Posted: DBA

DBA – Doing Business As -

This is great info – many of us Small Business Entrepreneurs are Sole Proprietors – or we have formed an LLC – here is information that will help you determine if you need to file a DBA

Definition of DBA – “Doing Business As” 

• DBA is necessary if your business operates under a name other than its “Legal Name”.    (Certain jurisdictions may also use the terms “Fictitious business name, trade name, assumed name.” For a corporation, LLC, or other state-registered entity, the legal name is the name on the filed articles so, if you want your corporation or LLC wants to operate under a different name, you must file a DBA registration.
• For all other business structures, such as a sole proprietorship or partnership, the legal name is the personal name of the business owner or owners. Conducting business and opening a bank account under any name other than your legal business name is only possible after fulfilling your state’s DBA filing requirement.
• Reasons to get a DBA:  Name recognition is crucial to a company’s success. Therefore, it is important to make the name you choose official. Name acknowledgement is achieved when the business name is used in all transactions, from marketing and sales to collecting money. Many business owners choose a name other than their given personal name in order to establish name recognition and to identify goods sold or services provided. Unless you operate a corporation or LLC, you will not be able to receive money or hold a business bank account under a business name until you have filed, and, when applicable, published what is commonly referred to as a DBA.
• Uses for a DBA:The most significant use of a DBA is the ability for a sole proprietorship to open a business bank account and collect money using a name other than its legal name.   In many cases, more than one business can operate under the same DBA. There is no protection or exclusivity offered by operating solely under a “doing business as” name. When registering your DBA, you may also find a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship or other business entity using the same or a similar business name.
• Requirements for a DBA:In most states, you must file your DBA statement before using your DBA in the operation of your business. In some cases, it must be filed within 30-40 days of your first business transaction. In addition, several states require that you publish your DBA statement in a local newspaper, and then file proof of publication with the proper government office. The purpose of the publication requirement is to ensure the public is informed of new businesses in the area, their legal name and ownership.
• Restrictions on DBA Names:A DBA for a sole proprietorship or general partnership may not contain any word or corporate ending implying it is anything other than a DBA. For example, if Joe Smith operates a sole proprietorship under “ABC Plumbing,” he cannot file a DBA as “ABC Plumbing, Inc.” Using a corporation or LLC ending requires forming such an organization with the appropriate state agency.
• Advantages of a DBA:  When you are starting up, you definitely want to keep costs low and the process simple. Filing for a DBA helps you to do that. You do not have the ongoing record keeping requirements and other formalities of maintaining a corporation or LLC, or the costs associated with forming a corporation or LLC. Once your business is running profitably, you may want to convert it to a corporation or LLC.
• Disadvantages of a DBA:One of the main disadvantages of operating a sole proprietorship or partnership with a DBA, as opposed to forming an LLC or corporation is that you do not have liability protection as a sole proprietorship or partnership. You will be personally liable for the debts of your business. Additionally, you will not have exclusive rights to your business name. In many states and counties, anyone can register any DBA.

Definition of a Corporation:

A corporation is a legal entity created under state law that can open a bank account, purchase property, enter into contracts and operate a business. One of the most important features of a corporation is that its owners are generally not personally liable for the debts of the corporation.

Definition of an LLC:

A limited liability company, or LLC, is a legal entity created under state law that has characteristics of both a corporation and a partnership. Like a corporation, the owners of an LLC are not personally liable for business debts. Like a sole proprietorship and partnership, an LLC has operating flexibility and its owners may elect to have it treated as a pass-through entity for tax purposes. This means that LLC profits are passed through and taxable to the owners of the LLC.

DBA’s are sometime’s misunderstood – click on the link below for additional information

Information on DBA’s  taken from “Legal Zoom” 

Topic:  DBA – Doing Business As -

Posted: Ipad

5 Useful Ipad Apps

My Ipad 2 is simply a phenomenal tool – I video taped a partial presentation yesterday – but take a look at this! I was introduced to utilizing the Ipad from my Niece who works with children in a hospital environment – and this just triggered a huge interest in how technology can assist with relaxing and directing the children’s minds off the subject at hand (like chemo and surgery) to something more pleasant. “5 Useful Ipad Apps” speaks volumes!

“5 Useful Ipad Apps”

for Doctors, Patients & Med Students

Posted: Business Notes, Closed Group, Facebook Info, Open Group, Secret Group

Taken from:  Social Media Examiner 

One of the most underutilized features of Facebook for Businesses is the “SECRET GROUP”!

• A Secret Group is easy to create and manage
• Perfect for Small-Group Interaction
• Facebook originally created Secret Groups for people to have small, intimate interactions with family and friends, but Secret Groups are also perfect for Small Businesses, Coaches and Professional Development, like “Mastermind Groups”

Why Secret Groups?

• Businesses sometimes need private spaces for working, coordinating schedules and developing marketing and advertising ideas with a small group of people.

