State and Local Sales Tax Rates (Map)

Posted on | July 27, 2011 | No Comments

As a followup to this morning’s post about state sales tax holidays for back-to-school shopping, I thought I’d share this map of state sales tax rates from the Tax Foundation.

(click map to enlarge)

Some interesting tidbits…

The ten states with the highest sales tax rates (from highest to lowest) are: Tennessee, California, Arizona, Louisiana, Washington, New York, Oklahoma, Illinois, Arkansas, and Alabama.

At the other end of the spectrum, Delaware, New Hampshire, Montana, and Oregon have no state sales tax. Interestingly, New Hampshire also has no state income tax, though it does tax investment income along with inheritance, business income, etc.

Please note that the above map includes local sales taxes (city, county, and municipal) as a weighted average based on population numbers, so the numbers might not match up exactly with the rates that you pay.

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Category: Financial Advice

2011 Sales Tax Holidays for Back-to-School Shopping

Posted on | July 27, 2011 | No Comments

It’s that time of the year again… Time to start thinking about back-to-school shopping. And you know what that means, don’t you? Time for a sales tax holiday! What follows is an alphabetical listing of states with sales tax holidays, along with a brief summary of what is included in each. Note that there are a few differences from last year, though the number of participating states (16) hasn’t changed.

Sales tax holidays, state-by-state

Alabama: August 5-7. Clothing up to $100/item, computers up to $750/item, school supplies up to $50/item, books up to $30/item. (link)

Arkansas: August 6-7. Clothing up to $100/item, school supplies. (link)

Connecticut: August 21-27. Clothing and footwear up to $300/item. (link)

Florida: August 12-14. School supplies up to $15/item, books and clothing up to $75/item. (link)

Iowa: August 5-6. Clothing up to $100/item. (link)

Louisiana: August 5-6. All “tangible personal property” up to $2500/item. (link)

Maryland: August 14-20. Clothing and footwear up to $100/item. (link)

Mississippi: July 29-30. Clothing and footwear up to $100/item. (link)

Missouri: August 5-7. Clothing up to $100/item, computers up to $3500/item, school supplies up to $50/item. (link)

New Mexico: August 5-7. Clothing up to $100/item, computers up to $1000/item, school supplies up to $15/item. (link)

North Carolina: August 5-7. Clothing and school supplies up to $100/item, instructional material up to $300/item, computers up to $3500/item, other computing supplies up to $250/item, sports equipment up to $50/item. (link)

Oklahoma: August 5-7. Clothing up to $100/item. (link)

South Carolina: August 5-7. Clothing, school supplies, computers, bedding, linens, etc. (link)

Tennessee: August 5-7. Clothing and school supplies up to $100/item, computers up to $1500/item. (link)

Texas: August 19-21. Clothing, school supplies, and backpacks up to $100/item. (link)

Virginia: August 5-7. Clothing up to $100/item, school supplies up to $20/item. (link)

This should be a fairly comprehensive list, but it’s always possible that I missed something. If so, please let me know and I’ll update it ASAP. Note that a few states – including Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Texas, and Virginia – have at least one other sales tax holiday during the year. These extra holidays cover things like Energy Star appliances, hurricane preparedness, and/or hunting supplies.

And now for some final words of wisdom… Just because you don’t have to pay sales tax doesn’t mean you’re getting a great deal. In fact, some stores may avoid running sales on certain items during the sales tax holiday in hopes of capitalizing on the holiday buzz. In other words, saving 6% (or whatever) on sales tax, but missing out on a 20% off sale the week before (or after) isn’t a very good deal.

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Category: Financial Advice

Why You Should Invest Like a Girl

Posted on | July 27, 2011 | No Comments

I recently ran across some interesting data on the differences between men and women when it comes to investing for retirement. What follows is based on “How America Saves 2011,” which is Vanguard’s annual report on retirement plans.

