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How to run a cleaning company more effectively?

maidformommy — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 10:31:55 GMT

I started the House Cleaning Service company some years back with an anticipation to serve the New Jersey state residents. With my own experience using services of maids company helped me a lot to start and run this company with name of Maid For Mommy. With dedication to help the families get their free time back, we as a team committed to help
our customers have their homes and their sanity back.

But the real problem while launching the company was having an experienced team of maids. This was not at all easy but with help of my colleagues and friends we managed to have an experience team of maids whom residents in New Jersey can fully trust. If we look at other businesses starting a housekeeping services company is not so easy. There are many challenges with respect to quality of service, trust and retaining the customers. To achieve this one needs to have insured and bonded team of maids which customers defintiely look for.

If you are looking to enter this business, you can definitely get in touch with me for useful suggestions. And if you are useful for cleaning tips that mgith also help in your house cleaning service business visit our website http://www.maidformommy.com

Google Profiles � Create Yours and Be Found On Google

SBOCTeam — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 14:45:16 GMT

Google is one of the leading search engines on the Internet. You've probably searched on Google and have a Gmail account, but have you added your Google profile yet? Maybe you forgot that you even HAVE a Google account! This is an online marketing secret that most companies overlook - it's simple and easy to fill out your Google profile (and YOU will be easily found on Google!)

It pays to fill out your Google profile - another way to easily spread the word about your services and products to other Google account users.

Why You Need a Google Profile
If you don't have a blog or website, then you REALLY need a Google profile so people can find you! If you DO have a blog or website, it's another great marketing tool to cross-promote your company's blog and website links.

If you have other business profiles on other social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook, you can add those as well to your Google profile. You can also add photos and can manage privacy settings (you allow what other people can see on your profile).

Another added bonus is that you can receive messages on your Google profile from other Google account users (without sharing your email address).

One of the MOST important reasons to have a Google profile is to "save face" with potential customers and clients. You control YOUR information that is floating around cyberspace. By filling out specific information on your profile, you can preserve your reputation in the future.

For example, if you have a common name and a client searches by your name and finds a "John Smith" with a shady past you may be accidentally associated with the wrong John Smith. Also, by adding your photo, people can verify that YOU are THE John Smith that they know (and not the shady one!)

How to Create Google Profiles

Before you create a Google profile (if you don't have a Google account), you need to set up an account. After you sign up for a Google account, you are ready to set up your Google profile (* http://www.google.com/profiles/me* )
Fill out information in the "About Me" section. You can also add photos and other links to your websites, blogs, social networking sites, etc. in this section. Make sure to fill out your business bio in "A Little Personality" section. The more information you share, the more people will learn about you and your company!
Make sure to click on "Allow People to Contact Me (without showing my email address)" if you want to remain anonymous.
Click on the "Photos" tab and add photos to your profile. You have the option to choose from Picasa, Flickr or your other photo site accounts.
Click on "Contact Information" and add more personalized information. This is NOT public information. You specify what you want or don't want to share with your contacts. You can also your birthday and add instant messaging account information.
You can also search for other Google profiles. Click on "Google Profiles Search" and type in the name of the person.
You can also link your Google profile page to your website, blog, email signature, forums, etc. - another way to promote your profile!

If you liked this article, please tell your friends about it. If you really
liked it, feel free to publish it on your blog or website (please don't forget
to mention http://www.TheOutsourcingCompany.com/blog
as the original source).

Visit My Blog for More Great Tips to Grow Your Business! http://www.TheOutsourcingCompany.com/blog

Zeke Camusio
CEO - The Outsourcing Company
http://www.theoutsourcingcompany.com

We want to buy your products

PepperEyes — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 20:22:18 GMT

The other day I received the following inquiry in my e-mail in-box.

