1. Send out thank you cards.

It may seem a little old-fashioned, but sending out thank you cards can be surprisingly rewarding. Few of us expect to get hand-written mail these days, especially in connection with our businesses. So each thank you note will come as a pleasant surprise.

2. Offer your customers some support for your products or services.

It sounds simple but just sending out an email or making a phone call to ensure that your past sales are working out the way your customers expected can be enough to get you back in touch.

You do need to be prepared to hear about problems with what you’ve sold with this strategy. If a customer didn’t get the results she expected, she’s probably going to tell you about that fact. You may want to have a plan in place to resolve such questions before you start reaching out. It’s not a comfortable process, especially if you find more problems than you expected, but offering a little support to your past customers can be a simple way to restart communications.

3. Survey the customers you’ve worked with in the past.

Taking a more formal approach to reaching out can also make sense. By running a survey, you’ve not only got a clear reason why you need to reconnect with past customers, but you may be able to find some great opportunities to build on that connection: you may find that there’s a particular follow up product or a piece of support that would make your customers more likely to place additional orders.

4. Create a newsletter or other content just for your past customers.

Just as you market your business to new prospects by publishing a newsletter or other online content, you can create targeted information that will reward your customers for buying through you. If you know your customer base well enough, creating a regular newsletter or other regularly scheduled content may require far less time than marketing to entirely new prospects.

Creating less regularly scheduled content is also an option: ebooks, white papers and other materials directed specifically at your existing clientele can help show them that you’re willing to keep giving them value even if they haven’t made a recent purchase.

5. Ask to create a case study.

Marketing to new prospects can do double duty in helping you reconnect with past customers. Because case studies and other proof of how you’ve helped your existing customer base are some of the most effective marketing methods, it’s important to create a steady supply of such materials.

Creating a regular schedule of contacting past customers and interviewing them for case studies is a simple enough process. It also can be useful for your customer to get a little press and may even remind her of why she was excited to buy from you in the first place.

6. Connect on social media.

Sometimes just having more communication channels can help you stay in contact more effectively. Making a point of connecting with your customers through appropriate social media channels (like LinkedIn) can be a simple approach to reconnecting. Because such sites let you see what your customers are up to, you can start conversations with them beyond pitching them a new product. Building a broader relationship can only help you with future sales efforts.

7. Develop a series of special offers for customers who work with you on a regular basis.

Providing an incentive to keep coming back to you will minimize the risk that your past customers will consider trying a new vendor. It can be cost effective to give your loyal customers a little bit of a a break, because you’ll be able to avoid the cost of acquiring new customers.

You may need some extra information to make your promotions effective, so this particular option works best in tandem with creating a survey for your past customers. That way you can make sure that you’re offering exactly what they’re willing to buy.

8. Create a product or service just for customers who have purchased from you in the past.

If you sell a product or service that is clearly a one-time purchase or once-in-a-while purchase, it can be hard to line up repeat business. If, for instance, you create a new website design for a business owner, she’s not going to want to put together an entirely new site for her company a week later. But you can find other products to offer, like SEO help to get that new website ranking well.

You may not always be able to produce an entirely new thing to sell to your customers, but you don’t always have to, either. You may be able to partner with another company to offer a relevant service to your past customers. That, in turn, can help you build a more long-term relationship with your clients so you can stay connected in the intervals between their purchases.

9. Celebrate big events and invite your customers.

Every company has milestones and it’s worth telling your customers about what they’ve helped you achieve. Going a little bigger and celebrating those milestones gives you an opportunity to do something with multiple customers at once: whether you throw a party for a company anniversary or just send out an announcement mentioning who your early adopters were, you can use milestones as more than just a way to keep score.

10. Create a standard process for staying in touch.

No matter which methods work best in your niche for staying connected with your past customers, doing so shouldn’t be a once-in-a-while process — it needs to be something you’re doing every day as a standard part of your work day. Create a process that you can easily follow, even if it is as basic as sending out one email a day to an old connection. Regularly investing time in maintaining your connections is the only way to keep them active.

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If you’re like most entrepreneurs, freelancers, or contractors, writing probably isn’t your specialty. Your trade is your specialty. But these days, you’ve got to write to keep up. Nearly every business has a blog. Visitors expect to see them and, when done well, they can glean a lot of value from them. Blogs help keep old customers up to date and to entice visitors to become new customers.

But you probably know all this by now. You’re blog is probably all set up and ready to go. The only thing it’s lacking is posts, right? Maybe you’ve written a couple of posts about your products or maybe you’ve written about your company a few times. Now you’re probably asking yourself, what else is there to write about?

