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You use technology to help determine what to sell, how to sell it, where it&#8217;s selling, and who&#8217;s buying it. To keep on top of technology, browse these Web sites periodically for helpful information:</p>\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><a href=\"http://www.wired.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wired.com</a>: Find articles on what’s happening in the world of technology.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><a href=\"http://www.slashdot.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Slashdot.com</a>: See tech information before it hits the newsstands.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><a href=\"http://www.cnn.com/tech\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CNN.com Technology</a>: All of CNN’s great tech resources, including archives of its popular technology TV shows.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><a href=\"https://money.cnn.com/smallbusiness\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CNNMoney.com Small Business</a>: Great online articles about businesses that use technology to get ahead.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><a href=\"http://www.zdnet.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ZDNet</a>: Everything you ever wanted to know about e-commerce, even technical help.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><a href=\"http://www.cnet.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CNET</a>: Home of tech news, auctions, hardware and software reviews, helpful hints, Internet tools, and Web building tools.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><a href=\"http://www.freeservers.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Free Websites Directory</a>: Ratings of free hosts on their reliability, features, ease of use, speed, and size.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n"},{"title":"How to create a marketing plan","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>For entrepreneurs, an effective marketing plan is crucial. Entrepreneurs need to determine who&#8217;s going to buy the product and how to let those customers know that you have what they want. Creating a marketing plan is manageable with these steps:</p>\n<ol class=\"level-one\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\">List your options.</p>\n<p class=\"child-para\">Brainstorm all the possible ways you can make customers aware of your business and what you&#8217;re offering. Get ideas from customers, suppliers, other business owners, books, magazines, and websites.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\">Think like a customer.</p>\n<p class=\"child-para\">Put yourself in the customer&#8217;s shoes. What does the customer want to see when they visit your business in person or online?</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\">Scrutinize the competition.</p>\n<p class=\"child-para\">What makes your competitors successful? What are their marketing strategies, and how can you improve on them? Where do your competitors fail to satisfy customers? (That might be your best niche.)</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\">Analyze your options and rank them.</p>\n<p class=\"child-para\">Scratch options that don&#8217;t meet your customers&#8217; needs or are not feasible at this time. Rank your choices and start writing your plan.</p>\n</li>\n</ol>\n"},{"title":"How to screen business ideas quickly","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>Entrepreneurs develop business ideas all the time, but how do you know when to take a deeper dive? Some entrepreneurs have a hard time screening product ideas, but you can do it very quickly by answering a few simple questions. You’re on the right track if you answer “Yes” to the first three questions and  positively to the final two:</p>\n<ol class=\"level-one\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\">Am I excited about this idea or opportunity?</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\">Do others also think it’s a great idea?</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\">Are there people willing to pay for what I’m offering?</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\">Why am I the person to make this happen?</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\">Why should I go forward with this idea or opportunity now?</p>\n</li>\n</ol>\n"},{"title":"Questions to test your product concept","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>Thorough entrepreneurs test their product ideas before they begin producing them. Even if you&#8217;re in love with your idea, ask yourself the following test questions. They compel you to look closely at the following areas: the product or service; the market it will enter; the customers in that market; your finances; and your team.</p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th>Product/Service</th>\n<td>What are the features and benefits?</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td></td>\n<td>What product development tasks must be undertaken, and what is<br />\nthe timeline?</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td></td>\n<td>Is there potential for intellectual property rights?</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td></td>\n<td>How is the product or service differentiated from others in the<br />\nmarket?</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<th>The Industry</th>\n<td>What are the demographics, trends, and life-cycle stage of the<br />\nindustry?</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td></td>\n<td>Are there any barriers to entry?</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td></td>\n<td>What is the status of technology?</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td></td>\n<td>What are typical profit margins?</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<th>The Market/Customers</th>\n<td>What are the demographics of the target market?</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td></td>\n<td>What is the customer profile? Who is the customer?</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td></td>\n<td>Who are your competitors, and how are you differentiated from<br />\nthem?</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td></td>\n<td>Which distribution channel alternatives are available, and<br />\nwhich customers will be served by them?</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Finances</th>\n<td>What are your start-up capital requirements?</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td></td>\n<td>What are your working capital requirements?</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td></td>\n<td>What are your fixed-cost requirements?</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td></td>\n<td>How long will it take to achieve a positive cash flow?</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td></td>\n<td>What is the break-even point for the business?</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Founding Team</th>\n<td>What skills and experience does the founding team bring to the<br />\nventure?</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td></td>\n<td>Are the major functional areas of the venture covered by the<br />\nfounding team?</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td></td>\n<td>What is the nature of the gap, and how will it be filled?</td>\n</tr>\n</tbody>\n</table>\n"}],"videoInfo":{"videoId":null,"name":null,"accountId":null,"playerId":null,"thumbnailUrl":null,"description":null,"uploadDate":null}},"sponsorship":{"sponsorshipPage":false,"backgroundImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"brandingLine":"","brandingLink":"","brandingLogo":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"sponsorAd":"","sponsorEbookTitle":"","sponsorEbookLink":"","sponsorEbookImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0}},"primaryLearningPath":"Advance","lifeExpectancy":"Two years","lifeExpectancySetFrom":"2022-12-09T00:00:00+00:00","dummiesForKids":"no","sponsoredContent":"no","adInfo":"","adPairKey":[]},"status":"publish","visibility":"public","articleId":209403},{"headers":{"creationTime":"2016-03-26T14:49:41+00:00","modifiedTime":"2022-07-19T13:52:34+00:00","timestamp":"2022-09-14T18:19:46+00:00"},"data":{"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Business, Careers, & Money","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34224"},"slug":"business-careers-money","categoryId":34224},{"name":"Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34225"},"slug":"business","categoryId":34225},{"name":"Small Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34251"},"slug":"small-business","categoryId":34251},{"name":"General Small Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34253"},"slug":"general-small-business","categoryId":34253}],"title":"Tapping into Five Free, Valuable Online Tools for Managing Your Business","strippedTitle":"tapping into five free, valuable online tools for managing your business","slug":"tapping-into-five-free-valuable-online-tools-for-managing-your-business","canonicalUrl":"","seo":{"metaDescription":"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 effectivel","noIndex":0,"noFollow":0},"content":"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.\r\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Get a free e-mail account for personal or business usage.</b> E-mail is indispensable for communication, marketing, and other pursuits. You can get free e-mail at <a href=\"http://www.gmail.com\">Gmail</a>, <a href=\"http://Outlook.com\">Hotmail</a>, or <a href=\"http://yahoo.com\">Yahoo</a>.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Try </b><a href=\"http://www.openoffice.org\"><b>Open Office Software Suite</b></a><b>.</b> 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.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Network with </b><a href=\"http://www.linkedin.com\"><b>LinkedIn</b></a><b>. </b>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.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Market through e-mail.</b> <a href=\"http://www.mailchimp.com\">Mailchimp</a> 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.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Use </b><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com\"><b>YouTube</b></a><b>. </b>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.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n</ul>","description":"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.\r\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Get a free e-mail account for personal or business usage.</b> E-mail is indispensable for communication, marketing, and other pursuits. You can get free e-mail at <a href=\"http://www.gmail.com\">Gmail</a>, <a href=\"http://Outlook.com\">Hotmail</a>, or <a href=\"http://yahoo.com\">Yahoo</a>.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Try </b><a href=\"http://www.openoffice.org\"><b>Open Office Software Suite</b></a><b>.</b> 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.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Network with </b><a href=\"http://www.linkedin.com\"><b>LinkedIn</b></a><b>. </b>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.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Market through e-mail.</b> <a href=\"http://www.mailchimp.com\">Mailchimp</a> 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.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Use </b><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com\"><b>YouTube</b></a><b>. </b>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.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n</ul>","blurb":"","authors":[{"authorId":9001,"name":"Paul Mladjenovic","slug":"paul-mladjenovic","description":" <p><b>Paul Mladjenovic</b> is a renowned certified financial planner and investing consultant. 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they give you a shortcut to what’s most important to know about you and your business plan.</p>\n<p>Consider the following three customer questions:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Who is my real customer — who is the buyer?</li>\n<li>Why do they buy?</li>\n<li>How do they buy?</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Think about the following three competitor questions:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Who are my real competitors — others my customers consider before buying from me (or not)?</li>\n<li>What is different about these real competitors when compared to me?</li>\n<li>What are these competitors trying to do and do to me?</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Keep the following three ways to win in mind:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Constantly innovate.