Talkers and Doers: Which One Are You?

Recently, my husband and I were discussing some situations we have encountered and the subject of people who talk a lot about things vs. those who get things done came up. All of us know someone who is a talker, whose accomplishments go no further than a casual conversation if ideas or promises. Those are the people who may come up with a great idea, but for whatever reason, do not bring it to fruition. They are knowledgeable and even have a desire or intention of moving to action, but they fall short. We all know what they say about intentions paving the road to some place none of us want to go! In church, we can often find talkers. Those who can sit in class and discuss the many ways to live the gospel or come up with great ways to serve others. However, during the week, they produce excuse after excuse for not living up to their own suggestions. Talkers exist in the business world too. They say this and that should be done or they have a better idea of doing things, but again, there is some excuse why they never follow through. Sometimes it's laziness. Other times, it's lack of drive or determination. And often, it is fear that holds talkers back. Fear of the unknown. Fear of failure. I do have to admit one benefit of talkers. They often provide doers with some basic ideas they can turn into something grand!

Doers. I know many doers in my life and I admire them a great deal. They reach their goals or at least show determination in trying. Doers achieve greatness, even if they don't always succeed. Why? Because they went out into the world, took risks and had the courage to change the status quo, to become better, stronger people who are more financially, spiritually and mentally secure. Doers learn from their successes and even their failures, holding on forever to those powerful life lessons. They can look in the mirror and be proud both personally and professionally of what they have accomplished, never regretting a missed opportunity.

As each of us moves through our daily lives, we should stop and think about what kind of person we are. Do we talk about doing things, or do we actually go out and accomplish what we determine are worthy goals and tasks? Whether our desire is in our business or professional life, we should follow the teachings of the great athletic shoe company/philosopher, Nike, who says, "Just Do It!"

Inquiry Monday: What In The World Is A Sell Sheet?

The sell sheet is like a birth announcement for your business. Just as you would like to share the news of a new addition to your family, your product or service deserves the same fanfare. The actual definition is a one or two page flier or brochure that is used to describe your product or service. It can contain a short summary of your sales pitch, along with images and pricing information. This will most often be the first introduction to potential clients, consumers and investors. A sell sheet can also be included in a press kit to be released to media outlets for advertising purposes. Do you have to have one for your business? Maybe. Will a sell sheet be advantageous for marketing your business. Most definitely, yes!

Here are some key suggestions to keep in mind when designing your sell sheet:

1. Place the name of your product and website in a prominent place, in a font that will stand out.

2. Use colors and fonts that represent your product or compliment your website.

3. Insert clear, colorful and meaningful images to show off your product or service.

4. Keep text short and to the point. Rambling leads to people putting your sell sheet down or worse, throwing it in the trash.

5. Use catchy words and phrases to grab the reader's attention. Tell them why your business is better than the competition and back it up with facts.

6. If you are including prices, lay them out in columns and rows so they can be quickly and easily read.

7. Make it look professional and print on nice paper. If it looks cheap, people will think your company is of a lesser quality too.

8. Have fun with it. Play around with layouts until you are happy with the final product.

The image I have posted with this article is the sell sheet I have used when approaching companies to license my patent. I provide it as a sample only, not an example of what yours has to look like. Yours may be totally different, based on your product and audience. Many examples of sell sheet are available on the internet, along with printing businesses who can print up your sell sheets at a reasonable cost. Type "sell sheet" into Google to find all this information.

As you develop your marketing materials, a sell sheet is something you really should consider including. First impressions are very important and a sell sheet will allow you to introduce your business in style!

Inquiry Monday: What Bookkeeping Software Should I Use?

This is an interesting question that depends on the needs of a business and the computer skills of the accountant, most likely you! When many companies begin selling, it is fairly common for the you, the owner (I personally have done this), to keep receipts, invoices and other accounting documents in a folder or box. As business picks up, it becomes increasingly difficult to accurately keep track of sales and inventory. When tax time rolls around, a major freak-out will most likely take place as you scramble to locate and organize all the paperwork. It will be so much better if you never go that route and instead, implement the use of some sort of computer software. While there are numerous programs on the market, I will share just a few of my favorites.

If you have little to no money to invest in additional software, Microsoft Excel can be effective in keeping track of sales and inventory. Create a sheet with columns and rows containing customer names, dates and totals of sales and taxes collected. Input formulas that will automatically add columns and list the total. Monthly or quarterly worksheets will make tax filing quick and accurate by grouping specific sales periods. Microsoft Excel is much easier to use and most business owners probably have the software already installed on their computers. If not, it isn’t very expensive to purchase. However, there are many limitations. The worksheets will only contain information you input manually. There is no inventory management which automatically updates when you make a sale, nor is there a database that can tie customer information to invoices. It is also more time consuming to track business expenses.

