To further your career or business, it is imperative that you market in ways that are new and unique in order to catch someone’s eye and get ahead of your competition.  The first step into the guerilla marketing zone is to think outside the box.  What does that mean?  Don’t do what everyone else is doing.  Here area few ideas to get you started:

• The use of podcasts has become very popular in the past years, so why not use them to broadcast your business, book or product, helping to expose it to a lot of people who may have never seen it before.  Make sure that you plug your website and where they can purchase your products.
• Check out your library system!  Why not go to your local library and see if can do a free speaking engagement there in exchange for a percentage of your sales of product after your show.  Libraries are in dire need of funds.  Additionally that will help you align yourself as an expert in your field for future marketing purposes.
• A very easy and free way (free is for me!) to get your name out there and seen is to write reviews on every product your own, have used, read or CDs you have listened to.  Then post the reviews on places like amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Amazon and Barnes and Noble will no longer let you put a two or three line sentence / bio at the end of each review that has any personal information so don’t go there.  Recently they changed their policy and will take down all of your reviews should you do this and they find them.  However, you can post your URL in the Real Names attributes.  When you post your reviews, put your vanity email address inside your “real name.” While those sites won’t allow you to post your URL, if your URL is part of your “real name,” they don’t say a word.  Check out amazon.com and look for one of my reviews.  This is what you will see:  “Jaci Rae raeofhope@jacirae.com.” (Don’t use a real email address or you will end up with a lot of spam.  That is my website, but the email address if fake.)  Why is this an important step?  Because people will read your reviews and you get your name out there.  Most consumers are Internet savvy and if they are interested in you, will check you out.
• Junk snail mail.  Why not use it to your advantage?  When you receive junk snail mail, many times inside with their ads they have kindly sent a pre-paid envelope.  Why not put your brochure, business card or a letter inside announcing your product with a note that says something like, “Since you were kind enough to send me your information, I am returning the favor.”  Also, inside of all the bills you have to pay do the same.  I have gotten business doing this. 

With a few ideas of your own and a little leg work you will be surprised at what your efforts will yield. A very important part of the guerilla marketing process is the business side.  The trick is that if you want different results and what you have been trying in the past always turns out the same, then you must do something different!  Guerrilla marketing is what you need to do differently.  Go after your audience with fervor and diligence, but think outside the box to get the results you desire and the exposure for your product that you need.

Starting a business in a tough economy is hard, but a great captain does not set sail on a rocky sea without a carefully plotted course. Start plotting your course by setting up a goal chart, listing a timeline of when you want to obtain the goals. Leave a page or two after each goal to list the strategies you used to obtain the goals. Once you obtain a goal, check it off the list, but be sure to keep the strategy list so you will know what worked.

The chart will enable you to visualize your goals as well as see those goals that have not yet been obtained. The ones that haven’t been obtained can then be re-looked at to see what your strategy was, the parts that worked and those that didn’t and then reset your strategy to ensure you achieve those goals as well. 

If you haven’t already done so, you need to come up with a business name, something that pertains to who you are and what you represent, or something special in your heart. This is known as “branding.” It’s what will catch people’s eye. The honest truth is that your image and your name sell you as much if not more than your music will, at least initially. 

If your prospective audience can’t get past your image and your name doesn’t strike a chord, they will never get to your music because a CD does not start playing until it’s in a player. I was lucky enough to be branded by the media. One was, “The Rae of Hope TM” (obviously because of my second name) and the other is “Racy Jaci.” Lest anyone take that one out of context, it was because I am seen as quick-witted with a wicked sense of humor. So now, when people who are even slightly familiar with me hear any of those phrases, I instantly pop into their head.

Next, create a logo. If you are not creative in the field of design, try to get a friend who is an artist to create a logo for you for the price of a dinner. Otherwise, you will have to hire a graphic artist, and that can be expensive. You can go to your local college and check out the art department. Talk to the head of the department to find out who he recommends. 

A very important step on the business side is to file for a seller’s permit (and in some communities, if you are setting up a business in your home, you will need to file a home business license in order to avoid some stiff fines and penalties. Check with your local chamber of commerce to find out what applies to you. For a seller’s permit, you will need to go to your local government office and ask what the requirements are. Ït’s usually a $10-$30 fee to file it and there is a lot less paperwork you need to figure out.

Some cities may require you to file a “Fictitious Business License” in your local newspaper and run the ad for six weeks. Your local government office may be able to provide a list of newspapers, and give you an idea of how much the newspapers charge for this service. They will also be able to tell you if there is anything additional you need to do or provide.

Once you start making a lot of money, you might want to consider becoming incorporated. If you want to go through all the hassle of trying to get the forms, fill them out correctly, and research all the legal jargon yourself, you will save money for attorney fees. My advice is, suck it up and pay the legal fees. Find someone who specializes in this field to incorporate you. This will help insure that there are few or no mistakes. You don’t want to put your company at risk.

If you decide to become incorporated and use a lawyer, the fees can range from $90.00-$500.00 per hour, so choose wisely. The total cost for us to incorporate was $900, but that was three years ago.

