Small business articles to help entrepreneurs

Hubs on Starting a Business

• Guide to starting your own small business
  Starting your own small business requires patience and thorough planning. Use this basic guide for business planning.
• What business is right for me to start?
  Assess your character traits and personal experiences to find a business that is a right fit and holds the potential for long-term success.
• Financial dangers for a startup company
  Thorough planning doesn't eliminate all financial dangers a start-up company faces, but it will ensure taking great financial control of the company's destiny.

Getting your business started

• Writing a simple business plan
  Simple business plans are useful to get a business idea on paper for the purpose of evaluation. Answering key points gets the entrepreneur off to a good start.
• Writing a mission statement to manage business operations
  Writing a mission statement for business offers a guide to managing the company. Keep it brief and in plain English so it's memorable.

Accounting and bookkeeping for entrepreneurs

• Five reasons for small business owners to hire a bookkeeper
  Bookkeepers provide a variety of benefits to small business owners. A good bookkeeper will act like a business coach and show how finances are used for strategic planning.
• 5 Tips for Managing Cash Flow for Start-up Businesses
  Managing cash flow for start-up businesses helps an owner guide the company profitably and wisely.
• Buying a bookkeeping system for small business
  Bookkeeping systems for small businesses can be easy-to-use pen and paper solutions to keep in a car or with a laptop. Writing income and expenses by hand serves to familiarize the small business owner with the data and keep it top-of-mind.
• Recording income and expenses for business
  Tracking income and expenses is one of the most important tasks a business owner can do. Using Dome monthly bookkeeping is one of the easiest ways to achieve accurate bookkeeping.
• Managing cash flow for small businesses
  Operating a small business means understanding cash flow and how to manage cash flow. That's how a business owner can measure profitability.
• Cloud computing and cloud accounting for business
  Cloud computing and cloud accounting offer business owners affordable bookkeeping solutions.
• Setting up office systems for tax returns and office organization
  Organizing a small business office for tax returns and daily filing gives more than monetary benefits to the business owner.

Marketing and promotion for entrepreneurs

• Marketing defined
  What is marketing? How does it related to a company, large or small, looking for new customers? This article answers those questions.
• The Power of Questions in Marketing
  Successful marketing programs include asking the right questions just like a seasoned sales professional. Questions allow a marketing effort to dig deep and learn how to connect with the target audience.
• eNewsletter Marketing Planning
  eNewsletters can market your business successfully with the right marketing planning. There are six key questions to ask before you get started with your enewsletter.
• Making a business unique from competitors
  How a gardener and his truck taught me ideas on marketing a unique selling proposition for business.
• Internet PR for small business
  Small businesses can get their message out online using well-written articles and helpful tips for readers.

Real life entrepreneur stories

• Small business lessons for entrepreneurs
  Entrepreneurs who want real-life small business lessons should look at those who have built their businesses over several years or longer. I recently interviewed Jason Carr and Rodney Carr, co-founders of Softline Home Fashions.
• A passion for beautiful hair at the April Ray Hair Salon in Montrose, California
  The April Ray Hair Salon has developed its own niche for serving clients.

International business opportunities

• Doing business in China for small business
  Doing business in China can be profitable for U.S. companies when taking the proper precautions.
• India: a promising business market
  India is a business market providing opportunities for U.S.-based companies to tap a young, vibrant emerging demographic that is technologically saavy. But companies need to be mindful of the challenges and cultural differences.
• The India marketplace for U.S. companies
  India's business opportunities can spell profits for U.S. companies; but American businesspeople need to exercise caution and make long-term plans to do business in India.
• Business innovation and trade in India
  India is finding innovative ways to bring products to consumers creating unique opportunities for U.S. businesses.

• Online business resources from U.S. government
  The federal government has several business related sites that can answer many questions for entrepreneurs on a wide variety of topics.
• Business education for free watching Stanford business school videos
  Watching business videos on YouTube from Stanford Graduate School of Business is a low cost way to sharpen business skills.
• Business guide to Los Angeles for small businesses
  Los Angeles has many business resources available for small business owners. This article lists a few.
• How PACE Business Development Center helps small business
  Small businesses in Los Angeles can get free and low cost help through the PACE Business Development Center.
• Resources for managing nonprofit organizations
  Nonprofit executives can quickly access help for management issues and technical needs through the resources in this article that includes books and online resources.