The contest will be held from December 15^th 2008 to March 31^st 2009, and any customer who incorporates, forms an llc or places a doing business as (DBA), or foreign qualification order within that time frame will automatically be entered into the drawing and will receive a FREE bonus item as well such as 500 free business cards or a free copy of “Start, Run and Grow a Successful Small Business” published by the Business Owner’s Toolkit ^tm .

In addition to the Grand Prize drawing for the $5K Giveaway, additional prizes will be added during the contest time frame. Prizes will be outlined further on the BizFilings website.

Karen Kobelski, General Manager, BizFilings, is hoping the timeliness of the contest will not go unnoticed, “Everyday, we are in the fortunate position of helping small business owners follow their dreams. While incorporation helps protect the owners’ personal assets from the debts and liabilities of their business, we know the current economic situation has put tremendous stress on many business owners. It’s harder to obtain capital, and might even be harder for many to meet everyday business expenses. We at BizFilings are pleased to offer a promotion to help one of our customers to make their dream a reality.”

Troy Janisch, host of the nationally-syndicated Business Owner’s Toolkit radio show, recently gathered advice from business owners and business experts to share a free, five-minute audio track offering business advice to entrepreneurs.  The track, entitled ‘Incorporate Your Dream,’ gathers some of the best advice shared on the radio show during 2008 and challenges would-be entrepreneurs to overcome hesitations to pursue their dream of owning a business.

“The audio track is a five minute crash-course in entrepreneurship,” said Janisch. “Two thirds of Americans say they want to own their own business but many of them are overwhelmed by the prospect of starting their own business in a tough economy. The track shares the advice and inspiration of their peers.”

For example, the track cautions entrepreneurs not to let fears of the economy prevent them from being successful. According to the audio track “worrying about the economy is about as effective as building your future on sub-prime mortgages.” Janisch said many of the factors that work against large corporations in a tough economy create advantages for small businesses and entrepreneurs who can bootstrap effectively and provide new, more cost-effective solutions in the marketplace.

The free track is available online at http://www.toolkit.com/radioshow.aspx by clicking “Listen Online Now” is and can be downloaded from http://www.toolkit.com/radio/incorporateyourdream.mp3

Business Owner’s Toolkit radio show is a fast-paced, entertaining, one-hour call-in radio program that provides advice and inspiration to small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs. Hosted by Troy Janisch, publisher of the Business Owner’s Toolkit, the radio show combine in-the-trenches wisdom with a genuine passion for business. The show invites business owner’s to share their success with others and centers topic relevant to business owners. Each Business Owner’s Toolkit Radio show centers on a topic relevant to business owners and provides the information, discussion and resources that listeners need to meet challenges, improve efficiency and increase the profitability of their business.

About the Business Owner’s Toolkit
Business Owner’s Toolkit (www.toolkit.com) provides total know-how for small business. The Toolkit website helps business owners start, run, and grow a successful small business by providing more than 5,000 pages of free step-by-step advice, instruction, and ready-to-use business templates. The site also offers free business webinars, business news and one-to-one advice to business owners by email.

The USLBA “Best of Local Business” Award Program recognizes outstanding businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USLBA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2008 USLBA Award Program focused on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the USLBA and data provided by third parties.

“As a company that focuses on helping local entrepreneurs start their own businesses, this award means a lot to us,” said Karen Kobelski, general manager of BizFilings. “We’re the first place that many local business owners turn when they’re ready to start their own business and need to form an LLC or incorporate. It’s great to know that they value the resources, information, and level of service we provide to get them started.”

U.S. Local Business Association (USLBA) is a Washington D.C. based organization funded by local businesses operating in towns, large and small, across America. The purpose of USLBA is to promote local business through public relations, marketing and advertising. The organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations, chambers of commerce and other business advertising and marketing groups. The mission is to be an advocate for small and medium size businesses and business entrepreneurs across America.

Ready to start your own business? Visit business incorporation services leader BizFilings today. Learn the benefits of forming an LLC or corporation to protect your personal assets and gain tax advantages.

The story of Nick becoming Santa Claus is chronicled in, Santa’s Storybook: A Dream, A Wish and a World of Inspiration.

