Bellwether - A Blytheco, LLC Magazine - 2nd Quarter 2011

8/7/2019 Bellwether - A Blytheco, LLC Magazine - 2nd Quarter 2011

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The Tax Cut Act:Important Benets for Small Business

BELLWETHER

Practicing

Bad Profteers



Bellwether Magazine | Second Quarter 20112

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3 bell• weth•er -noun: one who takes initiative or leadership

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s

e

c

t

i o

n

sLetter from the Editor 5

Book Report 6

Leadership 7

Sales and Marketing 8

Customer Loyalty 9

Cover Article 12

Industry news 14

Featured Article 16

Social Networking 18

State of the Economy 20

Leadership 22

Work | Life | Balance 23

12

14

18

People ask the difference between a leader and a boss.The leader leads, and the boss drives.

Theodore Roosevelt

LEARNING FROM THE PRACTICING

BAD PROFITEERS

To Be or Not To Be...

SOCIAL




LETTERFROMTHEEDITOR

BELLWETHERA Blytheco, LLC Magazine

Volume 2Second Quarter, 2011

www.blytheco.comwww.bellwethermagazine.com

STAFFEDITOR Apryl Hanson

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Greg Went

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Alicia AndersonRon BakerApryl HansonDick LeeCortez NaPueKaren PriceDawn WesterbergGeni Whitehouse

ADVERTISING SALES Dori Fitch

SUBSCRIPTIONS www.bellwethermagazine.comOr contact Dori Fitch -(800) 425-9843, Extension [email protected]

Bellwether Magazine is published byBlytheco, LLC with principal ofces at:23161 Mill Creek RoadSuite 200Laguna Hills, CA 92653

If you wish to be removed from themailing list or to add names to themailing list, send your request, includingname, business name, and mailingaddress to the above address or [email protected]

This is a copyrighted publication andall articles herein are covered by thiscopyright. Any use of the content forcommercial reasons or other form orreproduction of material herein is strictlyprohibited without prior, written approvalof Bellwether Magazine.




by Geni Whitehouse

BOOK REPORT

Evil Plans: Having Fun on the Road to World DominationHugh MacLeod

Famous for his cartoons on business cards, Hugh is an unlikely prophet. But he has a

powerful and important message about doing what you love – which he calls your “Evil

Plan”. He describes his own journey from advertising agency to blogger extraordinaire

and throws in great stories and funny cartoons along the way. Like Vaynerchuk, MacLeod

believes in going all out in pursuit of whatever it is that lights your re. To be successful,

MacLeod says evil plans for world domination have to be wrapped in excellent stories

that lend themselves to socializing. It seems you can’t hatch a successful evil plan in a

vacuum.

Crush It! | Gary Vaynerchuk

Short and sweet (and less than 15% alcohol), this book tells the story of a wine wholesaler who

became an internet sensation. Gary Vaynerchuk has a passion for wine and he’s not afraid to

share it. While his approach is extreme (he doesn’t sleep and never seems to stop working) hehas a powerful message. The key is to have a maniacal passion for your idea. Businesses of

every size can benet from his success in using social media to share that passion. While you

might not want to spend every waking moment being connected or getting social, you can

learn a lot from his ability to create a community of dedicated followers – who eventually turn

into buyers.

Who are you People? | Shari Caudron

This book explores passion from the perspective of hobbyists. The authorset out on a journey to uncover the motivation behind fanatical obsessions–

she wanted to know what made these people tick. While she didn’t uncover

the passion gene, she did gain insights into (and respect for)

the power of shared passions in uniting people from diverse

backgrounds. This book is great fodder for any business owner

who is trying to build a community of raving fans – you never

know what you can learn from Barbie convention attendees,

Josh Groban fans, or the pigeon people. It’s a perspective-

shifter that might just open your eyes and give you new ideas that

you can apply to your business. You might even end up with a new

hobby.




Questionsare the

Answer

Einstein said “Failure and deprivation are

the best educators and puriers.” Applying

that to leadership in business (or any other type

of leadership) allows you the freedom to fail, and

learn from it. I recently had a project that didn’t go as

planned. It gave me and my team the opportunity to tear it apart, and start over fromground zero dissecting the things that went wrong. As leaders we have the privilege

of asking questions of the people that we work with to help them get creative in

learning from their mistakes, instead of feeling punished by them.

