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Beginner’s Guide to Website Tax Deductions

March 12, 2018 By Tara DuBois Leave a Comment

Beginner's Guide to Website Tax Deductions

Some brick and mortar business owners shy away from the investment of a company website. But, in order to run a successful business in 2018, you need a business website.

We all understand that designing and launching a new website can be a daunting task, and often a costly one. But, the good news is that your business website may be tax deductible, so read on to learn more.

A Basic Guide to Website Design Tax Deductions for the New Business Owner

As a new business owner, you might want to know whether the costs of website design are tax deductible, leading up to the new tax year.

Good news! A lot of what goes into designing, launching, and maintaining a business website is deductible because it typically falls under “marketing.”

While we are simply website people and we can only provide you with our interpretation of the IRS’s rules, we do know a little about what you can and can’t write off when it comes to your business website. But, ultimately, you should definitely speak to a certified tax professional about whether your website design and maintenance costs are tax deductible.
So, How Do You Write-Off Website Expenses?

First off, it would seem that there are no formal guidelines as to whether website design, development, and maintenance costs can be deducted. In order make it work, some tax people recommend including it in write-off categories that correlate closely with a website as a tool and business asset.

A new business website will require quite a bit of upfront costs, including design, development, platform fees, and subscription costs. Because of this wide range of individual costs, the rules will sometimes differ, as website design may be considered a start-up cost.

Code 197 governs Amortization of Goodwill and Certain Other Intangibles reads as follows:  

“A taxpayer shall be entitled to an amortization deduction with respect to any amortizable section 197 intangible. The amount of such deduction shall be determined by amortizing the adjusted basis (for purposes of determining gain) of such intangible ratably over the 15-year period beginning with the month in which such intangible was acquired.”

Websites are intangible, which means that this category is best suited to website costs.

However, a website design has a relatively short lifespan – it is standard practice to refresh the site content once a year and redesign the entire site every three or four years – and should therefore not be deducted over fifteen years.

What If My Website Is Software-Related?

Websites that are considered software follows the rules for Tax Deduction Guidelines for Purchasing Software. As such, a software website’s costs can be amortized over the three years following the date it goes live.

Your website may be considered software if:

  • It dynamically interacts with users.
  • It interactively generates data.

This means that many e-course platforms may be considered software depending on the extent of the customizability and user interaction required to return data.

How About Advertising or Marketing-Related?

When website design is considered advertising, it opens the door to the most favorable tax write-off category. However, insofar as can be deduced, only websites with product listings or displayed products may be considered as advertising.

Ideally, you should speak to your accountant about the best way to claim tax deductions for your website and related costs. While you’re at it, don’t forget to ask about:

  • Personal funds invested in your business.
  • Charitable donations.
  • Home office space or co-working spaces.
  • Office phone use.
  • Mileage.
  • Business travel costs.

Don’t overlook any available tax deductions this year. A professional accountant can talk you through all the different options.

Filed Under: Business Development, Live Life Unbound, Living Life Unbound, new post, simplicity, Time and Money, Unbound Freedom, Uncategorized Tagged With: running a small business, small business, tax deductions, website design, website development, website maintenance

Top 5 Reasons Running A Business is Hard & How to Rock It

February 26, 2018 By Tara DuBois Leave a Comment

Top 5 Reasons Running A Business is Hard & How to Rock It

Running a business sounds like a great idea – in principle. Having no boss to answer to is wonderful for an independent or introverted entrepreneur. But let’s be honest, some parts of running your own business can be hard. It’s no secret that many businesses fail in the first few years, but your business needn’t become a statistic.

Let’s look at the biggest struggles small business owners face in more detail so that you can be prepared to deal with it and succeed in the world of entrepreneurialism.

Top 5 Reasons Running A Business is Hard & How to Rock It

1. You will want to do everything on your own.

When you start your business, you will be tempted to prove yourself – it’s only natural. However, pride or an unwillingness to look for or accept help can cause you to make costly mistakes.

Don’t fall in this trap. Understand that no person can do everything perfectly and that successful businesses consist of teams of people who each brings his or her talents and skills to the table. Also, you can’t do everything on your own. Each day only has 24 hours, after all!

2. You may receive feedback you don’t appreciate.

You started your business because you feel that you have a great product or service. Your family and friends may even agree. But ultimately, the most important opinion is that of your target audience. For your business to succeed, your product or service must provide the perfect solution to their problem. Sure, if your product is quite good, they will buy it initially, but if you want it to be their go-to solution and if you want them to refer people to you, it has to provide the ultimate solution.

