Top Digital Voice Recorders Including Professional Grade Recorders
I really like the convenience of digital voice recorders. They're perfect for those situations where you don't have pen and paper (or a laptop) handy or for recording meetings or presentations when your fingers just wouldn't be able to keep up.
No more lost ideas or peering at scribbled notes wondering what on earth you meant by that abbreviation!
This collection of Top Digital Voice Recorders includes professional grade recorders; they're like having a recording studio in the palm of your hand. Whether you're looking for a professional-grade digital recorder or just something to record meetings and ideas, here are the best digital voice recorders for business and professional use.
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Most Popular Articles | Newsletter | SB Canada Forum | RSS Feeds | Follow Me on Twitter Top Digital Voice Recorders Including Professional Grade Recorders originally appeared on About.com Small Business: Canada on Friday, March 12th, 2010 at 08:18:51. Permalink | Comment | Email this
The Penalties For Not Filing Canadian Income Tax
A reader writes: "I haven't filed my income tax for several years. What are the repercussions I can face if I file them this year?"
The late-filing penalties can make this a costly mistake. As you see, the standard late-filing penalty is 5% of the balance owing and an additional 1% of the balance owing for each full month that your return is late, to a maximum of 12 months - but if you haven't filed for several years, the penalty for filing your Canadian income tax late could even be higher.
You may be able to decrease the penalties by using the Canada Revenue Agency's Voluntary Disclosures Program; this program "allows taxpayers to come forward and correct inaccurate or incomplete information or to disclose information they have not reported during previous dealings with the CRA, without penalty or prosecution" (CRA).
Another thing you can do is to hire a tax lawyer to mediate with the Canada Revenue Agency if you can afford it.
My advice to anyone who has missed a filing deadline for their Canadian income tax; you definitely need to file your taxes on time this year and get your past tax situation sorted out because the longer you put it off, the more expensive it will get.
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The Penalties For Not Filing Canadian Income Tax originally appeared on About.com Small Business: Canada on Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at 08:20:23. Permalink | Comment | Email this
5 Quick Ways to Organize Your Home Office
Is a messy, cluttered home office slowing you down?
If you're not quite ready for a full makeover but desperately need more home office organization, here are 5 Quick Ways to Organize Your Home Office.
More Home Office Organization Help
Image (c) Alan Levine
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5 Quick Ways to Organize Your Home Office originally appeared on About.com Small Business: Canada on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 08:08:51. Permalink | Comment | Email this
Want More Clients? Just Do These Two Things
"How do I get more clients?" is one of the most common questions I get asked. It figures; getting new clients can be one of the biggest problems for consultants and other professionals who are self-employed, especially when they're just starting out.
Assuming that you provide a quality service coupled with good customer service, the solution to the problem isn't that difficult. To get more clients, you only have to do two things:
1) Get known.
People are always reluctant to hire an unknown entity. The sooner you get your name out there and start to become a known brand that thy can trust with their business, the more clients you'll attract. PAK Your Business Image, Build and Use a Promotion Kit and learn how to Blow Your Own Horn.
Then start working on putting these Top 10 Ways to Get Known into action. Pick one and start working on it.
2) Ask for referrals.
Many business people seem to find this incredibly difficult, but it's the number one way to build your business and get more clients. Whenever you satisfactorily complete a job, ask the client if she or he knows of anyone else who might be interested in your services. If the client is reluctant to pass names along with you, give him or her extra business cards and/or brochures to pass along to potentially interested people.
Also, ask the client for a written testimonial and permission to use it (in your marketing materials, such as your brochures and website). Remember, the worst thing that can happen is that the client will say "No!"
Still uncomfortable? How to Ask for Referrals and Get More Clients provides tips and several referral scripts that you can use to ask clients to give you a referral.
You may also want to try using the system C.J. Hayden explains in Wanted: 100 Referral Partners.
Do these two things, and you'll get more clients guaranteed. But be warned; it's not an overnight process, so the sooner you get started, the better.
And if you're starting from square one, just starting out and starting to work on getting known with no or very few clients that you can ask for referrals from, the two fastest ways to jumpstart your client list are joining local business organizations and cold calling. Use my 10 Cold Calling Tips to make cold calling a more successful experience.
Most Popular Articles | Newsletter | SB Canada Forum | RSS Feeds | Follow Me on Twitter Want More Clients? Just Do These Two Things originally appeared on About.com Small Business: Canada on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 at 08:12:01. Permalink | Comment | Email this
Celebrate Women in Business on International Women's Day
March 8th, International Women's Day, is a great time to reflect on women in business.
