Category: Small Business Tips

This category is where we will do our best to provide useful tips and tricks for the small businesses that we get to work with every day. We will provide details on business practices, ideas about running your business and other helpful information.

Section 179 Deduction Tax Code

What is the Section 179 Deduction?

The Section 179 deduction was a tax code created to encourage businesses to buy equipment and invest in themselves. Typically, when your business buys certain items of equipment, it gets to write them off a little at a time through “depreciation” – it spreads the total deduction out across the “useful” years of the equipment. A bit complicated, and certainly not as appealing as deducting the amount all together.

However, Section 179 allows businesses to deduct the full purchase price of qualifying equipment and/or software purchased or financed during that specific tax year. All businesses that purchase, finance, and/or lease equipment valued at less than $2,000,000 in new or used business equipment during  the tax year of 2016 should qualify for the Section 179 deduction.

What items qualify?

Most any “tangible good” for primarily business use should qualify – though there are restrictions on certain things such as vehicles purchased for business use. Also, a necessary requirement for the tax 179 deduction code to apply, the equipment must be placed “into service” during the 2016 tax year – so ideally, any large equipment purchases that may require special delivery or installation should be placed ahead of time to allow for the equipment to be in service within the tax year window as well.

For a full list of qualifying equipment and restrictions, this list is a great resource for more information.

How much could Section 179 save me?

The Section 179 deduction can have a real impact on your small business, and greatly lower the “true” cost of your new equipment. On the Section179.org website, there is a very convenient and easy-to-use calculator that gives you a peek at what those savings could be. Click here to enter your own potential purchase amounts to see how much Section 179 could save you this year!

 

Epson F6200

Epson F7200

Epson F9200

Equipment Cost: $8,495

Equipment Cost: $15,995

Equipment Cost: $25,995

First Year Deduction: $8,495

First Year Deduction: $15,995

First Year Deduction: $25,995

Cash Savings: $2,973.25
(assuming a 35% tax bracket)

Cash Savings: $5,598.25
(assuming a 35% tax bracket)

Cash Savings: $9,098.25
(assuming a 35% tax bracket)

Lowered Cost of Equipment:

$5,521.75

(after Tax Savings)

Lowered Cost of Equipment:

$10,396.75

(after Tax Savings)

Lowered Cost of Equipment:

$16,896.75

(after Tax Savings)

Customer Service – How to do it right!

Bad Customer ServiceIt would be great if providing good customer service was something that came naturally, but the truth is, it takes training and personal motivation to meet the customer’s needs. A company should make customer service a priority since over 65% of a typical company’s business comes from existing customers, noting it can cost about five times more to get new customers than it does to market to existing ones. So let’s explore ways to improve on customer service and how the Internet and social media impact your success.

Customer service to me means a deep rooted desire to do the right thing. All too often people just roll over and take bad business for the sake of customer service forgetting it is really about working together with your customers to be partners in their business. Being open and transparent with all of your stakeholders and following the golden rule.

Businesses should continually improve their customer service, noting customer’s needs may change the longer the relationship continues. Again, having a deep rooted desire to do what is right and making sure the people who are interacting with your customers have that same passion. Start by writing down your passions on paper, create your motto and actually live by it. It is not good enough to just have this motto on your business card, rather you need to continually make your business decisions based on this mindset to ensure long term customers.

Frequently reviewing your customer service practices so they can be modified to stay current. Most importantly, leave your ego at the door! I have seen way too many small businesses get involved in emotional ego driven spats with customers or even made decisions about operating their company based on emotions. For example, small businesses in our industry get upset with difficult customers instead of looking at their decision to price a job too low, not giving a full explanation of a project or having them sign off on a proof before production. Simple things that could have been completed to prevent a conflict with a customer. Personally, I cannot make my problems my customers’ problems. They are coming to us for a product/service to solve their problem/need, not to create more issues. This means, before you explain why you cannot do something for them, ask yourself, why do they care? Can you fix your problem without even letting them know? Overall, just taking the time to think through some procedures and provide training to those who will be representing your company will take you on the path of great customer service.

With the Internet, social media and websites like Angie’s List and Yelp, the customer has several sources to express their level of satisfaction with the service provided by your company. These tools have now made providing excellent customer service a necessity as anything less may lead to a bad review that can be difficult to recover from as a business. On the positive side, these tools help companies learn what customers need and want for services. Further, businesses can respond quickly to any issues if these websites are monitored closely and will improve the relationship.

Growing Sublimation Sales with Spec Samples

blog2What is more likely to influence your purchase decision at the grocery store? A picture of a bread loaf or the actual loaf? As a savvy consumer, you will want to examine your potential purchase for quality before committing any of your hard-earned money.

The same holds true when you’re trying to sell your sublimated goods. The allure of sublimation is in the outstanding print quality it produces. That can’t be captured in a catalog or Web image. Potential customers need to see and feel the product to determine whether it’s right for them – and that you’re the right one to make it.

This is where spec samples come into play. A spec sample is a pre-made version of a particular product that you use to show a customer, client or prospect what that product could look like with their customization added. They can touch the item, test its quality and see just how amazing sublimation looks on a finished product.

Providing spec samples helps you to drive excitement in both existing and potential customers, which you can then turn into sublimation sales. It just takes some creativity and good sales strategy. Continue reading “Growing Sublimation Sales with Spec Samples”