The positive economic atmosphere in the market is also felt in the large number of new businesses opening in Israel. Each day, many new businesses are opened, most of them small and medium sized. More than once this relates to young people who have finished their world tour and now are full of energy and attack the market with a view to conquering it. Our office feels the reawakening of the economy and mentioned that recently there has been a sharp increase in the number of those contacting us in order to receive advice and to open a new business. Also, the new reforms planned by the Ministry of Finance make the establishment of new businesses more worthwhile and more profitable.

Nevertheless, even if a business owner has a fantastic idea and a tremendous potential for success, incorrect decisions at the start of the road may decide the fate of the business already at its infancy. Most of these incorrect decisions in opening a business result from a lack of knowledge of legal and accounting affairs connected with establishing a business. In order to assist businesses at the outset, we hereby submit a complete manual for opening a business:

Location of the business

Throughout the country and in the center of the large cities, there are many areas available for leasing. The prices are lower than at any time and one can choose the most suitable building for the business’s needs. In a new business, it is not recommended to sign a lease for over a year, but to have an option to extend the lease under identical conditions. A short-term agreement will ensure the transferring of the business to another place should the chosen location not be successful from the business’s point of view. When choosing the location of a business, remember that the costs of transferring it are very high and include transport, renovations, etc.; and therefore, it is most important to choose a suitable location.

Bank and credit frameworks

Despite the fact that many self-employed continue to run the business also using their private bank account, this is not recommended. The management of a separate account for the business provide a more precise indication of the business result and makes the management of cash flows in the business easier. In addition, in order to recognize bank expenses and commissions as recognized expenses, the tax authority requires the business to have its own account.

It is recommended that the business account will not be kept in the bank in which the private account is kept. Generally, the bank will see both accounts as one account for the purpose of giving credit frameworks and calculating indebtedness. The opening of a bank account with another bank can increase the credit framework given to the business.

It is very important to see the bank as a partner and to maintain a positive reputation with it. When a problem is expected in cash flows, it is recommended to inform the bank and come to a joint solution. Cooperation with the bank is even more important due to the new regulations which forbid the bank to allow an overdraft without approval as from July 1, 2006. Maintaining good relations with the bank does not contradict that it is recommended to negotiate the amount of interest and commissions, and in this way to save money.

Funds for small businesses

One of the central problems of new businesses and businesses in general is credit difficulties. In Israel, there are many funds that operate and encourage new, small, and medium – sized businesses with the method of granting credit changing from time to time.

Generally, assistance is given to businesses that already exist and operate, but there are also funds that give loans to businesses being established. At the time of taking credit, it is important to ensure that the business can meet the monthly repayment. For businesses that cannot meet immediate repayment, there are loans where repayment is made only after a period which is decided in advance.

Value Added Tax

The business can operate only after registering and opening a VAT file.

There are two types of independent business:

a. An exempt business – where the expected annual turnover will not exceed NIS 65,720 – generally, these are small business and employees who are only starting their activities as self employed. Such a business only reports once a year to the VAT and does not collect and cannot set – off VAT. Businesses such as the liberal professions cannot register as exempt businesses, no matter what their revenues

b. A taxable business – anyone whose annual turnover is expected to exceed NIS 65,720 must be registered as a licensed dealer.

When filing an application to the VAT authorities for opening a business, you should have the following documents: an application to open a business signed by the dealer/partners, a photocopy of an identity card/identity cards, a cancelled bank check / any other document showing details of the bank account and details of the holder of the bank account and the rental contract.

In certain cases, the Value Added Tax Authorities are entitled to demand additional documents such as future engagement agreements etc.

Income Tax

After the change in the law, about a year ago, dealers are required to report to the Income Tax on the opening of a business, and anyone who does not do so is exposed to administrative fines. In order to register an independent business, an application to register one must be made with the assessing officer. Despite the fact that it is possible to open a business with the tax authorities independently, it is recommended to obtain the assistance of a CPA to do so.