In Managing for Results, Peter Drucker writes

“Searching for potential of opportunity in

a company’s vulnerabilities, limitations and

weaknesses is therefore likely to be resented

by its most accomplished people as a directattack on their position, pride and power. This

is the reason why the opportunities are often

not realized by the industry leaders but by

people on or near the outside.”

As leaders, how do we allow ourselves to stay

close to the outside and not get wrapped up

in emotion and ego when looking at business

challenges? It comes back to asking yourself and others around you questions like:

• What worked well about this situation,

project (or what is working well in the

business)?

• What isn’t working well?

• What would we do differently next time?

• What is my gut telling me about this

situation?

• Were there any signs early-on that this

wasn’t working that I ignored?

If we allow ourselves the ability to self reect as

leaders we will develop teams that learn to self

reect, diagnose, and move on to solutions

instead of harping on issues in our businesses.

Mastering this skill will require discipline

but it will be very rewarding.

LEADERSHIP

by Apryl Hanson






The traditional meaning of community has broadened to

include online groups who are aligned with a brand or

cause. Often these communities include a movement of

customers raving about a particular product, or binding

together to ght against a brand. As a company, what canyou do to share in the building of your community?

As customers are collecting together on

different social media landscapes

like YouTube, Twitter,

Facebook and

LinkedIn, what

will the future

of these

communities look like? What can we do to put our best

foot forward?

Chris Brogan, President of Human Business Works, an online

education and community company for small businessesand New York Times bestselling co-author of Trust Agents,

says in his blog (www.chrisbrogan.com) that successful

communities will require authentic loyalty, to and from the

customer. However, he states “Oddly, loyalty programs of

today push the reverse of loyalty: sign up and we will beat

you with even more mail than people who casually swing by.

Sign up and we’ll bother you until you buy. Sign up and we’ll

share your data with other people.”

This has to shift. Membership in a customer community

needs to be more of a shared value experience. Loyalty

should mean “feeling like you’re on the inside” and gaining

access to the exclusive benets of the group, whether

those benets are as simple as information, or as “real” as

discounts or other gifts.

This emphasis on community puts more pressure on small

businesses to take their brands online, but without someone

to listen and correspond with community members, you

leave your brand to chance. There are plenty of software

packages that can make it easier to engage with clients

and decrease the amount of time that it takes

to stay involved. This is new territory for mostbusinesses yet we are increasingly feeling

pressure to participate.

CUSTOMERLOYALTY

DELIVERING ON COMMUNITY

by Apryl Hanson

What does community mean to you? Our world is changing! I knew

that there was a turning point when I was at my favorite restaurant

I have been going to for 15 years and the owner says “Are you following

us on Facebook?”




The goal is for you to

fall in love with your

business again.

Begin a process of fun work with

the purpose of awesome results.

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Marketing StrategyMarketing Plan and Calendar

Campaign Development

Marketing Metrics

Content Development

Public Relations

Social Media

www.dawnwesterberg.com

Geni WhitehouseSPEAKER AUTHOR

CONSULTANT NERD

She’s been called the “comedian CPA.” A self-proclaimed nerd, experienced softwareexecutive and former CPA rm partner,Geni Whitehouse has made it her mission toeliminate boring from the world of presentations.

STRATEGY

EXECUTION

EVANGELISM

CONTENT DEVELOPMENT

www.evenanerd.com

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Good marketing has that kind of energy and focus behind it.

Good marketing says to your prospects: I realize that you are

special and I will go out of my way to make you feel special.

Do you have a sweetheart list? A sweetheart list is a short

list of accounts you would love to have. Maybe it’s based

on the characteristics of the company. Maybe it’s based

on the fact that the company has name recognition or is a

forward-thinking leader in your market. Whatever the reason

– doesn’t it make sense to approach them with the following

purpose in mind? “I realize that you are special.” “I will go

out of my way to make you feel special.”

Let’s say you have a sweetheart list of 12 – set up a GoogleAlert for both the company and the contact. Every time you

get interesting news via Alerts you have a reason to email

or call.