Nearly 1.5 million Americans launch new businesses each New Year, according to USA Today. Of those new businesses, “Two-thirds survive the first two years,” states Patricia Schaefer, of Franchisetrade.com.

Santa’s Storybook illustrates the seven steps toymaker Nick Claus took in creating his successful business, including:

• Business Plan. Create a formal statement of business goals, the reasons why they are attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals. Nick the toymaker believed that he had the experience necessary to make his toyshop a success and the kind smile to raise sufficient capital.
• Incorporate. Forms a new corporation and safeguards personal assets against the claims of creditors and lawsuits. Realizing that he needed to protect his personal assets and his new business Nick changed his legal persona to Santa Claus.
• Hire. Process of sourcing, screening, and selecting people based on the business needs and the prospects skills. Once Santa Claus set up his toyshop he needed to find a staff that could handle the different aspects of his toy making and who better then the elfin denizens of the North Pole.
• Manufacture. Use of tools and labor to make things for use or sale. Santa Claus and the elves knew that efficiency and skill was needed to make all the toys for the little boys and girls of the world.
• Promote. Distribution of information about a product, product line, brand, or company on a continual basis. To promote the Santa Claus brand, Santa Claus and his elves made appearances in stores, schools and even at sporting events. Every year Santa and his elves make these appearances to ensure the Santa Claus brand is well known and asked for by name.
• Distribute. Allocation of goods and services from those who make them to those who use them. Once the toys were completed Santa Claus needed to distribute them. Using the remaining capital, Santa purchased a shiny new sled and reindeer to transport the toys to the children of the world.

Sign Up. To learn more on how Nick the toymaker was able to make his holiday dream a reality and how your new business wish can come true sign up for a free membership to Business Owner’s Toolkit

Starting a new business can be tough, especially when you are not sure of where to begin. This is why prospective business owners and new business owner’s need resources to ensure that they know every step in the new business process.

Santa’s Storybook and the free membership to Business Owner’s Toolkit gives those new to business ownership the knowhow needed to succeed.

Brodsky and coauthor Bo Burlingham recently shared their wisdom with listeners of the Business Owner’s Toolkit radio show.  According to the authors, there’s a mentality to business success that helps street-smart entrepreneurs solve problems and pursue opportunities as they arise. Brodsky calls this mentality “the knack,” and said it has made all the difference to the successful start-ups of his career.

Here are three founding principles of the knack, and free resources you can use to hone your skills in these areas:

• Numbers run a business. If you don’t know how to read them, you’re flying blind. Learn about managing your business finances by visiting the Business Owner’s Toolkit. The Toolkit also offers a free webinar on Bookkeeping Basics.

• A sale isn’t a sale until you collect. Treat account receivables like loans. Learn about accounts receivable financing and accounts receivable to sales ratio at Toolkit.com.
• Identify your true competitors, and treat them with respect. Get to know your competition and learn how to size up the competition using resources at Toolkit.com.

Thankfully, the Knack is a mentality that can be learned and shared by business owners. Brodsky and Burlingham prove that street smarts and business acumen can be within any entrepreneur’s reach.

If you’re ready to start your business, visit incorporation leader BizFilings to learn the benefits of forming an LLC or corporation for your new business. Doing so will ensure you and your company will have personal liability protection.

INGREDIENTS FOR SUCCESS AS A FOOD ENTREPRENEUR

• Vision
• Mission
• Values

DIRECTIONS: Begins with clearly articulated vision for all stakeholders; Apply customer insights to create mission; integrate company culture. Add goals and measurement. Serves: Any entrepreneur well.

Vision
In the food business, the exceptions are usually based on products that are in high demand—ones that consumers will do or pay anything to get—or those that are associated with, and introduced by, marketers with deep pockets. Even then, if the product does not meet a specific consumer need at the right quality and right price, it will be short-lived.

We can no longer simply afford to think up a new food product, prepare it, and try to market it.