And yes, I realize that it’s dangerous to generalize, but there are some interesting nuggets of wisdom in here…

Participation rates

According to the report women who earn between $30k-$100k/year are more likely to participate in their workplace retirement plan than men in the same income range. The differences aren’t always huge, but they’re definitely noticeable. For example, in the $50k-$75k range, 78% of women joined their retirement plan vs. just 68% of men. Moving outside of that range (below $30k or over $100k) the situation reverses, and men are slightly more likely than women to participate.

Savings rates

Women who have joined their employer’s retirement plan also tend to save more than men. For example, returning to that $50k-$75k range, women put an average of 7.4% of their income into their retirement plan vs. 6.8% for men. Looking more broadly across the data, women out-contributed men by a 6.9% to 6.7% difference, and they have done so in seven of the past ten years.

While the difference here isn’t huge, it adds up over time. For example, consider someone at the top end of that $50k-$75k pay range. The extra 0.6% they’re saving amounts to “just” $450/year. But if we hold that contribution rate constant over time and assume an annual salary increase of 3.5% on that base $75k salary along with an 8% investment return, we’re talking about nearly $80k more in savings over 30 years.

Diversification

On average, women tend to have a more diversified investment portfolio than men. In 2010, women held and average of 10% of their portfolio in bonds funds vs. 9% for men, and women had an average of 25% of their account balance in balance (stock + bond) funds vs. 22% for men. This isn’t necessarily a good or bad thing, as it really just means that men are slightly more aggressive in their investing, and it ignores factors such as age.

Nonetheless, this difference appears to have served women well during the recent market downturn, as the average woman’s retirement account grew more than the average man’s retirement account from 2005-2010. Of course, this also includes contributions, so the higher savings rates mentioned above contribute to this difference.

Changing course

Based on an analysis of IRA accounts, men were 10% more likely to abandon stock between January 2007 and October 2009. Of course, we all know what happened at the tail end of that time period – the S&P 500 skyrocketed 56% from March to September 2009. While a lot people jumped back in during this run up, many of them sold near the bottom and then missed at least part of the recovery.

Putting it all together

When you read through the above, it sounds like women are (on average) doing very well when it comes to retirement investing… And yet the median account balance for women in employer-sponsored plans was just over $21k vs. more than $33k for men. In terms of averages, the difference was even greater – $96k vs. $59k.

What gives? According to the report, though women have better investing habits, they tend to have (again, on average) shorter job tenures and lower incomes. In other words, they have much more to overcome when it comes to preparing for retirement.

As for why women are better investors, Vanguard suggests that women might be more likely than men to seek advice – and to follow the instructions that they are given. At the same time, economists have suggested that men then to overestimate their investing abilities which can result in bad decisions and poor results.

Source: The Vanguard Group

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Will Municipal Bonds Lose Their Tax Advantage?

Posted on | July 27, 2011 | No Comments

Will Municipal Bonds Lose Their Tax Advantage?

Municipal bonds, which are issued by states and local communities, are a popular choice for those who are looking for a fixed income investment in a taxable account. The reason for this is that the income generated by muni bonds is tax exempt, which boosts their effective yield as compared to taxable bonds.

Beyond being a boon to investors, this tax break is a great help to the communities that issue the bonds, as they can pay a lower interest rate and still be competitive with higher rate bonds that don’t share this tax advantage. But this all comes at a price… According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, the federal government will lose out on over $200B in tax revenue due to the muni bond tax exemption between 2010-2014.

Given the above, it’s perhaps not surprising that lawmakers are talking about reforming the tax treatment of municipal bonds. Of course, according to Jason Zweig, this has been talked about over 100 times since 1918, and it’s never happened. But with all the recent interest in reducing the deficit, it seems that more people are talking about it than in the past.

Aside from taking away a well-loved tax shelter from investors, the taxation of municipal bonds would essentially equate to the federal government taking money away from local communities, as those communities would have to start paying higher interest rates to make their bonds attractive enough to draw investors.

Given the rough shape that many states are currently in, it’s hard to imagine Congress acting to make things worse, but you never know. One possibility is that, if the tax exemption was taken away, the feds would provide subsidies to local communities to help offset the added cost, but at a rate lower than the tax exemption.

