Business | BizSieve.com

Want to start a business? First figure out what it should be

So you want to start a company? That is great! But what kind of company you would like to form? Don’t be clueless and for God’s sake do not take any decision in haste because your future financial condition will be dependent on this decision in myriads of ways. Now I am not asking here what kind of service you are supposed to offer (because you know that better than anybody else) but what legal form your company is supposed to take. This is the single most important decision that will who are eligible to invest in your company, how you are supposed to pay the taxes or how your financial condition is going to get affected by it.

business incorporation — *Image by RiseAndGrind.com*

Below are the three important things that you need to take care of before zero in on a decision:

Ownership: Depending on the business types, there are certain limitations on the number of people who can invest in a company. So, if you have a large plan and want to rope in foreign investment in the form of shareholders, corporate structure is the way to go. Therefore, my humble suggestion is please take this seriously and sit down with an accountant and an attorney to figure out which legal business form best suits your purpose.

Tax: The infamous three letter words that everyone hates. Honestly speaking, no one likes paying taxes and I hope you share the same feeling. So that means, you should abhor the idea of paying taxes twice. But it can happen to you if you do not take it seriously. May sound insane, but you may find yourself paying taxes once on income for business and then again for the profit distributed to you. So, figure out a solution before it is too late.

Liability: Corporation has an individual identity and that being that if the company is sued, individual shareholders will be not hold responsible. The assets of the company can be seized or freezed but the personal assets of the shareholders will not be seized. However, there are certain exceptions but rest assured, liability of personal share holder is largely limited.

So, now you are fully aware of the legal intricacies of forming a company. Let’s move on to the next big chapter that is selecting a legal business framework:

Sole Proprietorship: This is the best business model for individual who does not like the idea of being tied to a legal framework. It is super easy to form. No additional paper work needed and the best part, there is no such need to file corporate income taxes. However, on the flipside, you will not have any liability protection. This is something that you need to be careful about. If your business is sued, your personal assets can be seized and in some worse cases assets of your spouse can also be seized.

Partnership: In this business model, ownership of the company is shared with two or more people. There is no such legal intricacy involved in the process but it is advisable to draw up a partnership agreement. And to your relief, there is no such thing as double taxation. On the downside, each partner will have unlimited personal liability.

LLC (Limited Liability Company): This is the most popular legal business framework which is increasingly being adopted by business owners because of its unique flexibilities and other benefits. This business model provides personal liability of the business owners. Another unique feature of LLC is that it lets you share profits unequally and thereby rewarding those owners who are working hard to make the business a hit. However, it has its share of disadvantages too. Laws of LLC vary wide depending on the state and countries you are living. And there are certain restrictions on the number of investors one can have in a business and sometimes, foreign investment is allowed.

“S” Corporation: This is a kind of business model that provides personal liability but at the same time, it also provides pass through taxation. Since the laws of S Corporations are less complicated, it is a popular choice among lawyers and accountants. As far as its disadvantages are concerned, it does not let you distribute profit unevenly and you need to pay for the state corporate fees.

“C” Corporation: This business model proves the highest level of personal liability protection to investors and there is no such restrictions on the number of people who can invest in it. But double taxation is here and there is no way you can avoid this.

Author Bio: Michael Evans is a passionate blogger and he has written different articles on Cyprus Taxation.

How to Design Banners and Signage for Your Corporate Event

If you are hosting or attending an event then this is a great opportunity to promote your business and to increase your brand awareness in a big way. However in order to do this you need to attract people’s attention – you need them to be interested and you need them to come over to look into what you are doing or listen to your presentation.

For this reason then you will want to involve some banners and other signage and the way you design this can make a big difference to whether or not you benefit from the event. Here we will look at how to go about designing your banners so that they are effective.

Types of Banners

When you design your signage you will need a couple of different items. For one you might want some regular hanging banners, probably made from vinyl for the best durability, that you can hang over your entrance or your tradeshow display in order to draw the eye from a distance. It’s important you get this right so that people can find you and so that people know where you are. It also serves as a great way to strengthen your brand – think of it like the title on a website or a magazine.

Next you will probably also want some pop up banner stands. These banners are free standing meaning they go at ground level and the ‘pop up’ or ‘roll up’ bit refers to the fact that you can compact them down to transport them nice and easily. Finally you might also want a backdrop which you can use if you give a presentation or if you have a tradeshow display and this can provide a suitable background for the rest of what you do.

company banners — *Image by Nigel Lamb / Flickr*

The Design

Now you need to think the design you are going to order. Of course this is going to be printed out very largely, so you want to make sure that you have an image that is very large and very high definition that will spread out across it well.