How does all this connect to the food entrepreneur? How does the entrepreneur, wearing all the hats at once, maintain focus? The answer is vision. Simply put, your vision is what and where you envision yourself being (as food entrepreneur, professional, spouse, parent, neighbor, citizen, etc.) in about five to ten years. It is your dream. As a food entrepreneur, your vision should be a positive and inspiring statement of where your business will be at that time. A clearly articulated vision will help you and all your stakeholders (anyone with an interest in your venture) keep on track. Important elements of your organizational vision might include reputation, products to offer, values, types of customer, working environment, manner in which your people would work together, and how you and you team would handle both good and bad times.

You will want to share your dream with, and solicit input from, these stakeholders to develop the strongest possible vision. Revisit your vision from time to time. See how it can be constantly refined. Your vision will help you determine if the task or activity you are doing now is adding value to getting from where you are to where you envision yourself being in five or ten years.

What you are doing, or about to do, in food marketing is part of a system. This system consists of inputs, actions, and outputs. If you can develop the right supplier partnering (inputs), understand variation in your process (actions), and be able to set measurable quality standards (outputs), you have a substantially greater chance of delighting your customer.

In fact, food marketing, and the business supporting it, cannot continue in the same vein as it has in the past. The food industry is notoriously product driven. We are being snookered out of profit generating opportunities because we lack vision—a vision based on perceived customer quality standards. Make the bold move. Cut the waste. Set aside a half hour or more each week to think about your vision. See if the path you have selected is headed in the desired direction.

Example:
“[In the year 20xx], our company is internationally recognized as the premier supplier of [your food products]. We regularly exceed customer expectations by providing innovative and valuable [your food products].”

Mission
Once you have articulated and shared your vision with everyone in your firm, you will need to figure out what you are going to do to realize it. The result is called your mission.

The first and last rule is to know your customer. This presumes that you have people who want to buy and consume your food. It also presumes that you know something about your customer’s needs. This information is then compared with your “bag of tricks”—your distinctive creative and production capabilities—which you utilize to formulate a response to the perceived customer needs. This process can be accomplished by brainstorming ideas.

Example:
“Our company produces the best [your food products], which offer outstanding value and result in regular and repeat sales. We do this in a working environment that is customer oriented and in which our employees are fully involved team members. We make decisions based on facts. We continually plan, track, and measure performance. Our mission success is every employee’s business. Management relies on team members—who know the work better than anyone else—to tell management how to help do the job better. We strive to produce the right product, the first time and every time, at a price both we and our customer can afford.”

Values
Before taking a trip with a group of like-minded people, you have to ask yourselves: “Why do we want to go on the journey? What is our common purpose?” It is important that fellow travelers focus on “Why this particular caravan? Why as a fledgling food entrepreneur?”

This set of values and beliefs helps you decide how comfortable you will be on your journey with others.

This set of behaviors forms the culture of the team. This culture helps you establish your expectations for yourself and others. This way, you know how to work and play effectively together.

Key Results Areas
Ask the following questions: “What do we need to give constant care and attention to throughout our journey? In which areas do we need to achieve results to optimize our resources and be most effective? How will we measure ourselves in each of these areas?” By addressing these “key results areas,” you establish your own goals and measurement system to ensure you get where you want to go in the manner you want to get there.

You can now envision the whole picture of your journey, with whom you are traveling, what to expect of each other, and why you have chosen to travel together. This strategic framework is what you will communicate to others if asked why you have chosen to travel in this caravan. Think of the strategic framework as a road map for a journey that you want to take.

Ready to start your specialty food business? Visit business incorporation services leader BizFilings today. Learn the benefits of forming an LLC or corporation to protect your personal assets and gain tax advantages for your food specialty business.

About the Author
Stephen F. Hall is author: “Sell Your Specialty Food” (Kaplan, NY. 5th Edition of “From Kitchen to Market”). Visit www.specialtyfoodresource.com to learn more, participate in related discussions and subscribe to a free monthly Food Entrepreneur eZine.

Join our lending team, Business Owner’s Toolkit, on Kiva, a non-profit website that allows you to lend as little as $25 to a specific low-income entrepreneur in the developing world. You choose who to lend to - whether a baker in Afghanistan, a goat herder in Uganda, a farmer in Peru, a restaurateur in Cambodia, or a tailor in Iraq - and as they repay the loan, you get your money back.

