7 Ideas for Great Holiday Business Gifts
Gifts have been a major part of conducting business since, well, people started being susceptible to bribes, which I pin at around day one. I say that with tongue firmly planted in cheek, but we have to admit that in the business world there is a line between noting and honoring an ongoing relationship with a gift and a bribe. Fortunately, the IRS has, in a way, defined that line for us: $25. You are permitted to deduct $25 per person, no more. I don’t think the IRS is necessarily saying that anything more than that is a bribe, but more often than not, it’s a wise idea to keep the value of business gifts at a reasonable level, lest anyone mistake your intentions. Of course, you can give gifts anytime throughout the year, but the subject is often on our minds around the holiday season, so let’s look at some ideas. Gift cards. Here’s a great way to get right to that magic $25 cutoff. Amazon gift cards are the utility infielder of gift items. Your customers and clients can use the money to buy anything from the latest business bestseller to socks. If you know your recipients a bit better, iTunes gift cards are wonderful. Of course, you can’t go wrong with a restaurant or Starbucks gift card either. Electronic gizmo. There are various cool electronic gadgets that you can get for $25 or less. How about a good pedometer? There are plenty available in that price range and they demonstrate that you’re health conscious. Sweets. Giving boxes of candy is standard fare, but if you can find a local candy maker you can put a special spin on it. For example, I know a business in Melbourne, Florida that is located just a few blocks away from Grimaldi Candies, a local small business that specializes in chocolate-covered potato chips. With the advent of boutique candy stores, you can probably find something similar in your area. Liquor and wine. Here’s another traditional gift, that’s probably becoming a little less popular given today’s sensibilities. It highlights the point that you really need to know something about your recipient. If there’s a history of alcoholism or problems associated with drinking, you wouldn’t want to give this gift. Reserve it for people you know very well, and whose drink preferences you’re familiar with. With that said, wine can be a good gift and considering all the local wineries that are popping up across the country, you can make it a “local” gift as well, although state-by-state shipping regulations may cause problems. Charitable donations. On a classic Seinfeld episode, George was collecting holiday gifts for a fictitious “Human Fund.” But in some cases making a donation to a worthwhile and respected charity can be a great way to honor a business relationship. You’ll need to exercise your knowledge and judgment. Books and subscriptions. In the B2B world, anything that adds to knowledge is well appreciated. If there’s a hot title you think everyone should read, buy a box and send them out. A shared event. Getting all your best clients together for a night out and maybe attending a local professional athletic event is always a wonderful way to honor and deepen relationships. Anything from dinner out, to an NBA game,...
read moreSmall Businesses Anticipate a Very Happy Holiday Season This Year.
While small business optimism remains low in general according to the NFIB’s October 2014 Optimism Index, small businesses seem to be anticipating a successful holiday sales season. According to survey results released by Capital One’s Spark Business Barometer, a majority (57 percent) of business owners believe current business conditions are excellent or good (up 10 points from the same quarter in 2013) and that 43 percent experienced increased sales over the past six months (up from 32 percent one year ago). They also feel good about the coming holiday season – with 71 percent expecting consistent or better sales results compared to last year. In preparation for the New Year, respondents to the survey said their top three priorities, aside from attracting and retaining new customers — are enhancing advertising and marketing, reducing costs and expenses and improving cash and financial management processes. But there is no doubt challenges remain for small business growth. The NFIB survey found small business owners are slightly less optimistic about business over the next six months as well as the outlook for expansion. Their top three concerns — government regulations, taxes and poor sales. Interestingly, a record low percentage of small business owners reported problems getting access to capital and an unusually high number of owners say they have no interest in borrowing. “The political class and a fair number of economists have assumed for years that small business is starved for credit,” said Dunkelberg. “That appears to be an egregious misdiagnosis. Local business owners, for the most part, can borrow all they need but mainly, they’re not interested now in taking on debt because they’re not confident in the future.” What are your thoughts about this holiday season and the coming year? Are you positioning your small business for growth? ...
read morePeople Can and Do Judge a Book By Its Cover!
