Redideo Studio, a San Diego-based creative agency, has launched a Free Ad Script Generator designed to help small businesses create professional-quality video advertising scripts with ease and efficiency. The tool uses a special formula to guide users through crafting scripts that capture attention, effectively communicate brand messages, and encourage viewer action, making it ideal for TikTok-style video ads and 30-second radio spots.

Social media presents a useful and viable tool for a business to build their brand and increase their visibility. In fact, it is getting to the point where you are probably going to be at a disadvantage if you do not have at least some form of an online presence through these mediums.

While online marketing spans a wide range of topics, social media has quickly become the primary vehicle through which businesses and their websites increase traffic, reach potential clients and develop their brand. When done right, it is quite possibly the single-most useful tool at the disposal of todays website admin and or small business owner.

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Small business owners shouldn't have to do their taxes on their own. Tax solutions provide a do-it-yourself way to easily prepare and file taxes — without all the guesswork. If you don't have an accountant, or tax services are way out of your budget, there are several tax apps, software and other tools specifically created with small business tax needs in mind. Here are 10 tax solutions to get you started.

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A survey of business owners finds small businesses may remain small to avoid employee health coverage required by the Affordable Care Act, commonly called Obamacare.

Oklahoma City-based staffing firm Express Employment Professionals surveyed business owners, hiring managers and human resource professionals on the ACA and its impact on hiring decisions.

The survey found that 70 percent of survey respondents whose companies have 45 - 49 employees said they would try to remain under 50 employees. Businesses with 50 or fewer full-time employees do not face a penalty for not offering health coverage under Obamacare.

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Tradition has it that where big businesses are rooted, vibrant small business communities follow. It happened in Harrison, N.Y., when Mastercard and PepsiCo set up shop. It happened in Redmond, Wash. after Microsoft moved in. It is happening in Greenville, S.C., where BMW built an SUV manufacturing plant.

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President Obama told the Labor Department to come up with new overtime rules that would make more workers eligible for time and a half pay for their extra hours of work.

The rules are aimed at salaried workers who make more than $455 a week and are ineligible for overtime because they hold a manager or supervisor position.

Ty Spatta started his own painting business 20 years ago.  He enjoys being a small business owner, but gets frustrated when he hears the government wants to step in and make businesses pay employees more.

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The AFL-CIO is applauding the anticipated move, saying the proposal could help raise wages and create jobs. Business groups, however, say it would be a job killer.

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Owning your own company can be a dream from making your own hours and choosing your own staff, to even doing something you love. However, owning a small business can also be really exhausting, difficult, and time consuming. If you are still looking into self-employment, doing your research first will help. However, if you already own a small business, your next task might be determining how you can save time and money on that business. There are many easy ways for small business owners to save time, including choosing the appropriate staff, picking deadlines, and using programs that are designed to help business owners save time, like Zirtual assistant. Many of the tools that save time also save money, and Zirtual’s assistants are a great example of this. Read on to learn five ways you can save money for your small business, and hopefully, save some time too.

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Smartphones have become vital for on-the-go entrepreneurs. Apps aimed at small business owners allow them to pay bills, update websites, market their companies, reach out to customers and keep in touch with employees from anywhere. Some owners say their smartphones makes it easier for them to build a side business while keeping a full-time job or step away from the company when needed.

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A recent report conducted by AT&T and the Small Business & Entrepreneurship  Council, a nonprofit group that promotes entrepreneurship and small business, small business owners have netted $67.5 billion a year from implementing smart phones and tablets in their day to day business activities.

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The House voted Thursday to make permanent a tax break allowing small businesses to write off up to $500,000 in new equipment purchases.

While the move adds to momentum for congressional efforts to extend a range of now-temporary tax breaks, it also sharpens a conflict between the House and Senate over whether to extend the breaks permanently or temporarily.

Thursdays vote was 272-144, with several dozen Democrats joining Republicans to support the measure.