Who knows… As I noted above, this has been debated multiple times in the past and has never gone anywhere but, given the current economic climate, it’s probably worth keeping an eye on these discussions.

Source: CNN/Money

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Big Banks vs. Small Banks: Which is Right for Me?

Posted on | July 27, 2011 | No Comments

Big Banks vs. Small Banks: Which is Right for Me?

This is a guest post from Lisa White.

With all the publicity in recent years on the exorbitant fees big banks are charging, along with the dissolution of more and more community and neighborhood banks, I have been re-evaluating where to do my banking.

It is not easy switching banks to begin with, especially for those of us with more than one account, CDs and a mortgage tied into it. Throw in my online bank account, and I’m probably looking at a day’s worth of work to cover my bases.

However, having banked with the same institution, albeit one that has changed hands several times over the last 25 years, it probably is a good idea to make myself aware of the positives and negatives of dealing with a larger bank such as mine vs. a smaller, local bank.

I have minimal experience when it comes to small banks, having opened a small business account to keep funds handy for tax purposes and business expenses. Unfortunately, I found out too late that its location, which only allows right-hand turns upon leaving, is not the most convenient. However, because they don’t charge me a monthly fee, unlike the larger bank that I deal with, I’ve found that it’s worth doubling back through town when leaving.

Unfortunately, I also recently discovered that the smaller bank’s drive thru hours on Saturday are a half-day shorter than my larger bank. This means that the paycheck I’ve been waiting on cannot be deposited until Monday.

In contrast, the larger bank seems to provide convenient access to locations in almost every town I frequent. This makes it convenient to grab cash fee-free or deposit that check on my way to the store or while running errands.

With big banks in a multitude of locations, I’m saving money, not only on ATM charges, but also on gas. And, come to think of it, my big bank is directly next to my gas station.

If I move, I don’t need to worry about switching banks, since my larger institution is national.

Still, there is the issue of customer service. My smaller business bank has a smaller number of employees, and there are a couple that call me every so often to check in. Yes, I am happy with your services, but just wish I could turn left when I leave to go home!

With the big bank, I don’t get phone calls, only lots of promotional materials soliciting me to open more accounts, apply for a loan or use checks against my credit card account for ‘instant cash.’

If you’re deciding on changing from a big bank to a small bank or vice versa, consider what’s most important to you…

Will you be visiting the bank location frequently? If so, consider its hours.
Is the bank conveniently located? This is important if you need to make many ATM visits during the week. Those fees can add up.
If you’re like me and have a variety of accounts, shop around for the bank that best fits your needs. Realize that while business accounts at some banks charge a monthly fee, other banks (in my case a smaller financial institution) will provide free small business accounts.
Especially with smaller institutions, make sure the bank you choose is FDIC approved so your funds are guaranteed if the bank goes out of business.

Customer service at smaller banks tends to be more personal, which is important when you’re dealing with money issues.

This brings to mind an incident I had at a former larger bank with a business account. Although I had opened the account under my corporation’s name, the checks I was receiving from clients were under my name. This wasn’t a problem until three years after I opened my account, after depositing numerous checks during this time. The teller refused to allow me to deposit checks made out to me, even though my account had my name and the name of my corporation attached to it. Even calling the bank’s corporate customer service line did no good.

I ended up leaving this bank and moving to the smaller bank that I now use. The staff here was eager to assist me in setting up my account and seeing to my banking needs.

Although the economy has proven that not all small banks are up to par, I’ve found that the exceptional customer service and fee-free accounts make them worth considering for my banking needs.

If I see any more banking fees on my big-bank statements, I may take the time to move the rest of my money from my large bank to the smaller one. These days, a little inconvenience is worth the extra cash in my pocket.

