Small Business Information


Congress's Latest Patent Legislation a Big Win for Entrepreneurs, Small Business


"Mr. Watson. Come here," Alexander Graham Bell said to his aide, "I want you." Those were the first words transmitted through Bell's breakthrough technology, the telephone. The history books document that moment, but a pivotal event took place three days earlier. On March 7, 1876, the U.S. Patent Office granted Bell patent number 174,465, cementing his legacy as the inventor of the telephone.

Why Many Business Owners Don’t Want Their Kids to Inherit the Company


Being a business owner is considered an “American Dream” by many, yet when it comes to succession planning, a recent survey reveals that not everyone feels the same way about passing the torch onto their children.

How Small Businesses Can Manage Cashflow to Thrive in 2023


Intelligent cashflow management is the essential fuel of startups and digital businesses, particularly in a challenging economy. According to experts, it can mean the difference between surviving, thriving and failure.

How to Attract the Best Candidates for Your Business


As most business owners know, one of the most valuable assets your enterprise needs to thrive is top-notch talent.

Small Business Tips to Launch and Thrive


May, which is National Small Business Month, is the ideal opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of small business owners, take a closer look at the challenges they face, and connect them with valuable resources.

Optimism Prevails Among Minority Business Owners, Survey Shows


Even as minority business owners face new economic challenges, including supply chain disruptions and inflation, results from PNC's recent Economic Outlook survey show an impressive resiliency and positive mindset among these business leaders, according to Marshalyn Odneal, national sales executive for Minority Business at PNC Bank.

7 Things to Consider Before Buying Small Business Accounting Software


The world of small business accounting software can be a minefield for any business owner. However choosing the right package is one of the most critical business decisions you will make.

3 Essential Tools for Starting and Maintaining a Small Business


We believe that there are 3 factors that drive the success of small businesses.

The Power of Why: Your Psychological Ally To Marketing Success!


Here's why 'WHY' is such a profit-making marketing trigger."Stop taking two and three plates of food," my mother said to me angrily.

Small Business Strategies - Four Critical Success Factors


Scenario OneDuring a recent presentation, a business owner was given the following challenge. If 10 of his 100 employees were asked to name the top 3 organizational goals for the current year as they perceived them to be, would he receive the same 3 goals from everyone or would he receive 5, 10 or even 25 different goals? The business owner shook his head and thoughtfully responded, "No, I am sure that I would receive more than 3 goals.

Starting Your Small Business


Where do you find more customers?How do you compete with bigger businesses?Answer. Build loyalty and rewards.

Attributes Of Companies You Don't Want To Buy!


There are no "rules of thumb" in the pursuit of companies tobuy. Each purchase opportunity has to stand on its own merits.

How to Achieve Real Success in Business: Five Breezy Tips


Achieving real success should be the goal of any good businessman. But what is real success? I believe that it is no just money, or instant growth.

Professional House Cleaning - The Dirty Little Secret


Are you tired yet of all the books out there telling you how easy it is to start a house cleaning business? I'm not inferring that all their information is bad, but let's be honest about how "easy" it really is.There's a dirty little secret hanging over the cleaning trade that nobody talks about, but every professional cleaner runs into.

Accounting Methods - Cash and Accrual


When starting a business, you have to determine the method you are going to use for accounting and paying taxes. The two choices are the cash method and the accrual method.

How to Start a Pet Transportation Business


Pet Transportation Services are needed as the number of pets in the U.S.

Is Your Business Profitable?


What's your job profitability? Do you know?Many business owners are unsure of their profitability at a company or job level. They "think" they are making money because they have a few dollars in their checking account.

Finding the Right Virtual Assistant for Your Small Business


Articles abound advising the business community how to properly screen when looking for a Virtual Assistant (VA). Unfortunately, some of the advice may lead you astray, as it often ignores the fact that VAs are not employees but independent contractors providing professional business to business (B2B) services.

Change May Be Your Ace in the Hole


Whether it has been thrust upon you by external market forces or it has simply bubbled up from the internal dynamics of your enterprise, change itself always presents opportunity for improvement. And in a knowledge based economy, change may be the only thing we can count on as small business people.

7 Tips to Improving Your Cash Flow


Cash is King..

Five Facts and One Motivating Factor Behind a Successful Home Business


All legitimate home business entrepreneurs insist and announce loud and clear that a successful home business is not about an overnight thing. And that you cannot get rich overnight and so on.

Breaking The Chains!


Everyday, customers and business owners are bombarded with billboards, logos, print and electronic ads from huge corporations. With annual ad budgets that are more than our businesses' SALES in an entire year, our small independent businesses are getting squeezed out of consumers minds (and wallets) more and more each year.