While it may not seem like it now, no matter what business you’re in, the writing topics are truly endless.

Checklist for Blog Post Ideas

As a blogger, I spend a lot of time brainstorming ideas. I’ve put together a checklist I can use when I need a fresh idea and today I am going to share it with you. So many posts can grow out of just one of these, you should have enough ideas to last you all year. Happy writing!

1. Outline new versus old ways of doing business. This might include how businesses like yours were run before computers.
2. Write about the history of your field.
3. Compare your industry with another that is totally unrelated.
4. Write about industry news.
5. Check Digg, StumbleUpon, or Technorati for popular topics and add a new angle to it.
6. Promote clients and highlight success stories.
7. Critique ideas featured by industry leaders.
8. Dispel some common myths about your industry.
9. Highlight characteristics of successful leaders in your industry.
10. Explain how your company solves common customer problems.

As your small business grows, you’ll have to find freelancers and per-project contractors to take on everything from email campaigns to customer relations.

You may already know about freelancer websites like Elance.com and Odesk.com, which are places where SMBs can go to scope out top – and not so top – freelancer talent.

Speaking of “not so top,” how are you supposed to know if a freelancer is good to work with and worth the investment?

Here are 5 easy ways to find freelancers that will not just deliver, but exceed your expectations every time.

1. Examine their profile

Elance and Odesk allow freelancers to create customer profiles that showcase their talents. You can tell a lot about a freelancer by the materials they choose to highlight, the skills they list, and even the profile picture they choose to share!

If you’re trying to hire a copywriter, for example, and their profile isn’t well-written, it may be time to move on to your other choices.

2. Evaluate their proposal

A lot of freelancers copy and paste proposals and mass submit to online jobs. Do yourself a favor and delete them! If they can’t take the time to create a unique proposal, how much effort are they really going to put into your project?

Double bonus points for contractors who can give you a sense of their personality and working style from just their proposal alone. A solid, compelling proposal marks the difference between an amateur and a professional.

3. Put them to the test

Once you find freelancers, it’s time to whip out your credit card, right? Not so fast!

Round up your top three people and give them a small, paid assignment. If you’re hiring someone to design your website, you could assign a single page mock up to a group of three awesome designers. From there, you can see whose work you like best!

4. Observe their follow up

Notice how the freelancer interacts with you during the “audition” process – it’s a great indicator of how they’ll act once you’re actually working together.

Are they ready and willing to create a test design for you, or are you sensing a bit of ‘tude?

Do they respond to emails promptly or are you left waiting for days?

No matter how awesome their work is, finding someone who is great to work with is just as valuable.

5. Check their follow-through

How does your freelancer respond once you’ve awarded them the job (or not)?

If you’re looking to build a longterm relationship with your freelancer, you may want to pass on their initial proposal, just to check their follow-through.

Are they respectful and pleasant, or do they leave the conversation in a huff?

Smart freelancers know that careers are built on long term relationships, not on one-off projects. They’re also secure enough to know that they’re not right for every project, regardless of their talent.

Once you’ve gotten to know your freelancer through this process, you’ll have a much stronger sense of what they’ll be like to work with, how they handle challenges, and how they handle criticism.

What traits do you look for in a potential freelancer for your business?

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1. Seek professional guidance.

Sure, you can always plug “examples of business plans” into Google, but having an experienced friend or mentor who can actually walk you through the business plan process that he/she made will help you much more. Professionals can also help show you the ropes; the dos and don’ts that they picked up along the way from their own personal experiences. People love to talk about their own journeys so ask lots of questions, take plenty of notes, and learn from them so you can make fewer mistakes on your own.

2. Download a template.

Business plans aren’t just for your eyes only. Potential investors or partners will also want to take a look at what you’ve got planned. Put your best foot forward with a neat and professional business plan template – you can download one online with template sites like SCORE.org – and edit the plan to suit your business’ needs.

3. Getting started.

First off, include all of the basics about your business idea: the name of your business, how you plan to start up, a list of competitors, a breakdown of finances (how much you’ll need to open) and potential marketing ideas. This is enough to get you going on the details that will need to be included in your plan. As you write all this information up, additional details may come to you that you feel you ought to include, so write those down as you go!

4. Go section by section.

A business plan should be extensive and cover a lot of information related to the future of the business. Most business plans include the following sections: an executive summary of your concept, information about your products or services, marketing plans, a management profile and general financial information. This can seem overwhelming when it comes time to get started, but if you break it down by the sections mentioned, the process will seem a lot easier. Doing a section a day is a good pace.

