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Knowing how to show proof of income if you’re self-employed can feel daunting, especially since you’re likely not earning a set amount each pay period. Showing proof of income for self-employed workers requires additional preparation and organization than it usually does for the traditional employee. \nWith this guide, showing proof of income if you’re \nself-employed\n is easier than ever. Read on to learn about why you need to show proof, the specific documents you need, and other tips.  \nWhat is proof of income?\nProof of income is paperwork that provides insight into your earnings during a certain period of time, usually a full year. The documents are proof that what you say you make is what you actually make. Those that require proof of income usually include: \nInsurers\nBanks \nLandlords\nCredit companies \nUtility providers\nThese entities will use proof of income paperwork to determine if you are qualified and able to make payments on time for an extended period. \nWhy proof of income matters\n\nThere are certain instances in life where you’ll need to show proof of income, typically whenever lending money is involved. This documentation is required for activities such as: \nFiling taxes\nApplying for a credit card \nObtaining health insurance \nApplying for a rental \nApplying for personal loans \nLeasing a car \nApplying for a mortgage \nAside from filing taxes, these events involve issuers letting you borrow money—this requires a certain level of trust that you’ll be able to pay back what’s owed. Proof of income matters because it’s the proof that you have funds and cash flow to make payments. \nHow to show proof of income when you’re self-employed\n\nFor full-time employees at traditional workplaces, showing proof of income is easy—all you need is a W2, a pay stub, or tax returns. Self-employed individuals can typically provide the same information, but there are a few caveats with each: \n1. Tax returns  \nOne of the easiest ways to show proof of income is through your annual tax returns. A tax return is a legal form from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that states your total earnings and expenses for the year. \nIf you’re purchasing a large item, such as a home, the more detail you can provide in your tax returns the better. If you don’t have this form on hand when you need to show proof, you can alternatively provide your 1099 forms. \nCaveat: \nSelf-employed individuals don’t always have to report income that is below a certain threshold, so tax returns may be an underestimation of your total income for that period. \n2. 1099-MISC form \nA 1099-MISC form is used to report miscellaneous as well as non-employee business compensation for freelancers, contractors, sole proprietors, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals. It’s a record stating that a person or entity paid or gave you money for services. This form is one of the more commonly used forms in the 1099 series. You are able to file this form through the IRS online. \nCaveat: \nYou must have made at least $600 in the past year as a self-employed worker to receive this form. \n3. Bank statements \nBank statements can be used to show your income if you’re self-employed or have a side hustle. These statements can come from a savings or checking account, credit card records, or an investment account. These details are usually included in a bank statement: \nInformation about your bank and its contact information\nAccount details, like your bank account number and name \nA summary of transactions, including withdrawals and deposit\nA period of time summarized within the bank statement\nCaveat: \nIf the bank statements you show are from a personal account, be sure to go through and clearly separate your personal expenses and business expenses before presenting this info as proof of income.\n4. Profit and loss statement\nProfit and loss statements are forms that \ntrack your revenue\n, costs, and expenses from your business over the course of a year. Normally, profit and loss statements cover the following: \nYour revenue\nYour expenses \nBusiness-related deposits\nNet profits \nCosts of goods sold \nThese statements can be created on your own or with the help of credit companies.\nCaveat: \nProfit and loss statements are more easily accessed by those who operate their own businesses, but an accountant or software can help you obtain these forms if you’re a freelancer. \n5. Online payment records \nIf you’re a freelancer or sell your services or products online, chances are you use an online payment method through a service provider. These providers usually offer monthly or yearly breakdowns of payments received and issued from your account. \nCaveat: \nNot all of your income may be tracked on these platforms, but it at least provides proof that you do have a steady cash flow.  \nProof of income considerations\n\nHere are a few considerations and tips to keep in mind to make showing proof of income as simple and successful as possible:  \nStay organized:\n To make showing proof of income easier, stay as organized as possible and keep track of all business expenses and payments. \nAsk ahead of time:\n Knowing which documents lenders require will also make the process smoother. Get in touch with lenders ahead of time to see what they need. \nKeep copies of your deposit slips: \nKeeping a paper trail of deposit slips can provide proof of income since they’re a record of money going into your account. \nProof of income made simple \nShowing proof of income for the self-employed is still important even if you’re working for yourself, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. After being self-employed for a while, you’ll have a larger paper trail of proof and documentation and it will become easier to provide each time. \nIf you’re starting your own small business, be sure to invest in a \ncard processing system\n or \ncharge cards\n to make accepting payments from new customers easier. \nSolo makes it easy to pay, get paid, and track spending\nSolo is not a bank, but is a financial super-app for small businesses, freelancers, sole proprietors, contractors, and more. Solo is the easy way to pay, get paid, and keep track of your spending. Your customers don't have to sign up to pay you, and can use several payment methods, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and cards. QR codes make it easy to get paid, and you can easily cash out your Solo account balance for free, or spend it using your Solo Cash Card anywhere Visa is accepted. Learn more at \nSolo.co\n.