Opening a deductions file for employees

If the business employs people, a deductions file must be opened with the assessing officer. The opening of a deductions files with the National Insurance Institute is carried out automatically by obtaining data from the Income Tax Authorities.

National Insurance Institute

In addition to registering VAT and income tax, an independent dealer must register also with the National Insurance Institute. Registration is done by completing the annual report form. The Institute requires that the number of hours expected and the level of expected income. There are two types of self employed in National Insurance:

1) A self employed person who meets the definitions of a self employed person – pays advances on account and insures the income for which he pays advances.

2) An independent who does not meet the definition – a dealer who works in the business less than 12 hours a week and earns less than NIS 3,692 per month. This status generally is suitable for employed people where the business provides him with complementary income. When the business is registered with the National Insurance Institute – the Institute examines whether insurance fees were paid from the age of 18 until the age of opening the business -whether there are periods where the dealer was abroad or did not work – he will be required to pay for these periods.

Keeping books of accounts

Every person who has income from a business or profession must keep books. The method of keeping books changes according to type and size of the business. At the start, it is recommended to keep close contact with a professional person – certified public accountant or tax consultant in order to obtain a detailed explanation of the method of managing the books and the procedures of issuing invoices and receipts. In addition, cooperation with a certified public accountant assists the business in understanding more correctly and releasing its owners from waiting unnecessary time.

Non keeping of proper books causes their disqualification by the tax authorities. This sanction is likely to result in a situation where the assessing officer will determine for himself the annual assessment that the business owes, and its owner will have to prove the exact income according to which the tax is paid.
__________________________

For additional details regarding the specific requirements of every client, send us your query and we will gladly get back to you with a response regarding your specific needs.

Alex Sutovsky
http://www.articlesbase.com/small-business-articles/manual-for-opening-a-business-106400.html

Running a business is tricky. You may face situations for which the capital you have on hand is not enough. It is best to trust professional lending schemes when it comes to financing your business. It is a crucial and daunting process and obviously you would want terms and features which should go well with your requirements. Business loans are dependable options for all business-related needs. They are loans which may be taken to add monetary fuel to your business. It is extended to industries of all sizes- large, medium or small in scale. They may be taken for many business-related purposes, including the following:

* Starting a new venture

* Construction purposes

* Expanding an existing business

* Buying plants, machinery and equipments

* Upgrading current technological appliances

* Funding the payroll of employees

* Renovation of office and purchasing furniture, upholstery and stationery

* Paying off debts

* Advertising, research and promotional activities.

Business loans are different from other loans. For them, you must be prepared with a detailed lay-out of your proposal before you start approaching lenders. It should contain information of the type of business you are running, your requirements, the estimated costs and your gross income. Having the readiness to show such information shows you are an efficient person. Besides, lenders might ask for them to review your application. You need to have documents like proof of ownership, tax returns, financial statements, credit references and letters of reference with you.

You can borrow any amount up to £1000000 through business loans. It is possible to borrow more but that has to be arranged with specific lenders. Factors like your credit record, repayment capability, requirements and whether you are providing security or not decide how much can be approved for your loan. The repayment tenure could lasts for a period up to 30 years.

While shopping for business loans, do remember to compare loan quotes. You can apply online to gather as many free quotes as you want. This is a way of ensuring that you are getting more affordable rates.

Peter Taylor

In the marketing world, radio has earned the reputation of being the odd step-cousin. You know the one. No one knows quite what to do with him. Especially at family gatherings when everyone tries hard to avoid sitting with him. (After all, who knows WHAT he’ll start talking about.)

Much of that reputation comes from radio being tough to track. On one hand, radio does work. Businesses do notice an increase in sales when they add radio to the mix. However, radio doesn’t test well. In surveys and other tracking methods, radio tends to be the one with the dismal scores.

A good friend of mine, who’s also a marketing consultant but before that she sold radio for many years, has a theory about that. She says radio works on a subconscious or unconscious level. People remember the ad, but not that they heard it on the radio. So, they tend to credit a different medium for the ad, like the yellow pages. Yellow pages gets a boost while radio drops a few points.