There are THREE types of Facebook Groups:

1. Public (open): everyone can see the Group, find it in a search and make posts
2. Closed: everyone can see the Group, but only members can see (and make) posts
3. Secret: only members can see the Group, see and make posts

Soooooooooooooo, How SECRET is a Facebook Secret Group?

• When you create a Secret Group, no one, except the members of the Group, will be able to find it in a search and no one will be able to find any trace of it on your personal or business Facebook profiles.  (AND Secret Groups are not indexed by Google)
• Even if you send someone the URL of the Secret Group, they will not be able to see the Group Page.  (It’s that secret)
• You will get Facebook notifications ( and or email notifications – for each post from any member.  These posts will show up in your news feed, which can be a bit confusing until you notice the little lock icon next to any Secret Group post.  Sooooo no one can read those, unless they are looking over your shoulder!
• If you choose to get email notifications of posts to the Group, you will be able to reply to those emails and have your reply go directly to the Group comment for that post.

Posted: Facebook Connect, Facebook Info, Internet Marketing

This is a bit lengthy, a little over one hour, but it is totally worth the information that you will glean! The one thing I learned was about “Facebook Connect” and fortunately, WordPress here has a plugin for “Facebook Connect”.

Because of the changes that Facebook made in October, you will notice that the URL for your Facebook is “https” (meaning that you are on a secure IP or server – so, I went back to my hosting agency and have purchased the SSL Certificate for this domain – this is important because the “Facebook Connect” will not work unless one secure network is talking to another secure network.

Posted: Business Notes, tweetsmap, Twitter

Are you using “Tweetsmap”? Let me tell you, this is really cool – wonder where your twitter followers are from?? How cool is this???? A map that shows you where your twitter followers are located! Look how vast the internet is! I know that words are always being said regarding the vastness of the internet – but a picture speaks a thousand words!

Posted: Business Notes, Twitter

What is an @Reply?

A reply is any update posted by clicking the “Reply” button on another Tweet People say lots of things on Twitter, and sometimes you want to say something back.

Your reply will always begin with @username (insert username of the person you are replying to). Anyone Tweet that is a reply to you will show up in your @Mentions tab on your homepage.

To post a reply on Twitter:

• Find the Tweet you want to react to on Twitter.
• Hover your mouse over their message and click the “reply” icon.
• Complete your Tweet in the box that pops up, and click “Tweet” to send it

What is an @Mention?

A mention is any Twitter update that contains @username anywhere in the body of the Tweet. (Yes, this means that replies are also considered mentions.)

We noticed people frequently searching for their user name (@username) to find the Tweets that mention their username anywhere in the message. We collect these messages, as well as all your replies, in the @Mentions tab on your homepage. If you include more than one person’s name in your update and you use the @username format, those people will all see the update in their personal mentions tab.

To post a mention on Twitter:

• Type your message normally, but replace any names you include with @username (including the person’s Twitter username). Our system will recognize and highlight the username that way, as shown below for this mention of @FreelanceWhales (a super cool band that we mentioned).

If I see a reply in my timeline, how do I know what message they replied to?

Easy! Just click any space around the Tweet and your details pane will open to display the Tweet they replied to, as well as other content related to the message.

Things to Note:

• When you visit another user’s profile page on Twitter, you will not see a mentions tab for them. But you can search for all Tweets mentioning their username in our search box. Search for “@username” to view results.
• People will only see others’ replies in their home timeline if they are following both the sender and recipient of the update.
• People will see any mentions posted by someone they follow (all mentions are treated like regular Tweets).
• People with protected accounts can only send replies to people they have approved to follow them.
• If someone sends you a reply and you are not following the user, the reply will not appear on your Home timeline. Instead, the reply will appear in your Mentions timeline.

Replies will always have “in reply to” listed next to their timestamp. If a Tweet doesn’t have this, it’s a mention.I know that combining visual and audio helps the information coming in to our brain cells will tend to stick!

FF - #FF stands for “Follow Friday.” Twitter users often suggest who others should follow on Fridays by tweeting with the hashtag #FF.

#HASHTAGS

Posted: 5 Things To Do Every Day For Success, Business Notes

By:   FC Expert Blogger  DAYNA STEELE What Time Do You Wake UP?????

Read On for “5″ great tips ~ but I have to ask “Are You Doing Any Of This?”

• Wake up early. For the next week, get up a half an hour earlier that you normally do–and get going. If you get a few more things done, then get up even earlier the next week. Early in the morning is a great time to get work done because most of your associates have not started emailing, tweeting, IMing, or posting yet.
•  Read the headlines and watch the news. Not only should you know what is going on in the world, you will also be the first to recognize opportunities (if you followed #1) for you and your business–long before the competition has even had their first cup of coffee.
• Send something to one person who can hire you or buy your product–something you promised to follow-up with, a quick email with a link to something relevant or a “Hey, just checking in to see how thing are going” email.
• Touch base with an old friend or associate you haven’t talked to in ages. Ask how they are, what are they working on and ask or suggest how you might help. You’ll make their day.
• Write a handwritten note to someone. Seriously. It is a lost art and makes quite an impression. There is always someone you can send a thank you note to–or you aren’t doing things correctly.