Todays Chef, Tomorrows Restaurateur -- Startup Tips by Restaurant Consultants Inc


Researching information for a recent business plan, I came across an interesting number of 54,000. What is the big deal about that? Over 54,000 new restaurant business licenses were applied for in the last twelve months nationally.


More Resources

Definition of Security: Small Business Owner
Yes, that IS security when nobody can downsize you because you OWN that small business of yours! But preserving that special advantage is a never-ending job. In fact, do you know what needs to be preserved more than anything else?Well, since they hold the future of your business in their hands, I believe that an outside group of people whose behaviors can effect your business' survival more than any other, deserves your rapt attention.
Deciding Which State To Incorporate Your Small Business In
Once you've decided to incorporate your small business the next step is deciding which state to incorporate in. A common misconception is that businesses must incorporate in their state of operation.
7 Card Tricks That Improve Your Personal Networking Power
CARD SHARK7 Card Tricks That Improve Your Personal Networking PowerThe humble business card has been a mainstay of business and industry for years. But despite it's small size and cost, it's one of the most powerful marketing tools you will ever possess.
An Example of Business Automation - eCards with pizazz
The last time I spoke and went into a bit of detail on business automation. Today I would like to give you some details of how I actually used it personally so you get to see first-hand what I wanted, how I went about doing it and finally executing it.
Comparing Boston Area for a mobile car wash business
The Boston suburbs seem to be rich with possible locations to wash cars and a mobile car wash would be well served in that market. The customers have good jobs, high paying salaries and indeed demand such personal car washing services.
Starting a Small Business: Balancing Risk and Reward
In a perfect world, starting a small business would be risk free, but just as with everything else; the degree of risk determines the value of the reward.According to the National Commission on Entrepreneurship, at any given time, 6% to 9% of the United States adult population is involved in planning for a new business.
Job Costing - Do You Know How?
What's your job profitability? I meet with business owners every day that are unsure of their profitability at a company or job level. They "think" they are making money because they have a few dollars in their checking account.
Three Big Barriers To Small Business Marketing Success
When you feel like you're always busy working on your business, but not getting where you want to go, it can be frustrating trying to figure out how to get your marketing on track. It can easily become a "not seeing the forest for the trees" feeling.
Racing the Competition
What is the Big Race all about when it comes to creating relationships?The big race is simply the ability to win the deal on a consistent basis. You will need to perfect your message, be able to state it clearly and precisely, and follow up relentlessly.
Virtual Assistant - Questions Answered
What is a Virtual Assistant?A Virtual Assistant is a person or persons with whom businesses and individuals outsource administrative and technical tasks. Virtual Assistants work from their home office.
Pressure Washing Market Niche
Those who are in the pressure washer business should not neglect the Hotel exterior cleaning niche. Many five-star hotels spend significant dollars in making sure that their grounds are meticulously cleaned.
Analyzing Customers in Your Business Plan
The Customer Analysis section of the business plan assesses the customer segments that the company serves. In it, the company must 1) identify its target customers, 2) convey the needs of these customers, and 3) show how its products and services satisfy these needs.
Packing Material Thats Cheap!
Shipping materials can be expensive! Even the styrofoam "peanuts" can cost a great deal. Here's a great idea for packing paterial that is bio-digradable, easy, and best of all.
Excuses Franchisees Make; When They Violate Exclusive Territory Agreements
One of the biggest excuses franchisees of home based and serviced based franchises make when violating their exclusive franchise agreement with their franchisor and fellow franchisees is: My Family Works There. As a franchisor, I cannot believe how many times neighboring franchisees steal each others clientele or work outside their exclusive franchise area.
Cashing In Your Chips & Pastures New
No, I'm not talking about gambling or dairy cows - although business is often referred to as a gamble, I'm referring to your exit strategy. That time when you decide to 'play no more' and go off and practise your golf swing.
Top 10 Mistakes to Avoid When Joining a Professional Association
I'll be the first to admit that I went a little nuts when I moved I moved recently in terms of going all-out to participate in a variety of professional associations. I had some experience with most of the groups that I visited in other places I had lived, or had clients who had positive experiences with certain groups.
Small Business - Is The Accounting Profession Ripping Them Off?
My 16 year-old daughter said, "Gee Dad! You look just like an accountant" And she wasn't being complimentary. Accountants are perceived to be boring, stodgy and conservative.
Why Do Franchisors have Exclusive Territories
The reason we Franchisors call it an exclusive territory is because we will not sell that area again to another franchisee. That is your area to market and to conquer and to generally obtain as much market penetration as possible.
Should I Franchise or Not?
A reader of one of my online sessions asked should he franchise his business or not. He had set up a service business and was getting ready to expand and wanted to know if franchising was a good potential strategy for this.
Leverage The Power of Publicity For Your Small Business
Your business is only as good as the number of people who knows about it. For your venture to grow, you need to start spreading the word about your business.

