Articles
Are You a Savvy Borrower?
A love of accounting is probably not the primary reason most entrepreneurs decide to start a business, but I think most of us would agree that at least a basic understanding of good accounting and bookkeeping practices are an important part of running a business. Likewise, mastering the ins and outs of financing is important…
Feeling Flush: How to Optimize Extra Cash
You work hard, you put in the hours, and now you’re seeing the effort pay off. When your profits leave you with extra cash in hand, what’s the best way to spend it? Setting up a proactive savings plan can make extra cash a normal thing for your business. However your coffers fill up, here…
What You Need to Know About Personal Guarantees
If you’ve ever applied for a small business loan, you might have been asked to provide a personal guarantee. A personal guarantee reduces a lender’s risk associated with a small business loan because it gives lenders the right to pursue your personal assets if your business defaults on its business loan. It’s important you understand…
How To Get Happy Customers To Write You Online Reviews
In the age of the Internet, reviews of your business are easier than ever for customers to write, and for potential customers to access. Before checking out a new store or the latest restaurant, potential customers frequently whip out Yelp or the company’s Facebook page. Positive reviews boost your visibility, give you a good reputation,…
Borrowing Through the Small Business Lifecycle
There’s no question there’s a difference in the financing options available to a startup, a growing company with two or three years under its belt, and an established business that has been around for ten or more years. Considering the small business lifecycle as we talk about small business financing will help point you in…
How to Nail These Four Business Public Speaking Occasions
There’s one thing that consistently tops the lists of people’s fears. It beats spiders, heights or plane crashes—even drowning. It’s public speaking. People would literally rather die than speak publically, according to this 2014 Washington Post poll. But as a business owner, you may be called upon to deliver a speech, with expectations that you’ll…
Open or Shut? How Small Businesses Owners Pick Business Hours
A sign with opening hours is one of the fixtures of a small business storefront. But “open” and “closed” are not quite as black and white as they appear at first, and there are a lot of decisions when it comes to the right times to operate as a small business. When should doors swing…
Building a Team to Defeat the Evil Empire
I was a junior in High School in 1977, when I waited in line for several hours to purchase two tickets to the premier of this new science fiction movie everyone was talking about. “The spaceships actually fly,” one of my friends had said. I wasn’t disappointed. Like most of my friends, I think I…
5 Clues to Help You Know if You May Qualify for an SBA Loan
Fiscal year 2015 was a good year for SBA lenders. While the SBA is not a direct lender, they guaranteed 63,000 loans totaling $23.6 billion—that’s 22 percent more loans and 23 percent more loan dollars than the previous year. The current SBA Administrator, Maria Contreras-Sweet is working hard to help as many small business owners…
Turn off the Lights and Print Less: 25 Ideas for Cutting Your Overhead
The old saying is true: you do have to spend money to make money. But overhead—the cost of running your business—doesn’t have to be through the roof. There are tons of ways to cut down on spending and increase your cash flow. None of these solutions will make or break your bottom line, but little…
5 Financing Tips for Women Business Owners
Women-owned businesses are the fastest growing segment of entrepreneurs in the United States and account for roughly 40 percent of the small businesses in our country. Unfortunately, “In 2014 the [House] Subcommittee on Small Business and Entrepreneurism published a report that said only 4% of the total dollar amount of business loans go to women-owned…
Four Growth Strategies To Build Your Business
Growth is important for any small business, but what’s the best way for your business to achieve growth? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Instead, there are several strategies you can employ; the key to success lies in choosing the strategy that best fits your particular business. Focus on a Specific Market Segment If your business has…
How to Make the Most of Your Small Business Facebook Page
Whether you use Facebook as your exclusive digital outreach, or as one piece of your online efforts, a little bit of knowledge goes a long way. Random updates and haphazard sharing aren’t going to gain followers; but with these best practices in place, you can work to gain new customers and increase customer loyalty. Build…
Financing Options for a Startup
With no history, no track record, and no revenue, borrowing capital for a startup can sometimes feel like searching for the Holy Grail. Nevertheless, there are options, but they might not be where you expect—here are three of the most popular: Friends and Family Borrowing from friends or family continues to be a very successful…
What Small Businesses Can Do To Enhance Their Cybersecurity
Doing business in the digital age means that cybersecurity isn’t something you can ignore. Small businesses are just as vulnerable as large businesses to hackers, data loss, and security breaches. Here are three important ways you can protect your business from an all-too-common hack. Educate Your Employees Informed employees are your most powerful weapon in…