Proof of income for self-employed: What you need + tips

In this 5-minute read:\nCheck the timing of the reviews\nWatch for repetition\nLook for generic comments and keyword stuffing\nAre the profiles real people?\nFalse information in reviews\nOnline reviews help us as consumers to sort out reliable businesses, with the best products and services, from those that might provide less than desirable experiences. But with all of the fake profiles and anonymity online, how can you tell if a review is real or fake?\nBoth positive and negative reviews get faked by customers, paid reviewers, competitors, angry former employees, and even businesses themselves. So, to help you sort out the false reviews from the legit ones, we have a few tips that may come in handy. \nWhen looking for fake online reviews, check the timing\nThis first tip can be helpful for catching both positive and negative fake reviews. Check the timing of the reviews. \nDid a bunch of positive reviews all come in within the same 30-minute timeframe, or were there hundreds within a week? This could happen for a couple of different reasons. The business could have paid someone to post a bunch of reviews to promote a new product or service (so check to see if that’s the case). Or maybe the business held a raffle or giveaway in exchange for positive reviews. \nEither way, this screams “fake reviews” and makes it hard for customers to trust the business. Also, practices like this are grounds for businesses to get their online review site accounts removed from most legitimate review platforms.\nOn the flip side, is there a large amount of negative reviews that came in around the same time? Sometimes, even if the first complaint is legit, a disgruntled customer will get their friends and family to all leave negative reviews—even if they’ve never stepped foot in that business. Or that same customer might also create a bunch of fake accounts from which to leave false reviews. \nWatch out for these red flags, and be skeptical of the timing of reviews as you’re researching which companies to do business with. \nWatch out for repetition in fake online reviews\nRepetition is especially common in fake positive reviews. Look at for similar phrasing among reviews, especially those that occur around the same time. See if any words or phrases have been repeated. These could be reviews that were bought and given instructions for, or even a template to use when writing the reviews. \nGeneric comments and keyword stuffing in fake reviews\nThings like generic comments and keyword stuffing are definitely more common among fake positive reviews. Users that leave super-generic comments and/or common keywords related to the business’s services or products give off spammy vibes. \nWhen a business pays someone to leave reviews, especially someone that’s never used their products or services, the reviewers will often post some flowery comments that sound nice but don’t give any real detail as to what they were satisfied with. So look for specifics relating to a particular visit, date, or product to help you sort the fake from the real reviews.\nAlso, keywords in reviews can help businesses show up better on Google for related searches. So reviews with unnatural-sounding keywords could have been orchestrated by the business or their marketing team. \nAnonymous profiles are common in fake online reviews\nSure, some people like to keep their online profiles anonymous for reasons of privacy, but that can make it harder to identify if a review is fake or not. When in doubt, look for the reviews that have photos and names of real people. One of the best ways to weed out the fakers is to check that person’s reviews about other businesses and see if they are identical, or if the person appears legit.\nFake accounts typically don’t upload a photo, or if they do, they’ll use an emoji or cartoon to make it seem more personal. This paired with an obviously fake name is a bad sign.\nAnonymous profiles can be used to write good and bad reviews, so pay attention to the reviews that seem like they are from real people to avoid being misled. \nLook at reviewer profiles \nBeyond fake names and unidentifiable photos, you can look at individual reviewer profiles to help determine if they are a credible review source. \nPeople who have only ever left 5-star reviews could very well be getting paid to leave those reviews. That’s not to say that none of their reviews are legit, but it’s easier to trust reviews that come from someone with a more diverse star rating profile. \nFalse information (read the business owner’s response)\nFalse information in reviews is usually found in negative reviews and is definitely a good indicator of a fake review. There are a few different types of false information we’ve encountered in fake reviews:\nFalse customer.\n Sometimes a competitor or “random” person will post a bad review for a service they’ve never used. The business owner can check their name with their customer database to see if the review came from one of their customers. \nLying about an overcharge.\n Some customers exaggerate how much they were charged for a service when they are upset. \nReviews that don’t make sense.