Small Business Guide

Identify what key financial information and metrics are important to your small business. These will vary among industries, but some of the more common ones are sales, gross margins, net income, and current ratio. If you extend credit to your customers, then accounts receivable balances and/or average collection period would be important as well. If you are a retail store, inventory turnover ratio would be a good KPI to include in your dashboard....

Obtaining business investors or loans for your business in today’s market makes an already daunting task even more challenging....

If you have ever accepted bids for a project such as construction, moving, or painting, other buyers might have apprised you that accepting the average bid, the one that falls in the middle, might be the best option. If you have ever purchased a large ticket item, you understand why consumers might question the quality and effectiveness of an item that is sold below cost...

Every business must keep track of income and expenses, profit and loss, not just for tax purposes but also for evaluating productivity in keeping with the business plan...

Every business, small and large, new and established, requires a budget. A budget creates a guideline for income and expenses and provides a way to compare financial goals with reality, to plan ahead proactively, and foresee and correct issues...

Everyone wants to save money. This is especially true for the small business owner. It seems as if more demands are being made of our money than ever before. There are definite ways for the small business owner to save money and cut costs...

Find a Niche. For small businesses, it is best to find a niche. A small company with limited resources can efficiently serve niche markets. Concentrate your efforts on a fairly narrow market offering. This entails sticking to what you do best, and becoming an expert in that field. Realize that it is not possible to be good at everything. By concentrating on a fairly narrow market niche, you may be able to avoid head-on collision with bigger competitors. If you are a hardware store selling everything from paints to lumber, the entry of giant retailers like Home Depot in your area can spell the end for your business. However, you can try to limit your offering, for example, to construction of porches and decks and be the best retailer for this segment...

Autofilter is an excellent tool for data analysis in Excel. You can filter your data and see the results you want very quickly. Let’s say you want to analyze your customers and perform sales analysis by customer and state. You have customers in multiple states and you would like to analyze the sales data you have....

Do Fast Food Delivery Services have potential for creating a successful business? Many people come home from work tired and do not want to waste time driving for dinner. These people get up in the morning and do not have time to buy breakfast. Yes, there are pizza delivery businesses but are there fast food delivery services in your neighborhood? The answer is probably “No”. There is a demand for Fast Food Delivery Services business...

Companies make bean bag panthers and Stuff a Bear Panthers and you can get little PSU shirts put on them.) * Game Face tattoos (Special order PSU temporary tattoos and sell them) * Garage/Rummage Sales (Collect stuff from individuals in your organization and then have a big yard sale.) * Raffles (Sell raffle tickets and raffle off prizes.) * Community Bingo nights (See if a local community center would allow you to sponsor a bingo night) * College Care Packages (Sell care packages for students. Mail...

Naming your business is the first step in developing your small business. The business name decision you will make will shape how your customers will perceive your business now and in the future. This is a very important decision and your business name will have a long-term impact on your business. The name of your small business is part of your branding and marketing strategy and it will probably stay the same for years so your business name deserves a serious consideration...

Now you are able to use Google Docs and design and manage your own surveys for free. Google Docs allows you to create a survey and email your survey to your customers or employees. Survey responses are automatically saved in your Google Docs account. This is very easy to use tool which allows you to create forms and surveys for your small business. All you need to do is to use your Google account and login to your Google Docs and you are ready to start designing your survey. It is free and easy to do it so you can create your surveys in a few minutes...

When thinking and considering different ideas for your small business you need to start with your own skills and ask yourself what you are trying to achieve with your small business in the future. This is the first and most important step in the process. Business ideas are everywhere around you and you can find many business ideas online but you really need to consider if a specific business idea is a good fit for you, your skills and your lifestyle. Some of the ideas you will find are good and some of them are not that good. Most business ideas work fine for some people while at the same time they do not work that well for others...

A bakery can be a great business for the right person. However developing and managing a successful bakery requires more than knowledge and passion for baking. Managing successful bakery and growing your bakery business require good business and marketing skills as well. Just like any other business your bakery business needs hard work and dedication. Developing a good business plan and strategy is critical for success of your bakery business...