Hello,

DAVOG INVESTMENT INC. will like to order some of your products to Suriname, For the shipping, there is this company that a supplier used to ship
for us sometimes ago, ever since then we never have shipping problems, their service is very good, fast, reliable and secured when it comes to
shipping to Suriname. Finally our payment term will be Credit card,also kindly do include your Web-Site so we can proceed with product needed or
attach the available products you have in stock. We await your quick response, Our Website is www.trimsllc.com

Davog Investement Inc.
Groentenweg# 146
Nickerie
Nieuw Nickerie
Suriname
Suriname.
www.trimsllc.com

Regards,
Antonio.

On the surface there does not appear to be anything wrong about this e-mail. After all I've sold my products to other businesses and even government agencies. However there is always something that makes me suspicious about anyone who just does order directly from PepperEyes.com's web site. The site has a very secure shopping cart system and the payments are processed through PayPal which is very secure method of money transactions. Unfortunately, in this economy when desperation meets stupidity, bad things can happen.

Now the one feature that my site does not offer is international shipping prices, the primary reason is that federal law prevents us from shipping our pepper spray and stun gun products of the country. However we also have other products such as diversion safes, spy gear, alarm products and security camera, and these are available to be shipped out of the country.

How to prevent being scammed on the internet

Beware of orders to a foreign country. While I have had orders come in from Canada and Australia, I've also gotten inquiries from customers who wanted to buy my products and ship to some place in West Africa (usually Nigeria). This is a big flag. This order was going to Suriname. (and we all know where that is)
Especially large orders - On several occasions I've received inquiries for large orders that totaled over $5000. The person who sent me this e-mail did the same. Again, know who your buyer is. I've sold orders this big to government agencies, but my "Spidey sense" tingles when it's to a foreign company with an unusual request.
Spend enough time on investigating your potential foreign customer. - Unfortunately all of these scammers are not bright enough to change their script. So I just used the planetary databases (Google, Yahoo, Bing) to look up DAVOG INVESTMENT INC. One# listing# had this company linked to a company in Nigeria along with other company names. I also saw the exact same e-mail on##*** http://www.419baiter.com/

If you are not sure if the company is legitimate - use your business rules. - Our site we have a# policy page# that states under which conditions we will sell our products. Always make sure you have cleared funds before you send anything to a customer.
AVOID over payment scams - One of the big elements in these offers is where they want to Overpay you for your order and have you send the difference back. If you see this type of deal - DO NOT do any business with them.

PepperEyes.com is dedicated to meeting the safety needs of you, your friends, your family members or your business, by assisting anyone who is unwilling to become a victim of crime. If you want to take personal responsibility arm yourself, or your business with our products and the knowledge of the best way to stay safe in an ever-increasing violent world. In today's society being equipped mentally and physically is no longer an option.

The Top Audit Prone Jobs

Teaspiller — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 20:36:16 GMT

The last thing that anybody wants is a visit from the tax man for an audit (possibly the second most hated word in the English language...after taxes).
We thought that we'd take a minute to put together a list of the top IRS audit prone, self-employed jobs - hopefully making you think twice about trying to fool the IRS.

How did we come up with this list?

While we don't really know how the IRS audit algorithms work, we did a basic analysis of the profitable self-employed returns based on the latest available IRS data (2007 return data) and pulled out the top profitable net incomes by profession. Then, we reviewed the IRS data for returns examined and saw a correlation with the number of returns audited to profitable net income.

The Top 5 IRS Audit Prone Jobs

Securities & commodity exchange consultant: Apparently the thirteen individuals who are making money as stock exchange consultants have a pretty profitable gig...who knew? Well, the IRS knows. The average exchange consultant reported a profit of $679,286, which puts them right in the crosshairs of the IRS inspectors.
Dentists: Sure, dentists are well rewarded for the pain they cause everyone when it comes time for a cleaning or root canal. A dentist reports an average net profit of $122,737.
Physicians: Think your doctor is overpaid? The average physician's office reported an income of $101,299.
Investment banker & securities consultant: Well, we think there's enough been said about these guys. The average investment banker reported a profit of $100,779.
Formal wear and costume rentals: We're as surprised as you are. Then again, there aren't many costs when you can rent out a $400 tuxedo for $100 a pop. These guys have an average income of $95,564.

