How can you prevent becoming overwhelmed when something goes awry with your business? Plus, small business owners are concerned with the fiscal cliff deal – but is that really the biggest story of 2013? Find out here plus much more!
Small Business News of the Week
What will the big news changing small business be in 2013? If the constant news is anything to be believed, it’s the fix for the “fiscal cliff.” We’ve gone from hearing how the fiscal cliff will hurt small business now to how the fix itself pushed through will hurt small businesses. What will the truth be?
Unfortunately, we may not know for a while. As detailed in this Wall Street Journal article, many small biz owners are looking to the future as the fiscal cliff deal may not affect them immediately. In fact, it could only hurt certain businesses like S-Corps. This is because the deal could have more to do with personal income which could in fact leak to “crunch time” for many business owners.
Of course the big story could be health care, as many are still concerned how they’re going to deal with it in the coming future. Small business owners now just have 12 months to prepare for the new rules regarding health care as everything changes in 2014.
What do you think the big small biz story for 2013 will be?
Around the Entrepreneur Web
What Small Towns Can Learn from Zappos Remaking Downtown Las Vegas – Zappos is a very forward thinking company, and their latest investment in downtown Las Vegas continues to prove it.
3 Ways for Your Business to Capitalize on Fun – How your business can succeed by bringing smiles to the masses.
Yes, Some Small Businesses Have Social Media Budgets Over $100,000 – It feels like there are just too many zeroes in that number! But 5% of small businesses actually have social media budgets that size or larger. Stranger still – the median? Between $1000 and $2,499.
Outright Community Speaks
Our users surprise us every day with questions and concerns. Here are some of the latest:
If you’re surprised to see 2012 data as totaling $0.00, no need to fret. Outright now defaults to 2013 date ranges. If you want to see older data, simply change the time in the date range.
Have a question about upgrading to Outright Plus if you signed up through eBay? Check out our Outright Plus FAQ!
Have more questions or concerns? Stop by our Outright Customer Care forum!
Outright Pro Tip: Getting Overwhelmed
Recently I had a run-in with a company with customer service that left something to be desired. I signed up for a one-time purchase which led to them signing me up for some crazy recurring payment deal which I did not approve.
Imagine my (lack of) surprise when they were practically impossible to reach. Emails were quick and unhelpful and phone calls went unanswered or just taken off the hook. I was close to going through my bank and blocking them entirely or even changing my number just in case.
However, I gave it a little bit more time and finally reached them. Turned out they were swamped with calls because the problem had happened with many customers. It wasn’t that they were trying to scam anyone; they were just overwhelmed. They hadn’t planned for this mess and had absolutely no idea how to deal with it.
They did, though, know they were going to offer this one-time deal and should’ve planned ahead so the issue never came up in the first place. Getting overwhelmed usually can be prevented way before it even happens. Don’t rush into things if you’re not prepared for the blowback!
That’s it for this week’s Round-Up! Hope your 2013 is starting off right!
