We loved this visual breakdown from Intuit on what “Startup America” means for small business.
![What Obama’s “Startup America” Means for Your Small Business [INFOGRAPHIC]](http://blog.intuit.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/uploads/StartupAmerica_Obama.png)
via: What Obama’s “Startup America” Means for Your Small Business [INFOGRAPHIC]
What Obama’s “Startup America” Means for Your Small Business
Monthly Archives: April 2012
6 Overlooked Tax Deductions for Small Businesses
6 Overlooked Tax Deductions for Small Businesses
We found out that startups and small businesses breath a bit easier this tax season if they utilize some often overlooked tax deductions. Take a look and see if any can apply to you – the more you can save today, provides more you can use for yuor business tomorrow. The top 6 deductions are laid out below, thanks to an article over at CBSNEWS:
- Health care tax credit. Businesses with 10 or fewer employees that average less than $25,000 annually are eligible for a tax credit of up to 35 percent.
- Depreciation on a business vehicle. Fuel and maintenance costs of your car or truck are 100 percent deductible if you can claim that the vehicle is used exclusive for your small business.
- Business travel expenses. You can claim all of the costs of out-of-town business travel — that includes the plane ticket, meals, and hotel room.
- Home office deduction. This is often considered a risky deduction due to its reputation as an audit magnet, but the reality is that virtually all small business owners can take a deduction for a home office space — that includes treating a percentage of Internet and phone bills as deductible expenses.
- Professional fees and classes. Any fees you pay to maintain your career are deductible. That includes costs for classes, seminars, training, certificates, and membership fees in professional organizations.
- Retirement tax credit. You can get a credit on the first $2,000 that you invest in your retirement fund.
Whether you have a question about Overlooked Tax Deductions, or you’d like to discuss our business plan writing services, feel free to contact us for a free consultation!
4 Features of a Great Logo Design
4 Features of a Great Logo Design
Having a great business logo design is extremely important because even though our parents always taught us “don’t judge a book by its cover,” the inevitable truth is that we do. A great logo design will grab the attention of consumers, be memorable, and create an identity for your company. So how do you create that perfect logo? We read an article over at INC that depicted the 4 important characteristics of a great logo design.
- Make It Unique: Stand out against the crowd. Avoid overused symbols like globes and arrows and know your logo doesn’t have to depict your company to the tee. According to graphic designer David Airey, “The Mercedes logo isn’t a car. The Virgin Atlantic logo isn’t an aeroplane. The Apple logo isn’t a computer,”
- Make It Adaptable: make sure your logo can convey the same message small scale on a business card or letterhead but also on huge billboards. If it doesn’t, it could affect your brand’s clarity.
- Make It Appropriate: make your logo reflect your company’s essence while still being suitable for your industry. Look into colors too – different colors express different messages and evoke different feelings!
- Make It Timeless: make a logo that will still be relevant decades down the line. The quintessential example? The “I Love New York” logo from 1975
To read the full article, visit our friends at INC.
Whether you have a question about Logo Design, or you’d like to discuss our business plan writing services, feel free to contact us for a free consultation!
Learning all about Convertible Note Seed Financing
Learning all about Convertible Note Seed Financing
Techcrunch just began a 3-Part series addressing convertible note seed financing that we feel our readers would be very interested in. But wait, what’s convertible note seed financing??
According to their blog, “a convertible note is short-term debt that converts into equity. In the context of a seed financing, the debt typically automatically converts into shares of preferred stock upon the closing of a Series A round of financing.” In layman’s terms, investors will give money to a startup but instead of getting money back, they get preferred stock in return.
The article we read is part 1 of the series and addresses basic questions like (i) what is a convertible note? (ii) why are convertible notes issued instead of shares of common or preferred stock? and (iii) what are the advantages of issuing convertible notes?
Part 2 will discuss the two most significant issues for founders in connection with the issuance of convertible notes: (i) the valuation cap and (ii) the discount (and how they interrelate).
Part 3 will cover certain special issues, such as (i) what happens if the startup is acquired prior to the note’s conversion to equity? (ii) what happens if the maturity date is reached prior to the note’s conversion to equity? and (iii) what securities laws do founders need to worry about in connection with the issuance of convertible notes?
Interested? Read the 3-part series at Techcrunch!
Whether you have a question about Convertible Note Seed Financing, or you’d like to discuss our business plan writing services, feel free to contact us for a free consultation!
How Crowdfunding will affect Investors
How Crowdfunding will affect Investors
Thursday afternoon, President Obama signed off the Jumpstart our Business Startups (JOBS) Act – not only will it be affecting startups, but it will affect investors as well. How so?
