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Small Business Matters
Whether you are a start-up or an established business, understanding your obligations with regard to complying with state and local government laws and regulations is an essential part of your small business toolkit. Many small business owners aren’t aware of the necessary permits and licenses needed to operate legally. Of course, business laws vary from state-to-state, and when you throw county laws into the mix, it can be hard to know where to find the information you need. Luckily, e-government initiatives have made it very easy to...
Seems like a straight-up question and answer, right? Not really. The government has strict sizing rules and regulations that define what a small business is. Understanding these can help empower small business owners to take advantage of a wide variety of government programs, SBA loans, and contracting opportunities that are reserved exclusively for them. Am I a Small Business? If you are interested in government contracting opportunities, are looking for SBA-guaranteed funding, or believe your business qualifies for other government programs...
As a small business owner you can pretty much guarantee that for whichever stage of business operation you are going through - hiring your first employee, filing your first W2, or applying for a loan - there is going to be a barrage of forms requiring your attention. Speaking from experience, this is an intimidating and frustrating chore for home-based business owners, microbusinesses and smaller businesses who often don’t have the luxury of passing off the responsibility of day-to-day administration to the appropriate HR, accounting,...
From Bill Hewlett and David Packard, Google’s Larry Page and Sergey Brin, even Ben and Jerry - some of the biggest success stories in recent business history have hinged on collaborative business partnerships. Asides from aspiring to blaze a trail in the mode of these history makers, business partnerships offer small business owners many benefits in areas such as taxation, shared risk, access to funds, etc. So whether you are looking to partner with your best friend, former boss, or even your spouse, here are some of the options and...
As most entrepreneurs soon find out, the cost of starting or expanding your small business can quickly escalate as you seek to equip your workforce, office, or other place of business with the tools needed to operate and grow. While you may seek to roll these costs into a business loan and/or recover them at tax time through depreciation, neither of these actually reduces the upfront cost of procuring business assets or equipment in the first place. An alternative, frequently used by non-profits but often overlooked by for-profit small...
In Part 1 of this series - Small Business Insurance: What Type of Insurance Do I Need? - I outlined the types of business insurance options available to protect your small business assets and investments, as well as the insurance requirements you must comply with as an employer. When it comes to finding and buying insurance that meets your particular business need and risk, you need to be just as well informed. Below are five tips that can help you find the right insurance for your particular small business structure, business activity...
Protecting your business investment with insurance is a critical part of small business ownership. It minimizes the risks associated with unexpected events, liabilities, and losses. However, as with all insurance markets, knowing and finding the best insurance for your needs is not an easy task. Whether you are starting a business, taking on employees for the first time, or evolving your business structure, there are many variables that determine the right insurance for your small business, including your business structure, business...
While browsing the message boards on this community, I stumbled on a seemingly simple question posed in the forum by a small business owner - 'how do I contact the government?' With so many agencies, regulatory bodies, and elected officials across federal and state and local government, knowing where to start can be time consuming and frustrating. Just try Googling 'how do I contact the government?' and you’ll get an idea of what I am talking about. There are many reasons why small or microbusiness owners would need to contact the...
Do you have the mindset to be an entrepreneur? Many of our veterans do. In fact, of the 24 million military veterans in the U.S, four million are small business owners. Moreover, statistics show that the success rate of these veteran-owned businesses is higher than other startups - perhaps a reflection of the discipline, skills, and leadership experience acquired in military service. Providing further help, there are a number of tools and services from the SBA, VetBiz and other non-profit organizations specifically designed to help veterans...
Nine out of every ten firms in the United States is a microbusiness - who knew?! And, microbusinesses are one of the fastest growing and best positioned business groups to ride the current economic storm. Read Dawn Rivers Baker’s excellent article on 5 Key Microbusiness Trends for 2009 for more on this. What is a Microbusiness? Microbusiness is definitely the sector to watch in 2009. But what is a microbusiness?Finding a solid definition is somewhat of a free for all. Below is the nearest we have to an official definition, as well as an...
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by Caron_Beesley, Community Moderator on Thursday, April 16, 2009 - 07:18