http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/business/small-business/tax-saving-strategies.html http://www.articletrader.com/business/small-business/tax-saving-strategies.html Mon, 01 May 2006 00:00:00 -0500
A: You're absolutely right. There are a number of tax-saving strategies small-business owners can use to create business tax deductions out of what would otherwise be considered personal expenditures. The following is a discussion of each of the major opportunities to make your life tax-deductible as an entrepreneur:

Your home: As a small-business owner, you may qualify to take a home office tax deduction. In order to qualify for the deduction, the use of your home office must be both "exclusive" and "regular." If you qualify, you may deduct certain other expenditures, such as depreciation and the indirect expenses of operating your home, on a pro-rata basis. Even if you fail to qualify for the home office deduction, you are still allowed to deduct other business expenses that you incur while operating your business out of your home.


Your car: If you use your car in your business, you can deduct the costs of operating and maintaining your car. However, you can only deduct the portion of your car that pertains to business only. This is accomplished by pro-rating or allocating the total cost of operating and maintaining your car between deductible business use and nondeductible personal use. Business costs can be deducted by using either actual costs or the standard mileage rate.


Your equipment: You can convert personal assets into business assets by contributing them to your business. You can do so by giving them to your business either in exchange for a loan document or as contributed capital. If you received a loan document, the business will repay you principal (the market value of the assets) plus interest on a periodic (generally monthly) payment schedule (called amortizing a loan). If you considered the assets to be a contribution of capital, this contributed capital can be used to substantiate your ownership position in your business.


Register.com - Grow your business online.

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Register.com - Grow your business online.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/web-design/self-hosted-site-builders-vs.-web-hosting-accounts.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/web-design/self-hosted-site-builders-vs.-web-hosting-accounts.html Mon, 01 May 2006 00:00:00 -0500
Quick and easy.

Self-hosted site builders typically offer the fastest, easiest route to a Web site. They usually don't require any technical knowledge to build (you choose a pre-designed template and add your text or images), and they can be ready to launch within 24 hours. Self-hosted site builders also represent the least expensive Web site options, partly because they eliminate the need to separately pay a Web hosting provider. But these sites can be inflexible, too, allowing a limited number of Web pages, offering a narrow selection of templates and preventing you from uploading your own pages. Most can't accommodate the use of complex scripts either.

Scalable and flexible.

True Web hosting allows you to build your own Web site, upload pages with sophisticated functionality, and modify your site in almost limitless ways. Although most hosting packages offer site-building software, users more frequently build their own sites with MS FrontPage® or similar software. A hosting account apportions space on a server (or exclusive use of a dedicated server for major sites) and includes a set amount of data transfer traffic from your computer to the host's server, so you can upload entire pages, images, multimedia files, or change existing pages. You can easily integrate eCommerce software into your site (some hosting companies even provide it with your account). But this flexibility doesn't come cheap. Expect to pay a monthly fee of $10-$50, depending on your needs.

Your threshold.

If you're just starting out and you can make due with a limited number of pages and fixed templates, and if you aren't ready to build a store or accept credit cards, consider saving money by using a self-hosting site builder like WebSiteNOW! But as you need a much bigger site and more unique page design, you'll soon find that only a Web hosting account can accommodate your needs.

Register.com - Grow your business online.

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Register.com - Grow your business online.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/domains/how-to-save-your-expired-web-address.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/domains/how-to-save-your-expired-web-address.html Mon, 01 May 2006 00:00:00 -0500
Now a recent policy change allows registrars such as Register.com 30 days to retrieve Web addresses on behalf of their customers after the registrations have been deleted from their systems. (This deletion can take place up to a month from the expiration date.) After 30 days, of course, the Web addresses become publicly available, and anyone can claim them. A Register.com customer support agent can initiate the process for you, if necessary.

The upside is obvious: You can keep your precious Web address, and maybe save your business. But there are downsides, too: Only .com and .net names are eligible for this last-chance service; and it's expensive--snatching your Web address back from the brink will cost you $200 at Register.com, in addition to regular registration fees.

This may seem like a minor expense next to losing your Web address, but it's an avoidable expense. The best way to prevent accidental expiration is to register your Web address for multiple years. (You'll also save money with a multi-year discount.) At Register.com you can also sign-up for a free service called SafeRenew that can renew your name automatically if you forget.

Ideally you'll never need to retrieve an expired name, but now there's a last-ditch solution that could avert a disaster.

Register.com - Grow your business online.


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Register.com - Grow your business online.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/online-business/the-evolutionary-stages-of-web-business.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/online-business/the-evolutionary-stages-of-web-business.html Mon, 01 May 2006 00:00:00 -0500
Phase I: Web business card

Visitors get just the facts: who you are, what you do, how to find you. A Web business card may seem like a modest first step, but it enables your business to begin using the Internet to find customers. It also establishes an address for your future development, and perhaps more important, a unique, professional domain to use for your email address.

Total monthly cost (with email) at Register.com*:
$5.42

Phase II: Self-hosted site builder

This next step creates a full site where visitors can find more information, pictures of products, detailed descriptions of services, and a professional environment free of distractions such as other companies' ad banners. The tools to create these sites are typically non-technical, and use templates to simplify page design.