\n Sometimes a customer will leave a review for the wrong business by accident. Their intended recipient of the review may have a similar business name.\nIn any of these cases, check to see if the owner left a response. They can usually provide a little more clarification into situations like these, and can help you determine if the complaint is legit, or just a lie intended to hurt the business.\nResearch the reviewer\nIf you’re feeling especially ambitious and have some time on your hands, you can research the names of the reviewers that you are skeptical of. \nDoes their name match up with an actual person? \nDo they have Facebook profiles, Twitter or LinkedIn accounts, or other social profiles? \nDo they interact with other people on their social accounts?\nDo they have real pictures?\nIf you answer no to these questions, it can get tricky to tell if the review is real or not. Put your trust in the reviews that you know come from real people.\nReport fake reviews you find online\nIf you are highly skeptical of review or have definitive evidence that one is fake, most online platforms have a way to report or flag reviews. Just be careful about doing this too often, because your account can be suspended if you are unjustly flagging reviews. \nGoogle, Amazon, Yelp, and other review platforms will look into these reports and determine if the review is fake. If they decide that it is, they will remove it. This can take several weeks, so don’t expect the review to disappear immediately.\nGo deeper: read our complete guide to \nremoving fake reviews\n

How to spot fake online reviews

In this article:\nFree local advertising ideas for your salon\nClaim your online listings\nCustomer reviews\nSocial media\nWebinars and videos\nShare your knowledge\nAnd much more!\nEvery business needs advertising in order to gain new customers and increase profits. But it isn’t always an easy or inexpensive task to take on. \nWe know how important marketing and advertising is, and we want to help you get started. So, we’ve come up with a list of several free and effective ways that you can advertise your hair or nail salon.\n1. Create and claim your online directory profiles\nTo improve your online visibility and take advantage of the power of online reviews, you first need to create and claim your online directory profiles on Google, Bing, Yelp, and so many others.\nAdding your salon to these directories not only helps you get found by customers who are searching those directories, but it also helps the search engines to verify that your information is accurate across multiple trusted sources.  \nCheck out these tutorials to get started:\nHow to claim your Google My Business listing\nHow to claim your Yelp business listing\nHow to create and claim your free business listing on Yahoo\nHow to create and claim your Bing business listing\nHow to get your business listed with the BBB\nHow to add your business to Citysearch and claim your listing\nHow to create and claim your free business listing on Manta\n2. Get and respond to customer reviews online\nWhen you have your online profiles set up, you can start getting customer reviews on those profiles.\nCustomer reviews are crucial for gaining even more customers for your salon. And the quality of your reviews can really make or break your business. \nHere are a few ways you can encourage your customers to give your salon an online review:\nAsk them for one. After you provide a great service and your client is just thrilled with their new look, ask them if they’d be willing to share their experience with others in a Google or Facebook review. \nPut up “Rate us on Google” signs throughout your salon. These can be on the front door, at the checkout desk, or even cute stickers on the mirrors. This will remind customers that you would love to hear from them. \nText your customers an invitation or reminder to leave your salon a review with a direct link to your Google listing or Facebook page. \nWhen you do start getting reviews, be sure to respond to all of them within a day or two of receiving them. Say “thanks” to those who leave good reviews, and if you ever do receive a bad review, respond politely and professionally.  \nGo deeper: \nHow to respond to negative reviews\n\n3. Set up a free website for your salon\nBeyond your free directory listings, you should absolutely have a website for your salon. And you can totally create one for free!\nSome free sites that we like to use include the following:\nWix\nSquarespace\nGoogle My Business\nKeep in mind that if you do want to have your own domain for your website or will have a web hosting service, you might incur some small fees. But you definitely need a website. Read \nwhy every small business needs to have a website\n.