This week, the national average price for a gallon of gas hit $3.57, according to an article in yesterday’s Chicago Tribune. Prices are expected to reach $4 per gallon by April, and may surpass the previous all-time national average high of $4.11 (July, 2008).

High gas prices don’t just have an impact on our personal driving habits. What do you think they mean for your business? Take the poll and share suggestions for minimizing the damage in the comments section below.

Two years ago we introduced our readers to Business Plan Pro user Sarah Lanphier of Nuts About Granola. She was a young entrepreneur who turned a one-time fundraiser into a successful business.

Today, the small business Sarah started with her mother, Gayle, is growing beyond what anyone, except maybe Sarah, might have imagined. In the fall, they closed not one, but two big deals that are taking Nuts About Granola to a whole new level.

First came a co-packing agreement with Alpina Foods. Apina was looking for a company to produce granola to accompany their new line of Revive Greek yogurt, when they “stumbled upon” Nuts About Granola. As Sarah says it wasn’t just a lucky coincidence. “The reason they found me is because I worked very hard so I could be found. You have to prepare yourself for the moment when an opportunity arises.”

Preparing for success

Part of the preparation that led to the partnership with Alpina was carefully managing her online presence, which includes a website, Facebook page, Twitter, and LinkedIn. “I manage all of them, update them regularly, make sure they all work together and have the same message.” Sarah says that played a big part in how Alpina found her and why they wanted to work with her company.

Before the Alpina deal came along, Nuts about Granola was working out of a commercial kitchen with an attached 2,000 square foot storage facility. With Alpina needing 10,000 pounds of granola a month, Sarah knew they’d need to expand, which lead to the next big development – a partnership with the Susquehanna Association for the Blind and Vision Impaired (SABVI) and Shiloh Farms to utilize the SABVI’s 19,000 square foot manufacturing facility. “Partnering with SABVI means we’re truly going to be a food manufacturing facility. So we can do the Aplina account, and take on other accounts as well.”

Sarah started her business with a mission of supporting local businesses and farmers. Now her desire to give back to her community has broadened. “That was the point of partnering with the blind center: to create jobs for the vision impaired.  It’s awesome,” she says.

“I always knew that I wanted to get to this point. So I did things along the way that prepared me to be ready to take advantage of the opportunities that came along,” says Sarah. She calls herself a planner by nature, so she planned for success from the very beginning. She says this includes doing endless amounts of research, and “always having a contact who knows a lot more about what you’re doing than you do.”

Growth isn’t without its challenges, Sarah notes. “The hardest part of expanding is logistics. With every increment of growth, you have a new set of problems. And they don’t scale; sometimes they just pile on top of each other.”

But Sarah doesn’t let the challenges get in her way. She’s still running marathons and racing triathlons and still loving what she does. “This industry is very in line with my lifestyle. A lot of the races I do, our business sponsors. It overlaps, and because it’s integrated it’s a lot of fun. It may be a business function, but I’d be doing it anyway. I think that’s really the key to making it not seem like I’m working all the time.”

Nuts About Granola has been featured on the Rachael Ray show and has found its way into the gift bags at two Emmy® Awards. Soon you’ll be able to find it on your local grocery store shelves, sitting atop cups of Greek yogurt. With Sarah Lanphier’s drive, determination, and planning skills, who knows where Nuts About Granola will turn up next.

Bonus Recipe: PB&J Pumpkin Pancakes

Sarah was kind enough to share this recipe with us. Created by her blog manager Lauren Podolsky, it includes peanut butter and jelly flavored granola to make delicious-looking pancakes.

photo by Lauren Podolsky

Ingredients
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup skim milk (or almond, soy or rice milk)
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 C College Staple Granola (divided)

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and salt.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, pumpkin puree, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract, mixing well until smooth.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing with a spatula until just combined.
4. Stir in half of the granola and mix to combine.
5. Heat a frying pan or griddle over medium heat.
6. Lightly spray the pan with cooking spray, and, in 1/4-cup increments, cook each pancake until lightly browned on each side, about 1 minute per side.
7.  Repeat with the remaining batter.
8.  Top with remaining granola, sliced banana, and maple syrup.

Enjoy!

You can follow Sarah and her growing success on Twitter: @granola_grl and @nutsaboutgranola

It seems that every few months the social media world is taken by storm with a new site.

