VoIP phone service has improved significantly since the mid-2000’s. When VoIP first became available to residential and commercial users, call experiences were spotty at best. Call quality was inconsistent, and users would experience delays, dropping off of calls, clicks, echoes, and other undesirable effects. But how times have changed: call quality through VoIP now sounds as good as what you’d expect from copper-wired telephone service.

To ensure reliable VoIP service, you need to consider the network of your small business. If you work in a home office, your existing high-speed internet connection likely provides more bandwidth than is necessary for a hiccup-free VoIP experience, but for business users with multiple lines, bandwidth is a serious consideration.

In 2010, the Small Business Administration reported that 90% of small business owners have adopted broadband, but internet speeds vary. If you plan on using a VoIP service provider, your first step is to ensure you’re working with a strong enough DSL or cable internet access provider. If you work from a home office, you might should elect for a wired Ethernet connection over WiFi.

Solid Internet Connection Means Solid Voice Quality

You can tell your network has enough bandwidth by investigating the VoIP service provider specifications. When looking into these levels for your business, you may hear the terms “upstream” and “downstream,” which are used to refer to the direction that data flows over your business’ network connection. Each VoIP providers have different requirements, and most will make it clear what amount of bandwidth is needed to support their deployment. For example, Vonage suggests a minimum setting of 90 kilobytes per second (kbps) for each line you plan to run, whereas Ring Central recommends your business’ internet connection has dedicated upload speeds of 64kbps or higher. Cloud communications vendor 8×8 suggests that most small businesses have only 25-30% of their employees on the phone at any given time.

If you can make the investment for your growing business, cable internet is about 4-5 times faster than DSL upstream speeds. That said, both DSL and cable services provide sufficient broadband access bandwidth to support a small business’ choice of any of the top VoIP providers.

But, with a growing business comes growing internet usage. Normal internet surfing will not pose a problem, but if you or your staff consistently download large files, send faxes over VoIP, or conduct video conferences, you should ensure that your connection can provide enough bandwidth for these activities, as well as simultaneous voice calls. If you attempt VoIP phone calls while doing other things that stretch your bandwidth, your call quality will be severely diminished or you may not be able to make calls at all.

Tools to Speed Test Your Bandwidth

Most VoIP service providers have speed tests posted on their site or available in their customer support forums that allow you to check your available bandwidth levels. There are neutral utilities available as well, including VoIP Bandwidth Calculator and info-techs.com. These tests require nothing more than a click of a button to begin, and most return results within 15-30 seconds.

To get the best idea of how much bandwidth you are working with, you may want to run several of these tests at one time and average the results. You should also test your network during your peak business hours when you and your staff are conducting business as usual. This will help you get a feel for how your current internet usage and downloading activities affect your system.

There are many factors to consider when planning to implement VoIP phone service for your business. Bandwidth is one, but shouldn’t keep you from moving your phone system to VoIP. After running a few speed tests, you should have the assurance that your VoIP experience will be interference-free. Keep in mind that most internet service providers have more than one bandwidth setting, and if you’re concerned about having limited bandwidth, it may be that you’re currently working with the minimum.

Photo source: ehow.com

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In our current economic climate, it is vital that employees are as efficient and focused as possible.

While motivators such as salary, benefits, and retirement plans are essential to retaining long-term employees, health is often overlooked as the key to a successful, lasting team. Health-related diseases, such as heart disease, forms of cancer, and diabetes, are still among the leading causes of death in the United States.

However, more organizations are encouraging employees to pursue a healthy lifestyle, complete with exercise and a sensible diet. Employers who encourage a healthy workforce can benefit substantially through increased efficiency, fewer employee absences due to illness, and, possibly, lower health insurance premiums as an organization. Personal health has the potential to create more content and effective employees.

Fighting the Daily Doldrums

Many employers have recognized this connection between personal health and its benefits for business.

Some organizations have in-house exercise facilities or offer membership discounts to local health clubs. Other businesses offer low-calorie, organic dining options in the cafeteria. While these are great options to have as an employer, several simple alternatives exist that will encourage healthy practices among employees.

Walking is one of the simplest exercises to maintain productivity and health. Prolonged sitting reduces the body’s metabolism and increases the risk of obesity. The once-desired employee who is strapped to the desk or computer is no longer an asset. Workers who remain at their desk quickly fatigue. Concentration deteriorates quickly; and when concentration dissipates, efficiency quickly decreases.