5. Pay special attention to finances.

Be thorough and accurate when figuring out your financial information. Finances are something you can’t have too much wiggle room for, and it’s a section that potential investors and partners will particularly pay attention to.

6. Be clear.

In your writing, be sure to keep things clear and to the point. A lot of information is good; a lot of flowery adjectives are not. Remember to stay professional even in your writing style.

7. Edit and review.

Once you have written the best business plan you can, ask your friends, professional colleagues, mentors, and family to take a look and give you their opinion. Encourage them to ask you questions about your business and on anything at all that is not clear or easily understood.  An outside perspective is often key to giving the business plan just what it needs or may be missing and getting an “eagle eye” is always a good thing!

Author Bio:

Deborah Sweeney is the CEO of MyCorporation.com. MyCorporation is a leader in online legal filing services for entrepreneurs and businesses, providing start-up bundles that include corporation and LLC formation, registered agent, DBA, and trademark & copyright filing services. MyCorporation does all the work, making the business formation and maintenance quick and painless, so business owners can focus on what they do best. Follow her on Google+ and on Twitter @deborahsweeney and @mycorporation.

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Outright To-Do Tip: Get Your Week in Control

What’s on your agenda this week? Many business owners have issues with organization, even if their tasks are similar every week. But no matter how much you fight it, getting your business life in order makes you much more productive.

Next week, try getting everything in order early Monday or really late Sunday to try and get a jump on things. Even if you’re used to doing the same thing week in and week out, take a little extra time to get it all organized. You may be in for a surprised when you realize you can fit way more in if you move some activities around.

Don’t just stick to your usual routine, either – give something wild and crazy a shot. If you always start your days sending emails and checking the news, move it to later in the day so you can hit the post office in the mornings. Doing this means you miss the lunch rush and have an hour to make more product or interact with some customers on social media.

The important thing is to try some new organizational and scheduling methods. While not everybody thrives in this environment it can give you a new perspective on how you do business.

Around the Entrepreneur Web

Here are some interesting links that may impact your small business week:

In the market for a new bank? Here are some tips to help you decide who to go with.

Chargebacks may drive you crazy, but you have to consider them from the viewpoint of your customers and clients.

Want to know more about Bitcoins? This Entrepreneur Magazine article gives you the skinny and shows you how some are taking advantage.

Small Business News That May Impact Your Week

Well, it seems that the Internet sales tax debate isn’t going away anytime soon. The Marketplace Fairness Act passed the Senate last week and has a chance of passing the House soon. If that happens, the Obama administration has indicate they support the Act so it most likely will become law.

What will this mean for your business? Currently 45 states collect sales tax. If you’re an online seller who makes over $1 million outside of states where you have physical operations then you’ll have to start collecting sales tax.

Ok, it might not really affect most readers of this blog. However, many are worried this will start to trickle down to the small businesses out there that rely on online sales. It could severely cut into profits either by lowering the amount of sales or even the number of customers altogether.

While nothing’s finalized yet, there could be lots of news about this coming up. Stay tuned this week!

Outright Community Speaks

Our users surprise us every day with questions and concerns. Here are some to think about this week:

Some users report they still are having trouble with the eBay App unable to access “Other Actions” in IE9. Here’s a workaround!

Know a way Outright can work better for you? Submit it to our Feature Requests and we’ll take a look!

Have more questions or concerns? Stop by our Outright Customer Care forum!

That’s it for this week’s Small Business Forecast! Hope it’s a great and profitable one!

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However, you may also garner the attention of competitors, who can hide behind the anonymity provided by the internet in order to attack you directly (by posting negative reviews) or indirectly (say by creating linking schemes that point to your website). Luckily, there are ways that you can work to protect your online reputation.

First and foremost, you need to be aware of your own reputation in the online arena, which means monitoring industry blogs and forums, using analytical tools to find mentions, and even running a Google search on your company name and related search terms every so often in order to gauge what consumers are finding when they look for you. If you discover, at some point, that your reputation has somehow shifted into the realm of the negative, and that’s the first information that consumers are encountering, there are things you can do turn it around.

You’ll want to start at home, and this means addressing your website, blog, and social media profiles. These platforms are tools that allow you interact with consumers in a positive way, which is great for your reputation only if you use them accordingly. Ignoring them is not an option. By providing content that is engaging and updating it frequently you have the ability not only to keep your followers and patrons interested, but you can also optimize in order to supplant any negative information that may have surfaced. Over time, with persistence and targeted efforts, your content will bury any negative press.

