US Sports Net Today!


Live Play-by-Play, Updates, Highlights and More! on US Sports Network!
[Chrome Users-You may have to click on the play button twice to listen]
US Sports Network Powered By Beast Sports Nutrition!




US Sports Radio
The Las Vegas Raiders Play Here
Fitness and Sports Performance Info You Can Use!
The Scoreboard Mall
The Rock Almighty Shaker Of Heaven And Earth!
The Coolest Links In The Universe!
Showing posts with label Yahoo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yahoo. Show all posts

Monday, February 26, 2018

Yahoo Small Business-Managing Legal Issues for a Small Business

By Laura Sherman | Small Business



http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-3476618-12262807
Whether you run a small, medium or large business, you will undoubtedly need to handle various legal issues. Some tasks you can do on your own, while others really require a lawyer. As a general rule of thumb, the larger your company, the more employees you have, the greater your need will be to hire an attorney.When and how to hire a lawyer
The first thing to determine is if you really need an attorney. They cost hundreds of dollars per hour, so if you’re anything like me, you’d like to avoid that expense. Of course, while you can ask an attorney to handle many legal aspects of your business, there are a number of legal tasks you can handle yourself, with a little research. Some examples are:
  • Establishing a basic business structure.
  • Applying for an Employer Identification Number (EIN).
  • Submitting IRS forms.
  • Obtaining a domain name for your company.
It goes without saying that anything involving a lawsuit will probably require a lawyer. Avoid that at all costs by setting things up properly from the start. It’s a good plan to build a relationship with a lawyer when you set up a new company, before you’re in desperate need.
Cliff Ennico, attorney and author of Small Business Survival Guide succinctly and accurately states, “If you’re being sued, it’s too late.” He goes on to advise that once you’re in the court system it’s hard and expensive to get out.
When you decide that you need a lawyer, interview a few to find the right match. Create a list of questions ahead of time, so you don’t get tongue-tied during the interview.
It’s a good idea to find an experienced lawyer, who has connections to other lawyers who might help out if a need arises. Make sure to hire a lawyer who knows your industry well and has other clients in that arena. Having said that, avoid one that represents any fierce competitors.
While your list of questions are important, it’s also good to gauge his or her communication skills. A good lawyer must be able to explain complex legal issues in an easy to understand way, helping you to prevent problems before they happen through education.
Start-up
One key legal decision you’ll need to make before you start is which business structure is best for your needs. You can establish an LLC, S or C corporation yourself if you do a little research. Or you can hire an attorney to help you set it up. They usually charge a one-time fee.
There are various advantages and disadvantages to each option, so make sure to do your homework before settling on a structure. For instance, while a sole proprietorship is inexpensive and easy to set up, you’ll be personally liable for all debts and lawsuits. On the flip side, with an LLC, you are protected if someone sues you, but there are fees involved and the paperwork can be confusing.
When starting up a new company, make sure to determine permits and licenses you might need. Don’t forget to consider any zoning regulations that might apply as well.
Contracts
As a business owner, you will probably need a variety of contracts. It’s wise to hire a lawyer to help you create these, so you are well protected. Some common contracts you might need would be:
  • A Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
  • A partnership agreement
  • An independent contractor contract
  • A client contract
The NDA is something you need if you have any sort of proprietary information that you plan to share with anyone. Examples might include the content for a book you’re hiring an independent ghostwriter to pen, or your database of client information you plan to share with employees. Along those lines, you might consider asking your employees to sign a non-compete agreement as well, ensuring they can’t try to steal your clients.
You’ll need a good partnership agreement if you plan to run your business with someone else, even if that person is your best friend. Every single aspect of your arrangement needs to be put in writing. A few examples would be:
  • What each person does and what they each should contribute.
  • Who gets paid what amount of the profits.
  • How decisions are made
  • How disagreements are settled.
  • What happens if the partnership dissolves.
If you plan to outsource to independent contractors, you’ll need a good Work for Hire contract template. You will need to customize one for each job and contractor, depending on the service required, but having that template will save time later.
Client contracts need to be complete and clear, but not overwhelmingly long and complex. It’s a fine line. Do your best to negate any warranties your client might naturally expect and be sure to include a section requiring arbitration if a dispute arises.