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Have a killer business idea? A killer business plan can help you turn it into a successful business. Creating a well-crafted business plan is no easy task, however. You will need to not only flesh out your idea, but also have a deep understanding of the different aspects of running a business — before you even start one. Figuring out how to do this correctly is hard enough, but there are several tools available to make this arduous task a little bit easier for would-be entrepreneurs.

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Running your own business is no easy task, and your to-do-list is guaranteed to never end. This said, you should not use this as an excuse to take short cuts when it comes to having online visibility. Beginning with your website, its vital to position yourself online with a strong, professional destination that gives customers the impression you mean business and the motivation to want to engage more with your business. With this in mind, consider these five reasons why having a strong website is important.

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While children are making their holiday wish-list, families are preparing to go out of town and big businesses are expecting long lines of shoppers, there is one group of people who will be working extra hard this holiday season: Small business owners.

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With the introduction of Apple Pay, many small-business owners are weighing whether they should take the necessary steps to accept the new form of payment.

So far, most of the merchants that have signed up to accept Apple Pay are large ones, like Macys, McDonalds, Subway and Whole Foods. To use Apple Pay, businesses must have an N.F.C. reader, which is also called a contactless reader and refers to near field communications. Right now, less than 10 percent of American retailers do, according to Mark Hung, an analyst with Gartner, an information technology research firm.

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Although major companies like Staples and Home Depot have dominated news headlines lately, they are not the only companies at risk for cyber crime and hacking. Small businesses are far more susceptible to hackers than their larger counterparts, according to information from the National Cyber Security Alliance

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Internships provide many benefits. They help you meet your immediate work needs and you get to test-drive potential future employees. They boost your brand and demonstrate that you give back to the community and its students.

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To ensure success in the new year, most small businesses don't realize that the process begins long before January 1. Instead, a lot of work goes into setting your business up for a running start when the clock strikes 12. Do not wait; start now with this list of 10 New Year Tips For Your Small Business.

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Here are 10 trends to keep an eye on as you develop your marketing plan.

1. Social media will continue to propel consumer spending. In 2014, both Twitter and Facebook began testing a new feature that will make it easy for users to buy products and services in just a few clicks.

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The transfer of ownership interests in a small business should take into account all of the considerations that make each business, and especially a family-owned business, unique. The vehicle for accomplishing the transfer is usually called a buy-sell agreement. Its name barely begins to describe the buy-sell agreements various purposes. With professional advice, the agreement can be tailored to meet the objectives of each small business, whether the business is in the form of a close corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or some other structure.

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For many independent business owners, embarking on a full-blown social media program can seem like a daunting journey into unknown territory. Thankfully, the payoff is worth the effort. When done right, there is massive potential for SMBs to directly connect and communicate with targeted, local audiences.

In fact, recent research has shown that 91% of small business owners rely on social media as a means of driving increased sales. So what is the secret? Where do you start, and what are some of the most important things to keep in mind as you look to boost your bottom line?

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This is a checklist for small business owners who do not have a business degree. Other business professionals might fall out of their seat reading this because it might imply that starting a business is as simple as a checklist. This list merely skims the surface of a bottomless ocean.

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85% of small businesses get customers through word of mouth. Here are steps you should do to generate word of mouth from customers.

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Todays business environment is moving at a faster pace than ever before. It’s imperative that organizations of all sizes be nimble enough to respond and pivot according to business and market demands at a moment’s notice, or risk falling behind their competition.

To this point, many small businesses often struggle when it comes to effectively scaling their operations. This process entails making hefty IT investments, and while necessary for continued growth, many entrepreneurs just can not afford to do so.

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Most reporters write on a different topic every day. Unless they are a beat reporter covering your industry, the reporter does not know more than you. If you have been in the business five or 10 years, be confident in your knowledge of industry trends and current events.

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Owning your own business is often touted as the ultimate coup in the working world. You set your own hours, pursue projects you are interested in, and maybe work in your pajamas. Obvious challenges aside, it sounds like a pretty nice gig. Such jobs are largely enjoyed by men, who make up an estimated 71 percent of business owners in the U.S. But that might slowly be changing.

