Today Smarta is the proud owner of two whopping boxes of Krisy Kremes, in all their oozy-sweet-doughy-jam glory. COO Kevin got them for us because we've all worked out socks off and hit our monthly target. We're not telling you this just to boast. We're telling you because herein lies a very important business lesson. Albeit one that has been pleasantly sugar-coated (for us at least).

Target-setting is an essential part of creating structure for your business. Have your month-by-month figures lain out ahead of you, and you have something solid to work towards. Make sure everyone in the company has an individual target to take responsibility for. Then they know what's expected of them (give them something quantifiable to work towards: a percentage or number rather than just a vague 'increase this a bit'). In far more cases than not, staff rise to the challenge. Individual targets give employees a sense of ownership, which fosters determination. They do the same for you, whether you're a manager or a one-mad band.

And you can and most definitely should celebrate when targets are reached (with friends and family if you're not part of a team). Make sure you've set deadlines for your goals, and celebrate even more if you reach them early. Donuts are a good monthly treat - particularly when they come as a lovely surprise, as they did for us this morning. If you're trying to incentivise sales, you can afford to link achievement to pay. More sales equals more money coming into the business, so give the person who brought that money in a slice of the financial pie to show them you value them and to encourage them.

A delicious treat doesn't cost you much, but it makes all the difference to the team. It cheers everyone up, shows that you recognise their efforts, and gives you a chance to give a pep talk and start gearing everyone up for the nest target over a tea break. Fun days are all well and good to keep morale high every few months or so, but don't forget these smaller gestures in-between. (Smarta founder Shaa regularly brings us cakes and cold-busting remedies too to keep us going through the bleaker hours of the week.) It really does make your employees happy. And a happy workplace is a driven workplace. Which means your business strategy gets executed with aplomb.

Read more like this in our feature on how to set business targets.

Here at Smarta we're big on collaboration. Our mantra is 'together businesses can achieve more than they can apart'.

It's something we actively encourage, and something we try our best to practice. Neither, though, are we shy to ask for help.

Like most of the online world trying to navigate north through Google's labyrinthine algorithms we've recently been trying to build our link equity by exchanging links, content and tools with other small business sites.

Tom from Smarta's been doing a great job and made us some valuable contacts with like-minded companies with similar readerships. Of course, he's had more than a few polite rejections as well - that's to be expected.

Nothing though, prepared us - or Tom - for this response from Len Tondel from the long established Home Business Alliance:

From: "info@homebusiness.org.uk" <info@homebusiness.org.uk>
Date: 28 January 2010 09:49:02 GMT
To: "Tom Telford" <tom@smarta.com>
Subject: Re: Smarta
Reply-To: "info@homebusiness.org.uk" <info@homebusiness.org.uk>

Hello, Tom

Sorry for not having got back to you sooner; bad manners on my part.

Several of us have now had a look at your website and although we would agree that it contains a lot of good content, we don't like its association with the Dragons Den or more to the point, some of its more publicity orientated characters like Doug Richard and his recent, off-beam nonsense.

It wouldn't be so bad if such opinions remained his own but when they are aped by potentially, the country's next prime minister and causing all involved to become little more than an ill-informed laughing stock, we need to draw the line.

We've been around for a long time as have the majority of our members and whereas we certainly aren't middle-of-the-road (we were the first and only UK business association to form a national credit union for its members, for example), we have seen it all before and quite frankly, doubt that your website will even be around in a couple of years' time.

Consequently, we don't think linking to you in preference to the thousands of other small business websites we are asked to link to each year, will be of any benefit to our members or visitors.

I'll happily give you a plug in our next editorial, though, and leave it to our readers to decide.

Very best for now.

Len Tondel

Home Business Alliance
info@homebusiness.org.uk
www.homebusiness.org.uk

Now we won't expand too much on how Len's friendly 'very best' wishes don't exactly exude collaboration - that's fairly easy to see.

We also won't linger too long on his own 'off beam' comments about Doug Richard, who we should point out, could probably find easier and more efficient ends to self-publicity than quitting Dragons' Den, writing two detailed, independent reports on the state of entrepreneurship in the UK and then setting up School for Startups to address the situation himself.

Nor, even, will you find us retaliating by making similarly disparaging remarks about Len's own website. Instead we'd actively encourage you to form your own opinions.

Indeed, unlike Len, we'd implore you to leave Smarta right now and visit The Home Business Alliance - just perhaps not all at once. Maybe go in batches of 30 - the HBA server should be able to cope with a tripling of its visitors...

