Many things learned are useful in other aspects of life.
Recently, I have learned a lot about business taxes and now personal taxes are so much easier to tackle. And, reading the IRS publications aren't that bad anymore. Prior to doing all of the business taxes research, I thought the IRS website and publications were overly complicated. Now, I consider each pub to be light reading even though they are small font, three columns per page, and typically around 5-40 pages.
I feel good.
~ Danial Goodwin ~
Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
2014-03-10
2014-03-03
Level Up - Business: How To File the Annual Report (Florida)
When you run a business in Florida, you must submit an Annual Report every year between January 1st and May 1st. It will cost $138.75 to file. And, if not filed in time, then there is a $400 penalty fee and possibility that the company is "administratively dissolved". But, the good news is that the report is easy to fill out and submit, and it's all done online.
When you complete the form online, you'll be able to edit your business address and member(s) address(es). Then you don't need to file a separate form for changing the addresses with the state (an extra $25).
First thing is, you don't need to spend any extra money for a third-party to complete this state requirement for you. They may charge upwards of $35 to complete the form that is easily completed within five minutes.
To complete your Annual Report:
1. You will need, your business's document number, Federal Employer Identification (FEI/FEIN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN), an email address to keep on file, and about five minutes.
2. Go to https://services.sunbiz.org/Filings/AnnualReport/FilingStart
3. Start the form by imputing your document number, then read the directions on the page. It is all straight-forward.
4. Pay the filing fee and submit. Now, you are done.
Disclaimer: This is not legal advice. This post is mainly a pointer to help others who also need to Annual Report for Florida. I'm sure other states in the US also have a page similar to the one linked here.
~ Danial Goodwin ~
When you complete the form online, you'll be able to edit your business address and member(s) address(es). Then you don't need to file a separate form for changing the addresses with the state (an extra $25).
First thing is, you don't need to spend any extra money for a third-party to complete this state requirement for you. They may charge upwards of $35 to complete the form that is easily completed within five minutes.
To complete your Annual Report:
1. You will need, your business's document number, Federal Employer Identification (FEI/FEIN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN), an email address to keep on file, and about five minutes.
2. Go to https://services.sunbiz.org/Filings/AnnualReport/FilingStart
3. Start the form by imputing your document number, then read the directions on the page. It is all straight-forward.
4. Pay the filing fee and submit. Now, you are done.
Disclaimer: This is not legal advice. This post is mainly a pointer to help others who also need to Annual Report for Florida. I'm sure other states in the US also have a page similar to the one linked here.
~ Danial Goodwin ~
2014-03-01
Level Up - Business: How To Change Your Filed Information With The State Government (Florida)
If the information you have filed with the state has changed, then you are supposed to let the state government know about it. This blog post will simply point you to the page where you can find all the information that you need to change your filed emails, addresses, FEI/FEIN/EIN, your business name, and more.
For the state of Florida, you will need to go to the Sunbiz site at http://www.sunbiz.org/address_change.html.
Now that I have this information written down in my blog, next time I need to make a business change I will remember to just look at this post to find the link easily, rather than searching through the different government business websites.
~ Danial Goodwin ~
For the state of Florida, you will need to go to the Sunbiz site at http://www.sunbiz.org/address_change.html.
Now that I have this information written down in my blog, next time I need to make a business change I will remember to just look at this post to find the link easily, rather than searching through the different government business websites.
~ Danial Goodwin ~
2013-08-26
Graphs: 3x4 Types Of Goods And Services
The following graph explains the three different types of goods and services very well. It helps in determining what type of pricing structure you should use when you sell something. In my realm, it is how to price a smartphone application.
After the picture is my own take on the 3 categories.
Categories, from left to right:
1. Consumables, seasonal apps, fad/meme apps: These apps will be used only a few times at the most, then eventually probably uninstalled. Examples include apps that play off from something happening in the news, or an app for an Internet meme like that one dancing craze I forgot about already (Harlem shake).
2. News, reference sheets, utilities, tools: These apps will always be of use to the user, and functionality in them typically don't change drastically. Examples include flashlight apps, unit converters, information apps about a particular topic, and hourly/daily/weekly news feeds.
3. Productivity, social, leveling-up games: These apps get more useful the more you use them. Example: When you store more files in Dropbox, then the app becomes more useful to access, backup, and share files, thus you use it more. When using these apps, there is either a real or perceived difficulty in changing service providers. Users may worry about the future of these apps much more than the other two categories.
In each of the app marketplaces, apps that fit the first category (with consumables) are the most prevalent. And, apps in the third category are the most scarce. And, or course, there are always exceptions in the examples I gave, I will not list them all here.