Get recommendations from others who have done this, or go to your local Chamber of Commerce and ask for recommendations. Before you go to a lawyer, you will need to research the business name you have chosen to see if it has already been taken.

To do this, find your local library and ask them if they have databases that allow you to search business names that are already in use. They should be able to guide you through the research process. It takes about 10 minutes, and there are five databases that I know of that search the U.S. and Canada for fictitious business names, Dunn and Bradstreet being one of these searchable databases.

Another option to become incorporate is to file on the internet.  I recently did this with my latest company.  Check out this websites to help you:

http://www.incorporatetime.com/Fee.htm

Being incorporated has its advantages and disadvantages. That’s why you may only want to become incorporated once you are making a substantial income, or if you have legal reasons to do so.

Being incorporated insures that the name of your company is yours, and no one else has the legal right to use it in your state. However, incorporating will also cost you additional tax money. But there are tax shelter advantages to becoming incorporated as well. You will need to consult a good accountant who can best advise you of what would be beneficial for you as well as the ramifications of your final decision.

If you are going to incorporate, your lawyer should be able to advise you as to which kind of corporation would be best for you if you decide to go this route. Make sure you ask him/her about an “S” corporation or an L.L.C. If he/she thinks an “S” corporation or an L.L.C. would be beneficial for you, you will have to go to an accountant who specializes in entertainment taxes. If you are wondering what the difference between a corporation, an “S” corp or an L.L.C. are, you can research that on the web. Unless you are a huge company, I would not suggest going the incorporated route, I think an “S” corp or an L.L.C. are the best option for a small company. Here are the differences between an “S” corp and an L.L.C.

This is a general explanation. To get a more detailed explanation please check the Internet, your local Library, the IRS or the BBB. 

An “S” corporation grants a special tax label, which must be applied for and granted by the IRS (an EIN number is part of the process). This allows the income of an “S” corp. to be taxed differently.

In a corporation, money is double taxed.  It’s taxed when it comes in the door and then again when it’s paid as income. An “S” corporation avoids double taxation, meaning that the money is only taxed one time and it allows certain deductions to be passed through the “S” corporation and onto the individual tax returns of the owners. 

An L.L.C. (limited liability corporation) provides protection from personal liability. Additionally, an LLC provides certain tax benefits, pretty much the same as an “S” corp.  However, with an L.L.C., you can have as many “members” (owners) as you want.

It is very important to use attorneys and accountants who specialize in entertainment and tax law. You don’t want to pay an attorney or an accountant to go through school to learn the laws pertaining to your field before they even touch your files unless you can afford it. (But even if you can afford to pay for their schooling, do you really want to?)

A disadvantage of being incorporated is that you WILL need an accountant (unless you are a whiz at tax laws – and a bit of advice, a good accountant can get money back from the government for you even if you haven’t paid a single dime in taxes that year. How? Well, I am not an accountant, but I recently saw that happen with a friend and I thought their accountant was shifty. So for their protection, I went to a friend of mine who is a CPA who does corporate taxes and he said it is a fact. I am going to my friend’s accountant next year! ). 

Why will you need an accountant? Because there are different forms you must fill out on a quarterly basis. If you do become incorporated, you can no longer have your business finances and your personal finances in one account. You will need a separate business checking and savings account.

Additionally, you can no longer take deductions for your business against your personal taxes. Those deductions will now be put only against any business income the company has. Any money that comes in for your business is the businesses, not yours. Anything withdrawn other than salary (which is preset) must be documented and of course must be legitimate. The good part is that the company can own everything and then you are at a real tax advantage. For the details of how to do that, you Will need a great tax attorney or accountant who can wade you through those waters.

If insuring that your name is not used by anyone else is your main motivation, incorporating may not be the best thing for you. The same result can be achieved by trade marking your name, which currently costs $350.00 if you file it yourself. (The least expensive lawyer I found when researching this part for the book, was $500.00 to file the trademark application for someone.) Back to what you must do once you set up a business. Expenses for the company paid for out of your pocket must be put in an itemized expense report, and backed by receipts (save those receipts, even for small $1.00 items!), in order for you to get reimbursed.

If you are not incorporated, it would still be advisable to open a separate business checking and savings account. It’s more professional. Try to find a credit union that accepts business accounts. They are much much cheaper. A business account from a regular chain bank will cost you so much per month, usually $10.00-20.00, plus so much per check and so much more per check after you’ve written x-amount of checks.

There are many credit unions that charge one flat fee and that’s it. The least expensive I have seen is $4.00 per month with no per-check fees or hidden costs. Additionally, credit unions typically have higher interest rates for both checking and savings accounts, not to mention that credit unions generally use their money to help the community, so you would be a philanthropist to boot! At any rate, get the most from your money while it sits in the bank.

As far as accounting goes, you need to document everything so your accountant can write it off your corporate taxes at the end of the year, or quarterly if you must file that way. Save those receipts! Take care to chart the mileage on your car. Document the day, time, and mileage start/end, where you went, and why. This is often an overlooked deduction that can be quite substantial.

