Phenomenal interview today with the Countess of Clutter, Sylvia McClintick.  I loved this interview because she shared:

• What 2 questions to ask about everything in front of you
• Are you a Visual or a Camouflage organizer
• How to effectively use 2 staging areas in your business
• How to have an Action Filing System
• What a ‘to do’ list really is
• Managing your eBay inventory
• How to deal with procrastination
• What you can buy at the dollar store to help you get organized
• What a watermelon is and why you don’t need it
• and my favorite tips that floored me during the interview (have already started implementing this one!)

I can’t wait to have her back on!  I already bought my Time Cubes and see thru filing folders!

Websites we mentioned:

• Sylvia’s Taming the Chaos Website
• Self-Assessment Test
• See Thru file folders
• Greeting Card filing folder
• Quickbooks
• e-Myth book
• Time Cubes
• Post It Notes
• Vertical File Folder
• 3 Small Steps to One Great Life – Organized Chaos book
• Book and Time Cubes
• Success Pack
• Free needs assessment
• Sylvia’s email address

Click Here to listen to this Rock Star Interview with Sylvia McClintick

Tags: ASK, Podcasts by Janelle
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Posted by permission of Cliff Ennico – author of The eBay Seller’s Tax and Legal Answer Book – Get your copy at TaxandLegalBook

 

WHEN BUYING FROM WHOLESALERS, WATCH YOUR TAXES

By Cliff Ennico

The following questions came up as I was interviewed last week on Product Sourcing Radio (www.wsradio.com), an Internet radio program hosted by executives of Worldwide Brands, Inc. in Orlando, Florida (www.worldwidebrands.com):

“We constantly tell online sellers that to buy from a genuine wholesaler, they need to have a state sales tax ID number. Why is this the case?”

Generally, there is no sales tax on wholesale purchases of inventory. A wholesaler needs evidence that you are not buying stuff for your personal use, and are required to charge you sales tax unless you deliver a “resale certificate” to them – basically, an affidavit swearing on your Great-grandmother’s grave that you are buying stuff with the intent to resell it. You can find a copy of your state’s Resale Certificate form at your state tax authority’s website (to find it, go to www.taxsites.com/state.html), under the “Forms and Publications” link.

The resale certificate form will require you to provide the wholesaler with your state tax ID number (also commonly known as a “sales tax number” or “resale number”). You will need to obtain this from your state tax authority before you can legitimately buy goods at wholesale.

“What about states that don’t have sales taxes? Maybe the retailer is in a state with no sales tax, but the wholesaler is. Or the retailer or wholesaler is in a state with no sales tax, but one of them has a presence in another state that has a sales tax. How can an e-tailer find out what they need for their own unique situation?”

Generally, sales tax must be collected by the “vendor” – in this case, the wholesaler. If the wholesaler is in a state with no sales tax, then they will not need to charge sales tax when selling to retailers anywhere in the world. If the wholesaler is in a state with a sales tax but is selling to an out-of-state retailer, the transaction is an “interstate sale” and therefore exempt from tax (at least under current law). However, the wholesaler may still ask for a Resale Certificate as proof that the out-of-state retailer is a legitimate business.

“If a wholesaler is in a state with no sales tax, what can a retailer do to verify that they are, in fact, dealing with a legitimate wholesaler?”

If the wholesaler is a corporation or limited liability company (LLC) – most will be – ask for a copy of their Certificate of Incorporation or Articles of Organization, with proof that the document was filed with the Secretary of State’s office in the wholesaler’s state. In most states, you can get this information online by searching the wholesaler’s company name on the state Secretary of State’s website. Checking the wholesaler’s local Better Business Bureau or Chamber of Commerce website can’t hurt, and you should always Google the company name to see what people on the Web are saying about them.

“A lot of e-commerce businesses use fulfillment houses to warehouse and ship their products to their customers. If your fulfillment house is in another state, then does your business have a presence or ‘nexus’ in that state for tax purposes?”

It depends on (1) who issues the invoice and (2) what address appears on the shipping labels. If you allow the fulfillment house to issue invoices under your name but with their shipping address for returned items, then you might well have a “nexus” in the state where the fulfillment house is located. Always, always, always use your own shipping labels and invoice forms when dealing with out-of-state fulfillment houses so this doesn’t happen.

“Let’s say that a retailer and a wholesaler are both in states with no sales tax. The wholesaler obviously will not need a sales tax ID number, but they will want proof that the retailer is a legitimate business. What kind of proof does the retailer need to provide?”