</li>\n<li>Offer something unique.</li>\n<li>Focus on your key customer segment and build an iron clad relationship with it.</li>\n</ul>\n"},{"title":"What makes a business plan work?","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>The following is a list of the key components that you need to master to make your business plan work:</p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Plans:</strong> Company mission, vision, goals, and objectives that all work together in alignment</li>\n<li><strong>Organization:</strong> A structure for your company that makes sense</li>\n<li><strong>Procedures:</strong> Efficient and effective ways of doing things</li>\n<li><strong>Leadership:</strong> An ability to influence and encourage others around you</li>\n<li><strong>Skills:</strong> The talents and expertise your people need to succeed</li>\n<li><strong>Culture:</strong> Beliefs and attitudes that lead to doing the right thing, no matter what</li>\n</ul>\n"},{"title":"The major pieces of a business plan","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>When you’re putting together a business plan, divide the plan into these basic sections — which every quality business plan should have:</p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Executive summary:</strong> This section is a very brief overview of what your business plan is all about; it should entice the reader to see more.</li>\n<li><strong>Company overview:</strong> This is a description of what your organization wants to do — the business in which it will compete, your vision and mission, the main products/services it will offer, and the principal actors who will be involved.</li>\n<li><strong>Business environment:</strong> This section describes the market(s) you will enter, the current trends driving the market(s), and the competition you will face there.</li>\n<li><strong>Company description:</strong> Here you present your strengths and weaknesses, using a SWOT analysis chart.</li>\n<li><strong>Company strategy:</strong> In this section you tell the reader just how you’re going to succeed in accomplishing your goals and objectives.</li>\n<li><strong>Financial review:</strong> Here you provide financial statements, including a profit-and-loss statement (P&amp;L), balance sheet, and cash-flow statement; these should be historical as well as projections for future periods.</li>\n<li><strong>Action plan:</strong> Finally, you present a time-phased road map for going forward to achieve the goals and objectives of your business plan — specific steps you will take to make the plan work.</li>\n</ul>\n"},{"title":"A checklist of business planning essentials","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>You have a number of essential tasks to complete before you write your business plan. Having a clear picture of your goals and how to attain them is at the core, but consider the other factors on this list of business-planning essentials:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Get everyone involved in setting goals and objectives — and give them incentives.</li>\n<li>Learn all you can about your customers.</li>\n<li>Understand who your competitors are.</li>\n<li>Identify your strengths and weaknesses relative to opportunities and threats.</li>\n<li>Determine which capabilities you absolutely need to succeed.</li>\n<li>Know the things that add value to your organization.</li>\n<li>Do your financial homework.</li>\n<li>Identify the worst possible thing that could happen to your organization — and what you will do if it occurs (your Plan B).</li>\n</ul>\n"},{"title":"Reasons why new and established businesses fail","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>You are not going to fail with your business plan if you look closely at each of the following reasons and avoid the mistakes (the first set for start-ups, the second for established firms).</p>\n<p>A start-up business may fail for the following reasons:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Runs out of money and has no backup funding source</li>\n<li>Fails to establish clear goals and objectives</li>\n<li>Misunderstands what customers want</li>\n<li>Underestimates the competition</li>\n<li>Has difficulty managing people</li>\n<li>Has ineffective procedures and systems</li>\n<li>Doesn&#8217;t have critical business skills</li>\n<li>Founder/owner won’t let go and overcontrols everything</li>\n<li>Founders can’t pivot quickly when initial business plan fails</li>\n</ul>\n<p>An established business may fail for the following reasons:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Unable to change — leaders get fat, dumb, and happy (FDH syndrome)</li>\n<li>Top leadership lives in the past and can’t attract fresh new talent</li>\n<li>Can’t transform rapidly because of too many fixed costs that are no longer useful</li>\n<li>Management engages in too much short-term thinking and acting</li>\n<li>Ignores threats from disruptive new industry entrants</li>\n<li>Doesn’t do serious long-term strategic planning, only does annual budgeting</li>\n<li>Doesn’t do succession planning</li>\n</ul>\n"}],"videoInfo":{"videoId":null,"name":null,"accountId":null,"playerId":null,"thumbnailUrl":null,"description":null,"uploadDate":null}},"sponsorship":{"sponsorshipPage":false,"backgroundImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"brandingLine":"","brandingLink":"","brandingLogo":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"sponsorAd":"","sponsorEbookTitle":"","sponsorEbookLink":"","sponsorEbookImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0}},"primaryLearningPath":"Advance","lifeExpectancy":"Two years","lifeExpectancySetFrom":"2022-02-03T00:00:00+00:00","dummiesForKids":"no","sponsoredContent":"no","adInfo":"","adPairKey":[]},"status":"publish","visibility":"public","articleId":209282},{"headers":{"creationTime":"2016-03-27T16:55:03+00:00","modifiedTime":"2022-05-03T14:50:46+00:00","timestamp":"2022-09-14T18:19:42+00:00"},"data":{"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Business, Careers, & Money","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34224"},"slug":"business-careers-money","categoryId":34224},{"name":"Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34225"},"slug":"business","categoryId":34225},{"name":"Small Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34251"},"slug":"small-business","categoryId":34251},{"name":"General Small Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34253"},"slug":"general-small-business","categoryId":34253}],"title":"Small Business Kit For Dummies Cheat Sheet","strippedTitle":"small business kit for dummies cheat sheet","slug":"small-business-kit-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","canonicalUrl":"","seo":{"metaDescription":"Learn the basics of setting up a small business, including business plans, differences between C and S corporations, and keeping records.","noIndex":0,"noFollow":0},"content":"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.","description":"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.","blurb":"","authors":[{"authorId":10243,"name":"Richard D. Harroch","slug":"richard-d-harroch","description":" <b>Richard D. Harroch</b> is an attorney with over 20 years of experience in representing start-up and emerging companies, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists. He is listed in <i>Who&#8217;s Who in American Law</i> and is a corporate partner in a major law firm in San Francisco. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of U.C. Berkeley and graduated from UCLA Law School, where he was managing editor of the <i>Law Review</i>. He has edited or co-authored a number of legal/business books, including <i>Start-Up and Emerging Companies: Planning, Financing and Operating the Successful Business</i> and <i>Partnership and Joint Venture Agreements</i>.<br /> Richard was the chairman and co-founder of AllBusiness.com, one of the premier Web sites for small businesses. He was also the founder, CEO, and chairman of LawCommerce, Inc., an Internet company dedicated to providing products and sources to the legal profession.<br /> He has lectured extensively before various legal and business organizations, including the American Electronics Association, the Venture Capital Institute, the California Continuing Education of the Bar, Law Journal Seminars-Press, the California State Bar Business Section, the Corporate Counsel Institute, the San Francisco Bar, and the Practicing Law Institute (PLI).<br /> Richard has served as the chairman of the California State Bar Committee on Partnerships, the co-chairman of the Corporations Committee of the San Francisco Bar (Barristers), a member of the Executive Committee of the Business Law Section of the California State Bar, and co-chair of the <i>Law Journal</i> seminar in New York on &#8220;Joint Ventures and Strategic Alliances.&#8221;<br /> Richard has experience in the following areas: start-up and emerging companies, corporate financings, joint ventures, strategic alliances, venture capital financings, employment agreements, IPOs, leases, loans, online and Internet matters, license agreements, partnerships, preferred stock, confidentiality agreements, stock options, sales contracts, securities laws, and mergers and acquisitions.","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/10243"}}],"primaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":34253,"title":"General Small Business","slug":"general-small-business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34253"}},"secondaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"tertiaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"trendingArticles":null,"inThisArticle":[],"relatedArticles":{"fromBook":[{"articleId":190293,"title":"How to Organize Your Small Business 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Headlines","slug":"packing-power-advertising-headlines","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/226108"}},{"articleId":226105,"title":"How Small Business Marketing Is Different","slug":"small-business-marketing-different","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/226105"}},{"articleId":226102,"title":"Marketing a Start-Up Business","slug":"marketing-start-business","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/226102"}},{"articleId":226099,"title":"The Relationship between Marketing and Sales","slug":"relationship-marketing-sales","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/226099"}},{"articleId":226096,"title":"Marketing: The Whole is Greater Than the Parts","slug":"marketing-whole-greater-parts","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/226096"}}]},"hasRelatedBookFromSearch":false,"relatedBook":{"bookId":282581,"slug":"small-business-kit-for-dummies-2nd-edition","isbn":"9780764559846","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"amazon":{"default":"https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764559842/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","ca":"https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/0764559842/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","indigo_ca":"http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-9208661-13710633?url=https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/product/0764559842-item.html&cjsku=978111945484","gb":"https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0764559842/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","de":"https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/0764559842/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20"},"image":{"src":"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/small-business-kit-for-dummies-2nd-edition-cover-9780764559846-203x255.jpg","width":203,"height":255},"title":"Small Business Kit For Dummies","testBankPinActivationLink":"","bookOutOfPrint":false,"authorsInfo":"<b data-author-id=\"10243\">Richard D. Harroch</b> is an attorney with over 20 years of experience in representing start-up and emerging companies, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists. He is listed in <i>Who’s Who in American Law</i> and is a corporate partner in a major law firm in San Francisco. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of U.C. Berkeley and graduated from UCLA Law School, where he was managing editor of the <i>Law Review</i>. He has edited or co-authored a number of legal/business books, including <i>Start-Up and Emerging Companies: Planning, Financing and Operating the Successful Business</i> and <i>Partnership and Joint Venture Agreements</i>.<br> Richard was the chairman and co-founder of AllBusiness.com, one of the premier Web sites for small businesses. He was also the founder, CEO, and chairman of LawCommerce, Inc., an Internet company dedicated to providing products and sources to the legal profession.