there will be large improvements in the payment processing system, which is on par with Amazon.com’s (NASDAQ: AMZN). Oh, and the company wants to provide Google-like (NASDAQ: GOOG) search functionality.

Even without such things, Etsy is getting lots of traction. The community has more than 650,000 members and there are more than 120,000 sellers.

And as seen with its funding press release - which is one of the most transparent I’ve ever seen — Etsy certainly takes the concept of “community” very seriously.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook. He also operates DealProfiles.com.

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Filed under: Small business

It’s still not clear whether we’ll have a recession or not. But the Federal Reserve, Congress, and the president are definitely concerned — and are taking quick action.

In fact, Congress and the president are pushing for some tax breaks for small businesses. “The features are similar to the incentive tax provisions of the Reagan era’s 1981 Economic Recovery Tax Act, which provided business investment incentives,” said Mary Canning, the Dean of the Schools of Taxation and Record-keeping at Golden Gate University.

So, what does this all mean? What can you do?

Let’s take a look:

The proposal: The stimulus plan doubles the amount small businesses can write off for investments in 2008 — from $125,000 to $250,000. What’s more, the bill expands the cap for eligibility; that’s, businesses making as much as $800,000 (the prior cap was $500,000).

The proposed bill also allows for accelerated depreciation on plant and equipment. Basically, you can write off as much as 50% of such investments in 2008.

What to do? OK, it’s not a good idea to make business decisions solely based on taxes. But, if you are wavering on something, then the tax benefit can be a key tipping point. In the case of the new tax bill, you should definitely consider the implications of buying equipment, such as computers, furniture, machines and so on.

Of course, it’s important to seek out your tax professional. “Business owners should plan out their 2008 finances in collaboration with their tax adviser and see if there will be opportunities to take advantage of the higher depreciation and Section 179 expensing opportunities,” stated William Perez, who is a licensed tax professional in private practice and writes the tax section of About.com. “Profitable businesses might consider purchasing additional equipment, but they will need to review their current tax situation to make sure they’ll be eligible to take full advantage of these tax incentives.”

Record Keeping: Oh yea, make sure you keep a file for paid bills, canceled checks and other business items (and keep them in a safe place).

“At a minimum, put receipts in the proper categories throughout the year so it will be easier to total them up at tax time,” stated Fred Melton, who is a tax expert and an owner/operator of a TimePlus payroll processing service. “You are not required to keep records in a formal ’set of books’; however, you need to find the best record keeping system that works for you. Take record keeping seriously.”

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates DealProfiles.com.

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Filed under: Deals, Management, Marketing and advertising, Entrepreneurs, Small business

Monday-morning quarterbacking. Locker room speak about the best investment you’ve ever made. We all do it to some extent. How many of us would like to hit a true homerun?

Following up on a post I had earlier in the week on some of the changes in the music industry, I encountered an exclusive on Bloomberg this morning. The article, titled “Want to Be a Motion picture Producer,” plays right into our fantasies about making homeruns with our investments.

The article profiles a new investment firm, called IndieVest, that targets movies. Individuals who pay an annual fee can choose investments from a menu of films to be developed, produced, and distributed by the company.

Investors, wealthy individuals who must meet minimum net worth stipulations, are guaranteed at least 50% of the profits after getting back their initial investment (along with a premium), with 40% going to the makers of the film and the remaining money, of course, to IndieVest.

Who knows, maybe you’ll strike it rich by going long the next Alvin and the Chipmunks?

Zack Miller is the Managing Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com and a former equity analyst for a leading multinational hedge fund.

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Filed under: Google (GOOG), Yahoo! (YHOO), Citigroup Inc. (C), Merrill Lynch (MER), Small business, Recession

Lately, the headlines have been scary. Unemployment is increasing. There are concerns from the presidential candidates. Real estate values are sagging and foreclosures are skyrocketing. And, premier companies - like Citigroup (NYSE: C) and Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) - have raised billions of dollars to deal with heavy losses.

So, if the economy is slowing down, how can your business deal with things?

Let’s take a look:

Deal with hidden costs: When looking at expense items, some might seem small. But it’s often the case that these items - in aggregate - can turn into a massive deal.

According to Tom Sharples, president of Qorvus Systems: “Typical small- or medium-sized businesses that have been around for a few years can find duplicative costs: unused cell-phone contracts that continue to rack up charges, subscriptions to services associated with long-departed employees and often all sorts of legacy junk that no one even remembers ordering, but that you’re still paying for each month.”

He recommends looking at expenses for:

o. Telecom charges
o. Web hosting costs
o. Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) search marketing expenses
o. Facilities costs (utilities, janitorial services, and so on)

Establish a Credit Policy: Basically, you need to take preventative measures with customers. So before extending credit, make sure they’re in good standing and up-to-date on all invoices.

“If you have signed credit applications and are authorized to pull credit reports and check with banks and vendors on someone’s payment history, now is the time to revaluate each customer’s credit and credit limits,” said Michelle Dunn, who is the author of Become the Squeaky Wheel: A Credit & Collections Guide for Everyone (Collecting Money Series) and operates a credit advisory business. “Check for things such as late or slow payments, change or loss of jobs, changes in income, change of address, and divorce. Take immediate action if a customer’s mail is returned or the phone is disconnected. Speed is critical. The longer you wait, the less chance you have of getting paid.”

Work with your vendors: As a small business, it won’t be easy to get better terms from vendors. Yet, it’s worth asking for.

Or, it may mean dealing with smaller vendors, who might be more amenable for negotiation.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar On the web Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates DealProfiles.com.

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Filed under: Marketing and advertising, Small business

As a business owner, you are certainly an expert. You keep up with industry trends, you understand the benefits of your products and services, and you have creative ideas.

