General Small Business Articles

Article / Updated 07-19-2022

No matter whether you’re just starting your own micro-business or you’ve been working for several years, you want everything to run smoothly and cost effectively. As a micro-entrepreneur, your focus is to meet your target market’s needs while staying ahead of your competition. These free resources can help you. Get a free e-mail account for personal or business usage. E-mail is indispensable for communication, marketing, and other pursuits. You can get free e-mail at Gmail, Hotmail, or Yahoo. Try Open Office Software Suite. This powerful suite of business productivity tools includes word processing, spreadsheet, presentation software, and other software programs. The software is free and regularly upgraded and refined by open source software developers. Network with LinkedIn. On this site, you can network with other businesses and professionals. You can make lots of valuable contacts, find prospects, and get answers to many of your questions from other professionals and specialists. Market through e-mail. Mailchimp is a free e-mail service to do e-mail distribution and marketing. You can send an e-mail blast for up to 2,000 addresses on your list at no cost, which is perfect for businesses just starting out and needing a good way to manage a list of prospects, customers, or e-zine subscribers. Use YouTube. This popular video platform gives you the ability not only to gain information and news (including lots of free how-to videos on a variety of business topics), but you have the ability to create your own videos (ranging from providing content to doing sales and marketing presentations) at no cost.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 05-03-2022

Owning and running a small business calls for a variety of skills, perhaps foremost among them organizational. If you’re going to incorporate your business, you need to explore the differences between becoming a C corporation and an S corporation. And if you want to attract investors or even apply for a loan, you’d better be familiar with the key elements of a business plan.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-05-2022

Managing the finances of a small business is a multi-layered task. You need to become familiar with standard financial documents, pay attention to profits, and make the most of the business’s assets. And you always have to be thinking and planning ahead. You have some work to do, get to it!

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-23-2022

All customers are not alike. Knowing how they differ — what their individual and group needs and preferences are — is key to successful marketing efforts nowadays. Marketing strategy involves segmenting your customers into groups and researching and studying those groups to tailor your messages specifically to them. Social media is a great way to do that because the various types of social media already have their own quirks and styles associated with them, and that can be an aid when it comes time to hone specific marketing messages. Another important modern-day piece of the marketing puzzle is content marketing, which adds value by providing real content that consumers can use, but which also promotes your business.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-23-2022

Being smart with marketing ensures the success of your business by attracting more customers, and keeping them coming back. Whether you own a bakery or a finance business, you need no-nonsense marketing strategies to secure a greater share of the market. This Cheat Sheet includes essential marketing tools, tips for marketing on a low budget, and much more.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-17-2022

Small Business Taxes For Dummies assists both current and aspiring small business owners with important tax planning issues, filing issues, dealing with IRS audits and notices, getting help, and more. To get started, you can discover some strategies to make informed tax moves and ask a few important questions if you're thinking of hiring a tax advisor.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-01-2022

Individuals are now, more than ever, realizing the power of the limited liability company (LLC). If you’re like many people, you probably understand that an LLC can benefit you in one way or another; you just don’t know the next steps to take. Read on to find out the benefits of LLCs, get help naming your LLC, and get the lowdown on the different tax types for LLCs so you can make the best decisions for your business.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 01-20-2022

From managing to marketing and everything in between, the world of small business can be both exciting and overwhelming. It’s a place where no two workdays are exactly the same and where unpredictable things happen. If you’re thinking about starting (or you already run and manage) your own business, check out the following list of tips to improve your chances of success.

