SucceedAsYourOwnBoss.com » Starting A Small Business

How to Get Paid What You Are Worth

Melinda Emerson — Thu, 17 May 2012 09:50:34 +0000

Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with Alfred Edmond @AlfredEdmondJr is SVP/Editor-at-large of Black Enterprise. He is a content leader, brand representative and expert resource for all media platforms under [...]

5 Ways Color Can Improve Your Small Business

Melinda Emerson — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 09:30:58 +0000

SPONSORED POST Ever since color television was invented in 1953, color has been critical to telling a visual story. Whether you are a start-up or established business, spending the extra money on color images or color ink may seem out of the question when you are launching a marketing campaign. But using color could mean [...]

How to Get New Customers Part II

Melinda Emerson — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 09:30:05 +0000

There are numerous ways of getting new customers but not all methods are applicable to all businesses. I also need to remind you that getting repeat business from your existing customers is far easier than attracting new customers, but it is important to have a strategy for getting new customers in the door. In Part [...]

How Do I Get New Customers Part 1

Melinda Emerson — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 09:30:55 +0000

So often I am asked about how to get new customers that I decided to develop a two part series on the topic. No customers, no business. A simple and obvious fact, which leads new business owners to ask the question “How do I get customers to see and buy from my business?” The [...]

How to Be Successful as a Franchise Owner with Dina Dwyer-Owens

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 08:30:21 +0000

Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with @DinaDwyerOwens. She’s the Chairwoman and CEO of The Dwyer Group www.dwyergroup.com over such well-known service brands as Mr. Rooter, Aire Serv Heating [...]

Five Reasons Your Company Should Have a Platform

Melinda Emerson — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 09:30:27 +0000

These days, you can’t go five minutes without hearing someone talk about platforms. The term is almost a buzzword. As I explain in The Age of the Platform, a platform is merely a structure made up of “planks,” or integrated features. For instance, Google in 1998 wasn’t a platform; it was a really neat search engine. By adding planks [...]

In Just 365 Days You Can Become Your Own Boss

Melinda Emerson — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:30:06 +0000

If you have always wanted to become your own boss, now is a great time. I realize that you are probably saying to yourself a year, Really? But trust me, 12 months is a reasonable and realistic timeframe to make your transition from employee to entrepreneur. You will want to take the time to plan [...]

How to find a manufacturer for your small business product?

Melinda Emerson — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:30:34 +0000

I have been talking to quite a few small business inventors lastly, and the most common question that keeps coming up is how to find a manufacturer for your small business product. Most of the business owners in my network use foreign manufacturers, so that is where my advice is centered. Here are some tips [...]

Do you have an idea for the next great tech start-up?

Melinda Emerson — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 13:44:06 +0000

Last night, CNN debuted Black in America 4 with Soledad O’Brien, which featured 8 African-American tech entrepreneurs who went out to Silicon Valley this summer to participate in a business incubator with the hopes of landing seed capital to catapult their entrepreneurial dreams. It was an amazing mix between MTV’s the Real World and Donald [...]

5 Things Wrong With Your Business Plan

Melinda Emerson — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:30:32 +0000

If you’ve taken the time to develop a business plan for your start-up business, you are on the right track. You have a roadmap that will help you with decision-making in your new enterprise. Take the time to be sure your business plan doesn’t contain any of the following shortcomings that will prevent your business [...]