In big cities, high rises are built with a little room to sway around, because of high winds and earthquakes, if they were not built so they would crack easily when exposed to such conditions. As a business owner, you should have a firm foundation, but you should also learn to sway. All clients are not the same, and some may require a little more attention for the same service you provide to countless others. It's important to make these clients feel as though they are an extremely valued client, although it may at times be a little annoying, the client is going to you for a job or service, because it is something they do not know how to do themselves, or they may know but they don't have the time or energy to take care of it. If a client feels like they've been treated right, they'll definitely tell their friends about you. Good Luck.

In a recent survey of 12,000 Americans, conducted by American Express, they found that what consumers value most is customer service, and only a third of them feel like they're receiving the customer service they deserve.

In these economic times it's important not only to focus on price but service also. Many businesses are short-handed because they just cannot simply afford more staff, somehow you have to be sure that you're still giving your clients the attention that they feel entitled to. While you can slash your prices, consumers are still willing to pay a premium for service received.

Have you ever called a bank or large institution only to either be put on hold for several minutes, or prompted by several menus before getting to speak to a representative? It's extremely annoying to all and what's even worse is that sometimes you're even unable to find the companies phone number or contact information on their own website. Too often on contact pages, clients are prompted with forms to fill out in order to have a representative  contact the client back, this makes clients feel unimportant. A small change any business can make, big or small, is to answer the phone and emails promptly, it may seem like common sense, but you'll be surprised how many businesses do not do this.

Another way you can improve customer service is to handle complaints in an quick and efficient manner. Make sure that the customer leaves happy and satisfied. Though it's impossible to please everyone, make sure to try to please all customers with complaints. The way you handle a complaint says a lot about your customer service. Lots of companies are quick to be defensive when a client brings up a problem with their service or product, the most important thing is to stay calm and listen before offering a solution. A good tip is to treat every client like they are your only client, you wouldn't want to lose your one client, so you're going to do what you can to help resolve any issues that client has.

When a client has a bad experience they're sure to tell someone about it, but the American Express survey also found that consumers are more likely to mention good service to their peers rather than the bad experience. Though in the past it may have been the other way around, the mediums in which people communicate these days, social networking and texting among others, allow people to express how they feel about certain companies, and for the most part, they're inclined to mention good things, rather than bad. I once had a great experience at the DMV of all places, and though they're not a small LLC or Corporation, the unexpected customer care I received had me yelling at the top of my lungs, to anyone who would listen, about my experience.

There are many ways you can improve your customer service, it's important to listen to what clients are saying about you, and to step back and take a look at how you're doing things. What can be changed? What's working? What can be improved? These are all questions that any small or big business should be asking themselves.

When your small business grows a bit you'll probably need to hire someone to help you out and it's very important that you try and hire the right person for the job. If you work in a small office or environment, think not only about the qualifications of the person you're considering but also their personality. If you work in a small area, you want to make sure you're going to get along with the person you're working closely with. That doesn't mean that you have to be their best friend, but having people around that you like will keep the office flowing better, if there's tension in the office, though it may not be work related, it could potentially harm your work. If you've got two people who are qualified, one might be a little more qualified than the other, but if the other's a better match, sometimes it's OK to take a chance and hire the less qualified candidate. When you hire someone it's also important for your employee to feel appreciated, especially if the employee is a great asset to your company. Everyone likes to feel like they mean something at their job, and it doesn't take much to make a good employee feel appreciated, buying them lunch once in a while or even shooting them an email here and there to let them know they're doing a good job is good enough.

When I was a teenager, I worked for a small store that sold mailing materials and offered post mailboxes as well as shipping services. It was a well run store, but the reason the business owner even decided to open up shop was so that his dental practice next door could utilize the services of the mailbox store. It may have not been the best business move, especially since the owner didn't pay much attention to trying to market himself to get outside business. The business closed up after about a year, but it wasn't just because of his lack of commitment to the business, but because he had no clue of how to run the business, once I am the one other employee left our positions he wasn't sure what to do. It's important as a small business owner that you understand the duties of all employees, you may not know how to do all of the duties, but since the business is very small, you should know how to perform certain tasks in the even that one of your employees is out for the day or even has an emergency and has to leave for an extended period of time. There are basic tasks that small business owners sometimes forget to learn and it's important to have some sort of understanding on what duties are delegated where and what the task at hand requires. Obviously you're busy yourself so maybe during  slow times you can ask your employees to write a manual or a list of their duties for the day and how to perform the tasks, that way if they're ever gone, you can do it yourself or hire a temp agency to send you someone to do these tasks while your employee is out. If you want to open a small business or have questions about filing how to form an L.L.C. or  how to form a corporation in any state, give us a call at 866-999-8200.

There are so many easy ways to cut spending and if you look hard enough you'll be able to find several ways to cut costs, they may be small costs though they do add up and make a difference. A big way to save some extra cash is to go paperless when you can, not only does it save you cash but saving paper means your company is a little greener than it was. I recently stayed at a hotel and upon check out they asked me if they could email me my receipt or if I'd like a print out, I opted for the email, one because if I ever need to find that receipt again, I know it's in my email, and two it helps the environment, and three it's saving the hotel costs. We email documents here at Incorporate Fast every time we can, it's not only faster, but it saves postage as well as paper, and though the cost is minimal for all of these things, they do have an impact.

There are tons of ways to save here and there, even simple things, things that you might do at home already but fail to do in the office, like turn off all the lights when leaving, turn of computers and air conditioners when the offices are closed. You can also recycle paper by using paper that you were going to throw away for notes. Another way to save is to buy a white board, it will help you keep organized is reusable. Lots of offices have water coolers with paper cups, if you have a sink in your office you should think about investing in glasses or mugs or ask your employees to bring in their own, many times water companies will drop off cups and you won't even realize you are being charged for them.