A report from the Institute of Womens Policy Research shows that women are steadily increasing their presence in the world of small-business ownership. About 29 percent of Americas business owners are women, that is up from 26 percent in 1997. The number of women-owned firms has grown 68 percent since 2007, compared with 47 percent for all businesses.

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Despite the warning, a number of extremely well known brands are still scrabbling to minimise the impact of Google’s mobile algorithm update, leaving smaller businesses with the advantage as long as they do not panic according to leading UK and US Search experts.

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Established businesses have one obvious advantage over their younger counterparts: Deep pockets.

Fortunately, what todays small business lacks in budget can be made up for with strategy and a few carefully chosen tools. Here are six smart marketing ideas gleaned from my experience running a company that teaches small firms how to compete with big ones.

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Last month, Forbes reported on the best cities for starting a business this year, and much attention is frequently given to the locations working the hardest to attract founders who will create coveted jobs. But which cities are the most hospitable to those who hold those positions?

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Starting a small business is tough, but growing one — or just keeping it afloat — is even harder.

Even though more than 500,000 small businesses are created each year in the U.S., only half of them survive past their fifth year, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.

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Big  Data seems to be the phrase on everybody’s lips these days, and without a doubt, it has revolutionized the business world. Companies are getting valuable insights reading into mountains of data collected from all kinds of sources. Using Big Data simply makes sense, but the very prospect can be intimidating, particularly when it comes to small businesses and startups. One recent survey shows that 35 percent of startups are not even considering the possibility of leveraging Big Data or taking into account how much data is being generated every year – such a decision could be disastrous for the future success of a company.

Small businesses may feel that the ability to leverage Big Data is simply outside of their grasp, but Big Data solutions have become much more affordable in recent years. In addition, they are easier to use and oftentimes automated. In other words, small businesses have every reason to get into the Big Data game now as long as they know how best to use it. Here are just a few ways small companies can truly make Big Data work toward further success.

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Social media may be the last thing on your mind after a long day of managing employees, interacting with customers, ordering inventory and keeping an eye on your finances. But it is an important tool that can help you market your business and engage with customers.

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How small is small? New federal data shows that most small businesses are very small. By definition, a small business could have up to 499 employees. The average American small business has about 8!

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Thorough research and strong internal security practices can help small businesses secure their data and IT infrastructure in the cloud.

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With every passing week comes a story about some technological snafu at big companies—and even in the government. But small businesses are very vulnerable to cybersecurity issues, both because they lack the resources of big enterprises and because their lack of resources means that an attack can be even more devastating.

Here are some best practices that small businesses can put into place to make sure that they are secure.

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Among the countless factors a small business owner must consider when running his or her business, social media is quickly becoming one of the most important.

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The Internet of Things includes, among many other items, sensors for monitoring business and home security.

How IoT Can Help Small Business Compete
Here are two examples of small businesses that have figured out to compete against Goliath by finding low-cost ways to incorporate IoT into their operations:  

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Why devote 10 minutes a day to Facebook? There are many reasons why, but most importantly Facebook can help strengthen your relationships with your customers. The smaller your business, the more important these connections can be to help keep your company thriving.

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During Twitters analyst day in November, the company announced that it had 60,000 advertisers on its platform. Earlier this month, the company announced that it had grown its active advertiser base to 100,000 and laid plans to reach thousands more. The company is expanding its self-serve ad platform from 33 countries to the rest of the world, counting businesses in some 200 countries and territories eligible to send sponsored tweets.

International revenue accounted for just 36% of Twitter's total sales last quarter, but 79% of its users are based outside the United States.

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More than eight in 10 U.S. small-business owners say they would still become a small-business owner if they had it to do over again. This sentiment has changed little over the past 11 years, which suggests that the difficulties many small businesses experienced during the Great Recession did not cause owners to regret their decision to start a business.