Your first inclination may be to attack those who have come after you, but in general this is not a good policy. For one thing, you’re running a business; you don’t have time to track down every Tom, Dick, and competitor that decides to post a bad review. Whether they’re justified or not, you can’t hope to address every complaint online. What you can do is make sure to reply in a timely manner to consumers that reach out to you, providing them with the help they require. This will hopefully put the kibosh on new complaints and publicly-aired grievances. And you can, of course, contact site administrators to request that libelous information is removed, or that you are allowed to post a reply correcting any erroneous information.

And as a last resort you can always seek out online reputation management services. These professionals will cost you, but they are capable of monitoring your online reputation, addressing concerns, and helping you to create the positive image you want to present. If you find yourself suffering from a negative online reputation and no amount of effort seems to turn things around, hiring professional help could be the best (or only) option remaining.

Leon Harris is a contributing writer for Reputation.com. Harris lives in Southern California, and enjoys eating healthy and exercising with his two Golden Retrievers.

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As bitcoins have become more popular, tools have been rolled out that allow sellers without a lot of technical savvy to accept bitcoin payments for purchases. However, just because you can accept bitcoins doesn’t mean that you should.

The Upward Trend of Bitcoins

The value of a bitcoin — despite some very dramatic fluctuations — has trended strongly upwards. The increasing value can be seen as both an asset and a problem. It has resulted, among other things, in several thefts of bitcoins at this point. Stealing bitcoins is a matter of hacking the right server and, since the currency is primarily used by technically adept individuals, the increasing value of bitcoins may be too tempting for some people.

That continued increase is also concerning to economists, who suggest that bitcoin trading may be “the finest example of a pure bubble,” as John Quiggin puts it. Because of the way that new bitcoins are ‘mined,’ there is an upper limit to how many bitcoins will be available for trading. There’s an associated cost to producing each new bitcoin, as well. Those two factors mean that it is unclear whether investing in bitcoins may prove to be a bubble. We don’t have enough experience with digital currencies (especially as they may be used by a broader section of the economy than just hackers) to know how viable bitcoins really are.

Neither of these factors should be enough, on their own, to keep you from accepting bitcoins for payments if you have a good reason to do so — but you may want to consider keeping an absolute minimum amount of currency in bitcoins. Trading your daily income in bitcoins for U.S. dollars or a local currency is the best way to minimize the problems that the rise of bitcoins may bring with it.

The Limited Audience for Bitcoins

Finding a good reason to accept bitcoins may be more complicated than it appears on the surface, however. As a business owner, you want to accept payments in as many forms as you can afford to — it’s never good to hear that someone wants to make a purchase but can’t figure out a way to give you money! But just because one person may have suggested that they’d like to pay in bitcoins, you can’t assume that many of your customers would prefer that option.

Right now, bitcoin use isn’t widespread — despite what the media coverage may imply. Many bitcoin users are actually treating the currency like an investment and are buying bitcoins with the intention to hold them. Those individuals who regularly use bitcoins for transactions represent a narrow market. If you aren’t focused on selling to tech-savvy demographics that value their privacy and are willing to be early adopters, the cost of accepting bitcoins isn’t worth it.

There’s the added down side that the use of bitcoins has been associated with black markets, particularly because of the difficutly in tracing transactions. It’s also used to avoid currency transactions. Bitcoins are gathering a somewhat unsavory reputation in some circles, leading some countries to declare the digital currency illegal to use or to target bitcoin users for investigations for money laundering or related crimes. Such issues shouldn’t cause too much problem for most companies that might be considering adopting bitcoins, but you need to be aware of such issues so that you can protect your business.

The Real Value of Bitcoins

Bitcoins, along with digital currencies in general, haven’t achieved mainstream adoption yet. But in the long term, having a currency that is not tied to a particular government may prove crucial: it will make global trade easier by lowering the cost of doing business and making the process smoother.

The fact that bitcoins have a built-in layer of privacy is also a good thing, despite the related problems true privacy can create. Personally, I don’t think that anyone has the right to track what I buy and I often use cash to make my purchases. It’s not just a question of whether a government can use purchases to track its citizens and to look for dissent (which has happened in some countries), but that marketing companies send me all sorts of materials based on information my credit card company provides to its partners. How important privacy is to you is a personal question, but using bitcoins may prove advantageous in that regard.