Call me old fashioned, but I rarely leave home without making sure I look nice. Yes, there are those days when I’m not all gussied up, but I never leave home dressed in such a way I’d feel uncomfortable if I ran into customers or clients. People make fun of me sometimes because of my focus on appearance. A lot of friends and business associates say, “It doesn’t matter. No one cares.” But people make assumptions about you and your abilities based on your appearance. Since the1990’s there’s been a shift in what’s considered appropriate business attire. Leading experts proclaimed employees would be more productive if they dressed casually and comfortably at work. So companies started permitting team members to trade in business suits for a more casual wardrobe. Today, the pendulum is beginning to swing back — unless perhaps if you’re Mark Zuckerberg. Experts are finding casual attire often results in casual or sloppy performance. In fact, The New York Enterprise Report quoted Guy Kawasaki as saying, “Likeability starts with a great smile, a great handshake and appropriate dress. Though they are duh’isms, many people don’t do them. In fact, most people don’t do them.” As a business owner, it’s important to recognize that what you wear and how you look is an important element of your business brand. Whether you like it or not, people have a tendency to make immediate impressions of your professionalism from your appearance. Dressing professionally provides instant credibility and signals to clients, customers and colleagues that they’re working with someone who takes the position...
read moreSmall Business Owners Have Much To Be Thankful For
Has the “turkey shortage” rumor crossed your path? Supposedly prices are going to jump just in time for Thanksgiving. Hogwash! (Unfortunately, “turkeywash” just doesn’t sound right.) You’re still going to be able to get great deals on turkeys at your local supermarket. However, the “yes there is a shortage and no there’s not a shortage” news stories remind me of what the media has been saying about the small business climate for months now. Economists and statisticians just can’t decide if this is the best of times or the worst of times. Here’s what I say: You decide. One of the things small business owners have to be truly thankful for is that in many ways they make their own future. Smart and hard-working small business owners can do well even in soft economies. In fact, it is those smart and hard-working small business owners who pull our economy out of its doldrums. And if things aren’t going quite as well for you as you would like, do what small business owners have always done: pull harder. I am thankful for the legions of you who keep plugging away even when the talking heads on TV say you should be crying in your beer. Here are more things I’m thankful for: The app revolution. Clever programmers seem to be at work 24/7 developing inexpensive or free apps that allow small business to compete directly with the major corporations. For example, you can easily have a social media marketing campaign that one ups your Fortune 500 competition by making smart use of apps. A more small-business friendly Congress. Okay, admittedly I have to take somewhat of a “wait-and-see” attitude here, but early indications are that this Congress will make some moves favorable to small business. The Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee will get a new chairman. Sen. James Risch should shine the light on the impact of federal regulations. There’s also a chance that business taxes will be overhauled. More tax-cutting state governments. Republicans running on tax-cutting platforms won a lot of state elections in this last cycle. If they keep their promises, it should be good for small business owners. Crowdfunding taking off. Who cares that banks aren’t lending if we have crowdfunding to pick up the slack? For many startups, it’s a much better idea to bring in investors than it is to incur debt. Just a few years ago, this route to capital didn’t even exist. The economy really is getting better. As I sit here today, I think it is undeniably true that the economy is improving. Small business owners can take heart in that and not be so worried about following through on future expansion plans. You have some great employees. The connections small business owners make to their employees and vice versa are priceless. Unlike corporations where faceless HR departments often lose the personal touch, coworkers in small businesses can be “comrades in arms.” You’re in charge. Many start small businesses because they are just plain tired of working for other people. To be master of your own destiny is indeed something to be thankful for. What would you add to my list? I’d love to know what you are especially thankful...
read moreHo-Ho-HO — Could QVC be the Right Gift for Your Small Business?
