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The green movement has created a plethora of buzzwords. One of the more popular phrases is “carbon tax.” And for good reason. Businesses, traditional and emerging, will soon be affected by a carbon tax depending on where they fall in the supply chain.

Wikipedia defines a carbon tax as a direct tax on carbon dioxide emissions, which is generated as a byproduct of combustion of fossil fuels, among other processes. Expanding on this definition, a carbon tax can be seen as an excise tax on the sale of fossil fuels at a particular point in the manufacturing supply chain.

The amount of the excise tax would vary for different fossil fuels because it’s based on the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by each fuel (which is a precisely known quantity) and would take the form of a fixed fee per ton of carbon dioxide emitted. For example, coal would have a higher tax rate per kilowatt (kWh) of energy produced than would natural gas for electricity generation. Similarly, diesel and gasoline prices would experience different increases because of their differing emissions per gallon.

The two major uncertainties regarding future carbon tax policies will be where in the fossil fuel supply chain the tax will be applied and what the precise amount per ton of carbon dioxide emitted will be. Based on past proposals, the risks and benefits can be high.

For example, one proposal advocated by the Carbon Tax Center favored applying the excise tax on the transaction between producers (oil wellheads, gas wellheads, coal mines) and their direct customers (refiners, pipelines, coal shippers). Another proposal favored applying the tax on the end sale to the consumer of the fossil fuel (homes and businesses that use electricity or drivers buying fuel for transportation).

How different countries decide on the amount of the tax itself shows considerable variation as well. Currently, Sweden has a tax of $150 per ton of carbon dioxide emitted. British Columbia is introducing a tax rate of $10 per ton of carbon dioxide emitted starting this month (July 2008).

Some proposals are making a case for a low tax initially, such as $25 per ton of carbon dioxide emitted that is then increased incrementally every year. Other proposals are suggesting the proper carbon tax of $30 per ton, representing a price that supposedly will account for the environmental costs due to carbon dioxide emissions.

It’s important to keep in mind that a carbon tax will have an impact on the price of transporting goods from one destination to another. Consider that a tax of $100 per ton of carbon dioxide emitted will add $0.268 to the price of a gallon of gasoline and $0.305 to a gallon of diesel fuel, again based on information from the Carbon Tax Center.

At current fuel prices, this is a little more than a 5% increase in transportation fuel costs, something that consumers should keep in mind when making decisions about future vehicle purchases. For electricity usage, a carbon tax of $100 per ton of carbon dioxide emitted will mean an increase of $0.104 per kW-hr from coal, $0.087 per kW-hr from petroleum, and $0.057 per kW-hr from natural gas.

This is very large increase in the cost of electricity from fossil fuel sources, and these three sources comprise 70.5% of U.S. electricity generation. This means that if a carbon tax becomes law, you can expect and therefore must prepare for a rise in your electricity costs.

While there are no carbon tax proposals presently before Congress, carbon tax legislation is becoming an increasingly hot issue for green movement activists, as well as Congressional leadership. During the next presidential administration and the next Congress, it’s highly likely that carbon tax legislation will be introduced and possibly enacted.

Thus, it’s important to begin planning now to take into account the rising costs that such a tax will produce. An interesting side bar is that many carbon tax proposals claim to be revenue neutral. To this end, some proposals will feature decreases in individual and corporate income taxes paid for by taxes on the use of fossil fuels.

What this means is that those companies that move away from high-polluting fossil fuels the most depending on the exact implementation of the carbon tax might benefit from decreased tax rates, which could mean overall savings for some companies, depending on their specific energy needs.

What all this carbon tax debate is pointing to is the urgency to begin planning NOW for this “inevitability” to help protect your business from rising energy and transportation costs. One thing is certain! Congressional leadership is not going to be there for you.

Bottom line? Apply this information to improve your profitability, reengineer business models, and strengthen or gain competitive advantage in the marketplace. And you can apply the free Fiscal Test at http://fiscaldoctor.com/fiscaltest.html.

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We all know that securing a business loan is a tedious and time-consuming endeavor. With all the required documentation and credit investigations on top of the required overall collateral, one is not even guaranteed an approval. If it is quick-cash that your business is in desperate need for, merchant cash advance or loans may be the answer this assumes, of course, that your business accepts credit card transactions from your customers.

In merchant cash advance loans, a business can sell a portion of its credit card transactions to a third party called the ‘provider’. This provider buys the future credit card sales at a discounted rate, thereby providing the business the cash advance for its operational needs.

