The Burden of Self-Salaries in Small Businesses

The financial strain on small businesses often comes from the salaries that owners draw from their ventures. The allure of higher personal earnings can be tempting and misleading, detracting from the fundamental goals of long-term business growth and stability. As the discussions pointed out, many small business owners transition from regular employment to entrepreneurship with expectations of higher compensation. However, this shift is fraught with financial perils if not managed with foresight.

The expert discussion highlighted that initial low or no salary for business owners could be a strategic choice that supports business health. Reinvesting profits back into the business rather than drawing a high salary can fuel growth, enhance infrastructure, and cover essential expenses like legal fees, marketing, and lead generation.

From Self-Employed to Business Owner: A Critical Transition

A significant highlight of the talk was the distinction between self-employed and business owners. The former often find themselves tied down to the company, unable to step away, and their presence is critical for the business’s operation. In contrast, a valid business owner sets systems that allow the industry to run passively and generate income without daily oversight.

This distinction is crucial in financial planning and business strategy. For instance, the panel discussed how, without understanding the nuances of cash flow management and proper salary allocations, a business is merely a job with extra steps and not a venture that genuinely ‘owns’ itself.

Strategic Expense Management and Growth Planning

One of the most compelling parts of the discussion revolved around strategic expense management. Experts emphasized the importance of meticulous financial tracking and management, especially in the early stages of a business. Engaging with professional accounting services that can act as de facto CFOs helps identify and trim unnecessary expenses and plan for scalable growth.

For example, understanding the actual costs of operations, such as customer acquisition and service delivery, can illuminate paths to efficiency and profitability. This process involves regular reviews of profit and loss statements and making informed decisions that align with long-term business goals rather than immediate personal benefit.

Real-Life Application and Active Cash Flow Management

Practical advice from the floor stressed active engagement in the business’s core activities – particularly sales. Generating active cash flow through direct sales efforts is essential, especially when a company does not have the cushion of substantial startup capital.

Furthermore, the ability to adapt to multiple roles within the business was touted as beneficial. The willingness to ‘get one’s hands dirty’ and understand every facet of the operation can lead to better resource optimization and more informed strategic decisions.

Building Sustainable Business Models

The insightful session wrapped up with a strong message on sustainability and prudent financial planning. Aspiring entrepreneurs were encouraged to adopt a disciplined approach to business finance, focusing on building a robust operational foundation that transcends mere survival and gears towards thriving in competitive markets.

This discussion has illuminated the pathways through which small business owners can transform their operations from fragile startups into robust, profitable enterprises. By focusing on strategic reinvestment, careful expense management, and cultivating passive income streams, entrepreneurs can navigate the tumultuous waters of business ownership toward the coveted shores of financial independence and success.

Rodrick minced no words in describing the challenges for small business proprietors operating under the franchise model. “The days have now dawned upon us where countless operators in California face a $20 minimum wage,” he stated. “It will be the most serious challenge for entrepreneurs that do business on the franchising platform.”

As Rodrick emphasized, the impact of this wage mandate extends far beyond the corporate level, affecting predominantly family-owned and operated establishments like his own. “The vast majority of these restaurants are run by small business proprietors who operate on the franchising platform,” he explained. “Whether you own one or ten doughnut shops in California, if you’re part of a franchise brand with 60 or more locations, the new wage mandate will apply to you.”

Indeed, the unprecedented nature of this wage increase, a staggering 25% overnight, has left many franchise owners scrambling to adapt. Rodrick highlighted the significant repercussions this wage hike could have, particularly on employment levels within the industry. “Historically, many cities have implemented living wages with an annual CPI bump,” he noted. “But this sudden and substantial increase specifically targeting fast-food restaurants is unprecedented.”

Addressing how franchise owners navigate these challenges, Rodrick outlined a multifaceted approach focused on maximizing efficiency and exploring alternative revenue streams. “One of the most critical levers I can use as a business owner is price,” he explained. “But I can’t charge $20 for a Happy Meal.”

Rodrick underscored his commitment to preserving jobs and supporting his workforce in the face of these challenges. “People in my company are my greatest single asset,” he asserted. “The last thing I want to do is impact the folks that run my Golden Arches.”

However, Rodrick’s concerns are not unfounded, as recent developments in the industry have already demonstrated the potential for significant job losses. “Leading up to today, Pizza Hut and Round Table Pizza laid off 1,500 drivers up and down the state,” he revealed. “And at the end of January, 18 Subway sandwich shops closed overnight.”

As California’s fast-food industry grapples with the far-reaching implications of this wage mandate, franchise owners like Rodrick are left to navigate an uncertain future, balancing the imperative to remain competitive with their commitment to their employees and communities.

As the debate over minimum wage continues, California’s fast-food industry’s resilience and adaptability will be tested, with implications that extend far beyond the confines of individual franchises.

Generative AI is not just about automation; it’s about empowering small businesses to achieve more with less. By leveraging AI-driven insights and capabilities to drive growth, streamline operations, and deliver unparalleled customer experiences, small businesses can unlock new opportunities, solve complex challenges, and stay ahead of the curve in an increasingly digital world.

Large models are at the heart of generative AI, meticulously trained on massive amounts of data, enabling AI systems to generate diverse forms of content, including images, text, code, and multimedia, with remarkable speed and precision. This technology is reshaping industries and democratizing access to cutting-edge AI capabilities once reserved for tech giants.

For small and midsize enterprises (SMEs), embracing generative AI offers a pathway to innovation and success. By harnessing AI-driven insights, SMEs can uncover market trends, detect fraud, strengthen security measures, and personalize customer interactions. This will drive operational efficiency and foster growth in a fiercely competitive market landscape.

However, realizing the full potential of generative AI requires more than just adopting the technology; it demands a holistic approach encompassing people, processes, and technology tailored to the unique needs of small businesses.

