All Entries in the "BizFinance" Category
Obamacare Small Business Quick Start Guide
Whether you’re angry, happy or just plain confused about how “Obamacare” (a.k.a. the Affordable Care Act, or ACA) will impact your business, my best advice is this: Get over it! Official start date is January 1, 2014, but some provisions are already in place (such as healthcare tax credits for small biz) with more coming [...]
5 Low Risk Ways to Fund Future Business Growth
Here at BizBest, a common concern I often see from business owners and start-up entrepreneurs is where the money will come from to fund future growth. For some, that might require outside investors, which in turn can mean giving up partial ownership or control. But most businesses can grow successfully by using one or a [...]
Why Marketing Metrics Matter to Your Business
When it comes to measuring marketing success, many business owners (and professional marketers) prefer to think that results are more magic than math. But that’s just not so. The digital era – with it’s easy (relatively) access to analytics – has introduced a whole new way of thinking. Using real data, business owners can now [...]
8 Essentials of Successful Discounting
These days, if you aren’t offering a discount of some kind (or at least the appearance of one), you might not be selling much of anything. Pervasive discounting by businesses both big and small has caused buyers to demand deals on anything and everything. In the midst of all this, how can business owners and [...]
13 Business Resolutions for 2013
Here they are, along with some of our best tips and strategies to help you pull each one off: Resolution #1: Fix my website! Here are 10 things that are probably wrong with your site, and how to fix them: 10 Things Wrong With Your Website Resolution#2: Improve our customer service! Here’s how: 8 Ways to [...]
6 Things that Growing Businesses Do Right
What sets growing businesses apart from their biz brothers and sisters whose revenues are flat or falling? Based on a recent study that compared small firms with rising revenues against their counterparts with flat or declining sales, here are the six practices that stood out: 1. Planning Ahead Business owners who managed to grow in [...]
The 10 Bookkeeping Basics You Can’t Ignore
Millions of business owners and startup entrepreneurs are masters at creating great products and services, building awesome teams and winning over customers. Many of them, however, would probably flunk basic bookkeeping. But if you don’t understand the different types of “accounts” your bookkeeper uses to organize your finances, measuring the success (or failure) of your [...]
4 Reasons to Ban the Yearend Bonus
Sure, nobody wants to be labeled a Scrooge. But if you’re among the roughly 50% of U.S. businesses (and shrinking) that still offer traditional yearend bonuses, it might be time to join the 21st century – and plan for something different in 2013. Too many small business bonus plans operate on autopilot, under “conventional wisdom” [...]
A Financial Statement Cheat Sheet for Business Owners
This is about financial statements. I’m sorry, but stay with me. Sure, social media would be a far sexier subject. But hey, if you ever file a tax return (and you’d better), need bank financing, angel investors, venture capital or a loan from friends and family, these are things you must know. The fact is, [...]
A Secret Cash Stash for Small Business Growth
What does your growth-minded small business have in common with Apple? Not much, perhaps, but here’s one thing: The multi-gazillion dollar tech company got early funding from a unique type of investment firm called a Small Business Investment Company – and so could you. SBICs are high-powered but low-profile backers of small businesses, pumping over [...]