Most wholesalers will accept copies of any of the following:

· if you are an LLC or corporation, your Certificate of Incorporation or Articles of Organization, with the confirmation of filing with your state Secretary of State’s office;

· the letter you received from the IRS awarding you your federal tax ID number; or

· a DBA (“doing business as”) certificate, with the confirmation of filing with your county or town clerk’s office.

“What is a business license, and when does an online retailer need one?”

I’m not aware of any state that requires you to obtain a “license” just for the privilege of running a business (although you may need a license to sell certain goods or engage in certain professions). In many states, the term “business license” can refer to any of the following:

· the DBA certificate you file with the county clerk’s office;

· the state “sales and use tax permit” that entitles you to collect sales taxes; or

· in states with no sales tax, the document by which the state issues your state tax ID number.

Whether or not your state has a sales tax, you are required to register any new business with your state tax authority. The document you get back from the tax authority when you register is probably your “business license”.

Cliff Ennico (cennico@legalcareer.com ) is a syndicated columnist, author and host of the PBS television series ‘Money Hunt’. His latest books are ‘Small Business Survival Guide’ (Adams Media, $12.95) and ‘The eBay Seller’s Tax and Legal Answer Book’ (AMACOM, $19.95). This column is no substitute for legal, tax or financial advice, which can be furnished only by a qualified professional licensed in your state. To find out more about Cliff Ennico and other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit our Web page at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2007 CLIFFORD R. ENNICO. DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.

 

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Mary Kurek, author of “Who’s Hiding in your Address Book?” joined the show today to share some very creative ideas on using your contacts and networks to increase your marketing and profits.

She shared:

• Why you are drawn to a mission over money
• What a book marketing coach is
• Why your address book should NOT be alphabetized (one of my favorites from the show)
• Why you can’t be a success alone
• Tips on using your Chamber of Commerce to promote your eBay business
• What you can do at eBay Live to increase your connectors
• How to use OSI and OSI Rock Stars in your media connector category
• 5 ways you can use Amazon to promote your eBay business
• Why you do NOT want every person as your buyer
• and she included a few real estate tips too

Websites we mentioned:

• Her Web Site – Mary Kurek
• Randy Peyser of Author One Stop
• BookExpo America
• Chamber of Commerce
• Amazon
• Google Alerts
• Bob Rue
• Ideal Network Club

Click Here to listen to this Rock Star Interview with Mary Kurek

Tags: ASK, Podcasts by Janelle
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We need to have a little talk about shipping for this holiday season.  First I want you to read this report just released and posted on Internet Retailer (www.InternetRetailer.com) then we are going to chat about how eBay is changing the search function for the holidays AND more important how you can take advantage of this information for more holiday dollars.

 

Forecasters predict a happier holiday selling season online than off

Despite economic uncertainty, U.S. consumers will spend 21% more online from Thanksgiving to Christmas than they did during the holiday period last year, Forrester Research predicts in a forecast released today. While that would be slightly less than the 23% increase in online holiday spending in 2006 over 2005, it figures to be far better than growth in store sales as the National Retail Federation predicts overall holiday retail sales will grow only 4% this year.

Online retail sales will reach $33 billion during the Thanksgiving-to-Christmas period, Forrester says, up from about $27 billion last year. 11% of consumers say they will do 75% or more of their holiday shopping online, Forrester says, citing data from an online September survey of 2,521 U.S. consumers.

20% in the Forrester survey say they will spend less online because of uncertainty about the economy. In a separate survey by NPD Group Inc., only 5% of U.S. consumers say they plan to spend less overall for holiday gifts. NPD also found 41% of consumers plan to put off starting their holiday shopping until after Thanksgiving, 10% more than said so last year, a sign consumers know they can find better deals the closer it gets to Christmas, says NPD analyst Marshall Cohen.

The Forrester survey suggests shipping costs are a big issue for online consumers, with 61% of respondents saying they are more likely to shop with an e-retailer that offers fr-ee shipping. In response to a separate question, 49% agreed that “shipping prices often deter me from buying online.” Product variety also seems to drive consumers to e-commerce sites, with 55% agreeing that “I often find products online that I cannot find anywhere else.”

Consumers tell Forrester they are less inclined this year to pay for frills. Only 26% say they would pay for expedited delivery, versus 45% in the Forrester survey conducted in September 2006. Only 18% say they would pay extra for gift wrap or a gift box, down from 33% last year.