Replacing Google+ on the minds of most social media folks, Pinterest, a startup last year, has exploded in recent months to be the latest social networking rage.

If you have not heard of this social site, well, don’t feel like you have been living under a boulder for the last few months. Perhaps living under a rock, but there is still time to get caught up on the latest craze.

For those unfamiliar with Pinterest, the essential deal is you get together online with others based on common interests, viewing what is essentially an online scrapbook of information and imagery.

If you were to go to a store, business, post office, or other operation that has a bulletin board with a bunch of listings from different people, i.e. sales, help wanted signs, photos of lost pets, etc. this would essentially define what Pinterest is. Individuals post images or videos of items they love (pins). With the items posted, other individuals can then add them to virtual pin boards (pinning).

There are two ways to essentially pin something – Use the “pin it button” on the site or “repin” something that others have already pinned.

As recent data suggests, there appears to be a lot of pinning going on.

A recent Shareaholic report states that Pinterest currently drives more referral traffic than the likes of LinkedIn, Google+ and YouTube combined.

Other analysis indicates that Pinterest (okay, maybe they could have come up with a better name for this site) is obtaining more than 7 million visits monthly. Women between the ages of 25 and 44 appear to be the bulk of users on the site, something small businesses would be wise to make note of when it comes to pitching their brands.

For small businesses wondering whether or not their time would be well spent on the site, consider these factors:

• Pinned to success – You can use the site to begin pin boards of items potential and current customers would be interested in. You are essentially getting free advertising here, allowing you to post items for sale, and receive feedback from those viewing the items;
• Networking opportunities – You can use the site to network for your business and your employees. Let people know about upcoming events involving you and/or your employees, i.e. specials your company is running, conferences your company will be represented at and more;
• Show off your industry knowledge – No matter what your industry, use the site to post information to company releases, white papers, blog posts, studies and more;
• Driven to success – Best of all, the site can assist in driving traffic back to your company’s site. In the event your site has been a little low on the visitor traffic end, this is a great way to spread the word about your company.

In the event your small business is intrigued by Pinterest, start an account, proceeding to follow users who demonstrate interest in items much like those your company offers for sale. It is also advisable to search for individuals in your geographic area to potentially do business with.

At the end of the day, forming a connection with your audience on this social platform is a great means by which to share common interests, meaning you have a better chance of selling someone on your business.

Christiane Erwin is owner and CEO of Crestview Doors, Inc. Using more than a decade of experience spent designing and launching web-based e-commerce applications for businesses in a variety of industries, Christiane and her husband David started Crestview Doors in 2007. Crestview Doors has shipped thousands of products worldwide and been featured on television, in print, and on the web for their rapid growth despite the downturn in the housing market. Christiane is the mother of four children ages 12, 9, 5 and 2.

With four kids and a business to run, I always feel pulled in two directions.  But there’s no question in my mind: Family is more important than anything.  That doesn’t mean that I will always drop work to do what my kids want — quite the opposite, actually.  I work for my family.  The money I make is vital to our survival and well-being, I set a good example as a female professional in a male-dominated industry, and I love what I do for a living, so I am a better, happier mom after I’ve had a productive day on the job. I remind myself often that I’m not hurting my kids by working, I’m teaching them and taking care of them.  Sometimes I have to remind my kids of this, too.

Nonetheless, there are times when family does need me more, especially when I get the call to pick up a sick kid from school and we end up at home for the next few days battling fevers and running back and forth to the doctor or pharmacy.  There are times when their school or extra-curricular activities cut into my schedule in unexpected ways and I have to move or cancel meetings.  In general, work pace moves more slowly than I would like most days and it is always a struggle to be at peace with this truth, since I am not a person who likes to walk when she could run.

I would encourage other mothers to live, work, and parent unapologetically.  I spent many years feeling that no matter what I did, it wasn’t good enough for someone.  Now I know that there is no such thing as “not good enough,” there’s simply who I am and what I am capable of at any given moment, which it turns out is so much more than I ever imagined.  I’m way more than “not good enough,” and I think most of us are.  I make time for myself, for my work, for my physical fitness, for my spiritual well-being, and for my family, and even for the breakdowns that happen when that feeling of “not good enough” starts creeping in again.