<br> He has lectured extensively before various legal and business organizations, including the American Electronics Association, the Venture Capital Institute, the California Continuing Education of the Bar, Law Journal Seminars-Press, the California State Bar Business Section, the Corporate Counsel Institute, the San Francisco Bar, and the Practicing Law Institute (PLI).<br> Richard has served as the chairman of the California State Bar Committee on Partnerships, the co-chairman of the Corporations Committee of the San Francisco Bar (Barristers), a member of the Executive Committee of the Business Law Section of the California State Bar, and co-chair of the <i>Law Journal</i> seminar in New York on “Joint Ventures and Strategic Alliances.”<br> Richard has experience in the following areas: start-up and emerging companies, corporate financings, joint ventures, strategic alliances, venture capital financings, employment agreements, IPOs, leases, loans, online and Internet matters, license agreements, partnerships, preferred stock, confidentiality agreements, stock options, sales contracts, securities laws, and mergers and acquisitions.","authors":[{"authorId":10243,"name":"Richard D. Harroch","slug":"richard-d-harroch","description":" <b>Richard D. Harroch</b> is an attorney with over 20 years of experience in representing start-up and emerging companies, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists. He is listed in <i>Who&#8217;s Who in American Law</i> and is a corporate partner in a major law firm in San Francisco. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of U.C. Berkeley and graduated from UCLA Law School, where he was managing editor of the <i>Law Review</i>. He has edited or co-authored a number of legal/business books, including <i>Start-Up and Emerging Companies: Planning, Financing and Operating the Successful Business</i> and <i>Partnership and Joint Venture Agreements</i>.<br /> Richard was the chairman and co-founder of AllBusiness.com, one of the premier Web sites for small businesses. He was also the founder, CEO, and chairman of LawCommerce, Inc., an Internet company dedicated to providing products and sources to the legal profession.<br /> He has lectured extensively before various legal and business organizations, including the American Electronics Association, the Venture Capital Institute, the California Continuing Education of the Bar, Law Journal Seminars-Press, the California State Bar Business Section, the Corporate Counsel Institute, the San Francisco Bar, and the Practicing Law Institute (PLI).<br /> Richard has served as the chairman of the California State Bar Committee on Partnerships, the co-chairman of the Corporations Committee of the San Francisco Bar (Barristers), a member of the Executive Committee of the Business Law Section of the California State Bar, and co-chair of the <i>Law Journal</i> seminar in New York on &#8220;Joint Ventures and Strategic Alliances.&#8221;<br /> Richard has experience in the following areas: start-up and emerging companies, corporate financings, joint ventures, strategic alliances, venture capital financings, employment agreements, IPOs, leases, loans, online and Internet matters, license agreements, partnerships, preferred stock, confidentiality agreements, stock options, sales contracts, securities laws, and mergers and acquisitions.","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/10243"}}],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/books/"}},"collections":[],"articleAds":{"footerAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;small-business&quot;,&quot;general-small-business&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9780764559846&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-63221b3e8a1be\"></div></div>","rightAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_right_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_right_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;small-business&quot;,&quot;general-small-business&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9780764559846&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-63221b3e8ab53\"></div></div>"},"articleType":{"articleType":"Cheat Sheet","articleList":[{"articleId":190293,"title":"How to Organize Your Small Business Records","slug":"how-to-organize-your-small-business-records","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/190293"}},{"articleId":190287,"title":"Differences between C and S Corporations for a Small Business","slug":"differences-between-c-and-s-corporations-for-a-small-business","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/190287"}},{"articleId":190290,"title":"Key Sections of a Small Business Plan","slug":"key-sections-of-a-small-business-plan","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/190290"}}],"content":[{"title":"How to organize your small business records","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>Dealing with the paperwork is a large part of running a small business. The following table suggests essential file drawers to label in an actual file cabinet or two and what must-keep information to file in each:</p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><b>File Drawer</b></td>\n<td><b>What To Put There</b></td>\n<td><b>File Drawer</b></td>\n<td><b>What To Put There</b></td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Accounting and bookkeeping records</td>\n<td>Sales and expense information, inventory, ledgers, income<br />\nstatements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and other<br />\nfinancial statements.</td>\n<td>Forms used in the business</td>\n<td>Standard forms that you use in the business, such as purchase<br />\norders, sales agreements, offer letters to new employees, and<br />\nemployment applications.</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Bank records</td>\n<td>Bank statements, cancelled checks, bank reconciliations,<br />\nnotices from and to your bank, deposit slips, and any loan-related<br />\nnotices and documents.</td>\n<td>Intellectual property records</td>\n<td>Trademark applications, copyright filings, patent filings and<br />\npatents, licenses, and confidentiality or non-disclosure<br />\nagreements.</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Contracts</td>\n<td>All contracts you have entered into, including: real estate<br />\nleases, equipment leases, purchase agreements, sales agreements,<br />\njoint venture agreements, work for hire agreements, and other<br />\ncontracts.</td>\n<td>Marketing and advertising</td>\n<td>Marketing brochures, print ads, Web banners, text of radio ads,<br />\nand records of other marketing materials.</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Corporate records</td>\n<td><b>For corporations:</b> Articles of Incorporation, bylaws,<br />\nshareholder minutes and consents, board minutes and consents, state<br />\nfilings, Action of Incorporator, and amendments to the various<br />\ncorporate documents.<br />\n<b>For non-corporations:</b> Documents may include partnership<br />\nagreements, LLC documents, consents of the owners, and similar<br />\nrecords.</td>\n<td>Permits and licenses</td>\n<td>Permits, licenses, or registration forms that you need to<br />\noperate the business, whether required under federal, state, or<br />\nlocal law.</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Correspondence</td>\n<td>Letters sent by mail, faxes, and important e-mail that you<br />\ndon’t want to lose and want to keep in hard copy. These<br />\ninclude both correspondence you receive and send.</td>\n<td>Stock records</td>\n<td>The company’s Stock Ledger where you record all stock and<br />\nother securities transactions, copies of stock certificates,<br />\noptions and warrants, and copies of all securities law<br />\nfilings.</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Employee records</td>\n<td>Completed employment applications, actual employment offer<br />\nletters, employee handbook or policies, employment agreements,<br />\nperformance appraisals, employee attendance records, employee<br />\ntermination letters, W-2s, and any settlement agreements with<br />\nterminated employees.</td>\n<td>Tax records</td>\n<td>These records include quarterly and annual federal and state<br />\nincome tax filings, W-9 filings for independent contractors,<br />\nrecords supporting tax filings, withholding tax records, and other<br />\ntax-related matters.</td>\n</tr>\n</tbody>\n</table>\n"},{"title":"Differences between C and S corporations for a small business","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>A <i>corporation</i> is a separate legal entity formed under a state corporation law. Your small business can register as a C corporation or an S corporation if you go the corporation route, which you may want to do to shield shareholders from the corporation’s debts and liabilities.</p>\n<h3>C corporations</h3>\n<p>The following key points characterize C corporations:</p>\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Limited liability:</b> Generally, the shareholders, officers, and directors of the corporation aren’t personally liable for the corporation’s debts and liabilities.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Perpetual existence: </b>In contrast to partnerships and sole proprietorships, corporations generally can last forever unless they’re voluntarily dissolved.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Control and management: </b>A corporation’s overall management is vested in the board of directors chosen by the shareholders. The board of directors elects the corporation’s officers, who handle the business’s day-to-day affairs under the board’s general direction.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Shareholders’ rights:</b> Shareholders typically have various rights, including the right to elect directors, receive information, inspect corporate records, vote on fundamental business decisions (such as mergers and liquidations), and share in distributions.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Owners and profits: </b>The owners of the corporation are the shareholders who have received stock in the corporation.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Corporate formalities: </b>You should observe various corporate formalities, such as maintenance of separate books, records, and accounts; completion of various governmental filings; and periodic meetings or written consents of directors and shareholders.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Stock transferability: </b>Stock certificates are signs of ownership. Their transfer may be restricted; for example, the corporation may have a right of first refusal on transfer. And federal or state securities laws can limit stock transfers.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Capital formation: </b>The corporate entity accommodates a wide variety of forms of capitalization, such as common stock, preferred stock, stock options, warrants, and convertible securities.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Employee stock ownership: </b>Corporations provide the best vehicle to give employees equity interests in the business. Corporations allow tax-advantaged stock option grants, which aren’t available for other entities.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Tax:</b> C corporations are taxed at the corporate level. The government taxes most dividends as income to the stockholders.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<h3>S corporations</h3>\n<p>An S corporation is a regular corporation, but the business’s income passes through to the shareholders, and the shareholders pay income taxes based on their portion of the corporate income. In order to become an S corporation, you must follow a number of key rules, including</p>\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>IRS election: </b>All shareholders must sign and file IRS Form 2553 with the IRS. You may also need to make an election with your state of incorporation. New corporations must file the IRS form by the 15th day of the third month of your tax year (basically, a 2 1/2 month window).</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Number of shareholders: </b>An S corporation can have no more than 75 shareholders.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>One class of stock: </b>An S corporation can only have one class of stock, although certain differences can exist in voting rights among the shareholders.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Restrictions on the type of shareholders: </b>Generally, corporations, various trusts, and nonresident aliens may not be shareholders in an S corporation.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n"},{"title":"Key sections of a small business plan","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>If you want investors for your small business, you need to write a business plan so you have something to present to bankers and potential investors. The format of every good business plan, although not set in stone, tends to run along the same basic lines — it shouldn’t have anything that surprises investors.