Business Discussions

Hi Community, I’m going to tell you a true story about two businesses. At the start of the 2020 pandemic, I told both businesses we need to double down on marketing. Business 1 said Yes, let’s do it, but we’ll only cut back a little on our ad spend.Business 2 said No, let’s stop all marketing even though I begged them not to stop. Being in this industry for over 11 years, I knew what would happen. They still insisted. 𝗪𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀? The only responsibility of marketing is to grow your business. It helps you to increase awareness, sales, downloads, leads, or whatever your goal is. I put marketing on the same level as electricity. When you run your business, you need electricity, and you need marketing.Fast forward to now, the business that trusted us, adapted to the changes, and continued with their marketing, is still growing and even increa

Hello, Community! Thanks for joining me here in the Business Discussion space. Today, I'm switching gears a bit to talk about a topic that hit somewhat close to home. A little back story, a family member of mine previously worked at a local mapping business. The moral of this post is to share the experience he had with the owner of the company.     The owner is close to retirement but ultimately failed to communicate their future plans for the business once they were no longer working. The lack of planning and communication for the future of the business caused a lot of undo stress, unfortunate rumors about what would happen to the company, and even more unfortunately - long-term employees leaving, like my family member did. That sounds like a sad story, but that's not the picture I want to paint. I'm sharing this story to help you prepare and think about the future with a few options and pros and cons for each. So, if you're a business owner approaching retirement here are

Following up on our last Community Chatter post about favorite social media follows, we thought it would be a great idea to start February off by highlighting some of the small businesses that we love.     ++++++ @Ami_D  I’m really lucky that Boise has an incredibly strong “buy local” culture, and living downtown (a small business hub with weekly outdoor markets) for my first couple of years exposed me to some of my now favorite places in town.   Figgy Bakes - https://figgybakes.com/ I discovered Figgy through a pop-up at the second local biz on my list: Lemon Tree. She brought a whole slew of single serving desserts, all delectable, and I think I bought one of each and ate them all. This led me to follow her on Instagram where she posts the most exquisite photos of her artisan cakes using natural ingredients and fresh local flowers as decoration. I don’t often need full cakes, but during the pandemic, she started offering cake jars and mini desserts with her m

How can I become a guest writer for the QB community and blog? I would love to share tips, feedback, lessons on digital marketing that will help the QB community grow their business. 

Hey, how much does a hipster weigh?...An Instagram!   Hello, and happy Friday to you! I'm back to spread a little business knowledge and hopefully a smile. I know I've made a couple posts about how social media platforms can be a very best friend to small businesses, especially regarding customer engagement and advertising. But today, I wanted to share an article with you I found from uschamber.com that discusses how to understand social media statistics, and ultimately make them work to your advantage. If we take a specific look at Instagram stats, there are a few metrics to consider...   ReachA pretty straightforward stat to measure. When you view your reach, this is detailing the unique number of views on each post. "Tracking your reach will show you if your business is reaching new accounts and expanding your audience on Instagram." If you notice a lower than expected number for the reach, think about:   — Whether or not you used hashtags.— Type(s) of hasht

In 2020 alone, there were approximately 233 million people using some form of social media in the United States, and the average person spends upwards of 2 hours a day viewing, liking, and commenting on social media posts.   For many, it is more than just entertainment - social media offers connection to others, a way to find out what is happening in the world, and increasingly, a way to discover, interact with, and support brands and businesses.      If you are new to the Social world, or are simply looking for new ideas and accounts to follow, we have gathered some of our favorite accounts together.          ++++++   @LisaNullar  My Insta feed is a mix of friends and celebrities of course, but it is also where I follow artists for inspiration, various tags for things that I am interested in like knitting or houseplants, and small businesses that I like and want to keep up with.     Some of my favorites are: A

Did you miss the livestream?  Here is the replay of our session with Sandra Edwards and Lynda Artesani, so you can watch it at your leisure.     Preparing payroll for tax season can be overwhelming & confusing. Get your questions about preparing payroll for tax season answered by QuickBooks ProAdvisor & QB Community Live co-founder Lynda Artesani, with help from the QuickBooks Online Payroll product team.    

