By Debbie Gregory.

In Part 1 of this article we share some interesting information including some statistics about who is on LinkedIn and why, This article will provide you even more information including why marketers and sales professionals use this site and why advertising with the platform is makes a great deal of sense.

11.) LinkedIn for Lead Generation for Business Marketing Professionals:

Approximately 89% of all business-2-business (B2B) marketeers on LinkedIn use it exclusively for lead generation. About 62% of them also say that they successfully generate new leads from LinkedIn. That is over twice as much as on any other social platform.

12.)  LinkedIn for Content Marketing for Business Marketing Professionals:

Currently, 94% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn for content marketing because this platform is viewed as more trustworthy for delivering accurate and worthwhile business-related content than any other social platform. With LinkedIn, your company is not forced to fight with parties, opinions, vacation photos, or personal updates to be seen. LinkedIn is free of most of that since it is widely viewed as a place where people expect and seek out work-related content.

13.) LinkedIn for Sales Generation: 

Over 59% of sales professionals surveyed count on social platforms to sell their products and services. Sales professionals know how important networking and networking platforms are to their success.  Most of them, 70 percent use LinkedIn more than any other platform.  This is quite a testimonial for sales generation.

14.) LinkedIn For A Cost-Effective Way to Place Ads:  

Did you know that LinkedIn also has ads? Not only is their audience primed for your messages, the cost per click or lead on LinkedIn is, on average, 28% lower than other popular pay-per-click (PPC) ad platforms inlcuding Google AdWords.

15.) LinkedIn Offers More Bang for Your Buck:

An ad on LinkedIn has the potential to reach approximately 12% of the world’s population over the age of thirteen years of age and costs 28 percent less than other ad platforms.

16.) Linked In has Better Performing Email Campaigns:

LinkedIn offers a wide variety of different ad placements and formats.  Their InMail offering is one that is quite interesting. On average, their sponsored InMail campaigns have a 52% open rate, which is more than double the average for a traditional email campaign on any other platform (MailChimp, Constant Contact, etc.).

17.) More People Will View Your Content on LinkedIn:

LinkedIn is not simply a recruitment platform anymore. It is also a place where professionals go to connect, educate, and inform themselves. Content posted to LinkedIn typically has 15 times more content impressions than any other posts. This means LinkedIn is very valuable to content marketers, especially those in B2B content marketing.

18.) LinkedIn Allows You to Specifically Target Decision Makers:

Part of the appeal of LinkedIn for professional marketers is that LinkedIn gives them the ability to target people by their job or title instead of simply their basic demographics. Currently, four out of every five users on LinkedIn are the people in their respective companies that are the decision makers who drive business and purchasing decisions.

19.) Majority of LinkedIn is From Mobile Users:

Currently, there are approximately 57% of all LinkedIn users access this platform via mobile devices. Even though this number is lower than other social platforms, such as Facebook with approximately 98% mobile users, it is an excellent idea to optimize all of your posts for mobile and not just desktop.

20.) LinkedIn Continues to Grow and Gain Steam:

Engagement and use of the LinkedIn platform has increased 50%, year after year, over the last several years. It has evolved from a simple recruiting site into a full-featured business connection site. This platform continues to add more and features every year and is a great tool for businesses to share their content on.

As you can see, LinkedIn is a great tool for businesses, and it is still growing by leaps and bounds. If you are not yet on LinkedIn, stop what you are doing and join now.  Remember that a regular profile is free, and the premium membership is very inexpensive. –  Do it NOW!

VAMBOA, the Veterans and Military Business Owners Association invites you to join as a member.  There are not any fees or dues.   You may also proudly display the VAMBOA seal on your website and collateral.   We provide several articles on our blog weekly with all types of valuable information.

JOIN TODAY here:  https://vamboa.org/member-registration/

By Debbie Gregory.

VAMBOA, the Veterans and Military Business Owners Association is bringing you a series of articles on our blog on Linked In.   There are some interesting things about LinkedIn that you may want to learn.

LinkedIn has been slowly growing into a popular social platform for companies to connect with their employees, potential hires, and other businesses. Below are some interesting facts and statistics about the platform’s usage that you may or may not know.  Knowledge is power and we hope to provide you information that will enable you to better use LinkedIn and expand your reach.

1.) Sell & Recruit for Your Company on LinkedIn:

Currently, there are over 30 million companies on LinkedIn with dedicated company pages. The platform may have been added to your company’s social platform presence as a tool for your recruiting department to find talent.  Over the last few years LinkedIn has been gaining traction as a great tool for sales and marketing people to connect and sell as well.