Regardless, radio should not be ignored because it does work. And many marketing consultants will probably tell you radio is an excellent medium to reach a local market.

However, I feel there are possibilities beyond merely reaching local customers.

Internet radio shows are starting to take off in a big way. That means advertising and sponsorship opportunities are also taking off. In addition, “offline” methods have been shown to be pretty effective at driving traffic online. If increasing Web traffic is your goal, using traditional media outlets to increase traffic should be a part of your mix.

If people already know you (which they might in your local market) they’re more likely to be loyal. And they’re more likely to send other customers to your site. Depending on the costs of radio in your community, radio may be a very affordable way to get a good viral campaign going. (A viral campaign is when your customers send promotional items about your business such as e-mails, articles, Web site urls, etc. to their friends and family members.)

Below are some other positive reasons to use radio:

* Affordable — when you compare spot to spot, radio tends to be one of the least expensive media out there. However, one spot ain’t going to do it. To reach your target market, you need to purchase several spots. That’s why radio can also turn into one of the more expensive media. However, there are ways to keep your costs in line yet still reap the benefits of radio — for instance, buying less spots but running them all in one or two weeks, so your customers are more likely to hear your message.

* Psychological, if you voice the commercials yourself — hearing your voice makes people feel like they “know” you. (Hence the popularity of audio on Web sites. In fact, marketing gurus claim just by adding audio to a site substantially increases how many people buy.)

People tend to buy from people and businesses they know and trust. Hearing your voice helps them feel as if they know you. These psychological aspects may be another reason to consider running a few radio ads in your local market even if you have an Internet business.

* Speed — you can get your spot up and running in no time.

* Loyalty — listeners choose stations based on the music or shows they like and they tend to be quite loyal to that station. If you know what your customers enjoy listening to, it’s an excellent way to reach them. (I include both music and talk shows in this.)

* Good support medium — radio works really well when paired with other marketing mediums (like print, direct mail or television).

But for every positive, there’s a negative. In the spirit of being objective, here are a few for radio:

* Background medium — radio tends to be on in the background, which means it tends to be ignored. Generally, your target market needs to be exposed to your ad more times than other marketing media before they’ll act upon your message.

* Little staying power — the lack of visuals again keeps radio from “sticking” with people. At least, that’s what some of the marketing gurus say. But, here again my marketing consultant friend differs. She thinks it’s that subconscious thing again.

And if you can write a spot that creates pictures in your customers’ heads, you can actually work this to your advantage. In fact, according to my friend, if the picture is defined enough, not only will people remember it better, but they’ll also think it was a print ad instead of a radio ad. (More on the art of creating pictures using words in later issues.)

* Hard to track – it’s impossible to know exactly how many people are tuning in at any given time.

A final note: Because radio is subconscious, keep that in mind when crafting your ad.

Repeat your business name a lot and any other branding info, so it gets into your customers’ heads. Don’t put in phone numbers. Instead, purchase a memorable Web site domain name and repeat that. And remember to create “pictures” whenever possible.

How can you use radio in your business?

Would radio work for your business? Let’s find out.

Take out a sheet of paper and a fun pen. (I’m partial to gel pens.) Draw a line down the center.

On one side, put the header: Why advertising on radio is a good idea for my business. On the other side, put the header: Why advertising is a bad idea for my business.

Now pick a side and start writing down reasons.

You might be more comfortable starting with the side that’s easiest for you. Then when you work on the other side, you can simply turn the reasons around.

For instance, let’s say you started with the bad idea. One of your reasons was: My product is completely visual. You could turn it around by saying “Because my product is so visual, I’ll have to work harder to create pictures in my customers’ minds. And because the customers create their own pictures, they’re more likely to remember them.”