\n4. Improve your local SEO\nSetting up a website and adding your salon to online directories are both key steps to improving your SEO (search engine optimization). This is how you show up higher in the search engines. \nThere are several other free ways that you can improve your SEO:\nWrite awesome content on your website about your staff and services\nStart a blog\nOptimize your website for specific key phrases\nGet other websites to link back to yours\nOnce you’ve done those, check out our guide: \n15 free tips for better local SEO\n \n5. Create a blog on your website\n\nStarting a blog\n is a great way to provide more content that you can use to advertise your salon, and, as we mentioned, it can help improve your SEO too. Adding fresh, new content to your website on a regular basis sends great signals to the search engines. \nHere are a few ideas that you should definitely steal for your blog:\nHow-to articles and videos\nNew trending styles\nHair/nail care tips\nBest new products to try\nNew products you are selling\nAsk your employees if they’d be willing to contribute one or two blog posts every few months and you’ll have plenty of regular content to share. \n6. Get on social media\nWe cannot stress the importance of social media enough. Hair and nail salons can really capitalize on so many opportunities from these free channels. \nMany people are reaching out to salons directly on their social media channels, particularly Facebook and Instagram. \nFor such a visual profession, social media is the perfect place to show off your work and gain new customers who are looking to mix up their style. \nHere are a few tutorials to create your social pages:\nFacebook\nInstagram\nLinkedIn\nTwitter\n7. Partner with local businesses\nPartnering with other businesses in your community can be a powerful strategy for obtaining referrals and new business. You could partner with local bridal boutiques, wedding planners, or even florist shops to offer combined deals on your complimentary services. \n8. Try some email campaigns\nGive email campaigns a try and see how they work with your clientele. Be sure to write a really compelling subject line and keep your email short and to the point. \nThe most successful email campaigns usually offer some kind of promotion or deal for your customers to get it on. \n9. Get in contact with your chamber of commerce\nYour local chamber of commerce is a great resource to take advantage of. They want to help small businesses in their community succeed, so typically they will offer marketing resources and add your salon to their website to help get the word out. \n10. Participate in community events\nVolunteering in your community is the perfect way to get connected with new customers and spread awareness of your salon. People like to see local businesses getting involved and giving back to the community they live in. \nHere are a few ways you can do that:\nVolunteer at a 5k\nParticipate in holiday parades and events\nHelp with city cleanup projects\nProvide free haircuts to veterans\nThere are so many ways you can get involved. Just find the right opportunities for your salon and go for it!\n11. Host webinars and Q&A sessions online\nWebinars and online Q&A’s can help you provide value to customers and non-customers alike. Start a Facebook Live video to share tips about hair care, answer common questions that customers have, or show viewers how to do a certain technique that everyone should be able to do. \nThings like these videos and blog posts that offer some value to others are great ways to show that you know your stuff and that you are passionate about what you do. \n12. Offer fun deals\nEveryone loves a deal. Tap into this reality and get attention. \nOffer cool and fun deals. You could do back-to-school specials, bridal deals, or any number of discounts that work for your client-base. Get creative and start a new promotion to catch people’s attention and get new customers. \n13. Start a referral program for your salon\nLet your current customers advertise for you by creating a referral or customer loyalty program. Offer a discounted service for a current customer if they refer a new client to you, and offer that new client the same deal. \nLearn more with this article: \nThe 6 elements of an effective customer loyalty program\n14. Create short promotional videos \nPeople are visual. That’s why we spend so much time scrolling through social media apps. We like pretty pictures and cool videos. Take advantage of that by creating some promotional videos for your salon that show off your work. \n\nBiteable\n is a popular (and free) video software that we like to use. \n15. Start a YouTube channel for your salon\nCreate a YouTube channel for your salon where you can share all of the cool new videos that you just produced. Tutorials, promotional pieces, webinars–all of those are great for sharing on your YouTube channel. \nLots of people love to look up hair and nail tutorials, so you may even produce a video that goes viral and gives your salon a lot more attention. \n16. Share your salon’s testimonials online\nWhen you get new reviews online, share them. You can share reviews across social media channels or put a review feed on your website. \nYou could also create videos of customers sharing their testimonial of your salon. These appeal to that visual side and help add a more personal touch to your salon by allowing customers to see someone sharing their experience, rather than just reading about it. \n17. Put up flyers\nFlyers still have their place in the advertising world. Create your own flyers to advertise your new promotions or openings at your salon. Place these in high traffic areas like grocery stores, college campuses, and even your own shop. \nCanva\n is a great free resource to use for creating professional flyers. 