Be open to feedback from the market. Accept it gracefully, and consider suggestions before you bin it. Let your market help you fine-tune your solution to suit their needs.

3. You may want to diversify.

The employment market changed dramatically a few years ago. We went from grey-suited drones to a vast horde of digital nomads. It was scary at first, and the thought leaders of the remote working, freelancing movement advised us to DIVERSIFY. They figured that having your rods in as many ponds as possible will ensure that you catch some fish. However, the modern consumer demands a different type of service provider – they demand the best of the best.

If you want to succeed in a modern world, you need to be the best of the best in your niche. Specialize, but make your service as excellent as possible by offering value-added services to your core product or service.

4. You may be afraid to charge upfront.

If you offer services, you may not feel comfortable charging upfront. It’s a quandary, as clients want to see your work before they pay you, but if they decide not to pay – for whatever reason – you will lose bargaining power.

Find ways to reach a middle ground, because time is money.

5. You may be tempted to undercharge.

In a competitive world, you may undercharge to secure more contracts but beware of making a habit of this, especially early on in your career. When you first start out, you may not have the experience to know exactly how long a project takes, or the additional expectations clients may have. Charging too little – even across more projects – is not sustainable.

Instead of selling at a lower price point, compete on excellence – quality products and services, professional expertise and specialization. Accept that clients who price shop will always opt for the cheaper price, but there are many clients who want quality, even at a higher hourly rate. Those are the clients who will stick around for much longer.

Running a business is hard, mainly because you will always feel that you never really know what you’re doing and whether you’re doing it right. Rest assured that most small business owners feel the same way. Ultimately, being patient and flexible and responding to the needs of your target market is what you need to do to stay current.

Filed Under: Business Development, decision making, Engage & Nurture, Live Life Unbound, Living Life Unbound, new post, Sales Funnel, simplicity, Time and Money, Unbound Freedom, User Experience and Mobility, Value Tagged With: running a business, running a small business, small business

11 Best Blogs to Follow for Small Business Inspiration

February 12, 2018 By Tara DuBois Leave a Comment

11 Best Blogs to Follow for Small Business Inspiration

One of the best things about being a small business owner is that the world is your oyster when it comes to finding inspiration. You can select a mentor to follow and emulate, or you can select a bunch of successful people from whom you can draw inspiration. There’s literally no limit.

In keeping with that, we decided to compile a list of Best Blogs to Follow for Small Business Inspiration.

Best Blogs to Follow for Small Business Inspiration

  1. Big Ideas for Small Business – Headed by Barbara Weltman, the blog’s content deals with technical and legal aspects of running a small business.
  2. Success Harbor – George Meszaros inspires small business owners to achieve success by their definition.
  3. EOFire – Kate Erickson inspires entrepreneurs with great content and step-by-step resources on how to start and build their businesses.
  4. Location Rebel – If you’re a new small business owner still looking to earn your first few thousand dollars online, Sean Ogle will inspire you to break through with his awesome tips on online marketing, productivity and building a lifestyle business.
  5. Buffer Blog – Learn all you need to know about how you can use social media marketing to the benefit of your business with Ash Read’s in-depth posts.
  6. Social Media Examiner – Lisa Jenkins runs the world’s most prolific social media marketing resource.
  7. A Better Lemonade Stand – Starting a business involves thousands of little decisions. Richard Lazazzera will help make those decisions easier.
  8. Nav Blog – Kali Geldis provides great financial advice for small businesses. Learn how to save money while running a successful business.
  9. The Personal MBA – Don’t let your lack of a business degree make you think you can’t run a business because this blog provides helpful tricks and tips to help you become a pro at managing your business.
  10. Smart Hustle – Grow your business to the next level with insightful commentary and interviews with Guy Kawasaki and other inspiring business celebrities.
  11. Hubspot – Hubspot’s marketing blog is a thought leader in the world of online marketing, sharing insightful content, data, research, and reports.

There you have it! Our favorite blogs for small business owners to follow. Did we mention your Best Blogs to Follow for Small Business Inspiration? Please share in comments below!

Filed Under: Business Development, Live Life Unbound, Living Life Unbound, new post, simplicity, Time and Money, Unbound Freedom, Uncategorized, Value Tagged With: running a small business, small business, small business inspiration

The Ultimate Small Business Owner’s Guide to Having a Great New Year

January 8, 2018 By Tara DuBois Leave a Comment

The Ultimate Small Business Owner’s Guide to Having a Great New Year

The New Year means big things for small business owners, but envisioning and having a great New Year are two different things.

