Simply Junior

Many researches reveled that more than 50% small business owners do not have their own website and not thinking about having website. Some small business owners like to have a website for their business but they point out many difficulties implementing this strategy to their next year marketing plan. Other side of story, small business owners who have website for their business are enjoying the good online presence for their offline local business. Still there are another set of small business owners just have the website, but do not use its potential to improve their business next level. They will not bother to measure the effectiveness of website performance and no strategies to gain the benefits through online presence.

If you delay implementing corporate website for your small business, you will lose your customers. The era of using yellow pages or phone books or news paper advertisements to find a solution for our daily need has gone now. Many people go to Google and search what they need, than searching many old news papers. If your website is not listing for customer query, you will lose a customer and the business as well. Your web presence or online presence is must in another few years time, but to list your web site on Google for first page results, just having web site not be a solution. You should monitor your website, optimize it for your customer queries.

Your corporate website, I guess, I have right to say it is as a corporate web site, even though it is a small business, it should be unique website to differentiate from your competitors. Further It should align with your corporate Identity to get online customers attention and recognition.

Online presence will help you to spread your business ideas, offers, promotions, announcements. Social media is the latest and smartest tool to spread your business among online customers. Sometimes, you have to need only the kick off to it, others will spread the news, if it is smart enough to catch the audience attention. This will be a good cost effective method of sharing your small business stories and information. If you use TV or Press for this, you should have to spend thousands of dollars to implement this. However one staff member can implement your digital PR campaigns with very low budget.

Showing your business on search engine local results will be key success in online presence for small business owners. Search Engines did not forget small fish in the ocean. They gave big hands to come up and being on search engines when their customers search about their products and service online. If anything search with city name such as web designers in Melbourne, all local web design companies are listing in first results.

Not only that, Small business owners can build small community for their business, you can get feedback for your products and services, ideas to improve your products and services, engage with customers to build long term relationship. You can save lots of money on customer support handing, If you have offline customer support, for same question, your staff member may answer thousands time to different customers or may be same customer. But in web site, you can display frequently ask questions for anyone to view. Imagine how your staff member release from it and how much you can save on telephone bills. How many times you have print your product brochures for promotions, how much cost involve for it? But through your website, you can keep it to view anytime and if needed download it. But at very low cost, only designing part involve the cost, but no cost for usage.

In 2011,it is better to add your website for corporate marketing plan, otherwise you will far behind from your competitors and another few years time, you will regret lo about your decision, not to have a website for your small business. This should be implement is very strategic way. Identify the objectives and goals of your website, get you domain correctly, hosting should be in correct place and select the best company to design and develop your website.

Marketing it: Like the design stage above, you may want to outsource your marketing efforts to professionals who can help you create a social media plan or a marketing road map. However, if you’re willing to get your hands dirty, you may not have to. There are plenty of easy ways to build buzz for your small business site without hiring a full-fledged Internet marketing company. Matt McGee offered some great tips on what he’d do if he was just starting out again. You may not even need people like us.

While the number of SMB owners creating Web sites is up 36 percent over the past two years, that number really needs to grow in the next year. The search engines’ obsession with local has made your Web site an even bigger part of your business and marketing plan. Make sure you’re treating as such.

Over 85% of small businesses do not have a strategic business plan (strategic plan). By operating without a strategic/business plan, many small businesses are missing out on a powerful tool to help them define and reach their goals. Many small business owners believe that only large companies need such plans, but the reality is that small businesses can reap tremendous rewards by creating a strategic plan.

A strategic plan is like a roadmap for your company. It needs to identify where you are and what you stand for, where you are going, how to measure progress and estimate when you will arrive, and what resources are available for the journey. The plan helps the company maintain focus, recognize progress and take corrective action when needed.

While each company will have a unique document, the elements of the plan are remarkably similar across the board. Common elements and their purpose are listed below:

Vision, Mission, and Commitments: what do you stand for, what are your high level goals, and to what are you committed? Executive Summary: a quick synopsis of the document Company Background, Products, and Services: what does the company do to produce value for its clients? Marketing Plan: how will the company attract new clients, keep current clients, how much is budgeted for marketing, and how is success measured? Operational Plan: how will the company execute operations? Organizational Structure: how is the company structured and what are the roles and responsibilities to identify accountability? Financial Report: what is the long-term financial projection? Strategies: what is the company going to do to accomplish its goals? Challenges and Solutions: what obstacles are anticipated and what solutions are identified in advance? Budgets: how much will be allocated to each functional area?

Taking the time to put a guiding document together requires thinking through what the business objectives are, how they will be reached, the role individuals will play, etc. It is also a “living” document. It is of minimal value if it is put on a shelf and only referenced quarterly. It becomes a part of the operation of the business and is updated and referenced frequently. It can and should be used at meetings to measure progress and to help the company’s employees stay focused on the strategic goals and progress towards those goals.