Have you searched them out on Twitter, Facebook and

LinkedIn? Try to make a connection via social media. If

they are on Twitter, you can respond to their Tweets or RT

(retweet) their observations and links. If they are posting

on Facebook, you can leave a comment. If they connect

with you on LinkedIn, you’ll be alerted as to any change

in their status (promotion, move to another company) andif they participate in any groups, you’ll know that as well.

It’s probably worth your time to join the group as well if it’s

appropriate.

Do they have a blog? The fastest way to a blogger’s heart is

a thoughtful contribution to the comments section.

Use every platform to communicate (I’m not suggesting

you spam them). Observe their habits and see if there is a

particular communications preference they have. Use email

to congratulate them on the good news about the company

that you learned through alerts. Use snail mail to send aninteresting article or helpful tool. Use lumpy mailing to send

a logo’d item.

This could also be called guerilla marketing. All of your

activity is saying “I realize that you are special.” “I will go out

of my way to make you feel special.” After 6 months of this

kind of focus, you will have mindshare. You may then chose

to place them on your nurture marketing list and select

another company to take a spot on your sweetheart list.

Here are possible results:

Nothing will happen. (Rare, but a potential reality.)

The efforts of their current provider will be compared to

your efforts. Chances are very good that (sadly) their current

provider isn’t in the “I will go out of my way to make you feel

special” mode. You will have preferred mind share.

They may not be in a position to buy from you yet, but your

efforts have been noticed, and there is a likely chance that

when faced with an opportunity to make a referral, they willpoint another prospect to you.

When they are ready to buy, you will have done such a good

job of distinguishing yourself from the competition, the odds

will be in your favor to win the business.

Remember, it’s not enough for them to decide “I need to

buy XYZ product or service.” Rather you want them to be

thinking “I want to do business with [Your Name Here].”

Years ago, a coworker shared the account o meeting the woman who was to be his uture wie.In courting her, he was relentless in making sure that his sweetheart was receiving regular

deliveries o cards, candy, fowers and later jewelry. His strategy? “I there was anyone she was even

remotely interested in, they would have to run very ast to keep up with me.” Through a variety o

actions and behaviors he was telling her “I realize that you are special.” “I will go out o my way to

make you eel special.”

Courting our Prospects: Marketing Tactics that Say

“I Realize that You are Special”

CUSTOMERLOYALTY

by Dawn Westerberg




COVERARTICLE

by Apryl Hanson

Bain and Company just released (2010) its study

on Customer Loyalty in Retail Banking for North America.

We all know that bank practices and customer service have

been on a trending downturn for what seems to be most of

the past ten years. In fact, most feel held hostage by their

bank in a never ending battle.

In a blog article by Fred Reichheld, author of The Ultimate

Question, he states that the New York Times reported in

October that a federal judge “ordered Wells Fargo to payCalifornia customers $203 million in restitution for claims that

they had manipulated transactions to maximize the overdraft

fees they charged.” Instead of processing transactions in the

order in which they were received, Wells Fargo put through

the largest to the smallest. In a stinging 90-page opinion,

United States District Judge William Alsup wrote that the

practice was unfair and deceptive.

It isn’t that Wells Fargo should be specically

pointed out, but many banks have adopted

similar processes creating an industrynorm and underwhelmed customer

allegiance. In your industry, are

there things that have developed as

industry standards that create a negative

customer experience? These things are somehow

overlooked because we accept the fact that this is how

business is done.

Why?

Instead, might we be able to envision a different way of doing

business outside of the norms that creating uniqueness and

delivering an over the top customer experience. Marketing

books talk about your unique value proposition but most

businesses believe that what they deliver uniquely is their

“customer experience”. While that may be true, I’d challenge

you to think of your business from outside itself, from the

position of your customer looking in. Your customers,

industry standard or not, have the key to what could be you

leaving prots on the table.

So what are bad prots?

Bad prots are charging more for something without

increasing the value that customers are receiving or being

deceptive in how you are doing business. We all should

be in the business of providing something valuable to our

customers and it should create a win-win situation. The

customer benets from what they receive, and you benet

from what you receive.

LEARNING FROM THE PRACTICING

BAD PROFITEERS




CONFUSED CUSTOMER

How can you measure your relationship with your clients?