For the vinyl banner you will probably only need to have the name of your company, though it might be wise to also use a sub heading for those who don’t know what your company does. If you have a descriptive slogan then this is ideal. Make sure that the colors you choose are high in contrast so that the writing stands out well against the background. If you are hosting the event then you can hang this anywhere and it will help to strengthen your branding.

For the free standing banner stands however you will be using a different approach. People will pass these at eye level meaning that you don’t need to draw them in from a distance, but that you do need to get them to turn their heads. A great way to get their attention is to put a person in your image and due to the nature you can make this person to scale. If they are attractive and smiling then the person will normally look.

Meanwhile you want to use this banner stand to provide some more information and maybe even to provide leaflets. The idea is that people who don’t want to talk to you about what you do can get most of the basic information quickly. At the same time though you don’t want to write paragraphs’ worth of detailed information – instead you should include just a few bullet points so that someone can quickly cast their eyes over it and know everything they need to.

About the Author: This guest post is written by event management blogger Jim Carrey. He has authored numerous guest posts on organizing events and press conferences. He recommends The Oxford Hotel as the perfect venue for your business events.

How to Carry Out Market Research

Effective market research can help you to figure out whether there is demand for your product or service, and can also help you to identify the right target demographics (which can sometimes be different to what you originally expect), as well as which stores to place them in, and how to market the product. Whether you’re doing pharma market research or trying to promote a TV show, asking the right questions and interpreting the data you get back correctly is the key to success:

Finding a Research Partner

If you’re launching a new business on a shoestring, then you’ll probably end up doing most of your market research by yourself. However, once you’re fully up and running, you may find that you don’t have the time or resources to do market research efficiently in-house. Finding a market research specialist that works within your vertical is a good idea.

There are some general market research companies out there, and they can work if you just want help running surveys or focus groups, however for specialist market knowledge, hiring a pharma market research company or an industry expert is a better choice. If it’s secondary research you’re interested in, rather than information about attitudes to one of your existing products, then they may already have the data prepared and up for sale.

Researching Yourself – Mystery Shopping

Following market trends is important, but if you’re convinced that you’ve found a gap in the market, but you’re not seeing the demand you expected, then maybe you’re looking in the wrong direction. Don’t focus all of your research efforts on “the industry”. It’s always a good idea to spend a little time looking at what your own company is doing. Mystery shopping, sample orders, and quality testing are just as important as surveys and infographics.

Don’t make the mistake of focusing on a list of things that you think consumers want when you’re doing quality checks and mystery shopping. Some companies waste resources sending mystery shoppers to fill out a checklist of items such as “Were you asked about a loyalty card? Did you get offered insurance?”, but that endless list of questions is precisely why the store is empty. Let the shoppers go in with an open mind, and then ask them what they liked and disliked about the experiece.

Competitors and Colleagues

It’s all too easy to get so absorbed in your way of doing things that you let the rest of the market pass you by. One way to prevent this is to hire someone to mystery shop your competitors, and take notes on what they’re doing. In addition to shopping with your immediate competitors, why not visit some companies that trade within your niche, but aren’t direct competitors – either because they’re trading in a different geographic area, or aiming at a different segment of the market. Keep an open mind to the things they’re doing, and look at how you can use their ideas within your niche.

You might be surprised at how open other companies are to answering questions and offering help – as long as you’re willing to reciprocate.

This guest post was brought to you by James Harper on behalf of Hall and Partners, specialists in innovating pharma market research. Find out more by following them on Twitter.

Making Money Online – Tips for Building a Successful Small Business Blog

As our society continues to become more married to the web, so do aspects of our everyday lives. Because of this tech craze and a particularly challenging economy, many people are entering the world of online business and online entrepreneurship. While at one time blogging was considered more of a hobby for stay-at-home moms and angsty teenagers, today it has become both a hobby and a career for true professionals. Many of those angsty teenagers and stay-at-home moms have found blogging niches and concepts that have really lifted off. Whether you are a business owner trying to create a more pervasive web presence or a stay-at-home parent trying to give useful advice to other parents in a similar situation, your blogs today have the potential to really earn some money when done correctly.

Blogging has become one of the strongest and most successful marketing strategies for business owners online. It has also become a very successful venture for individuals’ seeking a nontraditional career path—but it’s all about doing it right. Consider these business tips to take your blog a step further in the world of business and profit earning.

Networking, Networking, Networking

Successful blogging and, frankly, successful business-running today boils down to strong networking skills. This day-in-age, it’s all about who you know. This is not to say that your blog will skyrocket into success just by knowing a famous blogger out there, but the connections you make can play a huge role in your success. The key to a successful blog is traffic. You want people to find your blog easily, see it, stick around for a while, and come back for more.

One way to gain a wider audience and thus gain more traffic is by sharing networks with bloggers in your same area. In the online world of business today, networking and promotion are one in the same. Get to know other bloggers online and forge a relationship with them. Use each other’s web space to mutually benefit from sharing followers. While many bloggers already consider networking a significant portion of their blog, there is always room for more. Invite guest bloggers, write guest posts, connect through social media—make the effort.

