First, are you using other companies’ trademarks? Imagine going on a major promo blitz and getting a nasty lawyer’s letter from Walla Walla, Wash., saying “Cease and desist–we were here first.” You could end up having to redo all your marketing efforts, doubling your marketing costs. Ouch!

Second, have you protected what you have? For a mere $45, you can properly copyright your website by submitting it to the U.S. Copyright Office. That’s a necessary prerequisite to filing a copyright lawsuit. But when you do that, you could be entitled to statutory damages of anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000 from anyone who ignores your cease-and-desist letter.

womenentrepreneur.com

Identify your intellectual property is a post from: Top Business Opportunities

The effort would represent a striking shift from the rescue program’s original mandate, since it would direct billions of bailout dollars toward a plan that aims more at saving jobs than at righting the financial system. Some economists estimate that small businesses, defined as firms with fewer than 500 workers, employ most of the country’s workforce.

A proposal being floated by senior Treasury Department officials calls for using the bailout funds to expand a government program that helps small companies borrow from banks at low rates to keep their businesses going, the sources said. These “working-capital” loans would come with few restrictions and could be used to buy inventory, hold on to employees and pay off short-term debt.

The initiative would bulk up the Small Business Administration’s most popular lending program, called 7(a). Lines of credit for small companies could greatly increase in size. If a firm failed despite receiving this help, the government would cover most of the losses on the federal loan, perhaps as much as 90 percent. Lines of credit act like the credit cards for companies — short-term, revolving debt used to pay a variety of immediate expenses.

washingtonpost.com

White House Eyes Bailout Funds to Aid Small Firms is a post from: Top Business Opportunities

The government’s SBA program introduced the America’s Recovery Capital, or ARC, loan designed to give small businesses suffering financial hardship temporary relief.

ARC loans are a deferred payment loan of up to $35,000 that can be used for principal and interest payments on existing, qualifying debt or loans. They are 100 percent guaranteed and there are no interest charges to the borrower. SBA will pay the current prime rate (3.25 percent) plus 2 percent to the lender on behalf of the borrower.

Under the ARC loan, the borrower has 18 months to make the first payment and pays back only the principal over five years.

SBA even has tailored a loan to help the beleaguered auto industry. Starting July 1, loans for between $500,000 and $2 million will be offered to finance inventory for eligible auto dealers. The program also is available to RV and boat dealers.

redding.com

Do your homework before applying for federal business loan is a post from: Top Business Opportunities

The bill, H.R. 2965, the Enhancing Small Business Research and Innovation Act of 2009, was introduced to reauthorize the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, which is set to expire on July 31st of this year. However, language in H.R. 2965 will change the definition of a small business from the current definition of “independently owned” to include businesses owned up to 49.9 percent by a single venture capital firm, or 100 percent owned and controlled by multiple venture capital firms or syndicates. (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-2965)

prnewswire.com

New Bill Could Divert Billions in Small Business Contracts to Corporate Giants is a post from: Top Business Opportunities

The Democratic-controlled House passed the climate change bill, a top priority for Obama, by a vote of 219-212. As has become routine on major bills in Congress this year, the vote was partisan, with only eight Republicans joining Democrats for the bill. Forty-four Democrats voted against it.

Climate change legislation still must get through the Senate. Senators were expected to try to write their own version but prospects for this year were uncertain.

After the House vote, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he hoped the Senate can pass a bill “this fall.”

‘BIGGEST JOB-KILLING BILL’

Republicans said the bill was a behemoth that would neither effectively help the environment nor improve an economy reeling from a deep recession.

House Republican leader John Boehner called the measure “the biggest job-killing bill that has ever been on the floor of the House of Representatives.”

Representative Joe Barton, the senior Republican on the Energy and Commerce Committee that played a key role in the bill, said it would set unrealistic targets for cutting carbon pollution. “You would have to reduce emissions in the United States to the level that we had in 1910,” Barton said.

reuters.com

House passes landmark climate change bill is a post from: Top Business Opportunities

Critics of this practice are often large companies which become targets of entities known as “patent trolls.”

Sneaky Strategy

A patent troll acquires one or more patents in a portfolio that provide broad protection for a given technology. The trolls then begin a systematic process of asserting the patents to obtain licensing revenue, usually against large companies with deep pockets.

In some cases, the cost of defending the patent lawsuit is more expensive than simply giving in and paying the requested licensing fees. In many cases, the large companies often pay up.

While some may liken this ability to extortion, if the current proposed legislation is passed and weakens the patent system by devaluing patents owned by entities that do not make, use or sell the product or process covered by the patent, the legislation might do more harm than good.