From a people perspective, SMEs need visionary leaders to spearhead AI initiatives, teams of adaptable employees eager to learn and innovate, and access to experts with generative AI experience who can provide guidance and support.

On the process front, SMEs must ensure easy access to high-quality data, implement strategies to mitigate bias, and integrate generative AI solutions seamlessly into existing workflows to drive tangible business outcomes.

From a technology standpoint, SMEs require secure infrastructure for data management, flexible and scalable solutions that can grow with their business, and compliance with industry regulations to safeguard sensitive information.

In this transformative journey, Amazon Web Services (AWS) emerges as a trusted partner, offering a comprehensive portfolio of AI solutions, secure infrastructure, and expert guidance tailored to the needs of small businesses. With AWS, SMEs can leverage enterprise-grade AI technology to innovate, compete, and thrive in the digital era.

As small businesses embark on their generative AI journey, they can unleash unprecedented innovation, drive operational efficiencies, and create meaningful value for their customers. Generative AI is not just a technological advancement; it’s a catalyst for growth and a cornerstone of success in the digital economy.

In a recent video that has sent shockwaves through the marketing community, an industry insider exposes the stark reality: despite having the same number of followers, posts made by individuals on LinkedIn garner ten times the engagement compared to those made by companies.

“I am literally like, okay, if I post the same thing from me personally, I’m going to get about ten times the engagement. Why would I even post as my company?” the insider laments.

They argue that the reason for this discrepancy lies in LinkedIn’s inherently personal platform. Unlike other social media networks, where users may feel comfortable engaging with faceless corporations, LinkedIn users crave authenticity and connection.

“When you comment on a company’s post, you’re going to say, ‘I don’t know if anyone is even on the other end of this. It’s a faceless organization,'” the insider explains. “But on LinkedIn, organically, it is the easiest network in the world to go viral on. This is all driven by comments.”

LinkedIn, they assert, is hungry for conversation. With only a fraction of its users actively posting content, the platform prioritizes posts that spark dialogue and engagement. This presents a unique opportunity for savvy marketers to boost their visibility by leveraging the power of thought leader ads.

Enterprising companies can now sponsor individual posts made by their executives, seamlessly blending corporate messaging with personal authenticity. While the process may still be cumbersome, the potential benefits are clear: increased engagement, enhanced visibility, and a more authentic connection with the audience.

“With thought leader ads, your ads are actually being engaged with at potentially ten times what your company posts were,” the insider reveals.

As marketers scramble to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of social media advertising, one thing is sure: on LinkedIn, the personal touch reigns supreme, and companies ignore it at their peril.

As a guest on Small Business Quick Wins, presented by Thrive, Hayden shared her expertise and insights into the pitfalls to avoid and the tips that small business owners need to know for effective accounting and bookkeeping practices.

Hayden’s journey to becoming an accounting expert started nine years ago when she founded Kickstart Accounting. Drawing from her experience as a CPA and CFO, Hayden recognized the need to provide tailored accounting solutions to small businesses. Her company has since become a leading firm in the field, specializing in helping small businesses make informed financial decisions.

One of the key points Hayden emphasized is the importance of separating personal and business finances—a common mistake she encounters among small business owners. By maintaining separate accounts for business transactions, owners can ensure clarity and compliance, reducing the risk of legal and financial complications.

Moreover, Hayden highlighted the misconception that business owners need to be proficient in accounting before hiring professional help. She debunked this myth, emphasizing the value of outsourcing specialized tasks to qualified experts. Whether it’s bookkeeping, tax preparation, or payroll management, Hayden stressed the importance of entrusting these responsibilities to professionals, allowing business owners to focus on what they do best.

Throughout the discussion, Hayden underscored the role of accountability in financial management. As an accountability partner to her clients, she ensures that they stay organized and compliant with financial regulations. By providing regular reports and guidance, Kickstart Accounting helps small business owners confidently navigate the complexities of financial management.

In addition to her practical advice, Hayden addressed the common misconceptions surrounding bookkeeping and accounting. She emphasized the need for clarity and transparency in financial reporting, urging business owners to prioritize accuracy and consistency.

Wrapping up the conversation, Hayden shared her passion for empowering entrepreneurs and helping them thrive in their business endeavors. Through her podcast, “Business by the Book,” and personalized services, she remains committed to supporting small businesses on their journey to success.

As the podcast concluded, Hayden’s insights resonated with listeners. She offered practical solutions and dispelled myths surrounding accounting and bookkeeping. With her guidance, small business owners can approach financial management with clarity and confidence, knowing that they have a trusted partner in Kickstart Accounting.

Harley Finkelstein, COO of Shopify, discusses how COVID has dramatically sped up the timeline for commerce moving online and has also moved Shopify closer to its goal of becoming the world’s first retail operating system:

Shopify Evolving Into World’s First Retail Operating System

Most people assume that Shopify is an ecommerce provider. We have more than a million stores on Shopify. If you were to aggregate our stores in the US we’d be the second-largest online retailer in America. Of course, we’re not a retailer but we’re a platform. But we now have these great economies of scale that we’re using to level the playing field for entrepreneurs and small businesses. That being said, what really Shopify is evolving into is the world’s first retail operating system. 

What we’re trying to figure out is what do brands and entrepreneurs and retailers need, not just now but in the future? We think the future of retail is retail everywhere. A brand that’s going to be successful in 5, 10 or 15 years from now needs to sell across any platform and across any channel where they have customers. This idea of enabling Shopify merchants to very easily push their products to the Amazon Marketplace or the eBay marketplace or now the Walmart marketplace, that gives them access to a new set of consumers. The idea is that it all feeds back in one centralized back-office, the retail operating system, which is Shopify. 

Then we’ve gone ahead and asked what else can we do for these merchants? Can we do capital? We’ve now given out about a billion dollars worth of cash advances and loans to small businesses. We’re doing fulfillment and we’re doing shipping. We’re increasing the scope and the relationship that we have with the million stores on Shopify. This is allowing them to become category leaders.