If you are looking for something that will provide what Microsoft Excel is lacking, and can’t afford to hire an accountant, there are several accounting software options. Peachtree and Quickbooks by Intuit are two very popular programs used by many small business owners. Both have many different versions, depending on the size and needs of your business, and both offer free basic versions and trials of more advanced versions. The basic programs are easy to set up. However, if your business needs are more complicated, there are specialists who can set up the software for you and enter in all your data. My advice is to download a free version or trial and play around in it. Some of you may have more difficulty in using the software, and it is better to find this out before you invest a boat load of money.

Whatever your method, accurate bookkeeping is essential and a necessity when running your own business. If you are organized from the beginning, it will makes things much easier when filing tax returns, and heaven forbid, if you are ever audited, you can print out all the information you need to make that visit to the IRS a pleasant experience (if that is possible)!

The Skinny On Websites. Do I Need One?

The internet. A vast world of information at the fingertips of consumers everywhere. A perspective client or customer will hear about your new business, and will most often head to their computer and search for your company info. Oops! You don’t have a site, but while searching on the internet, that potential customer found another business that had exactly what they wanted. Every customer lost is a dollar not earned. You do not want that to happen! When forming a business, an internet presence, in the form of a website, is an absolute necessity in your marketing plan. How do you begin the process of creating a business website? This article will outline the basic steps to take in putting your business footprint on the world wide web.

The first decision you will make is deciding if you are going to create the website yourself or pay someone to do it. If you decide to hire someone, conduct extensive research, both on the internet and through conversations. If you come across a website you really like, most often the name of the company that designed the site appears at the bottom of the homepage. Word of mouth referrals from friends, family or other business owners, or locating a designer on the services listings on Craigslist are other ways to find what you need. Ask to see a large portfolio from anyone you are considering. If they don’t have samples of their work to show you, hiring them is probably not a good idea. Designers can charge anywhere from a few hundred to thousands of dollars to set up a site, so you really should shop around. If you pay someone to do the work for you, some companies will also offer site maintenance and web hosting in a bundled package. Sometimes this can be a good deal, especially if you have little to no knowledge of html. Personally, I think it is a smart idea to learn basic html so you can change text and images yourself. It saves valuable time and most importantly, is free to do. Local libraries have numerous books and often, classes that teach the basics of html coding. You can edit the code in programs like Wordpad and Notepad, software that most computers come with.

If you are like me and want to save money while maintaining control over site content, creating a site yourself maybe a better option. You do not need extensive experience or expensive software to do this, although, if you have any of those things, it would be a great advantage. I won’t go into web design software in this article, but if you are interested in going that way, research the different software and read reviews and articles to select what is best for your business. I personally have purchased a website template and then edited the html code in Notepad. Templates are available all over the internet. I buy my templates from the site Allwebcodesign.com. They sell incredible templates, many with flash features and Paypal shopping carts already installed. Included with the template are detailed, yet simple instructions on changing text, images and customizing it to fit your needs. Considering most templates are under $100, and some as low as $20, the money you save will definitely be worth a little work.

Finding a web host is your next task when creating a site. Again, the internet is jam packed with companies who will provide this for you at varying costs. You can easily find a reliable company who will give you 24/7 service, unlimited ftp transfer of data, unlimited storage space, along with multiple email addresses for under $10 a month. Some of the more popular companies will even throw in one domain name registration for free. Companies such as HostMonster, BlueHost and GoDaddy are reliable and provide great service and terrific introductory offers. Search reviews of all these companies to find the one that best suits you.

When registering, you will be asked to select a domain name. Sometimes, the name of your company or product may already be in use, so you may need to be creative. Try not to use words that could easily be misspelled by potential customers. And keep it short. No one wants to type in a 100 letter web address. I personally wouldn’t recommend combining more than 4 words in a domain name unless absolutely necessary. Also avoid hyphens if possible, although I own a site that uses a hyphen in the domain. You may need to use one if the domain name you want is already taken and you really have to use those specific words.

After choosing a host and building your website, you will upload your site to the host’s server. While this may seem complicated, most hosts provide forums and instructions to assist in this task. Find out what resources a host offers when making the decision. Depending on your knowledge and comfort level, some hosts may be better than others.

