Do you use testimonials to market your small business? (You should - they're great credibility-builders. But, I digress...) The FTC changed the rules about what your testimonials can say back in October of 2009. Here's how it boils down: 1. If your testimonial talks about outstanding results, and these results aren't those seen by everyone who gets your product, you have to add a disclaimer stating "results not typical". 2. You have to disclose if you gave payments or free products … [Read more...]
Six Tricks to Boost Productivity
February 24, 2010 By 2 Comments
If you're an entrepreneur, you can always use tips and techniques that are simple to implement and don't take up much time, yet give the edge you need to boost productivity. Below are six I've culled from blogs and articles on productivity that I find particularly helpful for me. 1. Know your prime time Do you do your best thinking at five in the morning? Or eleven at night? Research suggests that whether you’re an owl or a lark may be hardwired in your brain. Instead of fighting your … [Read more...]
April 15 deadline: Register with the Board of Equalization
February 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment
According to an article in the February 18th San Francisco Chronicle, every business with gross receipts over $100,000 has to register with the Board of Equalization by obtaining a use tax account by April 15th, even though the business is not required to hold a seller's permit or certificate of registration for use tax. The law came into effect in July 2009, but they had no money to advertise the fact so it may come as a surprise to many self-employed consultants like us! According to the … [Read more...]
10 Common Mistakes on Twitter – Part 2
February 20, 2010 By 2 Comments
6. Sending automated posts Whether you send automated tweets about your recent blog posts or any other messages, anything automated is a real turn off for many people. You can, however, preschedule messages to be tweeted later. That’ll save you time. It’s especially handy if you know you’re going to be tied up in a meeting. But don’t lie and pretend you’re right in the middle of doing something you’re not. While you’re otherwise engaged, you can set up posts containing … [Read more...]
CA Independent Contractor Withholding – Where Do YOU Stand?
February 17, 2010 By 11 Comments
I just heard last night about a California state proposal to begin to require companies to withhold three percent of all monies paid to 1099 independent contractors. MANY organizations are opposing this for the following reasons: Extra costs for local governments to enforce the withholding Extra costs for businesses to administer the withholding This is not incremental revenue for the state...just accelerated revenue These are some good reasons...but I have a few more … [Read more...]
Prepare for Abundance…Do a Resources Inventory!
February 14, 2010 By 1 Comment
Recently, in a spurt of ‘abundance thinking’, where I was convinced that 2010 is going to be a MUCH better year than 2009 (I can’t afford to think otherwise, can you?!), I decided to do an inventory of people/resources I can turn to when my workload is too heavy to do it all myself. Like many fellow consultants, I can perform every function needed to support most client projects myself, but have found it very wise to outsource certain portions of my research projects when I have a heavy … [Read more...]
WIC Networking Etiquette
February 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Networking Etiquette Women in Consulting is a great place to network to meet potential clients, friends, and referrals. But let’s be honest, we’ve all had days after a meeting where we get bombarded with well… SPAM. Here are a few rules of etiquette that I suggest for those attending WIC Events, or any networking environment similar to our meetings. 1. Just because you got someone’s card doesn’t mean you have permission to SPAM them. While it is true that the CAN- Spam Act (see … [Read more...]
Interested in the WIC Mentoring Program? Spring session starts soon
February 5, 2010 By 1 Comment
We created a new Women in Consulting member benefit late in 2009, the WIC Mentoring Program. Our successful six-week pilot run ended in mid-October. The pilot included seven mentees who agreed to help us test the new program. These were WIC members who were interested in the program, but also ready to invest some time (and do some homework!) in order to apply the information we shared with them to help improve various aspects of their businesses. Desiree Lehrbaum (Lumen Consulting) and I … [Read more...]