In all seriousness, we're poking fun and Len's more than entitled to his point of view - I mean, you can tell from his homepage that he's very particular about who he links to.

Let's instead focus on those of you who prefer to work more collaboratively. If Smarta can help you then please tell us how - after all, that's where collaboration should start, by offering up what you can do for others. We're constantly on the lookout for case studies, guest bloggers, interview subjects and excellent sources of support we can direct Smarta members to.

If that's you, tell us (but perhaps don't tell Len)!

January 31. Amazing, really, how even though it comes around pretty regularly, it seems to have a real knack of sneaking up on us.

Amazing also is the way in which the temptations of desk tidying/DVD alphabetising/staring fixedly into the middle distance suddenly become oh-so alluring - but never fear, we've made things easier by putting together some tips for filling in your tax return.

1. Last year, 14,839 people filled in their online tax returns on New Year's Eve. We're not suggesting you forsake seasonal cheer to get your finances in order - but you have two and a half days left. Put away the DVDs, stop hoovering, and start workiing on it. Now.
2. Everything is relevant. If you're umming and ah-ing over whether to fill in a tax return over a small amount of cash, it's best to contact HMRC. If you've earned £50 in dividends, for example, or you have a bank account with mere pennies in it but don't declare it - or at least check first - HMRC could use it as evidence of 'dishonesty' and subject your business to more scrutiny. HMRC contact details are here.
3. If you don't have your P45/P60 ready, you'll need it - so contact your employer or former employer now. If they've already sent it to you but you've lost it, get in touch with your tax office now. They'll issue you with a P46 and put you on an emergency tax code. Find your local tax office here.
4. Have hard copies of documents to hand, and make sure they're organised and easily accessible. Technology may have made filling in your tax return easier - but rifling through a folder of well-organised receipts and papers is far simpler than scouring your computer for the correct files.
5. Treat your tax return like an exam: take your time, make sure you  answer everything you need to, and always read the question thoroughly. If you under-pay because you filled in the wrong sections, HMRC will take a dim view and you could be subject to a fine.
6. January 31 isn't just the deadline for your tax return - it's the deadline for your payment as well, so don't forget to pay up.

Once you've finished, let the procrastination begin - Smarta recommends first-person Tetris.

Smarta's founder explains why patience isn't always a virtue.

OK, I have to declare my self interest as I write this blog. I am somewhat biased, because I don't have the patience of a snail, let alone a saint. I am also a big fan of Nike's 'Just Do It' motto.

Now I have laid my cards on the table, I shall begin.

Like almost everything, deciding between patience and action is a balancing act. How do we compulsive entrepreneurial types learn to become a bit more considered and patient, and how do we do it without killing the very instinct that made us successful in the first place?

Some say: "Patience is wisdom and a virtue."

Undoubtedly I have demonstrated a great lack of patience in my time. As any of the Smarties (affectionate name for those people who work at Smarta) will tell you, I frequently hover over their desks looking at new ideas, designs and concepts. Then all of a sudden I pipe up with: "I know, let's do a really brilliant eBook and get all the people we rate and respect to collaborate so that we can showcase the Smartest Brains in Business.... For free" And there goes all the planning and resources for the next week or two.

In this instance, I feel my action was justified. I felt it was a great idea (as opposed to just a good idea). And it was time sensitive. It had to be done by the middle of January and it would be a great way to get the Smarta brand exposed to people who had yet to realise just how brilliant we are!

If I had showed more patience it wouldn't have happened.

However, I am really, truly trying to manage my impulsive behaviour - without losing the very DNA that lets Smarta punch above its weight. When it comes to board meetings, cash flow forecasts and balance sheets, I'm patient. We double and triple check every last detail. When it comes to analysing our data, we are almost obsessive. We don't rush anything.

When we really believe in what we are doing, we sure as hell don't give up at the first hurdle. Ironically, in these situations, I become the most patient and tenacious person ever.

We had to be patient with Smarta. It took so much longer to get it right than we originally thought. There were all kinds of reasons for that, not least of which the challenging economy we found ourselves launching into.
Did I ever think: "It's not working quickly enough"? Every day. Did I ever think of losing my patience and giving up? Never.

Some things just can't be rushed... Like SEO... Oh boy, you need some patience for that.

Other things, like creative ideas, are actually killed by too much patience and analysis. 'Analysis paralysis', as I used to say. Many ideas can be tested without too much time, effort or money. If they are going to fail, let them fail fast. Don't spend three months deliberating, only to find it was never going to work anyway.

