Successful Businessman

It’s the little things in business that can mean the difference between success and failure, especially at the small business level. A prime example is customer service. What were once simple courtesies — offering a credit card processing option for all purchases and following up with customers to make sure they’re satisfied with their purchase — are now basic consumer expectations. According to a new survey by American Express, it’s customer services like these that small businesses should capitalize on to survive in a highly-competitive marketplace.

The 2011 American Express Global Customer Service Barometer surveyed a random sample of customers in ten nations, including the United States. Although many of the questions got very mixed responses, there was one area of accord: A large majority of all respondents agreed that small businesses place a greater emphasis on customer service than large businesses. Among those surveyed in the U.S., 81% agreed with that statement. 

While larger companies can afford to spend more on advertising and almost always offer lower prices, excellent service can become the competitive edge small businesses need to compete against the Big Boys. According

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Many of us have complained about the state of the U.S. economy — particularly for small businesses. It seemed that there were large, sweeping forces outside of our control that created these conditions. However, there is now a way we can each take one small step to spur our local economy. It takes place on November 27, 2010 — the Saturday after Thanksgiving. And it’s called Small Business Saturday.

You know you’re going to be shopping for those holiday presents anyway, so why not do it at the local, independent retailers who are contributing to your city’s tax base? According to Cinda Baxter, founder of The 3/50 Project and national spokesperson for Small Business Saturday, 68 cents of every dollar spent with an independent retailer returns to that community. That means well-paved roads, solid schools, reliable emergency services and everything else a municipality provides (that often go unnoticed). Oh yeah,

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Over the past two years, the small business environment has changed dramatically. This year’s New York Times Small Business Summit in NYC on Sept. 23 will explore the next steps of social media marketing and how best to navigate a new economic and legislative landscape.

The event is sponsored by OPEN/American Express, and the 2010 speaker lineup includes keynote addresses by Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc. and Robin Chase, founding CEO of Zipcar and GoLoco.

I’ll be a panelist for the “Grow Your Business: The Nuts and Bolts of Running a Business” session, running twice—in the morning and the afternoon.

For more information and to register, visit http://nytsmallbusinessummit.com/index.php

Will you be attending the Summit? Let me know, and I’ll look forward to seeing you there.

While all types of entity structures serve a specific purpose forming a Limited Liability Company (LLC) for a small business is growing in popularity. It’s a structure worth looking into from both a tax and asset protection standpoint.

LLCs are great for businesses that:

• Are being used to invest in appreciating assets such as real estate, stocks, bonds or other securities
• Want to have the maximum flexibility to distribute profits and losses amongst owners (called Members)
• Anticipate that all of their Members will live in the United States

LLCs allow you to:

• Have flow through taxation (i.e., the profits and losses flow through to the personal tax returns of the LLC’s Members), avoiding the double-taxation of C Corporations
• Protect the assets of the LLC from lawsuit judgments against individual Members
• Protect your family home and assets without losing the valuable IRS homeowner deduction
• If set up properly, to allow for estate-planning and succession to your children on a tax-free basis through gifting 

Instead of shareholders, a limited liability company (LLC) has members, who either operate the LLC directly or leave it to be managed by a separate group of Managers, or Managing Members.

Members and Managers are protected from liability in the same way that officers, directors and shareholders of corporations are which means that as long as they are acting legally and in the LLCs best interests, they will not be found liable for debts or other liabilities incurred by the LLC. The m

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There are quite a bit of obstacles that every aspiring entrepreneur faces as they strive to do all the right things in order to make their dream business a reality.

It can be an overwhelming experience especially if you have limited support, funding and tools at your disposal. Whether you have a product or service to bring to the marketplace careful planning and execution can greatly improve the success of your new venture.

To help you in your preparation I have assembled my top 25 rules which can greatly improve your ability in obtaining the credit your company needs.

1. Select the proper entity structure that best serves the needs of your business.
2. Choose a business name that does not trigger red flags with the business credit bureaus.
3. Assemble a winning financial team that understands the nature of your business and its vision.
4. Avoid selecting a high risk SIC and NAICS classification code for your company.
5. Do not use a P.O.

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Small businesses are the “places where most new jobs begin,” President Obama said in his weekly radio address Saturday, a day after announcing new measures to create jobs.

Obama has proposed tax incentives and credits, expanded government loan programs and aid to community banks that he said will help small businesses hire new employees, reported Bloomberg News.

The president’s plan would eliminate capital gains taxes on small businesses in 2010 and give small businesses a $5,000 tax credit for every new job created. In addition, $30 billion from repaid bank bailout money would be distributed to community banks to spur small business lending, said the Associated Press.

The plan would also temporarily increase the cap on Small Business Administration loans from $350,000 to $1 million and expand the SBA program to help refinance commercial real-estate loans, said the AP. All of the proposals would need to be approved by Congress.

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