As we gear up for 2018, it’s a good idea to set your intentions about what you want to achieve and how to take your business to the next level.

In 2016, Statistics Brain reports that only eight percent of Americans who make New Year’s resolutions end up achieving their goals.

Eight percent! That’s like dreaming about tacos for 12 months and then only being able to eat one bite before it vanishes.

As a business owner, you don’t make resolutions…you make adjustments to how you do business with your eye on the long-term. Although that’s a smart way to do things, sometimes you can get a little tripped up throughout the year.

However, when you break it into small steps, it should be easier to achieve. Let’s sail right into it.

Introducing the Ultimate Small Business Owner’s Guide to Having a Great New Year: 2018 Edition

Reflect on 2017

What important milestones have you achieved in business this year, that can be carried through to help you grow in 2018?

Also, take some time to go through your statistics; such as profits and losses, web traffic, foot traffic, and other important factors to find out where your business is strong and what weaknesses can be improved upon.

While you’re working with these statistics, spend some time organizing and backing up your data from 2017.

Set New Goals

Over time, our goals change. As a business grows, you are exposed to new things and your focus may change. That’s perfectly fine.

However, this is a great time to have a look at your goals to ensure that you are not just going with the flow, but actively pursuing the direction of your dreams.

If you find goal setting tedious, you may want to consider Pray Rain Journaling. This simple method has the power to help align your mindset with your goals to bring about dramatic shifts in your attitude and experience. Many people who have practiced it, have seen life-changing outcomes.

How did you fare in terms of achieving your 2017 goals? If you’ve achieved them all, congratulations!

If you didn’t quite get there, measure just how close you came and consider how you would attempt it, if you had the same goal again.

Use the intel derived from this reflection to set new goals for 2018. Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself!

Do Market Research

The best way to serve your clients is to know them and to understand how they feel about your business. It starts by taking an objective look at your website.

If you were in a customer’s shoes, how would you feel about the business?

Does the website inspire trust?

Try to look for ways in which you can simplify the user experience and provide better content.  Work through the entire process as a mystery shopper: submit a mock inquiry, order a product, submit a return and see how satisfied you are with the process.

Then, mystery shop your competition and see how you compare.

Related Posts: 4 Things Your Competitors Can Teach You About Good Marketing

Reach Out

Stay on top of people’s minds by reaching out to them. Make it your goal this year to scroll through your contacts and to reach out, even if it’s to one person per week.

Another great way to reach out and to spread brand awareness is to attend networking events in your community.

In fact, to help you get the most out of your networking, here are a couple of quick related posts for you:

8 Quick Tips To Networking as a New Entrepreneur

5 Tips to Make the Best Out of Business Networking

Educate Your Audience

You’ll be surprised by how social media can help your company stay relevant. Share your articles, business news and photos via social media.

People do business with people, not with companies and these types of posts make your business seem more approachable.

Invest In Yourself & Your Team

The quieter time of the year is a great time to invest some time into knowledge and betterment.

Whether you decide to advance your skills with a refresher course, learn something new, or read some industry magazines or blogs, or even a book by someone who inspires you, just do it!

Manage Time Positively

We all love to multitask…it makes us feel productive. But, the truth is that multitasking is inefficient and simply exists as a convenient excuse for some of us.

Innovative Time Management Tips for Small Business Owners provides some great insights into why people waste time, and explains why multitasking is no longer effective.

Instead of falling into your old multitasking routine, try to focus on tasks that provide the most value to your business and customers. These tasks can make or break the year and require time and dedication.

Ditch the Politics

2017 was a rough year, politically and emotionally, for everyone. So, to start 2018 off on the right food, we suggest that you ditch the politics in your business and daily life.

That’s right. Ditch ‘em.

Unless your business IS political, you don’t need to burden yourself and your employees with the stress of political agendas and logic battles. Just put it out of your mind and focus on what’s important: serving your customers well.

Learn to Delegate

Managing time is not about doing more with less, but about achieving results. It’s about spending 80% of your time doing the 20% of activities that bring the most results. Learn to delegate mundane tasks that do not require your personal input.

Get More Out of Your Day

By getting up an hour earlier in the morning, you can achieve so much more.

No time to exercise or eat a healthy breakfast? Well, by getting up earlier, you can do that. Of course, you don’t have to exercise, but do something that will positively influence the rest of your day.