By simply taking a brief exercise or walking break, employees can “restart” their brains and actually accomplish more within shorter amounts of time. It is a win for employees’ health and for an organization’s production goals.

Restructuring the Company Meeting

Too often, the daily or weekly meetings that occur in an organization are wasted opportunities.

Most company meetings are simply too long and do not tap into strategies that could truly motivate and encourage employee participation and feedback. The end result is a meeting that ends with glazed-over eyes, empty notepads, and bored employees. A forum that was meant to inspire and inform has done the opposite.

Meetings should not last for more than an hour. The average adult attention span lies somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes. While breaking up activities into smaller sections of group work or presentations does help to mentally focus employees, the fact remains that the setting remains constant, and little exercise happens during meetings.

Some executives recommend power walks as an alternative. Several people can discuss an issue or brainstorm solutions while also getting fresh air and exercising. If this power walk could be extended into an organization’s exercise facility so that employees can participate in strength training and aerobic activities, then personal health and cooperative teamwork both benefit.

Presenting Fitness as Fun and Practical

One of the best ways to encourage employees to make a healthy lifestyle a priority is to incorporate these behaviors into the organization’s health insurance plan.

Healthier employees miss fewer work days due to personal illness, and are more productive during their work day, so why not reward those employees with reduced health premiums? In other words, healthy employees benefit in a physical and economic sense by their hard work in the office and at the gym.

Another effective incentive is to create teams that compete to lose weight in a fun contest similar to The Biggest Loser.

While employees enjoy the competition and connection to pop culture, they also work toward actively introducing a healthy diet and exercise to their lives. Any activity that encourages bonding through exercise, such as team running or walking on a regular basis, improves health and enhances interpersonal communication within the workplace.

Team sports are another good way to bond.

Softball, basketball, soccer, or flag football can also increase motivation and build an esprit décor within an organization. Team sports encourage all employees to share their work and acknowledgement. Great teams, whether on the field, the court, or in the office, are built on trust, reliability, and respect.

Encouraging the Healthy, Happy Employee

By taking strategic steps toward prioritizing health in an organization, measurable increases in productivity, motivation, and employee satisfaction can occur. By understanding the need for regular daily exercise and incorporating that into a standard work day, employers have the chance to benefit from higher efficiency, fewer work hours lost to illness, and lower insurance costs to their organizations. In addition, each employee is empowered to invest in his or her personal health.

Success and effective teamwork can exist on the field, in the boardroom, and in the personal lives of healthy employees when the importance of personal health is recognized in the workplace.

Photo credit: wellcommons.com

Frederick Southwick, M.D., is a professor of Medicine at the University of Florida and manages New Quality and Safety Initiatives for the University of Florida and Shands Health Care System. He also is the author of Critically Ill: A 5 Point Plan to Cure Healthcare Delivery.

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A growing business like yours needs to control operating costs and increase efficiencies, and one of the best ways to do this is to automate your business phone systems. But doing so can be a risky move, as it can pit you a tug of war between cost savings and increasing convenience for your customers.

When considering solutions to automate your business phone system, you don’t want to make a decision that might be at the expense of your customers’ patience. Being caught in phone-tree-purgatory is not something you want your customers to associate with doing business with you.

Luckily, there are many great phone automation alternatives that will help you save money on business communications while giving your customers a great experience when seeking information from you. Consider these five cost-saving ways to automate your business phone system:

1. Outbound Communications

Outbound communications hosted through an IVR (interactive voice response) system can be implemented with no expensive equipment. Such systems can deliver hundreds — or even thousands — of messages in minute, which frees up your staff’s time to attend to more complex and mission-critical tasks. Outbound communications are an efficient way to deliver automated appointment and payment reminders, product delivery status notifications, emergency alerts, and more.

Through most web-based phone service providers, you need no additional hardware, software, or phone lines. Through your customer web portal, you’re able to designate one message to all recipients, or merge personalized messages to be delivered to individual customers at a time that you designate.

2. Answering Rules

Use the answering rules feature of your phone system to give each person or department in your company unique business hours. Based on the day or hours of operations, you can customize how each call is routed and offer custom greetings during specific date ranges, in case staff are out on vacation, traveling, attending special events, or can be reached elsewhere. You can also set rules to route calls based on caller ID information to any given phone number. This will help ensure that you’re not missing any important calls after close of business.