Take a moment every day to be proud of yourself.  There’s no need to fear that your children will resent you for working hard; let them be proud of you, too.  Forgive yourself for the times you get it wrong; we all make mistakes.  And keep moving forward.

Christiane Woodley Erwin

President and CEO

Crestview Doors, Inc.

The necessity of a business plan is a controversial topic. What is the importance of a plan? Do you only need a plan if you’re looking for investment? Or can a plan help your business succeed in the long run?

Do you think a business plan will help provide you with a leg up if you’re trying to raise money for your business? Share your thoughts!

It’s Valentine’s Day, so love and passion abound today. While most people tend to celebrate their personal relationships on Valentine’s Day, businesses also deserve some love and recognition. For entrepreneurs, passion is often what drives them to start their own business. Is passion enough? Does raw talent trump passion? How can and should the two align?

These questions are intriguing and have been discussed at length amongst dreamers, entrepreneurs, and small business owners alike. Here are a few interesting posts about these questions:

• Where to focus: Passion or Ability?

• Finding a match between passion and products

What do you think? Love and passion or talent? Or both? Either way, hopefully this Valentine’s Day includes some love and recognition for your business and the hard work you have put in to get to where you are today.

If you are the manager of a small business, then you know how difficult it can be sometimes to properly manage human resources. Organizing interviews, talking salary and mediating employee conflict are some of the less-glamorous aspects of the job. However, it’s also one of the most important facets of maintaining a happy and stable workplace. Developing a positive company culture may be one of the best investments you will make as a small-business manager. According to a Gallup Organization’s study of employees across the country, of the three million employees studied, a shocking amount cited themselves as being “checked out” from their work. Here are the statistics:

• 29% are engaged. These employees are excited about their work and have a close bond with their company. They look forward to their workday and are the movers and shakers of their organization.

• 54% are not engaged. These employees are “checked out.” They feel little connection with their career and simply go through the motions of their day.

• 17% are actively disengaged. This category is made up of employees who openly dislike their work. They complain about other employees and are too busy contributing to negative office energy to add real value to their company.

To many small-business owners, these numbers may be a bit shocking. Hopefully, the vast majority of your employees fall into the first category, but given the statistics, that is probably not the case. It is important to target those in the second and third categories and find the root of their problems. Here are a few tips to help you maintain a positive work environment and make your employees eager to begin their workday and move into the first category.

1. Find out what makes them tick. Some employees respond well to the setting and achievement of team goals, while others appreciate verbal praise every so often. Finding out what makes your employees work hard can in turn help you and the bottom line.
2. Give promotions where they are deserved. Everyone deserves recognition for a strong and consistent work ethic. Giving a promotion is not simply a matter of paying more because you feel generous; it’s a way to keep your most talented and efficient employees at your company. If they’re great employees, it’s likely that other organizations are seeking them out as well. You must remain competitive.
3. Terminate when necessary. It’s important to recognize the difference between an uninspired employee and someone who is volatile to your company culture. As long as you have strong, well-documented and consistent reasons that an employee is acting inappropriately and not meeting expectations, you have potential reason to terminate. It’s not the best part of the job, but it could be essential to your overall company health.
4. Be available. Being available allows your employees to come to you with any issues they may be having. If you are bogged down with bookkeeping, answering emails and scurrying from one client meeting to another, you may appear distant and unreachable. Of course you’re busy, but try taking an hour or two out of your week to meet with employees and ask them about how their work is going. If you feel too strapped for time to do this, consider outsourced accounting or hiring an intern to help you manage some of your duties.
5. Set the example. Employees tend to mimic what they see other people in the office doing. If they see you merely surviving your workday, then that’s what they think is the norm. If they see you as inspired, driven and creative, then their best will come out.
6. Ask for feedback. If you notice an employee that appears to be bored or uninspired, ask them what can be done to boost their motivation and make them a standout team member. Likewise, if you recognize a particular employee being exceptionally driven, ask them what inspires them each day. Asking these questions can give you insight that would otherwise go under the radar.

These few tips can hopefully help you manage a successful and motivated team of employees and maintain a positive energy within your company. Putting these ideas into practice can help you move your employees from the second and third categories into the most-desired first category. Good luck.

