Articles in Home | Business | Small Business

  • Finding Free Advice For Small Businesses  By : Joseph Hanoa
    If you are starting a small business or presently operating one, then you know seeking professional advice can cost you a bundle. You already have limited means to get your business going, the added the stress and expense of hiring professional help can sink your business faster than almost anything else.
  • Small Business Legal Mistakes to Avoid  By : Vlad Ehrsam
    If you’re a small business owner who knows little about the legalities involved with running a small business you’re not alone. The Small Business Association recommends that small business owners take one if not several legal classes in order to familiarize themselves with potential legal issues. Not knowing where you stand in certain legal matters can leave you at a serious disadvantage. Get to know your rights so you can make smart business decisions.
  • Record Your Assets  By : John Hivern
    If you're a small business owner, you probably know by now how important it is to efficiently manage your assets. This fact is most evident at tax time each year. Whether you're talking about cash or other physical assets, managing them doesn't have to be difficult.
  • Small Business Secret #4 – The 10 Chapter Elements Every Business Plan Must Have to Be Successful  By : Chris Le Roy
    One of the ten most important documents you must have in creating a successful small business, and in fact any business is the Business Plan. The Business Plan is the overall summary document that describes how your business will work, how people will invest into your business and how the business will operate.
  • Venturing Into a New Business  By : Vlad Ehrsam
    In the present times, full of instability, with lay-offs and downsizing becoming a norm there are a lot of individuals who have turned the tide in their favour by starting off a business venture of their own. Starting off one's business is rewarding endeavor as you have the reigns of your destiny. It's no longer about being accountable to anyone or dealing with office politics but it just happens to be a one-man show.
  • Small Business Secret #5: Choose Your Customers Carefully They Are What Can Make Or Break You  By : Chris Le Roy
    When you start out in small business pretty much every small business owner has the perception that everybody is their customer. In fact taking on this strategy can be the death knell of your business before you really get started. The key secret to small business is to carefully choose who you want to be a customer. Do not get trapped into believing that you have to have everyone as your customer.
  • Don't Let Your Excuses Stop Your Small Business Ideas!  By : ove nordkvist
    So many people have small business ideas. They dream of becoming their own boss. For most of them it stays as a dream, there are just to many excuses. However, some people don't let excuses stop them, they just do it.
  • Small Business: Ten Traits All Small Business Owners Must Have To Be Successful  By : Chris Le Roy
    Winning in Small Business is as hard as running a race in the Olympics, actually I think harder, but the interesting fact is that the traits to succeed in small business are the same ones athletes use to succeed in any sport. Essentially the ten traits small business owners must have to succeed are the same ones we all must have if we ever think that we will achieve something in our lives.
  • Pay-Per-Click Advertising  By : Vlad Ehrsam
    Pay-Per-Click, or PPC advertising, is an alternative to traditional search engine advertising and is growing in popularity among marketers. The concept itself is pretty easy to understand. When online surfers type in their keywords in search of sites to provide them with the information they want, a list of the most relevant sites appears. Located in close proximity to this keyword- generated list is another grouping of website URL’s and these are all people who have opted for Pay-Per-Click advertising. Owners of these sites using PPC advertising must pay the search engine company every time a surfer clicks on the link to their site. PPC advertising has a number of distinct advantages like:
  • It's All Up To YOU  By : Tim Knox
    If you're waiting for Ed McMahon to show up on your doorstep and proclaim, "This is your lucky day!" you are going to have a long, miserable wait. Ed can't make you a success. I can't make you a success. It is all up to YOU.
  • Santa: The Consummate Entrepreneur  By : Tim Knox
    You've probably never considered the fact that Santa is the CEO of a large organization that not only distributes a vast assortment of products throughout the world, but does so in a single night with just a sleigh and eight tiny reindeer. Sam Walton would have killed to have Santa's logistics manual.
  • The Entrepreneur's Checklist  By : Tim Knox
    I was asked the other day what personality traits I thought were important to entrepreneurial success. I immediately gave my preprogrammed reply about passion and dedication and hard work. After taking some time later to ponder the question a little deeper (I normally operate in shallow waters), I came up with a more detailed checklist for entrepreneurial success.