As an example, independent inventors often do not have the means to make, use or sell an invention, and are only able to make money from an idea by getting a patent and licensing it to large companies. The ability to think up an invention, patent it and subsequently make money off the idea is central to continued innovation.

There are many instances where people are good at inventing but have no means to manufacture the product they invent. The present patent system allows these people to capitalize on their ideas and promotes innovation.

Should the proposed legislation pass, if someone wanted to derive maximum revenue for their patented idea, they will also have to make the invention covered by the patent. The result of such legislation, as currently proposed, will actually stifle innovation and diminish creativity and entrepreneurship.

Many credit the U.S. patent system with the technological boom that has transpired over the last 50 years. Such a powerful tool has provided unprecedented economic growth. While the system may not be perfect, it is still a viable and credible system that awards innovation. Instead of reforming the patent system as proposed, legislation should be restricted to punish the bad actors that utilize the system as it was not intended.

wbjournal.com

Patent Legislation Will Stifle Innovation is a post from: Top Business Opportunities

What Triggers an Audit?
Following is a comprehensive list of things that can trigger an IRS audit:

Failure to include income that has been reported to the Internal Revenue Service
During the month of January, you receive tax documents in the mail declaring income and certain expenses that relate to your tax return. For example:

1. 1099-INT declaring the amount of interest income you’ve received from various sources including banks and investment companies
2. 1099-DIV declaring the amount of dividends you have been paid on your investments
3. 1099-MISC for work as an independent contractor and for rental income from tenants of your commercial properties
4. W-2s and K-1s

The Internal Revenue Service receives this same information. When you file your tax return, the IRS plays a matching game to ensure that you have declared all of this income on your tax return. If you have not, the IRS will recalculate your tax liability and bill you accordingly.

entrepreneur.com

Audit Attractors to Watch Out For is a post from: Top Business Opportunities

“As a result of this legislation, roughly 40,000 small businesses across Texas will be able to hang onto more of their dollars and plow them back into their businesses in the form of new hires and new equipment,” said Gov. Perry. “There aren’t many states that could extend a tax cut to small businesses in these tough economic times – I am proud that Texas has.”

“Thousands of businesses now know that because they won’t have to pay franchise taxes for the next few years, they can instead spend that money bolstering their business operations which are essential components to maintaining our strong state economy,” said Rep. René Oliveira, author of the legislation.

By providing approximately 40,000 small businesses with a tax cut, Texas continues to be an attractive place to start or relocate a business, live and raise a family. Texas’ low taxes, reasonable and predictable regulatory climate, fair tort system and a balanced budget with more than $9 billion in the state’s Rainy Day Fund all contribute the state’s economic prosperity and competitive edge. Texas is home to more Fortune 500 companies than any other state and ranked as the number one exporting state in the nation for the seventh year in a row.

kdbc.com

Governor signs bill to cut taxes for small business owners is a post from: Top Business Opportunities

In just the past two weeks, the rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage has risen to 5.6 percent from 4.9 percent, ending a boom in refinancing and working against a budding recovery in the housing market. Rates on corporate borrowing have also risen, making it more expensive for companies to expand. And the government has been forced to pay more to finance its deficit.

“Households really have no capacity to afford higher rates at this point,” said Scott Anderson, a senior economist at Wells Fargo. “It affects the cost of any long-term borrowing a consumer or business might do, whether it’s auto loans, mortgages or business credit.”

So far, home-purchase activity has been relatively stable, according to a range of indicators. But if the higher mortgage rates persist, it could put a damper on a fragile housing market. Home sales have stabilized in the past few months, though at a very low level, spurred in part by lower rates.

washingtonpost.com

Spike in Interest Rates Could Choke Recovery is a post from: Top Business Opportunities

Time is running out for California residents wanting to take advantage of a $10,000 tax credit. The state set aside $100 million to help home buyers purchasing newly built homes, hoping to jump start the moribund residential-construction market. But only about 20% of the pot is left.

“We’re less than four months into it, and all the tax credits authorized are gone, or practically gone,” said Tim Coyle, a senior VP with the California Building Industry Association (CBIA).

The program launched in March and by June 3 nearly $24 million in tax credit certificates had already been issued, according to the state’s Franchise Tax Board.

That leaves nearly $76 million in credit available – but there are already numerous claims on that money. In fact, if all the submitted applications are approved, only $17.5 million will be left in the fund. And it has a run rate of about $10 million per week.

“The program is working better than intended,” said Coyle. “It’s really pushing people off the fence.”

