• to get a tax deduction as a self -employed person, you need to make a personal contribution and submit a Deduction for personal super contributions form to your Fund
• the super co-contribution only applies if you make a personal contribution by 30 June (and meet certain criteria like income levels)
• the small business 50% tax break has been legislated, but it doesn’t run out til Dec 2009 so purchases don’t have to be made this week
• individual tax rates are reducing from 1 July so increasing your deductions this year may decrease your tax more than making the same deductions next year
• sending out invoices now rather than after 1 July may affect your income levels (depending on how your accounts are set up) and may help your customers with their tax preparation and budgeting
• organising your invoices and receipts now could mean getting your tax return done sooner, which is great if you’re getting a refund!

How much do you do to prepare for the end/start of financial years? Is this when you do budgets and analysis or do you base that on the calendar year instead?

The following are examples of the over use of keywords to remind us that the focus of promotional articles should be on giving information rather than making a sale or increasing website traffic (as much as we love those results!)

example 1 – a title for an article: 

Tractor Parts,Hydraulic Coupling,Hydraulic Pumps,Lubricating Oil Pump,Tractor Spare Parts,Tractorul UTB Spares 

Not a very interesting title is it?

example 2 – content of an article:

Just search on your computer with Keywords like Packers and Movers in Ahmedabad Packers Movers Ahmedabad, Relocation service provider in Ahmedabad, etc. Many service provider of that particular state will appear on your computer screen. Collect information from all the relocation Ahmedabad companies and hire the best one. You can also do the same work to find out service provider of other state and city.

There is nothing informative or interesting in that snippet, and its a lttle insulting as someone has probably already searched those keywords to have found the article in the first place!

example 3 – a bio box:

crib bedding, crib bedding sets

Apart from not doing much to promote their business, this bio box is boring and doesn’t develop trust or credibility.

Of course, the use of keywords (and avoiding over use of them) applies to blog posts, newsletters, website content and so on just as much as to promotional articles.

Keywords are words that a search engine will use to provide search results (e.g. if you type in “promotional articles”, they are the keywords and a search engine will find the sites most relevant for those words.) They are very useful in building up the popularity of your site with search engines.

So it is a good idea to include your keywords in your promotional articles so search engines will find your articles online and increase your exposure. In terms of attracting search engines, putting keywords into the title is also effective.

In reality, you probably use keywords in your articles without really trying – it isn’t easy to write an article about business books without writing business or books for example.

However, it is important to not use your keywords too many times in one article as search engines can actually penalise you for doing so. The easiest way to judge how many times is right is to read it out loud – if it sounds ok and appeals to a human, you probably haven’t over used the keywords.

I will share some examples tomorrow on overuse of keywords, but thanks to Suzie of Suz’s Spaceasking a question in my  workshop, let me explain that it is repetition of one or two words that is the potential problem – using a lot of different keywords in a suitable context is not a search engine risk.

For example, writing an article about a style of writing which includes a list of authors does have a lot of keywords (each name for instance) but is not over using the keywords (such as books and authors) for Suzie’s site.

The question now is – do I build anticipation and wait for 1 July to announce my new service, or do I tell you now? Which would you prefer?

My thoughts on such decisions:

• building anticipation is a great way to develop curiosity and (for a blog) an effective way to encourage repeat visitors
• there is no point in annoying people with part of a story so any ‘coming soon’ message needs to be intriguing and not mislead
• what does a launch date signify? Is there a strong reason to delay something new? If there are legal or IP or technical reasons to not give details in advance, be very careful of how you present any teasers
• don’t build up to a launch you aren’t sure of – it destroys your credibility and any excitement if your wesbite says “our new product will be in store on 10 June” and it’s now July.
• building up to a launch can start the process of search engine optimisation  and getting some traffic and ranking for your webpages. This may be limited if you can’t use keywords in advance but it at least gives you a URL to use in preparing marketing and advertising

Launching a new product or service also raises questions such as using the same brand and business name or not, pricing the new item, packaging the new with the old, and where to focus future marketing.