17 free local advertising ideas for your hair or nail salon

In this article:\n6 ways to get an unresponsive client to communicate\nWhat if your client has an unpaid invoice?\nIn the world of working with clients, especially widely over email, there are always times when a client will go radio silent and you can’t get a response out of them. Maybe they’re just super busy, maybe they’re avoiding you. Without talking to them, you can’t know what their situation is. \nWe want to provide some tips to help you reach those clients and keep their project flowing and productive. \nEstablish your mode of communication from the beginning\nBefore you ever start a project with a client, or right at the start, ask your client how they want to correspond on the project, payments, etc. Maybe they are traditionally very hard to reach over email and prefer phone calls or text messages. \nAsk your client what they prefer and notate that in their file so that any member of your team who works on their project knows how to reach them. \nPlace a clear CTA in your messages\nIn any message that you want or need an answer from your client, make sure that it is clear what you are asking for (or that you are even asking a question). \n“Can you please approve this article so we can move forward?” is much clearer than “Whenever you approve this we can continue”. \nReread your message or ask a team member to read your message to make sure that the call-to-action is obvious. \nOnly ask one question\nSometimes we get in the mindset of “I have to get everything listed in this one email” and it shows. When a client receives an overwhelmingly long message because we thought it would be more efficient than sending multiple emails, they may only respond to the first question, or not at all!\nIf you want all of your questions answered, it’s often better to just send one question in each email, unless there’s a question that’s very directly related to the answer of the first. \nIt is okay to send multiple emails. We would recommend starting a new chain for each new question with its own subject line. Sending multiple questions in the same email chain before the client has had a chance to respond causes the same issue as sending one long email. \nFollow up with your clients\nDon’t just send an email once and assume your client hates you when you don’t get a response. Follow up with them if you haven’t heard back in a reasonable amount of time (this time may depend on the deadline of the project or which client you’re working with). \nIt often takes a couple of tries to get a client to respond. \n\nDon’t feel like you can only follow up via email. If you’ve sent a few emails and haven’t heard back, try giving your client a call. They may have been busy and your emails got buried in their inbox. \nSchedule a meeting\nSometimes it is difficult to get a client to respond to you until you get them in a room to talk about their project. If you’ve attempted getting a response multiple times and all you have is crickets chirping on the other end, try scheduling a meeting with your client. \nOn the next message you send, don’t even ask them your question, just say that you’d like to schedule a meeting to discuss/review the project. Sometimes it can be helpful to provide a specific time and date so they can say whether or not that works for them. \nIf you find that works, then consider scheduling meetings or phone calls with that particular client when you need some questions answered. \nKnow when it’s time to let them go\nAfter you’ve sent several messages over the course of a few months or longer with no hint of a response, it may just be time to let the client go. It’s possible they went with someone else for the project or it just became a low priority for them and they’ll come back when they’re ready to move forward. \nDecide with your team what that timing looks like and when it’s okay to stop reaching out to a client. Send one last message that indicates “This is the last message we’ll send.” Maybe the urgency will get them to respond, maybe not. \nWhat if my client hasn’t paid their bill?\nIf you’ve tried all of these avenues for getting a client to respond and pay their invoice with you and multiple messages and phone calls over at least 30 days, there may be nothing YOU can do. You might need to get a debt collection agency involved. \nYou might like this: \n6 common small business cash flow problems and how to solve them\n 

How to get a client to respond to you: 6 proven ways

In this article:\nWhat is SEO for small businesses?\nHow to optimize local SEO for your small business\n4 free ways to show up better in local searches\nHow reputation management software can improve SEO\nSEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a buzzword that every business student learns to parrot and consultants toss around like they know how it works. But what is SEO and how do you optimize it for your local business? Does SEO even matter for super-small shops? We’ll tell you below, and show you the free steps you can undertake to improve your ranking in local search.\nThe truth is, local SEO definitely matters. Some stats for you: nearly 9 out of 10 of people conduct \nonline\n searches for \nlocal\n businesses, 97% of people read online reviews for local businesses, and most of your potential local customers trust those reviews as much as a personal recommendation from family or friends. \nSo whether you run a roadside taco stand, a pet grooming truck clinic, a pressure washing business, a nail salon, or any other local business, you need to be paying close attention to online reviews and to how you show up in online searches.