As the largest social networking site in the world, Facebook is a “must do” for businesses large and small. It is one of the first places people look when searching for products and services. If your business doesn’t have a page, potential customers could be lost to a competitor.

But Facebook is so much more than just a place for businesses to post their names, addresses and a short blurb about their company. It is a place where your customers who ‘like’ you can interact with you and develop a two-way relationship that goes beyond simply a product purchase.

In fact, used properly, Facebook can be a tool for letting your customers help you design new products, improve customer service and get the word out about all sorts of news and information about your business.

It’s fairly simple to create a page, but before you start you’ll want to put some thought into how you want your page to look, what types of information you want to share, and what you hope to achieve with the page. And once you are ‘out there,’ you will lose some measure of control as people post to your page, comment on other posts, and generally interact with the page. You can set boundries however, and let visitors to your page know that inappropriate comments will be monitored and deleted.

Having a Facebook page can be fun, informative and exciting, and a little scary, too. But the success stories keep pouring in. Every type of business from restaurants, to pet stores, to art galleries are finding that maintaining a presence on Facebook is boosting their business and keeping them close to their customers.

If you would like to learn more about building a successful Facebook page and attracting more people who want to connect with your company, follow these links:

Creating a Facebook fan page:

www.work.com

Video demonstrating how to create a custom Facebook page:

Create a Custom Facebook Fan Page

Five Tips to Improve Your Facebook Page:

www.penn-olson.com

In these times of tough competition for every client or customer, delivering
on your brand promises is more important than ever when it comes to differentiating your business.

Here are 5 action steps you can take now to re-energize your brand.

1. Re-examine your brand values. What IS your brand promise? What makes you standout from the competition? How do you convey that to your existing and potential customers?
   
   
2. Hand-pick your customers. Find a customer niche where you can excel and be the ‘provider of choice’ to that select group.
   
   
3. Infuse your culture with ‘brand mania’. Find a way to make your employees truly excited about delivering on your brand promises, and you will unlock incredible customer satisfaction. Your employees become your biggest fans and win customers everywhere they go.
   
   
4. Embrace new technology. Customers are interacting with companies in ways never before possible. It’s not enough to have a website. Social media drives today’s consumer and should be part of your marketing strategy.
   
   
5. Create an integrated brand experience. No matter where or how your customers engage with your business, the experience should be consistent and deliver on your brand values.
   
   

Now one-person companies can have the same type of retirement plan
common in much larger companies.

Known as Solo 401(k)s, they often allow for higher retirement savings contributions than other plans. In addition, they are much less complicated than a Keogh, which offers high contribution potential but may require higher administration fees and actuarial review.

Tax-deductible contributions to a Solo 401(k) for 2010 may be made as follows:

Like the regular 401(k), as an employee of the business, you may deduct up to $16,500 (under 50 years of age) or $22,000 (50 and over) of your pre-tax income from the business. Then, as the employer, you can add to that 20% of net business profit, for a maximum total contribution of up to $49,000 (under 50 years of age) or $54,500 (50 and over).

Withdrawals are taxed at a later date and borrowing may be allowed from the plan, depending on the administrator you select.

The Solo 401(k) must be established by the end of the business tax year in order to make a contribution for that year.

It’s almost impossible to turn on your television, read a blog, visit a website or even walk around your home town without hearing or seeing a sustainability message on a daily basis. Whether it’s as simple as following the directions on your recycle container or as complex as attempting to measure your carbon footprint, we can all do more to reduce our impact on the planet.

And the good news is, many of the steps you can take today are not only good for the earth, they are good for business. They will save you money! Here are some easy things you can do to start improving your bottom line right now:

• Turn off all equipment when not in use. Power down computers, unplug charging devices, and turn off all copiers, fax machines and other office equipment. And don’t forget to also turn off any power strips that this equipment may be connected to.
  
• Go paperless. It goes without saying that we all need to get on the paperless bandwagon. The more we use technology to read and store important information, the less we put into the recycle bin.
  
• Set your default printing to double-sided. If you absolutely must print, please produce double-sided documents.
  
• Recycle everything you can. We all know recycling is good for the environment, but you might even get paid for some of your items. Electronics equipment contains valuable precious metals that can be extracted from the components. Also, recycling can lower your garbage bills. Every item that is recycled is one less item for the landfill.
  
• Try to find suppliers that recycle containers and other packaging. Most printer cartridges can be recycled or even refilled. Some suppliers might even take back Styrofoam packing materials or shipping boxes.
  
• Buy local. The further your supplies or service providers have to travel to reach you, the more energy will be expended.

Keeping these few simple ideas in mind every day will give you a healthier bottom line and contribute to a healthier planet for all of us.

For more ideas . . .

sbinfocanada.about.com - 1
bellaonline.com
sbinfocanada.about.com - 2
naturalstepusa.org