Or what if you started with a good idea, and one of the reasons was: “Because my business is local.” You could turn it around and say “Because radio is holding me back — I’m only reaching this local market.” (Ah, now I’m even going against what I said earlier. Maybe with this statement you could look for ways to get your customers to spread the word outside the area about your business.)

As you saw by my last example, you’ll be amazed at what comes out when you do this exercise. Even if you don’t change your views on radio advertising, you may come up with new and powerful insights to your business.

Michele PW
http://www.articlesbase.com/small-business-articles/why-radio-advertising-could-be-the-best-thing-you-ever-did-for-your-business-734569.html

In the marketing world, radio has earned the reputation of being the odd step-cousin. You know the one. No one knows quite what to do with him. Especially at family gatherings when everyone tries hard to avoid sitting with him. (After all, who knows WHAT he’ll start talking about.)

Much of that reputation comes from radio being tough to track. On one hand, radio does work. Businesses do notice an increase in sales when they add radio to the mix. However, radio doesn’t test well. In surveys and other tracking methods, radio tends to be the one with the dismal scores.

A good friend of mine, who’s also a marketing consultant but before that she sold radio for many years, has a theory about that. She says radio works on a subconscious or unconscious level. People remember the ad, but not that they heard it on the radio. So, they tend to credit a different medium for the ad, like the yellow pages. Yellow pages gets a boost while radio drops a few points.

Regardless, radio should not be ignored because it does work. And many marketing consultants will probably tell you radio is an excellent medium to reach a local market.

However, I feel there are possibilities beyond merely reaching local customers.

Internet radio shows are starting to take off in a big way. That means advertising and sponsorship opportunities are also taking off. In addition, “offline” methods have been shown to be pretty effective at driving traffic online. If increasing Web traffic is your goal, using traditional media outlets to increase traffic should be a part of your mix.

If people already know you (which they might in your local market) they’re more likely to be loyal. And they’re more likely to send other customers to your site. Depending on the costs of radio in your community, radio may be a very affordable way to get a good viral campaign going. (A viral campaign is when your customers send promotional items about your business such as e-mails, articles, Web site urls, etc. to their friends and family members.)

Below are some other positive reasons to use radio:

* Affordable — when you compare spot to spot, radio tends to be one of the least expensive media out there. However, one spot ain’t going to do it. To reach your target market, you need to purchase several spots. That’s why radio can also turn into one of the more expensive media. However, there are ways to keep your costs in line yet still reap the benefits of radio — for instance, buying less spots but running them all in one or two weeks, so your customers are more likely to hear your message.

* Psychological, if you voice the commercials yourself — hearing your voice makes people feel like they “know” you. (Hence the popularity of audio on Web sites. In fact, marketing gurus claim just by adding audio to a site substantially increases how many people buy.)

People tend to buy from people and businesses they know and trust. Hearing your voice helps them feel as if they know you. These psychological aspects may be another reason to consider running a few radio ads in your local market even if you have an Internet business.

* Speed — you can get your spot up and running in no time.

* Loyalty — listeners choose stations based on the music or shows they like and they tend to be quite loyal to that station. If you know what your customers enjoy listening to, it’s an excellent way to reach them. (I include both music and talk shows in this.)

* Good support medium — radio works really well when paired with other marketing mediums (like print, direct mail or television).

But for every positive, there’s a negative. In the spirit of being objective, here are a few for radio:

* Background medium — radio tends to be on in the background, which means it tends to be ignored. Generally, your target market needs to be exposed to your ad more times than other marketing media before they’ll act upon your message.

* Little staying power — the lack of visuals again keeps radio from “sticking” with people. At least, that’s what some of the marketing gurus say. But, here again my marketing consultant friend differs. She thinks it’s that subconscious thing again.

And if you can write a spot that creates pictures in your customers’ heads, you can actually work this to your advantage. In fact, according to my friend, if the picture is defined enough, not only will people remember it better, but they’ll also think it was a print ad instead of a radio ad. (More on the art of creating pictures using words in later issues.)

* Hard to track – it’s impossible to know exactly how many people are tuning in at any given time.