COVID Speeds Up The Ecommerce Revolution

From our view, it seems like the commerce world that would have existed in the year 2030 has really been pulled into the year 2020 (as a result of the COVID crisis). We’ve seen ecommerce as a percent of total retail go from 15 percent to 25 percent in the last three months. That’s the same growth rate that we’ve seen over the last 10 years. What really has emerged here is sort of this tale of two retail worlds. On one side you have these resilient retailers that are doing great, they’re pivoting, and they’re expanding their businesses. On the other side, you have these resistant retailers who have not made it. In many ways, it’s probably the most exciting time for retail in a very long time. 

We talk a lot about these direct to consumer brands that are becoming category leaders. The Allbirds and the Gymsharks who started on Shopify when they were very small and have grown to become the incumbents in their industry. Every 25 seconds a brand new entrepreneur makes his or her (products) for sale on Shopify. We talk a lot about those new startups, those new DTC brands. But actually, what we’re also seeing on Shopify are companies like Lindt Chocolate or Heinz ketchup or Chipotle. They are signing up for Shopify and basically from like five days from contract to launch they are completely changing their businesses. 

This resiliency isn’t simply in the hands of just the smallest of brands. Big companies are also beginning to think a lot more about how to stay resilient in this time. They’re moving well beyond ecommerce or thinking about offline commerce now. They’re thinking about how do they sell across social media? How do they sell across different marketplaces? So no, I don’t think it’s too late (to enter ecommerce) but I do think they have to rethink their strategies.

Fortunately, digitization has made it possible for small businesses to reach out to prospects online in the global marketplace. Businesses shouldn’t overlook the importance of digital marketing, regardless of their size. Besides learning various effective digital marketing methods, small businesses should keep tabs on digital marketing trends to remain competitive. Below are a few reasons small businesses shouldn’t overlook digital marketing strategies.

1.  Target Online Customers

Unlike before, modern shoppers begin their search for brands, products, and services online. In the current digital age, prospects expect businesses to have a strong social media presence and a website. There’s a lot that potential customers look for before reaching out to brands for business. For instance, parents might want to know how to transfer a car title from parent to child before buying car insurance.

Small businesses should leverage this opportunity to reach such customers. Your website should be mobile responsive, reflect your brand image, and have solid reviews. Most online customers start by reading reviews to learn what other customers say about your business. For instance, 87% of online customers check online reviews before reaching out to local businesses.

2.  Learn What Your Competitors are Doing

Small businesses should pay attention to their competitors for business success. Digital marketing methods can help businesses monitor and learn from their competitors. For instance, regardless of your niche, if your competitors have a better-performing web presence, you can begin by evaluating their content strategy. Do they use blogs or visual content?

Conducting thorough competitor research is the best way to learn about your competitors. Identify their preferred platforms, focus keywords, influencers, and other important pointers. Excellent tools for competitor research include:

• Ahrefs – Best for discovering competitor’s linked content
• SEMrush – Best for finding ranking keywords
• BuzzSumo – Used to track performing content types
• Moz – Keyword ranking platform
• Google Alerts – Used to track competitor mentions

You should also explore other consumer insights tools to boost your content marketing strategy.

3.  Improve Accessibility to Customers

You should strive to position your small business in front of potential customers, which is majorly the online space. As mentioned, modern customers start searching for products online. Businesses without an online presence miss many opportunities and cannot compete equally, especially if competitors have a strong online presence.

Small businesses should leverage digital marketing to position their brands in front of prospects. Besides creating a strong website, digital marketers should learn search engine optimization to outrank competitors on Google searches. Keywords (both long and short tail) are important, and you should understand how to use them to rank your website.

An online presence creates an environment where customers can reach out day and night. Prospects and customers can send emails, schedule appointments, and purchase products or services anytime. You can also visit WebmastersHall to learn more about improving your digital marketing efforts for enhanced accessibility to customers.

Endnote

Digital marketing is beneficial to small businesses in many ways. Unlike other marketing strategies, digital marketing is affordable, making it suitable for small businesses with limited marketing budgets. Businesses that haven’t ventured into the digital space miss a lot of customers and business opportunities.

Here are four tips to help you keep organized and get your business running like a well-oiled machine. Read on and discover how to build up your organizational acumen.

1. Leverage Technology

From messaging apps to project management tools to scheduling software, there are numerous tools that can help streamline all of your most routine processes. For example, scheduling meetings can eat up your valuable time, with lengthy email conversations back and forth to determine when everyone’s available. But an automated meeting scheduler can easily let your team settle on a meeting time, record it, and keep everyone informed as you go.

Nor are meetings the only thing tech can schedule for you. Lean on to-do list apps to prioritize daily tasks and specify the timelines by which they should be completed. When you’re juggling multiple projects, break down deadlines into smaller, more achievable goals so they feel less daunting. As you complete each task, cross it off the list. Seeing your progress visually can keep you motivated.

With technology, there’s no reason to keep reinventing the wheel. Templates enable you to quickly create a set of standard documents that you can reuse over and over again. There are other mundane tasks, such as invoicing and sending client welcome emails, that you can automate, too. And the best part of leveraging technology? Software vendors often offer free introductory plans, so you can easily check tools out before investing in additional features, user seats, or storage.

2. Optimize Communication

Open communication channels are key to keeping your business humming, but you have to avoid communication overload. You might rely on a single messaging platform, such as Slack or Trello, for all your internal communications, including project updates and meetings. This helps keep your people from being bombarded with messages from all directions. But it can also lead to messages piling up, making it tough to figure out what’s urgent and what’s not. 

To facilitate communication, be clear about what types of messages should be sent by what means. Slack might be preferred for answers to quick questions, while email is better for matters that require more deliberation — and attachments. If there matters you’d prefer to discuss in person or over the phone, let your team know what these are.