The bottom line is that there's a good chance that you'll be audited if you fall into one of these categories because you're self-employed and reporting a lot of profitable net income (hence, you've got money for the IRS to collect).

The easiest way to make sure this doesn't happen is by hiring a great accountant to make sure that everything you're doing is aboveboard, and your books are in good order. That way, if the tax man does come knocking, you'll have nothing to fear...besides fear itself (and the dentist's drill).

Four Tools to Make Quarterly Estimated Taxes Less Painful

Teaspiller — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 19:09:00 GMT

With June 15 just around the corner, many of your readers are starting to think about-and perhaps dread-filing their quarterly estimated tax payments. While QETs can be a nightmare for overworked and unorganized small business owners and self-employed individuals, there are many online tools available to make the process easier, faster and headache-free.

Here's how they work:

Shoeboxed.com for Receipts and Expenses
Shoeboxed (http://shoeboxed.com/) makes keeping track of expenses and deductions a breeze. With Shoeboxed, gone are the days of spreadsheets and boxes full of wrinkled receipts. Users simply mail their receipts to the company, and the tedious process of scanning and data entering receipt information is done for them. Data is then made available to users via the Shoeboxed web application. And for those who want to keep track of their expenses on the go, Shoeboxed Mobile and the Shoeboxed iPhone app allow users to take pictures of receipts with their phones and send them to the company for data entry.

FreshBooks for Invoices
Of course tracking expenses is only part of the organization battle. FreshBooks (http://freshbooks.com/) allows users to create professional invoices and track how much has been billed and how much is outstanding. And thanks to an integration with Shoeboxed, FreshBooks automatically pulls receipts if users need to bill clients for expenses. Paid invoices can then be easily exported to Outright.com where income is automatically tracked.

Outright.com for Bookkeeping
Outright (http://outright.com/) is a free bookkeeping app that, integrated with Shoeboxed and FreshBooks as well as credit cards, PayPal, and other services, automates your accounting. Users can monitor the progress of their businesses, prepare financial statements and automatically populate Schedule C tax forms at the end of the year. Need help with the June 15th obligation? Outright.com calculates the estimated tax you owe, so you know exactly what to pay, while helpful alerts keep you apprised of all your other tax deadlines.

Teaspiller for Tax Advice
For those looking for tax experts and QET advice there is Teaspiller (http://teaspiller.com/), a service that allows users to ask tax questions, upload tax data and have their taxes filed by an expert, all online. The service is integrated with Shoeboxed and other tax applications, making it easy to get financial information to a Teaspiller tax expert.

Claiming The Hire Act Payroll Exemption

lisa.blog — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:07:51 GMT

Washington has recently enacted the HIRE Act (Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment). This new law includes two tax incentives to be claimed by employers who hire workers who were previously unemployed or only working part time. The tax benefits apply to workers hired after Feb. 3, 2010 and before Jan. 1, 2011 and/ or for each worker employed for at least a year.

The first payroll tax exemption involves the employer's share of Social Security tax on qualified employees starting on wages paid on March 19, 2010. The employer will be exempt from their 6.2% Social Security tax through December 31, 2010. One note to employers the employee share of Social Security and Medicare taxes are not exempt as well as the employer portion of Medicare withholding.

The second payroll tax credit (hire retention credit) applies in the case of the newly hired workers staying employed for at least a year. Business owners may claim an additional general business tax credit, up to $1,000 per worker, when they file their 2011 income tax returns.

The IRS will be releasing a modified 2010 Form 941 for second quarter 941 filing in order to claim the payroll tax exemption. The payroll exemption is based on when wages are paid regardless of when the wages were earned. Wages paid to qualified employees during the first quarter from March 19, 2010 to March 31, 2010 will be claimed on the second quarter Form 941 as a credit. The amount of the pursuing credit will be refunded to the employer or applied towards a liability in a following quarter. The exemption must be claimed on the return for the quarter in which the wages were paid.

Employers will be able to pick and choose employees in which to apply the exemption. Once the employer claims the exemption for a particular employee the exemption must be applied to all wages paid from March 19, 2010 to through December 31, 2010. An employer does not have to opt out of the payroll tax exemption for qualified employees she simply reports and pays the employee and employer shares of the social security tax.

