Category: Running a Business

As a small business owner, you may generally know that you’re making a profit in your business, but are you really on top of your income and expenses? Do you have insight into how financially stable your business is? Do you know your operating margin? Understanding it can help you determine how to increase profitability and stability by lower operating expenses. What is Operating Margin? Operating margin (also referred to as Earning Before Interest and Taxes) shows you how much… Read More

If you’ve ever asked, “What is a DBA?” this article is for you. The short answer is, a “Doing Business As” is when the name under which a business operates is different from its legal, registered name. A DBA may also be called a trade Name.  Why Would a Business Choose a DBA? There are reasons why a business would choose a fictitious name (another term for a DBA). A sole proprietor or partner might choose a DBA so they… Read More

It takes money to make money, but the eventual goal of any business is to make more than it's spending. If your business is making sales but seeing little-to-no profit, you may be leaking cash. Fortunately, you don't need to reconstruct your entire business model—you just need to find the cash holes and do a bit of patchwork. First, take a look at your financial statements: Cash flow statement Balance sheet Profit and loss statement These financial documents can help… Read More

Business credit scores are often seen as the number one obstacle preventing small businesses from getting financing. But disorganized financials may be equally to blame. In today’s challenging economic environment in particular, lenders want to make sure your business is viable and will be able to repay the debt. Organized and up to date finances are essential if you want to increase your chances of getting approved.  Here are 5 simple ways to organize your small business finance processes. 1.… Read More

We’ve all got our own favorite tips, tricks, and tools that help us organize our task lists, assign projects, and manage deliverables. Today, there are more apps and software programs geared toward business owners than ever. I interviewed 10 entrepreneurs to find out what they use to stay on top of everything. Here are 10 of the best organization and productivity tools for entrepreneurs. 1. Monday: Streamline Communication Channels Aalap Shah, founder of 1o8, an e-comm-focused digital agency in Chicago,… Read More

When Congress created the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance as part of the CARES Act it made unemployment benefits available to the self-employed as well as workers who may not be able to work for a variety of COVID-related reasons. Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC) added an additional $600 weekly payment through July 31, 2020 to certain eligible individuals who are receiving other benefits. And Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) extends certain benefits.  All of these programs provide some welcome relief to those… Read More