A final note: Because radio is subconscious, keep that in mind when crafting your ad.

Repeat your business name a lot and any other branding info, so it gets into your customers’ heads. Don’t put in phone numbers. Instead, purchase a memorable Web site domain name and repeat that. And remember to create “pictures” whenever possible.

How can you use radio in your business?

Would radio work for your business? Let’s find out.

Take out a sheet of paper and a fun pen. (I’m partial to gel pens.) Draw a line down the center.

On one side, put the header: Why advertising on radio is a good idea for my business. On the other side, put the header: Why advertising is a bad idea for my business.

Now pick a side and start writing down reasons.

You might be more comfortable starting with the side that’s easiest for you. Then when you work on the other side, you can simply turn the reasons around.

For instance, let’s say you started with the bad idea. One of your reasons was: My product is completely visual. You could turn it around by saying “Because my product is so visual, I’ll have to work harder to create pictures in my customers’ minds. And because the customers create their own pictures, they’re more likely to remember them.”

Or what if you started with a good idea, and one of the reasons was: “Because my business is local.” You could turn it around and say “Because radio is holding me back — I’m only reaching this local market.” (Ah, now I’m even going against what I said earlier. Maybe with this statement you could look for ways to get your customers to spread the word outside the area about your business.)

As you saw by my last example, you’ll be amazed at what comes out when you do this exercise. Even if you don’t change your views on radio advertising, you may come up with new and powerful insights to your business.

Michele PW
http://www.articlesbase.com/small-business-articles/why-radio-advertising-could-be-the-best-thing-you-ever-did-for-your-business-734569.html

10 Step-Business Startup Guide: How I Actually Get Started From Scratch!

Hello…

Welcome to my story, my sharing and my blog.

I am Dave J, an author, keynote speaker, E-preneur and a NLP-certified coach.

Before we begin, I would like to answer the question that pops into the mind of readers each time they open my blog:

“What motivated me to share my experience and expertise?”

When I planned to start my own business many years back, I talked to dozens of successful entrepreneurs, I attended seminars, I purchased training materials, signed up for courses and participated in countless business events. But I still do not get satisfactory answers for a systematic approach to starting up and running a profitable business. One thing for sure, it has cost me a lot of money and time in the process. The saddest part is most of the materials, seminars and courses are expensive and too theoretical in nature. Most of them are not practical, not easily applicable and not cost effective for a fresh entrepreneur like me.

Secondly, as I have mentioned earlier I did manage to seek guidance from successful entrepreneurs on the nuts and bolts of starting up and running a profitable business. However, many of them are too busy to share with me their expertise. Furthermore, even if they do, they are not so keen to part with their “secrets” to me. Some are willing to do so, but the advice does come with a high price tag!

I always believe in the law of giving, in which the more I give the more I shall be blessed in many other ways. Hence, I have decided to share with you (anyone out there) a one-stop guide for everyone who is planning or decided to startup a business of their own choice (even if they do not have any capital) before they get disappointed or frustrated in the search for the right kind of guidance to starting up their own business profitably. I hope they will not walk the “costly” and “bumpy” path that I’ve taken many years back without any such help whatsoever.

In the next few days, I be posting my business startup journal – a 10 step-by-step guide to starting your own business (regardless whether it’s online or offline, small or medium, physical product or no-product at all). The journal is updated constantly whenever I found a new way to get thing done better, cost-effective or faster in result. Whatever I idea, formula or tip I shared with you, I assure you I have personally utilized it somehow directly or indirectly.

*Note: Unproven teories to not be shown to my readers! If you need any small business startup help, feel free to visit my Website

=> To get the complete online business course on

small business startup guide, log on to

http://www.12daysonly.com , and redeem your

BONUS PACKAGE worth US$1,396.00

–

Disclaimer – This article may be freely reprinted in its entirety in any e-zine, newsletter, blog or website. The author’s name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.

Dave J
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/dave-j-instant-business-startup-guide-help-130226.html