The fixed discount rate that is applied for every future credit card transaction slowly pays for the loan. This continues until the cash advance is paid off.

Merchant cash advance is a short-term financing product. It does not present the same limitations as a standard business loan. In many ways, merchant loans, or better referred to as merchant cash advance, is not entirely a loan. It is an acquisition or purchase agreement. The provider purchases the claim on your credit card dealings and trades back those claims to you for a fee.

Needless to say, this type of financing is indeed expensive. Usually a 40% premium is taken of your total advance to cover the risk factors that the provider will be taking. Nevertheless, for businesses that really need cash immediately, this expense is deemed worth it.

You may wonder who would be interested in this type of arrangement. It is usually the individuals or business who does not qualify for the other conventional long-term loans. You see, the application for a merchant cash advance can be as quick and easy as a one-page application with basic documentation. Approval can be gained within one to two days and the cash can be made available within 7-10 days. Not bad, right?

Sometimes, cash advance providers will require some information on the purpose of the loan. Some only entertain requests that are geared towards expansion for business. However, there are other utilization for merchant cash advances such as, buying of new machinery, inventory or equipment, tax or debt payments, funding a marketing or advertising activity and, more popularly, taking advantage of a limited offer on property or asset purchase.

The attractiveness of merchant cash advances is generally credited to the simplicity of the approval process. Unlike many bank loans, qualifications for merchant cash advances are as follows:

- Must be an established business for at least 1 year
- Must have credit card transaction records for at least six months
- Must not have any previous histories of bankruptcies or liens
- Must have at east one year remaining in the commercial property lease
- Must not have any other existing cash advance agreements with other entities

Finally, keep in mind that a strong credit history is not a strict requirement, but it undeniably helps in gaining better deals with the merchant cash advance provider.

E. Linares is Chief Visionary Architect at Commercial Magnet:: the new face of the online lending marketplace where borrowers and lenders connect; 6 points of service to help build your wealth! Commercial Magnet is the entrepreneurial platform that takes business owners from start to funding. Find out how a Business Loan or Working Capital can help fuel your business at http://www.commercialmagnet.com.

Spring is finally on it’s way and it’s reminded me of the importance of planning for success…

Last year I got out in the garden and did a complete overhaul. I watched several of those garden DIY shows, drew myself a little plan and then followed it.

I took quite a bit of time creating my plan and it included year round plants as well as seasonal flowers so that the garden would be enjoyable all throughout the year.

It was hard work but really great fun! Our garden had been a little neglected over the years so out came all the old weeds and out came the big dead tree. We then carefully tended to the remaining healthy plants and implemented our garden makeover. A lovely little water feature went in along with quite few plants and a dozen or so bulbs.

Quite a bit of work later and it was done.

Now months later I’d completely forgotten we even planted bulbs but sure enough a few tulips started poking their heads above ground a little while ago and now they are in full bloom. That lovely splash of colour reminded me strongly of the importance of forward planning.

The successful entrepreneurs of the world didn’t get there by accident. They planned to get where they are. Some of them have had a bit of good luck along the way but all of them dared to dream of success and then put steps into action to get there. If they hadn’t followed their dreams up with planning and action they wouldn’t have got where they are. Simple as that.

If you want to reach your goal turnover or your magic number of regular clients, you need to follow their lead. Decide clearly what it is you want then go for it.

Make a plan of how you are going to get there. Where is the extra income going to come from? Exactly how many new clients do you need per week? And where are you going to find these people?

Then go out and follow your plan. The plan might change or evolve as time goes on but just get started and then follow your plan with determination.

Tulips don’t just magically appear, you need to plant the bulbs that create them and you need to make sure you do that in the right type of soil.

The same goes with clients. Sure some of them will just rock up on your doorstep but they are few and far between. To get a large and loyal client base that regularly book and buy from you, you need to learn what works then create plans that will make this happen.

If you just sit and wait for a horde of people to arrive at your door, you might be waiting a while. But if you get out there, give your potential clients a reason to want to find out more and then spend the time build a relationship with them, you will find your business growing quickly in exactly the direction you want it to.

Rebecca Kepple specializes in helping business owners massively increase their client base and profits. To get instant access to her free insider secrets report ‘The Top 7 Secrets for Massively Increasing Your Client Base’ visit: http://www.wellbeingbusinesssecrets.com/freereport.