The credit is available on a first-come first-served basis and was supposed to last through March 2010. Almost any newly built home qualifies, as long as it’s an owner-occupied, principal residence on which property tax is paid. It could be a single-family home, a condo, a coop, a manufactured home or mobile home — even a houseboat. Only owner-built housing does not qualify. There is no cap on the home price or buyer’s income.

cnnmoney.com

California running out of $10,000 tax credits is a post from: Top Business Opportunities

As the economy slows, this is a good time to take a closer look at the federal government, the largest buyer of goods and services in the world. The advantages are clear. The budget is set; the government typically lets vendors know where they stand throughout the bidding process; and, best of all, bills are paid on time, typically within 30 days.

Witcher says he has become a government convert. After hiring a consultant to learn how to navigate the complicated process of bidding for federal work, he shifted his inventory control officer to the full-time task of researching potential contracts and has amassed a database that tracks all the bids the company has submitted – won and lost – to learn from its history.

“The federal government is my No. 1 customer now when it comes to parts,” Witcher says. “It has been continually on a growth pattern for us.”

The government buys virtually everything the private sector does, from condoms to coffeemakers to the services of publicists, pest control experts to entertainers. Yet for some, the idea of doing business with the government raises images of can’t win backroom deals. That’s just not the case with contracts in the small business arena, says Malcolm Parvey, a marketing consultant who has coached Witcher’s company and others on how to win federal bids.

Most of the work is awarded electronically, he notes, through a rigorous procurement process that takes time to master. There’s a high level of transparency, too. The government even lets bidders see who their competitors were and how they priced once the job is awarded.

“I know that small businesses have a great interest in this market; they just don’t have the time and they don’t have the expertise to go after it,” says Parvey, co-author of a new book, “Winning Government Contracts,” due out in February from Career Press.

The book is the latest attempt to simplify what can look like an insiders’ game. There are many guides on how to get federal work, including the government’s own tutorials at the Web sites of agencies such as the U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. General Services Administration as well as popular sites for searching federal procurement such as FedBizOpps.

“With the Internet what used to take 10 days now takes 10 minutes,” he says. “There are more and more agencies that are allowing competitive bidding to be done over the Internet.”

reuters.com

Small Biz Cracking Code For Federal Contracts is a post from: Top Business Opportunities

Facing bankruptcy can be a terrifying experience for a franchisee or small business owner. But it’s not uncommon – and it’s not hopeless either. Not everyone comes back from the brink, but Jeff McKeown is one entrepreneur who did. After four years in the staffing industry, he decided to open his own Express Personnel franchise in Racine, Wis. in 2000 at the age of 26.

In order to put the required $28,000 down, McKeown and his wife borrowed $15,000 and cashed out their 401(k)s and combined savings accounts to come up with the difference. Eager to get his business off the ground, McKeown said he accepted any and all clients, even those with bad credit and iffy documentation. He also felt that to compete, he needed to have the lowest price in town so he kept very small margins.

“Many clients did not pay their bills and several declared bankruptcy with huge payments to me outstanding,” McKeown explained.

By 2003 he owed the franchisor $120,000 and had maxed out all of his credit cards. Express Personnel’s corporate office even sent McKeown a 10-day letter that said the company planned take back the franchise.

That’s when he realized he was in trouble, McKeown said. So with the help of a consultant, he fired 30 percent of his customers, raised prices, and established minimum gross margins and strict credit terms. The business began to grow and by July 2006 he had paid off the majority of his debt. Last year, McKeown says he earned about $160,000 to $170,000 and is expecting to net $400,000 to $500,000 in 2007.

Climbing out of debt

If a franchisee or small business owner is nearing bankruptcy then “either their revenue is short or their expenses are too darn high, but usually it’s both,” according to Jeff Elgin, CEO of Minn.-based FranChoice, a franchise consulting firm.

Elgin suggests taking a good hard look at the expenses for starters, and making sure that all of them are absolutely necessary. “Take away the credit cards,” he said.

For franchisees, “usually, the fundamental issue is that they’re not executing the system,” Elgin said. And if it’s a good franchise company, then it has a proven and reliable system. “If you execute it, you will succeed,” he says. People just need to get “back to the basics of blocking and tackling.”

Indeed, many franchisors have consultants on staff tasked with helping franchisees grow their businesses.

“I thought I knew it all,” McKeown said. He now advises other young entrepreneurs to find a mentor or expert who can offer support and business advice.

By Jessica Dickler, CNNMoney.com staff writer

How to beat bankruptcy is a post from: Top Business Opportunities

Together, federal, state and local governments buy over a $1 trillion dollars in goods and services each year. A not-insignificant amount of that money gets funneled into multimillion-dollar constructions projects. But other federal, state, county, city and town funds get earmarked for smaller projects – everything from website development to brake parts, motivational speakers, pre-printed plastic bags, and alfalfa. Some of that money could be yours if you pursue and win government contracts or subcontracting work from the companies that win big contract awards.