 2.) Employees Like to Engage with their Company on LinkedIn:

Approximately 30% of a company’s engagement (likes, comments, shares, etc) on LinkedIn comes directly from their employees. Your employees care the most about the success of your company and they will be the ones boosting your reputation and sharing your brand on LinkedIn.

3.) Employees Will Share Your Company Content on LinkedIn:

Employees are 14 times more likely to share content from their own employers than other types of content. They work hard for the company to help it grow and they should be proud of the achievements of their company. It is a good idea to encourage your employees to help share your company posts and engage with your company’s social media accounts. Content shared by an employee is also viewed by others and deemed over 53% more trustworthy than the same content shared by the CEO or simply by your business’s page.

4.) LinkedIn Users Engage More with Coworkers Than Other Connections:   

A recent study shows that users are 60% more likely to engage with a coworker than anyone else on the platform. They will comment, share, or message with colleagues more than anyone else; This is exactly what LinkedIn was originally designed to do.

5.) LinkedIn Has Become a Social Media Powerhouse:  

LinkedIn has slowly grown to join the other popular social platforms as an excellent place to position your company. Currently, LinkedIn has over 675 million monthly users! That is an increase of 14% increase from the prior year. Instagram typically has about a billion monthly users, Facebook has about 2.5 billion, and Twitter about 330 million users a month.  LinkedIn is growing to be one of the most popular platforms. If your company is not yet on LinkedIn, you are missing a lot of potential talent and customers.

6.) Majority of LinkedIn Users are Outside the US:

It is enlightening and amazing the most of LinkedIn users are not in the United States.  Currently more than 70% of LinkedIn’s users are outside the USA and the platform operates in 24 different languages.

7.) Americans are Using LinkedIn More:

Americans are slowly migrating towards LinkedIn and currently about 27% of Americans use the platform regularly. LinkedIn is the fifth most popular social media platform for the USA today, beating out both Snapchat, and Whatsapp.

8.) More Men Use LinkedIn Than Women: 

According to a recent study conducted by We Are Social, the average LinkedIn user identifies as male. The stats state that 57% of LinkedIn users are men, and 43% are women.

9.) LinkedIn Users Range from 25 to 34 Years of Age:

It should not be surprising because LinkedIn was designed as a business networking and recruiting portal.   It seems that LinkedIn would be less attractive to the younger crowd, though it could be beneficial for the older crowd to keep in touch with ex-colleagues or students to start networking prior to graduation. Right now the majority, 61%, of LinkedIn’s users are 25-34 years of age.

10.) Over 50% of LinkedIn Users Have a Degree:

Currently, about 51% of all Americans on LinkedIn are college educated and have at least an undergraduate college degree. Among college-educated Americans, LinkedIn is even more popular than Instagram or Pinterest. Americans who make over $75,000 per year are also more likely to use LinkedIn than any other platform.

We encourage you to stay tuned for our next blog article with more things you might not know about LinkedIn.

VAMBOA, the Veterans and Military Business Owners Association invites you to join as a member.  There are not any fees or dues.   You may also proudly display the VAMBOA seal on your website and collateral.   We provide several articles on our blog weekly with all types of valuable information.

JOIN TODAY here:   https://vamboa.org/member-registration/

By James Pruitt, Senior Staff Writer

Technology has sparked a boon in self-employment, and thus a spike in interest in consultant work. More and more people have discovered an interest in transforming their special knowledge or passion into a career path advising other business people.

But what does “consultancy” mean? What qualifies a consultant, exactly? The definition is straightforward; a “consultant” is simply “a person who provides expert advice professionally,” according to the Oxford English Dictionary.

A “contractor” is widely understood as a worker whose main relationship is not with the organization itself. A “temp” is a person whose relationship has a set time-limit with a company. But as for “consultant,” the definition is much more fluid. The nature of the position depends on the knowledge and talent the consultant has to offer, as well as the demand. Hence the independence of the consultant, as well as the increasing desirability of the career path.

Technology has revolutionized outreach for newcomers to the field. Networking is often the greatest challenge, and the internet has multiplied opportunities to sell one’s wares. Whether through social media, websites, or directed email marketing, with the proper expertise and talent, a new consultancy firm can start from the comfort of one’s home.

