I confess to being a “post it” note addict before I found WorkingPoint. I loved color coding them, and my desk sometimes resembled a paper-shingled dragon. It seemed easier for me to dash off a quick note and stick it on my desk. The obvious theory being that this system put the information right in front of my face, “at my fingertips” if you will. But this system is not easier. It does not put the information “right at your fingertips”. Entering the information into an easy to use computer system puts the information right at your fingertips. Literally. You type in a few letters and it’s there. That’s at your fingertips…

I totally understand the fear of computers that keeps people writing their addresses in a rolodex and keeping notes on post its. It’s easier to do that in the moment, it takes a lot of time to set up a better system, I’m going to transcribe them later… Whatever your excuse, I’ve used it. But I am here today to admit that I am wrong. It is not better/easier/more convenient to live your life scared of a strong burst of wind. The technology is out there, it takes almost no time to set up and it’s cheaper than whatever you are spending on post it notes.

Excel spreadsheets are not easy to use, contrary to what my accountant/business school educated friends tell me. Different people have different definitions of easy. Plugging all the information into an excel sheet, creating some kind of formula, selecting something from a drop down menu, playing with it for awhile, to some people that’s easy. Not really for me. For me, entering it once and then clicking a button to select one of the preset reports is easy. Not having to figure out what I need to include in the report because with one click, the software does it for me, that’s easy.

Sometimes, you have to laugh at yourself and the mistakes you made in the past before you saw the error of your ways. This film is me, laughing at myself. I hope that you can get a laugh out of it also!

Yesterday, I wrote about the latest facts and figures related to group buying deals and small business. Today I wanted to follow up with more detailed explanation for how to ensure that you have the best possible experience (with the highest ROI) should your small business decide to offer a group buying deal.

The basic premise of the group buying deal is that a third party site offers a deal to their extensive, targeted list. They take a commission from the sales, in return you the business owner get a dramatic influx of new customers.

Group buying offers lots of potential reward, but with it comes some risks as well. Without proper preparation and thought, you could end up like Posie’s, a business which lost upwards of $8,000 offering a deal. From their experience, we can learn some strategies which are essential to ensuring that your business has a much more positive (and profitable) experience should you choose to take advantage of the advertising benefits of offering a deal through one of these deal channels.  This video takes a look at the key factors you should determine before you start negotiating with the deal sites. Going into these discussions armed with soild prep and realistic expectations and numbers will ensure that the deal benefits you, and not just the deal channel and the customers.

Group buying is still a very new phenomenon, one which has not yet reached many of the smaller markets, but with the rampant success of Groupon and it’s myriad spinoffs we predict that group buying sites will be coming to your hometown soon. Would you be interested in offering a deal? What is the most attractive factor for you in offering a deal? What’s the biggest turn off? Let us know in the comments section below!

Every since the WSJ published “Groupon Satisfaction Rate Not So Hot, Study Finds“, Small Business advocates and marketing specialists have been taking a renewed interest in group buying and it’s ROI. There has always been little expectation that businesses would generate real revenue from the deals, but the compelling factor for participation was not to make a profit. What made the group buying idea compelling for businesses, especially small ones with limited resources, was the overwhelming potential to generate new customers. The advertising would be highly targeted; age, demographic, geographic location, even the types of businesses they wanted to hear from. Access to gigantic lists of potential new clients. And yet it doesn’t take an accountant to see that losing $8,000 because of offering a deal is a bad idea for a small business. But is this Groupon story the exception or the rule?  WorkingPoint is an accounting software. We love accountancy. With that thought in mind we decided to take a hard look at the numbers for small businesses and group buying discounts.

According to Groupon 97% of businesses who participate ask to be featured again.

Groupon openly acknowledges that a potential problem for many of the businesses is that offering a deal can generate too much business for a small business to handle.

