Articles
All in the Family: How to Thrive Running a Small Business With Family
One of the benefits of running a small business is that you get to be close with the people you work with. And all too often, either through choice or inheritance or circumstance, those people will be members of your family. While there can be unique challenges to either partnering up with a relative or…
7 Tools You Might Have Missed in Your Email Marketing Software
Email marketing has the power to harness interested parties and turn them into real, paying customers for your small business. If you’ve collected email addresses or sent out a promotion to increase sales, you already know this. Email marketing software runs the gamut from simple and free to quite complex and more expensive. Depending on…
7 Ways the Government Could Help Your Small Business
For business owners, it can be easy to think of the government as a giant hassle. There’s all that red tape you have to fight for necessary permits, then of course there’s paying taxes, certifying employees, complying with all local, state, and federal laws, and the list goes on. Still, despite the day-to-day hurdles that…
7 Key Keys to Building a Good Pricing Strategy
One of the most important and challenging decisions that you can make as a small business owner is how to set your prices. There’s a lot of work that goes into the number a consumer sees on a tag, or that a client sees from a vendor. Still, pricing doesn’t come down to an exact…
5 Steps to Take After a Bad Quarter
Staring down the end of a bad quarter can be tough for any small business owner. It’s easy to feel the anxiety creep in — is this a sign of a larger downward slide? Or simply a temporary setback? Quarterly results really provide an opportunity to evaluate where your business is going and make…
14 Questions You Should Ask Before You Get a Small Business Loan
Small businesses have more financing options today than ever before, yet navigating the maze of loan types and lenders can make it challenging to choose the right loan and the right lender for your business. The days when the bank was the one-stop-shop for small business loans are over. Meaning, business owners need to be…
The Pros and Cons of Hiring Remote Staff
Hiring remote employees can be an efficient and cost-effective way to solve problems for small businesses. For many business owners, knowing the benefits of remote hires can open up a variety of benefits, from cost savings to efficiency. Here is a rundown of the pros and cons of hiring remote workers. PROS Cost savings.…
Should You Sell Your Goods at a Flea Market or Crafts Fair?
Handmade crafts are enjoying a heyday in Canada. Etsy is seeing $2 billion in sales, which may soon be eclipsed by the fast-growing newcomer, Amazon Handmade. And brick-and-mortar markets are seeing a similar rise in interest. More and more consumers want unique handmade or vintage goods that display high-quality workmanship and offer an alternative to…
5 Tips For Keeping Your Restaurant Opening Within Budget
Opening a restaurant can be a thrilling time. It’s an act of passion and inspiration, creating menus and setting up a venue where the world can come and taste your cuisine. Still, along with all the excitement comes the stark reality of finances. The fact is that opening a restaurant is an expensive undertaking. Even…
Expert Answers to Your Business Credit Questions
Not too long ago we invited a group of small business experts to a Twitter chat to answer questions about how business credit works and what you can do to build a strong business credit profile. David Bobbitt, President of SCORE, Rieva Lesonski, Editor at Large at Small Business Daily, Steve Nicastro from NerdWallet, Nellie Akalp,…
Why You Should Be Optimistic About Small Business–Even If Wall Street Isn’t
For anyone in the financial world, 2016 has been something of a roller coaster so far. Markets falling, then rising, then falling again, without much warning and often without an obvious reason. When Wall Street gets anxious, consumers tend to follow suit, which translates into nervousness about small business. The latest survey from the National…
What’s the Biggest Small Business Credit Misconception?
I recently spoke with Levi King, the CEO and co-founder of Nav (a free site offering business owners access to their personal credit scores and business credit profiles). When I asked him what the biggest misconception business owners have about business credit, he didn’t miss a beat. He said, “They don’t realize they have a…
Barbara Corcoran Seal of Approval Winners’ Dreams Becoming Reality
Our Barbara Corcoran Seal of Approval contest winners achieved a lot since meeting with Barbara and receiving $10,000 each from OnDeck to grow their businesses. The December 2015 consultation with Barbara sparked a steady amount of opportunities for our three winners. Read on to see what they accomplished since our last check in. The Gents…
How the Military Prepared these Veterans for the Business World
Militaries equip soldiers with the skills to fulfill their missions and be great leaders in the process. But what happens when the military service ends and its back to civilian life? Business ownership is one avenue open to these veterans, and two OnDeck customers were kind enough to share their stories of how they came…
5 Keys to Control Marginal Business Spending
You most likely have a very specific budget for your personal bank account. Every dollar has a place, and every purchase has a point. But do hold your business spending to the same standard? It’s easy for small business expenses to add up quickly. If you notice revenues leeching out of your business, and you’re…