  • Please Don't Buy Anything From Me  By : Tim Knox
    This week I had one customer threaten to hunt be down and shoot me like a dog. Another said that if she could get her hands around my neck she'd strangle the life out of me. And still another sincerely hoped that I "burn in Hell for all eternity." What did I do to deserve these threats
  • What's Your Company's Email Policy?  By : Tim Knox
    Does your company have an email policy? Did you even know there was such a thing? Well, there is, and if your company doesn't have one you are not only risking the professional image of your firm, but also risking potential liability issues that may arise from the misuse of your company email system.
  • The Bad Guys Are Phishing For Your Personal Information  By : Tim Knox
    The latest attempt by phishers (identity thieves) to steal the personal information of eBay members hit my inbox earlier this week and I have to say, this one is pretty convincing. Even this old dog did a double-take before realizing that the identity thieves were phishing for my personal information again.
  • Why A Good Credit Score Is Important To Your Business  By : Tim Knox
    Whether you're in business or an individual, you should have an idea of what your credit score is, even if you're not currently applying for credit. Knowing your credit score and occasionally checking your credit reports also helps you protect yourself from identity theft and credit fraud.
  • Do I Really Need A Business License and Tax ID?  By : Tim Knox
    I've gotten quite a few emails recently from ebusiness owners who seem to think that just because their business is conducted online or from the comfort of home that the rules and regulations that govern brick and mortar businesses do not apply to them. The ebusiness questions I get most often do not involve building websites or conducting ecommerce
  • How To Boost Your Bottom Line With Just Two Little Words  By : Tim Knox
    I hate to sound like one of those cheesy get-rich-quick commercials, but this week I am going to let you in on a little secret that is so powerful that it will immediately change the way you do business. In fact, this little secret is so powerful that you will be amazed at its immediate effect on you, your employees, and your bottom line. This little secret is guaranteed to improve your relationship with current customers and if used wisely,
  • How To Profit Using eBay's Saved Search Feature  By : Tim Knox
    Did you know that eBay will help you locate products you can buy cheap, then flip for a quick profit? No? Then listen up, because I am about to let you in on a little known feature of eBay that can literally stuff wads of cash in your wallet in less than 24 hours.
  • Are You Mentor Material?  By : Tim Knox
    Typically, there are three things every good mentor should have: time, patience, and a genuine desire to help another person succeed without expecting anything in return. If you have an abundance of those things, then being a mentor can be a highly rewarding experience. If not, please see the rubber plant reference
  • Is Brick and Mortar A Passing Fad?  By : Tim Knox
    During the dot-com boom the mantra was “Brick and mortar is dead!” Then when most of the dot-com’s crashed like an elephant sitting on a wicker chair, the mantra suddenly changed back to “The Internet is dead! Long live brick and mortar!”
  • For Entrepreneurs A SIMPLE Plan May Be Best  By : Tim Knox
    Let me give you a quick overview of a few of the retirement plans available to small businesses so you at least have an idea of what’s out there before you start your search for a good financial advisor.
  • To Go or No Go, That Is The Question  By : Tim Knox
    Many entrepreneurs would rather have their front teeth pulled without anesthetic than go to the time and trouble of creating a feasibility plan; often because they are afraid of what it will reveal
  • How Good Is Your Big Idea  By : Tim Knox
    Every business idea, no matter how good it sounds while bouncing around inside your head, should be put to the test before you invest time and money into its execution. Success lies not in what you think of your idea, but what the buying public will think. Many entrepreneurs find out too late that the public’s opinion of their idea differs greatly from their own.
  • Veteran Entrepreneurs Are Growing In Ranks  By : Tim Knox
    What my eldest offspring doesn’t understand is I have a great life. In fact, I am living the life I have always dreamed of living. My life just happens to revolve around Planet Business. I am an entrepreneurial addict, a business junkie. Business is my chocolate, my Krispy Kreme donut, my nicotine, my caffeine, my crack. Maybe I’ll start a 12 step program for entrepreneurs who want to kick the habit and charge a cover to get in. Hi, my name is Tim, and I’m an entrepreneur.
  • Opportunity Does Not Knock  By : Tim Knox
    I can tell you that as a breed, entrepreneurs are an impatient lot and many jump on the first business bandwagon that comes along just for the sake of being in business. That’s a big mistake that usually comes back to bite them in their entrepreneurial behinds.
