Category: Starting a Business

The One Roadblock on the Path to Productivity and How To Overcome

February 26, 2016 Babs Nelsen

Guest Post by Jen Crompton, entrepreneur-in-residence at The Neat Company The struggle is real. Every work period is full of “things to do” and items to check off a list. But, sometimes that to-do list continues to grow and the strikethroughs stay stagnant, even if we are “working.” When we realize the imbalance, we generally feel our morale sink and realize that our productivity levels may not be exactly where we want them. So, when the morale dips and the… Read More

Why Business Ideas are Worth Less Than Zero

January 18, 2016 Lydia Roth

Almost everyone is familiar with the following classic from American Masterpiece Theater: ACT ONE A humble kitchen. AVERAGE JOE sits at the table, thinking hard. A scrap of paper at his elbow has “Business Ideas” written at the top, with a long list of crossed-out sentences beneath it. Suddenly, a light bulb appears above his head. Tense concentration transforms into joy and excitement. AVERAGE JOE: Eureka! ACT TWO Anytown, USA. AVERAGE JOE is now seated in the back of a vintage car,… Read More

Creating a Good Business Strategy

January 3, 2016 Babs Nelsen

Guest post by Tim Berry, founder of Palo Alto Software, entrepreneur, blogger, and business planner. The original post can be found on Quora: What makes a good business strategy? What Makes a Good Business Strategy? There are some obvious easy answers to this question if you take it from after the fact, looking at strategies that worked. From that point of view, a good strategy is one that worked. Every successful business had a good business strategy. Would you agree… Read More

How to Fund and Open a Franchise

December 23, 2015 Babs Nelsen

In the eyes a potential business owner, an ideally-located, well-managed franchise is beautiful to behold. Serviced by friendly employees in crisp uniforms, customers entering and exit all day long, exchanging their hard-earned money for the cozy familiarity and uncomplicated convenience of a trusted and well-known establishment. As consumers we’ve all felt the pull of a franchise whose commercials are on every TV, whose stores are in every state; a business we’ve patronized countless times because it gives us what we… Read More

How Much Money Do You Need to Start a Business? [Infographic]

June 16, 2015 Jared Proctor

Launching a business takes more than just a good idea – it usually requires serious cash to make that dream a sustainable reality. This is where a lot of people get in trouble. The SBA has found that the No. 2 reason companies fail is insufficient business financing. You can keep yourself out of the “failed” boat by taking a little time to calculate your start up costs. It varies by industry, but here are five basic tips to help… Read More

Business Owner Profile: Jessica Mah

April 6, 2015 Jared Proctor

Jessica Mah is the founder and CEO of inDinero, a company that provides accounting, taxes, payroll and back office management for small businesses. Mah said, “We essentially take care of the entire accounting department for these small businesses. Companies are spending all this time and hundreds of thousands of dollars building out their accounting team with bookkeepers, tax specialists and a CFO, when they really should hire us and spend half that amount.” Mah recently shared with us how she’s… Read More