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We Don't Need No Stinking Permits
Unless you're renting simple office space odds are you will need to make some
modifications to the space, be it adding walls, flooring, paint, electrical,
plumbing, or any combination thereof. But before you start
putting up walls and installing counters, find out what you should do first.
Tips for Dealing with Contractors
Ready to build out your new retail space? If you want the job done right, and in
time for your grand opening, then choose your
contractors carefully.
Time To Sign A Lease; Get Your First Born Ready
You've finally found the perfect location for your new business. Before you sign
a lease remember that no matter now friendly your prospective landlord seems,
the lease is not likely to be in your favor. Here
are some points to consider before signing a commercial lease.
It’s Not All About Location, Location, Location
No matter what your product or service the key to finding a great location is
through good old fashioned legwork. Beyond identifying whether a location has
the amount and type of traffic your business needs, you'll also need to consider
things like sign ordinances, building ordinances, and whether there'll be enough
parking available. Read more >>
Find the Best Location for Your
Business
You've done your market research and are ready to choose a location for your new
business. Should you locate next to Wal-Mart, a grocery store, or in a strip
mall on the other side of town? Find out how to
scout and research potential storefronts in this continuing series from business
author and radio host Tim Knox.
Learn to Avoid Ugly Baby
Syndrome
Market research is something that many entrepreneurs choose to skip when
planning a new business. Maybe they find the task too overwhelming, or perhaps
they are afraid they'll find out their business idea can't succeed - that their
"baby" isn't so cute after all. Read more >>
Never Dive Into Business Without A
Startup Plan
Trying to launch a business without a startup plan is like taking a trip along a
curvy, mountain road without a map, driving at high speeds, while wearing a
blindfold. Here are some key items you should include
in your startup plan.
How to Become a Consultant
Consulting is one of the fasting growing industries in the US and technology is
making it easier everyday for individuals to put their expertise to use in an
independent consulting business. Find out what a
consultant does and what the steps are to becoming one >>
Be Careful What You Wish For
What if you woke up tomorrow and had achieved the success of your dreams? Do you
think you'd be happy with your life? Find out what happened
to one entrepreneur whose wish to become a successful author came true.
Unleashing Your Entrepreneurial Spirit
Is your career making you miserable, but you don't want to give it up to be your
own boss because of the security and stability your job offers? One day you may
wake up and realize that you'd be happier living with the risks of running a
business, but why wait? Here's how you can
jump start your entrepreneurial spirit and get out of that rut sooner rather
than later.
Turn Your Start-Up into an Instant Cash
Cow
Getting a business off the ground doesn't have to be difficult, expensive or
time consuming - when you know how to do it right. Learn
how to get your business up and running quickly and bringing in the dough
without delay.
Free Accounting
Software
While you're on the
www.IWillJustStart.com website,
if you aren't
already using QuickBooks software for your accounting, look on the top of the
page for the free resources link. Click on it and you'll get the chance to download a full working,
free copy of QuickBooks Simple Start 2008.
7 Ways to Start a Business
without Going Broke
Is finding the money to support yourself during the early stages of your
business holding you back? There's no doubt that some sacrifices will be
necessary, but if you're trying to support a family, your choices are limited.
Here are seven strategies you can employ to reduce
the financial strain of your startup.
How
Your Boss Can Help You Build Your Business
Can your boss help you build your business? With a little creativity on your
part and by ensuring your employer reaps rewards, a win-win situation can be
created. Read more >>
Have You Created an Impossible
Business?
It's easy to think that any business can be successful if you work hard enough,
but there are many situations where this just isn't so.
Here are two businesses that could have been big failures if the owners hadn't
made major changes to the way they operate.
Five Common Mistakes to
Avoid in Choosing a Trademark
You have selected your new trademark, service mark or business name and have
paid marketing and advertising professionals handsomely for their services. But
wait - is that name you picked protectable?
Here are five common mistakes you should avoid >>
The Purpose Driven
Business
What's the purpose of your business? For most people, it's to gain
more freedom and time to do what they want with their lives. But
running a business can quickly become all-consuming.
Read more >>
Can You Turn Your Great Idea into a Hot New Business?
Think your brilliant idea will make you a million bucks if you could
just turn it into a business? Before you
sink your life's savings into launching that business, consider these
points.
6 Great Ways for Teens to Make Some
Green This Summer
Is your teenager too young to get a job at Burger King but wants to earn some money? Does your older teen yearn for a business of his or her own?
Here are six great entrepreneurial enterprises to help
teens beat summer boredom while earning some money.
How and Why to Register a Trademark
You've come up with a great name for your product or business and you want to be
sure no one else uses it. Do you need to get it trademarked? Is registering a
trademark something you can do on your own? Find out
here >>
Pros and Cons of Business
Partnerships
Starting a business with a partner offers many benefits, not the least
of which is having someone to share the many responsibilities of running a
business. But partnerships can quickly go bad if you don't give it ample
forethought and planning. Consider these pros and
cons to be sure your partnership lasts.
