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You are here: Home / Archives for business planning

How To Define Your Niche Business

February 21, 2011 By Melinda Emerson 7 Comments

What the heck is a niche? Webster’s Business Dictionary defines a niche as a “particular market or specialty area where a company finds it profitable to concentrate its selling efforts. Niche marketing offers a concentration of clients in an area of limited competition. It can be a market niche that can be a specific geographic […]

Filed Under: Branding & Marketing, Business Inspiration, Your Small Business Tagged With: business planning, entrepreneur, melinda emerson, niche, small business, smallbizlady

Smallbizlady Help! I Need A Business Mentor

February 28, 2011 By Melinda Emerson 6 Comments

Dear Smallbizlady, I know how important it is to have a business mentor, but I don’t know many successful entrepreneurs.  What’s the best way to go about getting one? You’re right about the value of having a mentor, especially today. Choosing a mentor should be a real process of identifying the best person to help […]

Filed Under: Grow Your Business, My Recommendations, Women in Business Tagged With: become your own boss, business planning, entrepreneur, melinda emerson, mentor, smallbizlady

Ask SmallBizLady How Can I Take My Small Business to the Next Level

February 25, 2011 By Melinda Emerson 1 Comment

Every Friday, I answer questions on my blog in a segment called Ask Small Biz Lady and will post video answers to frequent small business questions.  This week, we are taking on the question How Can I Take My Small Business to the Next Level? Check out this video for the answer Develop a specialty […]

Filed Under: Ask Smallbizlady, Business Inspiration Tagged With: become your own boss, business planning, entrepreneur, melinda emerson, small business, smallbizlady, success tips

Ask Smallbizlady: Why Do Small Businesses Fail?

March 11, 2011 By Melinda Emerson Leave a Comment

Every Friday, I answer your small business questions in a video blog segment called Ask SmallBizLady. This week, we are taking on the question why do so many small businesses fail? Here are the 5 Top Reasons Small Businesses Fail No Life Plan No Network Not Saving Enough Money Upfront No Niche Customer No Fiscal Discipline  […]

Filed Under: Ask Smallbizlady, My Recommendations Tagged With: become your own boss, business failure, business planning, melinda emerson, small business, smallbizlady

Are You Ready to Get Serious About Your Business?

March 16, 2011 By Melinda Emerson 1 Comment

I meet people all the time who will offer me their business idea as soon as they hear I’m a small business coach. I have heard it all, and here’s a secret – everyone has good ideas.   I rarely hear a business concept that I think is terrible. Most people walk around with those ideas […]

Filed Under: Business Inspiration, Grow Your Business, Your Small Business Tagged With: Amy Larrimore, become your own boss, business planning, byob2011, byob2011 Philadelphia, entrepreneur, Lolly Daskal, melinda emerson, small business, smallbizlady

Your Life Plan and Your Small Business

March 21, 2011 By Melinda Emerson Leave a Comment

In America, when you announce that you want to start a small business, most people will start talking about how you should write a business plan first.  I generally agree with this advice – every small business does need a plan,  however it is my belief that there are a few steps that should be […]

Filed Under: Become Your Own Boss Tips, Starting A Small Business Tagged With: become your own boss, business planning, entrepreneur, melinda emerson, small business, smallbizlady

Surveys Made Simple

March 22, 2011 By Melinda Emerson Leave a Comment

Get to know your customer.  This theme drives not only blog articles but also magazines, business books, textbooks, and executive meetings.  As I teach classes to aspiring entrepreneurs, I find myself saying the same thing.  But my students have posed a very real, very astute question to me, “How do we do that?” When I […]

Filed Under: Guest Articles Tagged With: business planning, entrepreneur, Morgan Leu Parkhurst, small business, small business surveys

Now Read This: Small Business Taxes Made Easy

April 6, 2011 By Melinda Emerson 2 Comments

I like this book Small Business Taxes Made Easy: How to Increase Your Deductions, Reduce What You Owe, and Boost Your Profits by Eva Rosenberg (@TaxMama). It is great no-nonsense tax-advice! Eva is passionate about helping small business owners pay the least business taxes legally possible, but she also provides information (however tough it may […]

Filed Under: Cash Flow & Finance, My Recommendations, Your Small Business Tagged With: business planning, melinda emerson, small business, small business cash flow help, small business tips

Getting Started as a Work At Home Mom Business Owner

April 11, 2011 By Melinda Emerson 1 Comment

If you’re a stay at home mom who’s ready to get back into the workforce as a work-at-home mom small business owner you are in for quite an adjustment.  I believe you should plan your business at least 12 months prior to starting your business as you already have two full-time jobs as a wife […]

Filed Under: Become Your Own Boss Tips, How to Start, Mompreneurs, Starting A Small Business, Women in Business, Your Small Business Tagged With: become your own boss, business planning, melinda emerson, work at home mom

Ask @SmallBizLady: How Do I Identify My Target Customer

April 15, 2011 By Melinda Emerson 1 Comment

Every Friday, I answer your small business questions in a video blog segment called Ask Small Biz Lady. This week, we are taking on the question: How Do I Identify My Target Customer? Here’s the answer: Determine your target customer’s pain points Examine the competition Figure out what percentage of the market you can realistically […]

Filed Under: Ask Smallbizlady, Grow Your Business, Starting A Small Business Tagged With: business planning, customers, melinda emerson, smallbizlady

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