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Related Articles

Commodity Sales Prospecting - How to Stand Out From Your Competitors
I have received a number of requests for advice from salespeople and sales managers that sell "commodity" products and services. When I refer to commodities, I don't just mean pork bellies or frozen concentrated orange juice.
The Achilles Heel of Management Coaching
While heading home at day's end, you begin reflecting on a coaching meeting you had earlier that day with an employee, Chris. You hope that, this time, you finally succeeded in getting her to understand the importance of spending less time in disruptive socializing in the office and more time elevating her performance.
How to Sell Strategically
If you want to maximize your sales performance, take a strategic approach to selling. After all, wouldn't you agree that "the 80/20 rule" applies to customers, where approximately 20 percent of customers produce approximately 80 percent of sales?The starting point for strategic selling is figuring out a) which customers produce the bulk of your sales, and b) what they are buying.
5 Secrets to Managing Your Sales Manager Productively
Many people believe that the main reason for representatives leaving their organisation is that of money in that they leave for a bigger salary. In fact, the biggest reason why people leave organisations is that the role they are doing is no longer offering any challenge or excitement.
Is Sales Process & CRM Stopping Sales?
Standard metrics and KPI's (Key Performance Indicators) are created usually between The Sales Director, The Financial Director and The Managing Director. These KPI's tell the sales teams what they should be doing.
14 Top Lead Generation Tactics
According to former Harvard Business School professor David Maister, typical marketing practices are not only inapplicable for professional service firms, but they may be dangerously wrong.Often professional service firm principals tell me they are frustrated with the quality of their marketing materials, they are concerned with their firm's low profile or they feel pressure because their efforts are not generating enough new client leads.
6 Steps to Avoid Losing Summer Sales
It's a fact - the online world dies down in the summer time. Kids are out of school, families are on vacation, there's fairs to attend to, and many are just spending too much time outside to be online.
A Fracas in the Franchise - Keep Your Customers by Keeping Your Workers
As a previous owner of a Franchise I know the importance of maintaining employee commitment, loyalty and enthusiasm in maximising customer satisfaction, generating positive customer perception and protecting your investment.Repeat business is the life-blood of any business worth its salt.
Is Your Sales Trust Factor High Enough to Win Against the Competition?
How high is your sales trust factor?Is it higher than the sales trust factor of your competition?It should be, if you want to increase your success in sales.Your trust factor represents the level of trust that buyers have in you as a seller.
Drop Discounts and Earn Top Dollar
Every dollar you discount is a dollar of pure profit you're giving away. Therefore, your efforts to remove discounts will be richly rewarded.
The Nine Warning Signs that You Need a Sales Video
Corporate videos are an important sales tool that can often be overlooked in marketing budgets.We look at the top nine tell-tale signs that indicate whether your company is in need of an innovative and effective way to promote itself.
How To Build A Worldwide Distributor Network
When your product is market ready and has a good bargain, it will be no value to you if you don't know who's going to buy it, or how you are going to tell the world about it. Your product will only sell if it has a good wide distribution network.
Getting Off The Advertising And Sales Rollercoaster
Seeing the results of advertising your business can be like watching a roller coaster. The day you run your ad you see a flurry of activity; your ph0ne starts ringing, your web site traffic increases and/ or potential clients visit your store.
10 Things to Help Your Business When Sales Are Slow During the Holidays
Twiddling your thumbs and waiting for some business to come in? Why not use this downtime to set yourself up for greater success in the new year? Here are my 10 picks, but you don't have to do them all. Even doing just one will get you another rung higher on your business ladder.
Sales & Marketing Plan Strategies
Design and Implementation of a new Sales & Marketing campaign must be carefully thought through from the beginning. What message do you want to send about your company, products, and services? What are the anticipated results? What is the execution strategy? What is the cost ratio versus expected return?These are just a few of the questions that run through our minds in the early stages of planning.
Pointless Targets
I recall a heated discussion with a sales director some time ago where I proposed that the long-term effect of setting activity targets for salespeople would eventually lead to failure. He vehemently made the point that he had systematically imposed activity targets on his sales force and that the result had been to treble average income per salesperson within 18 months.
3 Ways to Increase Your Sales
Last week I got a call from Jose, who was looking for help improving his ads. He'd been running the same ad in four local papers for two months and only gotten one response.
Increasing Business Through Distributors
You're a small company with a good product. You are confident that the product can sell, but you don't have the financial resources to hire a team of fifty salespeople to market and sell the product for you.
The Hardest Job Of A Trade Show
You've heard this before: There were four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure Somebody would do it.
Shorten Sales Cycles in Complex Sales Environments
Help buyers discover the answers they need to understand and align all of their decision variables.In complex sales, salespeople often find themselves negotiating their way through a web of decision influencers, conflicting initiatives, and multiple priorities.