BizZilla

Year end roundup

2009-12-22T14:34:00.002-05:00

For some neat ideas on improving your work life check out Lifehacker Best of 2009.

Grab a Free Copy of Productive Magazine

2009-01-15T14:39:00.002-05:00

You can grab a free copy of the 'Productive Magazine' here. Tips for getting things done and getting on with your life.

Wipe Disk

2008-06-30T14:47:00.001-04:00

Securely wipe an old hard drive or removable drive with free Windows only Wipe Disk. With disc can wipe disks - both logical drives, as well as physical drives - quickly and safely overwritten.

Wipe disk overwrites the data sector by sector, from the beginning until the end of the selected disk. Wipe disc can overwrite the target drive with over 14 different methods. US Navy-Standards, the Standards of the US Department of defense, the US Air Force and NATO. These include the deletion of two U.S. Navy standards, the standards of the U.S. Department of defense, the U.S. Air Force and NATO.

Wipe disk is a native German language program, but you can select English under the options menu.

Track Down a Stolen Laptop or Desktop

2008-05-16T10:47:00.003-04:00

Lifehacker alerts us to a free software package that could save you big bucks if your laptop or even desktop computer is stolen. Locate PC will quietly email you at regular intervals or if your IP address changes. Windows only.

For Dummies

2008-04-24T13:26:00.004-04:00

You see their books everywhere. But did you know they have a web site filled with useful information for dummies like us? Here is a link to the office productivity guides.

Quit Your Job

2008-04-24T13:14:00.002-04:00

Anna Over at 37 Signals writes about quitting your job to follow your passions. It's not about starting the next Google, it's about finding fulfillment in life, and earning a living while enjoying your life.

Life is too short not to love what you do, and it’s much, much too short to wait around until someone hands you a billion dollars.

Search Engine Optimization

2008-03-27T14:36:00.003-04:00

Today it would be hard to find a business that has not venture onto the web. Even companies that have no product to sell will usually have a web site to acquaint visitors with their company and their services. Often the sites are designed and run in house by whoever has some computer experience. Getting your site noticed is always an important consideration. Search Engine Optimization or SEO is a confusing topic to many entrepreneurs. True You Marketing has an easy to understand post 'How To Do Basic SEO For Any Website'. It's worth a read.

Small Business Administration Loans

2008-03-27T13:39:00.003-04:00

The Del Mar College Small Business Development Center has a good article about SBA Loans. If you need financing to grow your small to medium sized business this is a good resource. Here's the link to Seven SBA Loan Myths.

Economic Stimulus Plan Includes Breaks for Business Owners

2008-03-18T10:07:00.002-04:00

The Small Business Review has information on how the recently approved economic stimulus package can help small business reduce their tax burden. The savings include section 179 write off provisions and a bonus depreciation provision.

45 Best Free Design Programs

2008-02-21T14:19:00.002-05:00

Snap2objects has a great resource for finding graphic design tools for your small business. If you have an occasional need for in house design this will likely fill your needs nicely.

Posters

2008-02-21T14:05:00.004-05:00

If you are like me, you get a lot of direct mail trying to sell you the posters that must be posted by businesses. The pitch usually includes the warnings that you could be subject to fines and penalties if you are not using these products.

The truth is, while you are required to post these notices, the notices are available free for download and local printing. Most can be found at the Department of Labor website, or your state labor department. It is a simple task that you can delegate to one of your staff to check regularly for updates at little to no cost.

Securely Delete Files With Just One Click

2008-01-30T14:31:00.000-05:00

Another free tool to help you keep your and your customers information safe. DeleteOnClick completely deletes files in one click and the data becomes unrecoverable, and also has the option to wipe free disk space. For this reason you must use the program carefully. Once a file is 'Securely Deleted' no one can undelete it.

Privacy Protection

2008-01-30T11:23:00.000-05:00

We continue to read of security breaches that lead to the loss of personal data ie social security numbers. Government data that is lost on laptops is reported regularly in the news. If you collect sensitive information or have proprietary information you really need to protect, don't count on sign in passwords to protect this data, it is nearly useless.