</p>\n<p>The business plan format is fairly standardized, typically containing the following key sections:</p>\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Cover page:</b> Contains contact information and a statement that the plan is deemed confidential</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Table of contents:</b> Enables your readers to quickly find the exact information they’re looking for</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Executive summary:</b> Explains, briefly, your business’s prospects, needs, and situation</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Company description:</b> Contains a historical account of the company, as well as its future prospects</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>The product or service:</b> Explains what is unique about the products or services that your business plans to deliver</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>The market:</b> Creates a picture of the market in which your business competes</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Marketing:</b> Informs your reader of how you plan to capture your business’s potential market (packaging, distribution, advertising, Web marketing, and so on)</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Management/ownership:</b> Introduces the people holding leadership positions in the business, their relevant experience and credentials</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Competition:</b> Focuses on your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Financial statements and projections:</b> Includes a lot of numbers (hopefully black), like your balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, and financial forecasts</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Appendices:</b> Contains résumés of key personnel, an organizational chart with positions and responsibilities, extended market information, and other data to back up the claims in your business plan</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n"}],"videoInfo":{"videoId":null,"name":null,"accountId":null,"playerId":null,"thumbnailUrl":null,"description":null,"uploadDate":null}},"sponsorship":{"sponsorshipPage":false,"backgroundImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"brandingLine":"","brandingLink":"","brandingLogo":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"sponsorAd":"","sponsorEbookTitle":"","sponsorEbookLink":"","sponsorEbookImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0}},"primaryLearningPath":"Advance","lifeExpectancy":"Five years","lifeExpectancySetFrom":"2022-05-03T00:00:00+00:00","dummiesForKids":"no","sponsoredContent":"no","adInfo":"","adPairKey":[]},"status":"publish","visibility":"public","articleId":208800},{"headers":{"creationTime":"2016-03-27T16:57:09+00:00","modifiedTime":"2022-04-05T16:26:51+00:00","timestamp":"2022-09-14T18:19:34+00:00"},"data":{"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Business, Careers, & Money","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34224"},"slug":"business-careers-money","categoryId":34224},{"name":"Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34225"},"slug":"business","categoryId":34225},{"name":"Small Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34251"},"slug":"small-business","categoryId":34251},{"name":"General Small Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34253"},"slug":"general-small-business","categoryId":34253}],"title":"Small Business Financial Management Kit For Dummies Cheat Sheet","strippedTitle":"small business financial management kit for dummies cheat sheet","slug":"small-business-financial-management-kit-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","canonicalUrl":"","seo":{"metaDescription":"Become familiar with standard financial documents, pay attention to profits, and make the most of the business’s assets with this kit.","noIndex":0,"noFollow":0},"content":"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!","description":"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!","blurb":"","authors":[{"authorId":9473,"name":"Tage C. Tracy","slug":"tage-c-tracy","description":" <b>John A. Tracy</b> is a former accountant and professor of accounting. He is also the author of Accounting For Dummies. ","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/9473"}},{"authorId":9472,"name":"John A. Tracy","slug":"john-a-tracy","description":" <b>John A. Tracy</b> is a former accountant and professor of accounting. He is also the author of Accounting For Dummies. ","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/9472"}}],"primaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":34253,"title":"General Small Business","slug":"general-small-business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34253"}},"secondaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"tertiaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"trendingArticles":null,"inThisArticle":[],"relatedArticles":{"fromBook":[{"articleId":200152,"title":"Examining Types of Business Capital","slug":"examining-types-of-business-capital","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/200152"}},{"articleId":193668,"title":"Important Financial Documents for Your Small Business","slug":"important-financial-documents-for-your-small-business","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/193668"}},{"articleId":193665,"title":"How to Plan Ahead for Your Small Business","slug":"how-to-plan-ahead-for-your-small-business","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/193665"}},{"articleId":193661,"title":"Paying Attention to Profit in Your Small Business","slug":"paying-attention-to-profit-in-your-small-business","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/193661"}},{"articleId":193657,"title":"How to Make the Most of Your Small Business’s Assets","slug":"how-to-make-the-most-of-your-small-businesss-assets","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/193657"}}],"fromCategory":[{"articleId":226108,"title":"Packing Power into Advertising Headlines","slug":"packing-power-advertising-headlines","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/226108"}},{"articleId":226105,"title":"How Small Business Marketing Is Different","slug":"small-business-marketing-different","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/226105"}},{"articleId":226102,"title":"Marketing a Start-Up Business","slug":"marketing-start-business","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/226102"}},{"articleId":226099,"title":"The Relationship between Marketing and Sales","slug":"relationship-marketing-sales","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/226099"}},{"articleId":226096,"title":"Marketing: The Whole is Greater Than the Parts","slug":"marketing-whole-greater-parts","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/226096"}}]},"hasRelatedBookFromSearch":false,"relatedBook":{"bookId":282579,"slug":"small-business-financial-management-kit-for-dummies","isbn":"9780470125083","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"amazon":{"default":"https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/047012508X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","ca":"https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/047012508X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","indigo_ca":"http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-9208661-13710633?url=https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/product/047012508X-item.html&cjsku=978111945484","gb":"https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/047012508X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","de":"https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/047012508X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20"},"image":{"src":"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/small-business-financial-management-kit-for-dummies-cover-9780470125083-203x255.jpg","width":203,"height":255},"title":"Small Business Financial Management Kit For Dummies","testBankPinActivationLink":"","bookOutOfPrint":false,"authorsInfo":"<p><b data-author-id=\"9473\">Tage C. Tracy, CPA,</b> is the co-author, along with John Tracy, of <i>How to Manage Profit and Cash Flow</i>. <b data-author-id=\"9472\">John A. Tracy, CPA,</b> is the author of <i>Accounting For Dummies</i>. </p>","authors":[{"authorId":9473,"name":"Tage C. Tracy","slug":"tage-c-tracy","description":" <b>John A. Tracy</b> is a former accountant and professor of accounting. He is also the author of Accounting For Dummies. ","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/9473"}},{"authorId":9472,"name":"John A. Tracy","slug":"john-a-tracy","description":" <b>John A. Tracy</b> is a former accountant and professor of accounting. He is also the author of Accounting For Dummies. ","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/9472"}}],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/books/"}},"collections":[],"articleAds":{"footerAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;small-business&quot;,&quot;general-small-business&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9780470125083&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-63221b362afad\"></div></div>","rightAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_right_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_right_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;small-business&quot;,&quot;general-small-business&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9780470125083&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-63221b362b9f8\"></div></div>"},"articleType":{"articleType":"Cheat Sheet","articleList":[{"articleId":193668,"title":"Important Financial Documents for Your Small Business","slug":"important-financial-documents-for-your-small-business","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/193668"}},{"articleId":193661,"title":"Paying Attention to Profit in Your Small Business","slug":"paying-attention-to-profit-in-your-small-business","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/193661"}},{"articleId":193657,"title":"How to Make the Most of Your Small Business’s Assets","slug":"how-to-make-the-most-of-your-small-businesss-assets","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/193657"}},{"articleId":193665,"title":"How to Plan Ahead for Your Small Business","slug":"how-to-plan-ahead-for-your-small-business","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/193665"}}],"content":[{"title":"Important financial documents for your small business","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>Managing the finances of your small business can be a challenge. To survive and thrive, you must earn profit consistently, generate cash flow from profit, and control your financial condition. You need a separate financial statement to highlight each aspect:</p>\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\">The <b>P&amp;L Statement</b> (also called the <i>Income</i>, or<i> Earnings Statement</i>) summarizes revenue and expenses and reports your resulting profit or loss — that’s what the P and L stand for.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\">The <b>Statement of Cash Flows</b> begins by reporting the net increase or decrease in cash from your revenue and expenses during the period (which is a different amount than your profit or loss for the period); this statement also summarizes other sources of cash you tapped during the period, and what you did with your available cash.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\">The <b>Balance Sheet</b> (also called the <i>Statement of Financial Condition</i>) summarizes your assets and liabilities at the close of business on the last day of the profit period and reports the sources of your owners’ equity (assets less liabilities).</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<p class=\"Tip\">Make sure that you know how to read and interpret your financial statements.<b> </b>Not understanding your own business’s financial statements puts you at a serious disadvantage in making good business decisions and in dealing with your lenders and owners.</p>\n<p>Of course, the information in your financial statements is no better than your accounting system.<b> </b>Hire a competent accountant to design and run your accounting system. Your accountant can be a valuable helpmate in managing your financial affairs.</p>\n<p class=\"Remember\">Don’t confuse your balance sheet with the market value of your business. True, your balance sheet reports your assets and liabilities, and the difference equals the book value of your owners’ equity. Keep in mind, however, that historical costs are the values for many assets, and the balance sheet does not report your profit performance over recent years. Yet, the market value of a business depends heavily on current replacement values of your assets and your recent profit performance.