Making the Most Impact with Your Small Business Marketing

Darryl Mobley

If you are struggling with marketing your small business, you are certainly not alone.  While the small business might be the backbone of America, numerous businesses fail each year due to a lack of marketing.  Thus, you need to find the most beneficial options in which to invest your marketing dollars.  If you are unaware of what those options might be, though, you could feel more than a little lost.  What should you do to market your small business?  Here, you’ll find some of the best options for your needs.

Network – While networking might be one of the top buzzwords of the year, you’ll find that defining the essence of this word is somewhat difficult.  What is networking, when applied to your business?  Basically, it boils down to making connections with other business owners in related fields, within your vertical markets.  As an example, a software developer could network with computer manufacturers, IT companies and companies that offer complementary software solutions.  Networking is one of the best ways to ensure that you are able to achieve optimum market saturation.

Grassroots Marketing – While you might think that modern business advertising should be done on a national or global scale, you should never neglect your local and regional areas.  These areas are vital to the success of your business.  With grassroots marketing methods, you can heighten interest in what your company has to offer, right there at home.  You’ll find few better ways to increase your profitability than with grassroots methods.

Online Presence – Another important factor, whether you’re gearing up for a global campaign or just want to maximize your exposure on your home turf is to develop a solid online presence.  You can do this through a dynamic website, an interactive blog, social media like networking websites and much more.  Developing an online presence tells consumers that your company is legitimate and dedicated to staying in business.  It also ensures that more consumers are able to locate your business than would be possible with only traditional advertising methods alone.

These are only three of the top ways that you can increase interest in your company through modern marketing.  It’s essential that you harness the right options for your needs, though.  The right combination of marketing platforms will result in decreased marketing costs, but increased exposure and ROI for your small business, as well.

Have You Taken Advantage of 2009’s Small Business Tax Break?

written by Buzz

2009 has come to an end and taxes for the year are coming due. Have you taken advantage of the tax breaks provided to you by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 If not, you would be wise to use the next few weeks to claim your share of the tax break initiative.

A private survey shows that about 71% of small businesses have taken at least one tax break from the provisions outlined in the 2009 economic relief bill. The government wants to urge small businesses to use these tax breaks  because they are not likely to be renewed in 2010.

 Best Tax Benefits of 2009

One of the biggest tax breaks is the 50 percent bonus deduction on depreciation on the acquisition of eligible assets. An eligible asset might be equipment over $1,000 purchased this year. This additional expensing of depreciation in the first year can be a tremendous help in reducing the tax burden on small businesses, and it is intended to stimulate the purchase of equipment and assets in 2009.

For instance, say you purchased a new piece of manufacturing equipment for $5,000. Normal depreciation of the equipment would be spread out and take place over a period of 5 to 7 years. However, you can deduct $2,500 in depreciation this year, even if you purchase the equipment on December 31, 2009.

And the 50% tax deduction is not all. You can still take advantage of other incentives, such as work opportunity tax credits for hiring unemployed veterans or “disconnected youth.”

Pre-Pay Your Taxes and Save

If your business pays estimated taxes, you only need to pay 90% of previous tax year liability instead of 100%. If your small business is research-based, you could take a basic 20% credit for increased research expenditures. Or invest in economically distressed areas for new market tax credit.

The credits offered for small businesses in the relief bill of 2009 are likely an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Be sure to take the next few weeks to analyze and consider where you can benefit from additional tax breaks.


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