About the Author

Bert Doerhoff is an expert in all things having to do with small-business taxes and accounting. He has been chosen multiple times by the CPA Digest for the “Digest 50 Award”, representing one of the top 50 CPA firms in the country. His accounting services in Jefferson City  have helped many small businesses find success. 

By Ella Davidson of Coupons.org; Coupons is a site dedicated to giving back to the community while providing informative couponing knowledge.

As any marketing strategist will tell you, understanding your target shopper is the best way to achieve success. Many factors can play a role in determining the outcome of your campaign. In a robust economy, simple tricks such as placing desired items at an entrance of a store can lure a potential shopper in. Once the shopper comes into the store, they will begin to look around and thus create sales that otherwise might not have happened. When an economy is lagging, a successful marketing campaign can be much more difficult to achieve, because even though you have an item of interest, the shopper is not prepared to spend anything other than what they initially intended.

McDonald’s Monopoly Campaign

One of the most successful coupon campaigns in recent history was carried out by fast food establishment McDonald’s. They found a way to get customers to spend more just for a chance at the big prize. McDonald’s discovered that by offering games pieces on their large and super-sized value meals they could sell double what they would without it. This strategy has proven to be successful for years. What no one paid attention to was the fact that they had to purchase a meal in order to get them, and not just a meal, a large meal. So instead of selling $4.00 to $5.00 worth of food per person they were selling $7-8 per person.

Famous Retail Rewards

Supermarkets aren’t far behind, though. Many supermarkets now give points on the total amount of items sold. These points can add up fast. For example, some supermarkets have points that go toward gas discounts. With the uncertainty in gas prices, offering points towards discounts on gas is brilliant. Not only does the consumer save big on gas but the supermarket has now achieved customer loyalty in a customer’s bid to save money. This promotion takes the worry out of the consumer shopping around for pricing at various stores, ultimately boosting the supermarket’s sales.

Blockbuster’s Failure

When Netflix hit the market, people were drawn in by the capability of renting a movie with no late fees. Blockbuster, in order to put itself back in with the new competition, decided to launch a similar campaign in which they also advertised no late fees. The intention was to draw people back to the video store chain in an effort to compete with Netflix. It backfired on the chain, big time. Instead of keeping a movie or video for the usual day or two, people began collecting them and storing them as though they owned the movies. To complicate the matter even further, Netflix was offering monthly rentals at a nominal fee with no late fees. Where Netflix outshined Blockbuster is that, despite the monthly fee, the company was smart enough to limit the amount of movies a person could have at once. You could receive new movies only when the old ones were returned.

Discount Sales Causes Restaurant’s Demise

Groupon is a great site for people to save money – usually 50% or more – on activities such as dining out in their area. While many businesses use the discount site as a way of drawing in customers, when these couponing adventures are mismanaged, it can spell disaster for the business. This is true for Drew’s Eatery, located in Chicago. Drew’s Eatery closed because of poorly managed discount offers, despite the owner’s experience in the business world. What people do not realize is that Groupon takes half of what the consumer’s pay, leaving only one quarter of the price to the business itself. In the case of Drew’s Eatery, it simply was not enough to cover the costs of the food they sold, and several deals later, the owner closed the doors.

A lot of preparation and research goes into promoting a campaign, and unfortunately there are no guarantees that any one campaign will be successful. Luck and marketing strategies play a big factor in determining how successful – or disastrous – a coupon campaign really is.

Reference

If you and your business have been hesitant to invest the time and effort into a LinkedIn account, what are you waiting for?

With some 120 million users, LinkedIn is still by far the choice of business professionals. Yet, many business pros, and their companies for that matter, have been late to the party when it comes to signing up for and maintaining accounts.

For the business professional, even if you choose to come and go with a LinkedIn page, it is a wise idea to have a company page in place so that you can draw people to your site and reach out in turn. This holds especially true for newer businesses that are looking to gain a foothold in their industry.

Without much of a social media presence, businesses stand the danger of falling behind the competition, given many individuals–be they potential job applicants or clients with your company–want today’s information yesterday.

With a LinkedIn page in place, both you and your business can measure the regular metrics to gain knowledge of who is coming to your page, what industry they are, the company they represent and more.

