When entrepreneurs who lack access to capital or have been rejected by investors start to talk about the exclusivity of angel investor or venture capital circles, many of those who hear these comments might dismiss them as “sour grapes,” but in fact, there’s a good case to be made that investors as well as media venues often focus exclusively on a very small part of the wide spectrum of small businesses that make up the American small business landscape.

A writer named Sramana Mitna addresses this issue in a January article on the ReadWriteStart startup site, relating some of this “attention [...]

As a small business you rely on the money your clients spend to stay operational and manage your personal life, but your clients may be on a tight budget. Whether you are in retail, consulting or manufacturing, large purchases can be rare in a tight economy. In order to grow your business, offer monthly payment options to your customers, allowing them to purchase the goods and services they need now.
There are many benefits to offering this option to your customers. It will provide your company with continual cash flow from monthly payments. It will increase sales in slower times, because [...]

For small business owners who may be looking at ways that they can partner with other companies for success, a very useful new view of this kind of synergy is revealed in information about the impending initial public offering of tech giant Facebook. As this household name prepares to go public, some of the documentation in its filing is drawing attention to how small companies can benefit from the efforts of much larger businesses like Mark Zuckerberg’s now-famous social networking system.
The relevant example here is a specific reference that Facebook makes in its IPO filing to provide an example of [...]

A while ago, I covered a research study done to determine which were the hottest businesses to start for 2012. In order to compare industries, the same company that conducted the research for that study (IBIS World), provided a breakdown of some of the least successful industries in business today.
Manufacturing: Men’s Clothing
Despite all the commercials for the Men’s Wearhouse, the numbers show that the industry of manufacturing men’s clothing is on the decline. IBIS World’s research indicates that in the past 10 years, revenues have declined by 85.3%. Worse yet, about 53.7% of the businesses for this industry have closed. [...]

Education is just as important as financing for small business owners. Education provides you with certificates and documentation to back up the knowledge you have, it educates you on portions of your business you were unaware of and helps to train you to manage your business better.
Although it may seem like education is just another expense, it can have many benefits. It can allow you to network with others in your school and classes to grow your customer base. Education can also provide options of scholarships and grants that will help your business financially. As well, being enrolled in post-secondary [...]

With the March Madness of tournament basketball just around the corner, we are going to be hearing a lot about “hang time.” “Hang time,” in basketball, refers to a players leaping ability. The greatest talents are not only capable of jumping high-and-far but seem to be able to stay in the air longer while assessing the action around them, and then making a snap decision and acting upon it before gravity exerts its will and the player returns to the floor. This ability can make the difference between a good player and a great player.
In the world of business and [...]

For years, many people have been putting money into their IRA or 401(k).  It sits there, gaining little to nothing.  Many people actually lost money over the last few years, some as much as 50%! Wouldn’t you rather use those funds to invest in yourself, where you can get much greater returns?
Now you can.
Liberate your savings with The Business Finance Store’s Retirement Investment Finance program, an easy and fast way to get funding for your business.  No applications needed, no credit checks, and no interest payments or late fees – just you and your money. Reunited.
You don’t need overpaid bankers [...]

Merriam-webster.com defines a “proprietor” as “… one having an interest (as control or present use) less than absolute and exclusive right” and an entrepreneur as, “…one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise.” What you can gain from this is that neither Merriam nor Webster has ever run a business.
Peter Drucker, known as the Godfather of management theory and practice, defines “proprietor” as a business owner who adds nothing meaningful to the market. The proprietor follows what has been done by everyone else. American Airlines starts charging for window seats, so Southwest starts charging for [...]

Salespeople generally focus on closing hot sales leads for their business. They want more customers right now.  But this “right now” mentality tends to overlook leads that may be well worth nurturing. With a little more attention to details and longer-term sales funnels, it’s possible to cultivate today’s cold leads and convert them from cold to hot.
“Not all leads are equal,” notes Jim Dunn, sales training expert with Whetstone Group and author of “Common Sense Selling.” He adds: “The most important thing to do is to properly qualify a lead. By qualifying, you need to determine the lead’s dollar potential, who your competition is (and how [...]

Social and mobile networking is a huge part of today’s society. About 70% of small business owners use mobile applications for their business, according to a survey by AT&T. For many, the thought of surviving without their mobile phone and its applications is a nightmare.
Professional software developers can charge from $10,000 to $100,000, along with a six to eight week turn around period for the creation of applications. Unfortunately, this is not the type of expense and time many small businesses can afford.
Instead, save time and money by creating the application yourself. There are several companies that create applications for [...]