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Archive for Business Tools

CorpNet Sponsored Blog Post Opportunities Have Arrived!

by CorpNet
May 16th, 2013

By: Filip Pticek

Now that you’ve started your business, are you looking to gain more traffic to your website, build your brand, and promote your small business to thousands of other small business owners?

Sponsoring a CorpNet.com blog post will allow you to achieve all of that and more with our new sponsored blog post opportunities!

If you cater to small businesses, CorpNet would like to invite your company to get involved with the CorpNet.com blog. Our blog has a readership of several thousand, all of whom are small businesses or work for small businesses. Our readers look to the CorpNet Startup Starting Line for advice on starting protecting, managing and running a business, as well as what products or services to use.

We’re looking for partners who want to promote their company by offering our readers informative content and useful products and services geared toward the small business segment.

If you’re interested in sponsoring one or more blog post(s) or becoming a regular sponsor of the CorpNet.com blog, please view our packages below and choose the package that best fits your needs, then reach out to us to blog@corpnet.com. Continue reading “CorpNet Sponsored Blog Post Opportunities Have Arrived!” »

Categories Business Tools
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Introducing CorpNet’s B.I.Z. (Business Information Zone) Free Business Compliance Monitoring Service

by CorpNet
May 7th, 2013

Our team has been working hard for the past few months to perfect our latest complimentary service to CorpNet.com customers and in a continuing effort to give our clients the best service available out there, we’ve taken a leap past the competition by offering this FREE service.  It’s live and we are so excited to introduce you to the Business Information Zone (B.I.Z.)

The B.I.Z. is a FREE Corporate Compliance Tool that will send you reminders of important due dates and business filings such as deadlines for tax filings, annual reports due, and so much more helping entrepreneurs keep thier business compliant with state filings to avoid rising late fees and penalties!

For a small business, the number of filings required in a given year can be overwhelming. For example, in California a newly formed corporation must obtain a Federal Tax ID number, file an Initial Statement of Information (also known as an initial report filing in most states), elect S Corporation status (if desired), file a DBA or fictitious business name filing, and file an annual statement of information (also known as an annual report filing in most states) on the anniversary date of the corporation’s filing date.

Failure to file any of this paperwork can lead to additional fines and penalties. With rising state budget deficits, many states are looking to increase revenues by ramping up their collection efforts for small business owners who fail to file their compliance paperwork on time.

That’s where CorpNet’s B.I.Z. (pronounced “Bee Eye Zee”) comes in. Complimentary to any new or existing small business owner, attorney, or accountant/CPA, CorpNet.com’s B.I.Z. sends personalized email alerts for important tax and state filing deadlines. As a result, small business owners don’t have to worry about missing due dates, paying late fees, or risking non-compliance by forgetting to file. The service is available at no cost to any company, whether or not it was formed by CorpNet.

CorpNet.com’s B.I.Z. offers the following concierge services:

  • Email alerts letting you know whenever important compliance filings are due with your state
  • Personalized tax alerts reminding you of important tax deadlines throughout the year
  • Secure online storage to keep all your essential company documents organized, safe, and always accessible
  • Personalized business profile that tracks all the important data about your company like formation date, Federal Tax ID number, business licenses and permits, and more
  • An interactive ordering center that makes it easy to find what you need when you need such as obtaining a Federal TAX ID number, electing S Corporation status, obtaining a business license or permit, making changes to your company name or address information (articles of amendment), doing business as a different name (DBA or fictitious business name filing) doing business in multiple states (foreign qualification filing) changing your existing company structure (Conversion) closing a company (Dissolution) and ordering additional products and services for your existing business  online (whether or not you originally formed the company through corpnet) at a click of a button without going through a tedious ordering process. Whether you need to get a business license or file a DBA,  incorporate a business, or form an LLC, you can do it right through B.I.Z. at the click of a button instead of having to navigate different websites like the state, county, IRS, or franchise tax board.