Hiring your first employee
If you plan to hire full-time employees, you’ll need to research and comply with state and federal regulations. Of course, if you only need to hire independent contractors, you don’t need to go through the following steps. It’s important to know the difference, so that you handle their employment taxes appropriately.
When hiring employees, you’ll need to apply for an employment identification number (EIN), so you can file reports to your state agencies and pay taxes.
Next you’ll need a system for recording all the employment taxes you withhold. You need to save this data for at least four years. These records will help you in the future to monitor your progress and keep track of expenses you can deduct later. You will need to file the IRS Form 941 quarterly, so each employee is credited with the taxes that were withheld from their paycheck.
Have each employee fill out an I-9 form, verifying their eligibility to work legally in the United States, within three days of their hire. As their employer, you must keep this I-9 form on file for at least three years after the hire or, if you fire them, for one year following that event.
You will then need to report your new employee to your state directory. To get a list of New Hire Reporting Centers check out this list of state agencies: https://www.sba.gov/content/new-hire-reporting-your-state
And finally, you’ll need to carry workers’ compensation insurance and place posters in the workplace, informing the employees of their rights in this area.
As a new business owner, it’s important to keep on top of all your basic legal concerns from the get-go. It might be tempting to push them off until later, but you’ll find your company will run smoother if things are set up correctly from the start.
As Ben Franklin said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” References:
https://www.sba.gov/blogs/top-legal-concerns-impact-small-businesses-and-where-find-answers
http://www.businessdictionary.com/article/538/common-legal-issues-faced-by-businesses/
http://www.alllaw.com/articles/legal/article15.asp
http://www.forbes.com/sites/aileron/2014/07/02/top-10-legal-mistakes-small-businesses-make/
https://www.sba.gov/content/hire-your-first-employee
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/58326
https://www.sba.gov/content/hire-contractor-or-employee
http://smallbiztrends.com/2013/05/small-business-make-a-contract.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/small-business/business-forms
http://smallbusiness.findlaw.com/business-lawyer-resources/when-do-i-need-a-business-lawyer-for-my-small-business.html
http://www.forbes.com/sites/allbusiness/2013/10/03/big-legal-mistakes-made-by-start-ups/

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Yahoo Small Business-Tips Every Business Website Builder Should Know

By | Small Business



image
Equal parts art and science, establishing a business website requires a careful blend of esthetics, psychology and common sense. Happily, a good business website builder like the one provided by Yahoo Small Business takes all those factors into consideration. However, platforms such as these also give you the freedom to customize your website as you see fit. With that in mind, here are some tips every business website builder should know.

Get to Know Your Ideal Customer

Whatever your business, the design and functioning of your site should be predicated upon the answer to the following two questions: “Who is my ideal customer and what do they want?” You can then design your site specifically to appeal to that person, virtually guaranteeing your efforts will resonate with them.
If you’re selling clothes to teenagers, the tone of your site should be markedly different than if you’re pitching municipal infrastructure support. This might seem obvious, but too many business owners miss it.


Quality Is an Important Consideration

If you’re just starting out, rather than getting caught up in a lot of different functionalities that add complexity and expense to the project, focus on the basics and make them as good as they can possibly be. Compress images to ensure faster load times (less than three seconds is preferable). Employ responsive design so your site will display and perform optimally in a mobile environment. In other words, do everything you can to be certain each visitor’s experience on your site is both pleasant and informative. 


Website Builder - Easily create a beautiful, mobile friendly website for as little as $7/mo!



Pictures Speak Volumes

Whatever you’re representing, find a way to competently depict it in pictures. Use high-quality photographs and label them so search engines can find them. Original images are always preferred—if your budget permits. When you’re dealing with a complicated topic, video is a strong ally in your quest to inform. If yours is a service-oriented or professional enterprise, use photos of your actual associates and employees to add legitimacy to the presentation. Your goal here is to help potential customers envision themselves interacting with your offerings in a positive manner.