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No business owner ever expects it to happen. After closing up for the day or the week, a phone call at 6 a.m. lets you know that the severe storm that passed through town overnight took a punch at your small business, with flood damage, fire, tornado or other damage.

Or it could have been an earthquake or hurricane. Still, what may have taken years to build is in ruins. How do you begin to recover?

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For more than a decade, thousands of businesses have enjoyed the benefits of high rankings in Google searches (and searches on competing engines) thanks to their SEO efforts. Larger corporations pour hundreds of thousands of dollars and allocate entire departments to gaining more online visibility, but even small- to mid-sized businesses can use a fraction of that budget to get more traffic and sales.

However, according to a recent survey by the Small Business Authority (SBA), less than 50 percent of small business owners in the United States think of inbound traffic from search engines as an important source of future business. Another 14 percent declared themselves unsure.

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Millions of small businesses are vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks that can cost an average of $20,000 per attack. Here is some basic wisdom to help SMBs protect themselves.

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The Perceived Amazon Effect

As David and I spoke, he echoed some thoughts that many small businesses have also shared with me. Many businesses see customers come into their stores to learn, and then they make their purchases online via Amazon or other online retailers. The online retailers don’t have the overhead of a brick and mortar store. For one of the products, David mentioned that I can purchase it on Amazon for less than he can purchase it. Of course, in his local market, his Yelp reviews show how much his customers love his store and appreciate his value. If he was local to me, I would happily pay a premium for their high level of service and expertise.

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When a key employee quits, it is a gut-wrenching experience for most small-business owners.

That single loss will likely result in a significant performance drop for the firm because that lost employee might represent an entire function. The drain will last for months because a good replacement takes time to recruit, hire, train and get up to speed. Plus, a significant portion of the manager’s time will be diverted toward recruiting and training a replacement.

Most small-business managers know little about retention. Their focus is often elsewhere. So they find themselves completely surprised when a key employee quits.

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Getting found online can be a tough thing to do at times. Lucky for you, I am pretty good at it and really enjoy getting my sites ranked. Traffic can mean the difference in staying in business and not. Over the years I have started several businesses and the ones that succeed are the ones that consistently grow in organic traffic. I have put together a list of things that I would do to get your business ranked in Google.

Here are 10 ways that small business owners can get their business ranked on Google:

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For as far back as free markets go, word of mouth has been the primary tool small businesses have used to spread their message and market their brand. Within the last few decades, though, the explosion of media has led to wide array of marketing opportunities and techniques.

While word of mouth is still important, social media has taken over as one of the most effective avenues for public relations and marketing for even the smallest of firms.

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I know, I know. It is hard to start thinking about the New Year when we’re stuck in the middle of the hectic holidays. But with January 1 right around the corner, now is the perfect time to reflect on how to grow your business in 2016.

As a fellow small business owners and solopreneur, I know first-hand how tricky it can be to even find the time to think about business development. Some days we are so busy juggling our current client demands, big picture goals — publishing great thought leadership articles, going after a dream client — take a back seat to a ringing phone or email deluge.

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Generally speaking, it allows small business owners to write off up to $500,000 worth of qualified expenses in the year they are made, up to $2 million, rather than amortizing them over a period of years. In addition to spurring immediate spending, which benefits the economy, the deduction theoretically frees up cash that business owners can use to grow their businesses.

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Earlier this month, Microsoft announced that more than 200 million devices (PCs, phones and tablets) were now running Windows 10. Many of those 200 million devices belong to business users, who upgraded to Windows 10 (in many cases for free).

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How can a small company make the most of LinkedIn?

The social network is an inescapable part of online life for working professionals. But much of the advice on how to leverage it is targeted at big names. Over and over, I see small businesses making mistakes on LinkedIn because they are patterning their strategies after approaches that work for larger companies with huge budgets, lots of brand awareness and extensive social-media systems.

With that in mind, here are tips on how small businesses can use LinkedIn.

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