Northeast Minnesota's Small Business Development Center
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UMD Teen Enterprise
Keep Your Records Safe
The Secret to Recovering from a Negative Review

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MBA Information Session and Open House
Thursday, July 10th, 2014
Noon - 1PM | LSBE 160

A light lunch will be served.

The LSBE MBA is a competitive, challenging, and rewarding program, offering:
  • AACSB International Accreditation 
  • Program designed for working adults
  • Evening and weekend classes
  • International recognition
RSVP to Carlee Williams ([email protected];
218-726-7757)
 Summer Plans?
 

Do you know a teen who wants to own their own business someday or even now? UMD Teen Enterprise challenges students to think entrepreneurially while still in high school.


 

Upcoming Workshops 

 

 

Access II

07/08 (9:00 am-12:00pm)

 

Access III

07/08 (1:00 pm-4:00pm)

 

HTML & CSS I

07/09 (9:00 am-12:00 pm)

 

Computer Basics

07/09 (1:00 pm-4:00pm)

 

PowerPoint I

07/10 (9:00am-12:00pm)


PowerPoint II

07/10 (1:00pm-4:00pm) 

 

 View All Upcoming Workshops 

 

 

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UMD Center for Economic Development

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The Small Business Development Center for Northeast Minnesota

www.umdced.com

(218) 726-7298


Regional Center: Duluth

 

Satellite Offices: Hibbing/Chisholm
Quad Cities
International Falls
Grand Rapids
Ely
Grand Marais/Cook County
Two Harbors/Lake County
Carlton County
Hermantown

 

HELPING ENTREPRENEURS AND BUSINESSES GROW AND SUCCEED
KEEP YOUR RECORDS SAFE IN CASE DISASTER STRIKES

5 Basic Steps to Safeguarding Your Records

 

irs

Source: irs.gov

 

Some natural disasters are more common in the summer. But major events like hurricanes, tornadoes and fires can strike any time. It's a good idea to plan for what to do in case of a disaster. You can help make your recovery easier by keeping your tax and financial records safe. Here are some basic steps you can take now to prepare:

  1. Backup Records Electronically.  Many people receive bank statements by email. This is a good way to secure your records. You can also scan tax records and insurance policies onto an electronic format. You can use an external hard drive, CD or DVD to store important records. Be sure you back up your files and keep them in a safe place. If a disaster strikes your home, it may also affect a wide area. If that happens you may not be able to retrieve your records.    
  2. Document Valuables.  Take photos or videos of the contents of your home or business. These visual records can help you prove the value of your lost items. They may help with insurance claims or casualty loss deductions on your tax return. You should store them with a friend or relative who lives out of the area.    
  3. Update Emergency Plans.  Review your emergency plans every year. Update them when your situation changes. Make sure you have a way to get severe weather information. Have a plan for what to do if threatening weather approaches.    
  4. Get Copies of Tax Returns or Transcripts.  Visit IRS.gov to get Form 4506, Request for Copy of Tax Return, to replace lost or destroyed tax returns. If you just need information from your return, you can order a free transcript online or by calling 800-908-9946. You can also file Form 4506T-EZ, Short Form Request for Individual Tax Return Transcript or Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return.    
  5. Count on the IRS.  If you fall victim to a disaster, know that the IRS stands ready to help. You can call the IRS disaster hotline at 866-562-5227 for special help with disaster-related tax issues.

Visit IRS.gov to get more about IRS disaster assistance. Click on the 'Disaster Relief' link in the lower left of the home page. You can also get forms and publications anytime on IRS.gov. To get them in the mail, call 800-TAX-FORM(800-829-3676).


Additional IRS Resources:

THE SECRET TO RECOVERING FROM A NEGATIVE CUSTOMER REVIEW
By: Firas Kittaneh
4 Tips for Bouncing Back after a Negative Review

Businesses aren't perfect.

A slipup from a vendor, a shipment gone awry and an inevitable technical error all damage a brand's reputation. In these situations, customers have the right to be brutal and unforgiving. Consequently, a negative review can pop up anywhere and haunt a company forever.

Though it's impossible to control what upset customers may say, companies' reaction to the criticism can be tempered.

In its support center for businesses, Yelp offers a helpful document that warns, "contacting reviewers should be approached with care; internet messaging is a blunt tool and sometimes good intentions come across badly."

Yelp also adds three important points worth remembering:

"1.Your reviewers are your paying customers.

2. Your reviewers are human beings with (sometimes unpredictable) feelings and sensitivities.

3. Your reviewers are vocal and opinionated (otherwise they would not be writing reviews!)."

Of course, this advice can be applied to dealing with negative reviews anywhere on the web, not only on Yelp.

Avoid getting into a war of words and give disappointed customers an authentic, empathetic and nonconfrontational response. If you are lucky, you might even earn their respect and loyalty.

Below are four tips to remember in order to bounce back from a negative review:

1. Do not hide from your mistakes. Most companies, when hit with harsh feedback, will copy and paste a canned response, then proceed to bury the review deep in Google's search results. Others will sulk in the shadows, hoping the PR nightmare may eventually blow over.

Unfortunately, neither approach works for the long term. The critic will feel highly undervalued and smart shoppers will always be thorough in their research. Make it a point to acknowledge your failure and to do whatever it takes to make it right instead of making it go away.

2. Focus on solutions, not excuses. Set your ego aside and make amends by taking responsibility for a user's poor experience, even if you aren't truly at fault. Offer a generous apology, which may include a full or partial refund, free gifts and expedited shipping. Then, go the extra mile and provide an outline for an action plan that will permanently fix the root cause of the problem.

For example, you may describe how you will work closer with the quality assurance team, retrain customer service representatives or replace unreliable vendors. This demonstrates that you learned something from the experience and took action so it may never happen again.

3. Recruit consumers' help. Angry customers are not intentionally malicious. In almost all cases, they simply want to be heard and to be treated with dignity and respect. Therefore, invite them to help you build a better business.

Have your clients contribute their ideas for how exactly you can improve your offerings so they may get the most value out of your product and so no one else will feel cheated the way they did. Just remember to do more than listen; deliver on any agreeable suggestions and keep all promises.

4. Work with a clear conscience. After operating in the best interests of your customer and your brand, keep your head held high. There is no reason to feel burdened with a sense of overwhelming guilt or shame that affects morale and performance. At some point, you have to move on and continue delighting more customers.

As your business grows, there will always be at least one annoyed and vocal customer. To ensure that you keep your brand's reputation intact and that you sleep well at night, be sure to honor every complaint that comes in with a generous response that provides a short-term fix (to win back the customer) and a long-term solution (to earn trust and prevent the issue from happening again). 
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Funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development and regional support partners. All opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the program sponsors. Programs are open to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Contact the UMD Center for Economic Development at 218-726-7298 or toll free 1-888-387-4594 to make arrangements.