Small Business Trends |
- How to Start a Business Recycling Program
- Get Your Business Structure Fit For 2012
- 5 Infographics For SMBs to Check Out
| How to Start a Business Recycling Program Posted: 17 Jan 2012 11:30 AM PST One of the easiest and cheapest ways to be an eco-friendlier business is often overlooked: Recycling. Chances are your business sends more items to the landfill than it has to. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, about 75% of solid waste thrown away is recyclable. The good news, though, is there's a boom in the number of local recyclers and types of waste they'll accept. Before you start trying to recycle more (or at all) at your business, give some thought to how you'll do it effectively. Here are four tips to getting a successful office recycling program underway: 1. Know your trash. Do you know what's in your trash bins? Sure, it might be dirty work, but it's worth figuring out what types of things your business tosses out – whether it's white paper, plastic bottles or bags or paint cans. You can then better determine what part of your trash is eligible for recycling. Some items may even be required to be recycled under your state's laws. 2. Contact your local recycler. Review your curbside recycler's rules and the items and materials it accepts – assuming you have curbside recycling at your business. Many recyclers now pick up a wider range of plastics, cloth and linens and small appliances. Get a full list of accepted items and keep it handy. (Some city recycling programs are even starting to pick up business's food scraps for composting.) Also keep in mind that some curbside collection programs don't automatically stop at businesses – so it's worth contacting them to find out whether they will. 3. Consider alternatives. Even if there's no curbside collection for, say, old batteries and light bulbs, that doesn't mean they aren't recyclable. Check out Earth911.com to find drop-off recycling centers in your area and get lists of accepted items. (Some charge fees.) Several major retailers including Whole Foods, Home Depot, and Best Buy will recycle the types of products they sell – everything from plastic food containers to CFL light bulbs to old computers. 4. Make it easy. How easy you make recycling in your office will affect whether employees pitch in. Consider putting paper recycling bins under every employee's desk and near areas with lots of paper waste, such as by copy machines and printers. Put plastic bottle collections in the break room. Clearly mark the bins so employees know exactly what should be put in them. Another possible motivation trick: Put trash cans farther out of reach. Do you recycle at your business? How much of an effort do you make to reduce your trash waste?
From Small Business Trends      |
| Get Your Business Structure Fit For 2012 Posted: 17 Jan 2012 08:30 AM PST With every New Year comes a slew of resolutions? Eat better, eat less, join a gym, actually go to the gym, quit smoking. While well-intentioned Americans focus on getting more physically fit, how fit is your business when it comes to its legal business structure? Have you been avoiding the question for years? After all, as business owners, there are countless others things to focus on – keeping customers happy, finding new customers, entering new markets to name a few. Or maybe you formed one business structure years ago, but what may have worked for your business during its first few years of existence may not be optimal for you now. To help you assess what's right for your business, here's a run-down of the most common business structures in the United States. As expected, there can be significant tax implications involved and it's always best to seek the advice of an accountant or tax advisor to determine what's best for your business. Sole Proprietor The most basic of all business legal structures is the sole proprietorship; there's no corporation or limited liability status. As the owner of the business, you represent the company legally and fully – and are open to unlimited liability for any acts on behalf of your business. A sole proprietor is taxed as an individual (and fills out the Schedule C on his/her personal tax returns). There are no steps involved in forming a Sole Proprietor; if you've started a business alone and have not filed for LLC or Corp status, then you're a Sole Proprietor. Bottom Line: Considering we live in such a litigious society (and how easy it is to form an LLC), there's virtually no reason to stay a Sole Proprietor. If you're operating as a Sole Proprietor, you should consider forming an LLC in 2012. The LLC (Limited Liability Company) Owners of an LLC enjoy limited liability, which protects their personal assets from judgments and other obligations of the entity. If the LLC incurs debts or liabilities, the creditors are limited to the assets of the LLC. An LLC requires fewer corporate formalities, such as regular meetings of a board of directors and an annual meeting of shareholders, than either an S or C-Corporation. An LLC does, however, require proper filing of Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State to be formed and the members of the LLC are required to enter into an Operating Agreement that governs how the LLC will be operated. The LLC features pass-through tax treatment. If you're a single member LLC, you will be taxed as an individual using the Schedule C form, unless you choose to be taxed as a corporation. Likewise, a multi-member LLC will be taxed as a partnership with the K-1 form. Bottom Line: The LLC is great for a business that wants liability protection, but seeks minimal formality. It’s also the perfect structure for a business with foreign owners since anyone (C Corp, S Corp, another LLC, a trust, or an estate) can be an owner of an LLC. The C Corporation The C Corporation is the most common form of corporate entity. The C Corporation is owned by shareholders; shareholders elect a board of directors to create and direct the high-level policies of the business. There is no limit on the number of shareholders in a C Corporation. With a C Corp, your personal liability is only up to the amount of your investment. A C Corp is a separately taxable entity, meaning that it must file its own tax return and pay corporate taxes on its profits. And if the company earns a profit and decides to divide the excess cash among the owners/shareholders in the form of dividends, the earnings are taxed twice: