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Top 4 Reasons You Need Insurance for Your Home-Based Business

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Did you know that more than half of all businesses in the US are home businesses? That means you’re in good company, especially if you are one of the 40% of small office home office businesses that carry adequate insurance.

Here’s what you need to know about having insurance for your home business:

Your homeowner’s insurance policy does not cover your home-based business.

We repeat: Homeowner’s insurance DOES NOT cover business assets

One would assume that a homeowner’s policy would provide sufficient coverage for a home business, but it doesn’t. Even if it does include business coverage, the amount is likely rather limited. The average policy offers around $250 for premises, and it doesn’t necessarily cover business assets, such as:

  • Outside buildings used for business purposes.
  • Damage or loss of data or business records.
  • Loss of income caused by loss of business property.

Here are some good reasons to consider getting yourself a policy that is designed to cover your small office home office:

  1. If you’re a financial adviser and a client sues you because your advice cost him money, your homeowner’s policy will not even look at it.
  2. If you’re a photographer or an IT professional, your home may be targeted in a robbery and you could lose all your expensive equipment. Since your computers, cameras and other equipment are considered business property, it will not be fully covered by your homeowners’ insurance.
  3. Most homeowners’ policies do not cover third party claims, especially for business deliveries, so they will not cover slip and fall accidents that occur when someone is delivering something to your home.
  4. If the outbuilding or shed on your property from which you run your business catches fire and you lose your equipment as a result, your homeowner’s policy will not cover it.

However, for a small additional fee, you can probably include add-on cover to your homeowner’s policy to protect you from the situations described above. It may just be sufficient for your small one-person operation, especially if you don’t have a lot of business equipment, and if you don’t receive many deliveries or visitors.

But, if you require better protection, you may want to consider:

General Liability for your SOHO – This policy will protect you from third-party claims, such as those from delivery drivers, liability or slander, and damage to a third party’s property (if you rent temporary office space, conference facilities or storage).

Professional Liability – Errors and omissions insurance provides protection in case you are sued for negligence.

Business Owner Insurance – Business owner policies provide comprehensive cover, including professional liability claims, loss of business data or equipment, and general liability.

Property Insurance – General liability insurance policies usually include property insurance.

Life, Health, and Disability Insurance – This policy provides an extra layer of protection in case you and or your employees suffer injuries or death.

Be smart about your home business in the short term, and you will reap the rewards in the long term.

Beginner’s Guide to Website Tax Deductions

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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.

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

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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.

11 Best Blogs to Follow for Small Business Inspiration

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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!

A Beginner’s Guide to Navigating Landing Page Design & Development

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Landing pages have arguably the biggest trend in web design for the last year and a bit. If you’ve been a bit slow on the uptake, you’re not yet too late, because landing pages are not going anywhere. Now you may be wondering how to go about creating your landing pages. There are three options:

  • Designing your own pages from scratch (DIY).
  • Using a web-based landing page editor.
  • Hiring an outside agency to create it for you.

Navigating the Virtues of Landing Page Design & Development…

Each of these options offers its own unique features, along with advantages and disadvantages. It’s up to you to weigh up the options and choosing the one that fits your needs best. Let’s look at the differences.

DIY Landing Page Design

Foundation and Bootstrap are the two most common options for businesses who wish to design their own landing pages. Since these online landing page builders don’t have drag-and-drop or point-and-click interfaces, you will have to code it yourself.

The fact that DIY frameworks are usually free is a huge selling point and since you’ll be doing the coding yourself, your options are limitless.

The only disadvantage is that you need major skills. You need to know how to code or how to borrow snippets of other people’s code. Of course, you could learn how to do it, but there’s no instruction manual. It will take time to figure it all out, unless you have a team of designers who can code your landing page, do split-testing and make all the necessary changes.

Online Landing Page Builder

This option is a hybrid between the first and last option. It is half-DIY and half similar to hiring an agency to design your landing pages.

An online landing page builder is created by coders and designers to provide a ‘what-you-see-is-what-you-get’ editor. It features design templates and plenty of pre-made code, and it is editable and mobile ready.

These online landing page builders typically integrate with popular site builders, email marketing platforms, social media networks and payment gateways.