Running a
21st-Century Small Business
Companies employing ten people or less are the
economic powerhouses of the twenty-first century. Now in a new and
updated edition, Running a 21st-Century Small Business tells
you how you can start your very own small business--and keep it
running profitably.
Read Chapter 1
here >>
Business Startup Cost Cutters
Stocking your new business with the equipment and supplies you need doesn't
have to bust your budget. Here are several
ways you can control costs as you start a business.
Top 7 Reasons Businesses
Fail
When you're starting a new business, the last thing you want to focus on
is failure. But if you address the common reasons for failure up front,
you'll be much less likely to fall victim to them yourself.
Here are the top 7 reasons why businesses
fail and tips for avoiding them.
How Business
Start-Up Dreams Come True
Dreams aren't always realized in one big step. Lifelong dreams, like
those of running your own business, are often met a bit at a time
until one day you wake up and realize that that once far-off goal is
now within reach.
Read more >>
Book Excerpt: Rich Dad's Before
You Quit Your Job
The real secret to making money and reaching financial independence is not
staying an employee, but starting a company and quickly developing it. Rich
Dad's Before You Quit Your Job is for aspiring entrepreneurs who need to
know how to take those first crucial steps. Read
Chapter 1, "What is the Difference Between an Employee and Entrepreneur?" here
>>
Business Start Up Learning Curve
From accounting to hiring and firing, from purchasing to marketing, when you
start a business, you have to know everything. And though you can pick those
things up from a book, it might be some aspect of your personality that
determines your survival. Read more >>
Build the Business to Suit Your Life
When you start a business, it will naturally mold itself to fit your life. If it
doesn't, then you probably won't succeed. And, the business you build today will
likely change as your life changes. Read more >>
Relationship Marketing Small
Business Style
What does it take to be successful? Coming up with a great product or
service idea? Finding the funding and getting the business off the ground?
Finding a market? Yes, those are important, but you also have to build
relationships to grow your business. Here's how
>>
Business Plan Basics: Analyzing Your
Customers
An important step in writing a successful and useful business plan is analyzing
your customers. Without knowing who your customers are, you can't effectively
market your products or services, nor are you likely to find anyone willing
to invest in your business. Here is how to analyze your
customers for your business plan.
How to Land Your First
Client
It’s not surprising that consulting is attractive to many people who want to
launch a business. After all, if you have a saleable skill, it’s seems like an easy
business to enter. But just how do you get the clients you need to when you
start a consulting business?
Click here>>
Business Opportunity FAQ
If you're looking for a way to start a business without a lot of hassle,
business opportunity ads might be very tempting. But how do you know which ones
are legitimate and which ones are scams? How can you be sure you buy the one
that's right for you? Get the answer to these questions, and more, in
Business Know-How's Business Opportunity FAQ.
How to Use Graphs
and Charts in Your Business Plan
A picture is worth a thousand words... but that doesn't mean you need
a graph or chart for every statistic or projection in your business
plan. Find out when graphs and charts can
help your business plan, and when they can hurt it >>
12 Ways To Start A
Business
Good business ideas are all around you! Here are just a few ways to
find the real opportunities to start your own business.
Start-Up Checklist
Starting a business? Wondering what to do first? What next? This handy checklist will
help.
Women Entrepreneurs
Some people believe that women make better entrepreneurs than men. But, though
the number of women-owned businesses has gone up, the receipts from women-owned
businesses is still much lower than men-owned businesses.
Read more >>
Four Reasons Small Businesses Succeed
What do successful businesses have that troubled businesses don't? The answer is
in these four key management techniques. Details >>
Tough Questions To Ask Yourself Before
Starting A Business
Before you decide to start a business, you might want to think about the qualities you possess, what makes you tick and how that might help you be a more successful business owner.
Before you make that big decision, ask yourself
these questions. Six Ways to Reduce Your Start-Up Risks
People typically spend more time planning a vacation than they do their
financial future. The same can be said for the way most people approach a new
business. Here are six ways that you can reduce your
start-up risks by working for free.
Veterans Have Entrepreneurial
Spirit
American veterans have a strong entrepreneurial sprit, according to a study
released by the SBA Office of Advocacy. The study shows that 22 percent of
veterans are either purchasing or starting a new business, or considering it.
Read more >>
Running the Family Business
Immigrants who come to America and launch a business have the right idea in
their approach to running an enterprise – they get the whole family involved.
Mom, dad, the grandparents, even the kids all pitch in to make sure the business
is a success.