Calls to Action Should be Hearty & Visible

A basic axiom in sales is “always be closing”. Every aspect of your site should be designed to promote your products or services. In other words, it should always be closing. Robust calls to action are of tremendous help in this regard. Offer visitors incentives for taking the desired action and encourage them with language such as: “Get $100 in gifts for booking your free consultation now!” Calls to action should be featured prominently, so your users won’t have to hunt around for them.
Keeping these tips every business website builder should know in mind when you design your site will give you the best shot at attracting a strong customer base. However, while the process is indeed equal parts art and science, it doesn’t have to be rocket science. Let Yahoo Small Business help you get started today with a free consultation!

Sunday, February 18, 2018

Yahoo Small Business-Crafting Your Ecommerce Privacy Policy

By | Small Business





image
Taking advantage of the best ecommerce platform – like those provided by Yahoo Small Business – is a great way to get your online business off to a strong start. But if you really want to win your customers’ hearts and minds, tell them how you’ll keep their data secure too. You’re going to be asking people to disclose financial information, after all. So, crafting your ecommerce privacy policy to demonstrate your dedication to protection is the smartest thing you can do for building consumer trust.

Here’s how to build an eCommerce privacy policy.

Respect and Safeguard Privacy

There are a few ways to respect consumer privacy and safeguard digital information:
  • Promise to protect their disclosures against fraud and misappropriation.
  • Respect their preferences regarding the use of their information and limit your data collection solely to what is absolutely required to conduct business.
  • Be completely forthcoming about what information you collect and with whom it will be shared.
  • Let them know how mistakes will be corrected, how their data is secured and how policy changes will be communicated.
  • Finally, you should apprise users of the means available to them to present any concerns they may have.

Securing Their Data

If you’re asking for credit card information, bank account numbers or Social Security numbers (which you shouldn’t need at all), it is your responsibility to ensure storage and transmission of this data in the most secure manner possible.

About Emails…

In many cases, customers will opt-in to email communications without realizing they’ve done so. When they ask to unsubscribe, you’re required by law to enable them to do so. You can save yourself a lot of trouble if you make email opt-out options readily visible. This also establishes you as someone who can be counted upon to conduct business in an above-board fashion.
Too many sites make the opt-out process incredibly difficult or even invisible, as if that will discourage irritated people from doing so. Meanwhile, this irritates them even more. If you’re conducting business with good intentions, there’s no reason to hide your opt-out button. In fact, making it plainly visible says you’re someone who can be trusted.


Get 25% off websites at Yahoo Small Business


Protecting Children

If your site appeals to children younger than 13 in any way, you must comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Acknowledging this in your privacy policy will go a long way toward helping parents feel good about your intentions toward their families.

Honor Their Preferences

Strict adherence to your privacy policy is paramount if you want to retain customer confidence. While not doing so isn’t always a violation of the law per se, you can expect the Federal Trade Commission to come calling in certain cases if you do not.
Making every effort to keep your customers safe and happy is the best way to build a strong and loyal following. Crafting your ecommerce privacy policy along these lines—on one of the best ecommerce platforms available—will get your store off to a great start.
Looking to start your own ecommerce site? Check out what Yahoo Small Business has to offer.

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

If Hard-to-Get Loans Are the Problem, Who’s to Blame?

BY ADRIENNE BURKE | SMALL BUSINESS





image



Yahoo Aabaco Small Business Web Hosting - Build a great web site with our easy-to-use tools


