In this post we will examine some of the most common red flags that can cause a business owner to be picked for an audit.

1. Not Reporting Income: This is obvious, but needs to be addressed. At times business owners forget the IRS receives copies of all 1099s and W-2s you receive. So, not only do you want to report all income earned, make sure to correct any incorrect 1099’s that you may receive.

2. A Large Change in Income: The service keeps records of all of your previous tax data. This means a red flag will occur when there’s a big change from the previous year. This is usually a problem when a business has shown a large loss when in previous years it had large profits.

3. Higher Than Average Deductions: The algorithms compare your returns against other tax payers in your area and the type of business. It does look for large meal and entertainment deductions that are out of the ordinary. Make sure that you can back up your deductions with good documentation such as: the amount, the place, the people attending, the business purpose and the nature of the discussion or meeting.

4. Home Office Deductions: The deduction is legitimate as long as you follow the rules closely. When done correctly you are able to deduct a percentage of your rent/mortgage, property taxes, utilities, phone bills, insurance, and others. You can find information on how to properly take this deduction by going to http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=163079,00.html

5. Large Charitable Contributions: This is one area where having receipts or letters from the charitable organization can save you a lot of pain. Make sure to file form 8283 for donations over $500.00

These are just some of the red flags to keep an eye out. Of course, you should always consult with a tax professional about these items and any other tax related information as your circumstance may be different.

When you consider growing your business, look to Bay Area Mastermind for strategies and techniques. Take a Test Drive and see what a professionally facilitated mastermind meeting is like. Call Bay Area Mastermind at 888-485-8122 for more information.

Previously, the company would hold hundreds of sales every year, and their customers began to wait for the sales before buying. The sagging numbers suggested that perhaps customers were not coming back at all.

The Challenge
In this weak economy consumers have shown they are willing to spend, but only if they find value. So, now J.C. Penny will have to get their customers to believe the prices offered everyday do provide good value without the sale tag.

What Does Behavioral Economics Have To Say About This Idea?
In this blog we have often looked at the work of Dan Ariely, behavioral economists and author of Predictably Irrational to gain some insights into these situations.
People Have trouble judging value

Behavioral economists have demonstrated that people have trouble judging the value of any given item. Therefore, consumers use “framing” as a reference point in determining if something has value or not.

We have all witnessed this behavior ourselves. When we see a washer that was $800 marked down to $400, it appears to be a great deal. However, if that same washer was priced at $400 initially, we would be less compelled to buy it.

To test this theory out, Dan Ariely and fellow behavioral economists asked MBA students to write down the last two digits of their social security numbers. Then the students were asked to bid on a number of items, including a bottle of wine. Students with the highest numbers bid 200 to 350 percent more than students with the lowest numbers.

The Lesson for Your Business
Our customers have difficulty establishing value on their own. They need a reference point in order to determine value. Without a reference point customers may be waiting for a “sale” to help them open their wallets and purses.

Many businesses have difficulty with pricing their services and products. There are a host of things that go into determining the best price. In the case of J.C. Penny they are combining this price reduction along with the introduction of new merchandise, new logo, and a new celebrity spokesperson (Ellen DeGeneres).

In their case management is combining various variables at the same time. This may make it difficult to fully understand which treatment had the biggest effect. However, given the sagging numbers this may be the only approach they can take.

Pricing issues are just one of the many items members of Bay Area Mastermind have the opportunity to discuss and develop at our meetings. Every member is provided with the latest research and strategies to grow the profit in their business in any economy. Why not take a test drive and see for yourself how your business can thrive from a professionally facilitated Mastermind Group.

The last couple of weeks has been full of a lot of disheartening news.   At the top of the list has been economic worries and strife around the world.

It is easy to lose sight of what we are all trying to accomplish in our lives whether it be financial, family, health, or spiritual.

Yet, despite it all there is a strength inside all of us that can never be extinguished unless we allow it.

Here is a quick video that demonstrates true courage:

 

Finally, let me leave you with a wonderful perspective:

In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don’t try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present.”

–Lao Tzu,
Chinese philosopher

Now more than ever it is important for every business owner to surround themselves with like minded positive people.  A mastermind is the best way for most business owners to get the support and inspiration to build their business and stay on track.  If you are not a part of a mastermind consider taking a look at Bay Area Mastermind and take you and your business to that next level.