Finally, set boundaries for yourself and your employees. As the business owner, you may feel compelled to be available 24/7, but no one can be on all the time. Turn off notifications during specific hours and encourage everyone else to do the same. Set designated times for checking emails and making phone calls. Use that time to respond to all urgent messages.

3. Maintain Your Focus

It can be hard to limit distractions in a busy office. But nobody will accomplish anything when they’re being interrupted all the time — even by themselves. Self-interruption is essentially what multitasking is, and it’s a productivity killer. 

To maintain your focus and do your most efficient work, try out the Pomodoro Technique. It involves working for a set amount of time (usually 25 minutes), taking a short break, then repeating the cycle. During the work period, concentrate on the task at hand and nothing else. You’ll make steady progress by breaking larger projects into smaller chunks and not get overwhelmed.

Further enhance your ability to focus by taking some time to tidy up your space every morning. Having a cluttered workspace leads to stress and distraction, which is the last thing you need when running a business. So organize your files and papers, stow office supplies out of sight, and give everything a place. Once you do that, you’ll feel less overwhelmed by the chaos around you — because there won’t be any.

4. Collaborate and Delegate

When your team works together well, everyone can get more done. But to do that, people and teams need to talk to each other. Write down clear goals and deadlines for each project and make sure everyone understands what their role is. Better yet, consign this information to a project management system, which will give the entire team visibility into project deliverables and milestones. 

Encourage communication and regular check-ins, and when a project is finally finished, take the time to pat yourself on the back and celebrate. This kind of positivity builds up morale and makes sure people will want to collaborate and work together on future projects.

Lastly, don’t forget about the power of delegation. As a business owner, you probably wear many hats. While you may feel compelled to take on everything yourself, you hired your team for a reason. Look at your to-do list and pinpoint tasks that can be handled by someone else. Then delegate to the appropriate individuals and let them work their magic.

Achieving the Well-Oiled Machine

Organizing a small business can seem like a monumental task and one that never ends. But it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. With a few simple tips and the right tools, you can keep your business organized and running like clockwork. When you do, you’ll ultimately serve your customers and your employees better.

Scott Tousley, Senior Team Lead of User Acquisition for all products at HubSpot, was recently interviewed on the B2B Growth Podcast by David Kelly, General Manager at Sumo Dojo. Tousley discusses how HubSpot is using Surround Sound Marketing Strategy to drive leads and sales:

Surround Sound Marketing Strategy Starting to Take Off

There is a very smart individual at HubSpot named Alex Birkett based out of Austin, Texas. He is working on this concept that is really starting to take off called Surround Sound Strategy. Essentially what that means is that it runs with the notion that marketers are selfish. All we care about is how do we drive more traffic to our website. I don’t care where it comes from. Whether it comes from search or social or referral traffic or email, it doesn’t matter. You’re always looking at how do I get more traffic to my website? The reality is that when we are trying to buy something you don’t go to one website. You go to multiple different websites when you are trying to make a purchasing decision.

For example, I’m in South Lake Tahoe right now. One search I just did recently was “best bars in South Lake Tahoe.” I wanted to see a list and I wanted to see some reviews from a couple of different websites. I also like to surf, so let’s say I’m in the market for a new shortboard. So I search for “best shortboards 2019.” First, I’ll read a listicle, then I will go back to Google and I will click on the next list. Then I will go back again and click on the next list. Then I will start to narrow my decision based on seeing the same thing over and over. Once I narrow it down I will do a versus search such as “lost puddle jumper” vs. “channel islands average joe.” I’ve narrowed my decision at that point.

We Want To Be At All Stages of the Purchasing Decision

What we are trying to do at HubSpot right now is figure out how to be everywhere. We want to be at all stages of that purchasing decision when people are searching for “what is the best blank that exists today.” Well, there are a ton of lists that are out there and a ton of review sites and HubSpot’s B2B software (has to be there). There are a lot of review sites just dominating search engines right now like Capterra, G2 Crowd, and Software Advice. A lot of those are pay to play. You have got to pay to get listed on what appears when you land via search. Most of them are.

But listicles are free. Not only are they free to get added to, but they are free to create. That’s one of the biggest things we are working on right now. How do we change our mindset from being so obsessed at driving traffic to our website? How do we make sure that HubSpot’s brand is everywhere when you are doing your product research and you are on many different websites? We actually sometimes prefer that we drive traffic to multiple different websites where we are listed versus just to our own. It’s good for social grouping.

Listen to the full interview with HubSpot’s Scott Tousley.

Nirosha Methananda, Vice President of Marketing at Bombora, discusses the challenges of marketing without annoying your potential customers by bombarding them with marketing messages in an interview with Logan Lyles on the B2B Growth Podcast:

Marketing Is Really About the Customer Experience

As a B2B marketer, I get marketed to a lot. It’s something that I have increasingly noticed and I’m probably not the only one. That’s just becoming part of the experience in terms of being inundated with different messaging and different calls and this, that, and the other. Use this, do this, buy this, whatever it is. It’s really not a great experience. It doesn’t necessarily provide value. Marketers are so busy as it is, and I know that is applicable across the board with everyone we are marketing to. Being able to cut through the noise and having an understanding of all these different things is very challenging. 

Having on top of it being inundated with this constant flow of messaging like meet me, meet me, meet me, is not very helpful. That’s one of the things that I’m passionate about. It’s really about customer experience. I think that is something fundamental to marketing. I feel like we have gone down this path of almost over automating and having to constantly pounce on people without necessarily being conscious and mindful of what their experience is on the other end. From my experience, it’s leading to me switching off and ignoring messages. I’m sure I’m not the only one. 

Create a Marketing Strategy That’s Not Annoying

It also leads to this annoyance and irritation which leads to distrust of brands and that’s not great for this industry. From a customer perspective those bad experiences, unfortunately, more than good experiences, they stay with you for longer and you remember that. Another thing that we don’t necessarily think of is that it’s wasteful. It’s wasteful of time and it’s wasteful of money especially for marketing and sales where money is a precious resource. It’s not something to be wasted. That’s basically why I’m passionate about creating a marketing strategy that’s not annoying.

