When thinking about branding, don’t fight your customer base, embrace them! Plus, what form is coming up for small business owners to send out? This and much more in our round-up!
Small Business News of the Week
Did you use any contractors last year? If so, you hopefully know you’re supposed to fill out a special form for them, the 1099-MISC. This form lets them know how much money they made through you so they can finish their taxes on time.
What you may have let slip your mind is that there’s a due date for the 1099-MISC: Thursday, January 31st! That’s right, you only have a few more days to get those forms out to your contractors. If not, you may face some pretty stiff penalties (or at least a stern talking to) by the IRS.
Remember, the 1099-MISC isn’t for regular paid employees whom you give a W2. The 1099-MISC is for temporary workers like writers, lawyers, or electricians that assisted your business during the 2012 tax period. Make sure to get them out ASAP if you already haven’t!
Around the Entrepreneur Web
Poor Service and Cutting Your Losses – When you mess up, it’s important to acknowledge it and do anything you can to fix it. Otherwise, you end up with stories like this one.
How Your Failures Can Help You Succeed – We’ve all heard how failure can help you grow more than success, but it’s only true if you put the lesson to good use.
7 Must Know Tips About Managing Your Google+ Circles – Google Plus isn’t dead, and in fact 2013 may be the year it finally breaks out. Here’s how to get your Circles in order before they get out of hand.
Outright Community Speaks
Our users surprise us every day with questions and concerns. Here are some of the latest:
One user has reported Etsy “mystery charges” from December and wonders what to do about them.
Does the information on your 1099-K match up with your records in Outright?
I’m a newbie to business and not sure what to do about taxes. How do I get started on QETs?
Have more questions or concerns? Stop by our Outright Customer Care forum!
Outright Pro Tip: Branding in 2013
Have you figured out your brand yet? After starting up any new business, it sometimes takes a little while to really iron out the details of who you want to be in the business world. Your company usually goes through some growing pains as you figure this out.
One big mistake newbies make is to try to make their company seem as “broad” as possible. In other words, they don’t want to alienate any demographic, so they try to keep their branding as inclusive as they can. While this is certainly possible, it’s also extremely hard to do.
A better tactic is to embrace where your niche lies. For example, if you realize your brand of soap is appealing to grandmothers in the northwest, don’t fight it! Embrace the customers you have while you grow. The time will come when you can branch out and perhaps grab grandmothers from other areas of the country, then move on to younger generations when that works out. Rushing things hardly ever works out and may negatively impact your business for some time.
That’s it for this week’s Round-Up! Speaking of human contact, come join us for a tax workshop when we come to your city!