Good afternoon Community! I recently chatted with a friend of mine, Austin Schank, who has made a name for himself as a local small business owner. In May of 2018, Austin combined his passion for hometown roots, the outdoors, and entrepreneurship by introducing his business - Southern Lake Company. The SLCo. brand offers a variety of apparel items for all of your fishing and outdoor needs. Here's how our conversation went...     • What would you like for people to know about your business?We are very small, and true to our brand. We love our hometown.   • Do you have a certain daily routine that sets you up for success? If yes, what is it?Communicating to customers and trying to find others with like-mind in our business.   • What gave you the idea to start this business?I love the outdoors, I grew up doing it in this area. When I moved from SWVA [Southwest Virginia], I wanted to something I could still share with my hometown.   • What has

It's Friday! It's great to have you here in the Business Discussion space. If you're new here, welcome! If you've been around for a while, you know myself and my other Community teammates like to share small business related articles we've read throughout the week. Today I wanted to share one I found on Forbes.com that discusses a number of steps entrepreneurs wish they would have taken before starting their businesses. Let's take a look shall we?1. Researched What Entrepreneurship Entails I'd say it's no coincidence as to why this is the first point in the list. To be an entrepreneur it's pretty important to know what entrepreneurship entails. One of the members from the selected expert panel mentioned, "I wish I knew what I was getting myself into...I wish I would have done more research and more digging into what exactly it takes to become an entrepreneur."2. Done More Market Research On PricingDoing your fair share of research in this area can alleviate a lot of stre

Hi Community friends! We've reached the middle of the week with another wonderful Wednesday. In the interest of the new year, one of my personal goals is to save money. With some of the circumstances that seemed to go hand-in-hand with the year 2020 (quarantine/working at home), I kind of had a realization that a lot of the things I was purchasing weren't necessary. The more I stayed home. the more I noticed what I had been previously spending. And it was a little scary! I had to have an internal monologue consisting of one simple statement, "Stop buying stuff!" Anyways, I say all of that to share that in my research on money saving tips, I found an excellent formula to pay yourself every month. Here it is:   Take the money you earnedsubtractThe amount needed to cover bills and expensessubtract15-20% for savings accountadd the remainingto personal account   This simple solution covers all the bases. You're paying what you have to regarding bills and other expenses, such as ho

 It's Friday!! Welcome everyone to the Talk About Your Business page. Are you excited about the weekend? I know I am.  I can't wait to catch up on some shows I missed and be lazy for a few hours. Anyway, before you get ready to sign off for the day, I wanted to share this gem from Entrepreneur about maximizing team results by managing the whole employee. This was undoubtedly an interesting read. Here are some points they shared:   Unique people, individualized managementPersonality-wise for someone who is an introvert when potentially getting a management position, they would have to come out of their shell more to lead the team. In another sense, if you are an extrovert, they may be moments where you have to tone it down a bit when communicating with others. Each person is unique. It is essential as leaders to take note of these things to understand your employees more. That way, you are better able to cater to their needs. The writer mentioned she video calls her staff

Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Discussion Page! I hope you are having a fabulous day! Today, I wanted to share ways to engage your audience's emotions, focusing on marketing and advertising. Let's dive in!   Have you ever purchase a product from a brand because you felt an emotional connection with them or what they stand for aligns with your views? I have before. I could have chosen a less expensive item, but I built loyalty to that brand. When businesses take the time to get to know their customers, find their needs, and make them feel like you care( which you should), this is when you have the opportunity to tap into their emotions and form a lasting customer relationship.   Advertisements have played a role in this capacity when it comes to sales tactics. I can recall the Arms of an Angel commercial where they display animals suffering from cruelty and neglect and how you could adopt or donate to the cause. It makes me angry yet sympathetic, and I wanted to donat

Hello, ladies and gentlemen of the Community! Thanks for joining me here in the Business Discussion space. I came across an article on inc.com earlier today that mentioned several great questions to ask to stimulate conversations. As a business owner, I'm sure you're well aware of how important relationship and network building can be.     So without further ado, here's the list of conversation sparking questions... What's your story? Completely open-ended and allows the individual to start their story wherever they feel necessary. What absolutely excites you right now? I'm sure you're bound to see some eyes light up when asking this question. What was the highlight of your day (or week)? Answers to this question may warrant a laugh or two. (My personal answer is my two year old son singing a made up song about monster trucks.) What gets you up in the morning? They could potentially reply with "my alarm clock," but hopefully their response wil