Figure out Where the Money Is

This sounds very business-like. It’s all about knowing where the money is. While this doesn’t really sound like a blogging tip, it’s certainly a business tip. Look at your blog in particular and other successful blogs throughout the internet and figure out where the money is coming from. What aspects of your blog are making you the most success? Consider offering advertisement space on your blog. Of course, you don’t want to compromise any creative elements of your blog, but understand that advertising is one area that can really pull in some profit. Compile (if you have not already) a strong mailing list and offer people the chance to pay for a small subscription to include their business on one or a number of your blog pages. Advertising doesn’t have to be a negative thing on your blog. Work with your network to find businesses that make sense to advertise on your page. Find things that can be useful and intriguing to your readership. You can also consider running sponsored posts on your blog for more income.

Patience and Persistence

You’ve likely heard it time and time again. But, patience and persistence really are key in blogging. With so many bloggers out there on the web, it can take some time and effort to really find your footing and create a following. You have to be patient with your business blogging efforts. You aren’t going to be able to create an amazingly successful business out of your blog overnight—in fact, you probably aren’t going to make a super successful business from your blog in six months. It takes time and it takes effort. Be persistent with your posting, advertising, marketing, and networking. If something really isn’t working, consider something new. Part of building your blog into a business involves educating yourself on business blogging matters. Try to understand the business. Learn about search engine algorithms and techniques. Try to learn about new social media and social networking trends. Staying up on the new things online will benefit your blog and business that much more.

Part of being a successful business owner is preparing for things in the business world that might not be easily anticipated. Bloggers and online business owners often overlook the usefulness of things like business insurance, business credit cards, and other “regular” business measures other companies take. By carefully following the tips discussed above, individuals are able to create blogs and business pages that are that much more successful. Be sure that you consider all aspects of business after your blog begins to really gain traction online. Things like small business insurance, liability insurance and other types of safeguards can be very important to running a successful business blog as well.

About the Author: Carol Wilson is a freelance insurance business writer who is in the midst of creating her very own business insurance guide for consumers. In the meantime, she likes to share her knowledge of business insurance and other business related topics such as marketing to small business owners, entrepreneurs, and other corporate moguls. She welcomes your comments at wilson.carol24 @ gmail.com.

Web Content For Small Businesses

Most small businesses do not have the right content on their website, which results in less traffic. Having good content on your site can help it get to the top of search engine results and also attract users. The content on your website will also help in attracting links. So, always generate content that is meaningful and beneficial for the business. Having good content on the site is one of the best strategies that small businesses should incorporate to stay competitive. Here are few tips to consider while developing web content for your small business.

Have a blog on your site

You cannot attract viewers and increase traffic just by creating a good-looking design for your website. Your site has to be updated with useful content regularly, with the help of a blog. You can make use of CMS (Content Management System) which includes Movable Type hosting and WordPress. Instead of making use of hosting solutions like TypePad, WordPress or Blogger, you can consult a expert and set up self-hosted blog engine on your server. When compared to hosting solutions, self-hosted blog engines are very easy to modify and can be integrated effortlessly into your website’s current design.

When you start blogging, register your firm’s blog as sub-directory (www.xyz.com/blog) instead of sub-domain (blog.xyz.com). When you do this, search engines will see the blog as a part of your website, and not as a separate site. When it comes to the design of the blog, it should be consistent with other contents on the website like navigation and header.

Hire professional writers

You need not be an expert to be able to write effectively. However, your grammar and language should be good. If you do not have the time to blog regularly, you can hire a writer to blog for your website. Before the writer starts blogging for your site, make sure you brief him/her about your product and company so that he/she knows what content to generate for your site. All the posts must be simple and easy to understand. Ensure that the posts written by the individual conforms to your company ideals and standards.

Developing a content mission can help

Viewers might stop visiting your blog if you do not update the content on it regularly. The content on your site has to be updated at least once a week. Before you start blogging, make sure you have a content mission which includes deciding what you want to include in your blog. For instance you might want your blog to give visitors information about your company or it can just include press releases of your products. If the information on your site is equipped with the latest developments in your business, it can attract visitors and also improve traffic for your site.

Allow archiving of pages

It takes very little effort and cost to include archiving page for media meets, investor bulletins, press releases, sales presentations, company fact sheets and product announcements. You will not know when the viewer might remember the presentation on your website and return to send it to a prospective customer. So, having archive option can prove to be useful in attracting traffic to your site and generating leads in the process.

About the Author: Penny Cooper is a blog writer with professional writing service provider Godot Media. She is also an SEO writer and her interests range from and social networking to the latest internet technologies and trends.