Is a messy, cluttered home office slowing you down?

If you're not quite ready for a full makeover but desperately need more home office organization, here are 5 Quick Ways to Organize Your Home Office.

More Home Office Organization Help

• The Basics of Home Office Design
• Filing Tips for People Who Hate Filing
• Organize Your Office and Improve Your Office Design
• The Organize Your Office Course

Image (c) Alan Levine

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5 Quick Ways to Organize Your Home Office originally appeared on About.com Small Business: Canada on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 08:08:51.

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"How do I get more clients?" is one of the most common questions I get asked. It figures; getting new clients can be one of the biggest problems for consultants and other professionals who are self-employed, especially when they're just starting out.

Assuming that you provide a quality service coupled with good customer service, the solution to the problem isn't that difficult. To get more clients, you only have to do two things:

1) Get known.

People are always reluctant to hire an unknown entity. The sooner you get your name out there and start to become a known brand that thy can trust with their business, the more clients you'll attract. PAK Your Business Image, Build and Use a Promotion Kit and learn how to Blow Your Own Horn.

Then start working on putting these Top 10 Ways to Get Known into action. Pick one and start working on it.

2) Ask for referrals.

Many business people seem to find this incredibly difficult, but it's the number one way to build your business and get more clients. Whenever you satisfactorily complete a job, ask the client if she or he knows of anyone else who might be interested in your services. If the client is reluctant to pass names along with you, give him or her extra business cards and/or brochures to pass along to potentially interested people.

Also, ask the client for a written testimonial and permission to use it (in your marketing materials, such as your brochures and website). Remember, the worst thing that can happen is that the client will say "No!"

Still uncomfortable? How to Ask for Referrals and Get More Clients provides tips and several referral scripts that you can use to ask clients to give you a referral.

You may also want to try using the system C.J. Hayden explains in Wanted: 100 Referral Partners.

Do these two things, and you'll get more clients guaranteed. But be warned; it's not an overnight process, so the sooner you get started, the better.

And if you're starting from square one, just starting out and starting to work on getting known with no or very few clients that you can ask for referrals from, the two fastest ways to jumpstart your client list are joining local business organizations and cold calling. Use my 10 Cold Calling Tips to make cold calling a more successful experience.

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Want More Clients? Just Do These Two Things originally appeared on About.com Small Business: Canada on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 at 08:12:01.

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March 8th, International Women's Day, is a great time to reflect on women in business.

Here in Canada, more women are joining the ranks of the self-employed all the time; In 2007, women made up 35 per cent of all self-employed individuals. By 2010, CIBC predicts that one million Canadian women will own a small business. And the number of female-run businesses is rising 60 percent faster than the number of those run by men (Women Entrepreneurs: Leading the Charge, CIBC).

• Women in Business a Growing Wave presents the statistics of the astonishing growth in women-owned businesses in this country.

• For more on what the "typical" Canadian woman in business is like, see The Face of Canadian Business Women.

• And if you are a Canadian woman starting or running a small business who is looking for funding, check out Small Business Loans for Women in Canada: For Women Only.

International Women's Day is also a great day to celebrate the triumphs and accomplishments of women everywhere, to reflect on what improvements to women's lives are yet to be achieved, and to do our own part to "ensure that the future for girls is bright, equal, safe and rewarding". Canada's theme for this year's International Women's Day is Strong Women. Strong Canada. Strong World..

To find International Women's Day events near you, visit this page of the International Women's Day website.

More on International Women's Day:

• International Women's Day in Canada
• International Women's Day 2010
• A History of International Women's Day

Logo courtesy of Status of Women Canada

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Celebrate Women in Business on International Women's Day originally appeared on About.com Small Business: Canada on Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 08:03:32.

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Promotions for Facebook Fan Pages is an application that lets you "create and launch interactive promotions and marketing campaigns on Facebook Fan Pages within minutes." I like that you can create promotions with different formats such as contests, coupons and giveaways, giving your Facebook Fan Page visitors a better chance of engaging with your page.

The cost is reasonable;$5.00 per campaign for a Basic account and $25 per campaign for a Standard account. There are also Premium and White Label accounts available.

More on Facebook Fan Pages

• How to Create a Fan Page on Facebook
• Research Shows Facebook Fan Pages Are Good Marketing

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Cool Tool of the Week: Promotions for Facebook Fan Pages originally appeared on About.com Small Business: Canada on Sunday, March 7th, 2010 at 08:33:46.

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Follow the link above to see how others have answered this question in the Small Business Canada Forum.

Articles Related to This Question:

• Are You an Independent Contractor or an Employee?
• Decrease Your Income Tax Bite With Income Splitting

More on the Small Business Canada Forum

Other questions and discussions in the the Small Business Canada Forum right now are:

• Can we claim an allowable business investment loss (ABIL) on shareholder loans?
• How can I promote my business by the lowest or no cost at all?
• What's a catchy fun name for a children's (tween) clothing business?

