Small Business Matters

Re: Getting your Customers to Pay-Up: Part 2 - Tips for Collecting from Non-Paying Clients

Detoxer — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:07:54 GMT

Very good advice. At Novus we have less difficulty because we require our patients to pay as they receive our detox services. However, having practiced law for many years, I know about receivables and how you have to use the amount of force to collect the money but still not lose the client.

Getting your Customers to Pay-Up: Part 2 - Tips for Collecting from Non-Paying Clients

CaronBeesley — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:47:43 GMT

At some or several points in every business owners life, you can expect to deal with a non-paying or slow-paying customer. In my earlier post - Getting your Customers to Pay-Up: Tips for Protecting Yourself from Non-Paying Clients - I outlined some measured approaches that your small business can put in place to protect it from the potential scenario of having to deal with a non-paying client. But what if, despite these measures, you are confronted with a client that simply won't pay-up on time or at all? Here are some options your small business might consider for collecting or pursuing client debt.

Re: Thinking of Starting a Blog? Tips to Help You Start, Maintain & Grow a Small Business Blog!

MarkAse — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:06:18 GMT

I'd guess I may be fairly young to be running a real brick/mortar company...but blogs can serve multiple purposes, including both SEO and information as well as letting potential customers get to know you.

Facebook is more of a networking tool to be used between friends you already have....while Twitter is best used to reach out to others within your industry, not sure on its effectiveness to find new customers.

Re: Five Holiday Marketing Tips to Help your Small Business Stay Profitable & Top of Mind this Y

ivnash — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:53:40 GMT

The *12 Low-Cost Marketing Ideas for the
Ho-Ho-Ho-lidays! provided are indeed excellent ways in helping to establish better customer relationship. It helpa to nurture a long term customer relationship, which is real good in maintaing clients base.

Thumb Up !

Re: Determining the Best Customer Payment Options for your Small Business - and Managing the Bad One

nikifrost8 — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:34:03 GMT

Well. I'm glad to say that I run an online business and I just rely on one of the online Merchants. I usually use Paypal, but Google checkout is also really good to use. They have the best rates for my small business, and customers have a number of options to pay then.

Getting your Customers to Pay-Up: Part 1 - Tips for Protecting Yourself from Non-Paying Clients

CaronBeesley — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:14:37 GMT

As sure as eggs are eggs every business owner can expect to deal with a non-paying or slow-paying customer at least once in their business lives. The trouble is that many of us, eager for new business and income, overlook the fact that it invariably will happen to us. And without the advantage of a professional in-house collections department, the cash flow implications and task of collecting debt falls squarely on the shoulders of the business owner. So if you are starting a business or have been in business for a while and have had enough of dealing with late- and non-paying clients, here are some tips for preventing and handling this troublesome issue.

Re: Investigating a Franchise Opportunity – How a Little Detective Work and the Law can Help

rodbrokert — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:22:14 GMT

Thanks! These are some fantastic tips for choosing a franchise. You covered every avenue without making it too complicated. Good stuff!

Re: Changing the Construction Landscape - Become a Green Building Leader

ErickMcg — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:39:58 GMT

Many small contractors believe it is too difficult to be "green", but the truth is that it can be very easy if you just follow basic principles. Knowledge is the biggest barrier to green building, and that can be easily remedied with a little initiative. A really good resource is the book "Green From The Ground Up", which can help any builder incorporate green principles and materials into their work.

cheers,

Erick

-------

green building

Re: Need Help Starting a Business? Get the Right Kind of Advice & Take Control of Your Start-Up!

dandelmastro — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:23:09 GMT

This is great advice you have here Caron. I highly recommend any small business owner to review these steps before investing much time or money.

Message Edited by NicoleD on 11-14-2009 12:30 PM

Selling Imported Goods within the U.S. – Get Started with this Small Business Checklist

CaronBeesley — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:07:09 GMT

Selling imported goods within the U.S. can be a lucrative business opportunity. High demand imported products such as artisan crafts, furniture and even food and beverage products such as olive oils, wine, etc. represent a significant market opportunity for savvy business owners. Margins of up to 700% can be lucrative indeed. If you are interested in importing and selling overseas goods into the U.S. market you will need to do your research regarding both the country of export and the country of import (the U.S.). Here are some business and regulatory tips to guide you through the process of selling imported goods in the U.S.

Re: Thinking of Starting a Blog? Tips to Help You Start, Maintain & Grow a Small Business Blog!

bodybuilding — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:37:25 GMT

Blogs are the best way to keep customers informed. My website hasnt got a blog but I created a news section, that is something else you can use to keep customers informed. It also created new content on your webpage.