Employers will be reporting the amount of wages and tips covered by the new payroll tax exemption on Form W-2 and W-3. Box 12 of Form W2 will be used to report the total under Code CC. Form W3 will include a new box 12b to report the combined total of all the respective wages and tips covered by the Hire Act tax exemption.

Saving Restaurants.....One by One

tcbradburn — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 12:49:10 GMT

Many years ago, I was consulting with the owner of a small Restaurant and trying to help her out with her low sales. At the time, I also owned a Restaurant and both of us were standing in my dining room and looking out the window early in the morning before any of my employees had arrived for work. After her and I talked for 30 minutes or so, she asked how I felt about helping her since she was my competition. Well, I looked her in the eye and I asked her how many customers she had each day and she sheepishly said about 62. Then I pointed outside to Shoney's and then to McDonalds and then to Burger King and I told her that each of these guys had more that a thousand customers every day. Then I asked her, now, who do you think my real competition is?

The Restaurant business can be a nerve racking experience but for the right person, with the right frame of mind and the right attitude it can also be a pleasure and a joy. Hello everyone, my name is Tom C. Bradburn and I have been involved in the Restaurant business since 1962 and I can tell you first hand that this business is not for everyone. I love using the phrase, "If you're the type person who wants to quit every time you bump up against the wall......This business may not be for you. But, if you love a challenge and your attitude is, I'm going to make this work no matter what problems I may face......I'd like to welcome you to the Restaurant business!"

The Restaurant business has been around for decades, even centuries and despite all the problems and stress involved, the Restaurant business continues to thrive.

Do you want to try your hand at this difficult venture? Millions have and I can tell you that only 10% of those who tried found success. Now, why do you think that is? Well, on the surface, the Restaurant business seems relatively simple. You may rent a building, buy some equipment along with a few tables and chairs to put inside your building, then you may hire a few happy souls who you don't know and you call them employees. Next, you may buy a little food and then open your doors and call that opening day.

All of those things are someone's dreams, but unfortunately their dreams will quickly be dashed because the planning has been weak. The Restaurant business is actually a very serious business and success will not be found through luck. Success can only be found through determination and Restaurant knowledge.

I have trained Restaurant Managers and employees for 48 years and I can tell you that it takes a special type of attitude to make it in my world. Many times, when a person steps into the world of the Restaurant business, they have no idea what they've walked into. While many may enter a training program, only a few will hang in there until the training is complete, in fact, many trainees will not make it past their first lunch rush.

But, get this. Opening and running a successful Restaurant is no different that opening or running any other successful business on the planet. To have any chance at success, you must be properly trained. Now, this next statement may sound ludicrous to you, but think about it for a minute. I don't think you would go to your local gas station and ask the attendant to perform brain surgery on you, but, at the same time, I don't think you would be surprised to hear that your local gas station attendant decided to open a Restaurant next week.

I think you get the point. The Restaurant business is not a business to take lightly. It takes due diligence, training, knowledge, determination, patience and time, time, time. If you're not willing to give 100% of each of those, you're gonna find the going tough.

Find your solutions to the Restaurant business at www.howtoopenarestaurantnow.com. Good luck and have a great career!

Why the Tax Resolution Space Needs to Change

Teaspiller — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:17:58 GMT

Teaspiller is an online tax help site, and after talking to many of our customers about their past experiences, we realized that there are some major problems in the tax debt/audit resolution space. Now that we're past April 15th, the IRS has started to mail audit notices and the like. In the unfortunate event that you or your business are the subject of an audit, you should be aware of these problems.

The Problems in the Tax Resolution Space

1. Poor Customer Service. Customers don't always get consistent service, often being ignored or playing phone tag with their tax resolution firm during the 3 - 9 months it usually takes to resolve an IRS tax audit problem. There wasn't an easy way for customers to monitor where they were in the tax resolution process as well, adding more customer frustration and stress to an already difficult situation.

