Eureka tourism

The recession hasn't really affected our town as much as most of the country, I suspect, since we are a tourist "hot spot." People may have cut back on expensive, exotic locations, but they are still taking vacations to small American towns like ours. Because tourism is so unpredictable, our town has always had a high turnover of businesses in town, even before the recession. It is common to see small business for sale signs in several shop windows, especially during the slow winter season.

I am confident that people will continue visiting Eureka Springs because it seems that this town makes a positive impression and stays with people, urging them to return. I know it happened to us, and all the people we've met that continue to visit or have decided to move here permanently.

Ups and downs

My husband is an independent computer guru, handling both the software side of things (web design, logos, programming) and the hardware side of things (trouble shooting computer problems, setting up systems, server issues, etc). I help by handling some of the financial stuff, like keeping the books and paying the taxes. Business in the computer world is in a constant state of flux, where months are either really busy or really slow. We are currently in a state of "up" and it is hard to keep our schedules straight, while still finding time to spend with our kids.

This kind of schedule stress is still much easier to handle than the "big corporate world" kind. I am so fortunate to have my husband around most days and I wouldn't trade our current situation, even if it meant more money. Sure, he could do an online IT job search and find companies willing to pay top dollar for his knowledge. We have been there already and we prefer to be more in control of our work lives. Of course, corporate jobs are always part of "plan B" if business gets really slow for too long, but things have a way of working themselves out, and we haven't had to go down that road for almost three years so far.

Goodall's Grocery

Today was the grand opening of Goodall's Grocery, a new food market downtown at 55 Center Street. This was the former location of Tatoo's Eureka Style.

I just had to check it out because I thought that place would be too small for a grocery store. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. They had a little of everything, from dairy products, to canned goods, to school supplies, to baby diapers! They had a nice spread of goodies for the grand opening and the atmosphere was very pleasant. The prices were higher than a traditional grocery store, but the convenience may be worth it for residents who live downtown and can walk to the store.

Save time in your business

One of the biggest wastes of time in a major corporation has to be hiring new employees. The screening process is so in-depth and there are so many company rules and requirements, that some companies have a specific department dedicated just to recruiting prospective employees and going through the hiring process.

One way companies can save lots of time and money is by going through an outside recruiting firm that assesses, pre-screens, and interviews candidates ahead of time so when you come to them with your requirements they may already have a perfect candidate in mind. Imagine finding the perfect employee in a matter of days or weeks, as opposed to months. Online recruiters can be especially helpful in the areas of risk management jobs, financial and accounting, legal, communications and technology fields.

Overcoming obstacles of a small business

One of the scary things about starting a small business is the idea of keeping track of all the money. Managing the accounting and payroll for small business can be a daunting task. Hiring a professional accountant is very expensive, and there could still be mistakes.

If you decide to modernize and go with an online bookkeeper, Accounting Paradise charges amazingly low rates for accounting and payroll for small businesses. Bookkeeping services include reconciliations, entering transactions, credit card accounts, bank accounts, merchant, PayPal, and more. The fee is only $10 per month! Payroll services include federal taxes, W-2 filings, direct deposit, year-end filings, email reminders, export to QuickBooks and complete tax forms. All this for only $6 per employee per month.

Another option is to purchase QuickBooks at a discount and manage the accounting and payroll yourself. Accounting Paradise is a great site to visit for general accounting advise, news, and articles to better manage your small business.

A secret to managing your business remotely

I have noticed that there are many people who own businesses here in Eureka Springs but do not live nearby. In fact, some live in different states and run their businesses remotely with good restaurant and retail store managers.

One tool that would help these business owners immensely is a Real Estate Management Software. Siterra software is the only fully integrated online solution to help businesses plan, build, manage, and grow remote sites, assets, and leases. Sounds like a useful tool that would benefit many different types of businesses. It would also make tax time easier because you would have better records of all your real estate in one place.

You're fired!!

Are you a fan of Donald Trump and the "Apprentice"? Even if you aren't, I'm sure you would like to know how you can become more successful and smarter in business. Now you can register for the Trump University Speaker Series. It is a tele-seminar which is limited to 200 callers, so you must act quickly to learn the tools of the trade directly from Trumps' own Apprentices!

Business real estate

Back in college, when I worked temporary projects at big companies, one of my more memorable projects was with USWest (phone company) in the real estate department. Mostly I was just there to file and try to organize all the paperwork. Let me tell you, it was a big mess! Maybe if they used a Real Estate Management Software like Siterra, their system would be much more streamlined and they could actually find what they were looking for.

Siterra keeps track of which leases are coming up for renewal, option dates needing to be addressed, and even when the elevators were last inspected. The software can figure out statistics of the per-employee cost of having your building in the suburbs versus downtown, or how much your company would lose if you were forced to postpone moving for a week, a month, or even a day. The system is totally web-based, so there is not even the hassle of installing it.

Business loans

Although working from home is great, I also think it would be neat to open up a business of our own someday. Something about the "tactile" nature of it appeals to me. Having a physical space of our own that we organized and set up for customers to see and appreciate.

If we ever decide to go for it, we would look into Business Loans online. The application process is easy and much faster. They even offer loans with no application fees - probably due to the lack of paperwork when filling out forms online.

Management software

What is one thing many successful businesses of all type have in common? They utilize Business Performance Management software. The list of companies who have gained from this program is impressive, ranging from Time Warner, Inc. to Boeing Commercial Airlines to Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. As you can see, companies specializing in very different areas can all benefit from a tool that helps them with planning, forecasting, budgeting, finances, and tax preparation. From their website, you can actually view case studies on several of their customers to see how the system was implemented and how it has improved productivity.

Longview Solutions has been selected as one of the Top Business Performance Management vendors for 2007 by BPM Partners. Their customer support has also received top marks in a BPM Pulse Survey completed by end users.

Web work

Being a web designer, my husband is considering offering free-lance web design to local businesses. It seems like everyone needs a website or knows someone who does. He has been staying away from it because ideally, we could make enough money on the internet without having to meet with clients and such. He did web design for a while in college to make money on the side and he got really burned out on trying to please customers.

Now that he has better business sense, and more experience, I think he could handle it much better. Since we have these other business ventures already happening on the internet, he would only have to do two or three websites per month to fill in the monetary gap. Plus, he would meet more locals and get out of the house. Sometimes I worry about him being cooped up in his studio/office for up to 18 hours a day!