What are some of the benefits of having a strategic plan? The effort required to create the plan necessitates contemplation of long-term goals and a manner to achieve those goals. The strategic plan helps orient the organization towards a common target and is a useful tool to create an environment of accountability. By constantly measuring progress against the identified goals, the workforce maintains focus and understand where their efforts fit into the grand scheme. A well thought out plan helps accurate budgeting and enables quick adjustments to be made if needed.

Elements can also be a useful tool to engage employees, focus productivity, and reduce turnover. We live in a different economic and workplace environment compared to a few decades ago. Gone are the job-for-life and benefits into retirement contracts that used to be common. Because of the turbulence now inherent in our business economy, people feel totally free to change jobs frequently and without concern for loss of accrued benefits. A strategic plan enables workers to see the long-term plan for the small business and helps create buy-in into the future they helped define. Reduced turnover and employee buy-in are valuable to any small business.

In summary, while the perception may be that strategic plans are not needed for small businesses, the reality is that a small business with a strategic plan is more aligned, has better employee engagement, and can quickly and accurately measure its progress towards well-defined goals.

Contact Michael now to find out more about how a strategic plan can help your business and to learn why a strategic plan is one of the first outcomes of my coaching process.

Michael Nelson
Phone: 877-242-4812
michael@thecogentcoach.com
www.thecogentcoach.com
This article may be shared provided it is not altered and the contact information remains intact.
© Cogent Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved 2010

Mile markers on major U.S. Highways are measured in tenths of a mile along with a plethora of other types of signs indicating the distance still to be traveled. With 2010 quickly coming to an end, now is the time to establish your mile markers through your strategic plan beyond the usual ones of end of month or quarterly.

For example, April 10 and September 23 are significant beyond what happened in history in years gone by. The significance of these dates are important to all small business owners, sales professionals and anyone engaged in economic activity.

Now some maybe shaking their heads to raising their eyebrows “Spock style” with quizzical expressions on their faces. They may be thinking what is so important about April 10 and September 23 relative to my business or professional success?

The answer is 100 days. On April 10, 100 days have passed since the turning of the New Year. September 23 marks 100 days before 2011 comes to an end. For many in business, the last quarter is considered a make it or break it benchmark. However, for some, maybe due to conditioning from past years, the urgency is no longer there.

I realized the significance of these dates after entering a marketing challenge sponsored by one article directory site. The goal was to write 100 articles in 100 days and it even had its own Twitter hash tag sign of #HAHA. Since I have engaged in education based marketing for the last 5 years, this specific tactic has worked well for me. The results have included:

Increased traffic to my website Increased sign up to my lists from which I can continue to market Improved Search Engine Optimization (SEO) ranking Increased passive income Increased clients Increased knowledge for myself

These results are in alignment with my strategic plan.

With small business owners still comprising 99% of all businesses, the reason I mention this marketing and selling challenge is to call attention to your own actions for the first 100 and last 100 days and you are not where you want to be. Imagine for a moment if you could be where you wanted to be. What would that mean to you, your employees if you have any, your family, your customers and your community?

Consider these strategic planning steps to help you leverage the first 100 days and the last 100 days to their full advantage:

Review where your sales, profits, productivity and operating goals as they currently stand Make any necessary course corrections based upon current results (now is the time for honesty and not hopeful projections) Construct a positive and proactive communication document to let everyone know where the organization is respective to the finish line of 12/31/2010 Schedule weekly meetings to keep on top of these critical targets Share the successes when each goal is achieved Repeat steps 1 through 5

Many times it is step number three where organizations fail. People in the 21st century still have not mastered mental telepathy or being mind readers. If you want improved results from yourself and your employees, you need to positively and to proactively communicate the current results for the 2011 performance race.

This does not mean giving any proprietary financial information. What you can do is state: Our sales goal currently stands at 95% completed. The next 3 weeks we need to complete that sales goal. This may be somewhat difficult, as the last month of the year has not been the best one to increase sales. However, if our team pulls together from management to our front line workers, we can finish the year at where we need to be.

By taking these actions, you can still make 2011 one of the best years ever in spite of this turbulent economy.

When the Health Insurance and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was signed into a law, it has created improvements on health insurance, and the most significant adjustment made was the tax deduction for long-term care insurance policies. The HIPAA added the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 7702B that mandates all long term care insurance contracts to be treated as tax deduction under certain rules and limits.

Recently, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced the increased LTC insurance tax deduction for 2011. Jesse Slome, executive director of the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance (AATCI), announced the increase that will benefit more small business owners.

The deductions for qualified LTC premiums for the year 2011 under Section 213(d)(10) are the following:

40 or less – $340 More than 40 but not more than 50 – $640 More than 50 but not more than 60 – $1,270 More than 60 but not more than 70 – $3,390 More than 70 – $4,240

Source: IRS Revenue Procedure 2010-40

What Is a Tax-Qualified LTC Policy?

