startup | Business Finance Store

Why Do Businesses Fail?

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Samantha Hadley

Looking on the Internet you will find thousands of reasons businesses fail. From accounting problems to flawed strategies there is a different reason for each business failing. However, why is it so hard for small businesses to start and survive?

Mainly it is because the business was not thought through before it began. Most business owners have a passion and jump on the opportunity to run their own business. Although it is great to be able to do what you love and be your own boss, business ownership is something you need to prepare for. Previously, we dispelled the misconception that suggests 9 out of 10 businesses fail.… Read More

Unique Perks Offered by Small Businesses

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Laura Woods

Whether you’re the owner of an established small business or a startup, you want to have the best employees working on your team. While it can be easy to attract top-level talent when you have the cash to fund high salaries, it can be a bit more challenging when you don’t.

Thankfully many skilled workers are willing to accept alternative perks and employee benefits in exchange for a smaller paycheck. Many people are strong believers that you can’t put a price tag on having a job that you truly enjoy. These are the people you want on your team anyway!

Consider offering some of these employee benefits in exchange for paying your staff lower salaries:

Pet friendly workplace: Allow your staff to bring their dogs to work.

Startup Financing — Don’t Display These Behaviors Around Investors

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Laura Woods

After you’ve come up with some really great business ideas for your startup, you’ll probably need to present them to investors to secure funding. Starting a business is a very expensive venture, so you’ll need to do a good job convincing financial backers to invest in your company.

Never exhibit the following behaviors around investors, as they are very off-putting and will likely cause them to pass on the opportunity to become a financial backer for your business:

Lack of Confidence

While you certainly shouldn’t lie your investors, you also don’t want to appear insecure about your startup. If you’re experiencing a business problem that you need to disclose to them, do so in a confident manner.… Read More

How to Prove Your Startup is a Great Investment

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Laura Woods

Starting a business takes a lot of money. If you have a great idea for a product or service you know is going to be a hit, but don’t have the resources to fund it independently, you’ll need to find investors to back you. When investors give you money to fund your startup, they’re taking a gamble with their funds, so you have to do a lot of hard work to convince them that your company will become a thriving enterprise.

Create a Well-Written Business Proposal

Every investor is going to want to see a solid business proposal before even considering investing money in your startup.… Read More

Summer is the Perfect Time for Economic Gardening

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Deborah S. Hildebrand Harris

As defined by the Ewing Marion Kaufman Foundation:

Economic gardening is an economic development model that embraces the fundamental idea that entrepreneurs drive economies. The model seeks to create jobs by supporting existing companies in a community.

In general, economic gardening is a “homegrown” strategy of helping new, entrepreneurial and small businesses meet strategic challenges, such as penetrating new markets and building high-performing teams. Economic gardeners, known as EG specialists assist business leaders, pinpoint issues affecting their organization and limiting their growth, and then identify the tools and information required to move them forward.

Overview of Economic Gardening

Economic gardening began in 1989 in Littleton, Colorado.… Read More

Revenue Cycles, Invoice Factoring, and Your Business

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Justin Stoltzfus

We talk a lot about various loan opportunities and different types of extra funding for America’s small businesses, but in a surprising number of cases, a startup can actually do a lot to improve its bottom line without seeking out a lot of additional capital and paying significant interest on liquid cash. In these types of situations, no matter what industry a business is in, what it’s selling, or who it sells to, a cash crunch has to do with a lack of consistency in the actions of its customers and clients. Put simply, many customers don’t pay on time, and that can have a big negative impact.… Read More

Unemployment: The Key to Success?

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Joanna

Could taking a little time off be the key to a successful independent business? According to the federal government, it could be! With the number of jobs created by entrepreneurship and the fact they could help the recovering economy becoming more intertwined, the federal government is mulling over a special kind of “unemployment” aid for business owners called the Self-Employment Assistance Programs (SEA). Here are the details of the plan and how it could influence small businesses forever.

More college student entrepreneurs. College grads leave school with a lot of knowledge and a lot of debt. Not exactly a winning combination for entrepreneurship.… Read More

Finding a Business Incubator to Help Grow Your Small Business

Posted on May 19, 2012 by Deborah S. Hildebrand Harris

Like a Phoenix rising from the flames, the dream must go on. That’s true for Hollie Cavanaugh, a recent castoff of American Idol and it’s true for small business owners and entrepreneurs everywhere.

While you may not be signing a recording contract to keep your dream alive, you may be interested in finding out more about business incubators to help hatch your latest entrepreneurial idea.

History of Business Incubators

The original idea for business incubators started over 50 years ago when a large equipment manufacturer moved away from Batavia, New York, leaving behind their 850,000-square-foot facility. Enter Joe Manucuso, local resident, business owner, and hero.… Read More

How To Determine The Costs Of Starting Your New Business

Posted on May 13, 2012 by edithrobb

Securing a reliable funding source for your business is easier if you can demonstrate that you have a realistic grasp of the costs of running your new business, plus a plausible plan for generating revenue.

The research involved in gathering data for your budget is one of the most difficult and time-consuming tasks of starting a business. It is also the most essential.

Before you do anything, resolve to save every single receipt and every single invoice involving your company. Even if your accounting system is just a shoebox to start with, take two of them, label one for receipts and one for invoices, and every day place your papers in the proper box.… Read More

How Much Money is Required to Start a Business?

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Clay Wyatt

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 software, mobile phones, Internet costs, website maintenance and related items
Wages and benefits – includes salaries, benefits and other applicable employee costs

Review Financials of Similar Businesses

The financial statements of publicly-traded companies are available to the public.… Read More