Expanding the business? Buying a company vehicle? Adding of proprietary assets? Or, simply keeping business finances liquid. These are some of the major reasons why businesses take on loans. The question is what type of loan?

For entrepreneurs who wish to maintain 100% control of their businesses and are willing and confident to keep up with a monthly obligation to a lending body for the fulfillment of debt payments, a debt financing is opted.

In today’s economy, however, there is an obvious difficulty in finding a lending institution that would be willing to invest in new businesses. For this reason, equity financing or equity loans are more popular nowadays.

Equity loans are not directly returned to the lenders. Instead, these lenders, or better referred to as investors, become the business owner’s partners as they are technically sold rights to the business. This way, the investors gain a certain amount of influence on how the business is run.

Though equity loans are not technically repaid, investors do have the intention of regaining the cost of their investment in the long run, and more. What this means is that investors have the interest to grow the business towards success by providing a portion of the capital, business management advice and, if necessary add more business contacts.

In return, they expect high profit returns as a result of the business success that does not only cover the initial outlay of funds but generate additional income as well.

Contrary to debt financing, however, equity loans allow investors a portion of the business control. There is now a need to get along with the new partners, whose points of view on the operation of the business will now matter.

A few suggestions on how to maintain a jointly favorable association with equity investors include:

1. Keep it simple. Clearly explain the bigger picture. Investors are generally not interested in the nitty gritty of the business operations. So, unless they ask, keep it low.
2. Be able to comprehensively discuss the business financial standing. Investors are deeply interested in cash flow issues, profit projections and the like. Keep them updated.
3. Maintain a proper channel of communication with investors. Assign a point person. It is not advisable to allow investors to converse with anyone and everyone in the business organization.
4. Be honest with your investors. Present sales figures as is and don’t go over the top on your projections in hopes of impressing your investors. The truth will eventually come around, so cut through the round-about and paint the real picture to your investors.
5. Do not deny information. Bad news is bad news regardless of how it is delivered. In order to maintain trust among investors, be timely in the conveyance of news, whether good or bad.
6. Give investors easy access to information. Consider a website access.
7. Be professional in all dealings. Maintain the confidence of your investors by demonstrating your leadership skills in all aspects of the business.

Once you know the secrets keep your business attractive to investors, equity loans need not be a point of hesitation but must be viewed as opportunities for growth.

E. Linares is Chief Visionary Architect at Commercial Magnet:: the new face of the online lending marketplace where borrowers and lenders connect; 6 points of service to help build your wealth! Commercial Magnet is the entrepreneurial platform that takes business owners from start to funding. Find out how a Business Loan or Working Capital can help fuel your business at http://www.commercialmagnet.com.

Just browse the internet or open up the Yellow Pages. How many solicitors are listed in your town? How many plumbers? How many dentists? The list is long in most cases.

The dilemma that immediately confronts the thinking business owner is: “Why should anyone select me, rather than someone? We all have about the same level and quality of service, we all have prices within the same basic range, and we’re all equally accessible, and so on.”

What is the answer to this dilemma? Many people might jump in and say: “Prospects tend to choose the one with the lowest price.”

But this is simply not true. Study after study shows that price is seldom the primary factor in making a decision to choose one dealer over another. If it were so, no luxury, premium or high quality goods or services would ever be sold.

The fact is, many factors enter into why people choose one business over another, and often the choice is merely random. Not everyone is a discriminating shopper who weighs every factor before choosing a product or service.

This is where positioning comes in. If you want customers to choose you, then you need to position yourself against the competition in a way that makes you stand out, and which gives good reason for people to choose you.

One of the best ways to do that is to foster an image of yourself as being “an expert in your field.” In other words, you want people to think: “Sure there’s a lot of good solicitors in this town, but Liz Smith is a solicitor’s solicitor - she’s an expert, she knows more about the law than the average solicitor.”

How would people obtain that view of Liz Smith? Well, what if she published a book of tips on workplace law?

What if Liz Smith also conducted free seminars in law, or offered her services to local schools to come in and talk to young students about the law and how it affects our lives? And what if she also used those opportunities to promote her book? And since Liz Smith has published a book on local laws, it’s likely a local radio station and newspaper will grant her an interview to talk about her book, and why she wrote it.

She may also get invited onto TV and radio programming when basic law topics are discussed - reporters usually invite the person who’s an expert, and the person who “wrote the book” book is mostly likely to be that individual.

Positioning yourself as an expert means doing something that makes you stand out as an expert. That can be:

Writing a book.

Publishing a regular newspaper column on your area of expertise.

