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February 26th, 2010
February 24th, 2010
If you have any questions about services or marketing, please ask them here. Use the comment link to ask the question. We will post answers as soon as possible.
February 23rd, 2010
We have been working on a website – www.makeyourbusinesscard.com and would like to get any comments on the functionality of the website.
This website is for designing your own business cards. You can change the font, the font size and the color. There are several other options to play around with. You can even upload your own photo or image to use as a background.
Please visit the site and let us know how you like it, and what features that you would like to see on this site.
February 2nd, 2010
We all make calls to customer service when we have concerns or questions about a product, service or our accounts. You may have noticed you are sometimes asked to participate in a brief survey at the end of the call.  The survey asks questions about your experience during the call. This is becoming more and more common because business’s realize customer feedback is vital.
Everyone knows you can’t please all the people all the time. No matter what you do there are some customers who you will never please for one reason or another. However, staying in the dark about customer’s impressions of your company or service can be very detrimental.
Many people who are not happy with your business won’t just “volunteer” their feedback. They would rather mumble a few harsh words under their breath, find another company to do business with and tell everyone they know why they would not recommend you and there goes potential customers.  You have to solicit customer feedback!
Soliciting feedback either by surveys, comments on your website or blog, in your newsletter or by e-mail is a practice that should not be ignored. Requesting feedback lets customers know you care about what they think, how they feel, and that you consider them a valuable resource. When you do get feedback in an e-mail especially, it is important to try and address them within 24-48 hours.
The practice of responding to feedback can be a bit time consuming if you are getting a lot of response. It is however a part of your business that deserves your attention. If you are clueless about what customers are unhappy or frustrated with, how can you attempt to fix it and keep those customers away from the competition? Â
In this instance, what you don’t know certainly can hurt you.
January 27th, 2010
I was talking with one of my clients this morning and he was excited about getting leads from his new website. He is a Doctor in San Antonio practicing Alternative Medicine. I was telling him that the Internet is now the new Yellow Pages, and if you don’t have an optimized website, then your business is missing out BIG TIME. He concurred.Â
I remember when my business spent $2500 per month for a yellow pages ad. This was when everyone went to the yellow pages to find anything. (Not anymore) $2500 per month might seem like a lot, but we were making more than double of what we were spending, so it was worth it.Â
The Internet is like the yellow pages on steroids. You are not stuck with your ad for 12 months before you can try something new. You can run 2, 3, 4 or even a hundred varieties of your website in order to find out which one works the best. And it doesn’t take long to find out. Feedback is instant. 85% of people find new businesses on the Internet and 60% will research your website before they do business with you.Â
If you can satisfy your visitors, you can start building a lifetime relationship with them. Every customer has a LTV or lifetime value. If they buy from you once and are happy with the experience, they will continue to buy from you in the future.Â
Live Long and Prosper! 
January 23rd, 2010
I looked everywhere on the web for this information and could not find it. I paid to get it and thought it might help someone else out. Â
This is a tax schedule for when taxes are due if you live in Westerville, Ohio. Federal applies to all states, and the state tax schedules are for Ohio only.
CALENDAR OF EMPLOYER DUE DATES FOR 2010
(Federal:Â Monthly or Quarterly depositor, State and Wstv:Â Quarterly filer)
State of Ohio
City of Westerville
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JANUARY
          Â
15Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Deposit federal payroll tax for Dec 2009 if a monthly depositor
15Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â PERSONAL File and pay 2009 4th quarter estimates for federal, state and local
31Â Â Â Â Â Â Â WSTV File and remit 2009 4th quarter payment with Form WW-1
Â
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FEBRUARY
          Â
1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Furnish 2009 Forms 1099 for payments to independent contractors
1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Furnish 2009 Form W-2 to employees
1         File 2009 Form 940. Pay tax with form if less than $500.
1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Deposit FUTA taxes due if more than $500.