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Hiring Your Spouse as a Contractor or an Employee originally appeared on About.com Small Business: Canada on Saturday, March 6th, 2010 at 08:33:18.

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Want to run a home based business of your own but having trouble deciding what to do and getting started? Then this article is for you.

It will show you how to build a home based business from the ground up - a home based business that will succeed rather than just being a drain of your time and money.

Stuck at the idea stage of starting a home based business? Maybe one of the business ideas in one of these articles will inspire you:

• Top 10 Home Based Business Opportunites
• Home Based Business Ideas Gallery
• 7 Inexpensive Business Ideas

And of course, whether you're starting a home based business or a small business with separate business premises, the procedure for starting a business in Canada is the same. Steps to Starting a Business will tell you what you need to know to get your new home based business off the ground.

Image (c) Pamela Adam.

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How to Start a Home Based Business That Will Succeed originally appeared on About.com Small Business: Canada on Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 08:11:28.

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Canadian T1 income tax returns must be filed by April 30th, 2010 while Canadian T2 income tax returns must be filed no later than six months after the end of each tax year.

Remember that you must file income tax return(s) each year even if your small business made no money.

If you have questions about your Canadian income tax there are several different resources on this website that will help you find the answers.

• Preparing & Filing Your Canadian Income Tax Return will answer your questions about topics such as what tax forms to use, what business expenses are legitimate income tax deductions, and what tax deductions are available for home-based businesses.

• Canadian Income Tax FAQs for Small Businesses answers questions about income tax such as how to report your income from multiple businesses or a part-time business, whether you can claim business expenses you don't have receipts for or what will happen if you can't pay the tax you owe.

• And you'll want to visit the Small Business Canada forum too. Many people are working on their income tax right now and posting and answering questions. The answer to your question might already be there.

More on Canadian Income Tax

• Top Canadian Tax Software
• Your First Business Income Tax Return
• What Happens If I Don't Pay My Income Tax On Time?

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Answers to Your Canadian Income Tax Questions originally appeared on About.com Small Business: Canada on Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at 08:17:14.

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When you're running a business, there's a right way and a wrong way to answer the phone.

If you or your staff do it the wrong way, you'll lose business as customers lose interest in trying to do business with a company that's obviously not interested in them or serving their needs.

Answer the phone the right way, and you'll increase your customer base and your sales. Use these Phone Answering Tips To Win Business.

More on How to Answer the Phone

• The Three Keys to Business Phone Greeting Success
• Tips for Handling Incoming Phone Calls
• Tips for Handling Outgoing Phone Calls

Image (c) Huntstock / Getty Images

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How to Answer the Phone the Right Way originally appeared on About.com Small Business: Canada on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 08:16:53.

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According to the Canadian Franchise Association's annual directory, the top five franchise growth categories are:

• seniors and home,
• business consulting,
• retail,
• health/fitness, and
• nutrition and food.

And franchised business accounts for 40% of all retail sales, or $90 billion per year, and 10% of Canada's Gross Domestic Product.

In Should You Buy a Franchise?, I discuss the advantanges of buying a franchise as opposed to starting a business of your own from scratch, such as the comparative ease of startup, lower failure rate and ongoing help with managing and marketing the business, but here's one advantage I hadn't thought of - a better chance of getting small business financing.

Lorraine McLachlan, Canadian Franchise Association president and chief executive, said the internal statistics of the banks she's spoken to show creditors often choose franchisees because of proven management histories and higher chances of success (Banks often favour lending to franchise hopefuls, Stefania Moretti, canoe.ca MONEY).

So if you want to start a business but need small business financing, buying a franchise may be the best way to go.

The article I've linked above, Should You Buy a Franchise? presents the advantages and disadvantages of buying a franchise and what to expect when buying a franchise to help you decide.

More on Buying a Franchise

• Interview Franchisees Before Buying a Franchise
• The Pros and Cons of Buying an Existing Franchise (About.com Franchises)
• Top 10 Reasons to Buy a Franchise (About.com Franchises)

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The Top 5 Franchise Categories & 1 More Reason for Buying a Franchise originally appeared on About.com Small Business: Canada on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 at 08:13:17.

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If you already have a personal Facebook page, you can create a Facebook Fan Page to promote your business. Here are step by step instructions for how to create a Fan Page on Facebook.

More on Social Media Marketing

• Research Shows Facebook Fan Pages Are Good Marketing
• Poll: What Social Media Do You Use?
• How to Twitter: a Get Started Guide
• How to Use Twitter to Promote Your Business

How to Create a Fan Page on Facebook originally appeared on About.com Small Business: Canada on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 08:06:21.

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