  • Teaching The Big Boys To Think Small  By : Tim Knox
    Last week I told you about a recent report from The Conference Board that has a lot of big company CEOs concerned about competition from smaller, more innovative and entrepreneurially-minded companies. To refresh your memory, The Conference Board's CEO Challenge 2004 reported that 87% of the 540 global businesses surveyed cited innovation and enabling entrepreneurship as priorities for their companies, and 31% considered these issues of "greatest concern.”
  • Teaching Large Companies To Think Like The Little Guys  By : Tim Knox
    The fact that innovation and entrepreneurship run rampant in smaller companies, but is often suppressed in larger companies is nothing new. Management guru Peter Drucker first addressed the issue in his 1985 book, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Drucker wrote that one of the most often-asked questions in many a 1985 boardroom was, “How can we overcome the resistance to innovation that plagues most organizations?”
  • Don't Be Afraid To Give Problem Customers The Boot  By : Tim Knox
    We have all had customers who expected far more than was their due: customers who were unreasonable, overly-demanding, condescending, hard to please and sometimes, even dishonest in their dealings with you. When a customer's reasonable expectations become unreasonable demands you must decide whether or not that customer is doing more harm to your business than good.
  • Cut Start-Up Costs By Using a Dropshipper  By : Tim Knox
    Dropshippers, as they're called
    --are an excellent way to start your e-business and, if done properly, don't have to be a costly endeavor. There are literally hundreds of companies out there that will dropship products for you, everything from gifts and housewares to power tools and furniture.
  • Business Is No Guarantee of Riches  By : Tim Knox
    We have all had customers who expected far more than was their due: customers who were unreasonable, overly-demanding, condescending, hard to please and sometimes, even dishonest in their dealings with you. When a customer's reasonable expectations become unreasonable demands you must decide whether or not that customer is doing more harm to your business than good.
  • Credit Cards, Merchant Accounts, and Your Bottomline  By : Tim Knox
    The decision to accept credit cards is a wise one for any retailer. I agree with financial guru Dave Ramsey's teachings regarding the use and abuse of credit cards. Many people dig deep holes with credit cards that are hard to climb out of. But, from a practical business point of view, any retail business that does not accept credit cards is leaving money on the table.
  • What's In A Name? When It Comes To Your Business, Plenty!  By : Tim Knox
    In fact, deciding on a business name is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. The right business name can help you rise above the crowd while the wrong business name can leave you trampled in the rush.
  • The Business of Identity Theft  By : Tim Knox
    The allure of PayPal is that it does not require the seller to have a bank merchant account through which to process credit cards. Anyone with a verifiable email address and bank account can use PayPal and the service can be implemented almost immediately after registering.
  • Taxing Your eBay Profits  By : Tim Knox
    As a small business person-slash-advice columnist I dread the first quarter of the new year. Not because in my mind my own business fortunes start at zero again every January or because I have already dismissed every New Year’s resolution I made when the clock rang out the New Year. No, the reason I dread the first quarter of the new year is that my email box floods with questions about business taxes and the IRS, my two least favorite subjects on earth.
  • Do You Have What It Taks To Be An Entrepreneur  By : Tim Knox
    There are a variety of skills you'll need to succeed as an entrepreneur and chances are do not possess them all. One of the great things about being an entrepreneur is that if you lack certain skills you can always hire people with those skills to help round out your company skill set.
  • Entrepreneurs Just Get Better With Age  By : Tim Knox
    According to recent studies 22 percent of men and 14 percent of women over 65 are self-employed. That's compared to just 7 percent for other age groups. According to a Vanderbilt University study the number of entrepreneurs age 45 to 64 will grow by 15 million by 2006.
  • There Are No Dumb Business Questions, Not!  By : Tim Knox
    I've gotten a few head-scratchers in response to this column. You know who you are, but don't worry, your secret is safe with me. I have a confession to make. Writing an advice column, whether it be advice for love or money or business, is often hard to do with a straight face. Occasionally a question comes over the digital transom that just makes me go, "Huh?"