In our last post we began to talk about the importance of social media for the business owner.  According to some reports, Facebook currently has more than 750 million users.  

Half of these users are on Facebook at least several times a day.  This is one reason that 75% of advertisers are planning to increase their media buying on this platform this year.

Given these trends business owners should consider looking into harnessing the power of Facebook for their business. So, as fast as Facebook is growing they are also making many changes to their platform.  Here is a quick look  at what is going on with the recent changes to Facebook.

In the previous months Facebook has:

• Removed the Tabs from Pages

• Pages have been redesigned to be cleaner and less cluttered

• Users now have more control over their news feeds

• You can now get an email when anyone comments on your pages

• The static FBML has now been phased out and Ifrrame apps are in

• Businesses can now offer deal to people checking in on a Mobil devise

• You can now make Skype calls from Facebook

Although all this exciting , not all that Facebook is doing is going to be a benefit your business. For example, now users can Masquerade as a page.  What this means is,  if a user can masquerade as a page, one of your competitors can leave a comment on your pages promoting their page to your users. So now business owners will need to keep an eye out for this possible trespassing.

From what we have covered here  it is easy to see Facebook is doing everything it can to become a one stop resource for everyone’s communication needs.

So, this means small business owners who have a Facebook presence may want to review their strategies and layout to maximize the new power of Facebook.

At Bay Area Mastermind we are committed to keeping our members up to speed with any changes that occur in order to help them maximize their profits and avoid any pitfalls.  Bay Area Mastermind not only informs their members, we show them how to make the necessary changes.

Check back here often as we will share new insights from both online and offline sources to give you the edge in business.

Social Media has quickly become a very opportunistic way to market a business.  Facebook has exploded into the second most popular website in the world with over 750 million users and half of them log on to the site every single day. Twitter is also in the top 15 on most days along with Linked In.

Here are six effective strategies to employ to make sure that you are using the social media for small business effectively.

• Be Active.
• Connect with Customers.
• Aggregate.
• Provide Compelling Content.
• Link.
• Don’t be all Sales.

To begin with you must be active in social media. This means signing your company up for an account with Facebook, Twitter, Linked In and any other sites that you can think of. It costs your company absolutely nothing to establish a presence on the web.

Once you have established your presence, the way to use social media for small business is to connect with customers. Compile your email list and send all of your customers an invitation to start following your company on Facebook and Twitter. Include the links to your social media sites in the email and let them know that when they add you to their friends list they will qualify for online offers that will only be available there.

You may think it will be too time consuming to post each day on all of the different social media sites and that is why our third effective way to use social media for small business is to aggregate. The easiest way to do this is to get a software program or phone app that allows you to post the same message to all of the different sites at once.

The most important thing to remember when using social media to promote your small business is to provide compelling content. It is absolutely essential that your Facebook posts and Tweets are about something that is of interest to your customers. For example, if you are a heating and air conditioning company, provide tips on how to keep your home cool when the forecast calls for a really hot day.

Another way to provide interesting material to your customers, is to link to material that is of interest to you. It doesn’t necessarily have to be business related but be careful to stay away from controversial items like politics because you do not want to offend potential customers. One excellent way to link is through association websites related to your field of business.

Be sure to check back here often as we will be featuring specific social media techniques and strategies you can use for your business.

Remember too, as you use social media for small business don’t be all sales. Include some personal information as well, like something your child accomplished at school or the latest on the little league team you sponsor. Show your are part of the community and try to establish a relationship with your customers that goes beyond business. Long term relationships will lead to repeat customers which will mean increased sales.

At Bay Area Mastermind we make sure that our members are aware of all the changes happening in and around the world of social media.  We want our members to know what works and what is a waste of time.  This information allows them to maximize their resources and time letting them focus on growing their business. If you would like more information on all the benefits available to our members, check out a test drive today or call or office at 888-425-8122.

One thing that is important for us here at Bay Area Mastermind is giving our members the latest tools and strategies to make them more efficient.  After all owning a business should not be about working harder, it should be about liberating your time.

So, today we have a new tool that may just help you manage your email more effectively.  Despite the latest talk about social media, email continues to be the number one way most business contacts want to receive information.