As an example, our Intent Event was our first flagship event that we did last year. It was a closed event so we did have limited numbers and we were limited as to what we could do with promotion. What we did was try to have mindfulness around what we were sending out and ensuring that it was helpful. Making sure that the recipients, the people that we invited, were given all the relevant information, but there was brevity in the communication as well as encouraging them to participate without forcing them to be there. 

There was certainly some urgency around some of our communication but it wasn’t you need to attend this and this is why you must attend this. It was more about being a bit more subtle in presenting them the idea and the concept of what it was, why it would help them, and exactly the information that they needed. What that meant was not sending out multiple emails, being very controlled around it, really thinking about what the experience was before the event, to during the event, to after the event. We were really focused on the customer and making sure that all of the content and communication was educational and helpful.

In 2021, the credit increased to 70% of up to $10,000 in wages per quarter, resulting in a potential credit range of $21,000 to $28,000 per employee for the year. However, for the 4th quarter of 2021, only businesses opened after February 16, 2020, with less than $1,000,000 in revenue, can file for the credit, known as Recovery Startup Business, potentially receiving up to $33,000 per employee.

The ERC program aims to assist businesses in recovering from the economic shutdown, compensating for lost revenue, and maintaining operations while retaining employees. Although the program officially ended in 2021, businesses can still file to receive funds. Many businesses qualify for ERC but are often unaware of their eligibility.

How to Qualify for ERC

Businesses must have experienced a significant decline in gross receipts during 2020 or a general decline in gross receipts during 2021 compared to corresponding quarters in 2019. The business should also operate within the US, regardless of size, and have faced a full or partial suspension of operations due to government orders or experienced a more than nominal impact on operations. Additionally, businesses that meet the criteria as a Recovery Startup Business in the third or fourth quarter of 2021 may qualify.

ERC requires considering qualifying wages, which include cash payments and a portion of employer-provided health care costs. Businesses that received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans may still be eligible for ERC. The credit amount depends on the average full-time employees in 2019, with different calculations for businesses above or below certain thresholds.

Claiming ERC typically involves amending tax filings, and it may take 4-10 months for the IRS to process claims and issue checks. To navigate the complexities of ERC, businesses can seek assistance from qualified experts like Credit League. They provide consultations, help with documentation, and maximize the credit return. Credit League’s team of attorneys and CPAs can guide businesses through the qualification process, prepare necessary paperwork, and maintain contact with the IRS throughout the filing process.

In Summary

ERC is a valuable tax credit aimed at supporting businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. By understanding the eligibility criteria, businesses can potentially save up to $26,000 per employee, and seeking professional assistance can help streamline the filing process and maximize the credit.

Due Dates are Coming

Starting in January, documents that are for employees and independent contractors are due by the 31st. The documents in question are Forms 1099-NEC 1099-MISC, and 1099-K. The documents for average employees are forms W2 and W3. Moving on to February, there are several dates to watch out for. The 1st is the deadline for any extension to opt out of any extension for Federal and State tax returns. 

However, it must be mentioned that it is recommended by the IRS to file for an extension if it’s anticipated to be later than the original deadline. Also, there is a penalty upwards of $25,000 for missed Form 5742 which deals with foreign investment information. February 22, is the deadline to submit documents for partnerships and S-Corps. That February deadline to keep watch on is the 28th when paper filings for forms 1099 and 1099-DIV. 

The first of March is the deadline to submit franchise annual reports for those who reside in the state of Delaware. To quickly calculate this number, simply compare the shares issued with the assets at year’s end. On the 15th, any extensions for partnerships and S-corps are due that day. The forms needed that day to submit are 1065 for partnerships, and form 8805 for partnership income shared with foreign partners. Onto S-corps, form 1120 is the document to submit as well as 1042 for dividends paid to foreign shareholders. March 31 is the deadline for electronic filing for forms 1097, 1098, and 1099s – Excluding NEC, 3921, 3922, and W-2G. 

Final Thoughts

April 8 is the tax day extension due date. Aside from Form 1120, the form that covers single owner LLC, & individual(1040) is due. On the same day, estimated tax payments for Q1 will also be due. Corporations are required to pay estimated taxes on their first year of being profitable. The Foreign Investment Form(called BE-12) is Required for companies with 10% or greater foreign ownership. Penalties range from $2500 – $10k and criminal charges. Surveyed every 5 years. June 15th is the due date for Q2 estimated tax payments. 

Jumping to September, the 15th fiscal year deadline for 6/30 year-end businesses Fiscal year deadline for 6/30 year-end businesses is the deadline to file partnership and s-corp returns on the 6-month extension deadline. Likewise, the fiscal year deadline for 6/30 year-end businesses is on that day as well. Lastly, October 16th is the final deadline for those on a 6-month extension. Drop dead date after which penalties will be assessed.

Email newsletters can lend a great deal of help in client retention, communication, and revenue-building. Many newsletters provide readers with coupons, exclusive offers and products, as well as membership perks and discounts. As a result, experts have found shoppers to spend nearly 137% more with a business after receiving email offers. To the benefit of the brand, a $45 return is seen for every $1 spent on email marketing.

In other words, the key to successful email marketing is getting your content seen and engaged with without getting flagged as spam. Luckily, this is achievable in various ways.

One of the easiest things you can do to raise your email open rates is to replace any irrelevant text or uninteresting subject lines. When crafting an email, be personal. Feel free to use the recipient’s name or location as a conversation-builder. Continuing on, be brief. As a general rule of thumb, keep email subject lines under 10 words – and/or 60 characters. However, remember to keep your subject line friendly, as this personable method also increases email open rates. With this, be sure to use no more than 3 punctuation marks and 1 emoji.