Here's the pricing structure that should be used, in general, for each of these categories (if you want to make money from the app). An easy way to remember is: charge for the app when it is the most valuable to the user.
1. Charge once, early.
2. In order of preference: (1) Subscription model to keep all the information updated, or just to have access to the data/information. (2) Charge once, early. Then have additional (major) updates cost extra. (3) Ads.
3. Freemium: App should start off free and have enough basic features in order for most users to be satisfied with that. Then you should charge for more features only to users that get the most value out of your product. If you never have to update the app again, then a one-time fee is okay. But, if you are going to be providing updates to the app, then don't work for free! A subscription model or in-app purchases will allow you to stay in the business of creating more great apps and keeping that one updated and fresh.
But, wait! There's more!
You don't have all the information yet required for building a proper business model. In addition to those 3 categories above, your app can be further classified into one of the following 4 categories.
This following graph should give you a more thorough understanding of what type of app you have:
(I have labelled the quadrants according to mathematically standards with 1 in the top-right, going counter-clockwise to 4 in the bottom-right. A few hand-selected apps are positioned roughly in their corresponding quadrants.)
The biggest take-away from this graph is that most apps in the market are in quadrant 3 (least profitable), and it is very rare to have an app in quadrant 1, the most profitable quadrant.
Wide appeal apps have the luxury of choosing to only charge once and still be in a profitable business because many new smartphone users will always need/want these apps. Thus, a "never ending" source of income. Narrow appeal (niche) apps will not be able to draw as many downloads. So, a charge once business model is not sustainable in the long run. Though, many developers of quadrant 3 choose to create a framework and keep switching out the data to create new apps very quickly and easily. Example: A Chuck Norris joke app and Shakespeare Insult app could share 95+% of the code by just changing the database where the information is pulled. So, by creating many cheap niche apps, these developers are effectively reaching quadrant 2.
In order to effectively/successfully create a profitable premium app, users must "need" the app. There is also probably little to no [close] competition. Your app has to truly shine. These apps correspond to the category 3 (freemium) apps of the first graph. Category 2 apps from the first graph are most likely to be classified in quadrant 2 or 4. And just about all Category 1 apps from the first graph are located in the third quadrant, but not apps in the third quadrant are category 1.
If you have any further thoughts to share, then I'm all ears.
~ Simply Advanced ~
Additional great resources:
[1] http://www.xda-developers.com/android/the-smart-way-to-price-your-mobile-app-xda-developer-tv/
[2] http://mobile.smashingmagazine.com/2012/11/07/succeed-with-your-app/
[3] http://blog.ideashower.com/post/21276590202/why-pocket-went-free
[4] http://www.bradfordcoffey.com/bid/81600/pricing-model-lessons-matching-the-timing-on-value-price
Freemium Business Model
"It seems the word freemium has such a negative connotation that many people have completely misinterpreted the true premise of this post: 'The future of sustainable app development is to give away as much value as possible and empower those who receive more value to pay more for it.'" - http://davidbarnard.com/post/58970916992/the-sparrow-opportunity
~ Simply Advanced ~
~ Simply Advanced ~
2013-06-15
New Simply Advanced, LLC Business Cards
I recently got my supply of 250 business cards from VistaPrint. They are pretty good quality. I will most likely order from them again, unless I hear of another really recommend company to buy business cards from.
~ Simply Advanced ~
~ Simply Advanced ~
2013-06-05
A Few Notes On Entrepreneuring
(The following list of notes on entrepreneuring and businesses are in no particular order. I probably could have titled this "Things to know/remember when building your business".)
Difference between a service company and a product company: The first is easily scalable.
Build something that does one thing really well.
Difference between a huge market and the right market.
Experience+knowledge >> knowledge. (Read: Experience and knowledge is much greater than just knowledge.)
"The trend is your friend" when asking for venture capital. Current trends: mobile, cloud, big data, and social.
--
Describe your service/product better. Better doesn't mean specific, it means making an impression. Ex: My service is the oracle of big data. The words you should use evolve with time and with usage by others. The best copy now should use just one of the following: comprehensive, genuine, convenient, accessible, prestigious, premier, pioneers, quality, we obsolete .
Other terms should be purposely excluded because they are either overused, not true, or sound templated: innovative, groundbreaking, fresh, leader, unique. It is tough to know which words to stay away from; you don't want to make people doubtful and put their defenses up. One tip is to keep up-to-date with everything investors, businesses, and consumers see.
I have much more to say about this, but it could take up at least two more long blog posts. Here's a small list of currently neutral descriptive words for your business: functional, effectively, revitalizes, the original. "My business is a multinational corporation" could mean that I run a website.)
