Scott's Biztalk posts

The In's and Out's of an LLC

So in my quest to get my business going it appears I have moved forward in haste. I am doing a bit of research, but find that I learn much quicker when someone walks me through something.

If anyone knows the in's and out's of properly setting up an LLC, I will buy the coffee and danishes.

Needed: Zen-Cart Expert - Trade: Services or Money

Guys and Gals,

I really need an expert in Zen-Cart to help me finish up a client project. I can't seem to get the tax function to work and need every transaction to run through PayPal as the catalog is not secured.

I am on a time crunch so immediate response is optimal.

Thanks all.

Scott

Trades and offers time-line

Just a quick suggestion. I think it might be a good idea to require people to set a time-line for their promos/offers and or trade requests.

I am seeing several pop-up that are almost a year old because people are trekking through all the old posts and making comments on the offers.

If there was a "check box set" that says maybe 30 / 60 / 90 days, and limit it to that. After that time, the post is dropped and the poster is notified. If someone wants to extend the offer they can repost (kind of like craigslist.com) I think that would keep page quantities down, and keep people focused on current offers.

I can only imagine the frustration people feel when they realize they have wasted time commenting on or requesting things no longer offered.

Just my four cents.

To DBA or Not to DBA, that is my quandry...

So here is the scenario. I have created an LLC for my design agency. From the research I have done, that is the best thing to do at this time. BUT, I have a second name that I have licensed as a DBA. The more I develop my own marketing and advertising materials, I find myself liking the DBA name more and more.

Now normally I wouldn't care so much, but the UI and IA part of me keeps looking at the usability aspect of such a business structure. I can represent my company under the DBA name, but payments, contracts, etc all have to be under the LLC name. This requires more legalese for people to read through to get the point across that they are actually using only one company, but that company has two names. So while I have already structured myself this way, if I choose to change, now is the time to do it.

So I pose the question, what is the true benefit to having a DBA? If I don't plan on using the LLC company name for anything customer facing, why do it? Are there underlying benefits that I am missing or is there truly no real benefit to having two names if you only use one?

I am up for a good conversation on this, but would really like to see an attorney chime in on this one if possible.

Increase your leads/sales online!

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After a complete review of your site, we will present you with a written report of our findings and a list of recommendations on how to improve your site for anything from dropped leads to not being found in the search engines.

Our basic report is great for the 'DIY' business owner working on their own web site, the person that got one of those $299.95 web site template specials, or someone who had a professional web site built and just don't know what to do next.

This basic report is a $390.00 value. And we are giving it away for FREE! That’s correct! We are giving this service away FREE to the first 5 posters. If you are not one of the first 5, we will be offering these reports at a reduced rate just for biznik users, so please post your interest below.

WANTED: Legal and Business Accounting Assistance (SEATTLE) / OFFERED: Web/Graphic/Brand Design Services

In rebuilding my business here in Seattle, I am in the process of reworking my Contract; thus I need a legal resource versed in the design industry who can help me tweak my contract to work for multiple mediums as well as cover the bases for all state laws (that being all the states within our country). I also need a business accountant who can help me set-up Quicken/QuickBooks to work for my business and give me the low down on dealing with LLC tax requirements and such.

In return, I will match your rates in the way of designing/realigning and maintaining your web site, branding and collateral design, etc.

Please contact me if you have any interest. If you can not help but know someone who can and would be willing to barter, please pass my info along.

Thank you so much, and have a great day!

Seattle Waterfront

Sitting at my desk, looking out over the Sound, wondering why in the I came to work today?

Good design is good business

Hello all.

My name is Scott, but people call me Monk (Design Monk to be specific). I have been in the design industry for over 20 years doing everything from architectural design to drafting, brand design, product and packaging design, t-shirt and logo design, and web site design. I have even been known to do Flash-based animation and video production. Oh, and just in case you’re wondering, Design Monk comes from the blending of my fascination with Asian cultures and history, my belief than Feng Shui can be applied to the virtual space of the web just like it can to our physical space, and my mastery (used loosely) of many design styles.

Brief History… Grew up in sunny California, played classical guitar since I was 3.5, been drawing since I was 4 (and I don’t mean stick figures), graduated with degrees in graphic design and marketing, moved to Seattle and lived here for 11 years. Spent 5 years in Knoxville (yuck…), moved back to Seattle in 2006.

Present… My business and passion for design right now is the web (but don’t pass me up if you need other design work done). I have been doing web design since 1995 and know enough code to be dangerous; but I also know that there are better coders out there than I - so I leave the back-end to someone else and focus on what I do best… designing and developing the front-end and the customer experience.

Wants/Needs… I know this could go somewhere else on biznik and I will probably add it there also, but I am looking to expand my client base. I can do everything from blending a web site with your current marketing materials to developing great design from your vision and expectations and create a complete branding package. While money is always good, I am looking to barter with a good business attorney (Seattle area preferred), business accountant (Seattle area preferred), quality programmers and people that are just down right wicked at sales. My site is new and is missing a tremendous amount of my portfolio (which I will be updating shortly); but feel free to take a peek.

Oh, I am also rather good at teaching and lecturing; so if anyone is interested in a web design basics 101, SEO basics course or others, let me know and I will set-up an event.

See you all online and thanks for reading my ramblings.