Understand the difference between what you can do today and what you can't.  Then: "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today". Corny, but true.

For employed people, January is a month of great woe. They're struggling to stretch their last few pounds out to the end of the month, counting the minutes until payday, and feeling forlorn that the next Christmas period is a spirit-crushing 11 months away.

Now, we're not going to pretend that everyone running their own business is, by contrast, rolling in it. You're probably just as broke as the monthly-salary bunch. But, lucky for us on the startup scene, the social invitations keep coming thick and fast to pull you through this bleakest of months.

Networking opportunities never end when you're running your own business. There's always some industry get-together or conference going on. We at Smarta have had something on at least once a week this month, often more. January be damned! Try the excellent meetup.com or read our guide on how to find business networking groups to find some in your area.

But when you're busy meeting all these people at networking events, who should you keep in touch with, and how? With all the buzz about social media, are emails old hat? Should you phone someone after meeting them?

It's not always clear-cut. Here's our mini step-by-step guide for those of you that are unsure.

1. Swap business cards at the event, but don't start chucking them around willy-nilly. There's no point giving your card to someone unless you've had a half-decent conversation with them. They just won't remember who you are otherwise.
2. While you're at the event, slip off to the loo and make a note on the cards of people you think could be useful to you in the future, so you remember who's who the next day. The more people you meet, the more confusing it gets. This is especially true if there are free drinks involved!
3. The next day, sift through your cards. The most important thing to note here is: you don't need to keep in touch with everybody. So sort your cards into piles: one for people who will definitely be useful to your business (potential clients, potential partners, people who mentioned someone they know who'd be interested in your business); one for people who might be useful for your business (people in the same industry, people who could provide services for you); one for people you can't see any way of working with.
4. Email the people who you think will be most useful to you within the next four or five days, saying it was a pleasure to meet them. Suggest going for a coffee or having a phone call to discuss whatever it is you think they'd be useful for. If you don't get a reply within the next couple of weeks, send a gentle reminder email asking if they'd had a chance to look at your last email (copy it in below).
5. For people who might be useful, you don't need to email - it can get pretty time-consuming. Social media is a good way to stay in touch. Add them as a contact on Smarta or LinkedIn or start following them on Twitter. If they're not using social media, email them if you have time.
6. Don't worry about contacting the other less useful people, but keep all the cards anyway - just in case.
7. All this said, if you don't yet have many contacts it can be worthwhile adding lots of people you meet (regardless of how useful they are to you) on an online business network like Smarta or LinkedIn to get the ball rolling.
8. Maintain contact by setting reminders in your calendar to drop the most useful contacts a line about every four to six months. Just send them a simple email asking how it's going and giving them one or two lines of your own news. It'll keep you in their minds for any future business or referrals.
9. Social media provides a perfect way to maintain contact with loads of people with minimal effort. It's free, quick, and keeps you up-to-date, always. Read our guides on using social networking for business to find out how to do it.

Happy networking!

Dom Jackman and Rob Symington are founders of community-based recruitment website Escape the City, launched tomorrow. Can they beat the Smarta stopwatch?

0-5 seconds: Sum your business up in a sentence
Escape the City provides exciting options for young professionals who want to do something different.

5-10 seconds: What's the business model?
Our model is community-based. We are building a tribe of like-minded people who want fulfilling work outside of the corporate mainstream. The value in this model will come from connecting talented young professionals with exciting and innovative organisations that can provide the kind of 'different' opportunities that we're looking for.

10-15 seconds: Who are your competitors?
There are lots of career change services, job boards, and even 'escape the corporate 9-5' consultants and pro-bloggers out there. However, we couldn't find anything useful or specific enough that met our requirements when we were looking to escape our own corporate jobs to do something different. We've decided to build that something.

15-20 seconds: What's your USP?
We have two target audiences:

1.    Our USP to young professionals is that we're building a platform specifically to help them solve a pressing challenge: 'how to find interesting, exciting and fulfilling work outside of the mainstream?'

2.    Our USP to our target organisations is that we can provide them with introductions to talented young professionals they might not otherwise be able to reach.

20-25 seconds: How have you funded it so far?
We're funding it with our savings and some financial backing from private investors who share our vision of helping young people do work that allows them to have a positive impact.

25-30 seconds: What were you doing before?
We were both management consultants. Although we enjoyed the work, we both knew that we wanted to be doing something else with our lives. The term Imposter Syndrome definitely applied to us ('acting out the motions in a job that you know isn't right for you').