Giving seminars.

Getting yourself listed in key directories, such as “Who’s Who”.

Getting yourself invited on TV and radio talk shows.

Getting to know editors and reporters and telling them they can call you when they need information involving a story that involves your expertise. They’ll then quote you and get your name into news stories, which is among the very best kind of free publicity you can get.

Establishing a “hot line” to answer questions in your field of expertise.

Issue press releases related to the latest development in your field, and list yourself as a resource for further information.

You don’t have to be a solicitor or a professional. A car mechanic, a plumber, a builder - anyone can do all of the above and establish themselves as the “go to guy” when it comes to questions or information in any particular field.

Don’t think you can write a book, or don’t have time? Hire a ghost-writer to write it for you - it’s a time-honoured tradition used by thousands of people all the time. The bottom line is, in today’s strenuously competitive marketplace, becoming viewed as the “expert in your field” can be the ultimate positioning tool. Better yet, once you establish your position as “expert” you may never have to compete on price again. Many people will be glad to pay premium prices for “the best”.

Finally, your positioning activities can actually earn you money while you promote and bolster your image. Sales of your book can mean a healthy additional income, and you can charge admission for seminars. When you are interviewed by local media representatives, it’s like getting top-notch advertising for free.

The benefits of positioning are many. We urge you to start considering and planning to put your positioning strategy into play right now!

Power Marketing System is an audio and web based marketing program designed to help small to medium enterprises increase their profits and outsell their competition. Explode your business today. Get the FREE audio now. Visit: http://www.powermarketingsystem.co.uk

A virtual assistant will comprehensively help you grow your business and keep you productive. But how do go about finding the right fit for your organization? Here are several important points you need to know when researching and hiring a virtual assistant team or solo entrepreneur for your organization.

First - Realize What You Need!

While a professional virtual assistant can help you organize yourself to be able to delegate appropriately you should have an idea of what type of Virtual Assistant you need. For instance, if you have a web designer but they are a little pricey a virtual assistant with a web background is ideal! If you are a Real Estate agent a virtual assistant with a Real Estate specialty is just the ticket. There are also Law, IT, Transcription, Translation, Microsoft, Mac & Accounting specialties (and I am sure much more).

Second - Where to Look…

There are many venues available to find your virtual assistant; as a matter of fact there may be too many! You can research on Google and other search engines but this can be timely and certainly isn’t great quality control. Another way to search is to visit the top virtual assistant associations where there are certain regulations to abide by and only some of the best VA firms are members. You can also use sites like Craigslist, Elance & Guru to find your next virtual assistant. Another great way is to contact a virtual assistant firm who employs several VA’s and can match you with the virtual assistant you need. Also asking your colleagues for a referral can go a long way.

Third - Stay Out of the Employee Mindset!

Although virtual assistants are providing you with primarily administrative services, virtual assistants are not employees. So you would treat the hiring process & your future relationship like a partnership or vendor relationship. Just like any other vendor you would have certain expectations like:

-they should have a professional website,
-they should have references and a track record that you can verify,
-when you inquire about a virtual assistant’s services there should be some materials they provide to help you understand their services and the process of getting things organized to begin working with each other.

Fourth - Make it Official!

Once you have chosen a virtual assistant you want to make sure that everything is on paper so both you and your virtual assistant understand what the goals, payments and deliverables are between you.

-Be prepared to sign an agreement, proposal or contract.
-If their contract does not state it, you may also want to draft a confidentiality agreement.
-Virtual assistants can work hourly, by retainer or by project fee and usually require deposits:

Hourly - Per hour rate given for each project.
Retainer - A certain amount of hours are purchased monthly for a discounted hourly rate - paid upfront.
Project Fees - Per project rate is usually given if you are working on a project basis. An estimate range is given for the project and the virtual assistant will usually require a deposit and then submit the final bill which should be around the estimate given at the beginning of the project.

-Don’t be surprised if a virtual assistants hourly rate is above $30 an hour. Even though most have the understanding that an administrative assistant costs $15-$25 per hour, it costs alot more to pay a full time in-house assistant.

You can have a whole virtual team or just one VA. Or hire an established company with a team of VA’s. But whatever you choose you will be saving money, time and increasing your productivity! Good luck with your virtual assistant search!

Melinda Janicki, Lead Virtual Assistant & Marketing Specialist - I am an Administrative & Marketing Virtual Assistant with more than ten years of experience. Find out more at OnDemandVirtualServices.com