</p>\n"},{"title":"Paying attention to profit in your small business","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>Your small business is designed to make a profit — even if you’re not making one yet. Managing the financial aspects of profit requires special skills and powers of recognition. The following list offers tips on what to pay attention to:</p>\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><strong>Cash flow accounting doesn’t tell you profit for the period, and accrual-basis profit accounting doesn’t tell you cash flow for the period</strong>. Credit sales are recorded as revenue before cash is received. Some expenses are recorded before cash is paid, and some are recorded after cash is spent. Depreciation expense is not a cash outlay in the period. Never confuse profit and cash flow. You need to look at your P&amp;L report for your profit, and you need to look at your Statement of Cash Flows for your cash flow.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><strong>Read the preceding tip again!</strong> Deep down in your psyche you probably believe that profit equals cash flow. You may want to believe this, but it ain’t so. Make certain that you have a firm grip on what cash flow is — and isn’t.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><strong>Use a compact profit model for decision-making analysis.</strong> The P&amp;L report is indispensable for controlling profit performance, but this profit performance report is too bulky for decision-making analysis. A compact profit model is better. The P&amp;L statement is like a high-end digital SLR camera; a profit model is like a pocket-size digital camera that you carry around with you and is good enough for most uses.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><strong>Seemingly small changes in profit factors can cause staggering differences.</strong> A small slippage in the ratio of margin on sales revenue can have a devastating impact on profit. A slight boost in sales price or a relatively modest increase in sales volume can yield a remarkable gain in profit. Small changes mean a lot.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n"},{"title":"How to make the most of your small business's assets","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>The assets of your small business drive your financial picture to a large extent, so you need to know how to manage those assets to maximize their use to you. Use the tips in the following list to help put your assets to work for your business:</p>\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Determine the sizes of assets you need to support the level of your annual sales revenue. </b>The amount of your total assets determines the amount of capital you have to raise, and capital has a cost. The more assets you have, the more capital you need. Downsize your assets as long as you don’t hurt sales.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Don’t rush into securing debt and equity capital without doing due diligence. </b>Many small businesses are desperate for capital. Carefully examine the true, total cost of the capital and scrutinize the potential for interference from capital sources in running your business.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Businesses that make profit generate taxable income.</b> Small business (“S”) corporations, partnerships, and LLCs (limited liability companies) don’t have to pay income tax. They are <i>pass-through tax entities</i>; so, their owners include their respective shares of the business’s taxable income in their individual income tax returns. The profit of a pass-through business is taxed only once — in the hands of its owners. Cash dividends paid to stockholders by regular (“C”) corporations from their after-tax profits are included in the individual income tax returns of their stockholders and are thus subject to a second tax in the hands of the stockholders.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<p class=\"Tip\">To keep your assets working for your business, trust, but protect.<b> </b>Business is done on the basis of mutual trust, but not everyone is trustworthy, even a longtime employee and a close relative. Enforce effective controls to minimize threats of theft and fraud against your business. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.</p>\n"},{"title":"How to plan ahead for your small business","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>As the owner or manager of a small business, of course you’re very busy, but it pays to step back and plan for your financial future. Take the time to forecast, plan, and budget. Have your Controller (chief accountant) prepare the following pro forma (according to plan) financial statements:</p>\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Budgeted P&amp;L statement for the coming year.</b> Even if this budgeted P&amp;L is abbreviated and condensed, it plays an invaluable role. Provide your Controller your best estimates and forecasts for sales prices, costs, and sales volume during the coming year. From this information your accountant can prepare a P&amp;L that serves as your performance benchmark as you go through the year. Don’t be afraid to change the budgeted P&amp;L in midstream. Sometimes totally unpredictable events make your original P&amp;L budget out of date.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Budgeted Balance Sheet at end of coming year.</b> You don’t necessarily need a detailed listing of every asset and liability one year off. But you definitely should look ahead to your general, overall financial condition one year later. It’s better to spot problems earlier than later. Looking down the road at where your financial condition is heading can help you avoid major problems.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Budgeted Statement of Cash Flows.</b> Preparing this budgeted financial statement is an excellent way to keep close tabs on your cash flow from profit (operating activities) and how you plan to use this cash flow. If you are planning major capital expenditures (new investments to replace, modernize, and expand your long-term operating asserts) a budgeted statement of cash flows is essential for making strategic decisions regarding how you will secure the cash for these expenditures.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n"}],"videoInfo":{"videoId":null,"name":null,"accountId":null,"playerId":null,"thumbnailUrl":null,"description":null,"uploadDate":null}},"sponsorship":{"sponsorshipPage":false,"backgroundImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"brandingLine":"","brandingLink":"","brandingLogo":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"sponsorAd":"","sponsorEbookTitle":"","sponsorEbookLink":"","sponsorEbookImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0}},"primaryLearningPath":"Advance","lifeExpectancy":"One year","lifeExpectancySetFrom":"2022-04-05T00:00:00+00:00","dummiesForKids":"no","sponsoredContent":"no","adInfo":"","adPairKey":[]},"status":"publish","visibility":"public","articleId":209213},{"headers":{"creationTime":"2016-05-09T14:27:54+00:00","modifiedTime":"2022-03-23T18:35:51+00:00","timestamp":"2022-09-14T18:19:29+00:00"},"data":{"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Business, Careers, & Money","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34224"},"slug":"business-careers-money","categoryId":34224},{"name":"Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34225"},"slug":"business","categoryId":34225},{"name":"Small Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34251"},"slug":"small-business","categoryId":34251},{"name":"General Small Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34253"},"slug":"general-small-business","categoryId":34253}],"title":"Small Business Marketing Strategies All-in-One For Dummies Cheat Sheet","strippedTitle":"small business marketing strategies all-in-one for dummies cheat sheet","slug":"small-business-marketing-strategies-all-in-one-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","canonicalUrl":"","seo":{"metaDescription":"Today's marketing professionals should have a solid understanding of market segmentation, social media, and content marketing.","noIndex":0,"noFollow":0},"content":"<div class=\"intro\">\r\n\r\nAll customers are not alike. Knowing how they differ — what their individual and group needs and preferences are — is key to successful marketing efforts nowadays.\r\n\r\nMarketing 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.\r\n\r\nAnother 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.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n ","description":"<div class=\"intro\">\r\n\r\nAll customers are not alike. Knowing how they differ — what their individual and group needs and preferences are — is key to successful marketing efforts nowadays.\r\n\r\nMarketing 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.\r\n\r\nAnother 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.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n ","blurb":"","authors":[{"authorId":8947,"name":"The Experts at Dummies","slug":"the-experts-at-dummies","description":"The Experts at Dummies are smart, friendly people who make learning easy by taking a not-so-serious approach to serious stuff.","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/8947"}}],"primaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":34253,"title":"General Small 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Different","slug":"small-business-marketing-different","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/226105"}},{"articleId":226102,"title":"Marketing a Start-Up Business","slug":"marketing-start-business","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/226102"}},{"articleId":226099,"title":"The Relationship between Marketing and Sales","slug":"relationship-marketing-sales","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/226099"}},{"articleId":226096,"title":"Marketing: The Whole is Greater Than the 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Business Marketing Strategies All-in-One For Dummies","testBankPinActivationLink":"","bookOutOfPrint":false,"authorsInfo":"<p>The <b data-author-id=\"34784\">U.S. Chamber of Commerce</b> is the world's largest business organization representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions. 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","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/34784"}}],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/books/"}},"collections":[{"title":"BYOB (Be Your Own Boss)","slug":"for-the-entry-level-entrepreneur","collectionId":287568}],"articleAds":{"footerAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;small-business&quot;,&quot;general-small-business&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9781119236917&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-63221b318a021\"></div></div>","rightAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_right_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_right_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;small-business&quot;,&quot;general-small-business&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9781119236917&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-63221b318aaa0\"></div></div>"},"articleType":{"articleType":"Cheat Sheet","articleList":[{"articleId":218792,"title":"Knowing Your Customers: Market Segmentation","slug":"knowing-your-customers-market-segmentation","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/218792"}},{"articleId":218795,"title":"The Different Types of Social Media Marketing","slug":"the-different-types-of-social-media-marketing","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/218795"}},{"articleId":218797,"title":"Understanding Content Marketing","slug":"understanding-content-marketing","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/218797"}}],"content":[{"title":"Knowing your customers: Market segmentation","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<div class=\"series-article\">\n<div class=\"article-body p402_premium\">\n<p>Knowing who&#8217;s who among your customers is called <i>market segmentation.</i> It&#8217;s the process of breaking down your customers into segments that share distinct similarities.</p>\n<p>Here are some common market segmentation terms and what they mean:</p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Geographics:</b> Organizing customers by their physical locations to determine the regions, counties, states, countries, zip codes, and census tracts where current and likely prospective customers live.