30-35 seconds: Where did the idea come from?
The idea came from the dozens of conversations we have had with other young professionals about their jobs. We realised that a scary proportion of young people find their corporate jobs unfulfilling. We think that's a real shame given the impact they could be having, given the right opportunities - so the idea came from wanting to solve this problem.

35-40 seconds: What's the smartest thing you've done so far?
We started our blog way before launching our main website. Without the blog we would still be two guys with an idea, working on a website behind the scenes. As it is, we've interacted with 1000s of people online, created considerable momentum, and developed our idea in public with feedback from the very people we're designing it for.

40-45 seconds: What's the stupidest?
Thankfully, we haven't yet done anything really stupid. Worryingly, this means that all the spectacular blunders are probably still to come...

Not having our work and data backed up for a while was pretty stupid. Back in November I left my laptop in a café and went to the loo. I had to fight the urge to run back to my table with my trousers round my ankles when I realised how disastrous it would be if it was stolen!

45-50 seconds: If your business was a biscuit, what would it be?
A Cadbury's Timeout, because so many people find themselves on a corporate treadmill without asking themselves why they're doing it (ourselves included). We want to help people think differently about their careers and their direction in life.

50-55 seconds: Which idea are you a bit jealous of?
JustGiving - The perfect business model?  Makes loads of money and is a brilliant vehicle for a lot of 'doing good'. What more could you want from a business?

55-60 seconds: Where are you going to be in 12 months' time?
Living the lifestyle of our dreams helping other people live the lifestyle of their dreams? Over 20,000 members and a revenue-generating job board filled with the most exciting opportunities on the web.

In association with

When was the last time you heard any good news from Radio 4's Today Programme?

I used to drive along in the morning, listening to John Humphries, hearing the news, how there'd been an earthquake here, a bank had run out of money there, more soldiers killed overseas.

It got me thinking, 'I can't change any of that. So really what's the point in knowing?'

If you think it through, loading your head up with negative reports isn't really the best basis to start your day off. Mr Kellogg would be spinning in his grave.

So I stopped listening to Radio 4 in the morning and guess what? The world still turns and my life is better for it.

The last thing you need as a business person is too much negativity, business is tough enough as it is. When I started my business I thought it was going to be all private number plates, fish tanks and spinny chairs.

Nobody prepared me in those early years for the low sales, no sales, self-doubt, the whinging wife or the too much month at end of the cash.

Running a business is akin to swimming the channel. You get halfway across, it starts getting painful and the little voice in your head nags you to turn back and swim back to the shore.

That, boys and girls, is the reason that most businesses fail within the first two years. You need perseverance, tenacity and a real belief in what you are doing. You need to hold your nerve, and come out swinging. Big confidence when stepping into a big fight.

Surrounding yourself with negativity pushes you towards a defeatist mindset before the first bell. I went out of my way to stop hearing about the stuff I couldn't impact on. I didn't stop caring, I just got real.

Instead I put my energy into the stuff I could make a difference to. In all the businesses I'm involved in, I maintain the ethos to 'make a difference, before we make a profit'.

I can't stop earthquakes or murders, but I can make life better for those within under my umbrella, my tribe.

You will also have a tribe. The people you care about. Those who were there when you needed them and you know will be there in the future. The people you just know need looking after as well. If you take care of them, they'll take care of you.

The successful business people of this next decade are all set to embrace two things: the internet and people. Corporate Social Responsibility is being downsized to Personal And Business Social Responsibility. I just made that up - PABSR - snappy, eh?

You've got one life, so live it. If you find yourselves having more 'Can't Be Arsed Tuesdays' than 'Make It Happen Mondays', you are in the wrong job, running the wrong business and part of the wrong tribe.

The number of different ways I see real people paying their mortgage these days is staggering and what used to be accepted as safe jobs simply aren't safe anymore. You say 'a job for life', and people laugh.

Live your passion, do what you actually enjoy and surround yourself with talented and clever people who can help you keep on that path.

Work out what bits of your business you're real good at and have a real passion for, then sub-contract out the rest. Why the f**k are you boring yourself shitless doing accounts that you are no good at when there are bookkeepers up and down the country who will do it for you? If their hourly rate is less than yours, then its stupidity to carry on trying to do it all yourself. Hire them and make them part of your tribe.

Keep pushing your business and life forward and you'll learn this amazing lesson - a mistake is only a mistake AFTER the event, up until that point it's the correct decision.

No one ever wakes up and says, I'm going to f**k-up today.

Embrace your dreams or abandon them for something you are passionate about, but whatever you do, always look after your tribe.