Who’s to blame for the slowdown in startups? Recent research shows entrepreneurship is stagnating, and a Senate hearing explored the consequences of an America without entrepreneurs.
A bank CEO points a finger at the Small Business Administration. Writing in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, M&T Bank CEO Robert Wilmers says that the U.S. agency tasked with helping small firms has “deviated from its core mission.
Citing Bureau of Labor Statistics data that show the pace of new business formation is at its lowest in more than two decades, Wilmers says that “half as many small businesses receive loans from the agency’s 7(a) loan-guaranty programs today as did before the recession” and that SBA’s own records “reveal these loans support only two-thirds as many jobs as they did in 2007.”
Part of the problem is 528 pages of regulations that “make it difficult for smaller banks to participate in SBA’s loan programs,” and have contributed to “a 13% reduction in bank participation since 2012,” he says. Also, alternative lenders are on the rise.
Kabbage, Lending Club, Dealstruck, and SnapCap are among the expanding breed of non-bank lenders that offer higher-interest-rate loans online to business owners with fewer regulations than banks. Wilmers suggests that traditional banks like his are more reliable and knowledgeable when it comes to serving local businesses, and better equipped to make loans that suit a community’s needs. “Credit well-extended helps create viable small businesses, which means new jobs, filled by people who buy homes and cars, shop for groceries and clothing, go to movies and museums, pay taxes and give to charities,” Wilmers writes.
To fuel entrepreneurship, he says, the government should re-focus the SBA on lending through community banks.
Predictably, readers of the business publication tend to disagree. “We need dramatically less government, not ‘better’ government,” was the sentiment shared by one commenter and echoed by 30 others. Many complained about the lengthy and costly SBA loan application process, too.
Only one commenter, Natalie Jocovic, praised SBA’s work making loans to businesses through banks: She is an executive with SmartBiz, an online platform designed to streamline the SBA application process. “Online platforms are partnering with the SBA and virtualizing what happens when a small business owner walks into a bank,” she wrote. “With smaller loan sizes, a streamlined, dynamic online application, and stellar customer service, fintech startups like SmartBiz are delivering nicely on the SBA’s promise to help SMBs and add jobs. In fact, the companies that have received SBA funding through our platform planned to retain or add more than 10,000 jobs to the economy as a result of their loans.”
Could the banks, not the SBA, be the problem?

Saturday, February 10, 2018

Yahoo Small Business: 5 Tips for Your First Sale: Venture Capitalists' Advice for Startups

BY ADRIENNE BURKE | SMALL BUSINESS





image

What matters most in the first years of a startup’s life? “Closing deals,” says Greg Pugh, SVP of Customer Acquisition for Rev1 Ventures, seed-stage venture development organization in Columbus, Ohio.
It’s not enough to have a good product if you don’t have customers who want it. And lack of customer interest is a common problem: More than 40 percent of startups fail due to lack of market for their product, according CB Insights.
The seasoned business leaders at Rev1, named the most active VC firm in Ohio, say the best way for entrepreneurs to close their first customer and start out on a path toward sustainable success is to believe that in a startup, everyone, including the founder, sells. Says Pugh, “By building selling into the culture of the company from the start, closing the first customer will be easier, and closing the next customer will be second nature.”
Rev1’s leaders should know. They have helped make Ohio a growing hub of startup activity. In 2015 alone, the firm claims its portfolio generated $162 million in revenue, created nearly 300 new jobs, and attracted nearly $100 million in capital to the region.  
“Inking the first deal is one of the most challenging, gratifying and defining experiences for a new company,” says Rev1 president & CEO Tom Walker, who adds that he wishes he had more early insight into the best ways to approach first customers.  
Here’s how he and the leaders of the Rev1 team recommend closing your first customer and beyond:
1. Do your homework. "Never take any meeting with a potential customer for granted,” Walker says. “When you’re working on your company’s first sales, you may spend a week studying the customer and the competition just to prepare for a 30-minute call. Over time, your customer and industry knowledge will build. But problem solving and preparation? Those will always be the keys to successful sales.”
2. Identify early adopters. The visionaries and technology enthusiasts are the customers who take a risk when no one else will, Pugh says. “They help you make your product what it needs to be. They give you credibility, and often times, they become your friends.” He adds: “Be bold and ask obligating questions of your prospects in order to understand their intentions and your opportunity for working with them and growing with them.”
3. Understand your customer’s business. That’s when you can really sell to them, recommends Rev1 EVP of Investments & Venture Acceleration Wayne Embree. “They will trust you because you demonstrate that you actually recognize that their business is more than the problem that you are trying to solve. When you put it in terms of how your product makes their relationship to their customers better, that will secure them to you as a customer.”  
4. Look for prospects with a track record for doing business with early-stage companies. That’s the advice of Ohio TechAngel Funds Managing Director Parker MacDonell. “Ask someone who knows you personally to introduce you to someone she or he knows personally at the prospect company,” he says. “That removes some of the uncertainty the prospect might feel at doing business with a young company led by an entrepreneur whom they’ve never met.”
5. Provide abundant value. When you do, your very happy first customer will help you land your second and third customer, says Rev1 Chief Marketing Officer Kristy Campbell. “It’s critical your product or service can provide the value required to ensure they come away from the process as an active advocate for your work.”
Visit the Rev1 Ventures blog for more of its leaders’ insights.

