Business Idea: Starting an Interior Decoration/Design Business

More than just the love for designing interior spaces, here are some things you need to consider if you are planning on starting an interior design or decoration business: “How can I support my family while I build up by business?” “What are my abilities?” “Is there a market for the product or service I have chosen?” “How long will it take this business to reach the financial goal I have?” Here are some articles on how to start an interior decoration business: How to Start an Interior Decorating/Design Business Starting a Business as a Interior Designer or Decorator How

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Improve Effectiveness of Your Email Campaigns

Email marketing company eROI has released their Q2 Email Statistics study that looked at the email behaviors and trends. The study is concise and data-intensive with answers to questions such as “What day of the week should I send my email?” and “What time should I send my email?” It provides statistics on time of day people are opening and clicking on emails — information that every marketer who uses email should know. Here are some findings of the study: Sending marketing emails on Saturday yield the best open (38.3%) and click through rates (5.4%). During weekdays, Mondays have the

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Do You REALLY Need to Prepare a Business Plan?

One of the most repeated advice you will hear when you are planning to start a business is to prepare a business plan. Business plans are supposed to be the roadmap of your business that can guide you to success. But do you really need to prepare a business plan? According to the article “Do I Need a Business Plan?” you need to write a business plan if you are going to do any of the following: Support a loan application Raise equity funding Define objectives and describe programs to achieve those objectives Create a regular business review and course

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Getting a Small Business Loan with Poor Credit

If you are talking about a small business loan from financial institutions and you have low credit score, your chances are a little tight. You can read here the requirements of Small Business Administration for the small business loans that they guarantee http://www.sba.gov/financing/ 1. Equity investment2. Earnings Requirement3. Working Capital4. Collateral5. Resource Management Here is an excel spreadsheet of SBA’s lending partners http://www.sba.gov/financing/lendinvest/plplend.xls You must have collateral and equity investments poured into your business, plus a strong business plan with a management team who knows and understands the business. Collateral can be personal and business assets such as house, receivables,

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Business Idea: Starting a Bookkeeping Business

Here are some articles on how to start a bookkeeping business: Starting Your Own Bookkeeping Business Starting a Bookkeeping Business How to Start A Bookkeeping Business At Home Marketing and selling accounting services Bookkeeping Glossary and Other Resources For in-depth information about this business, I suggest you check out the following books: Bookkeeping & Tax Preparation: Start & Build a Prosperous Bookkeeping, Tax, & Financial Services Business (Paperback) How to Open your own In-Home Bookkeeping Service 2nd Edition by Julie Mucha-Aydlott Start & Run a Bookkeeping Business by Angie Mohr Another excellent resource when thinking of starting a bookkeeping business

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Business Idea: Starting a Clothing Retail Store

A lot of people dream of owning their own clothing store. My recommendation is always to start by researching on the business and learning everything about it — before starting (I made a mistake before in starting a business because I just wanted to, even though I knew nothing about the business). Clothing stores, especially, require lots of capital to start so you cannot afford to make a lot of mistakes Here are some articles that provide information on how to start a clothing store: How to Start a Clothing Store Starting a Specialized Clothing Retailing Business Starting a Retail

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Business Idea: Starting a Virtual Assistant Business

Virtual assistant is one of the best home-based businesses right now, and many businesses and individuals alike are warming up to the idea and need for virtual assistants. Here are some resources I suggest to help you learn more about becoming a virtual assistant Starting a Virtual Assistant Business How to Start Your Own Virtual Assistant Business Tips on Winning a Virtual Assistant Position Start your own virtual assistant business However, the market is relatively new. As virtual assistant, a key part of your marketing strategy will be educating potential clients how your service can help them. As such, networking

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Accepting Start-Up Capital from a Family Member: Good or Bad?

If you need money to start a business, one of the easiest ways is through your family member. But is it good? Is it even advisable to ask for money to start a business from a family member? I’ve listed the pros and cons. Feel free to email me if you have anything else to add PROS very accessible fast and easiest way to get start up capital you don’t need to prepare a comprehensive business plan (e.g. you don’t have a buy a business plan software or writer) no voluminous paperwork required such as banks or SBA loans no

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Business Idea: Starting a Restaurant

It is always best to start your business by putting together all your questions and finding answers to them. You can do that with a business plan (and if you plan to look for investors or apply for a loan, you need to present your business plan). Here are some sample business plans that you can use Sample Restaurant Business Plan (steakhouse) Sample Restaurant Business Plan (organic restaurant) Below are free information and resources that I’ve found on how to start a restaurant business: National Restaurant Association Entrepreneur.com Marketing and Promotions of a Restaurant Starting a Restaurant Business RestaurantOwner.com AllFoodBusiness.com

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Favorite SEO Tools

I love the search optimimization tools found at Seobook.com http://tools.seobook.com/ . They have all the tools you need to conduct your search engine optimization research, including keyword analysis and link analysis. And even better, the tools are FREE! Check them out. Better yet, put them in your website.

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Starting a Business on a Shoestring Budget

The July 2006 issue of Inc Magazine has an article that resonates well with our message — “How to Launch a Business for Peanuts.” It is ideal to have all the resources you need to start a business. But there may be instances when you, despite best intentions and even exhausting available options, simply cannot raise the funds you need to start yous business. So what are you to do? Bootstrap the business, of course! It is possible to start a business with little cash — but you need to do a lot of work and put in tons of

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How to Issue Stock on a Newly Formed C Corporation

In a C corporation, how many shares of stock should be issued? Our expert weighs in on the rules on the issuance of corporate stocks.

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