Groupon has featured hundreds of businesses similar to Posie’s with great success and provides several examples of happy participants with the same type of business and Groupon sales:

• $4 for $8 Worth of Breakfast and Lunch Fare at FlavourSpot (2,348 sold)
• $7 for $15 Worth of Fresh Deli Fare from Elephants Delicatessen(7,206 sold)
• $7 for $15 Worth of Fresh, Wholesome Smoothies and Café Fare at Tropical Smoothie Café (1,015 sold)

This business, which offered $10 for $22 Worth of Hawaiian Fare at Aiea Grill and sold 516 deals, was extremely happy with her results:

“Who ever heard of acquiring 516 new, quality customers in one day with no money up front? You were also right about the Groupon member being a high grade customer, operating at a sophistication level far above that of the typical bargain hunter/coupon cutter. Viral, positive word of mouth would be a fantastically welcome result of this strategically targeted blast onto the Portland radar screen.We experienced 2500 hits on our website on the day of our feature. The daily average has been 35. Even on the following day residual interest it seems led to 250 hits. And then today is still high at 85.”

And while those numbers (and her experience with the deal buyers) seem very positive, and a very high ROI on both new customers and website traffic, there seems to be a glaring discrepancy in this use case. 500 deals is a small fraction of the 2,000 deals which purchased Posie’s deal.
Posie’s owner argued that the larger deal increased the negative effect it had on her ability to cover the loss of revenue generated by the deal.

Business School Study says that 40% of Businesses who participated would not participate again

Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University decided to take an analytical look at Groupon, the most successful and widespread of the group buying phenomenon.  The study looked at promotions offered by Groupon, which generate discount coupons for businesses which are only valid only if a minimum number of consumers purchase the deal.

The Rice study found that 66% of the 150 merchants responding found the program profitable, while 32% said they were unprofitable. Forty percent of the respondents said they would not run such a promotion again.

There’s a very clear disparity between what Groupon and the study find. It seems that certain numbers, such as initial customer visits and website traffic, have a very high ROI on these deals, but visit conversions to lasting customers, and the ability to cover costs, is more variant depending on the type of business. A look at the numbers suggests that there are some indicators you should explore before pursuing a deal for your small business.

Posie’s catastrophe with group buying is an excellent cautionary tale with some very real lessons for how to set up a deal so that it benefits your business:

• Make sure that you can cover the cost of offering it, and that you factor in every cost (not just materials, but also your time, staff time, rent, utilities and everything else that the cost of your product/services cover).
• Make sure you are prepared to accommodate the influx of new business with inventory/supplies
• Make sure you brief your staff in advance and that they are familiar with the terms of the deal
• Make sure you make the terms of the deals specific, detailed, clear and easy to enforce
• Make sure you include an expiration date
• Make sure you include a cap on the offer that reflects your ability to accommodate the influx
• Follow up with new customers! The best way to make these deals profitable for your business is to capture information, follow up with a thank you or other incentive and keep the customers you acquired coming back for more!!

Guest post by Adam Toren, co-founder of  YoungEntrepreneur.com, one of the largest and fastest growing small business social networking forums for entrepreneurs, and a “must visit” resource for start-up CEOs, founders, aspiring entrepreneurs, mentors and investors worldwide, reaching an audience that very few can match.

Why is it that people often say yes when they really want to say no?  It could be that it’s engrained in us from birth.  In our childhood, what was the one thing we hated to hear more than anything else?  “Liver for dinner!”  Ok, but after that it was probably, “No.”  And it’s obvious our parents didn’t like saying it any more than we liked hearing it.  Thus used phrases like, “We’ll see,” and “Go ask your father” were born.

As entrepreneurs, we can’t fall back on those phrases. The business version of “We’ll see” is seen as weak, and in business, passing the buck is frowned upon.  So even those of us who aren’t habitual people-pleasers will sometimes say yes to spare feelings or safeguard egos, even if it means reducing our own productivity.  Add to that the reluctance to upset a client or prospect, and we can ultimately find ourselves saying yes to just about everybody.

