Whatever your reason for starting a business is, an important early step is to figure out how much money is required to get it started.  Let’s take a look at how you can do so.
Categorize Your Expenses
Expenses can be categorized as follows:
Administrative costs – includes business insurance, office supplies, licenses, rent, parking, desks, chairs and related items:

• Cost of sales – includes product inventory, raw materials, shipping, warehousing and related items
• Professional fees – includes legal fees, copyrights, patents and related items
• Sales and marketing costs – includes advertising, trade association fees, travel fees and so on
• Technology costs – includes computer hardware and [...]

When new entrepreneurs ask experienced business consultants or other seasoned professionals about academic choices, one of their main questions is very often related to how an investment in further education will affect the bottom line of their existing business operations. Business leaders looking to go back to school have to weigh the pros and cons of any given program, where an MBA represents a training choice with a rather long time horizon – that’s time away from the business and money that can be spent toward assets, growth or expansion, or debt reduction. So it makes sense to ask: “will [...]

Even as the American economy continues to improve, we’ve seen many small business leaders steer clear of additional borrowing in 2011 and the beginning of this year. A growing number of entrepreneurs are embracing the lean business model, cutting down on extras instead of taking out sizable bank loans to run a business.

There’s a common intuitive understanding that owing a lot to a major, established lender such as BofA, Wells Fargo, or another big bank isn’t where a lot of small business owners want to be. Part of this might revolve around the ways that these lenders are pursuing foreclosures [...]

Every conscientious person knows there are ecological benefits to owning an alternative fuel vehicle. Petroleum fuels create carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides, and particulate matter. Each of these has a harmful effect upon the environment. Alternative fuels are cleaner-burning and renewable. Over time, they have less of a negative impact upon the fragile ecosystem.
For consumers, switching to alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) is logical. When they can afford it, they step up to a better vehicle. It gives them a well running car, and it saves them gas money. The bigger question is can small businesses profit from switching to alternative fuel [...]

Sometimes the best (and most challenging) part of deciding to start your own business is deciding what type of business you want to have. Maybe it’s the little café you’ve always dreamed of having, maybe it’s an offshoot of what you used to do when you worked for somebody. Whatever you finally narrow it down to, for that moment the possibilities are endless and possibly overwhelming. If you think you might want to try and have something you can run from home, we have some home-based business ideas with the best growth potential courtesy of AllBusiness.com.
Personal Trainer
With the baby boomer [...]

If you have credit problems or haggling with a banker isn’t your cup of tea, peer-to-peer lending may be a viable alternative. Peer-to-peer lending involves borrowing directly from another individual without going through a traditional financial institution. Although it can be as simple as borrowing $1,000 from your friend, it is now done so quite frequently over the Internet.
So, if you are considering this method of financing, you may wish to know what the pros and cons of doing so are. Let’s find out!
Pros
Lower Rates
This is not a certainty. However, interest rates on peer-to-peer loans can be lower than traditional [...]

Have you ever had a conversation with someone that seemed to wander aimlessly with no real agenda or purpose?
Or perhaps a situation where the other person monopolized the conversation, and it unfolded as more of a monologue than a dialogue or an exchange?
Were you almost bored to tears? Frustrated?
Well, unfortunately that’s how far too many workers feel about weekly “bored” meetings.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Especially considering that staff meetings are crucial to your positioning, prosperity, and the success of your small business.
Additionally, these forums help to foster cohesive teams, infuse new ideas, and ensure that employees [...]

 
If you don’t understand FarmVille, Foursquare and other media that relies on badges, ranking and other prizes, you’re not alone. Many companies don’t engage in social media and gamification, because they don’t see the benefits. But gamification, which means increasing customer loyalty and sales by creating a game or loyalty program around your product, is incredibly popular and effective. No wonder events like Vator Spark are teaching businesses how to get started with gamification!
Foursquare and other businesses use gamification, because it works. By tapping into people who like to be rewarded, ranked or recognized for their buying habits, these companies [...]

Smart entrepreneurs ensure they acquire business insurance, certain protection in the event customers or partners take legal action against their companies. Insurance brokers and some savvy financial advisors can counsel entrepreneurs on how much insurance they should take out on their companies. However, even the brightest insurance brokers and financial advisors cannot predict the future, knowing when business interruptions, lawsuits and accidents will occur.
Common Types of Business Insurance to Cover Financial Losses
Insurance brokers and financial advisors also don’t know how much damage companies will incur during accidents, lawsuits and business interruptions like fires, floods and tornadoes. For example, a small [...]

Some small business owners have been blessed with a financially stable life. They begin their business with a good credit rating and lenders quite willingly hand out large sums of money for investment. However, some business owners have lived working from paycheck to paycheck. These small business owners have amazing ideas, abundant passion and enthusiasm, but are often overlooked. Traditional banks and lenders won’t give business owners in this position the time of day. As well, non-traditional funding sources such as private investment from family and friends may be tapped. If you are a small business owner in this position, [...]