</li>\n<li><b>Demographics:</b> Grouping customers into groups based on factors such as age, sex, race, religion, education, marital status, income, and household size.</li>\n<li><b>Psychographics:</b> Splitting up customers by lifestyle characteristics, behavioral and purchasing patterns, beliefs, values, and attitudes about themselves, their families, and society.</li>\n<li><b>Geodemographics:</b> This is a combination of geographics, demographics, and psychographics. Geodemographics, also called <i>cluster marketing</i> or lifestyle marketing, is based on the age-old idea that birds of a feather flock together — meaning that people who live in the same area tend to have similar backgrounds and consuming patterns. Geodemographics helps you target your marketing efforts by pinpointing neighborhoods or geographic areas where residents share the age, income, lifestyle characteristics, and buying patterns of your prospective customers.</li>\n</ul>\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"series-article_bottom\"></div>\n"},{"title":"The different types of social media marketing","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>There are hundreds of websites that would qualify as social media. The phrase <i>social media marketing </i>generally refers to using these online services for <i>relationship selling</i> — that is, selling based on developing rapport with customers.</p>\n<p>Social media services make innovative use of new online technologies to accomplish the familiar communication and marketing goals of this form of selling.</p>\n<p>The tried-and-true strategies of marketing (such as solving customers&#8217; problems and answering the question, &#8220;What&#8217;s in it for me?&#8221;) are still valid. Social media marketing is a new technique, not a new world.</p>\n<p>You can categorize social media services, but they have fuzzy boundaries that can overlap. Some social media sites fall into multiple categories. For instance, some social networks and online communities allow participants to share photos and include a blog. Here&#8217;s a brief rundown of social media types:</p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Social content-sharing services</b> facilitate posting and commenting on text, videos, photos, and podcasts (audio). Examples include blogs like WordPress, Tumblr, and Blogger. Video services can be grouped here, such as YouTube and Vimeo. Flickr, Snapchat, and Instagram allow you to share photos, and Podbean and BlogTalkRadio are for audio blogs.</li>\n<li><b>Social networking services</b> offer multiple functions. From a business point of view, many social networking services support subgroups that allow the potential for more targeted marketing. Common types of social networking services include full networks, such as Facebook, Google+, and MeetMe.com. There are also short message networks, such as Twitter and Plurk, which are often used for sharing announcements, events, sales notices, and promotions. Professional networks, like LinkedIn and small profession-specific networks, focus on employment, work experience, and jobs.</li>\n<li><b>Social bookmarking services</b> are like private bookmarks for your favorite sites. They are publicly viewable lists of sites that others have recommended. Some are recommendation services, such as StumbleUpon and Delicious; others are social shopping services, such as Kaboodle and ThisNext. Some bookmarking services are organized by topic or application, such as sites where readers recommend books to others using bookmarking techniques. And there are social news services, peer-based lists of recommended articles from news sites, blogs, or web pages, where users often vote on the value of the postings. Social news services include Digg and Reddit.</li>\n<li><b>Social geolocation and meeting services</b> bring people together in real space rather than in cyberspace. Examples include Foursquare and Meetup.</li>\n<li><b>Community-building services,</b> such as forums, message boards, and even Yahoo! and Google groups, have been around for a long time. Other examples of community-building sites have multiple sharing features, like Ning; some supply group-sourced content, like Wikipedia.</li>\n<li><b>Review sites,</b> like TripAdvisor, Yelp, and Epinions, solicit consumer views.</li>\n</ul>\n"},{"title":"Understanding content marketing","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p><i>Content marketing</i> includes all forms of content that both add value to consumers and directly or indirectly promote a business, brand, product, or service. It&#8217;s the <i>content </i>aspect that sets it apart from other marketing.</p>\n<p>Content marketing occurs online and in the real world, but the tools of the social web allow companies of all sizes to compete alongside one another, not for market share but for voice and influence.</p>\n<p>Marketing a business using content isn&#8217;t a new concept, however, it has evolved in recent years to mean far more than creating a company brochure filled with overtly promotional messages and images.</p>\n<p>Today, content marketing focuses on creating content that is meaningful and useful to consumers with promotion taking a backseat to adding value, and particularly adding value to the online conversation happening across the social web.</p>\n<p>Modern consumers try to avoid being interrupted by ads and marketing messages. Although companies used to use tactics such as shock advertising and sexual innuendos, now consumers can simply click away from an online. Even the most attention-getting ads go unnoticed by fast-forwarding consumers.</p>\n<p>Yet consumers are also hyper-connected. They have access to enormous amounts of information, such as instantaneous access to real-time news, from their homes, offices, and mobile devices. Simply interrupting consumers and delivering marketing messages doesn&#8217;t work anymore. Companies have to quickly demonstrate the added value they can deliver, especially if they&#8217;re interrupting consumers in order to deliver that value.</p>\n<p>With content marketing, companies engage consumers rather than interrupt them. Rather than take control of consumers&#8217; online experiences, businesses need to enhance those experiences, and they can do it with content that adds value and engages consumers.</p>\n"}],"videoInfo":{"videoId":null,"name":null,"accountId":null,"playerId":null,"thumbnailUrl":null,"description":null,"uploadDate":null}},"sponsorship":{"sponsorshipPage":false,"backgroundImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"brandingLine":"","brandingLink":"","brandingLogo":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"sponsorAd":"","sponsorEbookTitle":"","sponsorEbookLink":"","sponsorEbookImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0}},"primaryLearningPath":"Advance","lifeExpectancy":"Two years","lifeExpectancySetFrom":"2021-08-30T00:00:00+00:00","dummiesForKids":"no","sponsoredContent":"no","adInfo":"","adPairKey":[]},"status":"publish","visibility":"public","articleId":218799},{"headers":{"creationTime":"2022-03-15T17:55:12+00:00","modifiedTime":"2022-03-15T17:58:02+00:00","timestamp":"2022-09-14T18:19:27+00:00"},"data":{"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Business, Careers, & Money","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34224"},"slug":"business-careers-money","categoryId":34224},{"name":"Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34225"},"slug":"business","categoryId":34225},{"name":"Small Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34251"},"slug":"small-business","categoryId":34251},{"name":"Start-Ups","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34252"},"slug":"start-ups","categoryId":34252}],"title":"Side Hustles For Dummies Cheat Sheet","strippedTitle":"side hustles for dummies cheat sheet","slug":"side-hustles-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","canonicalUrl":"","seo":{"metaDescription":"Use this Cheat Sheet to guide you as you think about a possible hustle business, including types of side hustles you might consider.","noIndex":0,"noFollow":0},"content":"A side hustle is usually a sort of business that you’re running in addition to whatever you do for your full-time job or career. Or, you can pull together two or more side hustles and, taken all together, that’s how you earn a living.\r\n\r\nIf you’re not sure whether a side hustle is right for you, getting clear on the reasons you may want to start one is a good place to start. You may also find it helpful to think about different categories of side hustles, in order to find the one that’s best for you.\r\n\r\nFinally, if you’re trying to juggle a full-time job with a side hustle, you need to know how to keep all those balls in the air. This Cheat Sheet has you covered on all of these fronts.","description":"A side hustle is usually a sort of business that you’re running in addition to whatever you do for your full-time job or career. Or, you can pull together two or more side hustles and, taken all together, that’s how you earn a living.\r\n\r\nIf you’re not sure whether a side hustle is right for you, getting clear on the reasons you may want to start one is a good place to start. You may also find it helpful to think about different categories of side hustles, in order to find the one that’s best for you.\r\n\r\nFinally, if you’re trying to juggle a full-time job with a side hustle, you need to know how to keep all those balls in the air. This Cheat Sheet has you covered on all of these fronts.","blurb":"","authors":[{"authorId":10511,"name":"Alan R. Simon","slug":"alan-r-simon","description":" <b>Alan R. Simon</b>, author of <i>Data Warehousing For Dummies</i>, is a manager at Deloitte Consulting. Alan has experienced every side of stock options in public and pre-IPO companies, large Fortune 500 corporations, and small consulting firms.","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/10511"}}],"primaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":34252,"title":"Start-Ups","slug":"start-ups","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34252"}},"secondaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"tertiaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"trendingArticles":null,"inThisArticle":[],"relatedArticles":{"fromBook":[],"fromCategory":[{"articleId":289724,"title":"Launching and Building a Brand For Dummies Cheat Sheet","slug":"launching-and-building-a-brand-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","start-ups"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/289724"}},{"articleId":269861,"title":"Establish Website Goals and Conversions for Your Online Business","slug":"establish-website-goals-and-conversions-for-your-online-business","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","start-ups"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/269861"}},{"articleId":269855,"title":"How to Choose an Identity for Your Online Business","slug":"how-to-choose-an-identity-for-your-online-business","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","start-ups"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/269855"}},{"articleId":269850,"title":"Must-Have Equipment for Starting an Online Business","slug":"must-have-equipment-for-starting-an-online-business","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","start-ups"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/269850"}},{"articleId":269843,"title":"How to Create a Workspace Floor Plan","slug":"how-to-create-a-workspace-floor-plan","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","start-ups"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/269843"}}]},"hasRelatedBookFromSearch":false,"relatedBook":{"bookId":291196,"slug":"side-hustles-for-dummies","isbn":"9781119870135","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"amazon":{"default":"https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1119870135/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","ca":"https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1119870135/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","indigo_ca":"http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-9208661-13710633?url=https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/product/1119870135-item.html&cjsku=978111945484","gb":"https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1119870135/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","de":"https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/1119870135/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20"},"image":{"src":"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/9781119870135-203x255.jpg","width":203,"height":255},"title":"Side Hustles For Dummies","testBankPinActivationLink":"","bookOutOfPrint":true,"authorsInfo":"<p><b><b data-author-id=\"10511\">Alan R. Simon</b></b>, author of <i>Data Warehousing For Dummies</i>, is a manager at Deloitte Consulting. Alan has experienced every side of stock options in public and pre-IPO companies, large Fortune 500 corporations, and small consulting firms.