3. Dial-by-Name Directory

We’re all familiar with the dial-by-name directory. When you’re an inbound caller, the welcome greeting suggests you “Press 9 for the company directory.” When the caller presses that extension number, the directory automatically asks the caller to enter the first few letters of a person’s first or last name. Alternatively, this could be used for a department as well. The automated directory may then read the name of the person or department and connect the call to the extension.

If you opt to use a cloud-based VoIP phone system, the setup of such automation is typically done through an online portal. You can create a number of extensions and assign them to certain individuals or to a department’s main desk. A caller will hear that name read to them via the auto-attendant’s computer-generated voice. You can quickly add, remove, or change the name of any extension to be applied to your phone system in real-time, allowing you to move at the speed of business and make quick changes as needed.

4. Phone Menu

When set up correctly, a phone menu can act as your receptionist, helping to vet incoming calls and direct them to the proper departments, provide information without needing human intervention, and update callers on certain statuses, such as weather cancellations or service disruptions.

When a user calls, they’re greeted with a list of choices (one of which might be the dial-by-name directory suggested above). For example, “For hours and locations, press 1″. The user enters a choice on the telephone keypad, and the next list of choices or information is read. The key to making a phone menu successful is to provide your customers with a quick and direct way to get the information they’re seeking. If you’re always getting calls that request you recite directions, you may make this option one of the first offered through the recorded message, rather than routing them to your front desk.

5. Communication Options

One of the greatest ways to automate your phone system for the benefit of your customers is to offer them an alternative to voice communications. More and more small businesses are using SMS or text messages to communicate with customers, setting up email reminders and employing self-service utilities on their website.

Cost Savings

There are many ways you can consider the benefits and cost savings of automating your business phone system:

• Save on staff time and wages for outbound notifications, or pay much less per call than a reminder sent by postcard or letter.
• You can go without employing a full-time or in-house receptionist to handle an abundance of inbound queries.
• Keep your IT staff from having to spend time and resources wiring up expensive and complicated hardware or separate phone lines.
• No lost business due to not having the proper systems set up to provide answers quickly to frequently asked questions.

Most importantly, you should discuss and document your goals of setting up your telephone automation before you start implementing any of these options. Consider input from your front desk or administrative staff, department heads, and customers. You may even do a little research into what your competitors have in place, or consider speaking with a consultant who has worked with small business owners to optimize phone automation systems.

Click here to compare options from top vendors on automating your business phone system.

Photo source: blog.eyeball.com

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Starting a small business is expensive enough without paying for some costly firm to handle all of your marketing needs.

Luckily, you can do everything from printing business cards to building a website yourself, without a whole lot of headaches cash out the window. Here’s how:

Stationery

The first step to marketing your small business is to get your name out there, letting people know who you are and what you do. The most traditional way to accomplish this is through basic office stationery including:

• Business cards
• Brochures
• Letterhead/envelopes
• Banners/Posters

There are a number of websites that offer easy-to-use design templates and affordable printing for your business material. Starting out small? Programs like Microsoft Word offer templates for most basic printed material. On BusinessCardLand.com you can create business cards for free and print them out on your home ink jet printer using business card paper.

If you have a bigger order in mind, companies like Staples, VistaPrint, NextDayFlyers and GotPrint allow you to upload your own design or choose from a variety of templates for everything from business cards to brochures to door hangers. Turnaround for orders is generally within a week.

Swag

Whether you’re out at a trade show or spreading the word about your new business at your kid’s T-ball game, it’s always nice to have a fun giveaway that potential customers can use in their daily life. Ideas for these freebies include:

• Magnets
• Mousepads
• Calendars
• Keychains
• Pens
• Hats
• T-shirts
• Mugs
• Bumper stickers

Don’t worry about offering everyone you see a company logo-embossed briefcase.  Keep it simple. A magnet people will look at every time they open their refrigerator, or a chip clip they use to keep their Doritos from going stale are useful, effective marketing tools. Sites like VistaPrint, Zazzle and CafePress all offer a variety of promotional items you can slap your logo and website on.

Website

It’s absolutely essential for any business to have some sort of web presence. If the idea of creating and maintaining a website sends shivers up your spine, don’t be afraid. You don’t need a flashy, graphics-laden page – just a place where customers can find you, learn about what you do and contact you.