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Why I Like Savings Bonds

Posted on | July 27, 2011 | No Comments

Why I Like Savings Bonds

Several people have asked why I like Series I savings bonds, so I thought I’d address that with a dedicated post…

For context, the Treasury has recently announced that they’re (mostly) getting rid of paper savings bonds, which effectively cuts the annual purchase limit in half (from $5k paper + $5k electronic to just $5k electronic). While you can work around this limitation by buying savings bonds with your tax refund, that’s a bit of a hassle.

Inflation protection

For starters, I bonds offer a degree of inflation protection, as their rate (updated every May and November) is partially pegged to the CPI. The rate is actually made up of two components – a variable rate calculated from changes in the CPI and a fixed rate that represents a premium over inflation.

Recently, the fixed rate has been pegged at 0%, which means that you have to depend on that variable rate to generate your return. In other words, your “real” (inflation adjusted) return is 0% before taxes. Not great, but at least you’re not lagging behind inflation, as you would if you stuck your money in a savings account.

Tax treatment

Another nice feature of savings bonds (both I and EE bonds) is that the interest is exempt from both state and local taxes, and federal taxes aren’t due until the bonds are redeemed. Thus, savings bonds give you an IRA-like tax deferral in addition to existing IRA contribution limits.

And guess what? If you use your bond proceeds to pay for college, the interest income will ultimately be tax free (subject to restrictions; details). Thus, they can be a nice complement to things like a 529 plan.

Effectively higher rates

A common criticism of I bonds is that, due to the low (currently zero) fixed rate, you’re guaranteed to lose to inflation after taxes, even with the state and local tax exemption. As I’ve noted above, this isn’t entirely true, as you can use the proceeds to pay for college and get a federal tax exemption.

To crystallize the above points, let’s take a look at the tax equivalent yield of current I bonds. As of May 2011, the variable rate stands at 4.6%. Compared to available savings and CD rates, this is quite high. Sure, it might drop in the future, but only if inflation likewise declines.

So what about the tax equivalent yield? The tax equivalent yield of an investment is the rate that you would have to earn in a fully taxable investment to equal the return that you’re getting in a tax-advantaged investment. You calculate it by dividing the rate of the latter by one minus the tax rate, as follows:

Tax Equivalent Yield = Tax-Free Yield / (1 – (% Tax Bracket / 100))

Assuming that you live in a state with a 6% income tax rate, which is a fairly middle-of-the-road value, your tax equivalent yield on a current I bond would be roughly 4.9% – not too shabby. But wait! What if you’re planning on using it to pay for college, and you’re in the 25% tax bracket? In that case, (25% federal + 6% state) your tax equivalent yield would increase to nearly 6.7%!

Yes, your rates will bob up and down every six months, but it’s hard to argue with those sorts of numbers given the current interest rate landscape. Of course, if you live in a state with no income tax, the numbers will change, but that federal exemption is still a big deal.

Reasonable redemption policies

Finally, we have to consider getting your money back out… Sure, you’ll get better-than-bank interest rates, but what good is that if you can’t access your money? There’s good news and bad news here. For starters, you can’t redeem your savings bonds during the first 12 months. Period.

Once 12 months has passed, however, you can redeem for a 90 day interest penalty. And this penalty could be very low if you do it during a period of low inflation (when rates are at their lowest). After five years, the penalty goes away entirely.

So there you have it… We like Series I savings bonds for the combination of inflation protection and tax advantages – and the accompanying boost in terms of tax equivalent yield. They’re not sexy, and they’re not exciting, but they are a valuable part of our portfolio.

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19 Powerful New Additions to SBT’s Ecommerce List

Posted on | July 27, 2011 | No Comments

We’re all in business to sell something, and ecommerce is always a requested topic when I talk to business owners in person, on Twitter, via Facebook or by email. We heard your request and we’ve updated the very popular post 49 E-Commerce & Shopping Carts for Small Business.

Jump to the end of this post if you don’t want some of the “how” we got here and what we’ve found that’s new and trendy…

What you’ll find in the updated post:

We looked at a few of the hottest new Facebook commerce applications or ecommerce apps that work well on Facebook. Some of the ecommerce providers already listed here are keen to showcase that they “get” Facebook. (BigCommerce notably has it right on their home page.) I asked my friend and Facebook expert Mari Smith for some Facebook suggestions and she shared ShopTab, Payvment, Ecwid, and TabJuice (links in full list post).