Related Posts: 7 Keys to Less Stress and More Achievement

Do you have more insights into making the most of 2018? We’d love to read more about them in comments below.

Filed Under: Authenticity, Branding, Business Development, Create, decision making, Engage & Nurture, Live Life Unbound, Living Life Unbound, new post, simplicity, Time and Money, Unbound Freedom, Uncategorized, User Experience and Mobility, Value Tagged With: goal setting, goals, marketing, small business

How to Choose the Right WordPress Security Plugin for Your Site

October 23, 2017 By Tara DuBois Leave a Comment

How to Choose the Right WordPress Security Plugin for Your Site

WordPress is an awesome tool, which provides unlimited customization through its vast range of native and third-party plugins. It’s ironic how we forget how fortunate we are for having so much choice while wading through thousands of options in search of the right WordPress security plugin. With this post, we aim to make the process of choosing the right WordPress security plugin just a little bit easier for you.

How to Choose the Right WordPress Security Plugin for Your Site

WordPress security is not something to take lightly if you’re serious about following the best practices and building an online following for your business.

Did you know that Google has blacklisted more than 50,000 websites for phishing and 20,000 for malware?

The good news is that the core WordPress software is regularly audited by a large team of developers which makes it very secure. However, you can do a lot to reduce and eliminate risks. Even better, you don’t have to be particularly tech savvy to improve your WordPress security.

With more than 30,000 WordPress plugins to choose from, it’s not easy to choose the right security plugin. While this guide will not guarantee that you choose the right plugin, it will certainly help you make better decisions.

Step 1: Understand the Confusion

When it comes to WordPress plugins, the bulk of them are either handy, great, or amazing. However, there are some that are useless and some that are downright annoying. The descriptions can be confusing for one of two reasons:

  • Deliberate confusion is perpetrated by marketers looking to make money off their plugins.
  • Accidental confusion is caused by well-meaning developers who have experienced the same issue you’re trying to solve.

The latter will typically introduce a genuine solution that narrowly addresses your issue.

When choosing a WordPress security plugin, you have to ensure that you choose one that meets your needs. That leads us to the next point.

Step 2:  Make a Checklist of Features

What are you looking for in your WordPress security plugin? There are close to 2,500 WordPress security plugins to choose from, across a variety of categories, including:

Auditing – This type of plugin allows you to keep a tight reign on who logs onto your site when, and what they are doing while they are there. Using the information from your auditing software, you can identify a risk and respond to a compromise faster.

Detection – These plugins offer great protection for known issues, but not so much for unknown issues. If your site has been attacked, it will be blacklisted by search engines, and flagged by visitors’ antivirus software. Your host may disable your site, or it may be redirected to different sites.

Prevention – These security plugins offer perimeter defense against hacking. These are firewall plugins that prevent:

  • brute force attempts
  • denial of services (DoS)
  • exploitation of software vulnerabilities
  • remote file / local file inclusion attacks
  • cross site scripting
  • remote command execution

Utility – The most common type of security plugins offers a diverse range of tools, including maintenance and backups.

3. Search and Compare WordPress Security Plugins

When you enter the word ‘security’ into the Add New plugin search bar, you will see many results. Each result features a range of statistics to consider:

  • Updated – This is the date on which the latest release was updated. If it has been more than a year, you may want to avoid this plugin as it may not be compatible with the latest version of WordPress.
  • Downloads – This is the number of downloads of the plugin.
  • Average Rating – Out of 5 stars.

It is important to compare the last two factors. A 5-star rating from five users is less of an accurate indication of the quality of the plugin than a 4-star rating across 10,000 downloads.

Next, you must compare the plugins by opening each of those you are considering in a new tab. Pay attention to:

  • Plugin Description:  Read through the description to ensure the plugin does what you expect from it.
  • Requires: Find out whether the plugin can run on your version of WordPress.
  • Reviews: Don’t just rely on star ratings. Also, read user reviews – both good and bad – to understand the reasons why users have rated it as such.
  • Support Overview – This section will provide an overview of the number of open and resolved threats. The key is to see how quickly the plugin author responds to requests. You want to choose a security plugin with an involved author.
  • Screenshots – The plugin screenshots should give you a good indication as to how easy it is to work with a plugin and some of its functionalities.

4.  Test the WordPress Security Plugin

Once you have chosen your security plugin, it is time to take it for a test drive. Simply click on Install and Activate, and then access it from the left-hand menu to change settings and options.

WordPress Security Plugins: A Word of Caution

Don’t leave your WordPress security to chance. Once your site has been compromised, you may have to hire a professional to fix it properly.