“For many businesses, a Web site is the first way that your clientele will look at you–even if it’s just to find your address and phone number. The quality of your site is often a measure of the quality of your business,” Rand Fishkin, founder of Seattle-based search engine optimization consulting firm SEOmoz, told Forbes recently.

Information to include on your website includes:

• Name of the business
• About the business (use photos and bios of people behind business to lend credibility)
• Contact information
• Business hours (if applicable)
• Pictures of product (if applicable)
• Testimonials from customers

The first things you’ll need when building your site are a domain name and a site host. You can purchase these services from sites like GoDaddy.com, NetworkSolutions.com and Domain.com. Again, there are several websites that can both host your site and include design templates – so you don’t have to be a programmer in order to manage it.

Intuit’s website builder says that you can build your site in just three easy steps and you can try it free for 30 days. You can also use a free program like WordPress to build a no-frills website (learn more about how to do that in this article).

Social Media

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Google+
• Pinterest

Your biggest marketing resource these days might also be the cheapest. Having a presence on social media sites like those listed above is essential for businesses who want to show they’re savvy and interested in connecting with their customers. The best part is, joining and maintaining pages on these sites is free – you just have to be in the habit of regularly posting thoughtful updates and interacting with other users. Use a site like HootSuite, which will allow you to schedule updates for Facebook and Twitter in advance – leaving you more time to do business.

For more tips on starting your own business, visit Business.com’s Startup resources.

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What kind of courage does it take to start your own business? Well, over the last few years, it was the economic turmoil — and resulting layoffs – that were the catalyst for countless successful entrepreneurial endeavors. But for many, it’s passion, not a recession, which drives them to take big risks.

Need inspiration before you launch your own business startup? Meet four entrepreneurs who quit their promising, high-paying day jobs to start their own businesses. Even better? Tips straight from the founders on how they succeeded.

Adam D’Angelo, founder, Quora

If you worked for Facebook, would you ever imagine leaving? Adam D’Angelo did. In May 2008, Adam left his post as Facebook’s Chief Technology Officer to launch Quora, a Q&A knowledge-sharing site frequented by tech pundits, executives, internet celebrities and entrepreneurial crowds.

His motivation? According to an interview with Business Insider, “I felt I could make a bigger impact on the world by starting something new, rather than just continuing to optimize Facebook.”

His tips for those who want to start their own thing? “Hiring good people. If you can get the best people, that’s a big part of being successful. Another thing is that the world changes really fast, so being able to keep up with it is really important.”

Photo credit: businessinsider.com

Tina Su, blogger, Think Simple Now

Tina Su spent more than 6 years at Amazon.com in a variety of roles, including design and technology. In 2008, she left Amazon to give herself the freedom to pursue other creative projects. Think Simple Now had been launched in 2007 as more of a personal blogging endeavor, but Tina soon found that her honest and uplifting writing struck a chord with millions of people seeking insight and motivation to lead happy, fulfilling lives.

Her motivation? “After several years, I realized that the more money I made, the less satisfied I became. Days started to blend into one another, time flew by, and I deeply longed for something with more meaning,” she wrote.

What advice would she lend to those starting a new venture? “To get what we want, we need to first have a clear vision of what that thing is. The vision needs to be defined using measurable attributes, along with dates for when you will get there. Once you have a clear measurable goal for what you want and when you want it, you can start to work backwards and map out a plan.”

Another tip worth mentioning? “If your goal is to quit your job to work on your own thing, make sure you map out exactly what your monthly costs are.”

Jenny Blake, author, Life After College

Jenny Blake had it all – a car, a mortgage, a 6-figure salary, a maxed out 401k, vacation time, free meals, and bonuses at a little web company called Google. But there was something … missing. In 2011, Jenny explored a 3-month leave of absence that left her feeling more fulfilled and inspired to take the leap to gainful self-employment, giving her the time to pursue her passion for writing full-time as blogger for Life After College and author of a book under the same name.

Her motivation? “ I realized I wasn’t ready for marriage and babies; I wanted freedom and spontaneity — travel and free agency.”

Her words of wisdom on how leaving a steady, lucrative career to pursue your passion? “That’s the thing about taking great leaps — it creates a snowball effect and makes other huge changes seem almost easy in comparison. Once you’ve found your courage it forms a beautiful platform to continue making soul-stirring changes in your life.”