In Reichheld’s book he talks about

the Net Promoter Score (NPS)

which is a loyalty gauge for

your business to understand the

ongoing relationship and potential

recommendations your clients will

give. I like to think of it as a way of

measuring the good or bad press

that is out there about your

company. Think of it as what

someone would say to a friend

if asked about your company.

This is measured by a survey process in which the customeris asked “On a scale of 0-10 (10 being the highest) what is

the likelihood that you would recommend XXX company to

a friend or colleague”.

The answer to that question gives you the ability to

measure if you have:

• Promoters – those who respond with a 9 or 10

• Neutrals – those who respond with a 7-8

• Detractors – those who respond with a 6 or below

You then add up the total’s you have in each category,

and calculate your percentage of Promoters, Neutrals and

Detractors.

% of Promoters - % of Detractors = Net Promoter Score

(NPS)

Your NPS helps you understand the health of the relationship

with your customers and links to future protability. For a

deep dive on this I highly recommend you read Reichheld’s

book. There is really

an overwhelming

amount of data on

this, and you should

be measuring this for

your business.

According to

the Bain and

Company study, if there were a bank that would stand out

from the normal day to day business, and increase their

NPS score the benets would be:

• Customers who are promoters stay longer with your

company than those who are not promoters and in

general cost less to serve.

• A promoter customer is worth

more than one that is a

detractor

• You can have a

growth rate that is

higher than your

competitors

Would that be somethingthat is worthexploring for your business?

These points aren’t unique

to banks, but would be the benets to any business

delivering high customer loyalty. As discussed above, we

can learn from watching businesses get it wrong, regardless

of the industry. Take a look at your relationship with your

customers and see what you can do to remove bad prots

and increase your NPS.

We would love for you to share your ideas on how you create

unique customer experiences by writing your thoughts to:

‘[email protected]’

“ We all should bein the business

of providingsomethingvaluable to ourcustomers and itshould create a win-win situation.

HAPPY CUSTOMER

ANGRY CUSTOMER




With the economy tanking over the past few years,it’s no surprise that many banks are hiking theirmaintenance fees in order to pass the cost on to theirconsumers. The Fed has already implemented newbanking legislation with new policies that limit thetypes of fees that banks can charge, however, banks,as clever as they are, have already gured out ways todivert the expense to their customers.

Banks’ recent repositioning of fees is a direct result of the newly implemented Card Act, which bans a handfulof fees, including certain overdraft and excessive latecharges. The new legislation also prevents over-the-top interest rate hikes. Most recently, the FederalReserve proposed a cap on debit interchangefees which is what the bank charges retailers whencustomers swipe their cards.

In light of this, most of the nation’s largest banks havecompletely revamped their fee structure, introducinga whole new set of accounts for consumers:

J.P. Morgan Chase - Chase announced onFeb. 8th that all newcustomers wouldbe enrolled in anew Total Checkingaccount. The accountwill charge you a $12monthly fee unless youmaintain a checkingaccount balance of $1,500, make monthlydirect deposits of atleast $500, or keepa $5,000 balanceacross all depositaccounts -- includingchecking, savings andinvestments.

If you keep your old account, you’ll get charged a$6 monthly fee unless you make a direct deposit of at least $500 per month OR make ve debit cardpurchases.

Bank of America Similarly, Bank of America announcedthat they will restructureall of their checkingaccounts by year end. Bof A’s new fees will range

anywhere from $8.95 to$25 per month with thepossibility of being chargedup to $300 extra per month forany account infringement. Butcustomers could get thosecharges waived if theymake at least one directpayment each month ormaintain a balance of $1,500. This feature will beeliminated by year’s end (2011)and all BofA checking accounts willbe $8.95 per month unless…

You enroll in an“enhanced” checkingaccount and keepa balance of $5,000in your total linkeddeposit accounts,which include checking,savings, and investmentaccounts. You couldalso choose to depositat least $2,000 monthly,or use a linked creditcard at least once amonth. If your balancedrops below $5,000 oryou don’t meet the otherrequirements, you will becharged a $15 fee.