Customer service is not limited to the person at the front door or the one answering the phone. Customer service should be an initiative put forth in the business plan, and all levels of the company should employ customer service efforts regardless of whether they are the owner or the file clerk. Organizing an effective customer service policy may involve handling customer questions or complaints, but it also may involve ongoing customer maintenance in an effort to avoid questions or complaints. Arranging a good and effective customer service plan requires knowing the customer...

Once the business identifies customer needs and preferences the next step in the process is developing value proposition. The Value Proposition is related to the positioning strategy of the business which takes into consideration the customers, competitors and general market trends. The value creation process is simply trade-off between 1. Customer benefits and 2. Customer total cost (monetary and non-monetary cost). The non monetary investment on the customer side is time, energy, experience, etc in the process of obtaining the product or service (the benefits)...

Many potentially good entrepreneurs never form businesses because of lack of ideas. The best business idea combines the individuals’ strengths, skills, abilities, experience and education with imagination and market demand. Resolving a common issue can create an opportunity...

"Tell me about yourself” interview questions? Here are some tips that will help you answer this interview question: Your information should be clear and straight to the point. Answer this interview question by using short and clear sentences while expressing yourself clearly and talking always with your point in mind. Before you Answer you should understand the reason behind this question and in what specific way the Answer should be related to the job you are...

Starting and operating an Internet business is not much different from operating any other business, in particular because of the necessity today of any business to have an Internet presence. The same tenets apply, such as providing customer service and care, fair pricing, on-time delivery, and maintaining truthful advertising.

There are some differences between a traditional and an Internet business, however...

In conducting research, keep in mind the necessary specifics you seek. Prepare an outline of questions you want answered prior to beginning your research. Include questions such as “Who will my customer be?” “Where will I sell my items?” “What do I plan on charging?” and “How much do I think I will sell and in what time frame?”...

A solid brand position is rooted in a passionate commitment to the customer. What do you believe about your industry, product or service? What possibilities are you creating for your customer? What’s your customer’s burning issue and in what ways does your company solve it. Get on your soapbox, speak and write passionately about it and your ideal customer will be drawn to the message...

Advertising rate card is a document provided by a newspaper or other print publication featuring the organization's rate for advertising. It may also detail any deadlines, demographics, policies, additional fees and artwork requirements. The smaller the publication, the less information that may be available in the rate card. ..

The BCG Matrix is a useful device for considering the relevant interactions of a portfolio of profit centers (in an individual business) or the interactions of different companies in a corporate portfolio. The BCG Matrix places profit centers or businesses in a 2 x 2 matrix. Generally the rows in the matrix represent high and low industry sales growth and the columns represent high and low relative market share. Industry growth rates are typically "split" at 20% annual growth - high growth rate firms have more than a 20% growth rate and low growth rate firms less than 20%.

What does it take to develop a new product idea and develop successful product? While creativity is key to new product ideas there is more you need to consider in order to come up with successful product. Here are some issues related to new product development...

This short review on targeted marketing is a simplified but very effective marketing plan. Why? Because if you get this right this is all you need to successfully promote and grow your small business. Your targeted marketing strategy evolves and adopts as your business, your marketplace and your competitors change on a daily basis. Developing targeted marketing is necessary for effective marketing planning. Your Targeted Marketing success...

When you think of CRM what comes first to your mind? CRM as technology or CRM as business strategy? CRM for Small Business is a system approach (activities, processes and strategies) used to organize, manage and view customer activities and experience with the small business. There are many CRM software applications which are built to help you manage your CRM program. CRM also includes activities of your prospective customers not only your existing customers such as promotion and advertising targeted to prospects. CRM is about organizing important information for making smart sales and marketing decisions. For example, by tracking promotional campaigns you can measure your sales efficiency – money invested versus new generated from your advertising and marketing...