Apparel and accessories is the most popular online shopping category, with 80% of consumers saying they plan to buy such items on the web this year, versus 71% last year. 76% plan to buy books online this year, versus 61% last year, and 69% consumer electronics, up from 55% in the 2006 survey. The biggest increase in spending plans is in gift cards and certificates, with 18% planning to spend more this year, versus 9% last year. Many kids should have a happy holiday, as 17% say they plan to spend more online on toys, versus 13% last year.

Sucharita Mulpuru, author of the Forrester report “Outlook for U.S. Online Retail: Holiday 2007”, says retailer should recognize that the variety of products online is an important driver for sales and consider guiding web site visitors through top gift ideas. She also says many consumers appreciate payment alternatives to credit and debit cards, and suggests retailers that offer other ways to pay let consumers know that early in the shopping process, such as on the home page or on product detail pages.

 

Ok, so lots of great info for this holiday season, but did you caught the part about the buyer’s wanting fr-ee shipping?  Well, eBay has realized this too and they are changing how buyers will see things on eBay this holiday season based upon this fact.

Here is eBay’s marketing about the new way prices are shown to the buyers:

“We’ve combed eBay to find the best shipping deals so you can focus on shopping not shipping.”

Which can be found on this page: http://pages.ebay.com/shippingdeals/  You can see they are promoting Fr-ee, Thrifty and Fast (for ‘get it fast’).  They are also promoting very specific items this holiday too – categories include: iPods, Webkinz, clothing, makeup, cell phones, tickets and more (you can find the rest on that page).

 

They have also already changed the main search functions:

Under Search Options on the left hand side of the search page your buyer can now search for:

Fr-ee Shipping and Get It Fast shipping

 

Also, the drop-down search and sort function used to say:

Price – lowest first and Price – highest first

But, now it says on many categories:

Price + Shipping – lowest first and Price + Shipping – highest first (the shipping means shipping and your handling charges)

 

So what does this mean for you?

Well, first of all, I am not even going to worry about the lowest price part.  Hopefully by now you have heard my ‘buyers buy only two things – security and confidence’ speech enough to know how to overcome the ‘lowest price’ syndrome.  But, I am paying attention to the shipping options and am redoing all of my listings this weekend (wish me luck!) in order to get ready for the holidays.  Now, this isn’t going to work for all of you, but some good points to keep in mind for attracting the buyers (remember, it doesn’t matter what YOU want – it only matters what the people with money want.)

 

Here is what I am making sure each of my auctions has in it:

1.  All of my shipping options will be changed to Flat shipping vs Calculated.  This allows me to easily offer fr-ee shipping.  Also, I am removing my handling charges.  They are now going to be added into the price + shipping search. 

 

2.  I am going to offer fr-ee shipping on all of my products – does this mean I lose money?  No, I am also bumping up the price enough to cover those costs (AGAIN, remember,  your buyers may come onto eBay thinking they are looking for the lowest priced deal…but they WILL buy security and confidence AND pay more money to own those two things.)  The price increase won’t be drastic – most of the prices on my items will increase $3-4 each.  Also keep in mind fr-ee shipping doesn’t have to be the Priority shipping option – it can be a slower shipping option…allowing them to pay for the upgrade to Priority or Express.  You will want your first shipping option in domestic and/or international to be the fr-ee option as that is the one that eBay pulls from for these promotions and searches.

 

 

 

3.  I am going to make sure my listings are marked ‘Get It Fast’.  Here is how you do that:

Offer one of these shipping options – they do not have to be (nor should they be) your fr-ee option, just fyi:

U.S. Postal Service® Express Mail®

UPS Next Day Air®

UPS Next Day Air Saver®

Overnight Shipping Service

Then you also have to mark the option that you will ship within one business day of receiving the buyer’s payment – easy enough.  Also mark the box that says ‘Get It Fast’ on your selling form.  eBay will then designate your listing as a ‘Get it Fast’ item and include it in their marketing.

 

NOTE:  if you are using a 3^rd party provider, please check with them to make sure all of these changes are done correctly so you show up during these marketing opportunities.

