Business First Quarterly | Online

Welcome to the first edition of the BusinessFirst Quarterly Online brought to you by First Independent. As promised in our last mailing, we have gone paperless. It's easier for you and much easier on the environment. In this issue we explore the new world of social media: what it is, what it isn't and some ways for you to start learning and getting involved.

We also point you to our online calculators that will help you figure out how much you will need to retire. In our tips section we bring you a checklist for preventing fraud in your business.

And, as always, we have included some of our favorite business reads.

Enjoy!

Twitters. Tweets. Posts. Mashups. Friends. Followers. Fans.Confused about social media and what it means to your business?

You are not alone.

In this issue of the BusinessFirst Quarterly, we begin a series of articles about social media, what it is, what it isn't, who some of the major players are and some do's and don'ts of how to use the most popular tools.

First, what is social media?

Social media has been defined as the use of electronic tools to consume, interact with, share, and discuss information and experiences.¹

Social media describes a new set of internet tools that enable shared community experiences, both online and in person. Social media tools make it easier to create and distribute content and discuss the things we care about.²

Social media tools can be broken down into 4 basic categories: communications, multimedia, entertainment and collaboration. To the right, we have shown some of the top names in each. You are probably familiar with many of them. To learn more, simply click on the icon.

For businesses, social media means actively meeting your audience where they already are online and engaging them in a way that enables them to participate and interact with your brand and your company. They want to be part of the experience of your brand - shaping it, sharing ideas for new products and ways to improve, and then recruiting fans to your brand.

Brand interaction and participation are key to attracting and winning new fans of your brand!

In the next issue, we'll talk more about why social media is important to your business and look at some specific social media sites that you can use to 'dip your toe' into this fascinating new world.

1 - Dayn Wilberding, Grady Britton [Check out Dayn's Presentation on Demystifying Social Media]

2 - technology in translationTM

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RETIREMENT: How much money do I need?

We all hope to retire someday. And many of us are making regular
contributions to 401(k) or IRA accounts. But the most difficult question
to answer is: When will I have enough?

Follow this link to our retirement calculator where you can test drive
a variety of different situations. Using your own data, find out how long
your money will last, how much more you might need to be saving to
reach your goals, or where you could cut back to make your dollars
stretch farther.

First Independent Retirement Calculator

And to help your savings grow, check out our Great Rates on Money Market Accounts. 1.01% increase over standard rates for 6 months. Click here for details.

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Retirement Flow Chart


	6 Quick Tips for Surviving a Recession Get your employees involved! Don't clam up when times get tough. Involve your employees to help you find ways to cut costs and improve efficiency. Consider a reduction in employee hours rather than layoffs. Your best employees may be hard to replace when times get better and they might welcome the additional free time. Or, offer extra paid vacation instead of bonuses. Another idea is to offer flex time, letting employees have more control over the hours they work. Use this time to re-tool your products. Make sure they fit the times. For example, if you run a restaurant, you might consider small plates. Smaller portions with smaller price tags to match. Take customer service to a new level! Now more than ever it is crucial to hang on to good customers. Make sure you contact them on a regular basis and let them know how important their business is to you. Don't stop marketing. Make sure you are getting the best value you can from each marketing dollar you spend, but keep your name in the marketplace. Offer deals, but only if they pencil out. Slashing prices to get more business can bankrupt your company. [ Top ]

In difficult economic times, employee fraud can skyrocket.

From creative bookkeeping to diversion of customer payments, unscrupulous employees can do serious damage for months or years without detection. In fact, the average fraud scheme is successful for 18 months. Use this checklist to see if you may be a victim of employee fraud or embezzlement:

Delayed bank deposits
Holes in accounting records
Disappearance of petty cash
Excessive employee overtime hours or skipped vacations
Lavish spending not supported by income

BusinessFirst Action Item

Prevent Fraud Using Some Simple Steps. The best deterrent to fraud is having the proper internal controls that make it difficult for employees to even attempt fraud.

Know your procedures. Pay attention to the numbers using budgets, sales audits, and accounting spot checks. Also, screen employees carefully prior to hiring. Internal and external audits coupled with background checks can cut fraud losses by 50%.

Segregate office duties. Be sure that no single individual has access to cash, checks, and your accounting system.

Make your banker your ally. When your banker understands your internal processes, he or she can recommend options to better secure your financial data and transactions. A few of the things your banker might offer are:

Duplicate statements. Send one statement to the person responsible for reconciling your bank account and have the duplicate sent to you. This way you can keep an eye on the bank account and make note of any irregularities

Limited access and authorization on accounts. Structure your accounts to require two signatures or authorizations on any payments over a pre-determined limit.

Positive Pay. Positive Pay is a fraud protection tool that compares checks issued against checks presented for payment. Fraudulent checks will be detected before they hit your account .

Setting up fraud prevention measures take time, but will pay long-term dividends and dramatically reduce your exposure to financial risk.

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The Total Money Makeover

Instead of promising the normal dose of quick fixes, Ramsey offers a bold, no-nonsense approach to money matters, providing not only the how-to but also a grounded and uplifting hope for getting out of debt and achieving total financial health.

Web 2.0: A Study Guide

Web 2.0 makes headlines, but how does it make money? This concise guide explains what's different about Web 2.0 and how those differences can improve your company's bottom line.

The Ascent of Money

The curses and the blessings, the seductions and the traps of money give Niall Ferguson the most redolent of subjects for The Ascent of Money, his excellent, just-in-time guide to the history of finance and financial crisis. - Shelby Coffey III, The Washington Post.

Free: The Future of a Radical Price

As the cost of doing business online drops closer and closer to zero, giving things away is not just becoming an option it's inevitable. But if the product is free, where's the revenue? In Free, Anderson breaks down the priceless economy into six broad categories, demonstrating how to make money in each.

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