Fortunately, there is a free solution called TrueCrypt that could solve this problem for you. TrueCrypt allows you to mount an encrypted disc on your computer with multiple encryption schemes including AES (Advanced Encryption Standard). According to Wikipedia in June of 2003 the US government announced that AES may be used for classified information.

"The design and strength of all key lengths of the AES algorithm (i.e., 128, 192 and 256) are sufficient to protect classified information up to the SECRET level. TOP SECRET information will require use of either the 192 or 256 key lengths. The implementation of AES in products intended to protect national security systems and/or information must be reviewed and certified by NSA prior to their acquisition and use"

If your business is responsible for a loss of personal information you may be exposed to legal liability for any identity theft that ensues. It is too easy to protect yourself and your customers not to use encryption technology to protect that information.

Free .pdf to .doc converter

2008-01-24T15:17:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Lifehacker for pointing to a free software tool for converting pdf (Acrobat) documents to .doc (Microsoft Word) documents.

You can use this software to open and then edit pdf's, and the price is absolutely right. You can grab the software here.

SEP IRA - Simplified Employee Pension

2008-01-02T14:05:00.002-05:00

With the beginning of the new year employers who have not established a retirement plan but who wish to make tax deductible contributions for 2009 will want to know about a SEP.

A SEP is a retirement plan that allows the employer to make flexible contributions on behalf of the owner and their employees. You decide each year whether or how large a contribution you wish to make. The IRS allows SEP plans to be established and funded up until the tax filing deadline for the business plus extensions. So if you need to fund a retirement plan for the previous tax year a SEP may be your only choice.

The plan is easy to establish and maintain. You can use the IRS approved plan document form 5305-SEP or the plan document provided by your financial service provider. Generally there is no government reporting to worry about. SEP plans are available to sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations including S corps.

Employee salary reduction contributions are not allowed in a SEP. The sole source of funding must come from company contributions. Contributions to a SEP are limited to the lesser of $45,000 or 25% of eligible compensation ( or 20% of your net earnings from self employment) for 2009. Additionally you must make equitable contributions for all employees who worked during the year any contribution is made, even employees who are no longer employed.

Your choice of financial institution is important. The financial institution you choose becomes the plan trustee and is responsible for receiving and investing contributions to the plan, providing a plain language explanation of the SEP plan, statements that show the value of the employees accounts, and any reporting requirements caused by a distribution from the plan. You are responsible for monitoring the financial institution selected to act as trustee to be sure they are doing everything they are require to do, and to insure that the trustees fees are reasonable for the services they are providing.

You must notify employees of contributions (An eligible employee is anyone who has earned $500 working for you, has reached age 21, and who has worked for 3 of the last 5 years.) to their accounts and provide them with a copy of the plan documents along with a statement that a SEP IRA may provide different rates of return and contain different terms than other IRAs the employee may have. A SEP plan is not deemed to be effective until you have provided these disclosures to you employees.

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Pyromarketing

2007-12-31T10:53:00.000-05:00

From Greg Stielstra, the man who brought "The Purpose Driven Life" to churches around the nation and helped create a best seller, "PyroMarketing" is his book on how to start a viral marketing campaign. At the web site you can download the free audio book and find other neat resources.

Google Truths

2007-12-31T10:38:00.000-05:00

While we are talking about Google, here is an article I ran across from John Moore at Brand Autopsy.

Ten Things Google has Found to be True. It's Google's corporate manifesto from the early 2000s and it's a very worthwhile read. [Maybe you've already read it and I'm just late to the party. If so ... then my laggardness is showing--sorry.]

Google's ten things it has found to be true are:

1. Focus on the user and all else will follow.
2. It's best to do one thing really, really well.
3. Fast is better than slow.
4. Democracy on the web works.
5. You don't need to be at your desk to need an answer.
6. You can make money without doing evil.
7. There's always more information out there.
8. The need for information crosses all borders.
9. You can be serious without a suit.
10. Great just isn't good enough.

You can (and should) read all the support prose in the manifesto as I'm just gonna share snippets from a few of the more universally meaningful tenants.