  These guides are the source of truth, the what, how, and why behind every feature and function in QuickBooks Online. They provide facts, figures and detailed visual walkthroughs to help you do your QuickBooks accounting quickly and efficiently.    Invoices and Sales FormsHow to Customize InvoicesHow to Add Social Media Links to InvoicesHow to Send Paper Invoices   Processing TransactionsHow to Review Open Invoices and Send Payment Reminders and Balance forward Statements in QuickBooks OnlineHow to Use the Undeposited Funds AccountHow to Record Bank Deposits in QuickBooks Online   Payments and Online BankingHow to Adjust Your Invoice Payment Terms in QuickBooks OnlineHow to Connect a Bank Account for the first time in QuickBooks Online   Items (Products and Services, Customers, Vendors) and ListsHow to Create and Manage Lists in QuickBooks Online (coming soon)   Financial Repo

We're just about through our first week of 2021! I strongly considered writing a "New Year, New Me" piece with a business twist, but I thought there may be plenty of that going around. So, that thought lead me too the topic of "Out of the Box." Out of the box thinking can be geared toward New Year's resolutions if you so desire, but how can you act in an exceptional, different way regarding your business? Here are a few ideas to consider...   Take a classBe honest, when was the last time you took a class or even did an in depth study of the most current practices in your industry? With the rapid growth of accessibility and technology, things may have changed more that you know within the last 5 or even 2 or 3 years. Signing up for a class to learn more about your line of work is a great way to switch up the norm, and it's never a bad thing to further your education.   Learn to say "no"In many ways, I can see that business owners have the habit of overextending them

They say that hindsight is 20/20, and after the year that we have all been through, we thought it might be a good time to take a look back at last year and share some of the things we have learned along the way.     ++++++   @CoreyDenis1  Hey lady!   This time last year you were completely unaware of what would happen for most of the year, or that you’d still be dealing with it in 2021. But here you are, and you know what steps to take to get through it. And, let’s be honest, it wasn’t all bad. You had to adjust, and you did it.   When the pandemic hit, you organized different groups of friends and hosted happy hours on Zoom. You did this with childhood friends, your college friends, your co-workers, your best friends, and you managed to organize different events for your friends in other countries across time zones. Thanks to Zoom and video communication, you also attended several experiential events from your living room, traveled to faraway lands on zo

  Here it is, the final look back at our Community in 2020.   Today we are going to take a look at how the community has grown over the past year, and check out some of the most popular posts.      So let's start with the numbers - signs of a healthy community are growth and engagement, and as you will see, we had both.       The great thing about the increases in views, visits, and unique visitors is that we saw a significant increase in the numbers of members coming to the Community from mobile devices - showing that we are there for people when they need us, even if they aren't near their computer.       But as I mentioned above, the other factor that shows how healthy a community is are the engagement numbers - we could post all we wanted, but if no one comments or interacts with our content, then we may as well just be talking to ourselves.   I'm quite happy to say that we didn't have that problem.

Good afternoon, QuickBooks Community. Before what may be your last work day of 2020 is over (insert praise emoji), I wanted to share some thoughts that you may find useful in the upcoming year. My dad works for a land surveying company and we were discussing some of his responsibilities when it comes to finding new clients. Here are a few pointers on how to handle an initial contact with a prospective customer...   What's in it for themThis point is first on the list for a reason. When you begin your conversation with a potential client, don't immediately start selling. Take the time to build a rapport and find out what the customer needs. Once you understand their needs, you can then communicate how your business, product, or service can meet each one.   Relay the end resultsYour customer should know exactly how their situation, problem, etc. will end up when they choose you. During your conversation there shouldn't be any question about what they're getting after signi

Hi guys, I'm new to this forum, it's great to meeting you allMe and co-workers are running an Shopify e-commerce business (shoes, caps, accessories). But I don't know how to integrate shopify or amazon oreders into Quickbooks.  Any suggestion or guide would help me a lot. Thanks and cheer!