The LinkedIn site also proves valuable in:

• Telling your story and that of the company – While you don’t want to list every single detail regarding you and your business, it is important to paint a picture in your profile of who you are, why your company may be relevant to someone, and how your company has grown. If you’re a newer business, make it a point in your LinkedIn profile to show you’ve got the experience to both help consumers and attract new talent to your business. Listing something as simple as where you grew up and/or went to college is good too. If someone has a similar background to you, i.e. grew up in the same area or went to the same school, more often than not they are more likely to gravitate towards you being that you have a common bond;
• Communication with others – I must admit that my initial foray into LinkedIn consisted of posting my information and then not returning regularly. The more we discussed the site at work, however, the more I realized what I was missing out on. Coming across profiles of people who have similar interests to what my company does has opened the doors to some guest blogging opportunities and more. Although I still must admit I gravitate more towards Twitter and Facebook, I can see why LinkedIn is a great networking opportunity for business professionals. The group section is especially beneficial so you can nail down what would be of interest to you and your company, allowing you to avoid wasting valuable time searching;
• Target your industry – Whether you are in finance, real estate, marketing, or whatever it may be, you can target your search to specific industry updates. This is also valuable in order to prevent you from wasting time in endless searches. You can specifically follow those closest to your line of work, network with them, and see how they’re going about their specific tasks, hopefully providing you with some answers you may not have already had. From there, don’t hesitate to post blogs and articles, links to studies and white papers, etc., questions and more;
• Be authoritative – Another great feature is going to the Q&A portion of the site and posting and answering questions. This allows you to join in discussions and prove to others that you know your industry. In turn, it can open the door to more individuals coming your way for advice and possible business dealings.

As LinkedIn noted on a company blog post early last year, its ultimate goal is to connect all of the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful.

One of my goals in 2012 is to become more LinkedIn with other business professionals, opening up doors to more opportunities to guest blog, among other things.

Being used in more than 200 countries and counting, LinkedIn is connecting professionals literally by the minute.

What are you waiting for?

Dave Thomas, who covers among other items obtaining small business loans, writes extensively for Business.com, an online resource destination for businesses of all sizes to research, find, and compare the products and services they need to run their businesses.

Tax (Photo credit: 401K)

According to the IRS, each year millions of taxpayers overlook deductions and credits resulting in overpaying their taxes. Here are seven tips so you won’t become one of the statistics.

Section 179 Deduction. If your business acquired assets in 2011 either through a lease or by purchasing them out right, you may be eligible to deduct up to $500,000. For more information about this deduction, you can read “End of Year Tax Tips” as well as the IRS publication “Bonus Depreciation and Increased Section 179 Deduction under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act”.

Additional Bonus Depreciation. If you are a business owner, don’t forget you can write off 100% of qualifying new (not used) assets—including most software, vehicles, and equipment in general.

American Opportunity Credit. Do you have a child in college? Then don’t forget to claim the higher education tax credits. Under the credit, taxpayers can get a reduction in their tax bill of up to $2500 per student provided the tax filers have an adjusted gross incomes of less than $80,000 a year (if single) or $160,000 (if they file jointly). An eligible family with two kids in college could get a tax credit of $5,000. Best part about the credit is that it covers all four years of college. In order to get the credit, you will need to fill out IRS form 8863.The tax credit is set to expire at the end of 2012.

Student Loan Interest.  If you are paying back your child’s student loan, and your child is no longer a dependent, your child is eligible to deduct up to $2500 of student loan interest you paid. However, parents can’t claim the interest deduction since they are not liable for the student loan debt.

Medicare Premiums for Self Employed. If you own your own business and are qualified for Medicare, you can deduct the premiums for Medicare Part B and Medicare Part D as well as supplemental Medicare (medigap) policies. According to Kiplinger, “you can’t claim this deduction if you are eligible to be covered under an employer-subsidized health plan offered by your employer.”

Retirement Accounts. Taxpayers have till April 17, 2012 to set up a new IRA or SEP or add to an existing IRA and have it count for your 2011 tax return.

Small Business Health Care Tax Credit. Small businesses that pay at least half of your employees’ health insurance premiums may be eligible for a tax credit of up to 35 percent of the premiums paid. You can find more information at the IRS web site

Mike Lockwood is President of TEQlease Capital,  a nationwide provider of equipment lease financing solutions.