Category: Small Business
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Open to new ideas in CPA marketing
It is clear that the first 18 months of my new business marketing has been a flop. The consensus advice “you’re on the right track just keep doing what you are doing” is either insufficient or just plain wrong. There is no logical explanation why my mix of marketing has not generated any new clients…
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Crowdfunding data on small business equity financings
I took time last night to analyze newly released data from the first 50 (more or less) small business equity crowdfunding deals completed in the United States. Some interesting trends are emerging that have significance for investors and issuers; I’m sure I’ll have more to say soon.
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Employee or contractor?
Like most small business accountants, I often find problems with misclassification of workers as contractors. Sometimes the problems find me after an employer has been penalized by the IRS or a state auditor and the owner now needs tax penalty relief just to stay in business. Misclassification can be painful. I can cite plenty of casualties where…
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A new market for predatory lenders
I am increasingly concerned that the aggressive marketing of private alternatives to traditional student loan by commercial lenders is bad for consumers and the overall economy. Historically these loans were too risky for commercial lenders but new tech-driven collection tools and tougher bankruptcy laws make it more attractive for commercial lenders today. Since these same lenders…
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State lawmakers tinker with crowdfunding: helping or hurting?
LexisNexis reported yesterday that “Texas securities regulators this month are considering tweaks to state crowdfunding rules that would lift escrow requirements for smaller investments, changes that attorneys say demonstrate the state’s continued eagerness to fine-tune crowdfunding”. Other media sources covered the advancement of crowd funding in North Carolina this week. Many other states are also…
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Small business are under cyber attack
There are only two types of small businesses: those that have been the victim of cyberattack and those that don’t know it yet. The mounting evidence of data leaks is simply shocking. Small business CPAs are increasingly focused on making online security a high priority for our clients. It pays to get an independent review of…
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Statistics on slow start of equity crowdfunding
The Securities Exchange Commission reports that in the first year of operation of a provision known as “Reg A+” of the JOBS Act, a total of 94 companies filed to raise a total of $1.7 billion in equity financing as reported by Wall Street Journal. Of those, only about half of the offerings have qualified to…
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Comparing Facebook Live vs. Google+ Hangouts On Air
I spent some time this morning attempting to build an argument one way or the other for my future live broadcasting. I was shocked to not see any direct comparison in a third party article. I made some notes myself. It boils down to this, I think: Facebook has the people, the “eyeballs”. Google+ has…
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A birthday greeting
Today is my birthday. I was born on this day in 1960 which makes me 46 after application of my election to take a one decade “do over” for lost time; a concept that almost everyone of my age appreciates. In my case this joke is grounded in reality since I spent most of the…
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How to run a successful small business crowdfunding campaign
Many small business owners dream about tapping the power of the internet to raise funding for their growth. Yet in reality few people have an understanding of what it takes to be successful in the realm of crowdfunding. Many of my talks and article focus on explaining that many of the same attributes that indicate…