We hope this blog post shed some light on the issue of WordPress security plugins.

Filed Under: Live Life Unbound, Living Life Unbound, new post, responsive web design, simplicity, Time and Money, Unbound Freedom, Uncategorized, User Experience and Mobility, Value, web design, web maintenance, web presence Tagged With: Wordpress, wordpress plugins, wordpress security plugin

8 Hidden Benefits to Keeping Your Business Small

October 9, 2017 By Tara DuBois Leave a Comment

8 Hidden Benefits to Keeping Your Business Small

Many of us dream of turning our modest small businesses into huge empires that will change the world and secure the fortunes of our children and their children for centuries to come.

While moguls such as Bill Gates and Elon Musk laugh all the way to the bank, the Hartford Small Business Success Study highlights a different trend.

According to this report, 55% of businesses (ranging from dry cleaners to restaurants and construction companies) were focused on remaining at their current size.

The number of business owners who had the main goal of growing their business has decreased from 41% to a mere 33%.

Noble as that may seem, there are many hidden benefits to owning a small business. After all, 73% of the respondents reported satisfaction with the success of their businesses and the fact that they were building long-term independence.

Perhaps these business owners knew something about building businesses that are successful enough to turn great profits, but small enough to bring true benefits to the owners.

Keeping your small business small means that:

1. You can follow your own moral compass.

When you are responsible for a small team, you have fewer responsibilities, which means that you don’t have to take decisions that don’t sit well with you.

2. You can react fast.

Instead of being bogged down by red tape and endless meetings, you will be much more nimble, which will allow you to make fast decisions and react to market trends in minutes, rather than days.

3. You will have more control.

Keeping your business small means that you can oversee more of its activities. (Let’s face it: We’re all hiding a bit of control freak deep inside!)

4. You will make better connections.

In a small team, it is easier for the business owner to connect individually with each member of staff. This leads to better teamwork and morale.

5. You’ll have a better work-life balance.

It’s true that more money means bigger and better toys. But it is so much easier to take off a day here and there to just rest and recharge.

6. You will be able to do what you love.

You may be passionate what you do, but turning it into a multi-million dollar company means that you will be spending much more time on the strategic business aspects than on your passion.

7. You get to build a business for YOU.

When you build an empire, you will need investors. Before you know it, you will be nothing more than a minority shareholder in the company in which you invested your sweat equity. By staying small, your business will always be yours.

8. You will develop new skills.

When you have a small team of staff, you will have the opportunity to learn new things. You will be the PR person, and you will become great at public speaking. You will deal with outside contractors on issues such as web development or marketing. Who knows how those new skills will benefit your business in the future?

Over to you: What is your take on the multi-million dollar empire vs. successful million-dollar company debate? Let us know in the comments!

Filed Under: Business Development, decision making, Live Life Unbound, Living Life Unbound, new post, simplicity, Time and Money, Unbound Freedom, Uncategorized, Value Tagged With: small business, small business success, small business tips and tricks

The Ultimate Guide to Small Business Trade Show Success

September 25, 2017 By Tara DuBois Leave a Comment

The Ultimate Guide to Small Business Trade Show Success

We have two words for small businesses looking to promote their brands: Trade Shows. An exhibition or trade show presents a great opportunity to connect with potential clients, as it draws plenty of foot traffic. With thorough preparation and by following the tips in this post, you can rock your next trade show, securing enough new business to launch your company to the next level.

Researching the Trade Show / Expo / Event

Since attending an exhibition or trade show requires some investment, it is important to use every tool and opportunity at your disposal to ensure its success. Before you commit, make sure it is, in fact, something that will benefit your business:

Who will be attending?

You want to make sure that those attendees who have already confirmed, are relevant to your industry. This goes for both exhibitionists and clients alike.

How likely are you to turn a profit?

Find out how the event went for attendees in the last two years. You will invest a large sum of money into the event and you need to be sure that the prospects are good before you sign up.

Designing Your Trade Show Stand For Maximum Impact

Once you have completed your event research, it is time to start thinking about how you can make the most of your stand.

Type of Stand

A stress-free stand with an imposing backdrop should help ensure the best return on your investment. Consider your budget and the logistics of your stand and business when deciding on the type of stand. Remember, it is not about how amazing your stand is, but rather about the quality of your services and products. Blend beauty and functionality, and stay within your range of affordability.