Citibank - In September 2010,Citibank began charging monthlymaintenance fees of up to $30. The basic

“Free checking is

going to become

less prevalent,

but it’s not going

to go away likethe dinosaurs.

by Cortez NaPue

INDUSTRY NEWS




PRICING ON PURPOSE presents the theoryof value - long established in economics - anddetails how any business can use various pricingstrategies to create, communicate, and capturethe value of their products and services. It takesa new approach of focusing on the external valueas perceived by the customer and advocates matching price tovalue. Written in everyday language so it’s valuable to beginning

executives as well as professional pricers and marketers, it covers:

checking account charges a monthly maintenance fee of $8 unless you complete ve or more monthly transactions,including direct deposit, debit card purchases, billpayments, check payments and/or ATM cash withdrawals.

Citibank also offers an alternative that charges you a fee of $20 unless you maintain a $6,000 monthly balance in linkedaccounts -- including checking, savings and investments.

Wells Fargo - Ended its “free checking” account inJuly and now hits customers with a $5 monthly fee unless aminimum balance of $1,500 or monthly deposits of $250 ismaintained.

Its other accounts charge fees up to $30, but they can bewaived if you meet certain requirements, like maintaininghigher minimum balances or making automatic transfers toyour savings account. Every Wells Fargo checking accounthas a free option – something that sets this bank apart from

the others.

Wachovia - Customers still get to hold on to their freechecking accounts, but they will be fully integrated with thebank’s other fees soon enough-- including $2 charges toreceive images of cancelled checks and $10 fees for usingyour savings as overdraft protection.

HSBC - This bank hasn’t made any major changes overthe past year as their basic checking accounts are stillcharged $3 a month with no way to avoid it.

Choice account users can avoid a monthly maintenancefee of $8 by using direct deposit, keeping at least $1,500

a month in deposit account balances, or by maintaining a

balance of $5,000 across all accounts -- including depositaccounts, credit lines and investments.

How to Avoid The Fees…For Now - While itmay seem that the death of free checking has arrived, there

are still ways to make your account free.

“Free checking is going to become less prevalent, butit’s not going to go away like the dinosaurs,” says GregMcBride, a senior nancial analyst at Bankrate.com.

He further says that “65% of nancial institutions still offerfree checking, while 23% offer an account where fees canbe waived with actions such as direct deposits.” Bank of America however, will not offer free checking of any typecome year-end 2011.

“The upshot for consumers is that what will become moreprevalent is the ability to avoid fees with certain options

that best suit their needs, like direct deposit, using onlinestatements or having aggregate balances with banks,”McBride said.

Fees’ Affects on the public - The new roundof fees appear to fall disproportionately on the families of lower-income persons. As evidenced by 67% of all overdraftfees owed in 2008 belonging to lower-income persons, it isprojected that some 72% of all new banking fee expenseswill be placed on lower-income families. With the nation’sunemployment rate at 9% and close to 50 million Americansliving below the poverty line, it is a wonder how families willbalance the need to have a bank account with the expenseof owning one.

What and how people buy

The allacy o commodity thinking

The ve Cs o value

The market share myth

The dierence between cost-plus pricing and value pricing

A comparison o the Subjective Theory o Value and the Labor Theory o Value

Customer segmentation strategies

This and other Ron Baker books are available at www.verasage.com

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FEATUREDARTICLE

The Growing Importance ofBusiness IT Interpreters

This language barrier doesn’t pose a huge problem

for manufacturing folks, because they’re mostly off by

themselves, unless implementing ERP – and even then,

the bulk of ERP users reside in the back ofce, not on

the factory oor. However, business and IT not sharing

a common language is a huge problem. Just ask either

side about accuracy of communication following any ERP,

CRM, HRIS or other implementation. In fact, based on

our experience, failure to communicate causes far more

systems disappointments and outright face-plants than

awed technology. Watching business and IT communicate

often reminds me of a tee-shirt my son wears, saying: “I

can see your lips moving, but all I hear is blah, blah, blah.”

But it’s not funny. Companies still pour billions down the

drain every year, investing in systems that only partly meet

business needs, or in some cases don’t meet them at all. In

our customer-centric process practice, focused on ofce/

service work settings, we frequently ask, “Why are you still

doing this manually?” Often, we hear back, “Well, IT built

us a system but it doesn’t do what we need.” Or, “The

system we bought (sometimes without IT involvement)

doesn’t work.”