Of course, there are many methods to messaging targeted recipients. A/B comparison methods can assist as they allow for testing across various subject lines. With its results, you can learn which outreach variant your customers prefer.

You can also categorize your contacts into interest groups and geolocation to ensure content is relevant to all receivers. Geolocations can be as specific as time zones or regions.

On the other hand, you can increase your click-through rates using hacks just as easy. For example, change your hyperlink’s text, and avoid using “click here.” Remember: not many email recipients click for more. Instead, take the opportunity to embed multiple links to the same content, and create descriptive and concise link text when doing so. You can also use A/B style testing here to test out content blocks.

When conducting outreach, one of the most important keys to remember is not getting marked as spam. Recipients rarely flag marketing emails as spam; but when they do, it’s because they’ve grown stale of the marketer’s content, their contact information has been purchased, they have been contacted without permission, or something else along these lines.

As a human courtesy, ask customers to opt-in to receiving your emails before auto-blasting them with content. In fact, take the time to explain the benefits such as coupons or other exclusive offers when asking them to op-tin. Regardless of what you, never purchase email addresses. Similarly, never hide the unsubscribe link from your emails. It’s always important to keep emails and campaigns professional – so stick to any email frequency expectations you have set for your team.

Overall, all marketers want consumers to engage with their content. The best way in doing so may be through email marketing. Do you know the best tactics for engaging with the public?

Nirosha Methananda, Vice President of Marketing at Bombora, discusses the challenges of marketing without annoying your potential customers by bombarding them with marketing messages in an interview with Logan Lyles on the B2B Growth Podcast:

Marketing Is Really About the Customer Experience

As a B2B marketer, I get marketed to a lot. It’s something that I have increasingly noticed and I’m probably not the only one. That’s just becoming part of the experience in terms of being inundated with different messaging and different calls and this, that, and the other. Use this, do this, buy this, whatever it is. It’s really not a great experience. It doesn’t necessarily provide value. Marketers are so busy as it is, and I know that is applicable across the board with everyone we are marketing to. Being able to cut through the noise and having an understanding of all these different things is very challenging. 

Having on top of it being inundated with this constant flow of messaging like meet me, meet me, meet me, is not very helpful. That’s one of the things that I’m passionate about. It’s really about customer experience. I think that is something fundamental to marketing. I feel like we have gone down this path of almost over automating and having to constantly pounce on people without necessarily being conscious and mindful of what their experience is on the other end. From my experience, it’s leading to me switching off and ignoring messages. I’m sure I’m not the only one. 

Create a Marketing Strategy That’s Not Annoying

It also leads to this annoyance and irritation which leads to distrust of brands and that’s not great for this industry. From a customer perspective those bad experiences, unfortunately, more than good experiences, they stay with you for longer and you remember that. Another thing that we don’t necessarily think of is that it’s wasteful. It’s wasteful of time and it’s wasteful of money especially for marketing and sales where money is a precious resource. It’s not something to be wasted. That’s basically why I’m passionate about creating a marketing strategy that’s not annoying.

As an example, our Intent Event was our first flagship event that we did last year. It was a closed event so we did have limited numbers and we were limited as to what we could do with promotion. What we did was try to have mindfulness around what we were sending out and ensuring that it was helpful. Making sure that the recipients, the people that we invited, were given all the relevant information, but there was brevity in the communication as well as encouraging them to participate without forcing them to be there. 

There was certainly some urgency around some of our communication but it wasn’t you need to attend this and this is why you must attend this. It was more about being a bit more subtle in presenting them the idea and the concept of what it was, why it would help them, and exactly the information that they needed. What that meant was not sending out multiple emails, being very controlled around it, really thinking about what the experience was before the event, to during the event, to after the event. We were really focused on the customer and making sure that all of the content and communication was educational and helpful.

Harley Finkelstein, COO of Shopify, discusses how COVID has dramatically sped up the timeline for commerce moving online and has also moved Shopify closer to its goal of becoming the world’s first retail operating system:

Shopify Evolving Into World’s First Retail Operating System

Most people assume that Shopify is an ecommerce provider. We have more than a million stores on Shopify. If you were to aggregate our stores in the US we’d be the second-largest online retailer in America. Of course, we’re not a retailer but we’re a platform. But we now have these great economies of scale that we’re using to level the playing field for entrepreneurs and small businesses. That being said, what really Shopify is evolving into is the world’s first retail operating system. 

What we’re trying to figure out is what do brands and entrepreneurs and retailers need, not just now but in the future? We think the future of retail is retail everywhere. A brand that’s going to be successful in 5, 10 or 15 years from now needs to sell across any platform and across any channel where they have customers. This idea of enabling Shopify merchants to very easily push their products to the Amazon Marketplace or the eBay marketplace or now the Walmart marketplace, that gives them access to a new set of consumers. The idea is that it all feeds back in one centralized back-office, the retail operating system, which is Shopify. 

Then we’ve gone ahead and asked what else can we do for these merchants? Can we do capital? We’ve now given out about a billion dollars worth of cash advances and loans to small businesses. We’re doing fulfillment and we’re doing shipping. We’re increasing the scope and the relationship that we have with the million stores on Shopify. This is allowing them to become category leaders.

COVID Speeds Up The Ecommerce Revolution

From our view, it seems like the commerce world that would have existed in the year 2030 has really been pulled into the year 2020 (as a result of the COVID crisis). We’ve seen ecommerce as a percent of total retail go from 15 percent to 25 percent in the last three months. That’s the same growth rate that we’ve seen over the last 10 years. What really has emerged here is sort of this tale of two retail worlds. On one side you have these resilient retailers that are doing great, they’re pivoting, and they’re expanding their businesses. On the other side, you have these resistant retailers who have not made it. In many ways, it’s probably the most exciting time for retail in a very long time. 

