I know someone out there is thinking, “Hypocrite! I emailed you last year with one simple question: ‘How do I build a web site?’ and you never answered me!!”. Yes, I’m guilty on occasion of not paying as much attention to email as I should, but nonetheless, point is valid: answer your email quickly and you’re more likely to make a sale.

Email is litmus test for a lot of folks. If they can’t get an answer to a question when business is trying to woo them into a sale, what’s service going to be like once they’ve actually made purchase?

Question 4: What impression are you giving customers in your correspondence?

Since email is primary way many online businesses interact with customers on a one-to-one basis, we’ll discuss it.

Short, curt responses won’t cut it. It doesn’t have to be a novel, but make an effort to send a polite, personal, and professional-looking reply. The visitor should not be made to feel as though his or her question was an imposition.

Question 5: Do you live up to your word?

Simply put, do you do what you say you will?

If you have a “no questions asked, money-back guarantee”, honor it. If you promise delivery within 2 business days, do everything in your power to make it happen.

Most people are going to take you at your word (written or otherwise) - make sure you can deliver.

Question 6: C’mon...what do you say?

Thank you...thanks for your business...we’re grateful you selected us for this project. Whatever way you want to say it is fine, just SAY IT. Without your customers, you wouldn’t be in business; show them you appreciate them!

So, how did you score? Don’t get discouraged if you didn’t get an A+. This is one area in which it’s very easy to improve, and even small improvements in customer service can make a big difference in your bottom line.

Aren't there any other matters to consider in deciding whether to incorporate or not?

Higher administration costs to comply with company law, payroll and bookkeeping is one factor. Another issue is pension planning. Extracting profits out of company as dividends rather than salary means that there will be no "net relevant earnings" and therefore pension contributions can't be made. But advent of stakeholder pension plans has meant that contributions up to œ3,600 per year can be made without need for any earnings. If a person does not wish to transfer funds in existing plans into stakeholder because of high charges, there is a way out: best net relevant earnings (i.e. salary) in five consecutive years can be used for making contributions for next five years, even if there were no salaries in remainder four years. It is comforting to know that entitlement to basic state pension is not affected by taking a salary from company at level of a person's personal allowances i.e. œ4,615.

Furthermore, an individual may decide not to bother with pension plans and instead invest in ISA. Often, these can be more efficient than pensions but that's beside scope of this article. If that option is taken, no salary is necessary.

Another factor is business motoring. It might be tax advantageous for an unincorporated business that owns many cars not to incorporate because if these cars have some private use there will be benefits in kind taxed on users. These are generally higher than straight apportionment between private and business for all car running costs in case of sole traders.

The conclusion is that there can be considerable tax savings waiting sole trader who decides to go down road to incorporation. But, one needs to proceed with caution and careful planning. And don't forget biggest advantage of incorporation, which is Protection from Personal Liability. Incorporating is one of best ways to protect a business owner from personal liability. Shareholders of a company are generally not liable for obligations of company. Creditors of a company may seek payment from its assets, but not assets of shareholders. This means that business owners may engage in business without risking their homes or other personal property.

Thank you for taking time to read this Article. I hope you've found it useful. If you have, please drop me an email and let me know what you think.

You can email me at...

constantinesavva@accamail.com

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