Owning a small business can come with a lot of decisions, even before you make the first sale. One of the most common decisions is whether to form a Corporation or to operate as a Sole Proprietorship or Limited Liability Company (LLC). A corporation might sound like a good idea to a small business owner [...]

It has been a few years since I have reviewed and updated my resume. It is not always easy to translate a project or accomplishment onto paper. But doing so allows us to recognize our own achievements, something most of us do not do enough. I have been teaching undergraduate and graduate classes for six [...]

In order to succeed in business, it is important to have a sound business plan. Without proper planning, a business may fail and this is unfortunate. The utilization of tactical planning to compliment strategic goals, is a vital step towards success.  It is particularly important for small business owners to establish tactical planning goals to help achieve [...]

Good credit is an important aspect in both your personal life and in your business. Many people often assume that they are one in the same, but they are not.  There are different factors considered when it comes to figuring out your business versus your personal credit score. The organizations that report and monitor personal credit are [...]

Below are some words of wisdom from my friend Larry Barkan. It was in his email newsletter and I thought it was worth sharing. Enjoy. I visited a friend the other day. He is a brilliant marketing strategist who consults with and teaches marketing to companies all over the world. In just the last month, [...]

The prolonged economic downturn has forced many entrepreneurs to reevaluate their businesses. Cutting expenses wherever possible, seeking new revenue sources, or creating unusual partnerships. But what happens to the business and to the entrepreneur’s family members when the unthinkable happens? What if the entrepreneur is an a devastating accident and cannot work or worse, he [...]

When you own or are starting a business, you need to implement benchmarking (aka Best Practices). This process helps to determine how your business is performing against your internal standards as well as your competition. Doing so will help you assess how effective or ineffective your business is performing in operations, customer services, sales, or [...]

A benchmark is an internal or external measure of how your business is performing. Benchmarking is also described as Best Practices and/or Ratios. Benchmarking is the most effective way to monitor and track the progress of how your business is doing, both good and bad. When you take a look at how you can make [...]

What does the term net worth mean? And why is it something a business owner should pay attention too? The actual definition of net worth is: total assets minus any total liabilities. Unfortunately, this is not helpful to those unfamiliar with accounting terminology. Let’s take a closer look at this. Net worth is a combination of money [...]

The economy is tough, but even when the economy is good there are many businesses that close their doors. Some of these failed businesses could have stayed open if they invested a little time in Contingency Planning. Many people don’t want to think of what might happen to their business if things don’t go as [...]