Stepping back and seeing the big picture, rarely are these

failures obviously either side’s fault. Both sides often speak

in separate tongues, thus neither understands the other.

But I should add, and I’m “safe” to say this because I am

from the business side, business often makes only token

efforts to communicate, believing IT should somehow“get it.” ESP, anyone?

As if all this isn’t problem enough, empowered customers

are pushing ofce/service process towards improving

customer experience – an external goal - while remains

accountable and measured by internal efciency.

We can divide even most small companies into three elements:

production; front/back ofce and service settings, includingmanagement (which all together we call the “business”

element); and IT – with service organizations typically lacking the production

aspect. Similarly, we can divide companies into three language groups:

“manufacturing-speak;” “native language” with industry-specic language in

ofce and service; and tech-talk. Unfortunately, few in most companies speak

all three.

by Alicia Anderson

by Dick Lee




Getting past “blame”

When companies engage us, among the rst questions we

ask are: (to the business side) “Is IT giving you everything

you need?” and (to IT) “Are business folks telling you what

they need?”

We used to have to step aside to avoid getting blown over bythe heat of the responses. Today, relations between business

and IT are far more civil, but that’s just a progression from

unfriendly dysfunction to friendlier dysfunction. And neither

side usually takes responsibility,

preferring to blame the other.

To heal the wounds and prevent

recurrence we make sure IT has

a seat at the table during our

cross-functional team meetings

where we conduct processanalysis and redesign. I wish I

had a tape of all the discoveries

that occur: “Oh, is that what you

wanted?” “Heck, our current system can do this;” “I never

knew you needed this data,” and so on and so on.

Process should be interpreting

How should we be addressing the issue? If we parse out

organizations a bit more we see a sub-element nestled

between business and IT – process –

which is perfectly situated to interpretbetween business-speak and tech-talk.

That’s the good news. The bad news is most

process people cut their teeth in production

process using production process techniques

– especially Lean Sigma and the elements

thereof – which has exposed them to

neither systems architecture issues

and opportunities nor the plethora

of automation software now available.

Process may be perfectly situated, but

it’s imperfectly skilled and still reliant on

production software approaches.

Getting to effectivecommunication

Fortunately, forward thinking process

professionals are beginning to

practice new process approaches

that: design “outside-in,” from the customer perspective;

leverage systems architecture design and especially

automation software to deliver value to customers; and

consider business and technology an integral unit, with

practitioners required to be uent in both disciplines – and

both languages.

This new approach to process lls the communication gap

and then some. But adopting relatively new approaches to

anything requires forward-thinking management. And the

communication gap will stay with us as long as we try to

attack today’s problems with legacy

process approaches designed for

manufacturing. Companies need to

start adopting the new, integrated

process/technology approaches

in their ofce and service settings

to nally close the business – IT

communication gap.

“I can see your lips

moving, but all I

hear is blah, blah,

blah.




The Legality of Using Social Media In andOut of Work

Earlier this year, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

led a claim against American Medical in Connecticutfor violating federal laws that prohibit employers from

terminating employees for private communications. Similarly,

a Manhattan law rm has recently led suit against J.P.

Morgan Chase alleging that they wrongfully terminated an

employee for writing novels and blogs under a pseudonym.

The rm claims that J.P. Morgan violated New York Labor

Law Section 201, which proscribes discrimination against

employees for engaging in lawful recreational activities

outside the workplace. The prior case was privately settled

so it is not quite sure if any precedents were set, however the

NLRB did make its position clear. Attorney Anthony Haller,chair of the employment, benets, and labor practice group

at the law rm Blank Rome in Philadelphia, points out that the

two mentioned cases are unique in that they involved activity

that occurred outside of the workplace, but further says that

companies generally and legally own all communications that

occur on their networks and that there is “no expectation of

privacy for the employee.” The moral of these cases is to

think twice before accessing any social media portal while

at work and although it may

be legal, to always use your

better judgment when posting

content outside of work.

Developing andEnforcing Your CompanySocial Media’s Policy

Social media (Web 2.0) is not a fad.