We talk a lot about these direct to consumer brands that are becoming category leaders. The Allbirds and the Gymsharks who started on Shopify when they were very small and have grown to become the incumbents in their industry. Every 25 seconds a brand new entrepreneur makes his or her (products) for sale on Shopify. We talk a lot about those new startups, those new DTC brands. But actually, what we’re also seeing on Shopify are companies like Lindt Chocolate or Heinz ketchup or Chipotle. They are signing up for Shopify and basically from like five days from contract to launch they are completely changing their businesses. 

This resiliency isn’t simply in the hands of just the smallest of brands. Big companies are also beginning to think a lot more about how to stay resilient in this time. They’re moving well beyond ecommerce or thinking about offline commerce now. They’re thinking about how do they sell across social media? How do they sell across different marketplaces? So no, I don’t think it’s too late (to enter ecommerce) but I do think they have to rethink their strategies.

Print is Not Dead

To start, an owner can look at the facts: 8 in 10 small businesses on the global storefront say they rely on a printer for their daily services. However, most small business owners buy consumer-grade printers to do heavy business work, thus overworking those printers and having to make reactive purchases to fill in those gaps. 52% of small business owners across the globe say they wish printer companies better understood the challenges they face, with 69% of small business owners worldwide find it hard to source reliable office supplies, printers being one of those supplies. 

Over half of people own printers that break once a month or more. Why is this? Most ink printers are not made with a durable body and are also not made for the large work of a business. Laser printers are made with a highly durable steel-frame, making them ready to take on whatever job they are tasked with. Laser printers are also compact, easy for moving from location to location, while still keeping the ability to perform any big business features. 

For small business owners, high costs of any device or program can be overwhelming. With laser printers, small business owners will only spend $0.05 for laser toner and $0.075 for laser printer ink that never smudges, dries out, or expires. With regular ink printers, small business owners can spend over $12,000 per gallon of ink. Laser printer cartridges leave more room for small business owners to spend funds on other improvements. 

Security Considerations

Laser printers can also be password protected and require a password to use the services to help prevent online security threats. These printers will also reboot when a security threat is detected and have a secure fax option for things such as financial information, saving you and your businesses’ personal information. There is a capability with laser printers to add multiple employees on a single network, creating your own “smart business” and a printer network specific for your business. Laser printers have built-in access to a cloud service, meaning everyone on your businesses’ network can access much-needed documents or even print from a distance. 

In Conclusion

For small businesses in the technology age, a laser printer seems to be the best choice for day-to-day operations. There are many benefits to using a laser printer for a small business, along with the added services laser printer companies offer such as cartridge recycling programs and the option to shop directly from the manufacturer’s website for refills to add an ease of mind to businesses operating with these printers. Small business owners, don’t let a bad printer slow down your business in this digital age. Make an informed decision on what kind of printer is best for you and your small business.

Matthew Shay, President and CEO of the National Retail Federation, says that the pandemic has made this a great time for innovation by retailers:

This Is A Great Time For Innovation.

Just look back a decade ago and the companies that were created in the midst of the great recession in 2008, 2009, and 2010. We saw a lot of new IPOs. This is a great time for innovation. Some of the predictions this year, for example, about the number of stores that would close or bankruptcies that we would see just haven’t materialized. Part of that is because consumers have been relatively healthy and part of that is because on a net basis we’ve seen new businesses opening to offset the closing. There’s an enormous amount of innovation taking place.

On the issue of returns, there’s a big company located right here in Washington, D.C., Optoro, a big partner for many retailers helping them process returns efficiently. I’ve talked to senior executives at UPS today about shipping issues and there is a lot of innovation taking place. They are working very diligently and have a great delivery record so far. We are looking forward to getting all those gifts to American families. The biggest gift of all, of course, will be some additional pandemic relief.

A Lot Of This Is Going To Be A Permanent Change

The issue is how much of this consumer behavior has changed permanently and fundamentally? How much of us as Americans go back to our old behaviors? That’s going to play itself out. Certainly, a lot of this is going to be a permanent change. People will do more as we saw across all demographic groups, regardless of age, this entire year doing much more online. Some of that will remain sticky.

There’s been a great increase in efficiency in the supply chain. Those gains are not going to be given back. Customers are going to continue to expect certain kinds of delivery and fulfillment opportunities that have been rolled out by retailers this year. They won’t give that up. They are going to want the convenience and they are going to expect to be able to maintain that in the future.

With those kinds of innovations and that kind of resilience in the system against the backdrop of a year next year that could be extremely bullish if we get the vaccine rolled out, as we all believe it will be. I talked to a senior executive of one of the major pharmaceutical companies last week and they said early April or the end of May everyone that wants it will get it. We could be set up for a really big comeback for consumers next year.

Scott Tousley, Senior Team Lead of User Acquisition for all products at HubSpot, was recently interviewed on the B2B Growth Podcast by David Kelly, General Manager at Sumo Dojo. Tousley discusses how HubSpot is using Surround Sound Marketing Strategy to drive leads and sales:

Surround Sound Marketing Strategy Starting to Take Off

There is a very smart individual at HubSpot named Alex Birkett based out of Austin, Texas. He is working on this concept that is really starting to take off called Surround Sound Strategy. Essentially what that means is that it runs with the notion that marketers are selfish. All we care about is how do we drive more traffic to our website. I don’t care where it comes from. Whether it comes from search or social or referral traffic or email, it doesn’t matter. You’re always looking at how do I get more traffic to my website? The reality is that when we are trying to buy something you don’t go to one website. You go to multiple different websites when you are trying to make a purchasing decision.

For example, I’m in South Lake Tahoe right now. One search I just did recently was “best bars in South Lake Tahoe.” I wanted to see a list and I wanted to see some reviews from a couple of different websites. I also like to surf, so let’s say I’m in the market for a new shortboard. So I search for “best shortboards 2019.” First, I’ll read a listicle, then I will go back to Google and I will click on the next list. Then I will go back again and click on the next list. Then I will start to narrow my decision based on seeing the same thing over and over. Once I narrow it down I will do a versus search such as “lost puddle jumper” vs. “channel islands average joe.” I’ve narrowed my decision at that point.

