How to Run Your Home Business Lean – and Profitable

If there’s one lesson this economic downturn teaches us, it is the importance of running our business operations lean.

Many small business entrepreneurs made the mistake of spending too much, too soon. They based their spending on the money that they thought will be coming in, not on the money that they actually have. While optimism [...]

Startups and Surety Bonds: Does Your Small Business Have to be Bonded?

One of the common questions of many small business owners — especially those running a service-oriented business such as plumbing, cleaning, landscaping — is whether they need to be bonded. Is insurance enough? Why do they need to get bonded? I’ve invited Kevin Kaiser, a small business compliance expert at nationwide bonding agency SuretyBonds.com to shed light on what is a surety bond, and why your small business needs to be bonded.

15 Basic Steps to Starting an Online Store

Many people wants to start their own online stores, whether clothing, gift basket or toy stores on the Web. Using a clothing store as an example, here are some basic steps to creating your online storefront:

1. Define your business. The very first step is to always know what it is you want to do. This [...]

Greening Your Small and Home-Based Business

One of the women entrepreneurs I recently interviewed on WomenHomeBusiness.com is Jen Husted,  owner and founder of JIH Designs. What sets her business apart is that JIH Designs positions itself as an “eco-conscious graphic design studio.”
Why is going green becoming important? According to the GreenBiz State of Green Business 2009 , the annual buying power [...]

Sourcing and Manufacturing Your Products Abroad: How to Use Alibaba.com

As a small business owner, an important element to creating and sustaining a successful business is a constant and reliable source of quality products. The key question of course is where to find these suppliers and manufacturers.
If you are open to finding manufacturers and suppliers from other countries, particularly China, check out Alibaba.com . Alibaba.com [...]

Get Listed on Google Maps and Increase Exposure of Your Small Business

Yellow Pages are so 1990s. Nowadays, if you are running a small business dependent on customers finding and coming to your physical store or office, then you need to get listed on Google Maps.
Type in Google search terms that include business types and specific locations such as “landscaping Annapolis MD” or “hair salon in Chicago” and the [...]

Pitching the Media Correctly to Market Your Home Business

We understand the power of the media. Being mentioned on TV, newspaper or radio can significantly boost our reach and brand, even our sales. The key question, however, is: How do we do it? Here are tips on how to pitch your press release or news item from public relations professional Kristin Marquet, President of Marquet Communications.

Grandparents: How to Reach this Market for Your Business

Grandparents are a huge market to tap, whether you are directly targeting them for your seniors travel business or indirectly for your children’s toys business.
Estimates from different surveys show that there are anywhere from 30 to over 70 million of grandparents in the United States alone, and a sizeable portion of these grandparents take care [...]

60 Time-Tested Marketing Offers

What type of offers from marketers do you respond to?
For me, I love free bags from fashion magazines subscriptions, and free cosmetics from beauty brands. I also love free shipping and discount coupons I get from retailers. I also love the rewards program of retailers as well as all the discounts I can get. Basically, [...]

Where Do Small Business Owners Get Funding for their Businesses?

One of the biggest issues faced by many small businesses during the economic downturn is the tightening credit market. Finding capital financing for a small business remains a big challenge as banks tighten lending criteria and reduce their exposure to the small business sector.
In fact, according to the National Small Business Association in their 2008 [...]

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