1. Focus on the user and all else will follow.
"From its inception, Google has focused on providing the best user experience possible. While many companies claim to put their customers first, few are able to resist the temptation to make small sacrifices to increase shareholder value. Google has steadfastly refused to make any change that does not offer a benefit to the users who come to the site: The interface is clear and simple; Pages load instantly; Placement in search results is never sold to anyone; Advertising on the site must offer relevant content and not be a distraction.

By always placing the interests of the user first, Google has built the most loyal audience on the web. And that growth has come not through TV ad campaigns, but through word of mouth from one satisfied user to another."

2. It's best to do one thing really, really well.
"Google does search. With one of the world's largest research groups focused exclusively on solving search problems, we know what we do well, and how we could do it better. Through continued iteration on difficult problems, we've been able to solve complex issues and provide continuous improvements to a service already considered the best on the web at making finding information a fast and seamless experience for millions of users."

3. Fast is better than slow.
"Google believes in instant gratification. You want answers and you want them right now. Who are we to argue? Google may be the only company in the world whose stated goal is to have users leave its website as quickly as possible."

10. Great just isn't good enough.
"Always deliver more than expected. Google does not accept being the best as an endpoint, but a starting point. Through innovation and iteration, Google takes something that works well and improves upon it in unexpected ways."

Free 411 Info From Google

2007-12-31T10:16:00.000-05:00

Road warriors often need 411 services while they travel. Google has a free 411 information service that is an easy to use voice recognition system. I have used it. It is fast and easy and best of all free. Don't let your cell phone carrier bleed any more money from your wallet.

PC World - 101 Fantastic Freebies

2007-11-25T14:32:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time you actually had to pay for great software and services -- hard to believe, but true.

Luckily, we no longer live in that world. The Internet is stuffed with great downloads and Web sites offering free software and services of every kind. Want to tune up your PC, keep it safe, create graphics, or back up your system with gobs of free storage space? You can find free software and sites to do all that, and plenty more. Read full article.

You are the Brand

2007-11-17T17:20:00.000-05:00

Creating your personal brand has created some buzz over the last few years. If you want to learn about the subject, A Brand You World telesummit, offers a large collection of mp3 pod casts with topics like:

Use Personal Branding to Take Your Job Search from Zero to 60 - Jason Alba
Three Steps to a Winning Brand - William Arrude
How A Book Becomes A Brand: The 35-Year History of WHAT COLOR IS YOUR PARACHUTE? - Richard Bolles
How Finding and Developing Your Personal Brand Helps Your Career - Anita Bruzzese

You can listen or download these seminars here.

Viral Marketing

2007-11-17T16:49:00.000-05:00

Seth Godin explains the difference between word of mouth marketing and viral marketing.

Word of mouth is a decaying function. A marketer does something and a consumer tells five or ten friends. And that's it. It amplifies the marketing action and then fades, usually quickly. A lousy flight on United Airlines is word of mouth. A great meal at Momofuku is word of mouth.

Viral marketing is a compounding function. A marketer does something and then a consumer tells five or ten people. Then then they tell five or ten people. And it repeats. And grows and grows. Like a virus spreading through a population. The marketer doesn't have to actually do anything else. (They can help by making it easier for the word to spread, but in the classic examples, the marketer is out of the loop.) The Mona Lisa is an ideavirus.

This distinction is vital.

Read all of Seth's post here.

Sciral - Consistency

2007-11-17T16:03:00.000-05:00

Have tasks that should be done on a regular basis but have no due dates? You know things like watering the plants in your office, calling friends and clients to stay in touch. Sciral Consistency may be the application you are looking for. Consistency is shareware you can try for free or buy for $25. It lets you name tasks you need to do on a consistent basis. You put in a minimum and maximum time between occurrences then as they age the color coding shows them becoming more and more urgent. So if you forgot to call your Mom last month, or your plants are all tuning brown Consistency could be for you.

Death By Powerpoint

2007-11-16T13:55:00.001-05:00

| View | Upload your own

Fighting death by PowerPoint... How to make a presentation and not to bore your audience to death.