Thorkil Sonne, previously CEO and founder, Specialisterne

A few years after his son was diagnosed with autism, Thorkil Sonne quit his job in IT at a Danish telecom company to found Specialisterne, a technology firm that places workers with autism-spectrum disorders in software testing roles, leveraging their strengths of being methodical and detail-oriented, having excellent memories, and preferring to work alone.  In 2010, the company reported $3 million a year in revenue and served clients like Microsoft and Oracle.

Though Sonne has since moved on from the role, he’s still evangelizing the business model of giving purpose and employment to the disabled, who are often challenged to find – and keep – a job that suits them.

His motivation, outside of wanting to help his son develop a promising future? “I wanted to do more than just provide a sheltered workplace for people with a disability. My goal is to create opportunities for people with autism on an international scale.”

What might you learn from Sonne? “The key is to find situations that fit employees’ personalities and ambitions, not force everybody into one mold,” he told Harvard Business Review. “That just causes stress, and workplaces already produce too much of that.”

Photo source: businessinsider.com, thinksimplenow.com, lifeaftercollege.com, specialistpeople.com

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A few months ago I came across this CTR report from SlingshotSEO that I found incredibly interesting.

Instead of the usual CTR report just telling us what percentage of clicks the first ranked website will get (which is the main reason every website owner is gunning for that number one spot), SlingshotSEO compared the results of their study with similar studies conducted over four years by other companies. That comparison is what I found most interesting about the study. It showed that over the past few years, the percentage of click-throughs for the top 10 spots have actually dropped dramatically.

For instance, a CTR study conducted by AOL in 2006 found that the first-ranked website garnered 42.1% of all clicks. By the time SlingshotSEO came out with their study in late 2011 that number had dropped to 18.2%! Across the board, every single one of the top 10 ranked positions has lost huge amounts of click-throughs over the years. So what does this tell me about searchers behavior and the future of SEO?

First and foremost, searchers are getting smarter every day. They know that just because a website is ranked first in the search engines that may not automatically mean it’s the best website for them. While many searchers trust Google to deliver the best (and well scrubbed) search results, most searchers understand that some site owners are doing everything they can to trick Google into ranking their website first. That coveted number one spot in Google doesn’t mean nearly as much to a searcher as it does to the website owner.  Savvy searchers are more than willing to dig through a few pages of the SERP to find exactly what they are looking for and will easily jump from site to site to find it. Just because your site is ranked first doesn’t mean you are going to get the click. And even if you do get someone to click over to your site, there is no guarantee they are going to stay put.

Secondly, the declining CTR tells me that SEO alone is not enough to earn consumer trust. Having a strong online brand presence does involve SEO, but brands also need to be heavily invested in social media marketing and content marketing as well.

Brands need to create as many touch points as possible with their online marketing because the more times you can connect with a consumer the more chances you have to earn their trust.

Too often website owners are looking for a direct line from one touch point to sale, making it easier to prove which tactic is the more useful. For instance, they want to be able to say that this Facebook post lead to two new sales leads. Unfortunately it isn’t that black and white. Yes, that Facebook post may have been what touch point delivered that visitor to your site, but how did they come across that post? Chances are that isn’t the first time they have interacted with your brand.

Especially in the B2B realm, consumers are less likely to make a snap buying decision. Purchasing $100,000 worth of equipment is a much bigger decision than deciding where to eat lunch. That B2B consumer is going to spend a lot of time in the research phase of the buying cycle, trying to learn everything they can about potential vendors and which one is right for them. Ranking first in the search engines isn’t enough to convince that B2B consumer that you are the best solution to their needs, especially if they have never heard of you. The rest of your online marketing has to give your target audience a reason to connect, engage and work with your company.

Building consumer trust to the point where someone is ready to convert takes a lot more than ranking well in the search engines.

Your brand has to become a trusted source of information and interact with your target audience in every aspect of their online life in order to build that rapport that leads to conversion.

About the Author: Nick Stamoulis is the president and founder of Brick Marketing, a Boston social SEO and white hat link building firm. With more than 12 years of industry experience, Stamoulis shares his knowledge by posting SEO tips in the Brick Marketing Blog and publishing the Brick Marketing SEO Newsletter, read by more than 150,000 opt-in subscribers.