Various Considerations Stand Out for A Prospective Consultant:

1) Most important, a prospective job- seeker should consider their qualifications. A consultant must have the expertise, credentials, and education to advise their clients properly. Part of remaining qualified is staying up to date on current news and trends within the field.

2) Organization is crucial to maintaining an independent practice. Consultants are generally independent business people. As such, the new business-owner must have the self-discipline to plan their day and manage their time. Keeping records and managing workflow must be done independently and efficiently.

3) Many fields recommend special licensing and certification. For example, companies may expect a specialist in a certain software to receive certification by the manufacturer of that software. On the other hand, such certification is not likely necessary for a more general specification.

4) Networking is important. As a free agent, a new consultant will need to build contacts to bring in work and stay at the top of their field.

5) Consultants must set goals. These goals should stay realistic with the requisite time, resources, and energy needed to build such a business.

Demand abounds for consultants in many fields. In 1997 US businesses spent over $12 billion on consultants, according to the Association of Professional Consultants in Irvine, In 2019, the United States was the world’s largest management consulting market. In that year, management consulting services were valued at approximately 71.2 billion U.S. dollars.  The global management consulting market was valued at 160 billion U.S. dollars in 2019.  According to Statista.com   This is extraordinary growth in this industry.

Anyone can work as a consultant these days. Nothing limits the scope a consultant’s practice other than their talents and passions. The trick is to recognize a marketable niche in one’s background and repertoire of skills. Perhaps during of years of volunteer experience, the new consultant has developed expertise in event-planning or public relations. Perhaps a computer enthusiast can put their years of tinkering to use in the IT field. Whatever the worker’s experience or niche, for an in-demand skill, a drive and passion for excellence is the key to success.   With the pandemic and the new normal, more companies will rely on consultants.

By Debbie Gregory.

Acts of kindness are therapeutic and will make you feel good and empower you.   Your acts of kindness will also inspire others to be kind.   We are learning that what we do impacts others and we are all in this together.  Kindness has an amazing domino effect that is so positive and will impact our small business.   VAMBOA, the Veterans and Military Business Owners Association h is providing a list of kind acts for small businesses to consider.

Some wonderful Acts of Kindness:

• Donating to Food Banks- donate some of the extra non-perishable foods in your pantry. If you are able make a monetary donation to fund meals.
• Donating meals to essential workers.
• Donating meals to students especially with schools being closed, it has been impacting many needy families that receive meals at schools for their children.
• Deliver meals – organizations that are preparing meals need help to deliver them to needy families.
• Donating Face Masks to hospitals and organizations
• Write notes and cards to elderly and shut ins to brighten their days.
• Donating Care, Food and Goodie Packages: Put together these packages for those in need in your community, elderly shut-ins, first responders, essential workers and military and veterans.
• Buy a bushel of apples, cases of water or drinks, boxes of packaged snacks, candies, gum, etc. and take them to your local fire or police station.
• Books and magazines are meant to be passed on and shared. Go through read magazines and books and donate them to homes for elderly with shut-ins to help them pass the time.
• Make handmade items that come from the heart. These can be knitted handmade items, greeting cards, paracord bracelets and special notes.
• Purchasing needed items such as sanitizer and cleaning items. These might be nice to send to your remote workers and those in need.
• Gift cards for those who are having hard times to markets and stores.
• Providing Free Advice to Impacted Businesses: Many small businesses are affected and hurting from the pandemic.  They need help and often do not know where to find it.  Volunteer to provide advice in areas of your expertise.   You may find that those with expertise you need will help you.   You might join forces with others and form a task force of sorts to offer free advice and consulting.
• Hosting Virtual Classes: Perhaps the expertise you possess is needed and can can best be presented and utilized in a virtual class.
• Create COVID Survival Guides for Small Businesses and to share and play forward what you have learned so others can benefit with Real time, actionable. advice and present it in zoom sessions.
• Teaching and/or tutoring others. With so many children and young people having to learn virtually, someone to help is a blessing.  Many parents are doing triple duty, parenting, teaching, and working so this can be a huge relief.
• Small Businesses “lending” staff to other small businesses providing a win/win for all.
• Patronizing local restaurants – ordering meals to go to help them stay in business.
• Tipping generously at restaurants or to the barista who prepares your latte to go.
• When you go to market or store, ask neighbors what you can get for them, especially your elderly neighbors and friends.
• Organize zooms or Facetime to spend time with those friends, family and neighbors who feel isolated and are able to simply click on a link.