If you need more information on starting a successful small business, incorporating an existing business or filing for an L.L.C., contact us at 866-999-8200.

We've made it to the double digits with our business tips! In this post we'll discuss the value of "free." The other day I was thinking about swtiching from Time Warner to DirecTV, DirecTV seems to have better offers but in the end I didn't switch not only because I didn't want to hassle with having a technician come to my home, taking time off work in order to to have that done and take all my equipment back to Time Warner, no I didn't switch because Time Warner provides me with "free" HDTV, sure their premiums are a little higher, which I'm assuming goes towards the cost of the HDTV channels, but I don't see an HDTV charge on my statement, and Time Warner's marketing campaign is telling everyone that will listen about their "free" HD. In the end the amount I would save by switching to DirecTV wouldn't be enough to make me want to go through that hassle, because in the end, Time Warner's product is just fine.

When thinking about how to get people talking about your business you should give something away "free." It may be something that only costs you a few cents if anything, but by labeling the service or product as "free" it gives the consumer a sense of value. Try and stray away from "free" things such as pens and notepads, as they're too often lost or thrown away, and might not really say anything about your business. For example, if you're running a small cafe, you might want to once in a while give your regular's a free cup of coffee, you can print business sized cards for relativley cheap online these days, get a unique stamp and maybe you can give away the 6th coffee for free once the customer has received five stamps. Very simple, yet very effective, if your customer comes to your store a few times a week it'll almost certain they're not gonna go somewhere else to get their coffee if they've already got four stamps.

You don't have to give out actual "products" for free either, a lot of companies are taking to the web to hold "webinars" to demonstrate or give advise over the web, in the day it's easy for the masses to find you, but when they find you, you'll want to have something to say. Holding a webinar, even if it's a short one can really get people talking about your company, especially if you have information they won't find so easily. The most important thing is to demonstrate value in whatever you're doing, and that's whether you're giving your service out for free or not, value must always be perceived in order for people to come back and do business with you.

If you're thinking about starting your own business or incorporating a business you already have please give us a call and please mention this blog post.

Welcome to another addition of our small business tips. When you start out a business you have an idea of all you're going to spend on, it's important to not spend on what is not needed when you're opening a small business, for example, it's common for small business owners to outsource when it's really not necessary. You don't need a fancy PR firm when you first start, most advertising should be done word of mouth, when you launch a major advertising campaign it's something that needs to be around for a while in order to make an impact on your sales, and most start ups do not have that kind of funding. It's important to utilize free services such as Twitter and Facebook, another important part of marketing without breaking your budget is to have a website built. An online presence is necessary in this day in age, and we've written about it before, but it's just something that should not be cut back on while trying to start your business.

The main thing is to not go overboard, have a budget and stick to it, cut back on things you don't need. If you have any business questions, or are interested in a starting an LLC or corporation give us a call.

Choosing a business name is usually a pretty complicated process, a lot of people will jot down some names and get opinions from their friends and family about the names they've jotted down. Usually people have a good idea of what they want for a business name, but sometimes when nothing's coming to mind they choose something that's very generic and describes what their business does, this might be good for certain types of businesses, but most times generic names are cannot be incorporated or formed as an LLC because there are probably countless similar names on file with your state with that same name. We suggest using a somewhat unique name or avoid acronyms. States will not recognize periods, ampersands or hyphens, therefore AB&C Group, Inc is the same name as A.B.C. Group Inc. Also Corporation, Inc, Incorporated, Inc. are all the same in the eyes of the state, as are LLC, L.L.C. and Limited Liability Company.

If you need help in deciding if a name appears to be available at the state, whether that be for an LLC or a corporation please give us a call, we can be reached Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 5 pm Pacific Standard time at 866-999-8200.

Welcome to another edition of Successful Small Business Tips, in this post we'll talk about the need to protect your personal and business assets. One of the most important business filings is the filing you do in order to separate yourself from your business, that doesn't mean you don't have a say in the business, but you are just forming a business entity which is separate from you. When you do this you want to have the business as separate as possible from any personal ventures you may have, for example, you will want to have an individual bank account for the business because you don't want to mix any business deals with personal transactions. It's very important to talk to your accountant or other business owners you may know to find out what type of entity you should open and would be best for you. LLCs are becoming more common as they are generally a little easier to run that Corporations, though the filing fees with the states as well as the taxes for your particular state may sway your decision to go one way or the other. Regardless of the business entity type, whether that be a Corporation or an LLC, they both provide the same liability protection. If you want to file a corporation or file an LLC we can assist you in doing so, check our site or give us a call at 866-999-8200.

Every once in a while we hope to bring you little tips here and there about being a successful small business. Here's our first installment.

Who wouldn't want to be their own boss? While some may strive for that position more than others it's important to remember that it's not all fun and games, and there's minimum down time when you're just starting. Being the boss doesn't just mean that you can come in late and take vacations as you please, you have to make sure that you have a reliable team and that all your tasks are taken care of or assigned to a trusted employee. It's also important to be realistic in starting your own business, from the get go, you will probably be doing most of the work yourself, trying to get your business of the ground is hard work, often times worked on while you keep your day job. Too often entrepreneurs will read a success story about someone who did it on their own but they fail to recognize the road that got that successful business where it is. Because business is so competitive out there it's important to do something you like and/or know very well, anyone can pick up a camera and call themselves a photographer, but the successful one will be the one dedicated to providing great work and service. If you want to incorporate or form an LLC for your small business, please contact us.