Boomerang for Gmail is a wonderful tool that will help you do follow-up emails and basically schedule your outgoing emails and reminders. Boomerang also allows you to re-receive your messages at a later time  All you have to do is  click the button and choose a time. Some of you may have seen Boomerang for Outlook, which effectively adds a “snooze” option to your inbox.

Here is how it works

You can easily installed this in your browser  and it works with Chrome and Firefox.  Boomerang then adds a new button to your Gmail toolbar. To delay an outbound email, click that button and choose how long you want it held: one hour, two hours, two days, a week, etc. You can also enter an exact date and time, or even choose a random time .

Here’s a quick tutorial video that shows Boomerang for Gmail in action.

What Does it Cost?

There is a personal plan that is free, but it does limit you to 10 messages per month.  There are paid accounts beginning at $4.99 per month and going up to $14.99, depending on the various features you may want.

Check back here often to read and see the new innovations to help your business grow and prosper.  Evey month Bay Area Mastermind members receive information on the latest tools and resources to grow their business.  Our faculty team test these tools out and screen them for our members.  What to know more about membership? Take a our Test Drive today.

So the question then is, how to manage your staff through a recession. Having been a manager in both private corporations and academic positions for over 20 years, I think I can offer some suggestions.

Weekly Staff Meetings

Excellent customer service is a necessity in managing your business through the recession, as these employees tend to be the “front line” of that business. Staff meetings should be held on a regular basis, to not only discuss topics such as customer service and marketing, but also ways to make the business more viable.  During these staff meetings, it’s important for the small business owner to stress that each employee is depended upon and plays an important and specific role in the success of the business.

Communicate With Your Employees

Another idea in how to manage your staff through a recession is to speak to one or more employees individually and see if there is something you can do to allay their fears. This approach can assess their respective moods and concerns and what can be done to alter this sense of unrest.

During this one on one meeting, encouragement by the owner will help with this sense of unrest, especially by noting how well the company is doing in spite of the lingering recession.  This would be a good time to  point out to each employee the importance of their roles in the overall business strategy.  When a business owner or manager do this it directs  the employees attention towards the success of the business.  This in turn will help the employee focus more on the business and not on whether or not they will lose their job.

Interact Outside of the Business

Lastly,  if it is at all practical, plan on having a social event outside of the business on occasions so that employees can mingle amongst each other in a more relaxed manner and not have their attention on their work. This gives the business owner the opportunity to get to know the employees even better and to recognize the work that they do. If because of the recession this isn’t possible outside of the business, it’s certainly allowable to have an informal get together on site.

Not Just for Big Business

Some business owners may  be reading this and thinking these ideas are only for large companies with big staff numbers.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  In fact, these ideas should be used with any business regardless of size.  It is only by pulling together, having a common purpose, and having trust between all members of the business. It is the lack of communication that can hurt your business.

By having constant, positive and fair communication with all of your employees, there is no question most employees will respond positively and make your business more successful and move forward past the recession. Hopefully these few tips will help you in how you manage your staff through a recession.

We have only touched upon many of the various issues.  Members of Bay Area Mastermind receive timely information to grow and thrive during any economy.  Follow this link for more information or to take Mastermind Test Drive.

As Internet marketing began to grow the prevailing wisdom was to sign up for the offers being emailed so that we could likewise begin to see how the marketing campaign was being developed.

As with the offline marketing pieces the idea was to learn from the work of others.

Fast forward to today and most people are being inundated with marketing offers.

So what appeared to be a good idea many years ago is no longer viable. The biggest problem is the duplication of the same offer by various online  marketers not to mention the incredible hype that surrounds the “latest and greatest” new technique that is going to make all of us internet millionaires.

The Ugly Truth

One thing that pops up a lot in our email in-boxes are products that promise to make you an internet millionaire overnight .  Many of these products claim there is little known  secrete that will get you to this unfounded wealth and it will cost you only $35 to $47.

First of all there is no way that a $35 information product is going to make anyone an overnight millionaire.  Perhaps there is one out there, but neither I nor any of my colleagues has ever heard of it.

Secondly, in most cases, the $35 promotion is the first of multiple up sells.  The usual  story is that the $35 product is great, but will work better with three or four other products and services.   Each up grade or up sell then adds another $97 to $197 cost.

So does this mean that you should never buy these products?

Are they all scams that will just waste your money?