Article / Updated 09-01-2021

You've finally made it! After many months or, perhaps, years of planning and saving, you're now the sole proprietor of your very own business — woohoo! But now the real work begins, and one big question lies ahead: How much should you be charging? Start with addressing how you should charge, then move on to determining an appropriate rate. Charging by the hour vs. the project Most self-employed service providers charge in one of the following ways: By the hour: You establish an hourly rate, keep track of your time, and bill clients for hours spent on their behalf. This is the standard pricing approach for service businesses handling small-project jobs. By the project: You and your client agree in advance on a fixed price for a defined amount of work. This is the standard pricing approach for service businesses handling large-project jobs. A combined approach: A building contractor, for example, may bid on a set of plans and establish a fee for the project. But he may also stipulate that additional client-requested work over and above that covered by the estimate is to be paid at an established hourly rate. Other businesses follow other billing approaches. For example, authors often receive a royalty, or a percentage of the cover price, for each book sold. Freelance writers may charge by the page or word. A photographer might sell rights to photos based on the way the purchaser will use them. And some professionals are paid retainers, or upfront payments, in return for their availability to work on an as-needed basis. Whatever payment arrangement you settle on, you still have to figure out exactly how much to charge. Establishing an hourly rate If you provide a service of some sort, begin by establishing an hourly rate. Even if you end up charging by the project or product, when you know your hourly rate, you can estimate the number of hours a job will take and multiply that number by your hourly rate to arrive at your project or product cost. One way to establish an hourly rate is to find out what other people doing similar work charge. In some cases, you can discover this information simply by talking to other independent contractors or by looking at their websites or marketing materials. You can also check with professional organizations to get an idea of what people charge in different parts of the country. Rates do vary. For example, freelance editors may be able to charge $35 an hour in St. Louis or Cedar Rapids and $50 or more in pricey places like New York or California. To be competitive, set your rates within a similar price range. If you’re just starting out, you may want to begin at the lower end of the scale. If you have a long list of credentials and have earned rave reviews from clients, you can shoot for the upper end. Another way to arrive at your pricing is to consider the following: How much customers will be willing to pay for your product or service How many hours a year you think you can spend on billable activities How many hours a year you need to devote to running your business How much it costs you to run your business Whether your projected revenue minus expenses equals an adequate profit Say that you’re a consultant who wants to personally make $80,000 a year. Further, assume that your overhead costs total $22,000 a year, plus you want to earn at least $8,000 profit annually to fund future growth. That means your consulting business needs to bring in at least $110,000 each year. Next, say that out of each 40-hour workweek, you’ll spend 12 hours running your business (doing the banking, networking, making new business calls, working with accountants, and on and on). That leaves 28 hours a week, 50 weeks a year (assuming that you give yourself two weeks off for a well-earned annual getaway) for billable activities — or a total of 1,400 billable hours a year. With all of that information in hand, you can divide $110,000 by 1,400 hours to arrive at an hourly billing rate of $78.50. If that’s more than you think clients will be willing to pay, you have a few choices: You can reduce your overhead costs, you can reduce your earnings and profit expectations, or you can spend more hours on billable activities, which probably means working longer weeks. Determine your tasks, time, and expenses To get a good idea of how you spend your working days, use this form. This information will be useful as you work to set your hourly rate. Even if you’re self-employed, plan to make and set aside a profit above and beyond what you pay yourself. Doing so allows you to expand and develop your business when times are good. It also provides an important safety net, should your business experience an unforeseen setback. Take time to figure the hourly rate you need to charge to cover your salary, overhead, and profit projections. You may want to use this form to make sure that your rate covers all your business expenses. Check all categories that apply to your business and enter the rough amounts you expect to spend. In your business plan, include information on how and what you intend to charge for your service or product. Show the calculations behind your pricing decisions.

Article / Updated 08-02-2021

If you don’t find an Etsy team that meets your needs, you can start one of your own. For example, you may want to start a team for other Etsy members who share your passion for your medium, who live in your geographic area, who are devoted to a particular style of design, who share similar goals with their Etsy shops, or what have you. Note that when you create a team, you automatically become its captain, so administrative duties fall to you (unless you delegate them to other members). To create a team, click the Create a Team button in the top-right corner of the main Etsy Teams page. Etsy prompts you to enter the team details. The name and team type A short description and (optionally) a long description Rules about team access and (optionally) who can join Application questions (if needed) The team’s logo Tags to describe your shop Related links (for example, you may include a link to your own personal website or to some other relevant page online) After you fill in the requested information, click Create Team.