2. Exorbitant tax resolution prices. A lot of the larger tax resolution firms have historically used television advertising and employ more sales and account managers than actual tax experts. This adds overheads to your tax resolution price - which can be an added burden for many customers already experiencing financial hardships.

3. Billing problems. Customers were confused by the pricing policies of tax resolution firms and wanted more clarity. They also wanted more control over when they were charged, clearly tying tangible work done on their IRS cases to payment.

4. Overpromising, under delivering. There has historically been a lot of false advertising and unclear claims to customers on drastically reducing their IRS bill. Nobody can actually guarantee a reduction or dismissal of IRS claims since each case is unique.

When choosing a tax resolution service firm, do some research on the firm and the tax expert on your case. Try the Better Business Bureau (http://www.bbb.org/) to see if there have been any complaints against your tax resolution firm. Also, verify that your tax expert is a CPA, IRS Enrolled Agent or Lawyer since they're the only certifications that the IRS will accept as representation.

Franchising for Hispanics - Terms and Definitions

FranquiciasUS — Mon, 31 May 2010 20:31:29 GMT

The Hispanic middle class community in America has been growing and prospering for the last fifteen years thanks to a commitment to success. Because of these obvious successes, many in the franchising community are now opening up and supporting Hispanic franchises. A recent survey completed by the National Minority Franchising Initiative indicates that Hispanics currently represent about fifteen percent or more of the total franchises in the United States.

Before you start a franchise, you need to be familiar with certain terms.What's the difference between a franchise and a franchisee? Who is the federal trade commission? Many of these terms are commonly used in association with the concept of buying and owning a franchise. Here you will find explanations for the most important franchising terms.

Franchise -- A franchise is a legal agreement that allows one organization with a product, idea, name or trademark to grant certain rights and information about operating a business to an independent business owner. In return, the business owner (franchisee) pays a fee and royalties to the franchisee.

Franchisor -- A franchisor is a company that owns a product, service, trademark or business format and provides this to a business owner in return for a fee and possibly other considerations. A franchisor often establishes the conditions under which a business owner operates but does not control the business or have financial ownership. McDonald's is an example of a franchisor.

Franchisee -- A franchisee is a business owner who purchases a franchise from a franchisor and operates a business using the name, product, business format and other items provided by the franchisor. For example, McDonald's sells a franchise to a franchisee. This allows the franchisee to open and operate a McDonald's fast-food restaurant.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) -- The Federal Trade Commission A commission authorized by the United States Congress to regulate the franchise business. The Federal Trade Commission oversees the implementation of the Franchise Trade Rule and monitors the activities of franchisors. You can register complaints about a franchisor with this agency. Contact the office of your local U.S. Representative or Senator for information about how to register a complaint with the FTC.

Franchise fee -- A one-time fee paid by the franchisee to the franchisor. The fee pays for the business concept, rights to use trademarks, management assistance and other services from the franchisor. This fee gives the franchisee the right to open and operate a business using the franchisor's business ideas and products.

Royalty fee -- A continuous fee paid by the franchisee to the franchisor. The royalty fee is usually a percent of the gross revenue earned by the franchisee.

Franchise trade rule -- A law regulated by the Federal Trade Commission that places several legal requirements on franchisors. It requires that franchisors disclose all pertinent information to potential buyers of a franchise. These disclosures provide potential buyers with most information needed to make a wise purchasing decision.

Disclosure statement -- Sometimes called an offering circular, a document that provides information on twenty items required by the FTC. The law requires that a franchisor provide a disclosure statement to a potential franchise buyer.

Trademark -- A distinctive name or symbol used to distinguish a particular product or service from others. A trademark must be registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. It can be used exclusively by the owner, and no one else can use it without the owner's permission. Part of a franchise's value is the right to use a recognized trademark.

Once you become familiar with the above terms, you can communicate more effectively with brokers, franchisors, and other investors. Decisions on franchising should not be made lightly or prematurely.

BuscaTuFranquicia.com / Great franchises
opportunities for Hispanics / Opportunities to
minorities