Not at all.  However, it is important to remember that there are no magic bullets out there.  The only way anyone has ever made money has been with a lot of focus and work.   Sure, there are some products out there that are outright bad, but most are not.  There is one thing that is an absolute truth and that is all of the products required time and implementation to work.

You will need to invest the time to learn it and then implement.  A recent study found that 85% of people who buy instructional programs never complete the training and even less actually implement.  The reason is that like anything worthwhile it takes time and persistence to make it work. So only buy those things you know you are committed finishing and implementing.

Tips To Managing Information Overload

Here are a few tips that I learned and have helped many of our mastermind members
who have decided to enter the internet marketing arena.

Pick One and Stick With It.

First, chose one are of internet marketing that you are naturally drawn to. It does not matter if it is e-commerce, PPV, CPA, affiliate marketing, domain selling, or any other aspect just chose one to focus on.

Next, find the internet instructor in that area that you fell you can understand best and connect with.  Don’t follow the brand name or hype the point is that you need to be able to feel comfortable with the person teaching the material or you will not follow through.

Now, If instead you are interested in just marketing your  products and services on the web, then choose on area to specialize in whether it is  PPC, SEO, blog marketing, social media, ect. This doesn’t mean that you cannot learn about the other areas of internet marketing.   Rather begin with one area and focus everything you have on that one area until you master it and then move on.

There are many ways to make money on the internet and there is no one way that is best.  They all will take time to learn and master.

Only Focus On The Need Now

Only invest in the products that you know you can use right now or have a need for right now.  Many times all of us hear of great services or products that can be useful, but our business may not be ready for.

Purchasing with the idea that we can use it in the future usually turns out to be a waste of time and money .  We can all be certain that things will change in the future both for us and for the solution that we are buying.  It is not uncommon for  products purchased to just sit on the computer, or on the self waiting for the future only to see the newer and faster version come out.

Moving Forward

So, we can all take a lesson from Timothy Ferriss of the fame book, “The 4 Hour Workweek” and unsubscribe our email address from all the gurus list.  Then we can focus only on those things that we need right now to move our business forward.

What about all the things That I might miss out on?

What you will soon discover is that you are not missing out on much, and you will not have hundreds of emails to review each day. This will in of itself drop your stress levels.

What most business owners soon discover is that they are good at some things, like others more, and hate to do other aspects of internet marketing.  When this occurs it is better to outsource those items you do not have a natural ability for and focus on the running of your business.

There is always going to be new and upcoming techniques and strategies. However the basics of building and running a business have remained the same for some time.

Members of Bay Area Mastermind enjoy the comfort of receiving timely updates on what is really working and not working in the internet marketing arenas. This is one way that membership helps our members save time and still stay on top of the latest advances in business and marketing. For more information call our offices at 1-888-485-8122. Contact Bay Area Mastermind via the web by clicking here

So, here is a brief outlook of where I see the economy at present.

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research the Great Recession started in December of 2007.  Although the official numbers have not been released, it is expected that we are going to be seeing gross domestic product coming in at an anemic 1.6% instead of the 2.6% that had previously been reported.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2009  the economy was making reasonable steps to get back to speed. However, in Aprilof 2010 we began to see the modest gain begin to  flutter and move back as a result of lack of confidence by businesses and consumers. In large part this loss in confidence is due to high unemployment rates as well as weak residential and commercial real estate values.

Unemployment

If there is one area that is critically affecting the economy it is the lack of jobs. Since 2008
more than eight million jobs have been lost and the U.S. economy would need to add roughly 130,000 net additional jobs each month just to keep the nation’s unemployment rate from rising.

The lack of jobs is affecting everything from consumer confidence (leading to less spending) to commercial real estate values, as employers do not need to rent as much space due to smaller staffs. Currently the nation is experiencing a 9.7% unemployment rate with the “real”or total unemployment rate estimated to be around 16%.  Until these rates drop significantly there is not much else that will make as much of an impact on the overall economy.

Is it Inflation or Deflation?

There is a current divide among economists as to whether we will be facing an inflation or a deflation problem. Those that support the inflation argument point to highly aggressive monetary policy and massive budget deficits.  In contrast the deflation predictors equate the current economic conditions similar to a Japanese-style deflation unfolding in coming years.