Remember when we talked about crowdsourcing a while back? Well the JOBS Act now officially recognizes the impact of a community investment and created some important rules and regulations to address certain needs and responsibilities. The bill is allowing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 270 days to review crowdsourcing and deliver policies for the public. What do these 270 days mean to investors though? It means they may have to wait until 2013 to make a legal investment towards your startup.
Investors waiting until 2013 may have restrictions to the amount of money they can invest and may have to fill out more forms, including a suitability questionnaire which prepares you for the risks associated with crowdfunding investments.
To read more about how crowdsourcing will affect investors, read the full article at Mashable.
Whether you have a question about How Crowdfunding will affect Investors, or you’d like to discuss our business plan writing services, feel free to contact us for a free consultation!
The 4 Ways you can Tax your LLC
The 4 Ways you can Tax your LLC
Limited Liability Companies (LLC) are a growing trend in startup structure due to their personal liability protection without the bureaucratic red tape. But one big decision to make after choosing the LLC structure for your small business is to decide how your LLC will be taxed. There is flexibility with the LLC which is why it so appealing – all you have to do is choose was federal tax classification suits your company’s needs the best. Mashable wrote a great article on the 4 ways you can tax your LLC and we borrowed some snippets for you to take a look at.
- Single-Member LLC as a ‘Disregarded Entity’ – “As the name implies, you need to be the sole owner of the LLC. This classification falls into the ‘pass-through’ taxation category’ — the business itself doesn’t file any tax forms. As the owner of the LLC, you report business income or loss on your personal tax forms.”
- Multiple-Member LLC as a Partnership – “For federal tax purposes, if an LLC has two or more members, it will be taxed as a partnership unless it makes an election to be taxed as an S Corp or C Corp.”
- LLC as a C Corporation – “If you prefer to keep profits in the company (as opposed to distributing any end-of-the-year profits to owners), a C Corporation would work. In this case, only the company is taxed on the profits; individual owners are not responsible for paying taxes on whatever money stays in the business.”
- LLC as an S Corporation – “Individual LLC owners are taxed on their respective shares of the company’s profits (and profits are not subject to self-employment tax).”
Read the full article at Mashable.
Whether you have a question about Taxing your LLC, or you’d like to discuss our business plan writing services, feel free to contact us for a free consultation!
What Shark Tank teaches us about Pitch Decks
What Shark Tank teaches us about Pitch Decks
The show Shark Tank has taken America by storm, pulling in top viewer numbers and sparking a new interest into small business, entrepreneurs, and big time investors.
But whats more interesting than the entertainment factor of Shark Tank is the educational factor – Shark Tank visually shows us what types of pitches grab the attention, and money, of a potential investor.
Lessons Learned:
1. Know your numbers.
2. Be a good marketer.
3. Be humble.
4. Understand good timing.
5. Have a good story.
6. Be prepared to walk.
7. Be personable.
To read the full article, with in-depth analysis of each lesson learned, visit FastCompany. And if you are interested in created a pitch deck for potential investors, we at The Startup Garage specialize in doing just that. Contact us today!
Whether you have a question about Pitch Decks, or you’d like to discuss our business plan writing services, feel free to contact us for a free consultation!
How One Small Business Dealt with Owing the IRS $15k
How One Small Business Dealt with Owing the IRS $15k
When Debra Locker Griffin realized she owed the IRS $15,000, it became one of the biggest nightmares for a small business owner – not having the money. But luckily, Griffin found a way to pay the IRS and shared her story so other small businesses could avoid this situation.
The problem started with a hired accountant that Griffin rarely checked up on, and that rarely checked up with her. There had been no communication until the news came from the IRS and this can easily be avoided by regularly checking up with your accountant. The solution started with Griffin first receiving a line of credit for her bank to the sum of $8,000 and withdrawing $3,000 from her personal savings. Lastly, Griffin contacted the IRS to request an installment plan.
Due to her proactive efforts, the IRS accepted her proposal and begun an installment plan to be paid off over a year and a half. Small business owners should be aware that the IRS allows for installments – note that there are late payment charges and interest on unpaid taxes.
To read Griffin’s full story, read the article at The Washington Post.
Whether you have a question about Dealing with Owing the IRS, or you’d like to discuss our business plan writing services, feel free to contact us for a free consultation!
Groupon Offers Free Scheduling System for Small Businesses
Groupon Offers Free Scheduling System for Small Businesses
Groupon Scheduler has, for the last few months, been offering a free scheduling tool for merchants that allows them to manage simple appointments, cancellations, and no-shows; it is now available for all small businesses.
The Scheduler allows you paste a “Book Now” button on your website that would directly link with the program. With features like adding “Busy Time” to give breaks to employees, as well as allowing for multiple entries for multiple services and staff members, Groupon Scheduler is a very basic yet easy to use system for a small business just starting out – and free!
Groupon Scheduler is still however in beta testing and is likely to change. For more information read the article at: ITWorld
