Start It Right! Blog

SOCIAL NETWORKING

After introductions, Rick Howington began the session with a power point presentation that highlighted key points in the world of social networking.

• The Internet is essentially a more interactive, efficient, and electronic version of our traditional forms of communication.
• Social Networking is the next step in the evolution of the Internet! 

How does social networking work?

• You tell two people, they tell two people, and so on… 

How can social networking work for you?

• Recognize the big players in social networking: Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Linked In, YouTube, etc…
• Harness these tools to get your message out there. Post blogs, RSS feed to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, your website, and have fun with it!
• Give your professional networking site a personal touch. This can make your business stand out and give potential clients a memorable experience.
• A RSS feed is a standard for exchanging data. By using this tool, you can update information on several of your networking sites at one time.
• Recognize your target market and create a network that will make them easily accessible.
• Consider partnering with other businesses so that you can share networks. This is highly valuable in that you can more than double your potential client base. For example, consider making an “exchange” of blog posts that will highlight your companies.  

Social Networking Security

• Hackers know that most people use passwords that are easy to memorize.
• Tips for passwords:
• Do not use words, keyboard sequences, first letters of a phrase or lyric, or information from your profile.
• Do mix letters, numbers, cases, and characters. 

Your social network may be extremely valuable and possess high potential, but it is only as powerful as the people who choose to utilize it.

Due to the rainy weather, there were fewer attendees than usual, but it allowed for a more intimate and inquisitive Roundtable discussion! …

TAXES, IT’S YOUR MONEY!

Kelly Locklear started the session off with the new rules and regulations for both state and federal tax returns.

• Deadlines will be enforced this year!
• For S-Corporations, starting with year 2008, your deadline will be March 15^th and September 15^th is the last day to get your return.
• There will be an $89.00 a month fee per shareholder for 12 months for those who do not meet deadlines.

Next, we discussed getting your QuickBooks information ready for submission to SBS.

• The deadline for partnerships and LLCs to submit their QuickBooks to SBS is March 18^th.
• The deadline for S-Corps is by the end of this week, 2/15/10.
• It’s important to reconcile your bank accounts and credit cards before submitting your QuickBooks files. This saves us time and saves you money!
• Inputting your financial data into QuickBooks can help you find more deductions than using an excel spreadsheet.
• Use the “Ask My Accountant” feature that QuickBooks provides if you’re not sure about something.
• Make sure you sign both your state and federal E-file authorizations so that we can release your returns.

Deductions you might miss…

• Meal expenses for business related meetings
• Auto expenses – actual expenses or mileage reimbursement
• Bank charges
• Interest and fees on business debt
• Taxes: Sales tax on purchases, real estate, tax on business property (Any business related tax you pay is deductable, no matter how small)
• Overhead costs – utilities, shipping, office supplies, advertising, marketing, telephone and internet charges, software licenses, travel expenses, janitorial expenses, computer services and repairs, landscaping, office/building repairs, equipment repairs
• Depreciation
• Office equipment, furniture, business vehicles – certain percentages, sometimes up to 100% can be expensed in the year of purchase
• Business insurance premiums
• Business gifts
• Professional fees: accounting, legal, architectural, consulting
• Business related continuing education
• Trade-show exhibition or attendance
• Trade-related subscriptions, books, journals
• Retirement contributions
• Fees paid to credit bureaus, better business bureaus, chambers of commerce, and trade associations
• Employee health insurance premiums. Shareholder-owner premiums are deductible on the owner’s individual return.
• Moving expenses.
• Charitable contributions are deductible on the shareholder-owner’s individual return
• Casualty/theft losses not covered by insurance

Audits have been increasing, so make sure you are prepared!

• Keep track of all your receipts
• Paying cash for business related expenses can be difficult to keep up with.
• Use a business card for all of your purchases. That way, you will have an easily accessible electronic database with every transaction detail.

Next Roundtable Meeting: Wednesday, March 10^th, 2010

Topic: Social Networking

Facilitators: Rick Howington (TechAdvocate Solutions Inc.) and Bill Smith (SIR Facilitator)

In December the Roundtable became a website focus group. The attendees brought up their website and the members of the group offered suggestions and insights for improvements. The ideas flowed so freely that many stayed an hour longer than our normal meeting end time.

Here are some of the things that came out of this dynamic website review session.

• Be concise. Visitors should be able to easily understand what your organization does on the first page of the website.
• Less is more. A clean website that is pleasing to the eye can draw more attention than a busy one.
• It is more import to let visitors know how you can help them than to crowd your website with too many testimonials.

There were many more!  This type of interactive session with other entrepreneurs is one of the many reasons Roundtable is a great resource for you and your organization.

Coming Up
Next month each participant will bring one problem they are having in their business as it relates to Operations, Marketing, or Finance. We will take 15 minutes to collectively discuss and attempt to solve that problem for each participant.