My personal opinion is that it is never all one side or all the other.  Nevertheless, there are already signs of deflation around us. Simply ask any residential or commercial property owner and they will attest to the drop in real value of those properties. Similarly, some of the Labor Department numbers are showing that many of the jobs lost at the beginning of this recession are gone for good.  In some cases those people who have replaced their positions are working at lower wages.

Mortgage Rates

So, let’s complete this brief review with a positive note. Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages on conventional loans have been below 4.50% in recent weeks, nearing a 50-year low.  With lower property prices and lower interests rates it may be a good time to refinance a mortgage or to finance a new home.

What’s The Bottom Line?

We are and will continue to be dealing with a sluggish economy for the remainder of the year.  Some of the issues discussed above may be Exacerbated by the mid year elections and decisions that in the short run will place more pressure on the economy.  However, this too will pass…stay tune.

Members of Bay Area Mastermind not only get economic updates, they learn how they can profit from the information.  Why not take a test drive and see how Bay Area Mastermind can help your business grow and prosper despite the economy. Click here to begin your journey today

Advertising can sometimes be black hole that simply sucks the money out of a business with no return.  Therefore, it is not uncommon for business owners to feel that they may be better off not doing any advertising or marketing. Are they right?  We will explore this question and find the real answer to the advertising black hole problem.

Advertising vs. Marketing

To begin with we must make sure we are talking about the same thing. The first thing to understand is that these two are not the same.

Advertising as defined by Wikipedia is:

“A form of communication intended to persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to purchase or take some action upon products, ideals, or services. Focus is on Ads and commercials in print, audio, or visual.”

The best marketing is a definition that comes from Sergio Zyman the former chief marketing officer of Coca Cola, and author of “The End of Marketing as We Know it” , Zyman defined marketing as:

“Marketing is selling more stuff, to more people, more often, for more money.”

In other words, marketing is a system that is based on a scientific discipline process where the return on investment determines whether or not it is working.

So if a business is running ads in the yellow pages, on the radio, in the newspaper, or Valpak mailer, this is advertising.

By now most business owners know that traditional advertising which focuses on the entertaining does not work. Simply getting people’s attention is not going to get them to buy and therefore can be a waste of money.

As stated above, marketing is a system and it is only effective if there is a market to message match. When  a marketing program is designed and implemented properly it becomes one of the most powerful assets of a business.

A properly designed marketing program:

• Will have specific objectives and time frames.
• Will not be all things to all people. Instead it will focus on getting more of the best customers to buy more often for more money.
• There are specific metrics that are constantly tested and adjusted according to the needs and desires of the target audience.
• It will be solely focused on the target market’s needs and not be ego driven
• It can repeat the process every time without having to reinvent the process

Therefore, when a marketing program does use an advertising message it is because the target audience is wanting to be communicated in that way or that is the place to find them.

It is not because:

• It is cheap to advertise in this media.
• The media reaches a bunch of people. remember if they are not your best customers you are wasting your money.
• Everyone in the industry uses that media to advertise or
• It has always been done that way. Akin to the blind leading the blind.
• It is the latest cool technology
• Doing it for the sake of doing something. Hope is not a strategy…

In contrast when done properly a good marketing program will be able to avoid the frustration that many business owners face when simply just advertising.

That being said, there are no magic bullets out there. There is no full proof marketing system that once implemented will bring droves of clients to your front door. It is true that at times a technique used by one business will have great success while the same technique used by a similar business  will completely bomb.

The only way that a marketing system is finalized and becomes an asset occurs after the marketing program is launched and then tested to maximize the results.

This means that at times the initial ideas may not work and there will be a cost associated with trying.  However, the testing is limited and based on research and not just repeating of the same message with hopes of something happening.

Like anything working and perfecting a system takes time, but it does not have to be based on luck. There are methods and techniques that work well and have a long history of success when used in the right way.

Knowing how to use these techniques and methods is critical to developing that great marketing program. Any business can have a working and profitable marketing program with the right  information that will continue to payout for years to come.

If you would like to learn more about effective marketing you are welcome to Test Drive a Bay Area Mastermind session and see for yourself.   Bay Area Mastermind also provides services where our marketing experts design and help you implement a fully functional marketing program. Simply call 888-485-8122 and ask for a free consultation and find out what is possible for your business.