Brad Burton is MD of the UK's largest joined up business breakfast network, www.4networking.biz, a top motivational speaker who quite likes the sound of his own voice, buy his book Get Off Your Arse and watch him in action here www.getoffyourarse.biz.

Brad will be joining Smarta for a live webchat this Friday at 3pm. We'll be posting a link for the chat here later this week.

We're very much of the opinion that it's not fair to force someone into retirement just because it happens to be their 65th birthday (not exactly the greatest present they'll ever receive, is it? "Many happy returns - we're cutting off your income and you won't have much to do from now on, at all. Have a great day!").

Fairness doesn't always make for great business, but in this case we think allowing older employees to carry on working can reap some pretty lucrative benefits for small business owners. They're already fully trained up in the role, have years of experience and have all the skills that only decades spent in the working world can bring. An 18-year-old replacement on minimum wage might be cheaper, but they don't come with all that as part of the package.

In a survey of more than 100 small business owners, 60% said they were against a government-set default retirement age. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) research found that, actually, almost 80% of small businesses already ignore the state retirement age for their staff. 76% think retirement 'should be based on a mutual decision between the employee and employer'.

That's a key point - the idea of the business owner and the employee deciding together. Because most state-pension age staff don't want to stop working. 62% of women over 50 and 59% of men want to carry on working past retirement age, according to the Equality and Human Rights Commission. And if they're willing, and it's helpful to small businesses, who is the government to say it shouldn't be allowed? Particularly when allowing the age-group to carry on working for even just 18 months extra would add up to £15 bn to the economy through taxes, as Equality and Human Rights Commission spokesperson Andrea Murray told The Today Programme this morning.

Of course, if any of these talked-about proposals to push back or abolish retirement age are pushed through, it's going to take a while yet. In the meantime, we can suggest a pretty good path forward for over-65-year-olds who have been forced out of work, or even for those slightly younger who have been made redundant and are struggling to find a new job (there's only a one in 10 chance of reemployment once you're over the age of 50). We propose starting a business.

With the wealth of experience, contacts and industry knowledge accumulated over all those decades, you're in a prime position to start a healthy business. Over-50s are more likely to get bank funding for a new business than those younger than them, and their startups have a greater chance of long-term success.

And you know what? If you run your own business you can carry on working for as long as you like, and earn far more than a state pension is going to provide for you. Look at turkey emperor Bernard Matthews - only just now, at age 80, is he pulling back from the front line of his company.

If you're nearing or at state retirement age, don't despair. Starting a business is a lot safer and less daunting than it sounds. In fact, more over-50s are starting up than ever before. Read our feature on over-50 entrepreneurs for all the advice and insight you need, and give entrepreneurship a go. Until the government's legislation recognises how valuable this age group is to the UK's workforce, you'll have to prove it yourself.

Richard Alberg takes his place in the Smarta hotseat.

0-5 seconds: Sum your business up in a sentence

MyNewJob.me provides comprehensive online job seeking support to the unemployed and an affordable alternative outplacement service for employers.

5-10 seconds: What's the business model?

A classic Software as a Service (Saa) in a market that hitherto has had an expensive time-based consultancy model. A cost per head subscription or an organisation licence provides unlimited access to enrolled individuals.  

10-15 seconds: Who are your competitors?

Traditional offline outplacement providers, fear of the new and those who do nothing.

15-20 seconds: What's your USP?

We're comprehensive, always available, customisable and low-cost.

20-25 seconds: How have you funded it so far?

We're self-funded.

25-30 seconds: What were you doing before?

I was the founder and CEO of PSL, a psychometric testing company that pioneered the online assessment market.

30-35 seconds: Where did the idea come from?

A conversation with a recruitment consultant about the market combined with a familiarity with technology, business process automation and SaaS business models.

35-40 seconds: What's the smartest thing you've done so far?

Tailoring our product so that it helps Jobcentre Plus advisors support their unemployed clients.

40-45 seconds: What's the stupidest?

I spent three months thinking about the idea when I should have been busy building the business.

45-50 seconds: If your business was a biscuit, what would it be?

We'd be a cereal bar - they taste great and do good at the same time.

50-55 seconds: Which idea are you a bit jealous of?

Owners of great domain names; I was interested in the internet in the early '90s, but I didn't recognise the opportunity to register the many brilliant domains that were available.

55-60 seconds: Where are you going to be in 12 months' time?

We'll be the UK market leader in online career management and will be making progress with international expansion.

In association with