As for my new service, I am not launching it until July because my website can’t be ready before then (preparing a conference presentation and client deadlines took priority.) And you’ll just have to wait a little longer to find out more…

either: an introduction of two alternatives separated by the word or
You can either buy or rent this property

neither: an introduction of two unavailable alternatives separated by the word nor
neither John nor Mary can run the meeting.

What is important to note is that both words refer to a choice of TWO options – if there is a list of choices, either/neither can’t be used.

wrong – You can choose either chocolate or vanilla or strawberry.
correct – You can chose either chocolate or strawberry.
correct – You can choose chocolate, vanilla or strawberry.

What is a promotional article?

Any useful article can be used as a promotional article, although they tend to be around 300-600 words long. At the end of the article, you include an information section (called a bio box or resource box) about yourself and/or your business.

To be a good promotion for your business, it is best to use topics that build your credibility in your industry. For example, if you are a hairdresser you could use articles about choosing shampoos, the best types of hair accessories and hair care tips, but if you sell children’s party accessories, you would be better using articles about how to plan a birthday party, dealing with invitation lists and party game suggestions.

Note that a promotional article is not an ad. An article about the services you offer or how you are better than a competitor is not a promotional article – it is an ad. The aim of your article is to provide information, and/or entertainment, to readers.

** If you are going to the conference, please come and chat to me – I’ll be there all weekend as I know from experience that is a positive, information pack weekend that will benefit my business.

If you havent bought tickets yet, Save Time Online is offering an advertising bonus if you mention them when booking.

Here are some ways to reduce that reliance:

• train someone else to do some of the tasks, even if they don’t do it every time some knowledge will help if the key person can’t do it
• have some written procedures so someone else can ge the job done – it may be slower but it would be done. This also helps if you want to sell the business or hire a new person for the task.
• have critical knowledge stored somewhere other than in your head – have a document with passwords & contact details where it can be accessed by limited people. For some of my clients, I prepare a document register so they can track versions – I usually add comments about who designed thdocument so the client can quickly arrange a change if I wasn’t available. It also saves me remembering the information myself so it’s a good plan anyway
• identify back up people for critical tasks/roles
• ensure any staff understand the entire business and functions of other staff, and preferably be able to do a couple of other people’s tasks if necessary
• have a shared calendar for your team – if someone is then sick for example, any appointments and deadlines can be managed
• be flexible as much as possible – a team member who can’t come to the office for a few weeks may still be able to do some tasks at home or online, or work part time or unusual hours
• build relationships with professionals who can replace key skills – for example, I have relationships with other writters so in an emeregency my clients’ work could still be written even if I was unable to write myself

As part of your contingency preparations, there are a few related tings yo can do:

• test how reliant your business is on specific people – find out how long the businesscan manage without someone, how skilled others are at filling in for the key person, how many people can be missing from your team before it is critical, and so on
• plan some altered work practicesfor certain levels of staffing – for example, if a key person is sick for one or two days, everything continues but if they’re away for a week reduce client hours or produced items by 10% and if they’re away for a month, reduce by 50%. This would be particularly relevant during a prolonged event such as a pandemic or natural disaster if you have a team
• establish policies about how much leave staff are entitled to and how they are paid for such leave, including any leave without pay or make up hour arrangements
• have as much information and work available on a computer as possible so that remote access is an option and back ups are also easier

There are a number of consequences to this reliance, and all of them can impact on the long term success of the business.

