Articles Related to Business

Taxes, Monitors and Time Saving Ideas.

It's tax season again. I don't enjoy this time of year because it means meeting with my accountant for several hours and hashing out the past years worth of business. When you have more than one businesses this can get quite time consuming and confusing. It's not that I don't like my accountant, he is a great guy. It's just a pain working out all the numbers to figure out what the goverment is going to take from you. This process was a lot more fun when I was 16 and completely stoked about the $150 return I was getting. When you are self employed, those returns are a distant memory. Being in the ecommerce industry, I tend to use my computer a lot - like a rediculous amount. Enough that I go through several keyboards before my laptop has to be retired and when the repairman comes out to

Published On: 3/20/2008

Filled under: taxes, entreprenuers, time savings

1073 Views

Website Design, Simplify Things.

Years ago when I was in school I had the same art teacher for several different classes throughout the day. He taught us a principle that I have heard over and over through the years in different settings. It is the KISS rule wich means: Keep It Simple Stupid. Some of you may have heard this same rule and hopefully try to implement it where you can. Since the beginning this is a rule that we have tried to implement in our website design; not only on the user interface but even in the complicated lines of website code. The KISS rule is important for several reasons and I will explain why through examples of mistakes that we have made that violated the rule and the result of the violation. First, a mistake we made in the user interface when we first started The Plan Collection. When

Published On: 2/13/2008

Filled under: website design, Search Engine Optimization, ranking high, optimization

765 Views

Billionaire Giving Back on Glenn Beck Show

I'm not sure how many of you watch or listen to the Glenn Beck show. I don't watch or listen to either religiously (no offense to Glenn) but I happened to catch a show tonight where he interviewed a man named Jon Huntsman and a couple of doctors that work with him at his Huntsman Cancer Institute. This particular interview caught my attention because right now cancer is something that hits close to home in our family So Jon Hunstman is sort of a local legend in Utah. He is a man that started out poor as a child and became a billionaire. You know those egg cartons your eggs come in, or the disposable plastic forks, knifes and spoons that you use all the time? Apparently his company invented products like that years ago. I've included the link so that you can read the entire article for

Published On: 2/2/2008

Filled under: Glenn Beck, Jon Huntsman, Philanthropy, Giving Back, Charity

1141 Views

Multiple Domain Names Pointing to One Domain

Like many internet businesses ThePlanCollection.com has purchased several domain names that are similar to our main domain name. These include the .net and .org version of our name. This is a good business practice as it helps you protect your company name. The problem with doing this is that Google can start to think you have schizophrenia. If your .net and .org names point to your website they will obviously serve up the same content as the .com. The problem is that Google doesn’t know that you are just trying to protect your name. Instead it thinks that you are duplicating content. Because we are using IIS we were able to solve this problem by creating an empty website whose sole purpose is to redirect all domains that are not ThePlanCollection.com to ThePlanCollection.com

Published On: 2/1/2008

Filled under: domain names, iis, 301 redirect

673 Views

How to rank high on Google, Yahoo and MSN: Introduction

I thought that title might grab your attention. Wouldn't we all like a simple solution to that problem? We've been working on SEO (search engine optimization) for quite some time at The Plan Collection; well right from the beginning 7 or 8 years ago. Before we even released The Plan Collection 1.0 we did a lot of research on the subject of SEO and thought we had it pretty well figured out. We analyzed all our competitors’ websites, and read whatever information we could find on how to build a website including everything from simplifying the checkout process to using colors that make people feel comfortable and safe. I think we had the assumption - like most people do – that there can’t be that much to it, and we’d start to rank highly soon enough. I mean, we weren’t trying to go up

Published On: 1/31/2008

Filled under: SEO, small business, ranking, search engine, google, yahoo, msn

789 Views

Business Partnerships

Why do people have business partners? There are lots of reasons really. Maybe you need financial backing or assistance, expertise that you don't have, someone to share the workload with. There is a long list of reasons. It is really important to seriously consider who you partner with (if you feel like you need one) before you jump into things. Once a business gets rolling, everyone becomes more and more tied emotionally and financially to the company. Changing your mind later can be a major problem, and likely an expensive one too. Like most businesses, The Plan Collection requires a lot of work on a daily basis; like accounting, data entry, customer service, record keeping, industry knowledge and experience, advertising and so on that we will call business management. It also requires