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Funding is tough to come by. Funding in an economy that is still recovering from a terrible recession is even tougher. According to the Federal Reserve Board, commercial banks have eased the tight lending conditions on small businesses that had begun in early 2007. But while credit has continued to flow and venture capital investment dollars have increased since 2010, the economy has forced many individuals into entrepreneurism, creating more competition for those valuable start-up dollars that will help get your idea off the ground.

There’s a lot you can do to start a small business without relying on funding from third parties. Consider the items you really, truly need to start a new company. For example: Is not having an expensive laptop going to keep you from having a brilliant business idea? Do you need to set up your legal structure before you can produce work? Your ideas, the concept behind which you’re building your new company, are what people will pay for. You don’t need money to start acting on your ideas.

Before you get in your own way, consider these 5 ways to get the assistance you need to grow your company:

1. Barter

Remember, you’ve got something to offer. It may be web design services, it may be an extended network of strong business connections, it may be a prototype that is ready to be tested by beta customers. Leverage it. Use the products and services you bring to the table in order to get the help you need.

2. Use young talent

Note: we are not suggesting that you try to obtain free interns. Federal and state regulators have been cracking down on companies violating the criteria that must be met in order to offer unpaid internships. What we are suggesting is working with young, college-level or entry-level workers who may be interested in volunteering some of their time and skills in exchange for real-world experience, a solid reference, and to build their portfolio or resume.

3. Offer equity

Equity is a sensitive, complex topic. Most individuals who offer up their skills and efforts for equity expect to be part of your business’ future in some capacity. If you offer equity in exchange for services, you not only want this person’s skills, but also their ideas, time, networks, and commitment. It’s important to think of this as a partnership, rather than an exchange of their skills for your future money. Be sure to have an idea of where you want your company to be in the next two,  five, or 10 years, and always get your agreement in writing, as it will become important if you do raise venture capital money in the future.

4. Partner with local colleges

More and more colleges are working with corporate partners to bring real-world challenges to their classrooms. Investigate opportunities at your local universities and see if there’s a way to offer your small business as a case study for students to work on and analyze. You’ll benefit from fresh perspectives on your business problems and opportunities, and students can offer recommendations on how you might achieve certain goals.

5. Get your first customer

Depending on what product or service you offer, if you satisfy an important and frustrating need, you may be able to secure a customer immediately upon starting your business. Who are your core customers? Do you have anyone that fits the bill within your professional network or even family or friends? Consider offering a sign-on discount for those customers who are first to try you out, or give them payment terms that allow you to accept only a partial payment up front – anything to get those first few dollars into your account.

Whether you are starting a company on the side, or launching your venture full-time, you don’t need to turn to banks and investors as your first order of business.

What other tips or options would you suggest for getting your startup business launched with little to no money?

Photo source: michaelgholmes.com, davenport.edu

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It’s not a bad problem to have: You’re starting a business, leads are coming in, and you’re finally to the point of taking on so much new work that you need help. The question is, do you hire a full-time employee? Or, do you take on an independent contractor?

Both classifications of employees have their benefits and drawbacks, and it’s often a difficult decision for you as a small business owner to determine what might be best. After all, your business needs in the short-term might change a year or two from now.

To figure out if hiring a contractor is the best move for your business, or to determine if employing full-time staff is the way to go, consider these 12 items: the pros and cons of hiring contractors vs. full-time employees.

Benefits of Hiring Contractors

PRO: High-speed turnaround.

Contractors work for themselves independently because they have an established, highly-specialized expertise. Typically, they require little to no training in order to be up and running and – most importantly – delivering results. Years ago, positions in the areas of design, marketing, accounting and even web development were traditionally reserved for in-house employees, but the work can often be done faster and more effectively with qualified contractors.

PRO: Increased flexibility around project terms.

If you’re just starting a business and have a surge of work, hiring an independent contractor offers you the flexibility to complete work as the demands rise and fall with your customers. You’re able to take on extra opportunities quickly, and when work levels subside, you’re able to save money and control costs by not paying for full-time employees.

PRO: Access to more senior-level talent at a more budget-friendly rate.

Though hourly and project rates for contractors often appear higher than those of full-time employees, these workers are typically available at a reduced rate, after factoring in cost savings of overhead, taxes, and benefits. This allows you to hire a more experienced freelancer than you’d likely be able to afford if you filled the position in-house.

Drawbacks of Hiring Contractors

CON: No right to dictate how the work is done.