Regards,

Message Edited by NicoleD on 11-12-2009 08:58 AM

Going Beyond the Shot Gun Approach – 5 Tips for Optimizing Your Non-Profit’s Fundraising Efforts

CaronBeesley — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:52:02 GMT

Raising funds to support the philanthropic mission of any non-profit organization can be a time consuming chore often fraught with trial and error. While splashy one-off fundraisers can generate a large chunk of charitable change they can also consume much needed resources for months on end. At the other end of the spectrum, "ongoing" fundraising tactics, while easier to execute, oftentimes don't generate the required financial rewards. Consider these five tips and tactics for optimizing your non-profit's fundraising activities.

Re: Thinking of Starting a Blog? Tips to Help You Start, Maintain & Grow a Small Business Blog!

jaymar2 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:49:41 GMT

I think Facebook and especially twitter have supparsed a company blog in terms of understanding & communicating with your audience. In the past big corporations were worried about what message to put out, now they look on twitter and see directly what their customers think and, crucially, respond to the issues right there!

Re: Thinking of Starting a Blog? Tips to Help You Start, Maintain & Grow a Small Business Blog!

NicoleD — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:10:36 GMT

cks1988 - Have you seen this discussion thread?<P>

How to start a blog

Re: Thinking of Starting a Blog? Tips to Help You Start, Maintain & Grow a Small Business Blog!

cks1988 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:00:38 GMT

I do have my new blog recently. I write about Cytogenetics and Cancer Research. But i don't know how to build up the backlink effectively. Can you please give me some comments about my blog? Is it SEO friendly? Anything i can do to improve my blog? My blog address is http://www.treatgene.com. I wish to know how to build up backlink effectively. Thanks.

Re: For Women Business Owners: Five Essential Resources to Help you Start, Grow and Expand Your Busi

CaronBeesley — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:09:10 GMT

whiteinkstudios - You might want to take a look at these resources and online videos from business planning expert Tim Berry. These were posted since I wrote this article, but are a great resource if you are struggling with biz planning: http://www.business.gov/start/business-plan-tutorials.html

Re: National Small Business Week Shines Spotlight on New Interest Free SBA ARC Loan

CaronBeesley — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:03:17 GMT

whiteinkstudios - thanks for your comment, the article does state explicitly that the loans are "guaranteed by the SBA", not that SBA "makes the loans". See this paragraph"

Guaranteed by the SBA, the ARC Loan Program provides interest free loans of up to $35,000 to small businesses "for the purpose of making principal and interest payments on existing, qualifying small business loans for up to six months".

Re: For Women Business Owners: Five Essential Resources to Help you Start, Grow and Expand Your Busi

whiteinkstudios — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:28:27 GMT

I am the owner of a small business, and the most challenging part for me is writing a Business Plan. I have downloaded templates and researched on line,but they all seem too complex for what I am doing. I am going to head to the sites you cited here and see if I can find what i need.

I appreciate your good advice, especially the part about being a compulsive multi tasker, trying to do it all myself.

Re: Starting and Growing an Online Business: An Entrepreneur’s Checklist

whiteinkstudios — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:20:30 GMT

What a great article!! I have been in the same business for 23 years and just recently decided to go in a new direction. Because I had suilt a good reputation, most of my business was from direct referrals, so I did not understand all the great tools that are available these days, for relatively little money, but they are time consuming and do involve a learning curve..

Another way to help boost your visibility is to join some type of Business Networking group. I just joined Beach Cities BNI, and I now have 50 sales people working for me!! That means there are at least 50 people that I give a commercial to every week, and when they are out and about in the community and someone mentions a need for the type of services I provide, they just hand them my business card and let them know I will take good care of them!! just one more tool in the tool box!!

www.whiteinkstudios.com

Message Edited by NicoleD on 11-09-2009 10:51 AM

Re: National Small Business Week Shines Spotlight on New Interest Free SBA ARC Loan

whiteinkstudios — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:11:01 GMT

While I think your article is well intentioned, I don't think it tells the whole story. For example, the SBA loans. SBA DOES NOT make loans, they simply guarantee them, private lenders make the loans. And, in my experience, also require collateral. If you need a loan to ramp up your business, then you need to have somethig of value for the Lender and the SBA to put a lien against, or you can't get one.

I have heard from many people who are just starting out in business that they have read these types of articles, and think the SBA and the federal govenment is just waiting to help them out, and while that may be the intent, the actual implementation is not as simple as it sounds.

www.whiteinkstudios.com

Message Edited by NicoleD on 11-09-2009 10:52 AM