It’s the holidays and many people this week are hitting the stores or shopping on line. But then there are those who do their shopping while propped up in their recliner — channel changer in hand. You might be wondering what it would be like to see thousands of items via QVC or HSN. What a boom that would be for your business. Legions of these network’s loyal shoppers can turn a little-known retail item into a viral shopping phenomenon. That’s both good and bad news for the small business owner who has developed the next great product that falls into one of the categories typically featured on these cable shopping networks. A product can get instant national recognition, but you must have enough on hand to efficiently meet demand. We aren’t on Etsy anymore, Toto Anyone making a beautiful reversible skirt that goes from office to evening wear and selling it on Etsy can’t still be making a few by hand on weekends. Serious manufacturing chops are required. However, don’t abandon all hope if you have a great idea. QVC, for example, will look at working prototypes, according to the info they post for aspiring vendors. The story is about the same over at HSN. However, it looks like HSN will go out of its way a little further to help inventors and small business owners get a great idea to a manufacturer. You can expect a network like QVC to place a wholesale order for about $30,000-$35,000 of an item. That is a significant amount of a single product. Producing that much “on spec” can be expensive and might prompt some small business owners to look for an investor to share the risk. At HSN, the inventory threshold isn’t as high. That network expects vendors to have enough product to support a $5,000 purchase order. If you get serious about placing any of your products on a cable TV home shopping channel, there’s a good chance you’ll find yourself shopping fulfillment services. QVC, for example, warehouses some of the items it features, but most are drop shipped. If you don’t have warehouse space and a shipping crew to promptly meet demand, it’s smart to go with a reputable fulfillment company. Further, contracting with a firm located in middle of this big country, will help you keep customers on both coasts happy. Good product, good narrative Not long ago, Marilyn Montross, QVC’s director of vendor relations, talked about their search for products: “QVC is very open, and in fact eager, to find entrepreneurs to do business with because our customers love the kinds of innovative products that vendor base brings to QVC.” And when she discussed what makes a successful product, it sounded a lot like what makes a successful social media presence. “(Entrepreneurs) also generally come with a back story that’s of interest to the customer. Customers really enjoy rooting for people who could very well be their neighbor or their nephew,” Montross said. Have a great product or prototype along with a good back story? If so, maybe you’re just one QVC or HSN submission away from the big...
read moreHey Startup! Want Funds in a Flash? Part II
In my first article on Flashfunders I described how they were meeting the needs of both startups and investors. They’re giving startups a fast and clean way to access seed money and they’re giving accredited investors an easy way to get a portion of their portfolios in startups. And, I need to mention, at no cost to startups or investors at this point. Now I want to focus on additional information that is critical to anyone involved in a startup or with plans to launch one in the future. Vincent Bradley, from previous experience and through Flashfunders has some important insights into what makes a startup ready for seed money and successful. What’s your MVP? The single most important quality for a startup is to have a minimal viable product (MVP). Having an idea alone isn’t enough. There has to be enough groundwork in place to show how the MVP addresses a problem that needs to be solved. This is several steps further than saying, “I want to build a website where people can organize their music collections.” You have to design it to the point where it becomes something that people would actually look at and say, “Yeah, I’d buy that.” “It’s very difficult to raise capital on an idea. Zuckerberg could probably raise $100 million from anyone he wanted on just an idea. But that’s because he’s a very successful entrepreneur…. For the everyday entrepreneur, having an idea isn’t good enough anymore. You need to have shown that you’re committed, that you’re willing to persevere and that you have a product,” Bradley explains. Do you have traction? At Flashfunders this is looking for “traction.” They want to see a project that generates enough enthusiasm and confidence that the originators of the idea themselves have been willing to spend their own money. That shows a real commitment and demonstrates that the founders are going to invest the effort needed to see their project through to the end. These points make a great checklist if you’ve been mulling over a business idea. Can you clearly define what your product is and how it solves a problem? Are you willing to put your own money into the project? Are you willing to put the time it’s going to take to make it happen? I’ve explained how Flashfunders has all the paperwork and regulatory details taken care of for startups; they also help with the next steps, which involve finding the investors willing to put in seed money for a stake in your project. Startups should come to the table with some idea about who will invest in their companies. It could be family, industry associates or other connections. Certainly, potential investors will find projects through the listings on Flashfunders, but it’s a smart idea to be able to “prime the pump” with your own investors. Help with the details But to get the process going you need to establish a valuation, have your pitch and develop good promotional materials. Flashfunders has professionals who have been through the process several times and they are available to offer feedback as you put together the package that investors will see. There are already several startups on the site that are getting a lot of support from investors and Bradley says they are essentially...
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