1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â File 2009 Forms 940 and 4th quarter 941if you did not deposit all taxes when due
1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â OHIO File& remit 2009 4th qtr payment with Forms IT 501(Ohio w/h)
           & SD 101 (School District w/h)
1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â OHIO File 2009 Form IT-941(Annual reconciliation of Income Tax Withholding)
10Â Â Â Â Â Â Â File 2009 Form 940 and 4th qtr 941if you timely deposited all required payments
15Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Deposit federal payroll tax for Jan 2010 if a monthly depositor
28Â Â Â Â Â Â Â WSTV File 2009 Form WW-3 (Annual reconciliation of Income Tax Withholding)
          Â
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MARCH
          Â
1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â File 2009 Forms 1099 and 1096 with the IRS
1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â File 2009 Forms W-2 and W-3 with the Social Security Administration
1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â OHIO File Form IT 3 (Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statement)
15       File 2009 Form 1120S, Sub S tax retn & pay any tax due; furnish a copy of Sch   K-1Â
            to each shareholder OR file Form 7004 for 6 month extension
15Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Deposit federal payroll tax for Feb 2010 if a monthly depositor
31Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Due date for electronic filing of 2009 Forms 1099, W-2 with the IRS
           and deposit estimated tax
Â
Â
APRIL
          Â
15Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â PERSONAL File and pay 2010 1st quarter estimate for federal, state and local
15Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â PERSONAL File 2009 Form 1040, Individual Tax Return
           or file Form 4868 for 6 month extension
15Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Deposit federal payroll tax for Mar 2010 if a monthly depositor
30Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Deposit FUTA taxes owed through March if more than $500
30       File 1st quarter 2010 Form 941. Pay tax with Form 941 if less than $2500.
30Â Â Â Â Â Â Â OHIO File and remit 2010 1st quarter payment with Forms IT 501(Ohio w/h)
           and SD 101 (School District w/h)
30Â Â Â Â Â Â Â WSTV File and remit 2010 1st quarter payment with Form WW-1
          Â
Â
MAY
          Â
10Â Â Â Â Â Â Â File 1st quarter 2010 Form 941 if all taxes were deposited when due
10Â Â Â Â Â Â Â File and pay CAT if gross receipts exceed $150,000
15Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Deposit federal payroll tax for Apr 2010 if a monthly depositor
Â
Â
JUNE
          Â
15Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â PERSONAL File and pay 2nd quarter estimates for federal, state, and local
15Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Deposit federal payroll tax for May 2010 if a monthly depositor
30Â Â Â Â Â Â Â OHIO File Form FT1120S, Notice of S Corporation Status (no extension available)
Â
Â
JULY
          Â
15Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Deposit federal payroll tax for June 2010 if a monthly depositor
31Â Â Â Â Â Â Â WSTV File and remit 2010 2nd quarter payment with Form WW-1
          Â
Â
AUGUST
          Â
2Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â File 2009 Form 5500 OR file for an extension on Form 5558
2         File Form 941 for the 2nd quarter of 2010. Pay tax with Form 941 if less than $2500.
2Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Deposit FUTA owed through June if more than $500
2Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â OHIO File and remit 2nd quarter payment with Forms IT 501(Ohio w/h)
           and SD 101 (School District w/h)
10Â Â Â Â Â Â Â File Form 941 for second qtr of 2010 if you timely deposited all required payments
16Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Deposit federal payroll tax for July 2010 if a monthly depositor
Â
Â
SEPTEMBER
          Â
15Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â PERSONAL File and pay 3rd quarter estimates for federal, state, and local
15Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Deposit federal payroll tax for Aug 2010 if a monthly depositor
15Â Â Â Â Â Â Â File calendar year return, Form 1120S, if you timely requested a 6 month extension
Â
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Â
Â
OCTOBER
          Â
15Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Deposit federal payroll tax for Sept 2010 if a monthly depositor
15Â Â Â Â Â Â Â File 2009 Form 5500 if you timely requested an extension on Form 5558
31Â Â Â Â Â Â Â WSTV File and remit 2010 3rd quarter payment with Form WW-1
          Â
          Â
NOVEMBER
          Â
1         File Form 941 for the third qtr of 2010. Pay tax with Form 941 if less than $2500.
1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Deposit FUTA owed through September if more than $500
1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â OHIO File and remit 3rd quarter payment with Forms IT 501(Ohio w/h)
           and SD 101 (School District w/h)
10Â Â Â Â Â Â Â File Form 941 for the third qtr of 2010 if you timely depsoited all required payments
15Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Deposit federal payroll tax for Oct 2010 if a monthly depositor
30Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Remind employees to submit a new W-4 if withholding allowances
           will change for 2011.
Â
Â
DECEMBER
Â
15Â Â Â Â Deposit federal payroll tax for Nov 2010 if a monthly depositor
January 18th, 2010
I just got notice from one of our clients that they had mistakenly thought that Domain Registry of America was sending them a bill for their domain renewal. They paid them 4 times what they should to renew their domain, and DROA is not even the current registrar. DROA sends a statement that looks like a bill and tells you that your domain is going to expire.
Not only do you lose a lot of money, these domains are not transferred easily. The domain needs to be “unlocked” and an authorization code provided. If you are with Super Cool Sites your domain will renew automatically. We will bill you once per year for the domain renewal. The cost is $9.99.Â
I took the following definition from Wikipedia for “Domain Registry of America”:
The Domain Registry of America is an Internet domain registrar based in the Canadian province of Ontario best known for sending solicitations for business that resemble legitimate invoices.