Stand Design

You only have a few seconds to grab trade show attendees’ attention. Make it count by expressing your brand persona through the design of your exhibition stand. Ensure that your visuals and clear, concise content relay your unique value proposition. Having your visuals professionally designed would be a great investment.

Bring along chairs along for attendees. After a long day on their feet, they will be much more amenable to listen to your pitch if you offer them a seat.

Be YOUnique

Thousands of people attend trade shows every year. Many industry veterans attend the same exhibitions every year. This is your opportunity to show what makes you different to the other exhibitors by engaging with your audience and by letting your brand shine.

Putting Together Your Trade Show Strategy

Now that you have your stand ready, it is time to execute your plan. It all starts with…

Planning Lead Conversion

The objective of your exhibition stand at the trade show is to attract and convert more leads. How do you plan to do that? Two popular tools include digital signup forms and business cards. Have everything you need on hand to help establish a database of leads which you can nurture and lead towards sales.

  • Bring a container in which to collect business cards
  • Write notes on the back of business cards as specific reminders about the lead

Recruiting an Awesome Team

When choosing a team to run your trade show stand, select those who:

  • are at least as passionate about the business as you are
  • have as much knowledge as you do about the company
  • exude your brand persona

Remember that first impressions matter, and the image your team presents at the trade show could open important doors in the future.

  • Hire sufficient staff to never leave the booth unattended
  • Be friendly
  • Be engaging
  • Look attendees in the eye (not in a creepy way, though!) and smile
  • Acknowledge attendees’ presence
  • Don’t start out with a sales pitch
  • Hand out a business card or promo item
  • Make your pitch short and engaging

Promote Your Stand Beforehand

Let your following know that you’ll be attending the event before and after the event via social media. Not only does it create awareness about the fact that you’re attending, but it will also help to drive traffic towards your stand on exhibition day.

  • Tweet about the event
  • Create a Facebook event
  • Invite clients and prospects you wish to meet at the events

During the Event

  • Take plenty photos
  • Share live video on social media
  • Attend keynote sessions, parties, and sessions

After the Event

After the event, stay in touch with the audience you have built at the event and nurture those relationships via social media and email marketing.

  • Take a day to debrief
  • Collate your contacts into a new database
  • Follow up right away, while they are fresh
  • Write up a blog post

Being prepared for your trade show exhibition is the key to success. No matter which angle you take, it is important to be prepared for any eventuality. Preparedness will ensure that you, your staff and your clientele are all relaxed at the event, which is the right frame of mind for creating openness and engagement.

Filed Under: Live Life Unbound, Living Life Unbound, new post, simplicity, Time and Money, Unbound Freedom, Uncategorized, Value Tagged With: small business, small business success, trade show, trade show preparation

11 Ways to Streamline Your Business During the Back-to-School Season

September 11, 2017 By Tara DuBois Leave a Comment

11 Ways to Streamline Your Business During the Back-to-School Season

It’s that time of the year. You’re done with the kids’ back-to-school shopping, and you’re excited to get back into the flow of your business at full steam. The summer rest has probably sparked a few exciting new goals that can help grow your business.

As a solopreneur or small business owner, your time is extremely valuable, especially since you want to be able to pursue other activities that are important to you in your free time. Streamlining your business is, therefore, essential to make sure you spend less money on mundane business activities and more time on what really matters.

Check out our tips on how you can streamline your business during the back-to-school period and enjoy more time spent on income-producing activities that will provide you with the unbound lifestyle you desire.

“Spring” Clean Your Office

Most people function best in a clean and tidy environment. Perhaps a tidy office is indicative of a tidy mind, which is fertile soil for creative ideas. Check out our post about office organization hacks HERE.

Set Some Goals

Unless you have a goal, you may not know what you’re working towards. The back-to-school period is the perfect time to set new 3-month, 6-month, 12-month, 3-year, and 5-year goals, complete with achievable and measurable milestones.

Create a Schedule

Most businesses benefit from adhering to a marketing program. Of course, at Unbound Web Design we’re all about flexibility and working when inspiration hits, but an editorial calendar is a great way to stay on track.

This is especially valuable for planning your marketing for the holiday season when you’re not in the office. Also, unless you’re marketing regularly, it will be hard to track your results in order to see what works and what doesn’t.                                                                                                                           

Unplug

So many entrepreneurs have become slaves to their gadgets. We have become reactive rather than proactive. Unplug for an hour each morning, and you will be surprised at how much your productivity increases.

Prioritize

Instead of lengthy to-do lists, focus on the three most urgent or most important tasks of the day.