Read more >>
Find a Need and Fill It
Most of the dot coms that failed did so not because they were bad ideas, but
because they didn't solve anyone's problem. Whether you're starting up an online
company or opening a brick and mortar store, finding a need and filling it is
key to your success.
Read more >>
Should You Work with Your Spouse?
You may think that it would be wonderful to be in business with your spouse, but
the truth is that when life partners become business partners, unspoken
assumptions can cause significant problems. Read more >>
What Does It Take to Run a Business?
Are you smart enough? Tough enough? Brave enough? Stupid enough? If
you’re stupid enough, you don’t have to be brave. If you’re smart enough, you
don’t have to be tough. Read more >>
Working Hard, or Working Too Hard?
When you become an entrepreneur, you realize you never really worked that hard
for your boss. You probably feel you need to spend every spare moment working on
your business. But are all those hours actually productive?
Read more >>
The 7 Perils of Entrepreneurship
If you’ve been out of work for a while, or are just plain tired of the work
you’ve been doing for years, you may be thinking of starting a business. If so,
get ready to embark on an exciting, rarely dull, often nerve wracking journey.
Read more >>
Wrestling the Fear Monkey
When you launch a business you get to face your fears. If it’s your first
company or if it’s your 14th business, you will have to cope with fear. Even if
you don’t face your fears, they’ll sneak in while you’re sleeping or while you’re
driving down the street. Read more >>
Going Into Business for Yourself
If there ever was an oxymoron, "going into business for yourself" is a prime
example. No one can be "in business for yourself" because people have to be in
business to fulfill the wants and needs of other people, businesses, and
organizations.
Read more >>
The Hidden Rule of Positive Thinking
Thoughts go through your head whether you want them to or not, and if you’ve
taken on the weight of starting a new company, those thoughts are best centered
on your belief that you can actually lift the weight.
Read
more >>
How Successful Ventures Get Started
Find a need and fill it. That's the age-old formula for success. But does it
work? Here's how two different entrepreneurs put that principle to work.
Read more >>
The Many Hats of Business
As a new business owner, it's important for you to figure out, in advance,
exactly how you are going to get everything done in the time available to you.
Here is a list of the many different people you may have
to be at one time or another.
Tips for Launching Your Own Business
Thinking about starting your own business? Here's advice from a successful
entrepreneur who knows first-hand what it takes to get a business up and
running. Details >>
How to Be a Top-Earning Coach or Consultant
You know your stuff. You are an undisputed expert in your field.
The few customers you've helped sing your praises. But that's the
problem. There are still too few customers. What's the single most
important thing you can do build your business and grow your profits?
Click here for details >>
Turning Startup Dreams Into Reality
Making the transition from running the family business to owning your own
business seems like it should be easy enough. But this entrepreneur found out
that full-fledged business ownership had a few more lessons in store for her.
Read more >>
Why NOW Is the Right Time to Start a Business
With the economy struggling to recover from a lengthy recession, you
might think that starting a business would be a bad idea. According to columnist
Rob Spiegel, however, just the opposite is true. Find out why he believes
right now is the best time to launch a new business.
Details >>
Break-Even Point Analysis
How soon will your business be profitable? A break-even analysis is one of the business
planning tools that can help you make that determination.
Learn how to calculate your break-even point and how
the information can help your planning.
Grab Discipline from Desperation
Discipline can provide you with a very manageable and enjoyable life - even if
you're self employed. These three simple principles live at the heart of
home-based business discipline.
Read more >>
Braving the Rattler
The ups and downs of running a business are a lot like a roller coaster ride -
with one exception. Read more>>
Singing Your Way to Success
Entrepreneurs can take a lesson from Sheryl Crow hit, “Soak up the Sun.” During
the chorus she sings, “For every time I feel lame; I’m looking up.” For those
who start and build a new enterprise, the need to keep “looking up” is critical
for success.
Read more >>
What Happens if You Fail?
The battle cry of many an entrepreneur is "failure is not an option!" But what
happens if you do fail? Read more >>
7 Roller Coaster Stages of a Start Up
Launching and building a business is a nerve-wracking journey that will change
your personality and alter your very essence.
Here’s
a quick sketch of the emotional ride of a business start-up.
Choosing a Business Coach
If you're about to start a small business of your own, you may be looking for a
mentor or coach to guide you along the way. These tips
can help you avoid choosing a coach that could do more harm than good.
How to Create a Money Making Niche
Niches are what all successful products and services have in
common, without exception. These 14
commandments can help you create a money making niche of your own.
What It Really Means to Be the Boss
The drive to get away from an "idiot boss" is what leads many people to start
their own business. However, a few years down the road that entrepreneur may be
surprised to find him or herself sitting on the other side of that manager's
desk. Details >>
Personality Traits of Entrepreneurs
The personal qualities of entrepreneurs are either positive or negative
depending on who’s talking. Here are some of the myths
surrounding entrepreneurs and start-up companies.