The Wait-And-See Approach

It’s difficult to advocate anything but putting off accepting digital currencies, at least for the short term. If you have a business where adding a level of privacy would be advantageous or you have an audience that already commonly uses bitcoins, it can make sense. Otherwise, though, it makes more sense to wait and see what happens with bitcoins in the next few months.

You’ll likely need to consider a digital currency for your business in the long run, particularly if you handle all of your sales online. But you’re likely to be able to wait until there is a mainstream option with more stability than the bitcoin market can currently offer.

Stay up to date on the topic, though: there are companies that are starting to accept bitcoins, as well as companies producing tools that make the process of accepting bitcoins easier. If the cost of dealing with bitcoins drops further, it may suddenly be a practical change for your company (at least if you’re not keeping a lot of bitcoins on hand). Keep reading up on your payment processing options — there may be some big changes in your currency options in the next year or so.

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As it happens in the real world, things didn’t go exactly as planned, but so far things are going really well. There are definitely some things I wish someone, or some book, or some website had told me before I got started. Luckily, all the little things that went awry were just that: little. They didn’t destroy me and in the end they might well have made me a more savvy business person. I hate to think any of this happened in vain, so here are some of the key lessons I learned on my journey.

Watch Your Wallet

You will be busy and you will be tired and you will be overwhelmed. None of that is any excuse to accidentally charge your morning latte on your business card or to pay for office supplies with your personal check. Not only will co-mingling finances make accounting a nightmare later on (and I hate math, though I tolerate it) it will attract IRS auditors. I don’t want to be audited, so the best solution for me was to use my American Express cash flow card for all of my business purchases. When I’m shopping I diligently separate work and home purchases and have the cashier ring two sales. I can use my statement to break down my expenses and it certainly simplifies bill paying.

No One Will Care More Than You

Try to work with the best people you can. Choose service providers and partners that will follow through with their promises, be honest with you about what you need and what you don’t and meet deadlines. Even with the best partners, though, you’re the one person who has the passion and the drive to get this business going. Your enthusiasm and drive have to be contagious. Your contractor or insurance agent won’t be your biggest cheerleader and they won’t be able to make decisions for you. Things will get stressful but you have to be the cornerstone and the heart of the business.

Deadlines Are Made to Be Broken

Construction, permits, inspections. What do they have in common? They are rarely finished when you want them to be. Don’t schedule your grand opening for the day after construction is due to be finished and inspected. You’re better off planning for a buffer period. You can have a soft opening early but pushing back a publicized grand opening is not an auspicious start for a new business.

Have you opened a storefront for an established business? We’d love to hear any wisdom you can share in the comments!

From vintage to Ralph Lauren, Shawna Waters covers all of the fashion dos and don’ts in the industry. She writes for fashion and travel journals online and in print.

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As a business owner, you will also receive forms that start with 1099.  These would be referred to as series 1099 forms, and are used to report various types of income you would receive.  Let’s take a look at a few of them that you may receive as a business owner.

1099-A: Acquisition or Abandonment of Secured Property – I hate to start off with this one, but alphabetically is usually a good way to organize things.  If you borrowed money from a bank or other lender to purchase property, and you either abandon or have the property foreclosed, you may have to treat the property as being sold.  The lender will have to send you Form 1099-A with all the relevant information needed to report the “sale” on your return.  If you had purchased an office for your business, and you abandon it or it gets foreclosed, you should expect this form from the lender.

1099-B: Proceeds from Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions – I actually wrote about the bartering 1099 in another post on Outright.com.  You would receive this form if you engaged in bartering with someone else, or took part in a bartering exchange.

1099-C: Cancellation of Debt – Here is something that may seem a little strange:  If you borrow money, and the lender cancels the remaining debt at some time in the future, you have to recognize the amount forgiven as income.  If you think about it, it does make sense.  You actually gain from not having to pay back the money.  If your loan is forgiven, you will get a 1099-C from the lender showing how much you of the forgiven loan you need to record as income.

1099-K: Merchant Card and Third Party Network Payments – Outright has covered the 1099-K extensively, so anything I say on this may be repetitious.  However, keep in mind that you will be receiving this form if you received money from any online sales you made during the year, such as through your on online store or via eBay, PayPal, Amazon, Etsy, etc..   You want to make sure the amounts on these forms matches with your records.  If not, contact the sender to determine what is causing the variance.