Whether you call it social commerce, Facebook ecommerce, social shopping or some other hip term, there is no doubt that shopping and recommendations are going to continue to be a hot area for business and consumers.

Just take a look at Zaarly, which is not technically a shopping cart, but is leveraging the power of social media and connecting you with the people near you who might want to buy or sell a product or service. The point is, shopping and commerce are changing, and some of the tools in our updated ecommerce and shopping cart application list might help you manage that change.

We also found just a handful of mobile commerce applications that looked promising. As with social, the same idea holds true – lots of ecommerce providers have a mobile solution of some sort. We found that Square (photo above), Intuit and mShopper were particularly interesting. Many banks and financial institutions are building mobile apps that can help you as both a consumer and a vendor or merchant.

Finally, while the Amazon and eBay marketplaces provide an easy way for people to get into selling, I couldn’t help but be amazed at the niche marketplaces cropping up. They aren’t ecommerce solutions, per se, but they did impress me. Consider them a bonus! If you are an artisan or have a unique niche, sites like Etsy, ArtFire, Supermarket and eCrater are a must visit. If you make or sell a food item, check out Foodoro or Foodzie.

Full disclosure: There are many other apps that didn’t make the list because they don’t make it easy on the small business owner for various reasons. They don’t reveal pricing or force you to call a sales rep in order to get a basic question answered. That’s unacceptable in my book, so I don’t include them. You have more than enough to manage in your small, but growing business. Providers that make it easy are the ones that win our loyalty.

Hat tip and thanks to ZippyCart.com, which reviews and compares ecommerce solutions on its site. While I didn’t include eBay-specific shopping carts, there were a number of them listed at the Ecommerce Guide.

Read the new updated Ecommerce & Shopping Cart Applications List Post. You’ll find the new information right at the beginning.

From Small Business Trends

19 Powerful New Additions to SBT’s Ecommerce List

Category: Small Business Tips

Google Cans Third Party Reviews From Places. Now What?

Posted on | July 27, 2011 | No Comments

Have you taken a look at your Google Place Page listing lately? If not, may I suggest you go take a look now? Because it may look a little different today than how you remember it. Actually, it may look a lot different.

In part of the ongoing evolution of Place Pages, Google announced some important changes last week that small business owners will want to be aware of.

The first thing to notice is that Google has removed all third-party reviews from your Place page. That means if you were relying on Yelp or TripAdvisor or any other third-party site to woo customers over to your place of business, they’re gone. Also gone with them are all third-party citations and Web sources. Instead, Google is now linking users directly to the individual reviews. That means your Yelp reviews are now only viewable on Yelp. Users are not seeing them on your business’ Place Page. This should make Yelp very happy.

Another important change: With arguably more importance being placed on your Google Place Page reviews (since they’re now the only reviews on-page), Google is encouraging users to talk about your brand and leave reviews with a Write a Review call-to-action located directly on your business page.

Look how big and red it is.

As a small business owner, the combination of these two changes may result in a shift in your review and online reputation management strategy.

If you weren’t actively seeking out reviews on Google, I’d recommend making it part of your review strategy. Before it was easy enough to focus on the “big dog” review sites and to allow Google to bring in this content, but with Google now leaving that content on its native domain, it means many small business owners may find themselves with a pretty empty-looking Google page. And that’s not OK. The same way you are soliciting reviews for other sites, you now want to make sure you’re adding Google to the list.

However, that does not mean that you should abandon other review sites in favor of Google. Do not stop soliciting reviews on third-party sites simply because they’re not showing up on Google Place page (today). This content and these citations are still very important to both your Google presence and helping customers find you. As is so often the case when it comes to Google and local search, we’re just adding more for business owners to do. We’re not taking away.