first when the company pays taxes on its earning and then second, when shareholders are taxed on received dividends. Of course, if the company chooses to re-invest its profits back in the company, this double taxation is a non-issue. Bottom Line: Because of 'double taxation" and added complexity, the C Corporation is not recommended for small business owners. The C Corp is ideal for a business that intends to raise capital by issuing stock or attracting investors through VC funding. If you have an LLC and are considering bringing in outside investors in 2012 or down the road, you'll need to switch your LLC to a C Corporation first. The S Corporation The S Corporation starts off as a C Corporation, but an S Corp makes an election to be taxed as a "pass-through entity" under subchapter S of the Internal Revenue Code. This means that an S Corporation is not taxed separately from its owners/shareholders. Instead, corporate profits and losses are "passed-through" and reported on the personal income tax returns of the shareholders, much like a partnership. Bottom Line: The S Corporation is great for the small business owner who can qualify. The IRS places limits on the number of owners and who can be an owner in an S Corporation. For example, owners of an S Corp must be U.S. citizens. And an S Corp can have no more than 100 shareholders. Plus, all owners are taxed strictly based on their percentage of ownership; if you need more flexibility when it comes to ownership, profits, and taxes, the LLC is a better choice. In addition, the IRS only allows S Corporations to issue one class of stock ? so if you plan on finding an angel investor, VC funding, or go public, a C Corporation is better. Get started in the New Year With the new calendar year, it’s a great time to get your legal structure squared away and your business will be set for years to come. Don't let daily interruptions keep you from doing something that is fundamentally crucial to your business' long-term health and to the security of your finances. Fitness Photo via Shutterstock From Small Business Trends     |
| 5 Infographics For SMBs to Check Out Posted: 17 Jan 2012 06:00 AM PST If a picture is worth a thousand words, than an infographic is practically it’s own book! Marketers and brands alike have been turning to infographics pretty heavily over the past 18 months to help them turn their data into a compelling story that they can use to inform and sway consumers. And who can blame them? Sometimes seeing it can help drive home a point far faster than simply writing about it. I thought today we’d change things up a bit and instead of using words and paragraphs to comment on the state of small businesses, we’d take a lot at some popular local search infographics and see what insights they have for us. Below are a handful of my favorite infographics for small business owners to check out. They share a lot of great data, takeaways, and visualize the data we sometimes have a difficult time trying to wrap our head around. 1. A Brief History Of Google PlacesFor a service as young as Google Places, it sure has gone through a lot of iterations over the past few months. In fact, David Mihm, the wonder boy of local search, felt like there had been SO many changes since April of 2011 that he wanted to see whether he was losing his mind or if Google really had kicked its Google Places product into overdrive. The result of his wondering is this killer infographic documenting the brief (but busy) history of Google Places. If it was a Places announcement, initiative, interface update or even an algorithmic change, you’ll find it noted in the above graphic. Small business owners will want to give this one a look to remind them of everything that’s happened and even introduce themselves to some updates they may have missed. And if you have missed some, we certainly can’t blame you. If you want to go really crazy, there's even an interactive version that lets you toggle things based on feature releases, SERP/interface changes, etc. Check it out! 2. Web Equity: Owning Your Local Search PresenceThis infographic was created by local search expert Mike Blumenthal and I think it's arguably the most useful infographic available for small business owners. It's an incredible resource and something all of us could benefit from printing out and tacking up next to our computer. Mike's infographic details the elements that go into really owning your Web presence online, breaks down all the terms, and gives SMBs a clear action plan for how any SMB can own the SERPs. I somehow get a "thank you" in the footer, but this is all Mike's brilliance.
3. Local Search Evolved – MDG BlogThis infographic was created by the folks over at MDG and does a great job showing the evolution of local search and what that means in terms of the actions of local consumers and local search revenue. If you're looking to build a local search campaign, this infographic offers numbers and behavioral data to help you see not only how lucrative it is to build your search presence, but some of the untapped areas that you may not have thought to optimize for. Infographic by MDG Advertising 4. The Rise of the SoMoLo ShopperSoMoLo was identified as one of the hot Internet marketing trends for 2012 and this infographic depicts how current technology trends are creating a new breed of shopper, one that uses different tools, and shows different behaviors and expectations. SoMoLo shoppers know how to use social media and apps to complement their shopping needs. First this infographic created by Commerce in Motion gets you up to date on the trend, and then it provides some tips for how to use it to your advantage.  via  5. BizSugar Asks: What's Your Startup Style?Okay, this one falls a little more squarely on the just-for-fun side of things.
Those are some of my favorite small business-inspired infographics. Has your company made one? Is there one that you always point people to? Drop it in the comments. From Small Business Trends     |
BizSugar, the business networking sister-site of SmallBizTrends, put together this infographic to help SMBs and entrepreneurs identifying their "start up style", while also paying homage to the 110 million people who were in the process of starting a business a few years ago. In this one you get to learn a little bit about the people who call themselves "entrepreneurs" and then determine which style matches your own
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