Total monthly cost (with email) at Register.com*:
$9.50 (five-page site)

Phase III: Basic hosting

When you're ready to use applications such as Microsoft® FrontPage, or HTML to design and upload your own pages, it's time for a Web hosting account. Aside from providing FTP access to add and edit pages, a hosting account allows you to create forms, incorporate sound and animation, and use more complex applications to customize your visitors' experience. You can even employ some creative solutions to accept payments online. Most hosting packages include some type of site-building software, but it's usually more limiting than other page design options.

Total monthly cost (with email) at Register.com*:
$20.36

Phase IV: eCommerce hosting

When many entrepreneurs envision a Web site, they see a fully transactional operation where visitors shop, compare features, read product information, and complete their purchases onsite with credit cards. ECommerce hosting packages typically include shopping cart software to organize purchases, and processing gateways to connect to merchants' credit card accounts, as well as compatibility with advanced site design software and database applications. The cost is higher than for a non-transactional site, but infinitely cheaper than a traditional retail operation.

Total monthly cost (with email) at Register.com*:
$40.37 (plus merchant account fees)

*including domain name registration, based on regular pricing for one-year terms

Register.com - Grow your business online.

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Register.com - Grow your business online.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/business/communication/build-stronger-customer-relationships-one-email-at-a-time.html http://www.articletrader.com/business/communication/build-stronger-customer-relationships-one-email-at-a-time.html Mon, 01 May 2006 00:00:00 -0500
Sometimes these messages pay off directly by arriving just as some customers are about to buy, but the benefits of email communication are usually less immediate--and often more valuable. If your messages help build customer loyalty, recipients will choose you over your competitors; they'll buy more frequently, and most important, they'll become voluntary marketers, recommending you to others. Your messages can also provide an ideal way to collect feedback from the customers whose views are most important to you.

No one knows better than you how to talk to your customers, but some general rules of thumb can help make your messages more effective:

Make them welcome. Always provide a prominent, easy way for recipients to opt-out of receiving future communications from you. Better still, invite your customers to opt-in to receiving email from you.
Make them relevant. You know your customers, and you probably know their interests and needs. Your emails should reflect this.
Make them short. And when they contain a lot of information, make it easy for readers to find what they want. Then get to the point.

Several dependable, affordable programs exist to help manage your list and create and send messages without investing in software or outsourced solutions.

Register.com - Grow your business online.


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Register.com - Grow your business online.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/affiliate-programs/affiliate-yourself-with-winners.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/affiliate-programs/affiliate-yourself-with-winners.html Mon, 01 May 2006 00:00:00 -0500
Linkshare.com offers one convenient place to review multiple affiliate programs at once. (In fact LinkShare administers Register.com's affiliate program.) You'll be asked for basic information about your site, including monthly estimates of the number of visitors and page views, and enough personal data to cut you a check for any commissions you earn.

When you select programs, you're actually submitting applications to join them. Some require minimum traffic levels, or specific subject matter, and others manually review applicants' sites before accepting new affiliates. These programs may turn down your application if your site doesn't match their criteria, but most will approve you if your site appears to offer an appropriate environment for their products.

Once approved you'll be prompted to select banners or links to place on your site. You're free to try different programs, different banners, and test different combinations to see which perform best for you. As you search for the right balance, your customers will know you by the company you keep.

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Register.com - Grow your business online

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/online-business/the-5-habits-of-highly-effective-ecommerce-stores.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/online-business/the-5-habits-of-highly-effective-ecommerce-stores.html Mon, 01 May 2006 00:00:00 -0500
2. Keep it simple. Many people cite overly complicated navigation or too many pages in the purchase path as reasons they don't complete their online sale or abandon their shopping cart. Successful eCommerce sites simplify the checkout process and display clear pricing and shipping information. They also post clear return policies and access to customer service. Putting your brick and mortar store's phone number in a visible place on your Web site is a good idea. Studies suggest that consumers feel more confident knowing you're just a phone call away if they have a question or if there's a problem with their order.

3. A picture really is worth a thousand words, so use photos of your products and go easy on the text. Online usability studies suggest that people do not read; they scan. It's 25% harder to read on the Web, so keep these guidelines in mind for optimum readability: Headlines should be 8 words or less, shoot for 9-12 words on a line (people don't want to read across the entire screen), keep sentences short (15-20 words) and try to keep summaries under 30 words and hold paragraphs to 40-70 words. In this way you can maintain compelling product descriptions alongside your product offerings.

4. Market your site once it's live. It's not enough to just build a Web site. You need to make an effort to market and promote your Web site to new and existing customers. Collect email addresses on your site to help you keep in touch with customers and consider creating a newsletter. Seek links from other sites that complement yours. Optimize your site's content for relevance and submit it to the major search engines. With ProStore, you've got an incredible built-in marketing opportunity in that you can promote your products to millions of eBay customers. Take advantage of this capability to reach a whole new set of customers.

5. Make payment processing easy. Online shoppers need a way to give you money online. That's easy these days. You can accept credit card payments with either a PayPal account or an online merchant account. PayPal is ideal for anyone trying out the eCommerce waters since there's less of an upfront commitment, but you may end up paying more per transaction. If you know from the beginning you're going to have strong sales and lots of online transactions each month, you may want to consider setting up an online merchant account. The thing to note about PayPal is that both the buyer and the seller need a PayPal account, but that's hardly a barrier to entry. It's so easy to create a PayPal account that more than 96 million consumer accounts have been created at PayPal since it was founded in 1998 and it's estimated that PayPal has a 24% share of all U.S. online payments.

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Register.com - Grow your business online.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>