While the economy is in a terrible downturn, using every possible resource to reach customers is essential. However, with many businesses cutting back, adding something new to your repertoire may be an issue. Enter email marketing, a simple and low-cost solution. Transitioning from traditional to email marketing will save thousands of dollars, however. You can decide to cut down on your typical marketing, or even cut it out completely if you find email marketing does the job...

In today’s tough market, customer focus should be the utmost phrase in the small business owner’s vocabulary. Certain things, such as regulations and laws, have gotten stricter. But there are things that are in your control in terms of what you can do for the customer, and keeping the customer, not just getting the customer, is an important consideration...

What is Price Elasticity? Elasticity means measuring the percentage change in one variable that results from a 1% change in another variable. When the price rises by 1%, quantity demanded might fall by 5%. The price elasticity of demand is -5 in this example...

Developing successful marketing plan and strategy means creating a roadmap for your small business future. All customers are not the same. They have different needs, preferences, and budgets. Segmenting your customers can help you develop a successful marketing strategy. Similar customers...

There are several basic differences between the business selling tangible products and the business providing services. On a positive note, they typically do not require inventory. On the reverse, however, for many service businesses, such as consulting firms, there are no tangible items, making marketing and sales more difficult...

Simply put a marketing database is a list of customer information compiled into a list in which you can send information about your products, services and current sales promotions. There are many avenues that can be used to collect customer information...

Determining a price for a product that maximizes revenue is an ongoing process that challenges the best business planners. The first step in developing a pricing strategy is to collect data about the buying habits of your customers. You can use that data to calculate a product's price elasticity of demand, which is a measure of how price changes affect consumers' willingness to buy a product....

Niche Plan - Whatever keywords you target with your website you will have competitors. What you are trying to do is find the keywords where competition is not that strong and the number of searches (the demand for your keywords) is hopefully high. The best approach is to start with your skills, expertise or interest (topics where you can add value to your website visitors) and look for niche areas ignored...

Have you ever wanted to have your own special brand? Many small business owners think they must be giant corporations to have a successful brand. Nothing could be further from the truth. Think about some of the major brands...

Having a website helps you promote your business, products and services and even if you are not doing business online it helps you build a professional reputation with your clients...

Now you can learn how quickly and easily you can start and grow your own eBay business from Mike Enos - world famous eBay trainer. Mike has helped thousands of people like you. His ebook offers many tips and ideas for growing profitable eBay business out of your home. This ebook will answer all of your questions such as what to sell, how to sell, how to grow your business, how to make profit and everything you need to know to become profitable eBay seller...

Choosing a good location for your small business is one of the most important decisions you have to make for your business. There are many different issues you need to consider carefully before you make a location decision. How to decide where to locate your small business? Well, while there are many important factors you need to consider when making a good business location decision one of the key factors are the overall cost of a specific location and your business requirements - based on your business type and your industry and market...

The point of your website or blog is sharing your information with your online visitors worldwide. So even if you are not aware - you are in the business of sharing information with the world. This means you need to share your information in a good / effective way so develop your blog with easy to read pages without too much noise...

Although a high school diploma is not required for beginning jobs, it is recommended for those planning a career as a cook or chef. High school or vocational school courses in business arithmetic and business administration are particularly helpful. Many school districts, in cooperation with State departments of education, provide on-the-job training and summer workshops for cafeteria kitchen workers with aspirations of becoming cooks. Large corporations...

The retailers interested to buy your products will ask for your UPC barcode as well as product details including product description such as size and color. They update their information system with your product information so when they scan your product they are able to charge the product price and update their inventory system automatically. They further use your UPC barcode to track your products...

Once set with an idea and research on it is completed, the next step is to determine market appeal for your product or service. A good idea is only as good as the customer believes it is. Identifying how your product or service differs from the competitions’ is vital. Pin down who you feel your customer will be, where they are, how much they earn (affordability of the product or service), and who your competitors are. How is your product or service different?...