2^nd Note: if you require insurance and offer fr-ee shipping, the insurance cost will be displayed during the price + shipping search

 

Now, this will be a bit of work…But, if I can get the extra search attention that eBay’s marketing is focusing on this holiday season it will be worth it to me to take the time to ensure my listings match up to what the buyers obviously want (see article above)

 

 

 

Tags: Success Announcements by Janelle
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Posted by permission of Cliff Ennico – author of The eBay Seller’s Tax and Legal Answer Book – Get your copy at www.TaxandLegalBook.com

 

 

GROWING A BUSINESS BEYOND THE INITIAL STARTUP STAGE

By Cliff Ennico

            I had the privilege of participating in an all-star panel discussion on “Getting a Grip on Rapid Expansion” at last week’s New York Times Small Business Summit in New York City.  Joining me on the podium were Select Wines LLC founder John D’Aquila, Garage Tek founder Marc Shuman, and Paula McCoy-Pinderhughes, author and former small business editor of Black Enterprise magazine.

            Here are some insights I and the other panelists offered to the more than 500 attendees.

            “When You’re Growing a Business, It’s All About Growing Revenue.”  It sounds pretty trite, but a lot of entrepreneurs forget that “growing a business” is all about growing the “top line” of the income statement – gross sales or gross revenue.  You can boost your operating efficiency and profitability (the “bottom line”) by cutting costs, but if you’re not taking steps to grow your revenue, you are not growing your business in any meaningful sense.

            So how do you grow revenue?  Simple.  There are only two ways.  Either you increase the prices you charge for the goods and services you are already offering, or you sell more goods and services.  Let’s look at each strategy.

            Raise Your Prices.  A lot of entrepreneurs believe they can’t do this, because they’re in a tightly competitive market.  But if you can persuade your market that they’re getting extra “value added” for their money – something more than your competitors are offering – you can charge more with a perfectly straight face and the market will gladly pay more.  For example, you can hire a local interior designer to redo your bathroom for about $100 to $150 an hour in most places, but if you ask Martha Stewart to redesign your bathroom she’s going to charge a whole lot more than that.  Why?  Because you are now not just buying a new bathroom; you are buying the bragging rights of telling the world that your bathroom is a Martha Stewart original design.  Frankly, you should pay a lot more for that.

            Sell More Stuff.  Find new domestic and (especially) international markets for your products and services – there are huge markets in Africa, Asia and Latin America for things you would have trouble giving away in the United States.  Also, find new uses for your products and services.  Arm & Hammer Baking Soda was originally used to bake cakes (and can still be used that way), but its most popular use today is as a refrigerator and appliance deodorant.  Look to see what your customers are actually doing with your stuff once they buy it – and brace yourself for some interesting surprises.

            “Understand the Three Commandments of Growing a Business”.  I call these the three “ates” because each word ends in the letters “ate”.  Here they are:

            Automate.  At some point it becomes impossible for your management team to run your business day to day.  You will have to create systems to run the business, and train your management team to run the systems.  Use technology wherever possible to operate the systems so as to free your management team’s time up for creative and strategic thinking.

            Delegate.  Hire employees, train them well, and learn how to supervise their activities without doing their work for them.  It’s not easy, but you can’t grow a successful mail-order business if you’re packing boxes six hours a day.  Anyone who’s ever read Michael Gerber’s classic book “The E-Myth Revisited” knows what I am talking about here.

            Concentrate.  Startup businesses tend to do too many things for too many different customers.  Find out what it is you do best, or what your customers are paying the most for, extend those lines of business to create an identifiable brand, and be ruthless enough to cut out product and service lines that are dragging down your performance.  A business can be so well-rounded that there’s no point to it – if one or two product or service lines are accounting for more than 75% of your total business, spend all your time building on those and delete the rest.

            Finally, beware of Murphy’s Law:  “anything that can go wrong will go wrong”.  Whenever you are offering multiple products and services, the ones your customers seem to want the most (and generate the most profit for your business) are usually the ones you are least excited about providing.  Don’t become emotionally attached to any product or service you offer. This is a business, not a baby, and if something isn’t making you money you shouldn’t be wasting your precious time doing, making or servicing it, even if it’s enjoyable or self-fulfilling.  Let it die (or do it as a hobby, if you have time), and build your business on what works. 

            Cliff Ennico (cennico@legalcareer.com ) is a syndicated columnist, author and host of the PBS television series ‘Money Hunt’.  His latest books are ‘Small Business Survival Guide’ (Adams Media, $12.95) and ‘The eBay Seller’s Tax and Legal Answer Book’ (AMACOM, $19.95).  This column is no substitute for legal, tax or financial advice, which can be furnished only by a qualified professional licensed in your state.  To find out more about Cliff Ennico and other Creators Syndicate writers