So why not provide some of your wisdom to your customers - through an email newsletter?

Actually, with web services like Vertical Response and Constant Contact, it’s fairly simple to set one up. But before getting started, let’s take a look at some things that will help your efforts:

Content Is King: Yes, it’s a clich

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Filed under: Cisco Systems (CSCO), Dell (DELL), Intel (INTC), United Parcel’B’ (UPS), salesforce.com inc (CRM), Small business

Since launching Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) in the late 1990s, Marc Benioff has built a multi-billion dollar operation, which is still growing at a break-neck pace. Interestingly enough, Benioff thinks that a large key to success has been his company’s philanthropic efforts - that has helped with employee morale, community involvement and even customer loyalty.

To this end, Benioff used the 1-1-1 model. When Salesforce.com was founded, 1% of the stock went into a foundation. After that, 1% of the profits were put into the foundation and employees have spent 1% of their time on philanthropic activities.

Last year, Benioff wrote a book on the topic, called The Business of Changing the World. He interviews a variety of companies, such as Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), UPS (NYSE: UPS), Dell (NASDAQ: DELL), Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and Timberland.

So what can your business do?

“When we started our company,” stated Kristen Marie Schuerlein, who is the founder of Affirmagy, “we asked ourselves ‘what qualities do we want more of in our lives?’ And then we imagined wrapping ourselves, and those we love in those very qualities. Our entire R&D program was based on a donation of our Abundance blankets to group of ministers at a convention in San Diego. This was how we discovered how much our products resonated with people. We still get calls from that donation, asking how to purchase our blankets.”

Yet, she warns that such efforts take lots of time. What’s more, you need to find a cause where your product, audience and charity are aligned. “People will not support a company that seems to be jumping on a bandwagon,” said Schuerlein. “And people deserve to know why giving to a certain non-profit or certain cause is meaningful to the company no matter how big or small.”

Partner Up

Brenda Novak has been writing books since 1993, such as romantic suspense novels. It’s turned out to be a full-time business for her.

She also runs an online auction for diabetes research. On the first auction three years ago, there were more than 70,000 hits and 9,542 very special visitors.

Her advice:

1. “Look for something one-of-a-kind you have to offer and join forces with others who are in a similar or sideline business. What makes Brenda Novak’s On-line Auction for Diabetes Research so successful is the fact that I bring major publishing professionals and fellow authors (many of whom are very famous) together to offer items and opportunities that can’t be found anywhere else.”

2. “Make sure there’s a pay-off in it for everyone. Those who donate get significant publicity value for participating, which helps them build their business. Those who shop get one-of-a-kind, unique items and opportunities. The charity gets the research dollars. Even in philanthropy, people act according to self-interest much more often than public virtue, so don’t fight that. You’ll only get discouraged. Instead, use it to your advantage. Give everyone a reason to support your efforts and they’ll.”

Tom Taulli operates SmallBizMix.com.

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Filed under: Office Depot (ODP), Small business

As you gear up your business for 2008, I’m sure you’ve lots of good ideas. But there is something that is often ignored - getting organized. And with the explosion of email and digital media, being organized is getting even tougher.

To help things out, I had a opportunity to interview Monica Ricci, the author of Organize Your Office In No Time and the founder of Catalyst Organizing Solutions. She’s also Office Depot (NYSE: ODP)’s organizing advisor.

Ricci’s core filing system is called F.A.I.T.H, which involves:

File It: If something requires filing, then file it now.

Act: Have an action file for your recurring tasks.

In Progress: This is a file for things that don’t fit in a category. Examples: invitation to an event, plane tickets, directions to a client location, or even a birthday card.

Toss: Don’t be a pack rack.

Hand Off: Maybe something will be useful for a colleague?

“Everyone should set aside time once a month to sort and slim the files,” stated Ricci. “Put the date in your planner for one hour on the last Friday of every month.”

Store It Up

Ricci advises that you get into the habit of backing up your digital materials. To this end, she recommends a SimpleTech Portable Hard Drive that can store between 40GB and 1TB. “Take the time each day to back up your work,” states Ricci.

Another idea is to have a flash drive, such as the Ativa 4GB flash drive (it holds as much as 160,000 sheets of paper).

And, sometimes “old school” approaches work well too. Says Ricci: “Stop taking notes on loose paper and start using a three-ring notebook to keep all important meeting notes and phone messages together. A well-priced, leather-bound notebook — like the Three-Ring Binder by Foray — gives you the ability to move pages while staying well-organized and professional-looking.”

Tom Taulli operates SmallBizMix.com.

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Filed under: Other issues, Industry, Law, Consumer experience, Employees, Headline news, Small business

A recent ruling handed down by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has given employers discretion in using Medicare eligibility as a factor when calculating health care benefits for retired employees, as reported by Marketplace. The AARP had raised a stink about the issue claiming that having employers shift health care costs to Medicare when applicable amounted to age discrimination. My question is, if the level of care and benefits remains the same, who really cares from what direction the bills are paid? If employers carry the burden then we all see it in our bottom line. If the government pays for it, then we all see it in our tax load. The end effect to us as a society is basically the same.

This decision reaffirms in part exactly what Medicare was intended to do. The system has two major intents. First and foremost, Medicare is meant to fill the gap in cases where health care coverage is lacking. Secondly, Medicare is intended to help free the business world from the administration of benefits for people who no longer participate as an active part of their work force.

If the level of actual benefits is in no way reduced and the process of accessing those benefits is in no way hampered, then there’s no room to gripe about employers shifting the burden. In fact, this kind of move is exactly what American business needs right now. However, if this decision in any way dilutes the benefits that hard working people have bargained their working careers for, then the AARP has an extremely valid argument and they desire to have that argument tested by the Supreme Court.

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