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Small Business
Worship of high profit margins, encouraging competitors by charging what the market will bear, cost-driven pricing, slaughtering tomorrow's opportunity on the altar of yesterday, and feeding problems while starving opportunities. Article by Peter Drucker.
100 Ways to Be a Better Entrepreneur
Ideas for growing your business more effectively.
Common Business Insurance Disasters
Explains the most common mistakes to avoid. Also check out the links on the left, including the checklist, good ideas, bad ideas, and tips & tricks.
Covers the basics of entity selection, financing, office leasing, marketing, legal issues, and saving on expenses. This site also has an excellent archive of articles on starting a new business here.
Tried and True Cash Flow Management Techniques
Overview of cash flow budgeting, surplus cash investment options, alternative sources of financing, and debt management. Here a 10 additional tips to improve your cash flow, quick ways to get through a cash crunch, and cash flow triage techniques.
Techniques that work and techniques to avoid when trying to collect accounts receivable.
Strategies for Securing a Business Loan
Understanding what your bank wants and how to properly approach them can make the difference in obtaining the financing you need. If the traditional bank route is not an option for you, you may want to consider a factoring company.
Office space is the largest expense for some small businesses so it pays to get it right. Here are some questions you should ask before leasing office space, some tips for negotiating the best commercial lease terms, and an article index of common office lease topics.
How to Set Up Internal Controls for Your Small Business
Small businesses typically have weak internal controls, exposing themselves unnecessarily to fraud. Adopting proper internal controls can help your business to safeguard assets, ensure financial information is reliable, and generally assist in achieving the businesses' objectives. Download the Adobe document on this site and check out pages 8-10 for how to set up the proper controls for your business. This site also has a good list of basic internal controls to implement.
The Importance of Maintaining Corporate Minutes
If a corporation fails to follow legal formalities such as maintaining minutes of required annual shareholder and director meetings, the shareholders' personal assets may become at risk in the event of litigation. This site has a good list of items to include in the minutes.
State Registration Requirements
Yet another governmental level to deal with. Covers the basics of state licensing, sales tax registration, required Secretary of State filings, payroll rules, and environmental regulation. Also check out the federal and local registration requirements links referenced in this article.
The Importance of Background Checks
Welcome to the world of negligent hiring. In certain cases employers can be held liable for the criminal actions of their employees if a background check was not performed and conducting one would have identified in advance the threat imposed by the employee.
How Much Should You Charge for Your Product or Service?
Most companies error on the side of charging too little. Once prices hit the market it can become difficult or even impossible to raise them.
Uncovering Your Most Valuable Hidden Asset
Hint: it isn't listed on your balance sheet.
Covers how long to keep income tax returns, bank statements, contracts, correspondence, etc.
Checklist for Closing Your Business
Twenty items to keep in mind.
CCH Online Small Business Guide
Contains thousands of easily searchable pages on starting, operating and growing a small business.