Templates mean that you give up some of your flexibility, so if you have very specific design requirements, an online landing page builder may not be for you. Most online builders also require a monthly subscription fee.

If that’s not an option for you, you may want to consider the last option…

Hiring an Agency to Design Your Landing Pages

We’re not biased when we say that hiring a skilled agency with professional designers and programmers will more than likely result in the best possible landing page. Professional design agencies have the skills and the tools to deliver the exact landing page you desire.

Your landing page will be feature-rich, easy to use and mobile responsive. Yes, it will cost you a bit more than buying your own online landing page builder, but the investment will be worth the customization options. It may well be cheaper than the time you will have to invest if you opt to build your own DIY landing page, though.

There really is no one-size-fits-all or one-option-beats-all landing page solution, but one may prove to be more valuable or sensible to you depending on your situation.

Which landing page design solution do you prefer and why? Let us know in the comments!

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

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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.

Project Highlight: Prolific Communications Consulting

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Industry: Consulting

Company: Prolific Communications Consulting

Type of Work: Website Design

Prolific Communications Consulting is a brand new boutique consulting firm focused on helping businesses communicate more effectively both internally and externally.

The Challenge

As a new consulting business, Prolific had a lot of catching up to do, starting with a stellar branded website to tell their story and showcase their capabilities to potential clients.

The Unbound Solution

We helped Brittney from Prolific Consulting develop the perfect WordPress website for her new company with a customized template.

The Results

The final website is a clean and bright representation of what enhanced communications can do for your company.

As a new small business owner, I felt exceedingly overwhelmed by the entire process. One of my greatest concerns was finding a high-quality web designer that would represent the product and the business well. Tara embodied all of my business needs and the spirit of what I needed for my business. Tara worked quickly through the creation, collaboration/editing, and final development process for my website. Tara has this keen and unique ability to take nothing and make it EVERYTHING you could have asked for and more. My clients and colleagues consistently are taken aback and mesmerized by the website and its professionalism. Tara DuBois is most certainly a shining star in her industry, and her work will brighten your star in your industry. – Brittney Foster, Owner

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6 Ways to Get Your Team Ready for Holiday Sales & Marketing

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The Holidays Are Coming…Is Your Team Ready?

We’ve been talking about the holiday season on a regular basis at the Unbound blog and for a good reason: the holiday season is upon us! In a matter of weeks, we’ll be in the midst of the busiest shopping season of 2017.

If you have not yet started preparing for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, now is the time to get the ball rolling, as those holidays will be followed by Christmas. Proper preparation is key to a successful (and profitable) holiday season.

Some teams start brainstorming marketing strategies by Labor Day, and by now, they are well on track. But how do you know whether your team is ready to tackle the holidays?

Here are 6 simple ways to tell if your team is ready to handle the holidays:

1. Your Marketing Department is In Sync

By now, you have brainstormed with your marketing department to discuss your overall strategy and agreed on the messaging that will be used to relay your offers to your target audience.  

2.  You Have Outlined Agreed-Upon Goals

The best way to improve upon your bottom line is to use last year’s marketing intelligence to set realistic goals for this year’s holiday rush. If you have already started posting teaser posts about your holiday promos, your audience is probably getting excited already. You’re off to a great start!

3.  You Have Started Investing in Holiday Marketing

By now, you probably have put in requisitions for holiday promotions, and set aside funds for your various marketing efforts.

4.  Extra Staff is on Standby

In addition to social media and pay per click marketing, you have already put out feelers for temporary staff to help handle customer service and of fulfillment.

Don’t forget to procure any prizes that might be needed for contests.

5.  You Know What the Competition is Doing

You know your team is on track to tackle the holidays when someone is keeping an eye on the competition. Keeping an ear to the ground and remaining flexible is a great way to ensure that your business is competitive throughout the season.

Use social listening software to set up holiday shopping keyword searches (Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, winter solstice, Kwanzaa, and Christmas) to help you gather intel as to how many of your customers are celebrating. This might give you great ideas to provide just the right content at the right time, thus boosting your sales for the entire season.