SlideShare Link

SIMPLE IRA Plan

2007-11-12T16:19:00.002-05:00

For employers looking for a low cost way to offer a retirement plan, the SIMPLE IRA plan is a good choice. SIMPLE IRA plans can be established by any business with 100 or less employees who earned or are expected to earn $5,000 per year. Tax exempt organizations and government entities also qualify to establish SIMPLE IRA plans. SIMPLE IRA plans are maintained on a calendar year basis. You can establish a SIMPLE IRA plan anytime between January 1 and October 1 of the initial plan year. New plans or changes can only be made effective January 1, if the plan was in existence for the previous calendar year.

Under a SIMPLE IRA plan employees can make pretax contributions, and the employer makes matching or non elective contributions. All contributions are made into an IRA established for each participant. All contributions are immediately 100% vested. Investment decisions are made by the individual participant, and the investment choices are limited only by IRA rules and any limitations imposed by the custodian.

A SIMPLE IRA plan is established by adopting a SIMPLE IRA plan document provided by the IRS or by adopting a prototype plan that has been approved by the IRS. Prototype plans are offered by financial service firms like banks, brokerage, and insurance companies. Each eligible employee must be provided with information about the plan (usually called a summary plan description) and about the SIMPLE IRA where the participant's funds will be deposited.

All participants may defer 100% of eligible compensation up to $11,500 for 2009 ($14,000 if over 50). In addition to the employees deferral the employer is required to match dollar for dollar up to 3% of the employee's eligible compensation. Rather than making matching contributions an employer can choose to make a non elective contribution of 2% of the employee's eligible earnings up to $240,000 for 2009. However, if the non elective contribution is chosen it must be made to all eligible employees regardless of whether they chose to make any deferral contributions. The 3% match can be reduced if the following conditions are met;

the matching limit cannot be less than 1%

the limit cannot be for more than 2 years of a 5 year period, and

the employees are notified in a reasonable period of time before the 60 day election period when employees can select deferral rates.

Participation rates do not limit the amount highly compensated employees and business owners can contribute to a SIMPLE IRA plan. An important distinction for business owners is that, unlike a 401k plan, they may always make the maximum contribution to their own account and receive the maximum allowable match.

During the 60 day election period which generally begins November 2 of each calendar year, the employer must provide each eligible employee details of their opportunity to make or change a salary deferral, the employer's decision as to the matching contributions or non elective contributions, and a summary description of the plan.

Early withdrawals from SIMPLE IRA plans are allowed and may not be restricted by the employer. However the IRS levies a 25% tax penalty for early (pre 591/2) withdrawals made in the first two years of plan participation. After 2 years early withdrawals are subject to a 10% penalty. Of course income taxes are due on any withdrawals. During the initial 2 year period SIMPLE IRA plan funds cannot be transferred or rolled over without taxes to any account other than another SIMPLE IRA.

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Safe Harbor For Your 401k

2007-11-12T16:13:00.001-05:00

IRS non discrimination rules sometimes can make establishing a 401k hard for small businesses with a few highly compensated employees. Owners and highly compensated employees are usually limited in their salary deferrals by the participation rate and average deferral rate of all employees.

If your 401k plan has or expects to have low participation rates or employee deferral rates, including safe harbor provisions in your plan may be the solution you need.

To qualify for the safe harbor provisions the plan must make contributions to employee accounts by one of the following methods:

Make a 3% Non elective contribution

No allocation requirements may be imposed ie. minimum hours of service or employed on last day of plan year . Must cover all employees, even those who died or discontinued service during the plan year.

Must be 100% vested immediately. However these funds are not available for in-service withdrawals, even under the hardship withdrawal rules.

Make matching contributions of 100% of the first 3% of salary deferral and 50% of next 2% of salary deferrals

No allocation requirements may be imposed ie. minimum hours of service or employed on last day of plan year. Must cover all employees, even those who died or discontinued service during the plan year.

Must be 100% vested immediately. However these funds are not available for in-service withdrawals, even under the hardship withdrawal rules.

Rate of match cannot increase as deferral rate increases.

A safe harbor notice must be provided to each eligible employee 30 to 90 days before the start of each plan year.

Safe harbor provisions cannot be added to an existing 401k plan during the plan year. The plan may be amended to include a safe harbor provision but it cannot become effective until the first day of a new plan year. A newly established 401k must have at least three months remaining in the short plan year to have a safe harbor provision, unless it is a plan for a brand new business.

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