Log every give away, and how much each give away cost you (wholesale, not retail), postage, meals that have to do with business, office supplies, travel expenses, clothes (deductible only if you only use them for business), fees for weight loss is now a legal deduction, phone calls, etc. It is best to get a separate phone line for your business. It will be clear-cut for accounting purposes, but also the IRS will like it better.

Tell the phone company you want an extra regular line, or they will charge you up the wazoo for a business line. It’s better to over-document than to under-document. Your accountant can not write off what is not documented. A good accountant who is familiar with entertainment taxes will be able to easily ascertain which of your expenses are deductible and which are not. At the end of the year, they will tell you, if you ask, what you should continue to document. The rest you will have to learn in business courses, by word of mouth, and through experience.

When setting up your business you will need a little bit of cash to get started. Here are a few of the items you will need in order to set up your home office.

Printer
Computer
Desk
Chair
Paper
Pens
Stapler
Calculator (optional as most computers have one inside their operating system.)
Staples
White out
Scissors
Telephone
Internet Access
Applicable Software and Word Processing Programs
Fax or faxing software
Accounting Software
Envelopes

Additional Resources

SCORE is a team of successful business owners, both past and present, who volunteer their time to help others succeed in business. Their services are free, you only need to make an appointment. http://www.score.org/

a.     Those who truly love you but are afraid you might fail.

b.     Those who have hidden agendas and are afraid you will succeed.

Experienced business professionals, who have conquered the path you wish to take and have succeeded in their dreams, are the people you should listen too.

2.     Trusting your instincts is good, but it will only get you so far. Mind power, business acumen and marketing will help you ride out the rest of the journey (especially in these hard hit economic times).  Seek out experts in your field by making an appointment with your local chapter of S.C.O.R.E. They call themselves the “Counselors to the American Small Business” and they really are.  This mentorship program is free.  The mentors from S.C.O.R.E. are professional business people who have retired and their passion is to help other small-business people succeed.  To find a chapter near you go to, http://www.score.org.

3.     If your heart believes in it, let your body and mind follow your dream.  The hardest step most entrepreneurs take is to follow their dream. While it is important to practical, you have to dare a bit to be able to dream. Step outside of the box society has put you into, and dare to do, not just dream.

4.     Pay attention to the bottom line. Learn how accounting works. If you don’t know how to bill and collect the funds owed to you, keep track of your receipts, or have a fundamental knowledge about accounting procedures, find a qualified accounting firm.  It is of the utmost importance that you keep accurate and detailed records of all transactions (sales and purchases).  If you have time, and the extra money, take a few accounting and business courses at your local community college to further your knowledge of how to run your business. If you can do it yourself, you will be able to save money and keep afloat during hard economic times.

5.     Measure your success not just in sales, but also in the reaction from the customers who utilize your services or purchase your products.  Too many companies have forgotten about customer support.  Customer support is the key to your ultimate success.  When the customers are happy they talk about your product and services.  When a customer is unhappy, they really talk about your product and services. Bad news tends to travel faster than good deeds done.

6.     Market your product or services in unique ways.  In an ocean of marketing campaigns how can you become the drop of water that gets attention?  The Internet is an obvious marketing tool, but what about unsolicited spam snail mail? Use the pre-paid return envelopes received in junk snail mail, to enclose a note about your product or services. Another example is to offer your product or services in under utilized outlets. For example, I have a book titled 5 meals for $5. We contacted local grocery stores and it turned out to be a perfect fit.

7.     Stage product giveaways. Create a sample of your product or services to giveaway. Contact radio and television stations and local charity events to find out if you can donate your product or service. If the answer is yes, list these events on your website to provide advertising to them (make sure to tell them you will be doing this. It’s an added bonus for them).

8.     It’s all about the hook when you reel them in. A hook is a clever phrase that will make people curious.  You don’t want to over use hooks, but a funny hook is worth its weight in reading.  An example of a hook we used for a free money-saving seminar I gave is “Cash Crunch Got You Crying?” This hook hit people right where they were feeling it most, their pocket books. According to the store manager, we sold more books than at any other author event they had hosted!

9.     Have patience and perseverance. Most “overnight successes” have actually been working hard for years. “Overnight” just means it’s the first time you’ve heard of them.

10.   Create a map in your mind as well as on paper about your future goals. Much has been said about what I call Mind Mapping.  Most people write this step off as fairy tales and hokum (this is not the same as the “name it and claim it” theory). However, there is a lot of truth to the reality of Mind Mapping.  How does it work?  By making a Mind Map, you are practicing your future steps and how they will play out.  Let me use the Olympic record holder Michael Phelps as an example.  To get to the Olympics he spent years training his body and his mind.  Much of his success is a result of his mental training as well as his physical training. He didn’t just jump into the pool and land at the Olympics.  Lay out your plans for your future and practice how you will handle each hurdle in each step so that you will come prepared for success.