--
Descriptions should appeal to each of the senses. (Copy is very important)
There are always tradeoffs. Know them.
"People who get MBAs learn how to draw timelines."
The ability to communicate effectively is your strongest asset.
When building for businesses, the ultimate goal is to either raise revenue or reduce costs.
"Engineers are not hired to create programs, they are hired to create business value."
Any more quick thoughts? What are your first thoughts? Then what are your second thoughts?
~ Simply Advanced ~
Difference between a service company and a product company: The first is easily scalable.
Build something that does one thing really well.
Difference between a huge market and the right market.
Experience+knowledge >> knowledge. (Read: Experience and knowledge is much greater than just knowledge.)
"The trend is your friend" when asking for venture capital. Current trends: mobile, cloud, big data, and social.
--
Describe your service/product better. Better doesn't mean specific, it means making an impression. Ex: My service is the oracle of big data. The words you should use evolve with time and with usage by others. The best copy now should use just one of the following: comprehensive, genuine, convenient
Other terms should be purposely excluded because they are either overused, not true, or sound templated: innovative, groundbreaking, fresh, leader, unique. It is tough to know which words to stay away from; you don't want to make people doubtful and put their defenses up. One tip is to keep up-to-date with everything investors, businesses, and consumers see.
I have much more to say about this, but it could take up at least two more long blog posts. Here's a small list of currently neutral descriptive words for your business: functional, effectively, revitalizes, the original. "My business is a multinational corporation" could mean that I run a website.)
--
Descriptions should appeal to each of the senses. (Copy is very important)
There are always tradeoffs. Know them.
"People who get MBAs learn how to draw timelines."
The ability to communicate effectively is your strongest asset.
When building for businesses, the ultimate goal is to either raise revenue or reduce costs.
"Engineers are not hired to create programs, they are hired to create business value."
Any more quick thoughts? What are your first thoughts? Then what are your second thoughts?
~ Simply Advanced ~
2013-01-28
Lease Renewal
Feels like I'm signing my life away to the apartment I'm staying at. One year is a very long time to have a housing lease, especially since I'm graduating in with my Computer Engineering Bachelors in May. There have been multiple job offers, but I'm still thinking of starting my own mobile app development business Simply Advanced, LLC, which I have already purchased. So, I guess a little structure in my life as I work on the business 120 hours a week might be a little good.
~ Simply Advanced ~
~ Simply Advanced ~
2013-01-25
LegalZoom: Simply Advanced, LLC
Finally, just submitted all the documents and payments to LegalZoom so that Simply Advanced, LLC could be official. I heard a few good things about them and this is the real test for me. LegalZoom says that the filing process could take anywhere from 20-35 days. I will share with the world how the experience goes.
The application process on LegalZoom is relatively straightforward. On the first page, they say it will take about 15 minutes to complete. I'm sure I spent at least 30 minutes reading every question and help available. Be sure to read about the details of LegalZoom LLC creation before beginning the process. There are a few fees that they don't tell you about during the application process.
One interesting experience while filling out all of the forms was getting a phone call by one of the LegalZoom representatives. I didn't have any questions at the time, but I'm sure it can be really useful. And now I have the email and phone number of a specific representative, rather than an overarching number with menus and submenus.
I've read a lot about starting and running businesses already, but there is still a lot of business materials that I have to read before considering myself capable of running this business. It's time to learn fast by throwing myself into it.
~ Simply Advanced ~
The application process on LegalZoom is relatively straightforward. On the first page, they say it will take about 15 minutes to complete. I'm sure I spent at least 30 minutes reading every question and help available. Be sure to read about the details of LegalZoom LLC creation before beginning the process. There are a few fees that they don't tell you about during the application process.
One interesting experience while filling out all of the forms was getting a phone call by one of the LegalZoom representatives. I didn't have any questions at the time, but I'm sure it can be really useful. And now I have the email and phone number of a specific representative, rather than an overarching number with menus and submenus.
I've read a lot about starting and running businesses already, but there is still a lot of business materials that I have to read before considering myself capable of running this business. It's time to learn fast by throwing myself into it.
~ Simply Advanced ~
2012-06-28
New Simply Advanced Logo!
You should take a look at the Simply Advanced website that I just finished updating. Sometimes I even surprise myself lol. The layout is really neat, fits all screen sizes (try changing the width of your browser) and the about page has an innovative style that I haven't seen anywhere else.
http://simplyadvanced.net/
~ Simply Advanced ~
http://simplyadvanced.net/
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| Inspired by modern art |
~ Simply Advanced ~
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