Implement the 80:20 principle, by spending 80% of your time on the 20% of activities that bring the most value to your organization.

Set Boundaries

You will derive more work-life balance from setting boundaries between home life and work life. Even if you work from home, be sure to make some flexible rules which you stick to most often:

  • Set aside 15 minutes a day for personal phone calls or recreational social media.
  • Leave the office at the same time every day, even when you have a lot of work to do.
  • If you have to burn the midnight oil, take a two-hour break to enjoy dinner and some quality time with the family first.

Outsource

As business owners, we tend to take on more than we need to. By outsourcing some of your work, you can free up the time to focus on more important tasks or activities that will make you feel good. Try  to outsource the following types of tasks:

  • tedious tasks
  • time-consuming tasks
  • tasks you’re not good at

Reduce Staff Meetings

In recent years, research has shown that we waste too much time in meetings. Instead of insisting on a weekly staff meeting, consider having your meeting online, or sending out an email update. If you absolutely have to have a meeting, follow the meeting techniques of highly successful leaders.

Organize Your Finances

Handling your money better offers a wide range of benefits, so consider doing the following:

  • Find out what you get for your monthly bank charges. If you’re paying for a service. you’re not using, ask your banker to reduce your costs and reinvest your savings into things that enhance your business.
  • Pay smaller expenses in advance. Many smaller monthly fees can be paid in advance for the year in order to save money and a lot of time every month.
  • File your taxes electronically.

Invest in Knowledge

Since the kids are back to learning, it might be a good time for your own back-to-school knowledge tune-up. What can you learn that will enhance your business further or bring more value to your clients?

Sign up for an online course, join a community class or a MOOC. Many of them are free, so there’s no excuse not to invest a few hours a week into bettering yourself.

Streamline Your Website

Now that your business is streamlined, it may be a good time to see how you can streamline your website. Here are some factors to consider:

  • Streamline the sales funnel from your advertising through to your payment gateway and delivery.
  • Streamline the way clients interact with you by incorporating online chat or placing your contact details in a prominent spot.
  • Create an editorial calendar and consolidate your advertising, social media, blog posts and special offers.

Juggling a business as a solopreneur can be fun, especially when you have systems in place to allow the more mundane tasks to take care of themselves. Thankfully, technology gives us the luxury to free up some time to spend on more fulfilling activities.

Filed Under: decision making, Live Life Unbound, Living Life Unbound, new post, Sales Funnel, simplicity, Time and Money, Unbound Freedom, Uncategorized, User Experience and Mobility, Value, web design, web maintenance Tagged With: organize your business, small business, solopreneur, streamline your business

3 Reasons to Attend a WordCamp Conference Near You

August 14, 2017 By Tara DuBois Leave a Comment

3 Reasons to Attend a WordCamp Conference Near You

We love WordPress for many, many reasons. From the state-of-the-art software to the open support, endless amount of customization and affordable hosting costs – there’s just no reason not to love it. Now there’s something more to love: WordCamps.

Whether you’ve just started your first WordCamp site, or whether you’ve been a developer for a long time, we’d like to urge you to attend a WordCamp near you. Whatever you’d like to learn at your level of WordPress experience, you can learn it at WordCamp.

So, What’s a WordCamp?

WordCamps are informal, community-organized conferences based on WordPress. Put together by WordPress users; it’s the perfect place for both casual users and professional developers to connect, share ideas and collaborate in talks about all things WordPress.

Volunteer organizers, staff, and speakers facilitate WordCamps, which are attended by a good mix of users. In most cases, there are different “tracks,” which that there may be two or three talks that take place simultaneously, allowing you to attend the tracks that suit your level of experience.

Why You Should Attend a WordCamp Near You

Everyone who has attended a WordCamp will give you a different reason why you should attend one, too, but we’ll try to keep it short.

1. Ticket Money Is Used for Good

Nobody profits from the money raised from ticket sales. Instead, it is all placed right back into funding for future WordCamp events, sponsoring local developers to continue their work on wordpress.org, donating to the WordPress Foundation or to fund a future WordCamp.

WordCamps are an affordable investment into your business. Tickets typically range between $25-200, but you will receive so much value in return, in addition to the networking opportunities.

2. It Is An Opportunity to Spend Time With the Community

WordPress is a community, and WordCamps give you an opportunity to connect with others. Not only will you meet great people, but you will be able to learn from others who can help you make the most of your site, and to achieve your goals. Whether you’re a WordPress user searching for a mentor, or a developer looking for clients, WordCamp is the place to find them.

