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Blitz Ezine # 212 April 28, 2003
Business Basics - Getting your Finances in order

Note: This is an archived issue. Some links and/or content may be outdated

The Blitz-Promotions News Letter.
Issue no. 212, April 28, 2003

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Comments
Food for thought
Articles
The Classifieds
Next Issues
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Blitz Comments
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This week we continue the building your business series with the first lesson on finances. We hope you enjoy it.

Don't forget about our links course - get it at the best price (nothing), before we start charging for it.

http://www.ineedlinks.com/freelinks.htm

Coming Next Issue -
Bookkeeping made easier.

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Food for thought
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Positive thoughts (joy, happiness, fulfillment, achievement, worthiness) have positive results (enthusiasm, calm, well-being, ease, energy, love). Negative thoughts (judgement, unworthiness, mistrust, resentment, fear) produce negative results (tension, anxiety, alienation, anger, fatigue).
Author: Peter McWilliams

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Finances and the Long Haul
Part 1 - The Basics
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Just like any other part of our business, we need to have a financial plan. This lesson we'll talk about some of the basics, lesson 2 we'll be discussing how to make bookkeeping easier (my taxes this year took me less than an hour to do). Lesson 3 we'll be talking in depth about your webstats - did you know that you can figure out a way to advertise on the pay per clicks and NEVER lose money. In part 4 we'll be talking more about some formulas you can use to help grow your business.

In order to start there are some things that need to be done. For many of you this may be a review. Important note - make sure to get professional advice (ie. your accountant, lawyer). As with all our articles we hope this is useful advice and will give you some ideas, but we do not claim to be the final word.

1. Setup your business with the local government.

Before starting your business you should check with your local government office and ask about any fees or licenses that you may need. Another good way to find this information is to talk to local business folks in your area.

2. Get a tax id number.

If you plan on having employees, or will be selling merchandise then this is a must. Many wholesalers won't sell to you without one. More information on the number and how to get one can be found at the link below.

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=98350,00.html

3. Get a business checking account.

This is a no-brainer. It makes life a lot easier when you can seperate your business and personal expenses.

4. Start a filing system - buy accounting software.

If you don't have some kind of accounting software, now is the time to get it. There are many different brand names and prices. Besides the software you'll also need the following. We'll explain all about the process we use next week, but you'll want to get the supplies early.

- Invoice forms - most software packages will fill these out for you.
- An accordian folder - you can get these at Wal-Mart
- File Folders
- Large brown envelopes - the ones that have the clasps
- Small brown envelopes
- Post-it notes
- A planner / PDA
- A place to put your files - Rubbermaid makes some excellent 'boxes' that are great for this purpose - you can also use a filing cabinet, but you will then also need a place to store them.

Till next week - take care.

Next Lessons -

Part 2 - Bookkeeping made easier
Part 3 - Your webstats and what they mean.
Part 4 - Useful formulas - money and your stats.

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Are You Backing Up Your BIGGEST Asset?
By Alexandria K. Brown, 'The E-zine Queen'
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Have you ever accidentally lost an important file on your computer? Perhaps your computer crashed (again) or your cat sauntered over a dooming sequence of keys. Remember that little pang in your stomach you felt when you realized that file was gone for good?

OK, now imagine losing your entire e-zine subscriber list . Did that pang just get a bit more intense? (Ouch!)

'Master List Builder' Joel Christopher asked several Internet marketing gurus the question, 'If your office was burning down and you could save one thing, what would it be?'

The unanimous answer among all of them was, 'my list '!

Your list is your goldmine . It's your pool of warm prospects and clients with whom you've taken months to build a level of credibility and trust. They're your ticket to a steady stream of income.

It can take years to build a large collection of opt-in subscribers. But they can disappear in a flash if they're not protected.

So, are YOU backing up your list on a regular basis? (Be honest!) If not, let's get you started today.

<< If Your List Resides on Your Computer...

If you send out your e-zine or e-mail promotions from your own computer, you MUST make backing-up your list a daily habit. And by 'backing-up,' I mean saving your list to a disk or location other than your hard drive. For example, you can save your list to:
1) a Zip disk (you'll need a Zip drive)
2) a CD (you'll need a CD burner)
3) a floppy disk (these don't hold much data though)
4) an external hard drive (these are less expensive now than they used to be)
5) a secure, Web-based file storage service.

I currently use option 5 for my computer files. The service I use is called I-Backup (http://www.ibackup.com/) and there are many others out there, starting at as little as $3 per month. I prefer this option because I have so many large files on my computer that I'd have to backup my files to several separate disks or CDs. And because this method is so EASY, I'm more likely to follow through and back-up my files on a regular basis! I also like I-Backup for traveling, as I can upload files that I'll need to access on the road. This way I don't have to bring disks with me.

If you use a type of list management software that resides on your computer or your own Web server, such as Broadc@st or MailLoop, it can probably schedule automatic backups for you. See the program's help files or contact their support center for assistance.

<< If You Use an Online List Service...
>> Even if you host your list online with a listserve (such as Topica) or an autoresponder service (such as GetResponse) that should make their own secure backups, you should still make your own backup copy on a regular basis! Just download or 'export' a copy of your list each week for safekeeping. It should be pretty easy to do. This procedure varies depending on what program you use, so see its help files or contact their support center for assistance.

<< Consider Purchasing a Battery Backup System >>
Southern California is known for its frequent power outages, and they were wreaking havoc on my computer. So I purchased a battery backup unit. (I chose APC's 650 model.) It's about the size of a breadbox and keeps my computer going for another hour or so in the event of a power outage. This gives me ample time to back up any files I'm working on and shut down my computer properly . It also functions as a surge-protector to keep my computer safe from electric surges. You can buy units like these at any large office supply store, and they range in price from $100 to $500.

<< Don't Put It Off Any Longer! >>
I know that backing-up your files seems like another irritating addition to your busy schedule. But remember that you've worked hard to build your list ... and your business. So take just a few minutes each week to protect that investment.

TIP: Pick a certain day each week to back up your list. For example, my electronic calendar automatically reminds me to do this every Friday.
(c) 2003 Alexandria K. Brown

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Alexandria K. Brown, 'The E-zine Queen,' is author of the e-book, 'Boost Business With Your Own E-zine,' available at
http://www.ezine-queen.com.

For *hundreds* more great tips like these, visit her site and sign up for her FREE biweekly newsletter, 'Tips from the E-zine Queen.' Don't miss the next issue - subscribe today!