Sales and Marketing. Marketing Ideas.

Marketing Ideas.

I have been learning myself, in hit-and-miss fashion, what type of marketing works
and what does not. Just as in poker, everything is a gamble. What may work for me,
might not work for you. So the only thing I can do is to merely suggest ideas. It's no
secret that my business success has been based on my resources that I have listed in
this book. However. I ll be the first to admit that my advertising and marketing skills
have been mediocre, to say the least. I have this little thing with solicitors. I imagine
I have been very biased. Well frankly. I think my one-sided opinion is based solely on
the fact that I can't stand door-to-door sales people, or telemarketers. I do always
appreciate the networking resources that are doing the hardest job for me! After
successfully selling my "services." 1 was in many positions to sell "products." such as
this book. But I didn't want to fail as I did with another venture, so I sought out the
experts in the field. Through a chance encounter - I think it was my karma finally
coming back around my way - I met Paul and Sarah Edwards. They are the homebased
business King and Queen, with over 16 published books that touch on just
about every subject related to successful Self-Employment and Life Coaching. I
learned that Sarah Edwards offers an online course for non-marketing individuals
such as myself, so 1 signed up. The course is $295 for 12 weeks and is based upon
their book -Getting Business to Come to You. 2nd Edition." available at
Amazon.com or at book outlets. The book not only gives you incredible advice on
what works and what doesn't, but opens your eyes to what you have been doing
wrong. Advertising is an expensive lesson, especially if it doesn't work. You can
spend thousands upon thousands of dollars throwing good money after bad money,
and when you're trying to build a successful business, you're usually blind to your
mistakes until it's too late. This online course goes through the chapters in their
book, teaching you along the way. Sarah Edwards not only guides you through the
process, she also reviews your ideas and work through weekly online posts to keep
your enthusiasm up and going. She also helps you build a marketing plan and follows
through with you as you are implementing it. I loved the course because it really
opened my eyes to what I didn't like about advertising and marketing, and gave me
options for what I do like. It makes you want to market, not dread it. It gives you
cost-cutting ideas so you don't spend your entire bankroll guessing. I truly believe
this course is well worth the small investment, and if you sign up. mention this book and Sarah Edwards will give you a 10% discount on the price. I have included a
coupon with the 10% discount for the marketing course in the Additional Resource
Chapter of this book. For more information, the website is located at:
http://www.simplegoodlife.com

Where to begin vol. 9

When paying bills or entering cash expenses that you charge back to your client (such as postage, telephone calls and photocopies), you can track this in QuickBooks Pro®. Just select the customer in the correct bill or check payment field, and it will automatically apply that expense to the correct client data file. When you arc ready to invoice that client, click on Time/Costs and select your expenses: it will insert the costs onto your invoice when billing your client.

If you have other assets that you are now using for your business such as a desk, computer, or any other general-purpose office supply, you can write it off by depreciating it over its useful life. Say you paid $250 for a fax machine the prior year and now its sole purpose is for your new company. Technically you placed the fax in service on the date the company was opened, its value is listed at $250. and you can depreciate it over five years. You would make a journal entry that would debit your Fixed Asset account, and credit your Capital Contribution account. You would then depreciate the asset at the end of the fiscal year on your tax return unless you are a Corporation. Don't forget about the handy Section 179 Deduction! This deduction allows you to fully depreciate an asset (except real estate or a luxury car *see IRS guidelines*) up to $24,000 per tax year! Right now the IRS is allowing up to $100,000 for the next few years. Trust me; you'll get good at finding the best possible deductions when preparing your taxes along with your clients! Also, don't forget that you can now write off the business use of your home to help lower your business tax liability at the end of the year. If the room you are using has 250 square feet, you can write off the entire room as long as you are using it entirely for your business. If you are storing client files and reports in your garage, you can measure the area you arc storing the documents in. and include that In your business use of the home as well. My advice is. if you're ever audited, and you have extra clothes hanging in the closet in your office, don't calculate that area in your business use. The IRS won't allow you to take the entire office if you have any personal items stored in there. This deduction will be taken on your Schedule С portion of your 1040 tax return, not reflecting on your profit & loss statement.


Now that you are self-employed, you have the liability of paying self-employment tax on your 1040 Schedule С tax return. There is a minimum earnings of $400 profit. If you earn a profit of more than $400. you must pay your FICA and Medicare, which is now called Self-Employment Tax. This is 15.3% of your profitable earnings. If you're earning $52,000 per year now. and your business expenses are roughly $15,000. your Self-Employment Tax liability will be roughly $5,661 for the year. ($52,000 minus $15,000 = $37,000 x 15.3% = $5,661). You are not allowed to take your itemized deductions before this tax is calcubted. That being said. I cannot stress enough the importance of paying your quarterly taxes! I always budget my clients' payments by- taking 18% off the top of each check received, putting it into an interest-bearing money market account, and using it for my quarterly tax payments. You do nfli want to get into a situation where you owe the IRS or State. If you set up a system and budget now. it won't financially hurt you later. Face it. we all have to pay our taxes, and just because you are self-employed now. doesn't mean that you do not have a tax liability any longer.

Where to begin vol. 5

• Start talking to friends, family members, old contacts, etc.. and let them know you started up "A-l Bookkeeping Service." Begin getting the word out.
• Miscellaneous items that you will need to organize your home office:
  

1. Filing cabinet
   
2. Hanging file folders
   
3. Ceneral office supplies
   
4. Address stamp pad or labels
   
5. Three-ring binders with monthly dividers
6. Ten Key
7. P.O. Box (when soliciting, you don't want your home address given out to anyone). Women! Be very careful about who you give out your home address to! Even though we are just as capable and equal to run a business, we aren't as physically strong as men because their bodies are built for endurance, ours are built for childbirth. It takes one bad choice and the person we thought was a new client coming over could be a criminal rapist
8. CBC IOOE Velobinder with report covers. The machine is about $99 at an office supply store and the report covers are around $14.99 for 25. The plastic combs are around $10.99 for a box of 25. It looks so much more professional than the binders that I used to give to my clients. (This machine is not mandatory.)
9. Cet a day-timer, even if it is a notepad! You need to keep track of your appointments, and your "Things to do" list. It is also a diary that holds more tax verification than you could possibly know! If you ever had to prove or disprove a theory to the IRS regarding whether or not you took Suzie from Paychex to lunch on March 7m at 1:00. if it was written in your daytimer. you now have evidence to back up your receipt if ever questioned!