Web sites you may find useful:

1. www.fedbizopps.gov
2. www.onvia.com
3. www.findrfp.com
4. The Dodge Report

Read this very useful article at Business Know How.

How to Get Your Share of Government Contracts is a post from: Top Business Opportunities

When asked how much confidence they have in leaders of a range of public and private institutions, 54% expressed a “great deal” of confidence in leaders of small business, a new Harris Interactive poll found. That put the small business sector atop the list of institutions in which respondents expressed the most confidence. The military came second with 46%, and major educational and medical institutions came next, with each sector notching 37%. The telephone poll of 1,013 Americans was conducted Feb. 6-12.

Though military leadership had the second-largest percentage of respondents expressing a great deal of confidence, that figure has slipped substantially from 2002′s high of 71%. Likewise, the percentage of those expressing a great deal of confidence in White House leaders has slipped from its post-Sept. 11 high of 50% in 2002, to 22% in 2007.

Confidence in the leaders from other public sectors has been slipping as well. The percentage with a great deal of confidence in the Supreme Court dropped from 33% in 2006 to 27% this year. Over the same time period, the support for leadership of organized religion shed three percentage points, going from 30% to 27%.

Outside of small business, the captains of corporate America and Wall Street also saw growing shares of respondents with a great deal of confidence. The percentage of those with a great deal of confidence in Wall Street leadership edged up from 15% to 17% between 2006 and 2007. And “major companies” gained three points, going from 13% to 16% during the same period.

startupjournal.com

Small-Business Leaders Top New Confidence Poll is a post from: Top Business Opportunities

Mr. Poussard, who is a member of the Senior Executive Service, was selected as the director of the Air Force Office of Small Business Programs. He will be responsible for the leadership, management and oversight of the Small and Minority Business Program, the Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Minority Institution Programs for the Department of the Air Force.

Mr. Poussard began his Federal government career with the U.S. Navy as a student trainee in 1982, and has held a variety of increasingly senior positions in the acquisition community. He has been a staff analyst supporting major systems such as the C-17 cargo airlift aircraft, as well as the Deputy Director of Contracting and the Small Business Director at the 11th Wing, Bolling AFB, D.C. He also served as the Director of Contracts and contracting officer establishing the first joint Air Force, National Reconnaissance Office and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency space-based radar program. Mr. Poussard has also served as senior business adviser to Air Force Program Executive Officers and field acquisition commanders for space and command and control programs, providing contracting and business analyses for the development of acquisition strategies and source selections. Additionally, he was the Deputy Director of the Defense Acquisition Regulations System Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, Washington, D.C.

Mr. Poussard holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Northeastern University, a Master’s degree in national security studies from Georgetown University, and a Masters degree in National Resources Management from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. He is also a graduate of several executive leadership courses.

Blackanthem Military News

Air Force Announces New Small Biz Programs Director is a post from: Top Business Opportunities

Massachusetts and Vermont are gearing up to introduce programs this year that require employers either to provide health benefits to their workers or make annual payments to help cover the uninsured. The governors of California, Pennsylvania and Illinois have proposed similar plans, and others are percolating in the legislatures of several other states.

Among the loudest critics of so-called pay-or-play requirements are business groups, which say the added cost would hurt legions of small businesses, ultimately forcing them to raise prices or lay off workers. But a closer look suggests that while some small businesses might be squeezed, a great number would be exempt from the rules. And many businesses and self-employed workers could even benefit by dropping their current health plans and picking up cheaper coverage through state-sponsored programs.

Read complete article at startupjournal.com.

States’ Health Plans May Aid Small Firms is a post from: Top Business Opportunities

The exact rules for forming a limited liability company, or LLC, vary by state. An LLC is similar to a partnership but has the legal protections of personal assets that a corporation has without the burdensome formalities, paperwork and fees.

All new LLCs must file so-called articles of organization with their secretary of state’s office. This is usually just a short form that asks for the names of the LLC and its members and their contact information, along with a filing fee that ranges from $30 to $200. A few states also have other registration requirements. You can find the rules and fees involved at your secretary of state’s Web site or at http://smallbusiness.findlaw.com/business-structures/llc/. Click on “State Guide: Forms and Filing Fees for Business Formation” under the Tools & Resources section.

Though it’s often not required by law, you should draft an operating agreement for your LLC that spells out the details of the business arrangement, including members’ percentage ownership, roles, rights and responsibilities, says Anthony Mancuso, a business attorney in Berkeley, Calif., and author for Nolo Press. Having such an agreement can help protect the LLC structure if it’s challenged in court and prevents you from having to default to state operating rules.