The addition of the Write a Review call to action is also something SMBs should take advantage of. The existence of that button will encourage customers to leave reviews (which is a positive); however, it also means that someone on your team should be watching the page to respond to reviews, be they positive, negative or neutral. The more engagement and interaction there is on the page, the better and more trusted you’re going to look to visitors who land on it. You should be thanking those who take the time to share a positive experience, while also addressing the not-so-great things said about you.

Overall, the changes usher in what Google must assume is a more mature product and experience for users. The fact that they’re no longer relying on third-party reviews likely hints at a belief that their local audience is big enough to support its own review community. While I think this may signal a shift in many SMBs’ review strategy, overall, it shouldn’t affect what SMBs are after. Keep building reviews up in a variety of different sources, but if you hadn’t yet added Google Places to that list, this update is a clear sign that you should.

What are your thoughts on Google’s recent changes to its Google Place Pages? Does it change your review strategy at all?

For some additional food for thought and slight conspiracy theories, you may also want to check out Linda Buquet’s post on Google Places July Update Aftermath where an interesting conversation has been taking place.

From Small Business Trends

Google Cans Third Party Reviews From Places. Now What?

Category: Small Business Tips

Small Business Advice at the Right Price

Posted on | July 27, 2011 | No Comments

If you need small business advice, we’ve got it. And you can have it for free. We offer roundups everyday of the business week and ask only that you share something useful with someone else if you find it here. From startup to management to franchise and more, we hope to provide you always with the most useful news and information for your business. Let’s begin:

Simple Suggestions

Learning from your peers. What better way for small business owners to learn than from others who have experienced what they have, who have “been there done that” as the saying goes? This is one of the reasons for events like the recent #BBSMBchat on Twitter. If you missed the event go to the link above for highlights. Twitter Chat

Sandwich franchise leaves bad taste. If you think a franchise is somehow safer than starting a business from scratch, think again. Franchise expert Joel Libava tells the story of one franchiser that has proved this. Not all franchises are bad, of course, but each must be evaluated like any small business to find success. The Franchise King

Preparing for the Worst

Lemons into lemonade. Dr. Shannon Reece enlists the help of 47 entrepreneurs and small business owners who she says have come forward to help others with their small business goals and needs. How many times in your business have you been handed lemons and been asked to make lemonade? Strategies & Tactics for Women

Online tools for your small biz. From Drop Box to Box.net to Jungle Disk and more, here’s TJ McCue’s list of the top eight online backup tools for your business. They help you store what for many of us is our greatest asset in small business these days…our data. Don’t make the mistake of being caught unprepared. Open Forum

Growth & Change

Practicing at the art of compromise. This post comes by at a very timely moment as wrangling is still going on in Washington over a budget compromise that will solve a contentious debt ceiling issue. The resolution will likely not satisfy either side and you will likely have similar situations in business. Are you ready? Catarina’s World

Is your small business a luxury brand? Sometimes size isn’t important when it comes to growing your business even into a multinational business with locations around the world. Steve Abrams and his wife Tyra are the owners of Magnolia Bakery, maker of vintage cakes and deserts with just four locations in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles, but are now eyeing locations overseas. WSJ

Tips & Trends

Do you have an apetite for food startup? Traditionally not an easy business to get into, the food business has many barriers to entry and presents many challenges. But with many changes in attitudes about health and shifting tastes, it may also be one of the biggest opportunities out there for startup and growth. Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Selling tips from TerraCycle? Learning how to effectively sell your product or service is the first step to serious small business success, but, of course, there are challenges along the way. Many startup entrepreneurs may have little or no sales training and just a passion for their idea. Here are ten tips from Tom Szaky, chief executive of the Trenton-based bike company. You’re the Boss

New Frontiers

Tips for the social entrepreneur. There’s a new kind of entrepreneur taking the world by storm. If your small business has another purpose too, consider reading these important tips for the social entrepreneur. Indeed many businesses start out with a goal to change the world. Here’s how to put your world-changing idea into action. Inc.com

Stop looking in the rear view mirror. Keeping an eye on the competition from time to time can be a good business strategy. Becoming obsessed with your competition can ruin your business and your life. If you don’t know the difference, have we got a blog post for you? Jackie Purnell explains how to avoid competition neurosis. Respectfully Disobedient

From Small Business Trends

Small Business Advice at the Right Price

Category: Small Business Tips

Another PlayBook Giveaway!