Contract employees may not be available all the time, or may not be available during certain times of the week when you need them. Independent contractors enjoy the autonomy of deciding how best to complete the work you’ve hired them for.  While you may dictate deadlines and desired results, contractors have control over how, where and at what pace the work is completed.

CON: Risk penalties by the government if you misclassify workers.

It’s important to know the difference between an independent contractor and employee, and the Small Business Association provides guidelines to help you determine how to classify workers. If you mistakenly classify an employee as an independent contractor and the government determines otherwise, you could face a number of penalties and be forced to pay payroll taxes, interest, workers’ compensation insurance and more.

CON: Suffer less integration of work.

A contract worker’s activity may not be tightly or thoroughly integrated in the operation of your business activities. Coordinating multiple projects and deadlines can prove to be difficult if a contractor is remote or they are not privy to your overall business goals. Depending on the nature of the work, their deliverables maybe be tied to a certain project, requiring you as the small business owner to apply their work to your overarching strategic efforts.

Benefits of Hiring Full-Time Employees

PRO: Improved workflow.

Having full-time employees once you’ve established your small business allows you to coordinate projects that tie into strategic business goals. Improved communication allows your team to consider the company’s plans, goals, opportunities, and how their work fits into these areas.

PRO: Flexibility in staff resources and abilities.

Often in the world of a small business owner, you must be able to turn on a dime when opportunities arise, or when challenges take you in a different direction. Having in-house full-time employees means you can direct their work, allowing them to experience a variety of tasks, learn new skills and diversify their talents.

PRO: Development of company culture.             

By having in-house staff, you can often establish the tone for your company’s culture, which is made up of the attitudes, beliefs, and values of your collective organization. This often lends itself to your public-facing brand, or how people perceive your company.  Company culture is something that distinguishes your small business’ offerings from others.

Drawbacks of Hiring Full-Time Employees

CON: Having to provide health benefits.

You may not be in a position where you’ve established health benefits for your small business yet. Heck, you yourself might be going without. While it’s legal to not offer medical insurance, it’s is often a necessity when it comes to hiring full-time employees. Not providing health benefits may limit your candidate pool. Many job seekers expect the option to elect health benefits, and once it comes time to sign a contract, it could be a deal-breaker for someone who may have lent significant expertise or assistance to your growing business.

CON: Paying for unemployment.

It’s an unfortunate but all-too-common reality of today’s economic landscape. If you decide to hire full-time help, and find that, months later, you’re unable to financially support full-time staff, you may need to make the tough decision to force layoffs. As a small business employer, you’ll then need to make required payments and contributions on behalf of your employees, which include state unemployment insurance.

CON: Having to take on more people-management challenges.

Unless you run a company in the human resources sector, hiring full-time staff is not something that you’ve likely specialized in. To take on in-house staff, you become more involved in people management issues – motivation, managing changes, establishing processes, managing conflicting viewpoints, personal matters, and more. All of these items may take time away from the mission critical services your small business offers to customers.

Consider the many pros and cons of both independent contractors and employees. But no matter the direction you decide to go in, a growing business is a good sign. Make sure to consider what you’d like your business startup to look like in six months, one year, and five years from now before taking the plunge one way or the other.

Photo source: new-york-employment-lawyer-blog.com, designpunx.com, stoelrivesworldofemployment.com

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In an effort to cut expensive monthly phone bills, many small businesses are turning to VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) services, which offer many of the same features as a traditional landline without the markups.

The biggest incentive for a small business to switch to VoIP services is the opportunity to save on long-distance bills, whether you’re making frequent calls to customers across the country or communicating with employees who travel frequently or who live out of the area.

For a small business, there are endless options for VoIP providers. You can start by calling your ISP to find out what services might be available, but its smart to do your due diligence by researching the myriad of possibilities. Or have a company like Resource Nation match you up with VoIP phone service providers to compare quotes and get companies competing for your business. Each provider offers different services – so it might be helpful to make a list of must-haves (call-waiting, conferencing, faxing, etc.) before settling on one.

How Much Can You Save With VoIP?

Below, we break down the estimated costs associated with a VoIP service versus a traditional landline.

Pros and Cons of IP Phone Service

Pros

• Unlimited local calling and very low-cost, if not free, long-distance calling.
• Call waiting, call forwarding, caller ID, anonymous call blocking, toll-free numbers and local numbers at a low cost (for instance, if you are running a business in one state, you can set up a local number in another state so your business can be listed in local phone directories)
• Free video-calling and video-conferencing, instant messaging, file sharing and more (depending on the service you select)
• The ability to make calls from anywhere in the world with an internet connection using an adapter (depending on the service you select)
• The ability to make VoIP calls with your mobile phone (depending on the service you select)
• Saving lots of money!

