Tags: Marketing

• Basic cards. A basic card is usually printed in black ink on plain white or cream stock. This is a good style to choose when utility is all you need. It's a no-nonsense approach that can appeal to clients and prospects who would not be impressed by fancy design features-the people who want "just the facts, ma'am." The design is simple, and the information is clear and concise.

• Picture cards. Having your face on your card-whether it's a photograph, a drawing or a caricature-helps a contact remember you the next time he or she sees you. Images representing a product or service, or a benefit your business provides, can help you communicate your business better than dozens of words. A splash of color (rather than just black and white) is often helpful on a picture card, too.

• Tactile cards. Some cards are distinguished not so much by how they look as by how they feel. They may use nonstandard materials, such as metal or wood, or have unusual shapes, edges, folds or embossing. Tactile cards tend to be considerably more expensive than regular cards because they use nonstandard production processes such as die cuts. But for some businesses, this more unusual card may be worth the price.

• Multipurpose cards. A card can do more than promote your name and business-it can also serve as a discount coupon, an appointment reminder or some other function. It may also provide valuable information that the average person may need. For example, a hotel may include a map on the back of its card for any guests who are walking around the local area. A card of any type can be made multipurpose by adding any of these types of features.

• Outside-the-box cards. A wildly original, fanciful or extravagant presentation can draw extra attention. Creativity knows no bounds-except the amount of money you wish to spend. Some examples are cards made of chocolate or that folded out into a miniature box to keep small items in.

Tags: tax strategy

• Add social share icons to the top of your email newsletter, so readers can easily share your content with just one click.
• Keep your tweets short and sweet so that others can retweet within Twitter's 140-character limit.

• Post sign-up links across your social media accounts.
• Add a "Join My Mailing List" box to your website and Facebook pages.
• Invite your audience to join your mailing list by texting you (if your email marketing service provider offers this feature).

Tags: Marketing

Tags: tax strategy, irs, irs information sharing

• The independent spirit of Nevada supports the spirit of small business.
• Nevada’s legislature only meets every two years.
• State legislators are not professional politicians, but are regular citizens.
• Nevada has the only state association of incorporation professionals that continually works to improve and strengthen Nevada’s incorporation laws. 
• Big city amenities, small town feel.
• Series LLCs. 
• Early adoption of the Model Registered Agent Act. 
• Charging order protection for closely held corporations. 
• Charging order as the sole remedy of a creditor of a shareholder, member or partner. 
• Business trusts

• Use your products. Sinegal is often clad in one of Costco's $17 dress shirts, long a staple of the company's apparel department. He proudly wears them to company annual meetings, too.
   
• Be accessible. The thing that blew me away about Sinegal was that his office is in the hallway at Costco's Issaquah headquarters. That's right, not even a door that shut. Not even a glass wall between him and the rest of the staff. Anybody can wander by and chat him up, anytime. He also gave me his cellphone number once, where most execs would make you call in through one of those conference bridges or have a secretary patch you through. There are no layers of handlers around Sinegal.
   
• Treat your employees great. Costco is well-known for offering above-average pay for warehouse-store workers. The result is low turnover, low training costs and a family feeling to the company. They don't have to do much recruiting, as current employees are happy to put out the word to family and friends.
   
• Stay humble. Despite commanding a $76 billion retail empire, Sinegal is still honest, straightforward and down-to-earth. His desk on my last visit was a cheap, Formica-topped folding table -- I think it had been a Costco sale item -- and behind him sat an aged, fabric-covered message board. No burnished hardwood executive desk and fancy whiteboards for him.
   
• Listen. If there was a store opening across the globe from Seattle, Sinegal was there. He wanted to talk to customers and employees, so he could learn more about how to serve them.