Category: Growing a Business

How to Open Your Own Etsy Shop in an Afternoon

How to Open Your Own Etsy Shop in an Afternoon

Etsy.com is known as the go-to online marketplace for high-quality handmade items. With a community focused on handmade products, authentic vintage items, and pure random whimsy, selling on Etsy can be a great way to start or expand an online business. Setting up an Etsy shop can be done effectively in a single afternoon, and can help put cash in your pocket. Whether your goal is to give your bricks-and-mortar business an online presence, sell your handmade wares on the… Read More
How Being Considered a “High Risk” Merchant Account Affects Your Business

How Being Considered a “High Risk” Merchant Account Affects Your Business

So you've finally decided to start your business. You have aligned the capital, the location, the business plan, and the investors. You’ve created the strategic plan to acquire X amount of revenue, for X amount of expenses, within Y amount of time, which should produce Z amount of profits. Research shows that your prospective customers would more than likely use credit and debit cards for many of their purchases, and you run into a hiccup when trying to do something… Read More
The Most Overlooked Business Credit Cards

The Most Overlooked Business Credit Cards

Some small business credit cards seem to get all of the attention. These are the flashy cards that offer impressive perks or valuable points that can be transferred to airline miles. But behind the scenes are a few lesser known cards that offer unique rewards that can be equally valuable. Here are the most overlooked credit cards, and why you should take notice of them: 1. JetBlue Business Card This airline credit card for small businesses offers rewards and benefits… Read More
6 MBA-Level Classes You Can Take for Free

6 MBA-Level Classes You Can Take for Free

As a business owner, lacking the basic business know-how your typical MBA grad enjoys means that learning things from management to leadership to strategy comes largely by trial and error. Though many things in business are best learned by experience, there are some areas where having a few basics down first really raises your stock in the business world. The good news: There are free sources that allow you to pick up the skills you need to kickstart your business… Read More
Throw a Party, Learn a Skill, and Design a New Website: 8 Ways to Make the Most of a Slow Summer

Throw a Party, Learn a Skill, and Design a New Website: 8 Ways to Make the Most of a Slow Summer

Summer is coming. For many small business owners, a change of seasons means a slowdown in business as customers and clients focus on time with their kids, or leave their wallets at home for weekends in the sun. Here are eight ways to ensure a happy, productive summer: 1. Tackle the hard stuff first. Summer is the perfect time for finally getting to those projects that have been haunting you all year. The fact that you've been putting them off—however… Read More
This Entrepreneur is Using Skills He Learned as a Race Car Driver to Build a Marketing Business

This Entrepreneur is Using Skills He Learned as a Race Car Driver to Build a Marketing Business

Britton Lorentzen is the owner of Empac Design, a small business in Washington that provides branding and marketing solutions for other small businesses, including graphic design, web design, and asset creation and development. Lorentzen is passionate about telling the unique stories of the small businesses he works with, helping them to create a brand that thoroughly engages their intended audience. From Race Car Driver to Entrepreneur A long while back, I was part of a racing family. We started off… Read More