Cons

• Call quality might not be as good as with a traditional landline.
• If you lose internet and electric, you also lose your phone service.
• Because it’s web-based, calls are at risk of being hacked.
• If you make a significant number of calls you can slow down your broadband connection.

If the cost savings are attractive for your business, find more tips and advice for choosing VoIP phone service here on Business.com.

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According to the Small Business Association, corporate lenders fund most business start up costs. But obtaining a bank loan isn’t always easy. That said, there’s still plenty you can do to start up your business if you’re short on funds and can’t wait for an angel VC, crowdfunding, friends and family, or a bank to provide the capital you need. With just a little creativity, your costs of starting a business can be less than $350.00.

Call yourself a savvy bootstrapped business owner with these eight steps:

1. Establish the Legal Structure

Determining the legal structure of your business is the most costly aspect of starting up a business. To determine the legal structure of your business, you can access all the necessary information and forms on the IRS website and the Small Business Administration website.

You’ll likely form an LLC, which will require you to finalize documents and provide a check payable to your state for the filing fee of the Certificate of Formation. Note that each state has different requirements and could charge anywhere from $50-$500, plus annual fees. You’ll also need to register your business name, or Doing Business As name, which could set you back another $50. You can enlist the help of a lawyer, or you can do this on your own by consulting the corporate section of your state’s Secretary of State website

COST:  $300.00 (average)

2. Get an EIN

An EIN is like a social security number for a business, and it must be secured in order to do things like open a bank account, apply for business licenses, and file a tax return by mail. You can apply for an EIN for free online through the IRS website.

COST: $0.00

3. Set Up the Books

You can typically learn how to organize your own financial statements for your business in Excel instead of hiring a bookkeeper or investing in any sort of software right out of the gate.

COST: $0.00

4. Launch a Website

Starting a website shouldn’t cost you much more than a vanity URL. You shouldn’t spend an absurd amount to make your web presence official, assuming you want something like JoesOnlineCrabShack.com or redbaggr.com, and not something more expensive or competitive to secure. Use a free website hosting company like Webs.com or Weebly to create a website that can appropriately convey what your business is all about and how your products and services solve your customers’ problems.  Many free hosting companies provide step-by-step site builders you can use to create a website with no development or programming expertise needed.

COST: $10.00

5. Get Business Cards

Thanks to apps like Bump and real-time communication channels like Twitter, there’s really no need for business cards. But, if you’re an old school entrepreneur, search for “free business cards” and save yourself between $50-$100 when you see the inevitable Vistaprint or Moo.com ad. Or, be comfortable with the idea that a business card isn’t needed, and not only will you save money, but you’ll save yourself about 15 minutes of customization time too.

COST: $0.00

6. Create Basic Marketing Materials

Get creative with this one. If you’re not savvy enough to navigate Photoshop or even Microsoft Word to create designs yourself, you can inexpensively outsource the design of a logo, social media images, templates, and more by reaching out to your local college and finding a student who is eager to build his or her portfolio. Or, you could turn to sites like Craigslist to barter your offerings in exchange for work from a fledgling designer.

COST: $0.00

7. Accept Credit Card Payments

If you plan to accept credit cards as online payment, try simple and cheap solutions to begin. Avoid full merchant accounts, which are typically complicated, come with monthly fees, and require programming knowledge to get integrated. Google Checkout or PayPal are both free to start with no monthly fees, though they do take a cut of each purchase.

COST: $0.00

8. Select a Coffee Maker

Congratulations, you’ve started a company! Like the rest of us, you’ll be burning the candle at both ends to get your great idea off the ground, and it would serve you well to invest in an accessible source of caffeine. We recommend scouring Craigslist, neighborhood garage sales, and recycling sites like FreeCycle to get your hands on a free coffee pot. Worse comes to worse, you can pick up a basic Mr. Coffee percolator and a few bags of ground coffee for less than $30 at your local big box store.

COST: $30.00

All this for the grand total of … drumroll … $340.00!

Do you see an area where we might be able to cut costs even lower? Or, where do you feel we scrimped where we shouldn’t have?

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