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How did this happen? I’m in business!

By Becky McCray

UPDATE: We’re scheduled for Sunday, March 14, 2010, at 12:30 pm, in the Hilton Room E. Here is the detailed event page at SXSW.  

Hi, this is Becky McCray of SmallBizSurvival.com, and along with Liz Strauss of Successful-Blog.com, we’re going to answer your questions in a Core Conversation at South By Southwest Interactive, called “How did this happen? I’m in business!”

Liz is the tall one; Becky is the one standing on a step.

Is this your life? You have a few beers with friends, come up with a good idea, and now you have to keep track of miles on business trips!

A thousand questions swirl in your head when you start a new business:

  • How do I “become” a business?
  • How much financial record keeping will I have to do?
  • What expenses are tax deductible?
  • How do I deal with miles I drive for business?
  • Why do I need to keep a business calendar?
  • How do I reach customers?
  • What are the differences between sales, marketing, and just talking with your customers?
  • What are my options for structuring my business?
  • Are some structures better for interactive and new media creators?
  • Do I need to file for a business license?
  • What IRS tax filings are required?
  • Where can I get answers to more business questions?

Well, sit down with Liz Strauss and me, the left brain and right brain of business. Liz turned a blog post into a successful conference series, and took a small publishing firm international. I started my first business in junior high, and today I manage a cattle ranch and a liquor store.

Whether you’re a business of one or 100. Whether you’re in business yet, or still thinking about it. …Join the discussion. You’ll find us under the title, “How did this happen? I’m in business!”

To get a preview of the simplified business and marketing plans, the checklist for going into business, and the difference between a freelancer and an entrepreneur, stop by Successful-blog.com and SmallBizSurvival.com. And bring your questions to Austin!

We’re scheduled for Sunday, March 14, 2010, at 12:30 pm, in the Hilton Room E. Here is the detailed event page at SXSW. 

If you’d rather listen than read, here’s the audio version:

(If this says “Playlist Empty,” please click here for the audio page at Utterli.)

Photo of Liz and Becky at SXSW ’09 (Liz is the tall one; Becky is the one standing on a step.) (cc) Shashi Bellamkonda Social Media Swami (cc) Network Solutions

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About Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.
  • Downtown is your town’s core: How to make your case - February 22, 2021
  • Zoom Towns: attracting and supporting remote workers in rural small towns - December 10, 2020
  • In an economic crisis, spend your brainpower before your dollars - November 25, 2020
  • Video: How to fill empty car dealership buildings for the holidays - November 6, 2020
  • How has 2020 changed the challenges rural small towns face? Tell us here - October 20, 2020
  • The Idea Friendly Method to surviving a business crisis - October 6, 2020
  • Join me for the Rural Renewal Symposium online Oct 13 - September 26, 2020
  • Cheap placemaking idea: instant murals - September 11, 2020
  • Refilling the rural business pipeline - July 7, 2020
  • Huge vacant buildings: grants to renovate? - June 9, 2020

January 13, 2010 Filed Under: rural Tagged With: events

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