Small Business University |

5 Tips to Fund Your Business

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Maya Pillai

Small businesses have proven to be the spine of any economy. According to the report published by Small Business Administration, for more than a decade, 64% of the new jobs have been generated by small businesses. In the year 2011, Startup America was launched by the government to boost the growth of small businesses. Though there’s expert advice available to start your venture, funding is still an issue with many small business owners. When the economy is just recovering from a downturn, it is not easy to get funds for your business. Therefore, before you start your venture, have in … Read more

Never Tell a Lie to Investors

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Maya Pillai

“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” – Warren Buffet In the current economic scenario, small businesses and startups would welcome any financial help they can get. Once they have tapped funds from their friends and family, they may turn to investors who are willing to invest in their business. However, one must keep in mind that investors don’t write blank checks. They will want a detailed business plan and also a way to exit from the business down the line with meaningful profits. You should be thoughtful in your approach towards potential investors because a scattershot … Read more

Posted in Facing Off with Your Competition, Featured, Guerilla Marketing, Small Business University
Tagged in company growth, investor relations, pitching, positioning, trust about company | Leave a comment

Little Known Ways to Kick Start Your Marketing Efforts

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Maya Pillai

“If you wait until there is another case study in your industry, you will be too late.” Seth Godin (Author of Permission Marketing) If you want to remain in business, marketing is the key. It is not about having a great marketing plan in hand, you need to have a marketing strategy laid out. The reason being, once you have your potential customers, how do you plan to convert them into loyal clients? How do you plan to follow-up with the contact? If you have a marketing strategy in place, you should know how to play around it so that … Read more

Posted in Featured, Guerilla Marketing, Know your Business, Sales & Marketing, Small Business University
Tagged in Business, Competitors, Marketing, Marketing Module, Marketing Tips | Leave a comment

You Aren’t a Strong Leader, Time to Fix That

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Maya Pillai

“Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision and relentlessly drive it to completion.” – Jack Welch (former chairman and CEO of General Electric Co.) Leadership styles of small business owners are different from that of the large corporations. The approach for running a small business is different from that of running a large organization. A recent study conducted by Inc.com tells that small business owners perform better under pressure than CEOs of large companies. Despite that, many small businesses fail within the first five years due to poor leadership qualities of the SMB owners. … Read more

Posted in Know your Business, Leadership, Small Business University
Tagged in Leadership, leadership qualities, leadership styles, principle of management | Leave a comment

Boost Your Employee Morale

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Maya Pillai

“Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside them was superior to circumstance.” – Bruce Barton (American Author and Politician) If you want to put in place an effective retention strategy, it is mandatory that you do something to boost your employee’s morale. It is a fact that if the morale is poor and if your employees dread coming to work, they are unlikely to stick around for long. This in turn will reduce the productivity and the profits of your organization. With the economic slowdown, many small business owners are not able … Read more

Posted in Know your Business, Management, Small Business University
Tagged in Employee morale, HRM, human resources, Motivate Your Employees, Organizing Your Employees | Leave a comment

It’s 2012! Time to Attract Some New Clients

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Guest Blogger

Although the government and pundits alike have spent the last couple of years talking about a turnaround in the economy (wishful thinking at best, blatant lies at worst), it looks like 2012 could actually be the year that the Great Recession begins to loosen its grip on the global economy. If holiday sales and travel estimates in 2011 were any indication, Americans are beginning to spend some disposable income again, which means that people are willing to take the leap and reinvest in the economy. And while this has yet to translate into jobs creation or a bump in the … Read more

Posted in Know your Business, Small Business University
Tagged in business tips, customer, new clients, New Customers | Leave a comment

Avoid Cash Flow Hiccups

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Maya Pillai

All small-medium businesses may not have an accounting department but the accounts would be taken care of by the entrepreneurs themselves. Here the business owners would be in direct and close contact with their clients. As a business owner, it is necessary that you be friendly towards your clients. However, ensure that you are professional while sending them your monthly invoices and reminders in case of overdue payments. It is always better to avoid cash flow crunch if you want to run a successful business. Recently, the U.S Postal service had made the decision to close smaller post offices and … Read more

Posted in Know your Business, Small Business University
Tagged in Cash, cash hicupps, incentives, invoices, Payments and Collection | Leave a comment

Subscribe

Most Popular Posts