Its creation has changed incredibly the

way we communicate on a daily basis

and has provided new opportunities for

businesses to reach consumers. Because

of this, a company’s goals in developing

a social media policy should not be to

stie its use, but to take advantage of

it while protecting company interest

and minimizing potential risk. Here

are a few Do’s and Don’ts to creating

a realistic social media policy:

by Cortez NaPue

Whether you use it or not, you’ve probably noticed a massive transition to

social media and an increased need for employers to develop social

media policies. With this transition comes many complexities for businesses and

their employees. Can an employee access their Twitter account while at work? Are

employees allowed to comment about workplace environments on their Facebookpages? The answer is tricky, and employment law can often differ from state to state.

The key for businesses in accommodating the constant evolution of social media use

is to know both federal and state law regarding this kind of activity and to develop

a commonsense company social media policy.

To Be or Not To Be...

SOCIAL

SOCIALNETWORKING






With annual losses estimated at over $20 billion, check fraud is a major problem impacting banks and their clients. The American Bankers As-

sociation has stated that check fraud is growing at 25 percent per year. Fraudsters are continually looking for ways to outsmart “the system”

and using new technology.

Check fraud is one of the fastest growing nancial crimes in America. Check 21, a 2003 law that enables electronic processing of checks and

conversion of paper documents to electronic images has made fraud detection more challenging. Checks still account for approximately 42%

of all non-cash payment and are the single greatest source of payment losses.

Check fraud is also a recession proof growth industry. How does it happen? Maybe a business owner gets a call from his banker to ask about

a questionable check being presented for payment at the bank, or an accountant notices that three checks in last month’s bank statement are

all written to an unfamiliar person despite a realistic signature. A small business owner is notied she is overdrawn and realizes that a check

originally written for $32.69 has been changed to $3,269.00, or after the layoff of their bookkeeper, the partners in a professional practice

notice checks written on their account outside of their numeric range.

Fraud Prevention &

It’s human nature to have a tendency to le certain events under “won’t ever happen,” for example:

A real estate bubble | A giant oil spill | A break-in at your home or ofce | Fraud committed on your bank account

Obviously, these things CAN and DO happen.

Protection Starts with Basic Check Security Features Layered features (combination of printed and resident in the paper) verify authenticity and make it more difcult to alter or reproduce. Look

into using chemical sensitive paper, background patterns, warning borders, consecutive numbering, a padlock icon, micro printed borders,

invisible uorescent bers, thermo chromic (heat-sensitive) ink, security warning box on back, or a security screen on back.

Advanced features include foil holograms, toner adhesion, high security background patterns, high resolution border elements, chemical

wash detection area, laid line backer, and true watermarks.

Partner with your Bank for the Highest Level of ProtectionPositive Pay is a service many banks offer. It consists of sending you an electronic le daily of checks that have come in to clear. They provide

check number, date, and dollar amount. You can cross-check this against your records to verify legitimacy and immediately disallow anychecks that don’t match your records. Positive pay can also provide your bank with accurate data of checks you plan to issue so that when

presented for payment, they must match the information sent to the bank.

• Stolen checks• Forged signatures,• Identity thet• Alteration o “pay to” or

“amount elds”• Countereit check stock• Erroneous “ship to” address

• Cashier check schemes• Check kiting, paperhanging• Dumpster diving• Phishing• Hacking• Skimming• Malware

• Scare ware• Phony orders• Bleaching• Scraping• Photocopying• Scanning and washing

Types of Check Fraud include:

Document Security

STATEOFTHEECONOMY

About the author: Karen Price has been a Safeguard distributor since 1982 and specializes in helping companies Manage.Grow. Succeed.® with simple, dependable business and promotional printing that supports your business needs. Her knowledge and experience help create effective results that make an impact for you. In addition to experience working withthousands of types of businesses over the last 25 years, as a long-time student of E-Myth principles and Kennedy-Glazer marketing strategies, Karen Price brings a unique perspective and wealth of information to her customers to partner withthem in achieving their business goals.

by Karen Price




STATEOFTHEECONOMY

1. Burdensome 1099 requirement repealed

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (i.e., Health Care Reform) included a very unpopular requirement that small

businesses le 1099s for all purchases over $600 – a rule that would have created many headaches for small business folks.

