Guest Article You’ve taken the leap into the rough waters of small business ownership, beaming with the excitement of a new chapter in your life and the possible success of your idea. However, getting started is only the beginning. The first year of running a small business can be the hardest times any owner will […]
Don’t Forget to Do the Math: Know Your Numbers
Specific reasons why small businesses fail are as unique as the businesses themselves, but there are some commonalities that explain many small business failures. In some cases, it’s easy to see the problem: there isn’t enough demand for what the business produces at a price that will generate a profit. In other cases, problems aren’t […]
How to Plan a Successful Move to Office 365
Cloud 365 is a major transitioning step for a small business in moving from a land-based to a cloud-based system. This allows all the workers in an office continuous access to data, apps, and tools. The deciding advantages of migrating to a cloud system like Office 365 include: Free integration to other Microsoft techs tools […]
How to Use Lean Planning to Grow Your Business
Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9 pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with Tim Berry (@TimBerry) is the world’s leading business plan expert. Google “business plan expert” to see. Check out his latest book […]
How to Write a Business Plan Part III
You have developed your business model and your marketing plan. Now, in Part III of my four-part series on how to write a business plan, it’s time to develop your operations plan, budget and sales projections. This is where you go from dreamer to business owner, folks! If your business is not designed to make money, […]
How to Write A Business Plan Part II
A business plan is your strategy for bringing your product or service to the marketplace. This is Part II of my four-part series on how to write a business plan. Last week, in Part I of my blog series on how to write a business plan, we focused on developing your business model, which is […]
How to Write a Business Plan – Part I
When it comes to writing a business plan, the first step is figuring out your business model. This post is Part I in a four-part series on how to write a business plan. Today’s focus is crafting your business model. Developing Your Business Model There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to […]
Creating Business Plans that Actually Get Financed
Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9 pm ET. This is excerpted from my interview with @bizplangirl. Cheree Warrick writes business plans for companies seeking funding from banks and angel investors. Her book, “Creating Business Plans that […]
Plan Your Ideal Life, Not Your Ideal Business
Guest Article The best advice I got when I was starting my own business was “plan for the life you want, not the job you want.” I found myself facing the very problem many women entrepreneurs struggle with–we allow ourselves to be defined by our employment, and forget that the life we pursue is so […]
How to Develop a Life Plan for Your Small Business
So you’ve got your business plan. You’ve got your marketing plan. Heck, you’ve even got a blogging plan. But, what your business needs first, before all of these, is a life plan. No, you won’t see “life plan” on most small business sites, because it’s of my own invention. What I mean when I say […]