  • The Thick Line Between Buddy and Boss  By : Tim Knox
    I have made just about every business blunder you can imagine. I am like the Evel Knievel of the small business world, if Evel Knievel wrote a weekly column on motorcycle safety. One of the more unpleasant things I've had to do is fire a good friend who was not doing the job I hired him to do. He needed a job, I needed an employee, so I thought I would give him a shot
  • The Business Autopsy: A Fact Of Life  By : Tim Knox
    Last week we discussed the importance of performing an autopsy on a dead business. No, I haven't been watching too many of those wonderfully graphic, TV forensic investigation shows. The reason I recommend you do a business autopsy is to uncover the exact reasons why the business died
  • The  By : Tim Knox
    "This year I will start my own business!" I call it "The American Dream Resolution," and like most New Year's resolutions it is a proclamation of intent that is often made, but seldom carried out (at least in an effective manner).
  • Perceived Value Is In The Eye Of The Beholder  By : Tim Knox
    Pricing is an important aspect of every business because price is used to create financial projections, establish a break even point, and calculate profit and loss. It's also important to establish a good price point from the beginning because it is much easier to lower prices than to raise them.
  • Investing In Son's Business Could Cause A Real Family Feud  By : Tim Knox
    It sounds like your wife wants to make a gift of the money, expecting nothing in return but the undying love of her last born son. You, on the other hand, don't know if you should offer the money as a loan (should I loan him the money) or as an investment (worried that my investment will be lost). Until you can make that distinction, your money should remain in the bank.
  • How To Tell If Your Amazing New Product Idea Is Really Worth Gambling On  By : Tim Knox
    I'm a lousy poker player, mainly because I can't help grinning like the village idiot when blessed with a winning hand or frowning like a sad clown when dealt a dud. I also never make odds on the success of "amazing new products" because more often than not the only thing that's amazing is the way the product is totally ignored by the buying public.
  • When It Comes To eBay, Don't Follow The Herd  By : Tim Knox
    While it's true that selling products on eBay can be a quick, low cost way to launch an online business, following the herd by selling the "hot product" of the moment, is not a great idea. To the contrary, chances are you will be stomped in the ground by the herd and left lying in the dust with your unsold inventory in hand.
  • Don't Fall For The Latest Internet Identity Theft Scam  By : Tim Knox
    The shear number of PayPal customers is one reason it has become a popular target of scam artists trying to steal personal information from individuals and businesses alike. Identify theft is on the rise. Thanks to the Internet stealing someone's identity has never been easier. At any given moment, there are any number of Internet thieves using all manner of high tech wizardry to steal personal and business information from unsuspecting souls,
  • How To Create Your Own Info Product  By : Tim Knox
    In the last article we talked about why informational products are the best type of products to sell online. An informational product can be a digital book (known as an e-book), a digital report or a white paper, a piece of software, audio or video files, a web site, an ezine (electronic magazine), or a newsletter.
  • Is Selling On eBay Just A Hobby Or A Real Business?  By : Tim Knox
    With so many people selling on eBay these days this is a question I get all the time. To many eBay sellers the thought of running an actual business is about as appealing as getting negative feedback, so they go out of their way to convince themselves that selling on eBay is really "just a hobby" and therefore, should not be susceptible to income tax laws
  • Website Design Considerations  By : Tim Knox
    If you want to be a web designer, be a web designer. However, if the key focus of your business is building widgets, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that your time would be better spent building widgets, not Web sites.
  • Use Noncompete Agreements To Help Protect Your Business From  By : Tim Knox
    Renegade former employees riding the free enterprise wave is one reason noncompete agreements are gaining in popularity among employers who hope to use them to help protect their business from competitive threats launched by former employees. Many employers are now demanding that key employees sign noncompetes as a stipulation of employment.

 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Article Monk Category Navigation

Arts & Entertainment | Business | Communications | Computers | Disease & Illness | Fashion | Finance
Food & Beverage | Health & Fitness | Home & Family | Internet Business | Miscellaneous | Politics | Product Reviews
Recreation & Sports | Reference & Education | Self Improvement | Society | Travel & Leisure | Vehicles | Writing & Speaking

Use of our service is protected by our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
© Copyright 2006-2008 Free Articles ArticleMonk.com. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Free Article Directory - Article Directory - Ezine Articles - Free Website Content - Submit your Article

Powered by Article Dashboard