Home Business Startup Cost Cutters
Stocking your new home office with the equipment and supplies you need
doesn't have to bust your budget. Here are several
ways you can control costs as you start your home business.
Riding the Business Owner Roller Coaster
When your career is made up of a series of jobs, your progress is more or less
linear. When you own your business, however, life is dramatically less stable.
Read more >>
Survival Strategies for Entrepreneurs
Going to work for yourself is a huge step, and a sometimes scary one at that.
Here are ten strategies that can help you survive and even succeed.
Read more >>
Write a Marketing Plan
Do you need to write or revise your marketing plan? Before the holiday season is
an ideal time for most of us to plan for the year to come.
Here's a sample to
get you started.
Selling Books by the Truckload
Has anyone told you that you can sell
books by the truckload? Selling books in big quantities has put more than one
publisher on the map. Read More >>
Self-Publishing
Thinking about self-publishing a book? Read how one man transformed a dream
into a business. Details >>
Marketing Plans
Having a written marketing plan will continually lead you toward financial
gain. Fortunately, writing a marketing plan doesn't have to be a complicated
process. Read more >>
Rejecting Rejection
Is it your goal to become a published writer? Rejection letters
are an all-too-frequent bump on the road to meeting that goal, but persistence
does pay off! Read more >>
Work from Home
Would working from home be your dream come true? Most people would eagerly jump
at the opportunity. Before you do, consider all the angles.
Read more >>
Launching a Business
For many entrepreneurs, the dream of owning their own business goes hand-in-hand
with the desire to spend more time with family. Often, though, the two can be
counterproductive. Read more >>
Growing Your Business
Growing a business is similar to tending a vegetable garden. Knowledge,
careful planning, organized systems, use of proper tools, continuous care, and
dedication give you the very best crop. Read more
>>
Startup Tips & Resources
The best, and least expensive, time to give your business direction is before
you start it. The next best time is right now. These tips and resources are just
what you need to get started in planning your own business.
Finding Customers
What's the hardest thing about starting a business? For many new business
owners, the answer is "Finding customers." Here are 11 suggestions to
get you started.
The Secret to Success
No matter what stage of life you are in, you
can organize yourself for success. All it takes is to set your
long term goals and then map out your own path for achieving them.
Sweet Success
How do you build your dream business when you have no
experience in that industry? The road to
riches may not be easy, but perseverance pays off.
Three Best
Things
A positive attitude is not accidental. Successful entrepreneurs know
how to create a positive attitude for themselves. Here's
how you can start today!
Startup Tips to Ignore
Everyone has advice for you when you're starting a business, but it's not all good
advice! Here are ten tips you'd be better off
ignoring.
Contract Negotiations
Getting a company to say "yes" to using your business is only half
the battle. Win the war with these tips for successful contract
negotiations.
Knowing When to Outsource
Outsourcing can make your business more
productive and profitable - if you know when to take advantage of it.
Consider these points when making your decision.
Ecommerce:
A New Art Form
"Business" and "Creativity" are not two words you
always think of together; yet, in
the new economy creativity is the very thing that may guarantee
business success.
The E-Plan
You may have to get to the point if you want to please potential investors. Wed your verbal pitch or presentation to your business plan!
Modern business plans should include an Executive Summary and a series of slides if it is to be valuable and unique enough to hit home!
Marketing
Worksheet
Discover who your customers are and improve
your chances for startup success with the help of this worksheet.
Business Plan Basics
Who needs a business plan? What do they do? How can one help
you? Details >>
Sample
Business Plans
Find planning tips as well as sample business and marketing plans
by clicking here.
Calculate Your Startup Costs
Determine how much money you really need to start your business.
Research
help
Where can you find the statistics you need for business? Here
are some places to look.
College student turns $48 into a $10 million business
What do you when you write a business plan for one of your classes and
the professor flunks you saying it would never work? If you're Ian
Leopold, you laugh all the way to the bank. Read why.
Business
Planning Worksheet
Use this
worksheet to collect the information you need to evaluate your
business idea and get your business off to a good start.
Secretarial
Start-Up FAQ
Here are answers to frequently asked questions about starting a secretarial service.
200+ Ways To Be Your Own Boss
Do you want to start a business, but aren't quite sure what to start? Look here for ideas!
Test Yourself
Are you cut out to be self-employed? Take
this little test and see if you have what it takes!
Invention
Scams
Are those invention companies you hear advertised on late-night TV any good? Get the
lowdown in this article from the Federal Trade Commission.
Out of Work?
Tired
of clueless bosses and corporate politics? Get the facts you
need to start your own business and take control of your
future income. Order The
Home Office and Small Business Answer Book today.
Learn How To Start A Small
Business
Need some one-on-one advice on starting your business? Post your
questions in our Getting
Started message board.
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