The February, 2011 repeal was supported by Republicans, Democrats, and anyone who runs a business, although legislatorsare still working out the specics.

2. New credits and deductions

Eligible businesses with fewer than 25 employees can receive tax credits for paying part of their employees’ health insurance

coverage. Self-employed business owners may also receive a deduction for health insurance costs.

3. States are in nancial crisis

State tax revenues are in decline due to the recession. Lack of job

growth means this decline will likely be sustained through 2011.

Over 30 states have raised taxes in turn, some quite signicantly,

and some are creating or raising new fees or assessments, some

targeted at businesses, to help with the shortfall. States may also

choose to up unemployment insurance rates to replenish funds

deleted by those without work.

4. Enforcement efforts are growing

Federal budget decits mean the IRS is on the hunt for non-compliance

to boost revenues. Audits are focused on employment tax,

including executive compensation, employee status,

benets, and other general tax specications.

5. It’s complicated

Not surprisingly, tax changes come with many specic

rules and regulations, and detailed ling instructions.

Don’t go it alone. Good software programs are

inexpensive and help guide you through the process.

Your CPA is even more reliable and can help ensure you

le correctly and on-time.

5Five Things SmallBusinesses Need to Know about

Taxes in 2011

Five Things SmallBusinesses Need to Know about

Taxes in 2011by Alicia Anderson




For Spirit Airlines, an “ultra low-cost carrier” based in

Florida, fees represented 26.9 percent of its revenues.

Some of the more popular (with airlines, not consumers)

fees – and tips for avoiding them - include:

• In-person check-in fee - Online services are replacing

employees, so if you insist on checking in at the airport

in person, you’ll be paying their salaries. Check in online

whenever you can.

• Seat selection fee – If you want to choose an aisle,

window, or extra legroom, plan on paying roughly an extra

$20. Avoid this by being exible about where you sit.

• Checked baggage fees - Delta charges $25 for the rst

checked bag up to 50 pounds. For additional bags or

weight, additional fees apply. Travel light, or sign up for

the airline’s loyalty program. These programs are usually

free, and members get “benets” like free baggage

checking.

• Credit card payment fees – It costs airlines money to

accept credit cards, but many will waive this fee if you pay

with an airline-branded card, like the Delta SkyMiles card.

This fee seems unavoidable, unless you think showing up

at the airport with a stack of cash is a good alternative.

• Comfort fees –Charges for blankets, pillows and food are

already in place. On JetBlue, and pillow and blanket setwill run you $7. Snacks and light meals can run up to $10,

though soft drinks are usually still free. Some airlines have

even considered charging a fee for restroom use. Bring

your own sweater, snacks, and empty bottle to ll at the

water fountain when you get through security. As for the

restroom fee…let’s just hope it doesn’t come to pass.

Those annoying baggage fees or change fees are one of the big reasons

that some airlines reported protability in 2010. Airlines are desperate

to regain revenues in this time of high oil prices and a travelling public

used to cheap internet fares.

by Alicia Anderson

OUTSMART

AIRLINE

FEES! Airline fees stink, but they aren’t

going anywhere for a while, it

seems.

STATEOFTHEECONOMY




Finding balance in all things is more of a mind-set than something you physically do.

Peter Drucker wrote “Half a loaf is better than no bread”. I think we have a tendency to

beat ourselves up about what we aren’t doing when we are doing something that we

would rather not. We’ve got to ease up on ourselves and lower our anxiety levels. If youare always looking at the glass half empty, you will feel empty.

Try to catch yourself in the act, and change your behavior. Only you can make the change

and look at your “loaf” as a gift. Finding work-life balance doesn’t have to be about

spending more time on vacation or with your kids. It has more to do with nding the right

balance inside you that allows you to free yourself from - well, yourself. Take time to enjoy

your bread, no matter how much of it you have, even if it is only for a limited time per day.

“Half a loaf is

better than no

bread

WORK LIFEBALANCE

“The true value of a human being is determined primarily by

how he has attained liberation from the self.”

Albert Einstein

Finding Balance



BLYTHECO

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LLC

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Documents

Bellwether - A Blytheco, LLC Magazine - 2nd Quarter 2011