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Small Business Cents
Are you considering outsourcing your payroll function? If you find you don’t have enough hours in the day to take care of your business operations, your clients and your employees, outsourcing key business functions such as payroll can be a cost-effective business strategy. In fact, payroll is the first function many small business owners look to outsourcing. Why Outsource Payroll? Managing payroll is an especially time consuming and detail-oriented task that can quickly consume even the savviest business owner. Some of the...
If you sell anything online or regularly ship goods and services to customers – how can you be sure you are getting the best shipping deal for you and your customers? Unless you’ve explored the full range of options, the shipping can become an operational nightmare and have a direct impact on your bottom line. Costly errors include not checking shipments before they leave, or even knowing which shipping method to use. On the regulatory side, international shipping and custom laws can also present challenges to the uninformed...
We’re getting the word out on how the federal government can help start-ups. This blog article is the fourth in our series cataloguing programs for high-technology entrepreneurs (sometimes referred to as “high-growth, high-impact firms” or high-tech start-ups). So far, we’ve written about grant programs, loan programs, and technical assistance. This week, we’re featuring programs and organizations that provide education, counseling and other similar services to high-tech entrepreneurs. Starting a business...
We’re getting the word out on how the federal government can help start-ups. This blog article is the third in our series cataloguing programs for high-technology entrepreneurs (sometimes referred to as “high-growth, high-impact firms” or high-tech start-ups). In the first part of the series, we looked at grant programs. Last week, we outlined loan programs. This week, we’re highlighting five technical assistance resources for high-tech start-ups. What is Technical Assistance? For start-ups, technical assistance...
This second blog article in a series catalogues government programs specifically targeted at technology startups and entrepreneurs (sometimes referred to as “high-growth, high-impact firms” or high-tech start-ups). In the first update, we looked at grant programs. This week, we’re featuring federally -sponsored loan programs. Whether used for equipment, personnel, working capital or other start-up costs, a loan can provide the financing an entrepreneur needs to launch a new idea. However, getting credit can be difficult for...
By Dennis Byrne Whew! You started a small business, navigated your ship of commerce through turbulent waters and now it’s cruising along. Congratulations! Now, your next big business challenge is to take that thriving business to the next level. Expanding what you’ve built is a challenge just as great as getting it started. But, there is help out there. Enter the SBA 504 loan program, especially...
If you’ve spent any time reading through the Loans and Grants discussion board, you would notice that one of the most commonly asked questions is “how do I get a grant from the government to start a business?” Despite what you might be led to believe on late-night infomercials, there is no free money or grant available from the federal government to start a business. However, in certain limited circumstances, the government does provide grants to businesses that help create jobs. Many of these government grant programs are...
By David Hall Everybody knows that to start or grow any business you need money, greenbacks, dough, moolah – whatever you want to call it – be it cold, hard cash or intangible yet equally effective credit. What’s not always clear, however, is where to get it, and that’s the real challenge. Most new businesses, and even some established ones, have to resort to creative methods of raising needed capital, methods that may work in the short run but be inadvisable for the long haul. Mortgaging your house, using...
By Dennis Byrne We work in them or we work near them. We live in them or we live near them. They are underserved communities – places where times are tough, jobs are few, and many small businesses struggle. Underserved communities were hit disproportionately hard by this recession and need our help and focus more than ever. But how can we get small businesses, the “backbones” of these communities, back on their feet to perform the vital role they play in these economies? The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is...
By David Hall A big part of the American Dream is the possibility of owning and running your business. That, of course, takes money, which begs the question how to finance your dream. There’s a widespread misconception, fueled by (sometimes unscrupulous) late-night infomercials, that there is money galore out there in the form of grants to start or expand your own business. While the popular, wishful approach to financing your business with OPM, Other People’s Money, is certainly attractive, it usually doesn’t work...
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by Caron_Beesley, Community Moderator on Monday, August 22, 2011 - 09:12