Don’t get caught in the “default yes”
Do clients, colleagues, and people you barely know from networking events send you email newsletters that you never read?  Do you automatically accept Facebook and LinkedIn friend, group, and page requests – knowing full well they’ll result in floods of unwanted inbox messages?  What keeps you from unsubscribing?  Why don’t you ignore or reject those requests and invitations you don’t find valuable?  Chances are, you’re worried about hurting someone’s feelings, or you’re concerned about the impression unsubscribing will make.  People often fall into the trap of thinking that turning people down – in any form – is bad business.

The fact is, it’s not bad business to protect your productivity by being selective about the things you say yes to.  Saying yes to everyone isn’t doing you or anyone else any favors.  All of us who send out newsletters expect a certain number of unsubscribes, and professionals never take them personally. After all, we’re all in the same boat – we all get a ton of email we don’t need.

As for social media, the beauty of the “ignore” button is that no one knows when you’ve clicked it!  They don’t get popup saying, “Frank just ignored your friend request.  He obviously hates you.”  Also, most of those you’d rather ignore are the same people sending requests to everyone and their dog, so it’s doubtful they can even remember who they sent requests to.  So don’t worry about being selective.  Social media can be a fantastic tool for cultivating business relationships, and it should be used as such.  So, select those you want to get to know and politely decline the rest.  It’s true that opportunity can be found anywhere, but there’s nothing wrong with narrowing down your contact lists to those most likely to result in mutually beneficial relationships.

Managing the Yeses
Alright, you’ve committed to reducing the percentage of time you say yes, but you still find that your productivity is lacking?  You’re not alone.  After all, it’s not just email and social media we have to keep track of.  We’ve got requests to attend webinars, trade shows, networking events, and a seemingly endless list of other “opportunities” to manage.  So even after you decide to say no to more of these, it’s likely you’re still keeping track of a lot of activity.  Oh, and you say you’d like to actually run your business some of the time as well?  How do you manage it all?

For starters, check out WorkingPoint’s small business contact management system.  Additionally, there are tons of other online scheduling tools available, and you might even consider hiring a virtual assistant.  In any case, don’t hesitate to get help in some form.  Once you’ve learned to say no and manage your yeses, you’ll be amazed at how your productivity will soar!

New to the WorkingPoint Blog? Having trouble keeping up with all the great content we produce everyday? Want a refresher course? The following is a selection of some of our best, most popular posts that you might have missed! Let us know what your favorite posts are, and what you want to learn more about!

HTTPS ensures your online transactions are secure!

Tis’ the Season to Protect Your Sensitive Data with HTTPS

One of our most popular blog posts of all time! Learn the value of switching to HTTPS, a more secure server which your browser to encrypt the page (and especially your data) before sending it. Learn all you need to know about HTTPS and how to shop and work safely from shared WIFI.

Be Careful: 1099 Contract or Employee?

Avoid this costly mistake by checking off this quick and easy checklist to ensure that you won’t be at risk of the abusing the very narrow classification of what makes an Independent contractor versus an employee.

What Is Your Company’s Value Proposition, and How Do You Represent It On Your Web Site?

A great guide to making sure your website is on point for what you really need it to do for your business. Do you follow the “5 second rule”? Do you cover the important questions so your site visitors know exactly what to offer so they stay, and buy? This article is a must read for any business with a website.

Don't get caught unaware!

3 Internet Web Presence Tips for Business Websites

Our own rockstar web designer shares his years of small business website building experience with you in this must read for anyone thinking about building/redesigning their business website!

How to Claim Your Business on Facebook Places: A Step by Step Guide & Video: A step by step guide to setting up Facebook Places

Together this article and video will tell you everything you need to know to set up Facebook Places for your business. Get started with the hottest new social media platform, geolocation (even if you’re new to Social Media), with these easy to follow guides!