\nIn relevant terms for small business, the process of improving your rankings in these searches is effectively “SEO.”\nWhy local SEO is vital for small businesses\nOne reason local SEO is vital is that, according to a recent report from Google, \n“near me” searches\n have increased by 200%. A “near me” search takes place when a (usually) mobile phone user searches stores, restaurants, hairdressers, auto repair, ATMs, gas stations, dry cleaners, and whatever else “near me.” \nThese specific, “near me” searches, as well as more organic mobile searches, are exploding in popularity, which can mean a nice jump in business for you—if you know a few key ways to show up better in these local search results. (See our list below)\nWhy SEO for larger firms is big business\nFor larger businesses, SEO has become somewhat of a dark art because search engines like Google are very tight-lipped about what exactly determines search performance and rankings. The truth is nobody outside of Google (and likely very few people \ninside\n Google) really knows exactly how Google’s SEO algorithms work, particularly as they are constantly being updated and Google refuses to tell anyone the details.\nThere are “best practices” and commonly understood techniques to improve website SEO: Optimize and be consistent with indexing and key terms on all pages. Don’t try to “game” the system. Don’t repeat content. Don’t stuff pages with keywords or farm worthless links. Don’t attempt to be what you are not… or Google will ding you and you’ll actually show up WORSE than before.\nHowever, once those are done, the nuts and bolts of how to actually achieve further improvements are nebulous, which is why there are hundreds of “SEO companies” that will be happy to take your money in exchange for attempting to boost your enterprise webpage’s performance and/or your ranking in search results.\nFor small, local shops, paying for professional SEO services may not make sense\nOn the other hand, for small businesses without a strong, high-value e-commerce website with hundreds or thousands of indexed pages, “enterprise SEO” and its associated costs don’t make sense. \nThat being said, there are several easy-to-undertake things that small business owners can do to optimize and improve their business’ rankings in local search results, which is of course what really matters for small, local auto shops, hair salons, dentists, restaurants, dog groomers, etc. \nFour free tips to improve local SEO for your small business\n1. Claim all of your business pages\nBefore you can optimize your online presence, you need to OWN your online pages. Review sites like Google My Business, Yelp, Facebook, and TripAdvisor allow reviewers to post content about your business \neven if you haven’t created a page there\n, and will continue to collate future reviews on that page until you officially claim it.\nSo, even if you have no interest in building a website for your business, it’s vital that you claim your business listings on all the relevant review sites. (For example, restaurants should also claim their OpenTable pages.)\nHow to claim your Google My Business listing\nHow to claim your Yelp business listing\nHow to claim your business listing on TripAdvisor\n2. Complete all the optional fields and add quality photos to your business profile on review sites\nIn our article “\nThe top 5 things every small business should include in their Google My Business listing\n,” we go into greater detail, but the TL;DR version is: fill in as much information as possible—including all the optional content fields—and add some attractive photos to represent your business. All else being equal, the business with more information and relevant detail in its business profile will likely rank higher in a search than one with less.\n3. Read and respond to all reviews\nAccording to a recent article by Chatmeter.com, Google has confirmed that “responding to reviews improves your local SEO.” Just exactly what they mean by “confirmed” is open to some interpretation, but it does seem clear that Google acknowledges the importance of being actively involved with the online review process in boosting local search rankings.\nApart from that, it just makes good business sense to reply to your reviews. In addition to simply being polite (if someone says “thank you” or “can you help me with a problem?” to you in person, do you respond to them or ignore them?), responding to all reviews shows your current customers you value their opinions, and shows potential customers you are actively engaged in the business and that you take feedback seriously. This improves loyalty and attracts new customers.\nSmart business owners also see reviews as valuable insights into their customers’ experiences. Large businesses pay millions to learn what their customers think… but you can get those insights for free from online reviews. Your customers may point out legitimate issues in your products, services, or facilities, and you can learn from them and take steps to improve.\nThe best reason? As we discuss in our article on \nhow to respond to Google reviews\n, studies show what when businesses start replying to reviews, they increase both the total number of reviews received and their overall rating. And a better rating means more money in your pocket.