LTCi policies are considered tax-qualified if they meet certain provisions as prescribed by law. There are few requirements that will tell if your policy is tax-qualified or not:
- The policy should be guaranteed renewable
- The disability should drag long for the benefits to be paid
- A licensed health care practitioner should state if the individual is “chronically ill.” This should be done within 12 months
- There must be either or both of the two events that exist before a certification is given. First is the inability to perform Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) for at least 90 days. The policy must have at least five ADLs. Second is the need for supervision due to severe cognitive impairment
- Non-forfeiture and inflation protection must be offered by the insurer, but are not required in the policy
- Benefits under qualified long term care policies cannot copy benefits from Medicare

Individuals

Premiums for qualified long term care insurance (the definition is discussed below) are treated as tax deductible if they exceed the 7.5 percent of the insured’s adjusted gross income (AGI). These premiums are not only deductible for the insured; the deduction applies to his or her spouse and other dependents. Meanwhile, the tax deductions for the self-employed and business owners are treated differently.

Self-Employed, partnership, LLCs, S Corporation

Self-employed individuals may deduct a percentage on their premiums as business expense. The percentage follows the age-based limits used in individuals. However, the limit on Adjusted Gross Income does not apply and you can deduct 100 percent of the eligible amount.

C Corporations

C-corporations can deduct 100 percent of all tax-qualified LTC insurance premiums as business expense for all employees, their spouses and dependents. The employer’s contributions for the premiums are not included in the employee’s contribution.

There are some very compelling reasons for writing a business plan for small businesses. The challenge is that the misconceptions about what needs to go into a small business plan scare most owners and entrepreneurs away.

If you are like most small business owners or managers, you are incredibly busy, if not borderline overwhelmed. The idea of taking hours of valuable time to write a plan for your business may not seem worth it. But the data proves differently.

When writing a business plan for small business, focus on what really needs to be done, and what really needs to be measured. The plan does not have to be a 15 or 20 page document. In fact, it should only be one or two pages maximum. You should also have a yearly budget or financial plan as well. You really do not need to go overboard and do tons and tons of research about the market, and the opportunity, especially if you are already in business!

To write your plan, you will need a few things to get started. If you can assemble any of your sales and financial information for the past couple of years, that would be a bonus. You will need a notebook and writing instrument, possibly a laptop or a computer, and yourself. Then, basically find a quiet place to sit down for about an hour, and think about your business, and where you want it to go, and how you think you can get it there.

Let’s start with where you want your business to go. This is just a fluffy way of saying your vision for your business. Set a timeline for your vision; say 18 months or up to 5 years out. Then think about what your sales would be if everything goes as planned. What are your primary products or markets, and where will you do it.

Here’s an example: Within the next 3 years, grow MS Cut to $750,000.00 in sales providing industrial routing and cutting services to manufacturers and distributors in the Indianapolis market.

Or how about this: In the next 18 months, launch Tim’s Lunch & Deli, growing to $250,000 in sales. We will provide delicious sandwiches, soups and salads using all locally grown vegetables and products to the public in downtown St. Paul.

By writing out where you want your business to go in this fashion, you can clearly imagine the end result of your vision.

In terms of how you are going to get there, this is the strategy and tactics section of your plan. Again, what are the ways you are going to do the things you need to do? This could be everything from the methods you will use to attract customers, to the way that you will approach pricing your products or services. It can also address your marketing and advertising plans.

The main thing to keep in mind when it comes to your strategies and tactics, is to make them realistic. If you are going to need a lot of specialty skills (that you don’t currently have…) or technologies or a lot of money to do them, then chances are they won’t get used. Write this section of your plan so that you can actually do everything you need to do.

Next, you need to create a few measurables for your business. These are things like monthly sales revenues, profit percentages, labor hours to sales, number of returns per month, number of employee hours each month, etc.. These are all things that you can keep track of so that you will know if your plan is working, or if you need to address something quickly.

Each business, and each industry can have it’s own set of unique measurables. You may have one statistic you can keep that is a telling symbol for your business. Keep track of it, and see how it effects other areas of your business.

You should be able to track anywhere from 3 to 9 different measurables. Any more than that and you will not get much from it, and you are less likely to actually collect the information anyway. If you are using software like QuickBooks, Peachtree Accounting or another accounting app, there are several measurables you can pull and use to track your success.

All of the above information will fit nicely on one or two pages. Once you have that information, and you have written your business plan for your small business, the number one thing you can do is to use it, and use it often. Make a monthly (or weekly) appointment with yourself, your business partner, or your senior staff to review the plan, and make sure it still relevant. If something changes (and it will!), change your plan. It should be a living, dynamic document that you use on a regular basis to run your business.

By writing a business plan for your small business, you are creating a better opportunity for your business, and giving it a better chance of success.