Small Business Accounting Must Read: Changes to your Business Taxes in 2011

The Bush Tax Cuts are going to expire in 2011, start preparing now for how these changes are going to effect your business so you don’t get caught by surprise. This comprehensive overview will help you get started in navigating the new rates!

WorkingPoint serves lots of small businesses who want to use Twitter to grow their business. There is an abundance of articles talking about ways to use Twitter to promote a business, but most of these take for granted that you already have some understanding of how Twitter works. If you’re not already using Twitter, this is the place to start. Don’t fumble around, this quick short and painless video will give you the foundation that you need to get started using twitter in 3 short minutes. Already an old pro? Watch this video anyways to brush up and make sure that you are getting the most out of your strategies and not forgetting the basics as you get involved in more complex tactics and strategies!

A big thank you to WoodyGuitar who’s fantastic playing contributed the background music for this song playing an acoustic version of Little Lion Man by Mumford & Sons.

Guest Post by David Billings aka Sparky Firepants talented graphic designer, illustrator, creator of the beloved Botpreneur Comic and self-employed genius!

What they’re really thinking when they see your business card

Business card. We put so much thought into this device, we start to lose sight of what they really are: little pieces of card stock with our contact info on them.

It’s so exciting when you get your cards back from the printer, isn’t it? Business toys!

So you pack them carefully in your wallet or Very Special Business Card case from Sky Mall, all ready for your next networking opportunity. You’re just itching to hand one to the first person you see because they are just so damn cool.

Then you do hand it to someone. Without even looking at it twice, they shove it in their pocket. No balloons from the ceiling, no magical aura emanating from their eyeballs. They just kept on talking and now you can’t focus on what they’re saying. You can’t help it. You’re stuck wondering what they thought of your tiny pocket-sized marketing campaign.

I’ll save you the trouble of losing sleep over it. Here’s what they’re really thinking when they see your card:

• How long am I supposed to look at this before putting it in my pocket? I can never remember.
• Dammit. Why did I eat those garlic knots before I came here?
• Oh, crap. Josh needs new soccer cleats. I was supposed to pick them up this afternoon. When can I make my escape?
• These are way better than my cards. My cards suck.
• Oh, wow. This card sucks. Wait. Do mine suck? Oh, no. Mine suck, too. And I just gave out ten of them. Can I get them back and do this over?

Take your pick. They could be thinking about Lady Gaga. Who knows? I do know that they aren’t memorizing your contact info or noticing how everything is fashionably lower case.

Hey. Stop worrying so much about your cards

1. You can’t control what they think. Lady Gaga. Enough said.
2. Almost everyone thinks their cards suck in some way. Even designers. Um, especially designers.

More important than the best-designed cards on Earth is that human connection you’re making. Focus on that.

You can have the slickest cards in the world, but if you don’t connect with the other person it’s a waste of time and money handing them your card. Not to mention getting theirs.

Hey, do you have a card?

It’s one of the most frequent questions when you meet someone. It’s right up there with “So, what do you do?” It’s like we don’t know how to know a person until we first learn how they earn money and we possess their card.

It’s drilled into your head when you start a business. MUST HAVE BUSINESS CARDS.

I want to challenge this assumption. Do you really need cards?

Think about what happens when you get home from a networking event and you dump all those cards you collected onto your desk. What’s next?

You likely copy the information to your computer. In fact, so many people do this that they even have special biz card scanners and online services that will handle this for you.

And check this out. If we both have iPhones, we can trade contact info without even exchanging paper. In a few years, we’ll probably be able to do this across multi-platform devices.

So why have a card?

Like books and newspapers, people still like holding pieces of written material in their hands. It feels human. Yes, they’re probably gonna toss your card the next day. But in the moment you make a true connection, your card becomes a gift. Literally.

People like getting stuff. Okay, so it’s just a piece of card stock with your contact info on it. Somewhere in our unconscious, we perceive these little pieces of card stock as gifts. It feels good to give them and receive them. Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah.