Published On: 1/31/2008

Filled under: business, partnerships, start-up

590 Views

Intricacies of Ecommerce

It's interesting running an ecommerce business. I think it is very impressive to see a small business that can do an excellent job in brick and mortar retail spaces and then dominate in the ecommerce world as well. There are a lot of principles to follow in retail sales but when you enter into the world of ecommerce there are a whole new set of principles. I guess that is part of the fun and challenge for small business owners; to figure out what the principles are for their business and then abide by them well. Over the years we have learned a lot managing The Plan Collection. There is so much work that goes into running a publishing website like this that most people just don't understand. Seems easy right? Just put up a website, add plans for people to buy and your on your way.

Published On: 1/29/2008

Filled under: ecommerce, website statistics, customer feedback, online business

593 Views

Microsoft, Dell and Bono Become One

There are many people that I admire. Some are famous, some smart, some famous and smart and others just genuinely good people. Today I thought I'd mention a few of the more famous and smart variety that are doing some great things in the business world that will have a great impact on the livelyhood of many people. First there is Bono - front man for an extremely popular rock band called U2. I started to admire him as a fan because like most teenagers I thought their music was cool. Now i'm old - their music is still cool - and Bono has used his celebrity for good causes over the years to make the world a better place. Secondly, there is Bill Gates for obvious reasons. His little company called Microsoft creates products used by nearly everyone and every business that owns a computer -

Published On: 1/25/2008

Filled under: Microsoft, Dell, Bono, U2, donations, Humanitarian Aid

664 Views

SELLING YOUR HOME IN THE WINTER

In many parts of the country, selling a home during the winter months can be a challenge. Dreary, cold weather and the end-of-the-year holidays can keep buyers away and heighten fears of your home staying on the market longer than expected. However, there are a few things you can do to enhance “curb appeal.” And when that happens, buyers will take notice. For example, if your home has been on the market for more than six months, its probably time to change the sales approach. There are several factors that could be reviewed with your real estate agent to determine improvements that can be made. Ask for a reassessment of the sales price; it may be too high for the current market. Also, ask the agent for a new or updated marketing plan and ask for a specific explanation

Published On: 4/30/2005

Filled under: Selling Your Home, Housing Market

1995 Views

HOW TO DETERMINE THE PRICE OF YOUR HOME

Why is it that some homes sit on the market for a year while others sell like hot cakes? Frustrated sellers will blame a bad market, while a good real estate professional will tell you that many times, a slow sale is often attributed to the listing price. If a home is overpriced, buyers will stay away. But, if the price is competitive with similar homes in the area and “shows” better than the competition, it will have a better chance of being sold quickly. The secret is perfecting a technique that’s as American as apple pie: comparative shopping. Although comparing houses with different styles, square-footages and locations is challenging, real estate professionals still feel it’s one of the best methods to use when determining a home’s market

Published On: 4/30/2005

Filled under: Selling Your Home, Housing Market

2149 Views

Spec Homes

One of our readers posted the following: “I am interested in building spec homes in Arizona. I have many questions regarding the spec home industry and have had a difficult time obtaining useful information. Plenty of info on fixers, foreclosures, investment property and such but with regard to building spec homes and the financing, planning construction and selling there just isn't much out there.” I don't consider myself an expert on spec building, but I have built over 200 homes. Out of the 200 homes I would say 120 of them have been spec homes. I enjoy building spec homes because it is much easier and can be more profitable. However, it can be risky. The best thing to do is start with a good floor plan and build it in a good area. The

Published On: 4/2/2005

Filled under: A Home Builders Opinion

4667 Views

Lock in your lumber prices

My lumber salesman at Stock Building Supply called me on Thursday to warn me of upcoming price increases. This is good insider information that a good sales rep should let you know. We do enough business with Stock Building Supply that they will lock in the lumber prices on certain homes we have coming up. This little tip will probably save me 10k, or more, in the next month alone. I know a lot of you who look at home plans on www.theplancollection.com are trying to build your own homes. I would suggest that you get to know a lumber salesperson and let them know what you are planning. If you hurry and find a home plan you like, I would get it to several lumber companies and have them do a take-off. That is where they will determine how much lumber