1. the owner gets stressed and exhausted as they can’t afford to take a holiday or even a long weekend, and are likely to work when sick and/or recovering

2. something unexpected happens to the owner (e.g. a car accident, appendicitis, a premature birth, a critically ill loved one) and no one else is able to run the business so the business fails before the owner gets back

3. things are done by habit – there is no opportunity for new ideas or better methods, old errors get repeated, the owner can get bored and the business doesn’t grow as much as it could

In larger businesses, the same reliance can occur if people have very strictly defined roles. For instance, if only one person can access the bank account what happens to outstanding invoices while that person is seriously ill for two months? Or if that person was the only one who could update prices on your website, or operate the cash register, or prepare quotes

So how reliant is your business on one or two key people? What critical tasks need to carry on in the absence of that person(s)?

I see there are two distinct ways to protect essential details – find ways to prevent those details being hurt or destroyed and find ways to stop the business being so reliant on those details.

Each aspect of your business may require very different techniques for protection against damage, but the idea is to reduce the risk of a problem and then reduce the length of time before it is operational again.

Here are some examples of how to protect some aspects of your business – and you can use these even if they don’t count as essential aspects of your business:

• provide a safe working environment for yourself and staff – it may sound simple, but imagine a masseur or carpenter falling over a loose cord and breaking their arm …
• isolate people during health issues – for instance, swine flu can’t spread  if those with the disease are not near everyone else. This can mean sick people don’t come to work or you arrange for remote access for sick people and/or essential staff
• have computer back up systems in place – and store the data off site. We use carbonite as it regualrly backs up for us and we can reclaim work easily at any time, even after human errors rather than major problems
• make sure your equipment is serviced and cleaned frequently
• instal security alarms, locks and so on to protect against theft
• ensure smoke and fire alarms are working and placed appropriately – smoke alarms above a stove going off all the time tend to be ignored so move them
• purchase a fire proof safe to store precious documents, data and equipment
• establish rules to minimise damage of fragile and essential items – for instance, only fully licensed drivers do deliveries, store fragile items out of walkways and on stable surfaces
• research details for a back up web host in case you need to swap in a hurry (for example their servers were damaged in a natural disaster and your site would be down for weeks)
• have a spare computer and monitor available to use if necessary – it doesn’t have to be as good as your usual computer as long as it can cope with the basic and essential requirements
• know where you can hire replacement equipment if need be, and keep those details somewhere accessible

What other ways have you protected your essential business assets?

Not only has the change surprised people, but it has also annoyed and angered many leaders as well. The change from March to September was made for logistical reasons – it is easier to prepare such a large event later in the year for a voluntary group that effectively shuts down over summer. However, the even could have been moved forwards to September 2011 or backwards to September 2010. Moving forwards had the disadvantage of meaning some children would miss a cuboree on age rules – easily fixed by adding 6 months to the maximum age for that one cuboree. Moving backwards has a number of disadvantages – it is sooner and in the same year as jamboree so leaders will potentially have trouble getting time off work and away from families, not to mention risking being exhausted and reluctant to help at future events, being the same year as jamboree makes it difficult for leaders and cubs to afford cuboree, being the same year as jamboree is a strain on groups preparing and possibly funding children going on these camps.

Many leaders are unhappy with the new date and are following this up so the dates may  yet change.

Aside from my personal interest in the timing of cuboree, there is a business perspective to this story!

Sometimes, it is necessary to make a change in business, even to long established practices. And those changes may just have to be implemented without much notice or consultation. However, the change is likely to be much smoother if you notify people as soon as possible and explain the reasons for the change if they are likely to be inconvenienced or annoyed by it.

So tell leaders that cuboree is moving to September because time is needed to organise it in the lead up. Simple.

If a change affect many people, especially if you have staff or key stakeholders, the ideal is to involve them in the change process. Ask their opinions, get their suggestions and listen to their objections. You may still do what you had planned but

• they will feel better and more in control if they were involved, which means they are more likely to support the change
• you will know what objections and challenges may arise and therefore prepare for them in advance
• you may be able to adjust the plan a little to reduce concerns and problems
• you will have more confidence that your business will survive and thrive with the change

Humans generally struggle with change, but a consultative process is easier to deal with.

How have you managed any major changes in your business?