A good FAQ page helps the people you work with as much as it helps you: it’ll provide them with the details they need, whether you’re around or not. It also allows them to digest potentially complex information at their own pace. Finally, it can enable colleagues to ask the right questions of you, reducing the time they need to spend solving a problem or obtaining information...

These days it is vital for most businesses to have a web site, even if it is just to promote your business’ information. Whether your business is new or not, a web site is almost a necessity for communicating your product or service today. Not everyone will sell via the Internet and thus may not require a “shopping basket” function. However, important information such as what your business offers, the experience, and how you set yourself apart from the competition, are important, as is contact information...

Successful business people know how to set goals, make plans and execute those plans. Goals are drivers for success. Without goals it is uncertain how you are going to achieve success. There are many different terms used to express goals such as vision and mission often used in the corporate business world...

Business Formation: Corporation, Sole Proprietorship, Partnership or Limited Liability Corporation? The most common forms of business are sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation and limited liability corporations...

Obtaining business investors or loans for your business in today’s market makes an already daunting task even more challenging....

Making a decision depends on many issues (decision drivers) such as the nature of the decision, the personality of the decision maker, experience of the people involved, the information available…

Quitting a Job can be a big stress for many people. Because of that many people live with their current jobs for a long time although they are not happy with their jobs. It used to be that a job with a company should be long-term and people hoped to have job security for life. Today the job market is different and many people are getting used to the fact that there is nothing wrong in Quitting a Job...

Performance Report is a report showing business results, activities and performances over defined time period such as month, quarter or year. The Performance Report is generally compared to some internal or external benchmark. Comparing your Performance Report with an internal benchmark might be comparing the actual results with the forecasts of your business plan or budget. In this case the Performance Report will compare the actual performance with the projected performances. On the other hand the actual business results in the Performance Report might be compared to external benchmarks such as competitors’ performances or industry averages...

Pricing your products and services can make a difference between profit and loss. When you think about pricing your products and services do not limit your thinking only to whether your price is low or high or your gross margin percent but think about the price point where you can maximize the net profit. This is your pricing objective. The price will drive the volume up or down and your net profit will change at each pricing level.

Your work experience on your resume is the first thing your potential employer will see when she reviews your resume. Professional experience or work experience or job related experience is what is your major asset when competing with other job candidates for the same job. Your work experience should tell story about yourself - your experience, skills, network, interests, etc. and hopefully convince your potential employer to give you an opportunity for a job interview...

Every company small or big is a team. When more than one person is involved in the company activities it’s a group or team of people working together. However you should make a difference between groups and teams. The fundamental difference is that group represents people working together while the term teamwork or team refers to people who work together in order to achieve common goals and objectives...

While you can analyze your small business in many different ways such as financial analysis, sales analysis, operational analysis, etc., you should develop some simple business analysis approach that will help you scan your business anytime you need. Here are five very important factors...

Reservation Management System is the core function of managing any hotel, motel, bed & breakfast, Lodges & Inns, Campgrounds and any other hospitality business. Without a good Reservation Management system you are running too much risk and cutting your profit opportunities. Here are just a few examples of potential issues when your reservation management system is not very well organized...

Business Networking is critical for building and growing your small business. The strength and potential of your business is as strong as its network. Business networking is a strategic marketing and sales approach for your small business to generate more business and strengthen the current business you already have. The growth of your business depends on the quality and quantity of business opportunities you generate. Effective networking can create a steady flow of leads for your small business. Because of that you need to develop successful business networking strategy and tactics and manage these networking activities on a daily basis...

Times are tough today, and big business is no exception. Many realize it’s time to cut back, but they also may increase their efforts in certain areas, such as customer service, advertising, and product support. Small businesses can take the same tack. Monetarily your small business may be unable to keep up; you may be unable to afford more expensive consultants or advertising. However, there are many things that can be done...

The dream of the home-based business is one that can be realized providing the proper steps are in place, including having available space and good time management skills, and awareness of conflicts concerning your work or schedule....