This October, Kiva Lenders loaned a record $3.6M USD, the highest loan volume for any single month. Growth on Kiva.org in 2008 indicates that lenders are prepared to give throughout the economic downturn.

Kiva.org - the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website - enables individuals to lend to developing world entrepreneurs. Loans made through Kiva.org have averaged a 0.7% default rate over the past 12 months, 4.03 percentage points lower than US Credit Card charge-off rates and 4.04 percentage points lower than US Credit Card default rates(1).

Loans made to entrepreneurs through Kiva.org have achieved a repayment rate of 98 percent, according to data released today by the micro-lending organization. Individual lenders continue to fund entrepreneurs in the developing world at a time when consumers are increasingly aware of the value of each dollar.

Despite the current credit crisis, which has prompted a cutback in loans, Kiva Lenders have never felt more inspired to lend to developing world entrepreneurs. “My recent loans to a Cambodian pig farmer, Azerbaijani clothing seller, Bolivian cheese maker, and others have been repaid in full,” said Katie Pool, a Kiva Lender. “The only interest paid by Kiva borrowers to me is a better world. In today’s financial climate those dividends make me feel like a millionaire.”

If you join the Business Owner’s Toolkit lending team, we can work together to alleviate poverty. Once you’re a part of the team, you can choose to have a future loan on Kiva “count” towards our team’s impact. The loan is still yours, and repayments still come to you - but you can also choose to have the loan show up in our team’s collective portfolio, so our team’s overall impact will grow!

Looking to start, run or grow your own business? Get your free membership to the Business Owner’s Toolkit. Business Owner’s Toolkit™ (www.toolkit.com) offers more than 5,000 pages of free cost-cutting tips, step-by-step checklists, real-life case studies, startup advice, and business templates to small business owners and entrepreneurs.  The site also offers a monthly newsletter, up-to-date news topics, and Ask Alice!, a column that closely follows industry trends and provides trusted advice to inquiring site visitors.

Over the past decade, many highly-educated and successful business professionals bypassed their dream of owning their own business for the large salaries and security offered by corporate America.  However, that security has crumbled for many corporate elite. More than 75,000 jobs have evaporated from the financial services industry during the last year. And, it’s predicted, by New York’s Independent Budget Office, that roughly 33,300 finance jobs in New York City (or 7.1 percent) will be cut by June 2009. 

Many of these professionals are proactively dusting off the dreams they abandoned when they heeded the siren call of Wall Street bonuses and are opening their own businesses. Some of these individuals have rediscovered their passion and success involuntarily, as a result of the economy.  Those who used to trade mortgages are now trading baseball memorabilia. Insurance underwriters are opening their own lingerie stores. IT developers are working on the next Facebook.com. All of the ambition that drove them to the heights of success on Wall Street is now being redirected to those original passions.

What can the rest of us learn? Not to let corporate success bog us down! Those of us who have dreamed about owning our own business — but still have well-paying corporate jobs — shouldn’t give up our dream for the illusion of financial stability provided corporate America.

You can leverage the financial security that your current job in corporate America provides you to start your own business. Here are some tips to starting a business while working for someone else:

• Create a business plan. Take advantage of the time you have to formulate a plan for your business. Based on a study by Jessie Hagen of the US Bank, most businesses fail due to a combination of four factors: poor business planning, poor financial planning, poor marketing, and poor management. Create a business plan that addresses each of these areas and you’ll be ahead of the game!
• Organize your finances. The most likely reason you have remained with your employer is financial — you need the money. So that means evaluating your current expenses and needs, and seeing how you can cut back and what your bottom line amount is to live and support your business. Consider financing options that you can use in the future if needed.
• Set a time frame. When you launch your business while working for someone else, set a time frame for when you will leave the “day job” to work full-time for your company. If it’s possible to begin generating revenue for your new business before leaving your current job, identify the revenue threshhold for the new business that will trigger your exit from corporate America.

If you’re ready to begin your dream, visit incorporation leader BizFilings to learn the benefits of forming an LLC or corporation for your new business. Doing so will ensure you and your company will have personal liability protection.

