First a couple tax items for accounting clients here in Newtown Square, PA. I expanded on these for my Newtown Square, PA family and individual clients, as they mostly relate to that context. But in case you don’t receive those emails, a heads up:
1) The IRS announced that ALL formally-recognized same-sex unions will be recognized for federal tax purposes, regardless of the current state of residency. For many reasons, this had more to do with the IRS’ paperwork than anything else, but it’s obviously big news (though not unprecedented, in similar tax law history).
2) The IRS also released “final” rules regarding the Individual mandate. WSJ had a helpful blogpost here: (http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/08/27/final-rules-released-on-obamacares-individual-mandate/ ), and the IRS’ new factsheet can be found here:
http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl2152.aspx
Aren’t you glad that keeping track of tax law changes is MY (Stephen Venuti’s) business, not yours?
Well, if you’ve been running your own business here in Newtown Square, PA for any length of time, you also know this certain truth: You have to keep going … and going … and going … to build the business you dreamed about at the start (and have a great Newtown Square, PA accountant and QuickBooks advisor as well!).
You may remember the NY Times bestseller by Tim Ferriss: The Four-Hour Work Week, and it’s actually a very good book, and much more than a lifestyle manifesto. What’s *very* interesting about the story behind that book (I’ve heard some of the inside scoop), is that Mr. Ferris worked VERY hard to write and promote that book.
It sure wasn’t four hours per week.
Because what we SHOULD be doing (and what the book is really about, in large part) is working our hind ends off (more than four hours per week) to create systems which will eventually get us to the point when we CAN take such weeks when we want or need. That’s true in my Newtown Square, PA accountant business, and it’s true in yours.
There is a relentlessness required in building your business … but also in communication with your customers and internal list.
Stephen Venuti On: The Battle For Your Customer’s Mind
“Never, never, never, never give up.” – Winston Churchill
Never underestimate the enormously difficult task that you have of first, capturing your clients’ and prospects’ attention, and second, getting them to take action.
I’ve read that each of us is exposed to well over 3,000 advertising or marketing messages every day.
Friends pay attention to friends and they rarely pay attention to strangers. That’s why it’s so important that you start to develop a close relationship with your Newtown Square, PA (and beyond) clients and prospects so that you can get your message across to them when you need to.
Whether by a monthly printed newsletter, or a weekly email, through Facebook and Twitter, or your other marketing efforts (online and offline) … all of these are “tools” designed to keep YOU “top of mind” with your customers, so that when they have a need, you’ll be more than just another solution for them. They’ll either know you personally or feel that they know you.
You see, your clients and prospects are being bombarded with ‘noise’ all the time. Family issues, work issues, the economy, global conflicts, their 401(k)’s plummeting, job losses, rising mortgage rates, the housing market, smartphones, text messages, email, TV, radio, mail, billboards, newspapers, voicemail, push notifications, magazines, Facebook, Twitter, phone apps, fax, etc. — battering them ALL AT THE SAME TIME.
How do you expect to cut through all that clutter in order to get your very important message across to them if you’re just sending them a letter, postcard, or an ad only every once in a while? That kind of marketing just doesn’t work anymore.
This is a brand new business ecosystem with brand new challenges and the same old marketing stuff just ain’t going to cut it anymore.
It’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to work revamping your entire marketing plan. Because you must cut through that clutter in a relevant way.
So make sure that you are leveraging all of these relationship-building tools available now to you. Fortunately, they abound. But it’s time we all use them and get through the noise to form real relationships with our customers!
I would ask that you forward this article to a business associate or client you know who could benefit from our assistance–or simply send them our way. While these particular articles relate to business strategy, as you know, we specialize in tax preparation and planning for families and business owners. And we always make room for referrals from trusted sources like you.
Warmly (and until next week),
Stephen Venuti
610-353-0686