Published On: 2/26/2005

Filled under: Housing Market, A Home Builders Opinion

1916 Views

Brick Homes May Cost More To Insure

I thought I would make people aware that the cost to insure a brick home is considerably higher than other materials. The reason is that brick tends not to do very well in earthquakes. Most of the time it just causes cracks in the mortar. However, the best way to fix the problem is to pull all of the brick down and start over. That is why insurance costs are so much higher with a brick home. Nevertheless, most insurance companies will allow you to opt out of the brick clause, which means you can't ever claim brick damage. Many homeowners choose to do this and hope they don't get hit with a big earthquake. If you do have a few unsightly mortar cracks, you can hire a mason to chisel out the mortar and then replace that section. In most

Published On: 12/8/2004

Filled under: Exterior Materials, Saving Money

1627 Views

Be careful when deciding how much house you can afford

I just read a really great article that talks about the current state of mortgages in the United States. In my opinion it is always better to use prudence when deciding how much debt to take on. Here is a link: http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Banking/Homefinancing/P98896.asp If you want to know what the house price index is in your state check here: http://www.ofheo.gov/HPI.asp If you want to know what the house price index is check

Published On: 12/8/2004

Filled under: Homebuilding Activity, Mortages

1987 Views

Having a Security Blanket (Home Equity)

I recently had a discussion with a man I am building a new home for. With the money he is putting towards his down payment, combined with the good price I gave him, he will have over 20% equity in his new home. I suggested setting up a home equity line of credit. If he closes on the Home Equa-Line at the same time as his long term, it will cost him nothing extra. If he chooses not to take any money out, he will just have a $40 a year fee. This is according to a loan officer at M&T Mortgage www.mandtbank.com I told him it is important to get it set up, in the event something were to happen to him or his job, he would have a nice safety net. If he were to wait to get it set up, and something happens, he may not have the kind of credit he does

Published On: 11/13/2004

Filled under: Home Equity, A Home Builders Opinion

829 Views

The Future of Home Building is Looking Bright

All of the economic indicators and most of the recent articles I have read seem to paint a positive picture when it comes to building new homes. Lumber prices are coming down in a dramatic fashion and the higher price of gas was factored in two years ago. The bright spot about our economy has been the homebuilding industry. However, the costs have been escalating dramatically over the past few years. Nevertheless, the demand for new homes has been constant. Interest rates have been in the basement for a long time now. As the economy continues to heat up, the interest rates will be raised. The economy is gradually getting better, which means the rates shouldn't jump up all of a sudden. Everything looks favorable for building a new

Published On: 11/11/2004

Filled under: Housing Market, A Home Builders Opinion

1073 Views

Lumber Prices are Declining

Finally, the price of lumber is coming down. For instance, about three years ago, the price of OSB or wafer wood used to cost $6 a sheet. Last year the price shot up to nearly $20 a sheet. However, my latest quotes show that the price at Home Depot was $10.50 a sheet. However, some of the other lumber stores are still trying to make a few extra dollars by charging $13.50 a sheet. Always get current bids, because lumber is a commodity that changes daily. Good luck and happy home plan

Published On: 10/31/2004

Filled under: A Home Builders Opinion, Housing Market

1755 Views

Great Mortgage Rates during election years

Wow, I sure love election years because interest rates generally fall into the basement. That is one reason I firmly belive in a 5-7 year ARM. I found a good article about Adjustable Rate Mortgages on www.nahb.com Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs)With a fixed-rate mortgage, the interest rate stays the same during the life of the loan. But with an ARM, the interest rate changes periodically, usually in relation to a specific index such as a cost of funds rate or the Treasury bill rate. Payments may go up or down accordingly. Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) are characterized by the time frame for adjustment, such as 1 year, or 3, 5, 7, or 10 years. Hybrid ARMs have grown in popularity because they may offer a favorable fixed rate of interest for a time, such as 3, 5, 7,

Published On: 7/16/2004

Filled under: Mortgages, Housing Market

1367 Views