Here in Canada, more women are joining the ranks of the self-employed all the time; In 2007, women made up 35 per cent of all self-employed individuals. By 2010, CIBC predicts that one million Canadian women will own a small business. And the number of female-run businesses is rising 60 percent faster than the number of those run by men (Women Entrepreneurs: Leading the Charge, CIBC).
International Women's Day is also a great day to celebrate the triumphs and accomplishments of women everywhere, to reflect on what improvements to women's lives are yet to be achieved, and to do our own part to "ensure that the future for girls is bright, equal, safe and rewarding". Canada's theme for this year's International Women's Day is Strong Women. Strong Canada. Strong World..
To find International Women's Day events near you, visit this page of the International Women's Day website.
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Logo courtesy of Status of Women Canada
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Celebrate Women in Business on International Women's Day originally appeared on About.com Small Business: Canada on Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 08:03:32. Permalink | Comment | Email this
Cool Tool of the Week: Promotions for Facebook Fan Pages
Promotions for Facebook Fan Pages is an application that lets you "create and launch interactive promotions and marketing campaigns on Facebook Fan Pages within minutes." I like that you can create promotions with different formats such as contests, coupons and giveaways, giving your Facebook Fan Page visitors a better chance of engaging with your page.
The cost is reasonable;$5.00 per campaign for a Basic account and $25 per campaign for a Standard account. There are also Premium and White Label accounts available.
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Cool Tool of the Week: Promotions for Facebook Fan Pages originally appeared on About.com Small Business: Canada on Sunday, March 7th, 2010 at 08:33:46. Permalink | Comment | Email this
Hiring Your Spouse as a Contractor or an Employee
"Throughout 2009, I paid my spouse on several occasions for "bookkeeping and administration" work. Based on a response Susan Ward gave to another person's question, I was not treating my spouse as an "employee" (and hence wasn't deducting EI, CPP, or taxes), and was not going to issue a T4 (and haven't registered as an employer). Instead I was doing what Susan Ward suggested and have been contracting out this work to my spouse, and then my wife will treat it as business income on her tax return." Is it really okay to hire your spouse as a contractor? BzKzGz asks.
Follow the link above to see how others have answered this question in the Small Business Canada Forum.
Articles Related to This Question:
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Most Popular Articles | Newsletter | SB Canada Forum | RSS Feeds | Follow Me on Twitter Hiring Your Spouse as a Contractor or an Employee originally appeared on About.com Small Business: Canada on Saturday, March 6th, 2010 at 08:33:18. Permalink | Comment | Email this
How to Start a Home Based Business That Will Succeed
Want to run a home based business of your own but having trouble deciding what to do and getting started? Then this article is for you.
It will show you how to build a home based business from the ground up - a home based business that will succeed rather than just being a drain of your time and money.
Stuck at the idea stage of starting a home based business? Maybe one of the business ideas in one of these articles will inspire you:
And of course, whether you're starting a home based business or a small business with separate business premises, the procedure for starting a business in Canada is the same. Steps to Starting a Business will tell you what you need to know to get your new home based business off the ground.
Image (c) Pamela Adam.
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How to Start a Home Based Business That Will Succeed originally appeared on About.com Small Business: Canada on Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 08:11:28. Permalink | Comment | Email this
Answers to Your Canadian Income Tax Questions
Canadian T1 income tax returns must be filed by April 30th, 2010 while Canadian T2 income tax returns must be filed no later than six months after the end of each tax year.
Remember that you must file income tax return(s) each year even if your small business made no money.
If you have questions about your Canadian income tax there are several different resources on this website that will help you find the answers.
- Canadian Income Tax FAQs for Small Businesses answers questions about income tax such as how to report your income from multiple businesses or a part-time business, whether you can claim business expenses you don't have receipts for or what will happen if you can't pay the tax you owe.
- And you'll want to visit the Small Business Canada forum too. Many people are working on their income tax right now and posting and answering questions. The answer to your question might already be there.
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Answers to Your Canadian Income Tax Questions originally appeared on About.com Small Business: Canada on Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at 08:17:14. Permalink | Comment | Email this
How to Answer the Phone the Right Way
When you're running a business, there's a right way and a wrong way to answer the phone.
If you or your staff do it the wrong way, you'll lose business as customers lose interest in trying to do business with a company that's obviously not interested in them or serving their needs.
Answer the phone the right way, and you'll increase your customer base and your sales. Use these Phone Answering Tips To Win Business.
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How to Answer the Phone the Right Way originally appeared on About.com Small Business: Canada on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 08:16:53. Permalink | Comment | Email this
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