</p>","authors":[{"authorId":10511,"name":"Alan R. Simon","slug":"alan-r-simon","description":" <b>Alan R. Simon</b>, author of <i>Data Warehousing For Dummies</i>, is a manager at Deloitte Consulting. Alan has experienced every side of stock options in public and pre-IPO companies, large Fortune 500 corporations, and small consulting firms.","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/10511"}}],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/books/"}},"collections":[],"articleAds":{"footerAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;small-business&quot;,&quot;start-ups&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9781119870135&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-63221b2f27f48\"></div></div>","rightAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_right_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_right_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;small-business&quot;,&quot;start-ups&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9781119870135&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-63221b2f289a4\"></div></div>"},"articleType":{"articleType":"Cheat Sheet","articleList":[{"articleId":0,"title":"","slug":null,"categoryList":[],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/"}}],"content":[{"title":"Why you should start a side hustle","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>Hundreds of millions of people around the world have at least one side hustle going. Everyone has their own personal motivations, but in general, the reasons to start a side hustle include the following:</p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Making more money:</strong> This one’s a no-brainer! If you’re going to put the time and effort into a side business, you almost always want to make some money from what you’re doing.</li>\n<li><strong>Broadening your experience and knowledge beyond what you’re able to learn in your day job:</strong> Maybe you’re trying to pick up new skills in your chosen profession to make yourself more marketable or more likely to receive a promotion. Or maybe you’re trying to learn things outside your current industry and profession, with an eye toward changing careers.</li>\n<li><strong>Monetizing a hobby:</strong> You may want to try to make money from an activity you enjoy and that you’re already spending a lot of your time on anyway.</li>\n<li><strong>Preparing for possible job loss:</strong> Starting your own side business can help you save up some money just in case you find yourself laid off — and maybe it can even enable you to start on a totally new career path in which your fate is in your <em>own</em> hands!</li>\n<li>Some of the most promising side hustles pick up momentum when you have <em>multiple</em> goals in mind, so if you find yourself thinking, “All of the above,” that’s great news! You’re more likely to stick with what you start.</li>\n</ul>\n"},{"title":"5 categories of side hustles","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>You can find hundreds, if not thousands, of specific ideas for side hustles. But in general, side hustles fall into one of the following categories:</p>\n<p><strong>Selling products: </strong>Whether you do your side hustling online or take the plunge and open a physical store, many side hustles are really smaller-scale retail businesses.</p>\n<p><strong>Selling skill-based services:</strong> From building websites to offering financial advice to helping people write their résumés, you can sell something without actually selling something. No, that’s not doubletalk — many side hustles are built around offering services of various types, with those services requiring at least some specialized skill or knowledge.</p>\n<p><strong>Doing gig-economy work:</strong> From rideshare driving for Uber or Lyft to delivering packages for Amazon to delivering food for Grubhub or DoorDash, many side hustlers spend the majority of their time doing gig-economy work — providing contract-based services that usually don’t require any particular skills and are almost always enabled through sophisticated apps to match service providers with those looking for a ride or food or perhaps dog walking.</p>\n<p><strong>Promoting yourself:</strong> Many, if not most, “influencers” begin their influencing as a side hustle. Maybe you’re a teen demonstrating makeup techniques, or a retiree showing off your physique and sharing exercise tips for seniors, or somewhere in between those two age groups. Basically, your side hustle is all about promoting yourself and earning money either by selling a book or a course or maybe through advertising revenue.</p>\n<p><strong>Working in real estate:</strong> From buying, fixing up, and then leasing a second home to periodically renting out a property on Airbnb or Vrbo, many side hustles have a real estate flavor to them.</p>\n"},{"title":"Avoiding conflict between your side hustle and day job","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>If you’re careful, you’ll be able to steer clear of conflicts between your side hustle and your day job. Make sure that you:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Never use a company-owned computer, tablet, or phone for anything related to your side hustle.</li>\n<li>Never do any side-hustle work when you’re at your day job or at your company’s location. 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To check that out, you need to establish:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Day-to-day operating costs</li>\n<li>How long it will take to reach breakeven</li>\n<li>How much start-up capital you need</li>\n<li>The likely sales volume</li>\n<li>The profit level required for the business not merely to survive, but also to thrive</li>\n<li>The margin of profit made on each sale</li>\n</ul>\n"},{"title":"Selecting a distribution channel for your products or services","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>If your customers don’t come to you, you have no option but to take your product or service to them. The following are options for doing so:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cash-and-carry outlets</li>\n<li>Door-to-door selling</li>\n<li>Internet and mail order</li>\n<li>Party-plan selling</li>\n<li>Retail stores</li>\n<li>Telephone selling</li>\n<li>Wholesalers</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Consider these factors when choosing channels of distribution for your particular business:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Does it meet your customers’ needs?</li>\n<li>Can the product itself survive?</li>\n<li>Can you sell enough this way?</li>\n<li>Is it compatible with your image?</li>\n<li>How do your competitors distribute?</li>\n<li>Is the channel cost-effective?</li>\n<li>Is the mark-up enough?</li>\n</ul>\n"},{"title":"Reasons to outsource parts of your business","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>Doing everything yourself is rarely a good strategy in business. Other people may be better, cheaper, or faster than you at some aspect of your business. While you may, for example, be able to deliver products to your customers, couriers are probably better value for both you (and your customers).</p>\n<p>Consider the following reasons why it might make sense for you to consider outsourcing some aspects of your business:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Assistance in meeting unexpected deadlines</li>\n<li>Access to expertise</li>\n<li>Greater scalability</li>\n<li>More predictable costs</li>\n<li>More free time</li>\n<li>Economies of scale</li>\n</ul>\n"},{"title":"How to calculate VAT","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>Calculating the VAT (Value Added Tax) element of any transaction can be a confusing conundrum. By following these three simple steps, you can get the sum right first time:</p>\n<ol>\n<li>Take the gross amount of any sum (items you sell or buy) – that is, the total including any VAT – and divide it by 120, if the VAT rate is 20 per cent. 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an Etsy Business For Dummies","testBankPinActivationLink":"","bookOutOfPrint":false,"authorsInfo":"<p><b data-author-id=\"9140\">Kate Shoup</b> is the author of numerous crafting books, including <i>Not Your Mama's Beading,</i> and <i>Rubbish: Reuse Your Refuse</i>. <b data-author-id=\"9139\">Kate Gatski</b> is an artisan, an entrepreneur, an educator, a veteran Etsy seller, and a member of the Full Time Etsy Crafters Team an exclusive group for full-time or high-volume Etsy sellers. </p>","authors":[{"authorId":9140,"name":"Kate Shoup","slug":"kate-shoup","description":" <p><b>Kate Shoup</b> is the author of numerous crafting books, including <i>Not Your Mama&#39;s Beading,</i> and <i>Rubbish: Reuse Your Refuse</i>. <b>Kate Gatski</b> is an artisan, an entrepreneur, an educator, a veteran Etsy seller, and a member of the Full Time Etsy Crafters Team an exclusive group for full&#45;time or high&#45;volume Etsy sellers. ","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/9140"}},{"authorId":9139,"name":"Kate Gatski","slug":"kate-gatski","description":" <p><b>Kate Shoup</b> is the author of numerous crafting books, including <i>Not Your Mama&#39;s Beading,</i> and <i>Rubbish: Reuse Your Refuse</i>. <b>Kate Gatski</b> is an artisan, an entrepreneur, an educator, a veteran Etsy seller, and a member of the Full Time Etsy Crafters Team an exclusive group for full&#45;time or high&#45;volume Etsy sellers. ","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/9139"}}],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/books/"}},"collections":[],"articleAds":{"footerAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;small-business&quot;,&quot;start-ups&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9781119378969&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-63221b2509e99\"></div></div>","rightAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_right_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_right_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;small-business&quot;,&quot;start-ups&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9781119378969&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-63221b250a8e3\"></div></div>"},"articleType":{"articleType":"Cheat Sheet","articleList":[{"articleId":164394,"title":"Creating an Eye-Catching Etsy Storefront","slug":"creating-an-eye-catching-etsy-storefront","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","start-ups"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/164394"}},{"articleId":164347,"title":"Pricing Your Work for Your Etsy Business","slug":"pricing-your-work-for-your-etsy-business","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","start-ups"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/164347"}},{"articleId":164397,"title":"Composing Product Photos for Your Etsy Business","slug":"composing-product-photos-for-your-etsy-business","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","start-ups"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/164397"}},{"articleId":242954,"title":"3 Keys to Composing Effective Etsy Listing Titles","slug":"3-keys-composing-effective-etsy-listing-titles","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","start-ups"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/242954"}},{"articleId":164393,"title":"Marketing Your Etsy Business","slug":"marketing-your-etsy-business","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","start-ups"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/164393"}}],"content":[{"title":"Creating an eye-catching Etsy storefront","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>You can personalize your Etsy shop in any number of ways. This personalization is critical to ensuring that your Etsy business stands out from the crowd and helps promote your brand. And anyway, it&#8217;s fun!</p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Add a cover photo.</strong> A <em>cover photo</em> is a graphic that runs across the top of your shop&#8217;s main page. You can create a cover photo from scratch by using any number of graphics programs.</li>\n<li><strong>Include a shop title and shop announcement.</strong> Think of your shop title as a tag line of sorts. It briefly sums up what your shop is about. In contrast, your shop announcement trumpets what you sell, the types of materials or ingredients you use, or your artistic philosophy. Your shop announcement could also broadcast when your next sale will be.</li>\n<li><strong>Populate your shop&#8217;s About section.</strong> Sharing your shop&#8217;s story in the About section helps garner additional interest in you and your shop among buyers.