Friday, February 2, 2018

Easy On The Eyes: Building A Better Ecommerce Site

BY | SMALL BUSINESS








image


If ever the old saying “You only get one chance to make a good first impression” was relevant, it’s in ecommerce. Online shoppers are judgmental regarding the look of a website; and they should be! Site design offers important clues about the veracity of a seller. Thus, the best ecommerce platform will always consider design.

Beauty Is More Than Skin Deep

You can have the most wondrous products ever created. But if you can’t get shoppers to stomach looking at your site for more than 50 milliseconds, they will never know. Studies have shown this is the amount of time it takes for a user to decide if they like a website. This determination is based on a number of factors.
Chief among them are:
  1. 1. Colors
  2. 2. Symmetry
  3. 3. Type Style
  4. 4. Amount of Copy
You’ll have an excellent chance of holding a user’s attention if you focus your design choices around those elements.

Smart Color Choices

Color and emotional response are closely related. For example, red attracts attention, generates excitement, and is symbolic of love, warmth, life, and blood. Green triggers thoughts of balance, action, good taste, health, money and harmony. Blue signifies honesty, quality, competence, loyalty, trust, and reliability.
Deeply saturated colors imply wealth and sophistication, while bright and simple colors are often related to children. Pastels tend to appeal to women, while darker colors attract men. Making color choices based upon the characteristics of your primary audience will increase the appeal of your site. You can seldom go wrong with white for backgrounds. Products and black type stand out well against it. That said, you can also make a powerful statement with white text and colorful images on a black background. Whatever you do though, avoid employing more than three main colors in your design.

Harmonious Arrangement of Elements

An organized design pleases the eye. Arranging elements on a page so viewers are led in a logical fashion soothes them. Further, thoughtful menu design improves navigability. Checkout buttons, search functions, calls to action and shopping carts should be readily visible and in accord with the overall design. Meanwhile, crisp logos, photography and familiar social icons infer professionalism.

Easily Discernible Type Styles

Rendering body copy in a simple, easily decipherable font is paramount to your success. It’s OK to go frilly with your name or logo, but product descriptions should be easy on the eyes. People will not struggle to read them. Instead, they will move on to a more accommodating site.

Optimal Copy Density

A delicate balance must be struck here. You want to supply enough information to answer questions. However, you have to avoid paralyzing the reader with too much. A good way to approach this is to provide strong bullet points on the product’s landing page. Include a call to action button, along with the option to click to a product page with in-depth information. This satisfies the customer who wants to make the purchase right away; while providing an option for more information for the customer doing research.
Smart design decisions such as these will keep users on your site longer, inspire trust and lead them to convert. Building a better shopping site is easy if you use the best ecommerce platform.
Happily, the best ecommerce platform templates, such as those by Yahoo Small Business already take these details into consideration. Check them out today!

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Yahoo Small Business Presents: Live Sports Now On US Sports Net! and The Best Web Hosting Company you can choose



Best Web Hosting Company you can choose

Don’t you want the very best web hosting provider that can be found to meet your business needs? There is so many business web hosting options available that it is often difficult to navigate through the many in order to find the one web hosting company that is best suited for your specific needs. When searching for your next website hosting company you must understand that there is a definable difference between cheap web hosting and affordable web hosting. Expert Soft IT hosting has much to offer when it comes to small business web hosting.

Service with Expert Soft IT includes both a free domain and marketing credits for advertisements. Don’t overlook the power of the winning combination presented with the easy web site building tool and low-cost web hosting of Expert Soft IT. It is a good idea to select a service like ESIT that can handle multiple needs such as virtual web hosting, NET hosting, Windows hosting, dedicated web hosting, and ASP web hosting. With Yahoo! Hosting you have the option of Windows or Linux web hosting for your small business. It is the builder that receives accolades by those that are inexperienced website builders. Yahoo is an excellent example of reliable web hosting but if you look around it compares well with other less expensive web hosting companies. When it comes to the ESIT Host you may very well be looking at one of the most popular low-cost web hosting services available. When you need affordable web hosting for your small business. ESIT web hosting has plenty of wonderful features to offer. See for yourself how ESIT web hosting can meet all of your customer service and technical support needs while filling all of your requirements for multiple domain web hosting, SSH access, and countless other Internet web hosting needs. You will also want to consider Host Monster Hosting while you are checking into suitable small business web hosting services for your business. It is true that Host Monster Hosting doesn’t have quite the reputation as ESIT hosting or Host Monster web hosting when it comes to providing easy to use tools but it meets their reputation for technical