Posted on | July 27, 2011 | No Comments

Excitement for the Small Business Influencer awards is building. We now have over 50,000 votes from the community — thanks to YOUR support.

And in honor of the great response, we’re giving away another two BlackBerry PlayBooks. The PlayBook is an exciting new compact tablet, and thanks to our premiere sponsor, BlackBerry, we have two 16 GB PlayBooks up for grabs.

About the BlackBerry PlayBook

BlackBerry Playbook The PlayBook is BlackBerry’s new tablet, released just a few months ago. It is under a half-inch thick, and has a 7-inch display which CrackBerry.com says “is small enough to fit in many coat pockets, purses, handbags, etc., making it much more portable for out-of-the-home use than Apple’s iPad.”

The PlayBook uses WiFi to connect to the Internet. It is not necessary to have a BlackBerry smartphone, but if you do, there is a unique Bluetooth connection called the BlackBerry Bridge that allows you to display your BlackBerry smartphone screen on the PlayBook, too.

If you’d like a shot at winning one of these hot new Playbooks, read on….

How Do I Enter the Playbook Drawing?

It’s simple. Make a tweet on Twitter.com. Below are 2 different tweets — pick either of the following. Either copy and paste the tweet manually, or hit the “click to tweet link” underneath to open up a tweet box (does not automatically tweet – you still have hit submit once the tweet box opens):

Tweet #1 :

I support the #SMBinfluencer 2011 awards and want to win a #BlackBerryPlayBook http://t.co/l8c9mwO

(click here to tweet link #1 above)

Tweet #2 :

I voted in the #SMBInfluencer awards, and I want to win a new #BlackBerryPlayBook http://t.co/l8c9mwO

(click here to tweet example #2 above)

Who is Eligible to Win?

To qualify for the drawing, you must be located in the United States or in Canada. Sorry, we can’t send the PlayBooks anywhere else. Void where prohibited.

How Many Times Can I Enter?

Enter once a day. However, you can only win a maximum of one PlayBook.

What’s the Deadline?

Enter between now and August 1, 2011, at 11:59 pm Los Angeles time.

When Will the Winners Be Announced?

We’ll announce the winners here on Small Business Trends, on SmallBizTechnology.com and on Twitter at the @SMBinfluencer account, no later than August 5, 2011. We will contact the winners directly via Twitter, also.

How Will Winners Be Chosen?

It’s a random drawing. We’ll use Randomizer.org to choose from the Twitter tweets meeting the entry criteria.

Good luck, everyone — and thanks for your support of the Small Business Influencer 2011 awards! And thank you, BlackBerry, for sponsoring the awards!

From Small Business Trends

Another PlayBook Giveaway!

Category: Small Business Tips

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Small Business Tips and Financial Advice

State and Local Sales Tax Rates (Map)

2011 Sales Tax Holidays for Back-to-School Shopping

Sales tax holidays, state-by-state

Why You Should Invest Like a Girl

Participation rates

Savings rates

Diversification

Changing course

Putting it all together

Source: The Vanguard Group

Will Municipal Bonds Lose Their Tax Advantage?

Source: CNN/Money

Big Banks vs. Small Banks: Which is Right for Me?

Why I Like Savings Bonds

Inflation protection

Tax treatment

Effectively higher rates

Reasonable redemption policies

19 Powerful New Additions to SBT’s Ecommerce List

Google Cans Third Party Reviews From Places. Now What?

Small Business Advice at the Right Price

Simple Suggestions

Preparing for the Worst

Growth & Change

Tips & Trends

New Frontiers

Another PlayBook Giveaway!

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