Some of you may find your best option is paying a company to develop a site, while others may want to personally take on the challenge. From personal experience, creating a site myself has saved me thousands of dollars. A year of site hosting and a template probably will cost around $150, maybe less. Compare that with hiring out the work to a web designer and you figure the math. In this time of pinching pennies and tightening belts, the money saved can be applied to other business needs. There are many ways to grab that internet presence for your business, and hopefully, I have provided you with some basic knowledge to get you started. Whichever path you decide to travel, your company footprint on the internet will be one of the best marketing ventures you will make as a small business owner. And it will pay off!

Inquiry Monday: What Business Structure Should I Choose?

When forming your own business, you must choose a business structure to operate under. There are many to choose from, each with their own pros and cons regarding costs, personal liability, tax regulations and a variety of other legal issues. I will outline the basics of the major business structures that will apply to most small business, giving you some helpful information as you choose what is right for your business. As you decide, please refer to the Resources page on the LDS Women In Business website for your state’s specific requirements.

Sole Proprietorship: This is the most uncomplicated of business structures. The business is owned by one individual or a married couple and the business name is most commonly the individual’s name. You may choose to give your SP another name, but must file a “DBA” or “Doing Business As” registration in your state. The owner of a sole proprietorship is personally liable for all business debt and can file their business income on their personal income tax form. Very simplistic and inexpensive. This structure is ideal for a service or one product business. I used this business structure when I operated my photography business and it worked out well for me. The downside is the liability issue. If someone goes after you in a lawsuit, your personal assets could be taken, including your house, cars and money in your bank accounts.

Limited Liability Company (LLC): If a sole proprietorship feels a little too risky for you, another option might be the LLC. If you choose, you can maintain the ability to file your business taxes with your personal income taxes, but can also have some personal liability protection. LLCs are a very popular structure choice for small businesses. There is no company stock. Multiple owners are called members and each is assigned a percentage of ownership, defining the share of profit they get or the loss they can claim. You are able to choose to pass profits and losses down to these members or you can be taxed like a corporation. The downside is the small, additional expenses and you will have to file an annual report every year with your state. It is also recommended, to take advantage of the liability protection, to write up a limited liability operating agreement. You can find examples of agreements on the internet to help you create this document, or you can use a service like Legal Zoom. I use the LLC structure with my current business because I have a product that could be susceptible to lawsuits and I wanted to protect my personal assets.

General Partnership: If you are going into business with two or more people, this option may be something you might choose. Short term partnerships can be formed and are called “Joint Ventures”. Partnerships are inexpensive to create and uncomplicated as far as tax reporting. These partners must sign an agreement to operate a business and each partner is personally and equally liable for all business debts under this structure. Partners report their share of profits and losses on their personal income tax forms, but an additional informative return must also be filed.

Sub Chapter S Corporation (Inc. or Ltd.): Chapter S corporations are a mini version of a corporation and while they are a more complicated structure than an LLC or an SP, they are much less expensive than a C corporation and you can avoid the double taxation that occurs when the corporation and the individual stock holder is taxed. Only the individual stock holder is taxed under an S corp. You would still have to adhere to corporate formalities like issuing stock certificates, holding annual meeting and electing board members.

C Corporation (Inc. or Ltd.): This is the most complicated and expensive structure. Very few small businesses should even consider, or even need this option. If you do choose this, an attorney should definitely assist in this formation. A corporation is a legal entity that is completely separate from the owners, or shareholders. There is no personal liability unless corporate formalities like those listed above are not followed. Profits are taxed at the corporate level and then again when those profits are passed to shareholders. Corporations can be for profit or non-profit and are subject to higher licensing fees and more government regulation than the other business structures.

So there you have it! Business structures at a glance. Although this may not have been one of the most entertaining questions, it is a necessity that must be decided on when starting a business. A structure may also need to be changed as a business grows. Hopefully this article will help in the process of your business formation and assist you in making the correct decisions regarding business structure. You may also want to refer to the IRS website for additional taxing information. Lastly, the most important resource in your decision will be prayer. Remember who your main business partner is! He can help you in every step of the way.

Inquiry Mondays

Each Monday, starting next week, I will attempt to answer a question someone in this audience may have regarding starting or running a business. While I do not claim to know everything about being an entrepreneur, I have respectable research skills and I will find the answers you seek. If you are stuck at the beginning of the process or are encountering uncertainties mid-stream, send me a message and I'll address your issue on an upcoming Monday blog post. This will also give you the chance to read comments from others who may have had those same questions at some point in their business experiences.


Send questions to info@ldswomeninbusiness.com

Happy asking ladies!