We Want To Be At All Stages of the Purchasing Decision

What we are trying to do at HubSpot right now is figure out how to be everywhere. We want to be at all stages of that purchasing decision when people are searching for “what is the best blank that exists today.” Well, there are a ton of lists that are out there and a ton of review sites and HubSpot’s B2B software (has to be there). There are a lot of review sites just dominating search engines right now like Capterra, G2 Crowd, and Software Advice. A lot of those are pay to play. You have got to pay to get listed on what appears when you land via search. Most of them are.

But listicles are free. Not only are they free to get added to, but they are free to create. That’s one of the biggest things we are working on right now. How do we change our mindset from being so obsessed at driving traffic to our website? How do we make sure that HubSpot’s brand is everywhere when you are doing your product research and you are on many different websites? We actually sometimes prefer that we drive traffic to multiple different websites where we are listed versus just to our own. It’s good for social grouping.

Listen to the full interview with HubSpot’s Scott Tousley.

Whether you are a personal loan officer or an agency, below are some effective personal loan marketing ideas you can adopt right now to attract more clients.

Optimize Your Website for Search Engines & Mobiles

Search engine optimization is one of the best and most effective digital marketing techniques to reach your potential customers when they are searching for products or services you offer. Optimizing your personal loan website for search engines using relevant keywords can get your company in front of more people looking for personal loans. Along with doing SEO, you should also optimize your website for mobile devices as almost 2 billion people are running around the world using smartphones. Payday LV is the best example of a mobile-optimized website as it is very easy to view on different mobile devices. Mobile-friendly websites also tend to rank higher in search engine result pages as per Google’s mobile-first approach.

Content Marketing to Provide Useful Information

Content marketing is another best marketing idea for loan companies to bring in more clients. In this digital world, more than 85% of consumers expect their favorite brands to provide informative and useful content. So, don’t disappoint your audience and start creating valuable and informative content for your personal loan website and other online profiles. You can write about loan guides, filling loan application forms, and best loan offers, compare loan providers or tell interesting stories about your company or clients. Make sure to create content in different formats like blog posts, social media posts, eBooks, podcasts and infographics, etc. This helps you fulfill the content desire of your audience in a variety of ways.

Up-to-date Social Media Profiles

Everyone is using social media these days and most people are on social media sites to find trusted and reliable brands to shop for products or services online. You as a personal loan provider should also be there on popular social media sites like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, etc. Social media is a powerful marketing medium to promote your loan offers and consume potential clients’ information. Having a social media profile with outdated business details and content is as useless as sending out a parcel with the wrong address. Make sure your business details are accurate and updated across your social media profiles. This will help your clients reach and contact you easily.

Targeted PPC Ads

Yes, you can appear over the top search engine results through paid advertising campaigns like PPC ads. This is the best way to spend marketing bucks for reaching your specific target audience. You can run PPC ads for particular keywords that are focused on need-based queries. This helps you get your business out there in front of people who are about to make final decisions. However, you should choose the right keywords to bid for so you can generate more leads and convert them easily. PPC campaigns help you target a particular audience in selective areas.

Online Reviews

In this digital era of life, having a strong digital footprint is most important than ever to attract more clients online. Having a ton of positive reviews can help potential clients learn who you are, whether you are trusted or not, and if you can do exactly what they want. Modern consumers go through the reviews to check the credibility and trustworthiness of brands they are about to connect with. This is the reason; your personal loan company must also have enough positive reviews and recommendations to lure potential customers and win trust.

To get more reviews, make the review process easier for your clients. Send them thank you notes to show gratitude and ask for reviews. Creating profiles on local business directories like Yelp is another best way to encourage people to share their thoughts about your products or services.

Almost 75% of employers have said they hired the wrong person for a position.  Amazon fulfillment centers offer full-time employees as much as $5,000 to quit but with the caveat of those quitting not being allowed to work at Amazon again.  Better.com fired 900 employees on a Zoom call in December 2021, which was criticized and considered harsh by many on social media.  Companies like these follow an old concept in business that employers should be slow to hire but quick to fire. 

What does hire slow, fire fast really mean? Hiring slowly means that you give yourself time to carefully consider your needs and expectations, draft a new job description based on business goals, describe the skills and attributes needed for long-term success, and consider how well candidates will complement team dynamics.  

Firing quickly doesn’t have to happen in an extreme situation.  Sometimes you end up through the firing process if you hire the wrong person.  However, you can avoid firing often if you try to forgive mistakes, think of firing as a hiring mistake and confront it head-on, focus on the long-term benefits, and approach employees with compassion while aiding their transition.  

However, there are a few things hire slow, fire fast does not mean. It doesn’t mean hiring the right person when you find them.  Be sure to give yourself time to consider and not just hire the person because they applied early.  It also doesn’t mean to expect the perfect hire to drop right into your lap because most employees that fit your criteria can be trained to be excellent in their role.  

All at the Right Pace

Hiring slowly and firing quickly does not involve firing employees on a whim.  Fast firing is not a replacement for training, coaching, or changing roles to better suit a good employee.  It doesn’t signify having overly specific expectations as well.  Selective hiring is a luxury; employers still need to create a company where people want to work.  

Hiring and firing at the right speed is good for employees and employers.  They maintain positivity and good company culture because teams that naturally work well together could be made.  Finding a good hiring and firing speed can ensure company success as well by minimizing bureaucracy and bloat while keeping the company agile.  

The best benefit is the better long-term success for everyone.  If an employee is a bad fit, they won’t be happy staying which will negatively affect the rest of the team.  

In Conclusion

November 2021 saw more than 4 million people voluntarily leaving their jobs.  With all of the changes happening in the job market at the moment, it is more important now than ever to hire slowly so employers can find people who will help the company in the long run while making employees happy at their new job.