When I speak with many website and business owners, I usually get asked this question over and over gain. And that is "what can I do to get more customers, clients or subscribers? Well there's a 1001 answers I can give that question. Because there are so many ways to find new business.The problem with finding and advertising for new customers is that it can be expensive. In essence it could even be a gamble to fork out a bunch of money on a...more
Q: How important is the name of a business? Should the name of a business reflect what the business does or is it better to come up with something catchy and easy to remember? -- Randy P.A: What's in a name? When it comes to your business, Randy, a lot more than you might think. In fact, deciding on a business name is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. The right business name can help you rise above the crowd while the wrong...more
Reduce your tax payments by claiming an interest payment deduction.If you are busy paying off your student loans, the last thing you want to do is to pay interest on the money that you're about to give right back to the government. Luckily, in a lot of cases you should be able to deduct the amount of interest that you paid on your student loans. Deducting interests on student loans is not very difficult to do as long as you make sure that you meet the requirements for claiming this particular deduction on your taxes.First of all, you have to have the proper filing status - which in this case means that you can be of any filing status except for if you are married and still filing your taxes separately. There is no explanation given as to why this particular status is exempt, however, this is still important to take note of before you waste your time trying to fill out a deduction that you cannot claim.The other thing that is necessary in order for you to claim that deduction is that you cannot have another person claim you as a dependent or a tax exemption on their own tax forms. For most people who have already graduated from college and are trying to pay off their student loans,...more
Do you know what "proceedings supplemental" are? If you are in the business of collecting judgments in Indiana, and from time to time virtually all secured lenders are, then the June 27, 2007 opinion by the Indiana Supreme Court in Rose v. Mercantile National Bank, 2007 Ind. LEXIS 471 provides a great primer on the subject. Facts of Rose. ...more
Decision Finance was formed in early 2000 and is the trading name for Xbridge limited an online commercial, business, and financial intermediary for small to medium sized businesses. DF has the backing of Prudential PLC, Boston Consulting Group and Linklaters and Alliance, so you can be sure that with Decision Finance loans, you are being protected...more
You've recently been promoted to management, and are now responsible for the department in which you were previously employed. One of your former peers had also applied for the job, and you are now feeling waves of resentment from him that threaten the success of your promotion.Does this sound familiar? If so, you're certainly not alone because it's one of the most common challenges faced by new managers. Here are some ideas to help you deal with the situation.Initiate a discussionIt's imperative that you sit down and have a meaningful discussion with the individual concerned. Your two objectives are to find out specifically how he or she is feeling, and from there to figure out how you can enlist their co-operation and help them become a productive part of the department that is now yours to run.Try to understand how they feel and why they are resentfulThe most obvious reason is that she really felt she was the best person for the job. She has ideas on running the department and had been looking forward to putting them into action. Now she feels she has lost that chance. A lesser known, but possibly even more important, reason is loss of pride. He may have told his nearest and...more
As a result of a directive from the Financial Services Agency, Banks in the United Kingdom are now being instructed to return fees to clients they are deemed to have overcharged. This is of major significance to those involved within the areas of...more
Working with a bank to obtain a small business loan can be an easy or difficult process, depending on how prepared you are to meet with the lender and discuss your business' situation and needs. One of the leading causes of business failure is...more
Most people think Santa Claus only works one night a year. Nothing could be further from the truth. Sure, product distribution takes place on one magical night, but Santa's operation runs year round and is one of the largest manufacturing and...more
Do you use a to-do-list in your business? Of course you do, we alllove them don't we? Worry not, I have no intention of explaining howto prepare such a list, you already do that on a regular basis.Most people prepare a list at the start of the day or...more
In the last article we looked at a few of the things you should consider before leasing that first office or storefront for your business. To recap, you should not only consider the old standard "location, location, location," but also consider...more
Break-even analysis is a good tool for quickly determining if an idea has any legs under it. It is not meant to be used alone as a sole decision making tool. Most business formula-tools work better when tracked over time and compared with other...more