These are such challenging times for all of us including small business owners.  Helping others can come back to you and is a wonderful way to feel like you are making a difference and to be positive.  We all need to work together for everyone.

By:  James Pruitt, Senior Staff Writer

Types of Incorporation

Small businesses may incorporate as corporations or LLCs as well as partnerships. The first two formats shield owners personally from various liabilities. Hence, in case of debts or lawsuits, the owner’s personal assets remain behind the “corporate veil,” generally not reachable by creditors.

Limited liability companies (LLCs) offer the tax advantages and flexibility available to partnerships. Corporations differ from LLCs in the issuance of stock. Also, corporations issue by-laws that govern their management and govern the interactions of shareholders, directors, and officers.

Relationships with their home state govern corporations. Contract (and agency) law governs partnerships. Choosing between these methods of small business formation is the first step in availing yourself of the benefits of formal recognition.

Reasons to Incorporate

Benefits of small business incorporation include (1) name protection; (2) tax flexibility; (3) perpetual existence; (4) personal asset protection; (5) deductible expenses; (6) nationwide availability; (7) and not least importantly, additional credibility.

First, as for name protection, incorporation provides exclusive access to your business name. Second, tax flexibility grants the legal advantages of the most fitting taxation scheme. Third, the small business will exist perpetually and assume an identity independent from the owners. Fourth, the assets of the business will belong to the business itself rather than the owners. Fifth, incorporation allows a process for deducting business expenses before allocating income to the owners of the business. Sixth, the business will go on the records nationwide in all jurisdictions under the relevant name. Seventh, the plain fact of credibility offers opportunities for expansion.

Where to Incorporate

Incorporated businesses must file annual reports in any state where they register or do business.

Owners usually incorporate in their home state. While large corporations sometimes avail themselves of outside states (most commonly Delaware), for a small business, incorporating locally saves time and effort.

Taxation

Different corporate tax entities can include C corporations and S corporations, in addition to LLCs and partnerships. ”C corporations” file the IRS form 1120. “S corporations” qualify for “pass through” taxation, which taxes the owners themselves for the profits of the corporation without involving corporate income tax. In other words, “S corporations” escape the double tax liability typical of “C corporations.”  “S corporations” cannot have more than 100 shareholders. An accountant or lawyer can advise the best options.

LLCs, or limited liability companies, are also subject to the same type of “pass-through” taxation. The distinction between the three types of tax entities lies in the nature of the ownership of the company, with “C corporations” generally issuing shares to large numbers of owners.

How to Incorporate

Next, choose a business structure. Options include C-class corporations, S-class corporations, or LLCs. The best option really depends on the size and ownership of the organization. Smaller organizations with limited ownership may better fit with an S-type or LLC structure. Partnerships depend on contract law, hence agreements between business owners rather than with the state.

Articles of Incorporation

C or S type corporations should have Articles of Incorporation, filed with the local Department of State. These articles determine the scope of the company and the structure of the ownership. Such a company could have a Board of Directors. Such corporations may issue public or private stock to foster growth.

Small business owners who choose the C or S corporation route should not confuse articles of incorporation with bylaws, which are rules governing the day-to-day running of the company. Both articles of incorporation and bylaws are generally filed with the relevant office of the Secretary of State.

Should a small business owner choose to incorporate as a partnership, they need not file documents with the state. An LLC, on the other hand, should file “articles of organization.”

After Incorporation

Employers generally apply separately for an employer identification number, for employee entitlements such as unemployment. Next, one should obtain any necessary business licenses and permits. Finally, after the actual incorporation, the owners of a new business should draft bylaws and operating agreements to govern the day-to-day functioning and scope of business operations,

Incorporation v. Partnership

Legally, state governments control the status of corporations. Contract law between business owners governs partnerships. A limited liability corporation (LLC) may opt to file the paperwork for treatment as a separate entity from the owners. Hence, the owners may protect their assets in debt collection. In conclusion, the best choice between a C or S corporation, partnership, or LLC depends on a variety of factors, including the number of owners, their status, the relationships of each owner, and plans for the future and scope of the company.

VAMBOA, the Veterans and Military Business Owners Association is pleased to announce that James Pruitt will be contributing articles to our blog as a Senior Staff Writer.  James Pruitt is an independent copywriter and editor specializing in legal and health-related issues. He received his master’s from the University of Chicago and his bachelor’s from UC Berkeley. He currently resides in Thousand Oaks, where he pursues his passions in gardening, cooking, and spoiling his mixed Maine Coon cat, Russell.