One of the most important aspects of Community is the ability for people to get to know one another and to have a place to discuss their business journey with others who have been in their shoes before.  And to that end, we have tried hard to make sure that we have posts that not only inform, but offer the opportunity to get to know others.       This year we introduced a few new series to help with that - along with our usual posts on Wednesday and Friday from our Community hosts:   It all started with the Ask the Expert series - videos by small businesses and experts to help you with all aspects of running your business.    They have been incredibly popular and we have a lot more experts lined up, so make sure you keep an eye out.     You can find both the Community Chatter series, as well as the Show & Tell series by clicking on their tags here in the Talk about your business board, and we launched both of them to help you

Welcome to the QuickBooks Community! As Christmas is fast approaching, I decided to share with you tips to consider if you're sending a virtual Business Christmas card or video. If you have not planned on doing this, it is something to consider. Sending a business Christmas card or video shows your client and customer that you value their relationship and plan to be there for them in the long term. Here they are:   A Year in Review In a video, you can briefly go over all the company achievements and milestones and thank the customers for being on the journey. If you are creating a card, the same can apply. Add Christmas background music or appropriate icons or pictures to add to the cards will connect the holiday cheer.   Be Aware of Your Client's religious beliefs If you know a customer who doesn't necessarily celebrate Christmas due to religious beliefs, create a holiday card geared toward holiday themes, such as "Happy Holidays" or "Season Greetings."   Add a pers

It's hard to believe that there are only 10 days left in 2020, it's been quite the year.  But in spite of everything that has happened, we wanted to focus on some of the good things that this year has brought.     So here are some of the best things we have done this year:    ++++++   @Ami_D  The best thing I did this year by far was make the decision to expand our family and adopt a dog. We bought our first house this summer (another great thing!) and finally got to fulfill our dream of adding a canine family member.   We went into the shelter that day “just to look.” We had a short wishlist: An older dog. Good with cats. House trained. In a new house, we didn’t want to take too many risks in destroying it quickly. But, we walked into that shelter and immediately spotted a 6-month-old lab/border collie mix named Skye. She wagged her tail with her whole body, and a picture of her eyes could be next to the dictionary definition of “puppy dog

Hello QuickBooks Community! It is getting close to the most wonderful time of the year! But, before you leave today, I wanted to share this article by SmallBizTrends about holiday sales and marketing tips to finish 2020 strong. Here is what they had to say:   Don't Rule Out In-Store Purchases If You Have a Brick-and-MortarA recent study indicates that 85% of people still prefer to shop in-store, and 59% will support stores that follow safety protocols. This can give you an extra boost in sales once you update customers about the company's guidelines through email or social media. I will admit, I still prefer to shop in-store because I can see, feel, and sometimes get more variety or better deals than what is being sold online.    Weave User-Generate Content Throughout Your Shopping ExperienceRaise of hands, how many of you look at the reviews before purchasing an item? Probably a lot of us, right! It is imperative to encourage customers to add their reviews and testimon

Continuing our journey through 2020, it's impossible to talk about the year without talking about COVID-19 and the changes it has brought in every aspect of our lives.  Today we will take a look at the ways that we responded in Community and highlight some of the content and resources that are still being used.       I vividly remember the day in early March that we were notified that Intuit had made the decision to transition all employees to work from home effective immediately.  It happened late on a Thursday afternoon and I remember everyone slowly packing up their desks and wandering around a little bit in shock just talking to each other about the news and what it might mean.      As a company, we rallied quickly and began pivoting to make sure that we were able to be here for our members and offer as many resources as possible in regards to the quickly shifting business landscape.  Our first efforts included a custom forum

Happy hump day to you! We're half-way through another work week, and I'm back to share another post with you. Today I want to talk about habits. I'll admit I have a bad habit of checking my phone a lot throughout the day, when really there's nothing new to see. A good habit I have adopted is doing a small load of laundry and/or small household chore daily to keep the tasks from piling up and getting overwhelming. Those actions don't really apply to what I'm going to share with you. But as business owners and entrepreneurs, I do think you'll want to start or continue the next few habits I'm about to mention...     Set goals. I think it's safe to say you're a "go-getter." How about a "goal-getter?" Successful entrepreneurs have the habit of setting and reaching goals. Use a planner. I used to buy cute little planners, maybe write a couple of appointments down, then totally forget about it. Nowadays, I use my planner for everything! Work schedules and tasks, various appointme