Support, reliability, and customer service. Make sure that you devote a good deal of time when looking for Internet web hosting companies to making sure you choose a reliable web hosting company. It’s a shame that all discount web hosting services can’t seem to match the quality of service and features that we offer. Don’t purchase web hosting without taking the time to make sure you will be getting what you are paying for. Of the web hosting services mentioned here at least one of them should meet the needs of your small business quite nicely. Don’t take another step without carefully studying these web hosting packages to see which one will serve your business best. Expert IT web hosting provides some cheap hosting to run your small business. It is fact that which service you take .you must see who provide the best service according to your requirement.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Sunday Night's Scoreboard Mall Deals


Best Buy Co, Inc.
THIS WEEK'S BEST OFFERS
Computing
Earn 1.7-4.0% Commission

Asus 15.6" Laptop with 4GB Memory and 500GB Hard Drive, $229.99, Plus Free Shipping

HP 15.6" Touch-Screen Laptop with 4GB Memory and 500GB Hard Drive, $449.99, Plus Free Shipping
Tablets & e-Readers
Earn 1.7%-4.0% Commission

iPad Air™ 2 and iPad mini™ 3 Now Available, Plus Free Shipping

Top Buys: Save up to 40% on Select Major Appliances—Get Them Now and Avoid the Holiday Rush
Mobile Phones
Earn $25 Bounty

Save $100 on Connected Device with Mobile Broadband Purchase and 2-Year Agreement, Plus Free Shipping

Save $150 on LG G3 Cell Phone, $49.99 with 2-Year Agreement, Plus Free Shipping
Accessories
Earn 3.0-4.0% Commission

Save 30% on JVC Gumy Plus Earbud Headphones, Sale $6.99

Save 15% on Lifeproof Nüüd Series Cases for iPhone® 5/5s, Plus Free Shipping
Appliances & Fitness Equipment
Earn 3.0-5.0% Commission

Save 20% on One Regular-Priced Small Appliance with Code NOVEMBER20OFF, Exclusions Apply

Top Buys: Save up to 40% on Select Major Appliances—Get Them Now and Avoid the Holiday Rush
Movies and Music
Earn 2.0-4.0% Commission

Buy 2 Select Movies, Get A Third Free

Save up to 40% on Over 240 Select TV Titles
Video Games
Earn 2.0-4.0% Commission

New Video Game Releases: Grand Theft Auto V for Xbox One or PS4,Far Cry 4Dragon Age: Inquisitionand More

New Video Game Release: Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, $59.99, Plus Free Shipping
Musical Instruments
Earn 6.0% Commission

Save 5%–50% on Select Musical Instruments During Our Clearance

Check Out this Week's Musical Instruments Deals and More
Home Theater
Earn 4.0% Commission

Save up to 25% on Select HDTVs, Plus Free Shipping

Save $700 on Samsung 60" Class (60" Diag.) LED 1080p Smart 3D HDTV, Sale $1,299.99, Plus Free Delivery
Cameras & Camcorders
Earn 3.0-4.0% Commission

See this Week's Special Offers on Cameras and Camcorders, Plus Free Shipping

Save $50–$100 on Select Nikon DSLR Cameras, Plus Free Shipping and Free Shutterfly Photo Book
GPS & Car Audio
Earn 4.0% Commission

Save $10–$50 on Select GPS Receivers, Plus Free Shipping

Save $5–$150 on Select Car Audio Decks, Plus Free Shipping
Best Buy OutletEarn 1.7%-6.0% CommissionCheck Out the Savings at the Best Buy® Outlet—Selection Changes Constantly, Limited Quantities Shop Your Local Best Buy Store For Open Box and Clearance Deals


40% off Yahoo Localworks! Now until 12/31/2014
Yahoo Localworks - 728x90