If you’re concerned about your current employer finding out about your business prematurely, you can form a Delaware corporation or LLC.  Forming in Delaware provides privacy and the ability to get started without filing in the state where you are currently employed.

Answer: Generally speaking, personal tax rates are lower than corporate tax rates. Corporate income is taxed at 34 to 39 percent. Singles making under $80,000 and marrieds making under $160,000 have a personal income tax of 25 percent. This means that businesses with incomes that are less than $350,000 may experience tax savings by forming an LLC instead of a corporation.

However, businesses with income of $350,000 and $10,000,000 may experience tax savings by forming a corporation. This is because the personal rates exceed corporate rates by 1 percent (35-LLC, 34-Corp) for businesses in this income range.

When corporations declare dividends to their owners, the dividends are not deductible to the company. However, the owner pays a low dividend rate of 15 percent or less on these earnings. In this case the tax (to the owner) is less, but the company doesn’t get to deduct the expenses before paying its corporate taxes-hence “double taxation.” Paying too much in dividends (or not enough) can open up the company to penalties by the IRS.

From an operational standpoint, an LLC is cheaper to form and operate in most states. It requires fewer formalities, like annual meeting, minutes, publication notices, etc. However, if you plan to “go public” or bring on investor/shareholders, the corporation is more flexible in this regard. 

As a compromise, business owners can form an S corporation.  This is a standard corporation that chooses to be taxed like an LLC. 

Ready to form an LLC or corporation? Visit business incorporation services leader BizFilings today.

Note: The examples provided here are for illustrative purposes. Tax laws change frequently. When personal or corporate tax rates change, the advantages/disadvantages of a given business structure also change. As a result, it is always a good idea to talk to a tax professional.

Downturns in the economy are actually a great time to start a business that runs more efficiently than competitors. This is because companies are examining every expense for ways to save. If you can offer a better price than their current vendor you will have a decent chance of winning their business — and growing your new company rapidly.

Its never been easier or less expensive to start a company. The key is to avoid common mistakes and ensure that your new venture has the necessary advantages to succeed. Since Q1 and Q2 promise to be the busiest time for many new businesses, it’s important for entrepreneurs to lay the groundwork now

Write a Business Plan
Even though a business plan isn’t required for starting your corporation, it’s not a bad idea. And, in this economy it may be an essential one. Based on a study by Jessie Hagen of the US Bank, most businesses fail due to a combination of four factors: poor business planning, poor financial planning, poor marketing, and poor management.

According to Hagen’s study, in the Business Planning category, 78% of businesses fail due to lack of a well-developed business plan. Business planning software isn’t required — but it’s advantageous. Creating a business plan by yourself is an intimidating task. As a result, it’s a mistake not to use software and free business planning resources to develop an effective plan. That is why Business Owner’s Toolkit provides a free business planning webinar and content for Planning Your Business.

Gain Asset Protection
With a winning business plan in place, one of the next steps is to form the legal entity for your business. To reduce the potential risks to your personal assets, you’ll likely want to form an LLC or corporation. Both have their advantages and disadvantages.

Corporations, for example, make it easier to raise capital by selling stock. There are two types of corporations: S Corps and C Corps. Each have their own advantages. Income from an S Corp, for example, can be rolled into your personal taxes. C corps provide better structure for multiple owners. LLCs are more flexible than corporations in most respects. However, structure can be a good thing when it comes to business.

Build Brand and Infrastructure
When it comes to developing a company’s brand (logo), marketing materials, and web site I recommend working with experienced professionals. By making a modest investment up front on professional materials you’re likely to have a stronger brand, more professional image, and less headaches overall. Business owners should also seek turn-key solutions for basic infrastructure items such as telephone, internet, and marketing-related resources.

Signing up for a free membership at Toolkit.com provides business owners with free trials and discounts from leading vendors such as RingCentral, Register.com, VistaPrint, Constant Contact and GoToMeeting.

Many entrepreneurs start their first company while they’re still employed. This provides them with cash flow, health insurance, and the confidence they need to make a gradual transition to full-time self employment.