After signing a contract with a PEO your employees will need to fill out employment and tax forms that will then be forwarded to PEO. The PEO then becomes employer of record for employees and from then on handles all payroll and benefit tasks. Timesheets, benefit enrollments and changes will all be submitted to your PEO and you will receive regularly scheduled management reports. At end of a calendar year PEO will provide all employees with a W-2.

Some PEO’s work with companies in every state and others are state specific. You can find individual PEO’s by using a search engine such as Google. You can save time by using free services of a PEO clearinghouse such as www.StaffMarket.com. You can also find a SEO by visiting The National Association of Professional Employers Association (NAPEO) at http://www.napeo.org. NAPEO offers a directory of members searchable by company name, state or country and offers guidelines to help you screen and select a PEO.

A PEO may not be perfect solution for every small business but it is an option for individuals and companies who are willing to outsource human resource functions to obtain much needed benefits, improve employee retention and save time that can be better used to growing business.

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When you are trying to figure out your desired customer, put yourself in their shoes and think about what needs would motivate you to buy your product or service. There are usually two or three primary needs your product or service can satisfy and several lesser needs. When starting your product/service design, it is critical that you use your market research to focus on primary needs and wants of your prospective customers.

> The Product Description Worksheet

As we discussed earlier, successful new business owner first surveys potential customers to identify their wants, needs and dissatisfactions. Questions about bow often they buy, how far they would travel to buy, how much they might spend for your type of product or service are also asked.

You then separate facts gained into groups, such as: pricing, packaging, location, assortment, etc. to organize information in preparation for beginning a custom design of your product or service. You will make assumptions about potential customers behavior and come to some conclusions about how you can present yourself as someone who will respond to their needs and wants.

To help you put together your product design strategy, you can use fill-in worksheet below.

* Instructions:

1. Learn in detail 5-6 wants/needs of your target customer. 2. Add information from library research, trade associations, etc. about customer demographics, location, buying behavior, etc.. 3. Take profile you are creating and decide what specific product/service features this leads to. Express each feature as a user benefit - you must satisfy age-old demand of potential buyers: "What's In It For Me?"

Product/Service Description Worksheet

Customer Want/Need Product Feature User Benefit 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.