If you don’t have a card your career will not die a painful death. The most important thing is that they have a way to connect with you after you leave. If that means a napkin with your phone number, that’s fine. Just don’t give them a used one.

I do think it’s a good idea to carry cards. But if you gag at the mere idea of the business card game, here’s what you can do to make it more fun, less robotic, and more effective.

1. ONLY ONE BUSINESS to a card. Come on, People. Single file. One per customer. I don’t care if you’re a landscaping massage therapist who details cars naked. People get confused. They want to associate one face with one business. Make it simple for them and they’ll like you for it.
2. Make your cards useful. There are so many things you can do here. Yoga instructors can put simple positions on the back that anyone can do in their office. I have several different cards with my art on them. Even if you don’t need the info any longer, the art looks nice. Provide info that’s useful on a regular basis. People will have you on top of mind every time they sit down at their desk. Alternatively, put a discount code on the back for one of your services. Give them something they’ll want to keep when they empty their pockets later.
3. Hire a professional designer. Measure twice, cut once. Believe it or not, there are actually people out there who study and practice the best layouts for marketing materials. Let’s call them… Graphic Designers. Hire one and stop worrying if you got it right.
4. Do it yourself. Well, okay. If you absolutely must do it yourself because you have zero budget, keep it as simple as possible. I’m not going to get into specifics here, but I’ll give you one fab tip: leave out the clipart. I also have an online guide that will help you through it. You can even download a free chapter on DIY right here. http://sparkyfirepants.com/design-prep-questions
5. Don’t give your card to just anyone. This goes against conventional wisdom, but hold back. Your cards are special. I know it seems counterintuitive. You created the damn things to give out, right? Seriously. Treat them like cash and don’t devalue your currency. If you’re sticking your card in every sub shop fishbowl to “earn a free lunch,” you’re wasting a resource. You want to give your card to the people you truly resonate with. Even if they don’t need your product or service, it’s more likely they’ll refer people to you who are a good fit.

Remember, not everyone is a potential client or partner. Some people are just nice. In those cases, just give them an email address or URL for your web site.

Use your business toys wisely

Little pieces of card stock can be really handy. Just remember to create them with the receiver in mind. Plan your own personal strategy for how you’ll use your cards and you’ll get the most out of them.

On September 27, 2010 president Obama signed into legislation the Small Business Jobs Act.  The bill, which was implemented to stimulate job creation through small businesses, which provide over 90% of new jobs each year. The legislative acts included in the bill go into effect immediately and include Small Business tax breaks and improved access for credit.

Twelve of the top Benefits of the Bill’s passage according to the White House Blog:

