My Internet consulting business does not physically have to be here. In reality, it can be anywhere. Most of you reading this probably are saying, “duh” as you already know that. This message, however, is not clear to politicians who make laws concerning taxes and favorable business climates.

As I write this, I am sitting in the corporate headquarters of my business, Dunkirk Systems, LLC, a 5-year old Internet consulting firm. I founded the business shortly after moving to Chicago from Boston, as I decided to go on my own after then working on the Internet for almost a decade and in IT for over 15 years. As my business would be initially based in my home, the business was established in the city of Chicago, in Cook County in the state of Illinois. I live here, my business lives here.

But I don’t always work here. As my computer can travel with me, I have done work in cities like Minneapolis, Oshkosh, Helsinki and Copenhagen. I have done work at 30,000 feet over the Atlantic Ocean and in the basement of friend’s houses. All I need is an Internet connection and I can connect to my clients and provide the Web site strategy, design and development services they pay me for.

It is one thing I can work from anywhere, but my clients can be anywhere as well. Most of my clients are outside of Chicago. This is not specifically by design, though, as my business has mostly grown by referrals from existing clients. As well, some of my clients have relocated to other states. Even for the clients I have in the Windy City, I typically work with them by email and phone. Don’t get me wrong, I am a very social person and prefer to personally work with my clients. I don’t always have to, which is the beauty of it.

I bring this up as there is talk in the Illinois legislature about imposing taxes on software and Internet services. Though no particular bills have been presented as I write this, apparently legislators are trying to see what they can “get away with” as far as a bill, one that would pass rather than be defeated.

As much as I strive for The Hot Iron to not get into the abyss of politics, it is almost impossible today. It goes without saying that such laws to add taxes on the services Dunkirk Systems, LLC and other similar firms in Illinois provide would have a huge negative impact on my business, not to mention on clients. There is the administrative impact on my business for calculating, collecting and paying such taxes. I have all that I need to do for employment taxes! Then there’s the additional line item on client invoices. When people and businesses are doing all they can to pay their bills, here comes more to pay.

Will my clients simply accept a tax without a peep? Hardly! Who knows what the tax rate would be, but I am sure some will start to look around for other providers in other states whose rate – including tax rate – is lower. As I try to competitively bid on projects, the fact I will be charging a certain percentage for tax will be a bad mark on my proposals. Not to mention the higher cost I myself will have for technical services I get from other individuals and firms. This, on top of the myriad of high taxes and fees including the highest sales tax in the United States at 10.25%, put me in a huge disadvantage against other capable consulting firms around the country and the world.

So what will I do? This blog post is my first step, as I plan on also forwarding it to my state legislators. However knowing the political climate in Illinois, I hardly believe it will make a difference. Beyond that, I can only react in the short-term as to any passed tax laws. In the long-term, though, if it does have a true negative impact, I may be forced to move Dunkirk Systems, LLC from Illinois, which would more than likely mean I would be leaving as well. My business moves, I move.

Taxing our way out of the current business environment will not work. Tough cuts and imaginative thinking are needed to recover to the greatness we are capable of. I will continue to do my part, though it may have to be from someplace else.

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Business cards. For some, it is a straightforward decision on their design, layout and information to be presented. For others, it is a process more agonizing than it should be. When I designed my initial cards for Dunkirk Systems, LLC, I was somewhere in the middle, and eventually went with the recommendation of my designer. But over time, you see other cards or people comment on yours, and you agonize once again.

The other day I came across this video, and needless to say it made me think. Watch the video below or view the video on this guy’s business card.

Just like I do not review books, rather identify takeaways from them, I am able to take-away ideas from this guy. A quality business card with style stands out. Do I need to have a die-cut profile of myself on it? My guess most people would agree with me that I should not!

What do you think?

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The next likemind will be Friday, May 15, 2009 in dozens of cities around the world.

In Chicago, it will be at Argo Tea, 140 S Dearborn St. at the corner of Adams and Dearborn Streets in the Loop from 8:00 am to 10 am.

I call likemind a gathering of creative-minded people, from various disciplines including Internet, advertising, art, social media, et. al. For more information on likemind, you can read this great article on likemind from the New York Times.

No RSVP is required. You are also welcome to join the likemind Chicago Facebook group.

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Happy Cinco de Mayo! Today is a day when many – at least in the US – drop down to their local pub and have a Mexican beer or drink. Or 5. However many may not know the real meaning of the day, which is celebrated in some parts of Mexico for the country’s defeat of the French army in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Ok, I’ll admit I had to look it up myself as I didn’t know either.

Isn’t it interesting how people accept something for a particular meaning when the reality is different, and in a good way? It’s almost perfect timing that I received a box from Don Cenobio of his recently rebranded Tres Generaciones (or 3G) premium tequila. As it came in an attractive wooden box, I thought it would be great to make an unboxing video. Though they’re typically done for electronics, why not tequila? You can see the video below, or watch the 3G unboxing video here.

Late last year I was invited to a 3G tasting at Chicago’s Frontera Grill. There I met people from the brand, as well as others in social media to try 3G and talk about tequila, among other things. In the presentation by the brand ambassador, stereotypes of tequila – mostly negative ones - were brought up, and this was something discussed afterwards. The idea of premium tequila, one that can have a taste similar to vodka or even a single malt scotch, breaks some of those stereotypes. In other words, revealing the true definition of what tequila is.

Enjoy the video, and now I am going to enjoy what I unboxed. Responsibly, of course.

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The International Olympics Committee is now touring the candidate cities for the 2016 Summer Olympics, and their first stop was Chicago a few weeks ago. Everywhere you looked throughout the Windy City, there were signs promoting the games coming here in 7 years. There were also a few signs against it, but that’s a topic for another time.

The signage was branded with the Chicago 2016 logo and imagery, as shown in the accompanying picture, which is at the corner of State and Madison Streets. It also features the recently changed tag line, “Let Friendship Shine,” which replaced the former one, “Stir The Soul.” Apparently the old tag line did not translate well into other languages. As someone who thinks about domain names as much as I do, I wondered if the Chicago Olympics Committee registered the domain names for the new tag line. From the looks of the registration data and registered domain names, it is not 100% clear if they did or not.

Searches of the WHOIS database using DomainTools show registrations for letfriendshipshine.com, .net, .org and .us. There was no registration for the other “primary” TLDs of .biz and .info. I did not extend the search beyond these TLDs. Looking at the registrants of these domain names, the .com and .org have private registration on them, which is a service to mask the true owner of the domain name. The .net is registered to a company in Chicago, and the .us is registered to an individual in Chicago. All 4 domain names point to parked pages which display advertising.

I then looked up the registration of the main Chicago Olympics Committee domain name, chicago2016.org, and its registrant was also masked by private registration, and the same one as letfriendshipshine.com and .org. It can be inferred these 2 domain names are owned by the Committee. I did not contact them to ask. As for the others, it can be inferred they are not.

Part of the reason for being inquisitive surrounds the registration of chicago2016.com, which was registered prior to the .org by an individual in Chicago. It is tied to a Web site offering a fair and balanced economic discussion about the Olympics coming to Chicago. The Chicago Olympics Committee filed a case to win back the name, but lost. Perhaps they did their diligence this time and got the domain names before the new tag line was announced.

If they do own the domain names, 2 questions come to mind. Why not register all available TLDs? In the grand scheme of things, domain names are cheap! Also, why not use them? A quick Google search found zero results for the official Chicago Olympics Web site for “let friendship shine.” Where getting the name to protect the brand is smart, actually using it can return great results in your investment.

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Business • Domain Names • (1) Comments • Permalink