CorpNet.com’s B.I.Z. is not the only way that CorpNet aims to simplify the logistics of starting and running a business. The company recently launched the Business Structure Wizard to help guide new business owners in selecting a business structure for a new or exiting business.

Avoid late penalties and don’t miss another due date!  Register your new or existing business into the B.I.Z. (Business Information Zone) by signing up for a free acount today!

Register your business with CorpNet’s B.I.Z. today and don’t miss another deadline!

Get started today and feel free to touch base with ANY questions!

- The CorpNet.com Team

Categories Business Tools, Events & Announcements, Running A Small Business, Uncategorized
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SizeUp Your Business with SBA’s Small Business New Tool

by Susan Payton
March 14th, 2013

If you’re starting a business, you might know you need market research and information about your competitors, but not know where to find it. The Small Business Administration recently released the perfect tool to help you start and grow your business. Called SizeUp, the tool lets you do a few key things:

  • Benchmark your business against competitors
  • Map your customers, competitors and suppliers
  • Locate the best places to advertise

Best part? It’s free! We love free, don’t we? Once you enter your business’ industry and location, you can click on My Business, where you input your company’s revenue, year started, and salary. Each of those data points will show you how your company stacks up to competition in the area. You can see if your revenues are more or less than average in your city, if your business has been around longer than others, and see how well you’re paying (or not paying) your staff. Continue reading “SizeUp Your Business with SBA’s Small Business New Tool” »

Categories Business Tools
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Should Your Staff Bring Their Own Devices to Work?

by Anita Campbell
March 13th, 2013

With tablets and cell phones in the hands of so many Americans (this year, it’s expected that 177 million Internet users will own tablets alone), it’s understandable that these devices are making their way into the office. But companies are still unsure about how they feel about employees bringing — and using — these devices on the job.

Employees claim they’re more productive using their own mobile technology, but is that entirely true? Or is the BYOD trend (Bring Your Own Device) just the evolution of playing solitaire on the office computer? Continue reading “Should Your Staff Bring Their Own Devices to Work?” »

Categories Business Tools
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Tips for Trouble-Free Meeting Minutes

by NellieAkalp
February 25th, 2013

For most business owners, the process of keeping corporate minutes can be an irritating formality. After all, you’re already busy juggling the steady stream of day-to-day tasks associated with running and growing your business. However, keeping minutes, even for a one-owner company, can help you stand up in court and protect your limited liability shield if needed.

Here are some tips to make keeping Minutes as pain-free and effective as possible:

Record only formal meetings
Minutes need to be kept only for formal meetings or key decisions; you don’t need to take Minutes for informal meetings (although some companies find it useful). Continue reading “Tips for Trouble-Free Meeting Minutes” »

Categories Business Tools, Running A Small Business
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Seven Tips to Communicate with Employees and Improve Results in Your Startup

by Anita Campbell
February 20th, 2013

By: Kevin Dooley

Communication is one of the cornerstones to a successful startup. If you incorporate it as part of your company culture from the start, you’ll build a solid foundation. If not, you’ll constantly be trying to fill the cracks in that foundation rather than focusing on your business’ growth.

These tips are designed to help you be a better communicator, as well as encourage your staff to come to you with concerns, questions, and ideas.

1. Hold Regular Check-Ins

It’s important as the business owner to stay in touch with your employees. That doesn’t mean you should hold endless meetings with every single staffer each week. But do hold quick, company-wide meetings, as well as departmental and even one-on-one appointments to ensure that you know what’s going on at every level. Do less talking in these meetings so that you give your employees a chance to express themselves. You might be surprised at what you find out. Continue reading “Seven Tips to Communicate with Employees and Improve Results in Your Startup” »

Categories Business Tools
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Starting Your Business In the Cloud

by Howard Greenstein
February 8th, 2013
cloud computing

Photo by Flickr user kei51

There’s a lot of techno-babble these days around the phrase “the Cloud” or “Cloud Computing.”  Use of the terms have made them so generic as to be almost useless. I’ll provide you with a translation and give you a few simple to-dos so you can benefit from “the Cloud” as you start your business.