6. Online Marketing is Scheduled

When it comes to connecting with your audience, a serialized approach works best. You will know that you are ready for the season if your team has created a killer social campaign, and scheduled it in a cohesive manner. You should have a global campaign that ties together a range of elements, all scheduled and ready to go.

So, based on the factors above, is your team ready to tackle the holiday season?

Project Highlight: Azalfa (Arizona Assisted Living Federation of America)

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Industry: Non-Profit Organizations

Company: Azalfa (Arizona Assisted Living Federation of America)

Type of Work: Website Functionality Updates

Azalfa, or the Arizona Assisted Living Federation of America, is a non-profit, membership-based organization dedicated to enhancing the experience and quality of life of assisted living residents through support and education.

The Challenge

The wonderful people at Azalfa found themselves with an abundance of open career opportunities and needed a way to display them and make them easy to sift through.

The Unbound Solution

To help Azalfa bring great career opportunities to their readers, Unbound Web Design updated the overall look of the website and implemented a robust job search capability and the ability to upload user resumes into the Azalfa database.

The Results

The resulting website is a breath of fresh air for Azalfa and the people they serve. With the new functionality, finding qualified candidates is infinitely easier and will allow the assisted living community will thrive.

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4 Steps to Get Your Small Business Ready for the Holiday Season

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Believe it or not, but the holiday season is upon us! You might still be basking in the afterglow of summer, but winter is upon us, and you know what that means: It’s time to start preparing your business for the holidays.

Overall, the holiday season brings the biggest amount of sales to large companies. As a small business owner, this is your season to beef up your own visibility. Don’t give shoppers a reason to overlook you this holiday season.

Use these tips to get your retail or e-commerce business ready for the holidays:

1. Ensure Your Website is Ready

When last did you update your brand? Now is the time to tidy up, freshen and prepare your website for the holiday rush. Depending on the type of website you use, you may need to:

  • Refine, adjust, and update product listings.
  • Check to ensure that your search function works as it should.
  • Clarify shipping costs and delivery deadlines.
  • Place contact details where it is easy to find (in the header or footer of each page).
  • Test the checkout process to ensure it is simple and functional.

If your business is e-commerce only, consider categorizing items into gift categories to make it easier for users to find what they are looking for. You may also want to consider selling gift cards, as that will help increase post-holiday sales.

Updating your website is important, whether you’re using your website as an e-commerce platform or as a marketing tool for your brick and mortar retail store. The following tips are especially important to the latter:

  • Update your Google Local Search information as well as on Local.com.
  • Put a map as well as coordinates and the full address of your retail store on your site, including your phone number and hours of operation.
  • Ensure that your site is mobile friendly. A majority of shoppers use smartphones to find stores nearby.
  • Add a click-to-call button to your site to make it extra simple for customers to call you.

In addition to preparing your online presence, consider how you will add a festive touch to your store using decor, lighting, music and possibly scented candles. Cinnamon, pine, and apple are great this time of the year.

Many of the principles included in our blog, 4 Tips to Prep Your Website for Festival Season Traffic, can be applied to the holiday season.

2. Plan Your Promos

As you might have guessed, marketing is key to holiday success in a small business. Plan your marketing period for November first through January first now, including:

  • discounts and deals
  • lead generation methods
  • your marketing budget
  • customer loyalty rewards
  • daily marketing

Pre-holiday promotions are always very exciting, and an excellent way to get ahead of the competition.

3. Tidy Up Your Social Media Reputation

Many online and offline shoppers use reviews and social media to choose where they want to shop. Now is the time to tidy up your online presence and ensure that your company’s reputation is in good shape. Use a monitoring tool to keep an eye on mentions so that you can quickly respond to any negative reviews or comments.

While you’re at it, start preparing your editorial calendar and schedule posts to go out throughout the season. That way, it’s one less thing to be busy with while serving all your holiday customers.

4. Review Your Inventory

Do a sales forecast based on last year’s performance and see where you need to stock up. Ideally, your business should offer good representation or products at all the different price points.

Once you have done your preparations, it is time to sit back, relax and enjoy your last few weeks of peace before the holiday rush. Think of it this way: You may be busy over the holiday season while everyone is resting, but you will make great profits that will help you out when the post-holiday sales hit the shelves.