Learn About Taxes on Crowdfunding and About the New WordPress


Learn About Taxes on Crowdfunding and About the New WordPress

It’s time for another Community News and Information Roundup. As tax season approaches, we’ve got some important news about taxes on for crowdfunding and home business. There’s also news about the latest version of WordPress coming out soon. We’ve done the heavy lifting surveying small business blogs and communities on the Web to bring you what business leaders are talking about. So enjoy:

Money Raised from Crowdfunding is Definitely Taxable.  (CrowdClan)

That’s already the case here in the U.S. for the most part, according to this report. And it appears to be the case in Canada too. Michael Ibberson reports the Canada Revenue Agency recently clarified its position. The agency says revenue made from a crowdsouring campaign will (generally) be considered business income.

Home Businesses Need to Keep These Tax Tips in Mind. (The Mogul Mom)

Nellie Akalp, CEO of CorpNet.com, has these tips for the home-based business — and really for all businesses — to remember around tax time. The list is nothing new to established entrepreneurs and business owners. But checking these tips is a good review.

WordPress 3.9 is Coming! (Oizuled)

The latest version of WordPress will be out April 14. Small businesses and entrepreneurs that use the platform — it’s popular with this group — can get an overview of the features here. WordPress setup and support expert Scott DeLuzio gives you widget previews, shows you how to add and crop header images and more.

Content Marketing is the Present and the Future. (Carol Amato)

Carol Amato argues that content marketing is the future of business. But in a discussion in the BizSugar community, members also talked about whether it has already arrived. The key is to share information that is “valuable and relevant.” Amato defines that as “providing information that will solve my reader’s problems.”

Or is It Already a Thing of the Past? (WebpageFX Blog)

On the other hand, blogger Nicole Kohler of the WebpageFX team raises the possibility of a coming “content shock.” That’s when consumers will become as immune to content marketing as they now are to traditional advertizing. The answer? Concentrate on helping instead of promoting.

Google Might Someday Penalize Stock Photos. (Visible Logic)

Emily Brackett might be expected to be a bit biased toward the excessive use of cheap stock photos in website layout. Her company handles design for both print and the Web. But in this post, Brackett’s dug up an interesting video by Matt Cutts of the Google webspam team. In it, Cutts admits that while Google doesn’t currently count stock photos against a website in search ranking, they may someday do so. Just watch.

Check Out This Startup for Marketing Your Next Book. (Nicholas C. Rossis)

Rossis is an author with his own blog who shared this startup for promoting your next book. It’s called Screwpulp and works like this. Users can download one eBook at a time for free. But they must upload a review in order to download their next free ebook. These eBooks become higher ranked on the site the more reviews they receive. And once they have garnered 25 reviews, the eBooks go from being free to being $1. So Screwpulp can be used to get your book into readers’ hands. It can then help you collect reviews in order to hopefully generate more sales.

Be Honest with Your Client, Even If It Hurts. (Business Brokers of the Plains)

Honesty in business is a popular topic these days. Here’s another reason it’s a good idea, says business broker Steve Fischer. He tells the story of brokers who will give business owners seeking to sell the answer they want to hear on pricing just to get the listing. This commits the broker and seller to an unrealistic view of their company’s worth that taints all future negotiations. Wouldn’t honesty have been better?

Success Comes Down to Two Basic Ideas. (Rhonda’s Virtual Office LLC)

They are solving your clients problems and building a relationship, says Rhonda Holscher. That may sound easier said than done. But Rhonda has some simple suggestions. To solve your customer’s problems, she suggests learning as much about your customer’s business as you can. To build better relationships, Rhonda gives some suggestions on how to go deeper than mere marketing.

Destructive Employees Must Be Handled. (Rhett Power)

It may be the most unpleasant aspect of running a business. Dealing with a destructive employee has its challenges. But not dealing with the situation has its costs, says Power. And they include poor productivity from the employee and the risk he or she will hurt the productivity of other employees too. One option is to get rid of a poor employee as quickly as possible. But Power discusses in the BizSugar community why this isn’t always possible.

Keeping up with my tablet image via Shutterstock

6 Comments ▼
6 Reactions
  1. Thanks for the reblog, I’m glad you enjoyed the post on Screwpulp!

    • Shawn Hessinger

      Sure did, Nicholas. It looks like a very interesting approach to marketing an ebook!

  2. Oooh a new WordPress. Are they going to change the template again? I guess they have to renew all those WordPress guides again. Haha!

  3. I loved the case studies – very inspiring and useful. Thank you 🙂

  4. In it, Cutts admits that while Google doesn’t currently count stock photos against a website in search ranking, they may someday do so. Just watch.

  5. Nice post,

    Thanks for sharing