In 2003, the Federal Trade Commission reached a settlement with the company for practices such as transferring domain registrations to their service under the guise of domain renewal, a practice known as domain slamming, and having hidden fees. Despite this action, the company still sends mass direct mail to consumers resembling invoices with “domain name expiration notice” in bold print. Targets for the company’s mass mailings are known to be in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States with information obtained in violation of their ICANN registrar agreement.
They have also now (Aug 2009) started emailing potential customers with an email scam, purporting to indicate that the transfer of a domain is ‘not complete at this time’, and requesting the domain owner follows a series of steps to complete the transfer to DRoA. These are highly misleading emails.
January 15th, 2010
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the art of making a website move higher in the search engines, like Google, Yahoo, etc..
The people that would like to scam you out of your hard earned dollars never stop. The proliferation of SEO scam emails is unreal. It seems like everyday I get one, promising to get my website on the first page of google. Here are a few things to watch out for.
1. Anyone telling you that they can get you a first page ranking for a monthly fee, but only as long as you continue to pay them.
Proper SEO entails several factors, title tags, proper keywords, alt tags, relevant copy, building meaningful links, social marketing and much more. Once these things are done, if you stop paying a monthly fee, they will not go away.
2. If you get an email from some SEO expert with no website URL, be cautious. Any SEO company should want you to investigate their website in order to give you more information. Also look at their email address. If it comes from a gmail or yahoo email account, this is another warning sign. How can anyone be an expert in SEO when they don’t even have a website?
3. Free Trial Service with access to your website. DANGER, WILL ROBINSON! Never let anyone have access to your files unless you are absolutely certain they are accountable. You might as well give them access to your bank account.
4. A company tells you that they will submit your website to 1,000 search engines. Let’s face it Google does more searches than all of the other search engines in the world COMBINED! Work on google first, then Yahoo and MSN. With these three you have covered 98% of the market.
5. Flat-Rate and Low Monthly Fees. Good SEO is not cheap. Several companies charge hundreds of dollars per hour all the way up to $1,000 per hour! SEO takes a lot of time. It can take months before the results start to show.
There can be several other things to watch out for. If you have any questions, or would like to post your experiences, please do.
December 31st, 2009
Resolution: A decision to do something. A new year is the time to start fresh. We all make resolutions in our personal lives and sometimes we keep them, sometimes we don’t.
But what about your business? Have you thought about what you are going to do to make 2010 a more profitable and enjoyable year? Now is a good time to think about it and make a list of resolutions for your business. Instead of just a list you can put them on a vision board. Keep the board where you can see it and be reminded regularly of your “decision to do something”.
What are some resolutions that are reasonable and doable? 1) Try to attract new customers by exploring new marketing strategies and/ or increasing your current strategy. 2) Work on keeping current customers by “communicating.” Build relationships by putting out  a newsletter, respond to emails in a timely manner, get customer feedback with surveys and offer incentives, discounts and coupons. Keep fresh content on your website to give them a reason to come back, buy, or call you to take advantage of your services. 3) Network more. Join discussion groups and you will establish yourself as an expert. If you aren’t already, try utilizing Facebook and Twitter to make some new contacts.  Start a blog. That can help with search engine rankings and help inform current customers.  4) Try and stand out from the competition. Think about your target market and understand who your products and services can help. Attract their attention, offer something your competition doesn’t , and then advertise it!  5) Focus on what’s working and change what is not. 6) Lastly, resolve to work hard but remember to take time out and have a little fun.
Doing all the above and other things you might think of, just might help increase sales and this should be every businesses #1 resolution.  Remember to keep your New Year’s Resolutions and refine your business in 2010. Happy New Year!
September 28th, 2009
I am amazed at how fast things are changing for the internet and business to business e-commerce. E-Commerce is now universally recognized as having the largest potential for growth. Email marketing has become ubiquitous and is now spreading to your phone with text messages. If you are not keeping up with the latest and greatest, you are being left in the dust to wither and fade away.
There seems to be a lot of free service programs to build your own website popping up lately. They give you a free website if you purchase a domain or have them host your website rags to riches dreams. With most of these you have to build the site with the tools they give you.  Unfortunately they are usually about two years behind the current technology. It takes them so long to make a content management system so that anyone can use it, without the knowledge of writing code, that by the time it hits the market, it’s already outdated.Â
They are even selling homemade websites on e-bay now. For under $100 you can have a functioning ebay type website. But once you get it, what do you do now? How do you get visitors to come to your site? How do you update it? What if there are major problems, like all of a sudden your site goes down? These are very real circumstances and without professional help, your fortune could take a turn for the worse.