Flu season is here, and it can really hurt an entrepreneur or freelance business! Plus, big box stores took a big hit during the holidays, what does this mean for their future? This and more in our round-up!
Small Business News of the Week
How were your winter holiday sales? If you were anything like the big box stores like JC Penney, Kohl’s, and Sears, you may be down in the post-holiday dumps. It seems despite Black Friday and beyond sales going way up as usual, stores like those mentioned and others like Target’s were way down.
Why? Forbes says mismanagement of sales for one. But the growing trend away from these types of stores has to be taken into account. More holiday sales than ever were online with the growing population of smartphones and tablets. Sears and their ilk could have taken advantage of this trend but may have had trouble adapting to this brave new world.
Some stores are learning, though, as Target has already created a page for its 2013 winter holiday campaign. But is it too little, too late? Forbes even questions the long-term capabilities of Sears and JC Penney. Could this be where the tide turns to online sales in a big way?
Around the Entrepreneur Web
10 Email Tips for Dealing with Angry, Trollish, or Rude Emails – Hurtful or angry messages will come along and there’s not much you can do about it. However, you can learn how to deal with them in a calm manner.
What Should Freelancers Tweet About – You’re a freelancer with a brand new shiny Twitter account. Now what in the world do you say?
Examples of Product Copy That Sells – Want to boost your copy? Learn from the best!
Outright Community Speaks
Our users surprise us every day with questions and concerns. Here are some of the latest:
Here’s a quick tutorial to add mileage on your Outright iPhone mobile app.
My clients pay me by check. Should I create invoices for each client and mark them as paid immediately?
An Ohio seller needs help figuring out the terribly complicated sales tax in the state!
Have more questions or concerns? Stop by our Outright Customer Care forum!
Outright Pro Tip: Flu Season
Ugh, you just sat down for a long day of catching up on work and suddenly your nose starts running. You can’t be sick – you have too much to do!
Getting sick for an entrepreneur or freelancer can be way more of a problem than for many other workers. When your entire livelihood depends on you and you alone, one day of downtime can really hurt your bottom line. Often you’re forced to suck it up and go to work anyway, even when the hallucinations start!
So it has to be said: take care of yourself out there. We’re right in the middle of an extremely active flu season, and the last thing you want is to be laid up for a few weeks. Cover up, keep your hands washed (remember that gross keyboard!), and try to avoid human contact (easy for the self employed) unless you absolutely have to! We’re only kind of kidding with that last point.
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!