Google is a world-famous web search engine. But as many already are aware, Google is not just a search engine. In fact, it is an excellent one-stop source for the small business. Google also provides email service, a calendar, an RSS Reader, a blogging platform, webmaster tools, alerts, adwords keyword tool, documents for word processing and spreadsheet, group communications, a business center for small businesses to list their contact information, maps, and picassa, a photo server...

Providing professionally written letters, emails, advertising, web pages and blogs will help increase credibility and professionalism for your business. Professionalism is vital for all types of businesses. With any communication, consider the source or target and write so you are understood. Write only what you believe the target/recipient will be interested in...

The operational plan describes how your business will function, in as much detail as necessary, noting what steps already are complete and which must be accomplished. The operational plan should define the business owner’s understanding of the entire business process...

So you have a client or prospective one who wants a proposal? Where will you begin and what will you include? The important thing to keep in mind is that a proposal need not be written like a PhD treatise. The customer wants to know who will do the job, in what time frame, and at what cost. He/she also wants to know if there are hidden costs, agendas, or hitches. That is it. Most proposals need not be long or complex. Following this simple formula should help make the task easier. And keep in mind, if this is your first proposal, it may be time consuming, but you can modify it and use it repeatedly for additional customers. Once you have written it, you will wonder why you were so concerned...

Though in today’s market it might seem more viable to forecast shorter term, it is becoming more customary for a business of any size to forecast with long-term intentions. Preparing a forecast looking five, 10, or even 20 years into the future has much more merit today for small businesses than ever before...

Imagine taking a trip without a map. When starting a business, it is vital to ensure your road to success includes the why, how, where, what, and who. Why are you starting this business? How will you do so and how will your business grow? Where will you seek input and customers? What will you provide or sell? Who will your customers be?...

Running a small business should not be rocket science. But commonly used technology is an important part of science. Technology should assist a business in running more effectively, efficiently, and in less time, and today, many products are low cost, readily available, and offer this increase in business efficiency...

Sales forecasting can be difficult if a business is just starting out and has no prior sales record. Referencing the competition’s sales records might be next to impossible unless your business has trusted friends or contacts in related fields...

There are three specific reasons for outsourcing that is, receiving outside services from contractors, versus doing it in house. One is when specific expertise is required. The other is when the necessary task is temporary. And the third reason to use outside vendors is to save money...

Motivating employees can be a daunting task. Each business owner who is also an employer faces this task. Motivating employees does not have to be a hard task but it can be relatively easy...

This is a Balance Sheet Excel Template for Small Business. It calculates Assets, Liabilities and Owner's Equity or Ownership in Microsoft Excel.

This excel tool will help you track your advertising expenditures and sales generated so you can analyze how effective your advertising was in different time periods. This analysis will help you improve your advertising approach and maximize its effectiveness.

Regional Sales Chart – Allows you to compare business sales for three regions on one grouped excel chart.

Customer Lifetime Value Calculator is easy to use tool for quick customer analysis. This tool allows you to calculate the Customer Lifetime Value, Customer Retention Rate, and Overall Customer Lifetime Value. You can perform what-if analysis to see how different variables will drive the Customer Lifetime Value and Profitability and plan business strategies for improvement.

Supplier Comparison Chart

Supplier Comparison Chart is easy to use tool for purchasing, supply chain, and quality management professionals. Rank and visually compare suppliers on critical quality features. You can use the current quality drivers or type your own business specific drivers.

Income Statement Dashboard

5-year Income Statement Dashboard with visual indicators. Type your data and change categories to reflect your business. Analyze your financial data and print your reports

SWOT Analysis Template

SWOT Analysis Word Template - Organize your SWOT information in this simple one-page SWOT Analysis template for Microsoft Word.

Break-Even Analysis Template

This excel break-even analysis chart creates chart with +/- 50% of the revenue you specify so you can see how sensitive is your business model / cost structure

Go / No Go (GNG) Analysis Matrix

This template is a decision matrix for go / no go analysis generally used for risk management in strategy development, project management, and investments. The GNG matrix compares the advantages and disadvantages of go / no go alternative decisions.