Finding new clients is a time-consuming and expensive proposition. Online marketing, conventional advertising and strategic planning can drain your resources. It takes you away from doing what you do best – creating a superior product or service. Large companies can afford to hire marketing teams, but most small businesses need to concentrate on other priorities. […]
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When you work as an employee, getting paid is a no-brainer. You sign some forms when you join the company, and your salary comes on a regular basis. But once you leave the comfort of the corporate world and strike out on your own, getting paid becomes your responsibility. Not all clients are quick to […]
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If you’re about to launch a new business or are thinking of expanding an existing one, one of the first questions to ask yourself is whether you prefer to work alone or with a partner. There’s no one answer to this question, since there are advantages and disadvantages both of working alone and of partnering. […]
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One of the first questions new acquaintances or people who haven’t seen each other in years ask each other is, “So, what do you do?” This is an easy question to answer if you have a defined position in an established company. But if you are just starting out in a new business, it can […]
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One of the first steps you have to take when you open a new small business is to hire an accountant. Most of us don’t know much about accounting, so we tend to trust the professionals implicitly. But it’s important to remember that your business’ financial future is at stake and to educate yourself about […]
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How are other small businesses managing their finances, what challenges must they overcome and what financial decisions have led them to success? A survey from CFED seeks to answers these questions [http://cfed.org/assets/pdfs/Understanding_the_Financial_Vulnerabilities_of_Michrobusiness_Owners_BRIEF_Updated.pdf], so that you can avoid pitfalls and incorporate the more successful ideas into your business. Until now, what has been known about microbusinesses […]
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When online payment became popular, it brought about revolutionary change both for consumers and for businesses. But it looks like this disruptive technology is about to be disrupted itself, as e-commerce moves from desktops to tablets and mobiles. New payment models and forms of payment (such as Bitcoin) which replace traditional cash are being developed […]
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Invoicing is an important aspect of running a small business, and though it seems simple, it’s important to create a system so that mistakes don’t happen. When you’re juggling more than one client and focusing on giving each client the best possible service, proper invoicing can get forgotten in the shuffle. If you can afford […]
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Once you’ve made the leap from employee to business owner, one of the first questions to consider is how to ensure that you are paid in a timely and organized manner. It’s easy for a business to go under due to lack of cash flow, too many customer debts and a lack of proper bookkeeping. […]
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Every job has its rules and etiquette and freelancing is no exception. Despite the fact that you are your own boss, if you want to succeed you need to follow certain rules. There’s no one looking over your shoulder checking to see if you are adhering to these principles, so you need to be self-aware. […]
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Relationships with clients must be nurtured carefully so that the clients come back to you for more work and refer you to others for similar projects. The success of the services you deliver is often measured by the emotional connection the client has developed with you. Unfortunately, the client-business owner relationship can be damaged, sometimes […]
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The twenty-first century business world seems to be dominated by big chains and online shopping sites. Big chains have the advantage of being a known quantity – if you have been to one branch you know what to expect in another. Chains have large advertising budgets and the ability to offer attractive deals and sales. […]
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Proper financial management is one of the most important factors in the success of a small business. Before or soon after you start your business, you will want to hire an accountant to manage your finances and help your new venture flourish. We often think of accountants as filers of taxes, but their role can […]
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Great business ideas are a dime a dozen, but most of them never get implemented. People dream about starting their own businesses but keep working at their nine to five jobs and their ideas never come to fruition. This is because it takes a certain kind of personality to take a germ of an idea […]
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Is your office in your bedroom? Are you embarrassed to tell your clients that you work from home? Conventional wisdom holds that it’s more professional to have an office. So freelancers often talk about being “out of office” for the day or mention an “in-house graphic designer” to give the impression that they are operating […]
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You’ve started your new business and gotten your first clients. Now it’s time to start organizing your accounting books. A shoebox full of invoices and statements, or even an inbox full of electronic receipts, just isn’t going to cut it. You need an organized system, and you need to understand how it works, if you […]
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Pretty much every freelancer, consultant and independent business owner has come into contact with clients who, for one reason or another, don’t pay for products or services in a timely manner. This can be painful, especially for a small business, since it interrupts cash flow and makes it more difficult to honor commitments. Telling a supplier, […]
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When you set up your payment gateway to receive online payments, you may be required to open a separate merchant account, or it may be optional, depending on various parameters relating to your business and banking setup. If you’re wondering whether this is something you actually need or want, we’ve got some helpful guidelines. Hold up […]
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The world of online and in-store payments has been changing rapidly in the past few years. Developers, financial institutions and innovators are looking at new ways to pay and collect payment, boost sales and save more. We’re clearly currently in a transition period where everyone’s figuring out what makes sense when it comes to paying […]
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Conventional wisdom has it that big business is the antithesis of open source. How can you be an industry-leading multinational corporation that’s publicly traded if you think it’s okay to show the world what’s going on under the hood? How can you maintain enterprise-level brand mystique if you don’t have the shroud of mystery to […]
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