Let’s define terms. Cloud computing is just using computer resources delivered as a service over the Internet. While there are many, very technical ways to use this kind of power, common examples are “Software As A Service.”

Software As A Service
What do I mean? If you’ve used Google Docs, or have tried Microsoft’s latest version of Office, called Office 365, both are “software as a service.” Your web browser displays a spreadsheet or wordprocessing program and the interface elements, like a ruler, buttons to make text bold or italic, and the like.

The software looks very much like a desktop version of your word processor, but the software is actually running on a server computer elsewhere. Your browser is letting you see the controls, but when you save the document, it is stored “in the cloud” – actually on the Google or Microsoft server.  Continue reading “Starting Your Business In the Cloud” »

Categories Business Tools, Running A Small Business
Comments (1)

3 Tech Startups that Help Small Businesses for Free

by CorpNet
January 30th, 2013

This guest post is brought to you by WePay, the easiest way to accept payments online. 

Just getting started with your small business and need a little help? Sometimes the many tasks you’re faced with each day can be overwhelming. Instead of getting frustrated, take a load off with these tech startups that do the work for you…for free!

1. Trello

We mentioned the many tasks you have to do for a reason – it can be exhausting keeping track of everything! Even the most organized person in the world can lose track of a few tasks here and there, especially while juggling projects in progress, projects that need to be started and new customers beating down the door.

Instead of jotting everything down on a notepad or flooding your Google Calendar with cryptic notes, use Trello. It’s a free service that uses a whiteboard interface so you have a visual element to your organization. You simply make little notes and stick them to the whiteboard.

The best part is because everything is on a separate little note you can easily move it all around to reorganize. With just a few clicks you’ve moved four meetings, eight assignments, and one party invitation around to where they need to be. Continue reading “3 Tech Startups that Help Small Businesses for Free” »

Categories Business Tools
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Business Tools: SWOT Analysis Really Is Your Best Friend

by Elli St. George Godfrey
January 29th, 2013

By: jean-louis Zimmermann

A few years ago, I wrote a  post about how a SWOT analysis can be  your best friend. A lot has happened since I wrote that post but my point remains the same. If anything, this review of your business is more necessary now than ever. Turbulence has become such a norm for all businesses, but it is perhaps felt more keenly by small businesses. While you can’t anticipate absolutely everything, you can know where you stand if something catastrophic does occur. As CEO of your small business, it is essential that you have the big picture of what is currently going on in your business, what could happen and planning your goals accordingly.

No matter what, it is still your best friend

When you have a deep conversation with a good friend, it is a moment of self-discovery and learning. A SWOT analysis can help you the way a good friend who asks you those incisive questions and holds your hand when you discover things are as bad as you thought. You can also hold your own hand when things aren’t as bad as you thought. Continue reading “Business Tools: SWOT Analysis Really Is Your Best Friend” »

Categories Business Tools, Small Biz Thursdays
Comments (1)

Should I Create an Advisory Board?

by Howard Greenstein
January 10th, 2013
Board Meeting

Photo by Flicrk user NateOne

Many of our CorpNet readers looking to incorporate or start a business are doing this for the first time. Way before you’re ready to have a full outside Board of Directors, you may need some good advice, on a regular basis, from people you look up to or value in business. An advisory board is a group of people who want to see your business succeed, and who believe in your idea. They could easily be called your “sounding board.”

Why Advisors?

An advisory board advises you about areas of your business you may not know well. Jennifer Iannolo, Founder and CEO of Zenfully Delicious, has an advisor who works in international finance.
Continue reading “Should I Create an Advisory Board?” »

Categories Business Tools, Small Biz Thursdays
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