• Extension of Successful SBA Recovery Loan Provisions —Immediately Supporting Loans to Over 1,400 Small Businesses: With funds provided in the bill, SBA will begin funding new Recovery loans within a few days of the President’s signature, starting with the more than 1,400 businesses – with loans totaling more than $730 million – that are waiting in the Recovery Loan Queue. In total, the extension of these provisions provides the capacity to support $14 billion in loans to small businesses.  The SBA Recovery loan provisions have already supported $30 billion in lending to over 70,000 small business.
• A More Than Doubling of the Maximum Loan Size for The Largest SBA Programs:The bill also increases the maximum loan size for SBA loan programs, which in the coming weeks will allow more small businesses to access more credit to allow them to expand and create new jobs. The bill will permanently raise the maximum size for SBA’s two largest loan programs, increasing the maximum 7(a) and 504 loans from $2 million to $5 million, and the maximum 504 manufacturing related loan from $4 million to $5.5 million.  In addition, it will temporarily increase the maximum loan size for SBA Express loans from $350,000 to $1 million, providing greater access to working capital loans that small businesses use to purchase new inventory and take on their next order – allowing them to create new jobs.
• A New $30 Billion Small Business Lending Fund:The bill would establish a new $30 billion Small Business Lending Fund which – by providing capital to small banks with incentives to increase small business lending – could support several multiples of that amount in new credit.
• An Initiative to Strengthen Innovative State Small Business Programs – Supporting Over $15 Billion in Lending:The bill will support at least $15 billion in small business lending through a new State Small Business Credit Initiative, strengthening state small business programs that leverage private-sector lenders to extend additional credit – many of which have been forced to cut back due to budget cuts.
• Eight New Small Business Tax Cuts – Effective Today, Providing Immediate Incentives to Invest: The President had already signed into law eight small business tax cuts, and on Monday, he is signing into law another eight new tax cuts that go into effect immediately.
  • Zero Taxes on Capital Gains from Key Small Business Investments:Under the Recovery Act, 75 percent of capital gains on key small business investments this year were excluded from taxes. The Small Business Jobs Act temporarily puts in place for the rest of 2010 a provision called for by the President – elimination of all capital gains taxes on these investments if held for five years. Over one million small businesses are eligible to receive investments this year that, if held for five years or longer, could be completely excluded from any capital gains taxation.
  • Extension and Expansion of Small Businesses’ Ability to Immediately Expense Capital Investments: The bill increases for 2010 and 2011 the amount of investments that businesses would be eligible toimmediately write off to $500,000, while raising the level of investments at which the write-off phases out to $2 million. Prior to the passage of the bill, the expensing limit would have been $250,000 this year, and only $25,000 next year.  This provision means that 4.5 million small businesses and individuals will be able to make new business investments today and know that they will earn a larger break on their taxes for this year.
  • Extension of 50% Bonus Depreciation:The bill extends – as the President proposed in his budget – a Recovery Act provision for 50 percent “bonus depreciation” through 2010, providing 2 million businesses, large and small, with the ability to make new investmentstoday and know they can receive a tax cut for this year by accelerating the rate at which they deduct capital expenditures.
  • A New Deduction of Health Insurance Costs for Self-Employed:The bill allows 2 million self-employed to know that on their taxes for this year, they can get a deduction for the cost of health insurance for themselves and their family members in calculating their self-employment taxes. This provision is estimated to provide over $1.9 billion in tax cuts for these entrepreneurs.
  • Tax Relief and Simplification for Cell Phone Deductions:The bill changes rules so that the use of cell phones can be deducted without burdensome extra documentation – making it easier for virtually every small business in America to receive deductions that they are entitled to,beginning on their taxes for this year.
  • An Increase in the Deduction for Entrepreneurs’ Start-Up Expenses:The bill temporarily increases the amount of start-up expenditures entrepreneurs can deductfrom their taxesfor this year from $5,000 to $10,000 (with a phase-out threshold of $60,000 in expenditures), offering an immediate incentive for someone with a new business idea to invest in starting up a new small business today.
  • A Five-Year Carryback Of General Business Credits:The bill would allow certain small businesses to “carry back” their general business credits to offset five years of taxes – providing them with a break on their taxes for this year – while also allowing these credits to offset the Alternative Minimum Tax, reducing taxes for these small businesses.
  • Limitations on Penalties for Errors in Tax Reporting That Disproportionately Affect Small Business:The bill would change, beginning this year, the penalty for failing to report certain tax transactions from a fixed dollar amount – which was criticized for imposing a disproportionately large penalty on small businesses in certain circumstances – to a percentage of the tax benefits from the transaction.

According to Webnewser, or Startups and Freelancers this also means:

• Increase in amount allowed as deduction for startup expenditures in 2010 from $5,000 to $10,000.  These are expenses incurred while you are setting up or researching a new business and may include the cost of advertising, travel, market research or training employees prior to opening the business.