You don’t have to hire a lawyer to set up an LLC, since state requirements are usually self explanatory. But it’s a good idea to have one read over paperwork and operating agreement to “make sure your interests are protected,” says Mr. Mancuso.

Even though most states don’t require any annual paperwork or administrative procedures, you should document major business proceedings and lay out some formal procedures — like one meeting a year — to help protect your LLC status.

Some states charge annual fees and taxes that can diminish the economic advantage of choosing to become an LLC. California, for instance, charges an annual $800 LLC tax along with a $900 to $11,760 annual fee based on a business’s total annual income exceeding $250,000.

Steps to Take To Start an LLC is a post from: Top Business Opportunities

Some people try to get away with the most absurd things come tax time. Bankrate.com wrote a classic piece on the nine weirdest tax write-offs individuals have tried to take, such as the Amish fellow who pimped out the buggy he used for business and tried to deduct the accoutrements, including a velvet interior and tinted windshield, or the landscaper that deducted the expense of his dog because it would pull the wagon at jobsites.

Tax time can result in temporary insanity in the best of us. The Bankrate story just reminds us that reviewing legitimate tax write-offs and being aware of the newest tax rules can help you file a tax return that won’t raise IRS eyebrows — or make your CPA fall over from laughter.

Weird Tax Write-Offs is a post from: Top Business Opportunities

The 39-year-old Stanford professor of electrical engineering is the world’s most successful manufacturer of self-driving vehicles: He and his graduate students built Stanley, the first car to complete the DARPA Grand Challenge, a 131-mile robot car race across the desert near Las Vegas organized by the research arm of the Pentagon.

That historic success in 2005 netted Thrun a $2 million prize. He reinvested some of it in an even more intelligent Stanley, which will be unveiled at the next iteration of the robot car contest – one that takes place on city streets. Obstacles include stop signs, lights, and cars driven by humans.

Thrun is confident that Stanley is the Model T of self-driving cars. “It might take 20 years, but people said we would never fly massive numbers of people over the Atlantic,” he says. “There’s an enormous waste of productivity in commuter traffic. We could increase the capacity of highways with precision driving.”

That means the auto industry gets to sell us more cars, not to mention safer ones – there were 43,443 U.S. highway fatalities in 2005, and Thrun thinks self-driving vehicles, equipped with cameras and motion sensors and all networked with one another, could reduce that number by 50 percent.

Read complete story here.

Sick of driving? This robot car takes the wheel is a post from: Top Business Opportunities

Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell says state officials will be using Google Earth to promote tourism. The state will provide a $285,000 grant to be used for an “unprecedented” partnership among Google Earth, Carnegie Mellon University, NASA, the state tourism office and the National Civil War Museum.

Eventually, Web users will be able to do virtual interactive tours of historic events and places in Pennsylvania. For instance, people “could see a panoramic view along a trail, zoom in to read the inscription on a Civil War monument, or go back in time to witness the change of seasons on a historic battlefield,” the governor’s statement says.

New technology developed through a partnership among Google, Carnegie Mellon University and NASA’s Ames Research Center combines thousands of digital images to create panoramic images that, when merged with time-lapse, let people explore the space through time.

news.com

Pennsylvania Using Google Earth To Promote Tourism is a post from: Top Business Opportunities

On Tuesday, the council voted 7-2 to amend the home-based business ordinance so that it no longer restricts the number of employees working in the home, but limits activity outside the home.

Complaints over the last year about home businesses disrupting neighborhoods prompted the city to review its existing ordinance, which allowed only one person to work in the home. Complaints have targeted a variety of home-based businesses, including a resident who runs an accounting business from home. And on Tuesday a resident complained about a neighbor who appears to be running a moving company.

“The business across from my home is a moving-and-relocation business. There are large trucks in front of the home. Workers come and go, posing a safety risk to children in the neighborhood,” Abby Mansfield said.

The new law prohibits the number and kind of vehicles at the residence and outdoor equipment storage. Other councilmen weren’t sold that the revised law would address the problems and believed enforcement would become an issue.

chicagotribune.com

Home-business rules get tougher is a post from: Top Business Opportunities

1. A clear description of the service you’ll provide
2. The anticipated results
3. All costs that are included
4. Any special situation or exception
5. Payment terms and conditions

Meet with your attorney and accountant to make sure you’re protected against potential liability and consumer action. Most situations concerning customer disputes arise when a written agreement of understanding wasn’t provided

businessweek.com

Written Customer Agreements is a post from: Top Business Opportunities