3. You Can Get Real Help From Real People

Have you ever found yourself in a bind with your WordPress site? Online help is available and typically incredibly helpful, but sometimes one-on-one, live help just gets the job done quicker. WordCamp puts you in touch with people who can give you the feedback you need.

As you can see from the three reasons above, WordCamps are a great place to meet up with members of the WordPress community and learn about the many different aspects of the platform. No two WordCamps are the same, so we’d like to start by attending a WordCamp near you, but also to plug into events while you travel. That will provide an opportunity to connect with national and international speakers from around the world, increasing learning opportunities and giving you valuable insights into the world of WordPress.

Click here to find a WordCamp near you.

Filed Under: Business Development, Live Life Unbound, Living Life Unbound, new post, simplicity, Time and Money, Unbound Freedom, Uncategorized, Value, web design, web maintenance, web presence Tagged With: wordcamp, wordcamp conference, Wordpress

5 Reasons Site Speed is Crucial to Your Small Business

August 7, 2017 By Tara DuBois Leave a Comment

5 Reasons Site Speed is Crucial to Your Small Business

Next to Content, Site Speed is the #2 SEO Factor to Focus On

When it comes to developing, designing, and launching a business website there are two major things that most business owners focus on: Content and visuals.

While those are very important, there are some crucial behind-the-scenes aspects of efficient website design that are often overlooked but are still very important to your small business.

One of those underappreciated SEO factors is site speed, and it is absolutely CRITICAL to your SEO, site ranking, and overall small business success.

Here’s why….

1. SEARCH ENGINES LOVE FAST SITES

This is a BIG one. All major search engines give preference points to sites that load faster than the industry accepted standard of 3 seconds.

Google has officially named site speed as one of the markers that their robots use to determine the appropriate site and page rankings when delivering search results.

Plus, it’s a basic user expectation, and search engines cater to the user, not the website:

47% of people expect your site to load in less than 2 seconds.
40% will abandon it entirely if it takes longer than 3 seconds.

(Source: BitCatcha)

2. FAST LOAD SPEEDS REDUCE BOUNCE RATE

Users are far more likely to stay and browse your website when it loads quickly, both from the search results and between pages. In fact, according to KissMetrics, 40% of people abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load.

This means that there will be a significant reduction in your bounce rate when you can improve your site load speed to three seconds or less.

3. FAST WEBSITES ARE MORE TRUSTWORTHY

When your site loads quickly and without error, your users are more likely to trust your site and refer it to friends and family because it is providing a positive user experience.

79% of web shoppers who have trouble with website performance say they won’t return to the site to buy again and around 44% of them would tell a friend if they had a poor experience shopping online. (Source: KissMetrics)

But, there’s more that goes into a great user experience than just site speed, so pay attention to all the moving parts that go into your website. Don’t rush it, and always test it.

TIP: Ask friends and family to review your website frequently to make sure that it is always on point.

4. PAGE LOAD RESPONSE AFFECTS CONVERSION RATES

Slow sites are bad for business, it’s a proven fact. Whether you’re an active e-commerce site or are simply looking for people to download a free ebook or sign up for your mailing list, these are conversions and they are directly impacted by site speed.

Seriously.

A 1-second delay in page response can result in a 7% reduction in conversions, according to a study done by KissMetrics.

That means that, if an e-commerce site is making $100,000 per day, a 1-second page delay could potentially cost you $2.5 million in lost sales every year.

(Source: KissMetrics)

That’s a huge drop in overall annual conversions and profitability because your site is a tiny bit slower than the competition.

5. UPDATING QUICK WEBSITES IS EASIER

Have you ever tried to update plugins or blog articles on a site that takes forever to load, update, or refresh? It’s mind-numbingly frustrating, right?

So, make sure your website is blazing fast and you’ll reap all sorts of ridiculous benefits, SEO and otherwise.

Is your site a little sluggish? Check your current speed grade here! We offer website maintenance and update services that will help you keep your site lightning fast and in good standing with all major search engines.

Here are a couple of examples of site speed improvements that we’ve performed for clients:

Before & After Site Speed Adjustments for ChrisBlevinsWatercolors.com Before & After Site Speed Adjustments for AshleyTurner.org

Let us know if we can help you boost your website load speed today!

Filed Under: Live Life Unbound, Living Life Unbound, new post, simplicity, Time and Money, Unbound Freedom, User Experience and Mobility, Value, web maintenance, web presence Tagged With: seo, site speed, technical seo, website maintenance

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