\nAccording to a Cornell report, a one-star increase in your rating can increase your revenue by up to 39%.\n4. Work to get more reviews\nNotice we didn’t say “buy reviews,” “bribe people for good reviews,” or “write fake reviews.” These hacks could get you in hot water with the review sites or, even worse, the Federal Trade Commission.\nThe best way to get more reviews is to simply ask—but ask in the right way. Don’t ask for a “good” or “5 star” review. Don’t promise discounts or free products in exchange for a good review. Just find ways to get feedback from your customers and encourage them to share their experiences online.\nGo deeper: \nHow to get more reviews\n\nSources:\n
\nhttps://www.chatmeter.com/blog/google-confirms-responding-to-reviews-improves-your-local-seo/\n

The simple (and free) method small businesses are using to climb local search rankings

In this article:\nAdvantages of starting a home-based business\nDisadvantages and caveats to having a business in your home\nThinking of leaving the rat race? Sick of hearing Taylor Swift on your office sound system? Want to spend more time at home with your family or significant other? You may be ready to start a home-based business.\nHowever, it’s not all beer and skittles, as our grandpappy used to say. There are significant and unique benefits, but there are a lot of potential downsides also.\nLets go over some things you should be aware of before you start a home-based business.\nWe’ll give you the bad news first:\nDisadvantages and caveats to starting a home-based business\nRestrictive local and federal laws and zoning regulations\nDepending on where you live and what type of business you’re thinking of starting, you may be subject to local or federal statutes.\nBe sure to consult your local zoning laws, chamber of commerce, city business organizations, federal regulations, and HOA bylaws to make sure it’s even legal to run a business out of your home.\nDifficulty separating work time from family time\nPeople who create home-based businesses may have a hard time keeping “home” and “work” time and resources separated.\nMany times, everything at home becomes subsumed in “the business” and this can cause a lot of friction with family or significant others.\nwife angry with busy husband working from home\nWork hard to maintain dedicated “work hours” and “work space” at home, and try to leave it all behind at the end of your workday.\nMore interruptions\nDepending on how “hands on” you are expected to be with your significant other, spouse, or kids, you may experience more interruptions to your workday when you have a home-based business. \nOf course, a brick-and-mortar shop can have a lot of interruptions as well, but an owner might consider them part of the cost of doing business.\nIt may help to take a similar approach at home and look at these interruptions to your concentration or tasks as part of the price you pay to receive all the benefits of working from home (and there are some great ones! See below).\nDifficulty getting funding \nInvestors, banks, and other purveyors of business capital may view home-based businesses as “less serious” than brick-and-mortar shops, and you might have a harder time justifying loans, cash flow advances, or other needed funding.\nbusiness loan form denied for home-based business\nThis is likely not a serious concern if you have a solid business plan and take your home-based business as seriously as you would a “real shop,” but it could potentially be a concern for some investors and you should be aware of it.\nKeeping accurate records is vital\nAre you organized? Can you maintain very accurate transactional, financial, and tax records? If not, don’t start a home-based business.\nExcellent financial records are essential for \nany\n business, but smaller businesses, particularly sole proprietors who work from home, face a higher risk of getting audited by the IRS, so it is crucial to keep impeccable records and all your receipts in an organized way. \nBusiness and personal expenses can be difficult to separate\nSince your business space and your domicile are now the same, this can create a headache when you face the need to keep your business and home expenses separate and distinct.\nBe ready to accurately estimate and record any use of personal space, vehicles, resources, utilities, etc. if you want to get the tax benefits of starting a home-based business (see the “tax deductions” section below).\nWarehousing or shipping concerns \nIf you sell products and have to worry about maintaining inventory and warehousing/shipping products, a home-based business can make things more difficult. \nIt is sometimes possible to find enough warehouse space at home, but this comes with a host of potential gotchas (local laws, pests, appropriate climate control and security, and angry spouses are just a few). \nGo deeper: Read our \ncomplete guide to fulfilling and shipping orders\n to learn more about some of these concerns and issues.\nPayment processing or accepting alternative payment methods\nSimilar to what you’d need for a brick-and-mortar business, you’ll need some way to take customers’ payments if you start a home-based business. \nSome holdouts still transact mostly by check, but for businesses that sell goods and services it’s pretty much table stakes to take credit and debit cards, which can add significant expense.