• Deduction for health insurance costs in computing self-employment taxes in 2010. If you are a member of a LLC, a freelancer who fills out a Schedule C for your tax return, or an employee of an S-Corporation who owns more than 2% of the company’s stock, you can claim the insurance you buy for yourself and your family on your tax return.  (LLC and S-Corporations must pay for or reimburse the premiums in order for the individual to qualify for the deduction.)

• Removal of cellular telephones and similar telecommunications equipment from listed property. A listed property is something you buy for both for business and personal use, like your car or your camera.  It’s not considered a business expense unless you have a paper trail to prove that you use it for work at least 50% of the time.   Now’s the time to upgrade your smartphone.

If you want to learn more about what Small Business Experts are saying about the bill and it’s effect on Small Business check out these great article:

“The Small Business Jobs Act – Not So Much about Jobs, But Some Good Provisions Nonetheless” Anita Campbell, American Express Open Forum

“Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 Does Little for Small Business” Barbara Weltman, American Express Open Forum

“Small Business Jobs Act of 2010: What’s in it for Internet Startups and Freelancers” David Glen, Webnewser

Guest post by Cassie Rice Co-Founder of Social Blaze provider of enterprise-grade social media management software for everyone!

One of the most time consuming parts of social media marketing is finding the great content to tell your followers about.  It’s easy to spend hours on end looking at blog posts, newspaper articles, and various websites looking for content.  Fortunately, there are ways to cut down the time so you can find relevant articles faster.

But, before you start looking for content, it’s important to develop a criteria for the content you want to share with your followers.  You can create the criteria in whichever way is best for your brand; although, I do suggest using a similar criteria to this:

• Content must be industry related
• Content must fall within one of the words within the acronym, ICEE (interesting, connective, educational or entertaining)

Once you’ve created your content criteria, it is time to start finding content to tell your followers about.  Follow the steps below to find content faster and save a lot of time!

1) Find industry relevant blogs through a simple Google search
Finding industry related blogs is really pretty easy.  The best way to do this is to do a simple Google Search for the type of blog you’re looking for (I’ve tried using other blog search engines and blog directories, but found that a simple Google search was the best way to find relevant blogs).  By doing this, I’m sure you will find plenty of results.

When you come across relevant blogs, subscribe to them via RSS and add them to your Google Reader or preferred RSS Reader (I’d suggest you use Google Reader since it is so easy to use and you already have access to Google Reader if you have a Gmail account).  Sometimes, many of the blogs you find will link to other similar industry related blogs, so you can subscribe to those as well.

In addition to blogs, you might want to subscribe to some news sites as well.  News sites often have industry related RSS feeds.  You can normally find them by clicking on RSS at the bottom of each news site.

I’d suggest you subscribe to at least 15 – 30 RSS feeds.

2) Make folders and categorize the blogs in your RSS reader
(You only need to do this if you have RSS feeds from different industries/categories.)

In your RSS reader, categorize your RSS feeds and place them in folders.  This will be a time saver for you later on because you will be able to see all the most recent relevant blog articles in a stream.  Once you’ve done that, you’re pretty much all set!

3) Each day, go through the posts in your folders.
Now that you’ve got your RSS reader set up.  Spend about a half hour each day browsing articles by clicking on the folder on your RSS reader and browsing all the most recent blog articles.  The fastest way to browse on Google Reader is by using keyboard shortcuts: ‘J’ to go to the next article and ‘K’ to go back.

I hope this was a helpful way for you to find content faster!  Have fun learning new things and finding awesome content!

Do you have any tips or tricks that you use to find content fast?

The WorkingPoint community is made up of Small Businesses. Hard working, talented, devoted individuals who are brave enough to forge their own paths, to leave cubicles behind in favor of innovation and being their own boss. To these brave warriors, who’s efforts could bring us up from the brink of economic extinction and who’s toils often go unappreciated, we dedicate this tribue video. Gainful employment is not as easy to find as it was 4 years ago, our community of small businesses is working to provide new opportunities for themselves and for others and to bring economic salvation to this ravaged nation.