Category Archives: General business

Fire client

How to Fire Your Problem Client and Be Happier

No matter the current economic climate, firing a client tightens your business and sharpens its focus. It can also revitalize your energy as you let go of the stress of dealing with the client. You’ll be happier. You may even replace the problem client with two new ones as the fired client won’t drain your energy anymore.

Continue reading

Lay payment notice

Are You Sure You Know What You Need to Know About Accounts Receivable?

“Cash is king.” No doubt every small business owner has heard that. That’s because a small business can’t survive without cash flow. All the great talent means zilch if you can’t pay them and your bills.

But what brings in the cash? Your accounts receivable, or A/R. Accounts receivable is an accounting term for what your clients owe you for the products or services you delivered. Your invoices are a generated accounts receivable. Until you submit your invoices to clients, you won’t get paid.

Continue reading

Twitter for B2B Business

How to Build Your B2B Brand with Twitter in 7 Easy Steps

When I first heard about Twitter, I didn’t get its appeal. As I understood it, people could send short messages for others to read. That sounded like a public bulletin board. The Internet is full of special interest topic forums. People can send short messages to each other via emails, text messaging, online chat, and other ways.

So what’s the big deal about Twitter?

Continue reading

Danger of having big customer

The Sure-Fire Danger of Having a Big Customer

When a colleague first started his little business, he had two clients. One provided steady projects. The set up worked well since he could manage these projects outside of his corporate job. Yes, he worked two full-time jobs between the corporate one and his business. We’ll call him Joe. He wanted to build cash flow before quitting his corporate job.

Then the company — the steady one — went out of business. As for the other client … projects didn’t come in regularly enough to sustain business. Joe had to decide whether to resign to a life-long corporate career and keep the business as grocery money … or find more clients.

Continue reading

Protect your business with insurance coverage

What You Need to Know About Insurance for Small Businesses

Most of us would never own or lease a vehicle without auto insurance. Should the unthinkable happen, insurance can help take care of expensive repairs or a replacement. It protects you in the event of a lawsuit or other drivers who have little or no insurance. Insurance safeguards your assets such as your home, retirement, and investments.

Not having business insurance, on the other hand, could mean the end of your business. If the unexpected happens, it could drain your cash flow and it’ll be too late for a small business loan. Just like consumers invest in auto, home, life, and travel insurance, small businesses have options for insurance. The right plans depend on your company and the state in which you conduct business. Some require businesses to carry certain types of insurance.

Continue reading

Small business website

5 Easy Questions That Will Boost Your Business Website

Consider this statistic from B2B Marketing: “54 percent of B2B buyers begin their buying process with informal research about business problems; nearly 80 percent of the time spent researching is done online.”

In other words, a small business website better do its job, right? Unfortunately, too many aren’t.

Continue reading

Small business tools apps and software

15 Essential Software, Apps and Tools for Small Businesses

Hundreds of thousands of software, apps and tools simplify and speed up tasks for small business owners and their employees. However, finding the right tools can be overwhelming for even the tech-savviest people.

Many tools are available as monthly or yearly subscriptions, and those can add up fast. Your small business’ need may not need feature-rich and expensive tools to get the job done when free or low-priced alternatives will suffice. This list contains free and affordable options.

Continue reading

Time management

5 Time Management Tips for Small Business Owners

When small business owners are at their desk, they often feel like they don’t spend enough time on revenue-producing activities. They take care of payroll, track down late paying clients, balance the books and check email frequently. They’d rather spend more time connecting with clients, bringing in new clients and finding ways to grow business.

We all have the same amount of time in a day. It’s enough to get work done, get rest and do something away from work to clear out the brain’s cobwebs. Here are five time management tips that you can do right away to gain more time doing the things you enjoy and boost revenue.

Continue reading