1099-MISC: Miscellaneous Income – This is the one on this list that you will probably most likely receive during the year, and possibly more than one if you have more than one customer.  There was a comprehensive article about 1099-MISC on Outright.com a little earlier this year.  To sum it up, this form shows the amounts your customer has paid you for the work you did for them.  You will want to review this form to make sure the amounts match to your records.

1099-S: Proceeds from Real Estate Transactions – Most of the time you won’t receive this form unless you sell your home, you may have property that you own for your business.  You would receive this form if you sell:

1. Land, whether improved or unimproved,
2. Residential, commercial, or industrial building,
3. A condominium unit,
4. A cooperative housing corporation’s stock

While most entrepreneurs do not have to deal with the sale of real estate, you should be aware of this form so that when your business grows to the point of needing a headquarters, you will be ready for the form when it arrives.

Having to deal with all these new forms may be intimidating, but don’t let that stop you from starting and growing a business.  Additionally, don’t let the forms be so intimidating that you don’t ask an accountant what they are about and what should be done.  I always enjoy helping my clients understand their tax situation, and I would rather have you ask what something means than have you make a decision based on information about which you are confused.  If you have questions, find a local accountant to give you a hand.  We love to help people with their taxes, and always invite questions.  You can also submit your questions in the comment section below, and I would be glad to answer them.

Chris Peden, CPA, CMA, CFM has over 15 years in the corporate world helping companies meet their regulatory compliance requirements.  He also assists small business owners with organizing and making sense of their finance information.  You can reach him at chrispedencpa@yahoo.com.  In accordance with Circular 230 Treasury Department Regulations, we are required to advise you that any tax advice contained in this article may not be relied upon to avoid penalties under the Internal Revenue Code.  If you are interested in a written opinion that can be relied upon to prevent the imposition of tax-related penalties, please contact the author.

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Outright To-Do Tip: Upgrade Your Tech

Remember years ago when it was such a huge pain to upgrade your software and hardware? You drove out to Best Buy or CompUSA (remember them?) to buy the next version of Office or whatever you needed before going home and realizing it’s incompatible with your current hardware. Now you have to go back to the store and search for the right part to fix up your computer so you can finally get back to work.

While you may still have software/hardware compatibility issues, the days of driving around town all day to fix up your technology are coming to an end. Most office software you need is right at your fingertips and can be downloaded in no time flat. Even if it’s not available to download you can buy it on eBay and receive it the next day.

So why has it been so long since you’ve updated your devices? Whether you’re using an outdated version of Word, tracking your finances with pen and paper, or even typing blogs on a Macintosh 128K, it’s time to bring your business up to date. The small business world isn’t going to slow down any time soon and your business can’t afford to be left in the dark.

Don’t just spend willy-nilly though. Look around your office and figure out which devices really need that upgrade. If you print a lot, get rid of that dot matrix printer. If you’ve found you’re out on the town all the time recently, get a faster smartphone so you don’t waste a lot of time waiting for your old one to catch up.

Around the Entrepreneur Web

Here are some interesting links that may impact your small business week:

Is it time to upgrade your cyber security? The recent Living Social hack was a wakeup call that passwords don’t solve everything.

As the housing market improves, will it also bring up the small businesses dependent on it?

Feeling a little run down? Try these tips to develop some healthy habits into your week.

Small Business News That May Impact Your Week

Has your business been affected by a major storm or other natural disaster? Thousands of businesses experienced a nasty shock when Hurricane Sandy plowed over land last year, many forced to go out of business due to damage and loss of revenue. Despite this, though, many business owners still report they have taken no action to prepare for such a problem.

In fact, according to a survey by FedEx and the American Red Cross, over 70% of businesses don’t see having to deal with a disaster like Sandy. It’s gotten so bad that both companies are touring the country to tell everyone why they should be more concerned.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be a major storm. A power outage or freak lightning strike could wipe out your data on your computer. A fire could catch you off guard and set you back years in your business. If you’re not prepared for these things you may be in for a bad day in the future.

The link above provides a list of things you should consider when it comes to your company’s safety. Follow along and join FedEx and the Red Cross when they come to your town to better understand why you should take time to prepare for the worst.

Outright Community Speaks

Our users surprise us every day with questions and concerns. Here are some to think about this week:

Having trouble viewing uploaded images? You’re not alone! Here’s how to get it to work for you.

Some users report their Sales by State reports show “No State” in results. What is this and how do you fix it?

This question still need an answer: How do you categorize transfers between accounts?

Have more questions or concerns? Stop by our Outright Customer Care forum!

That’s it for this week’s Small Business Forecast! Hope it’s a great and profitable one!

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