Posted: Business Notes, Business Plans

Enloop ~ Easy, Painless, Complete ~ Enloop lets you quickly create bank- and investor-ready business plans

“Starting a business is hard enough without having to additionally learn the art and science of how to write an accurate business plan. That’s why we created Enloop, giving you the tools you need to automatically create a professional plan from scratch — quickly and for free. Our patented, innovative system does the heavy-lifting for you, while educating you on the finer points of accounting and planning so you can really understand your financial forecasts.”

“Enloop was designed to let entrepreneurs focus on their business by automating how business plans are written, transcending traditional business planning software and the difficult process of writing a business plan. And Enloop is entirely in the cloud — safe & secure, ready to use whenever and wherever you need to work on your plans.”

AutoWrite Your Plan - Let Enloop write the hard stuff

“One of the most difficult parts of developing a business plan is the writing part. Not everyone knows what to say to a banker or investor. Our patented system, created by MBAs, accountants, and some really smart software developers automatically generates basic text that explains each important section for you. Change your inputs, play with different financial scenarios, and Enloop automatically updates the financial information in the text — removing a tedious task that allows you to focus on refining your plan rather than editing your text every time you make a change to your forecasts. You can always add additional text as you like.”

Financial Reporting - Not an accountant? You’re in the right place

“We understand that one of the most challenging parts of completing a business plan is in creating accurate financial forecasts. That’s why Enloop does it for you. Based on your inputs, Enloop automatically creates customized financial forecasts for your business. Sales, Profit & Loss, Cash Flow and Balance Sheet forecasts are all generated on-the-fly, easily updated at any time. You can start by taking the easy, fast route and creating a simple plan with only annual inputs, or you can create increasing more complex forecasts all the way up to 36-month inputs — good for CPA’s and accountants who require more complexity. You get to choose.”

Know The Score - Understand your odds of success, at a glance

“Say hello to EPS — the Enloop Performance Score. Our patented EPS feature provides you with the distinct advantage of seeing a FICO-like score for your business plan, on-screen while you’re working on it. The score changes with your inputs, rewarding good planning and discouraging poor planning. With a real-time score in front of you at all times you’re able to get vital feedback — motivating you to improve your plan and strengthen the odds of your business succeeding. The Enloop Performance Score functions like an expensive business plan consultant, just without the expensive part. It’s designed with safeguards to prevent unrealistic financial forecasts. We’re sure you don’t need to be reminded that the majority of new businesses fail within five years. Enloop was designed to help you avoid a similar fate by warning you in advance.”

Business Plans To Go - Download, share, print on-the-fly

“Enloop ties everything together and automatically generates a clean, professionally formatted PDF document — ready to download, print and share at any time. The document includes a cover sheet with your company’s basic information that a banker or investor can quickly review, along with your complete plan including fully formatted financial forecasts. With your Enloop business plan you’re good to go. Our system eliminates the need for entrepreneurs to master how to write a business plan document. That’s not your gig, it’s ours.”

Performance Evaluations - A report card of your company’s potential

“Just like in school, we give you a report card that evaluates your company’s forecasted performance. We test your plan in three critical areas: your overall score, three important financial metrics, and then check to make sure your business is always cash-flow positive. If you pass all three of these tests, you’ll receive a Performance Certificate with a verification number that a banker or investor can use to verify your score.”

Ratio Analysis - Important numbers that (really) matter to investors

“This is one of the most important steps in creating a business plan, but is often overlooked or misunderstood. Who really cares about your ratios? Your loan underwriter or your investor. We automatically generate a ratios report for your company and then compare your ratios to those of your industry’s averages, using the same analysis that loan underwriters use to evaluate your business. We then explain to you what each ratio means and how you can improve yours. You can quickly spot where your performance needs improvement and correct those concerns early in your development, before they become a painful reality.”

Built-in Help - Because knowledge is power

“The knowledge needed to develop accurate business plans, especially financial forecasts, isn’t easy. Whenever we ask for your input, a rich Knowledge Base is at your fingertips to explain exactly what each topic means. The Enloop system guides users through the planning process, asking essential questions that force entrepreneurs to think through the difficult parts of planning a business and then provides vital feedback for an interactive learning experience. Understanding these complex topics is half the battle. We’re there every step of the way.”

Check this out everyone – even if you have an established business, when was the last time that you updated your business plan?  The information here was taken directly from the “Enloo” website - and “Kim Komando” ~ I highly recommend that you check this out and help yourself in your business with this fine feature.