\nBe sure to talk to your friendly processor representative or merchant service provider and see what kind of a deal they can cut you. Don’t pay for features you won’t need as a home-based business.\nNow that we’ve touched upon some of the potential downsides of starting a home-based business, let’s get to the good stuff.\nThinking about finding commercial space instead of starting a home-based business? Read our article on the \ntop things to consider before renting your first business space\n.\nAdvantages and benefits to a home-based business\nReduced business overhead\nIf you don’t have to pay for business premises, upkeep, or a commercial lease, you can drastically reduce your cost of doing business. \nSince you can share the utilities, maintenance, supplies, and mortgage expense with your primary domicile, and aren’t under any revenue-sharing obligations from a commercial lease, you can save huge… and don’t forget about your tax deductions. \nTax deductions for home-based businesses\nYou might be surprised to learn the tax benefits of having a home-based business.\nWhen you run your business out of your home, you can “write off”—or deduct from your taxable income—an amazing array of expenses, including all or part of your advertising costs, gifts for customers, business banking fees, business loan amortization and interest, “office expenses” and supplies, phone and internet lines, subscriptions to trade publications or newspapers, even a portion of your mortgage, mortgage insurance, homeowner’s insurance, maintenance, utilities, and HOA fees! \nHere’s a great article about all the various \nhome business tax deductions\n available to you.\nMore control of your business and personal environment\nBrick-and-mortar store owners have some say in how their store looks, feels, sells, and operates, but make no mistake, the commercial landlord and lease owner can be quite annoying and forceful in their demands regarding your facilities and finances. \nRead our article on \nhow much it costs to rent space for a small business\n to learn more.\nIn addition, retail customers have expectations about when you should be open, how your store should operate, what music you play (or don’t), what holidays you take off, etc.\nWhen your business operates out of your home, you make the call. \nAnd, you can structure your home workspace however you want. No more Backstreet Boys blasting from the office speakers (unless that’s your bag. You do you).\n\nWhen you’re free from the corporate nightmare of the open plan office or cube farms, when you’re free from noisy environments, smelly co-workers, annoying salesmen, and other distractions… you can make your home business work space a nirvana of creativity and productivity.\nWear what you want\nThis may not seem like a big deal to some people, but for others it can be incredibly freeing to not have to put on the restrictive, button-down corporate costume, strangling tie, powerskirt, or other stuffy, uncomfortable business attire.\nIf you find you work effectively rolling out of bed and working in your jammies and bunny slippers, go right ahead. (We suggest at least combing your hair and putting on a shirt for business video conference calls, though… don’t ask.)\nWork when you want\nHome-based businesses typically don’t have a string of customers stopping by who expect you to be “open” 12 hours a day, six days a week.\nIf you find you’re most productive late at night and prefer getting into a “groove” and working a marathon 14-hour stretch, there’s nothing to stop you (depending on family/relationship needs).\n3 a.m. brainstorm sessions? No prob. Want to dial it back or take some time off? If it’s financially feasible, go ahead. You make the call.\nIf you prefer to keep regular “business hours,” you can do that while still maintaining more flexibility for personal relationships. \nEasy commute!\nPeople who have worked in locales where the typical commute can average an hour (or two!) each way have expressed to us that they almost don’t know what to do with all the time they have when they start a home-based business.\nMore accessibility to family or significant others\nWhen you don’t have to commute or be at work at a certain time, you can be more flexible in your schedule and be there when your spouse, kids, or significant other need your attention.\n\nLive wherever you want \nThere may be some limitation to this depending on what type of business you run, but if you’re a one-person shop that produces products or services delivered via remote warehousing, drop shipping, or digital transmission, you can likely run your business from any location with a reliable internet connection or cell-phone signal.\nWant to live in a treehouse in Borneo? Make it happen, captain! Looking to \nstart your business in a small town\n? Go for it!\nMore time at home for what’s important… and for yourself\nWhen you don’t have to be “at work” to keep up appearances or conform to others’ expectations, you can take the time you need to meditate, cook, exercise, read, listen to music, or whatever else fills up your personal batteries. \nThis can mean you do better work and be more productive in addition to being happier and more personally fulfilled. And isn’t that why we work in the first place?

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