</li>\n<li><strong>Use sections to organize your goods.</strong> If you sell different types of items — say, magnets, notebooks, and picture frames — you can use sections to organize your shop by item. Even if you don&#8217;t sell different types of items — maybe you&#8217;re all about knit caps — you can use sections to organize your goods by, say, yarn type, size, or price.</li>\n<li><strong>Choose a strong shop icon.</strong> Your <em>shop icon</em> is the image that represents your store across Etsy. Be sure to select a shop icon that reflects well on you and your shop.</li>\n</ul>\n"},{"title":"Pricing your work for your Etsy business","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>Running a profitable Etsy business means being comfortable with doing a little math — especially when pricing your pieces. Putting a price on your Etsy creations may seem challenging, but don’t freak out! You’re not dealing with calculus here, or even trigonometry. To price pieces for your Etsy business, all you need are two simple formulas:</p>\n<blockquote><p>Wholesale Price = (Materials + Labor + Overhead) × 2</p></blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>Retail Price = Wholesale Price × 2</p></blockquote>\n<p>When you calculate the costs of your materials, you need to consider only the price of what you used to produce one piece, not everything you actually bought. Labor costs are your hourly rate multiplied by the time spent to make one piece. Overhead costs consist of what you need to run your business, such as tools, office supplies, and the like (but not shipping costs).</p>\n<p>Note that, in the second formula, you multiply the wholesale price by 2 to determine the retail price. Some sellers may choose a higher number, multiplying the wholesale price by 2.5 or even 3 to determine the retail price (assuming that the market will bear that). The multiplier you choose is really up to you.</p>\n"},{"title":"Composing product photos for your Etsy business","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>Great product photos can boost sales for your Etsy business, but you don&#8217;t need to hire a professional photographer (although you can). Composing your own photos for Etsy is a breeze. As you shoot your pieces, keep these compositional points in mind:</p>\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Angle the camera.</b> Angling, or tilting, the camera puts the subject slightly off-center and creates movement and flow. The result is a more dynamic, intriguing image.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Shoot tight.</b> Filling the frame with your subject not only adds visual impact but also enables potential buyers to see how well made your piece is.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Blur the background.</b> By using a shallow depth of field (read: a low f-stop setting on your camera), you can blur the background, dramatically highlighting your piece. When the background is blurred, you can shoot in almost any setting; just make sure that the background colors don’t clash with your subject.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Less is more.</b> Don&#8217;t crowd the scene with extraneous objects. Otherwise, potential buyers may not understand exactly which item in your photo is for sale.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Frame your subject.</b> One way to draw the viewer’s eye to your piece is to frame it — that is, place some darker element in the perimeter. This technique helps keep the viewer’s eye from straying from your item.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Group pieces together.</b> Especially if you make itsy-bitsy goodies, you can try grouping them to catch a buyer’s eye. Not only does this make for a more eye-catching photograph, but it also shows potential buyers how pieces in your collection work together.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Use the rule of thirds.</b> Divide the scene you’re photographing into nine equal parts by using two horizontal lines and two vertical lines (like a tic-tac-toe grid); place key elements at one of the four points where the vertical and horizontal lines intersect. In addition to conveying a sense of tension and energy, this helps pique the viewer’s interest.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n"},{"title":"3 keys to composing effective Etsy listing titles","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>Your listing title in Etsy acts like a good headline. It&#8217;s designed to grab a buyer&#8217;s attention. It also factors into Etsy&#8217;s search system. That means your listing title must do double duty: piquing a buyer&#8217;s interest <em>and</em> being optimized for search. When composing listing titles, keep these three points in mind:</p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Keep it short.</strong> Your item title must be brief — no more than 140 characters (including spaces).</li>\n<li><strong>Clearly describe your item at the beginning of the item title.</strong> This helps improve the chances that others will find your item when searching on Etsy.</li>\n<li><strong>Use a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters.</strong> Too many all-uppercase words, and it seems like you&#8217;re shouting. Too many lowercase words, and it seems like you&#8217;re trying to be e. e. Cummings.</li>\n</ul>\n"},{"title":"Marketing your Etsy business","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>Etsy recognizes the importance of marketing your business — which is why it offers several built-in promotional tools. Marketing on Etsy is easy when you use these tools:</p>\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><strong>Promote your listings</strong> on Etsy. With Etsy Promoted Listings, you can improve the ranking of your listings within Etsy search results when prospective buyers enter specific keywords.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><strong>Promote your listings on Google.</strong> Google Shopping enables you to reach buyers outside Etsy. It works by propelling your listing to the top of the page (or closer to it) when people enter certain search criteria into Google’s search engine.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><strong>Create coupon codes for your shop.</strong> Coupons increase sales, increase branding and awareness, reward current customers, and entice former customers to return.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><strong>Post shop updates.</strong> Use shop updates to offer a sneak peek at a new item, announce an upcoming sale, or just share a cute picture of your dog in your studio. All of this helps to embed your shop firmly in the “shoppocampus” portion of your buyer’s brain.</p>\n</li>\n<li><strong>Promote your shop on social media.</strong> Sharing your Etsy listings with friends, family, and fans on social media is a great way to keep them buying from you.</li>\n</ul>\n"}],"videoInfo":{"videoId":null,"name":null,"accountId":null,"playerId":null,"thumbnailUrl":null,"description":null,"uploadDate":null}},"sponsorship":{"sponsorshipPage":false,"backgroundImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"brandingLine":"","brandingLink":"","brandingLogo":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"sponsorAd":"","sponsorEbookTitle":"","sponsorEbookLink":"","sponsorEbookImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0}},"primaryLearningPath":"Advance","lifeExpectancy":"Two years","lifeExpectancySetFrom":"2022-02-25T00:00:00+00:00","dummiesForKids":"no","sponsoredContent":"no","adInfo":"","adPairKey":[]},"status":"publish","visibility":"public","articleId":207915},{"headers":{"creationTime":"2016-03-27T16:56:57+00:00","modifiedTime":"2022-02-23T21:32:28+00:00","timestamp":"2022-09-14T18:19:12+00:00"},"data":{"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Business, Careers, & Money","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34224"},"slug":"business-careers-money","categoryId":34224},{"name":"Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34225"},"slug":"business","categoryId":34225},{"name":"Small Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34251"},"slug":"small-business","categoryId":34251},{"name":"General Small Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34253"},"slug":"general-small-business","categoryId":34253}],"title":"Marketing Your Small Business For Dummies Cheat Sheet","strippedTitle":"marketing your small business for dummies cheat sheet","slug":"marketing-your-small-business-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","canonicalUrl":"","seo":{"metaDescription":"This Cheat Sheet includes essential marketing tools for small businesses, tips for marketing on a low budget, and much more.","noIndex":0,"noFollow":0},"content":"Being smart with marketing ensures the success of your business by attracting more customers, and keeping them coming back.\r\n\r\nWhether 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.","description":"Being smart with marketing ensures the success of your business by attracting more customers, and keeping them coming back.\r\n\r\nWhether 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.","blurb":"","authors":[],"primaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":34253,"title":"General Small Business","slug":"general-small-business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34253"}},"secondaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"tertiaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"trendingArticles":null,"inThisArticle":[],"relatedArticles":{"fromBook":[],"fromCategory":[{"articleId":226108,"title":"Packing Power into Advertising Headlines","slug":"packing-power-advertising-headlines","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/226108"}},{"articleId":226105,"title":"How Small Business Marketing Is Different","slug":"small-business-marketing-different","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/226105"}},{"articleId":226102,"title":"Marketing a Start-Up Business","slug":"marketing-start-business","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/226102"}},{"articleId":226099,"title":"The Relationship between Marketing and Sales","slug":"relationship-marketing-sales","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/226099"}},{"articleId":226096,"title":"Marketing: The Whole is Greater Than the Parts","slug":"marketing-whole-greater-parts","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/226096"}}]},"hasRelatedBookFromSearch":false,"relatedBook":{"bookId":0,"slug":null,"isbn":null,"categoryList":null,"amazon":null,"image":null,"title":null,"testBankPinActivationLink":null,"bookOutOfPrint":false,"authorsInfo":null,"authors":null,"_links":null},"collections":[],"articleAds":{"footerAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;small-business&quot;,&quot;general-small-business&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[null]}]\" id=\"du-slot-63221b20cfc7d\"></div></div>","rightAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_right_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_right_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;small-business&quot;,&quot;general-small-business&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[null]}]\" id=\"du-slot-63221b20d063e\"></div></div>"},"articleType":{"articleType":"Cheat Sheet","articleList":[{"articleId":193515,"title":"Making Marketing Work in Your Small Business","slug":"making-marketing-work-in-your-small-business","categoryList":[],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/193515"}},{"articleId":193511,"title":"Essential Tools for Good Business Marketing","slug":"essential-tools-for-good-business-marketing","categoryList":[],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/193511"}},{"articleId":193505,"title":"Clever Ideas to Market Your Small Business","slug":"clever-ideas-to-market-your-small-business","categoryList":[],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/193505"}},{"articleId":193510,"title":"Top Marketing Tips for Businesses on a Low Budget","slug":"top-marketing-tips-for-businesses-on-a-low-budget","categoryList":[],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/193510"}}],"content":[{"title":"Making marketing work for your small business","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to be a good marketer. But neither is there a silver bullet or one-size-fits-all solution. Every small business is different — the marketing plan and tactics for a mortgage broker are entirely different from those of a computer reseller. However, the process of building a plan, sticking to it and applying the time and resources it needs is the common secret to success in marketing.</p>\n<p>Here are few tips to help you be brilliant at marketing:</p>\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Get the know-how.</b> Knowing <i>w</i><i>hat not to do</i> when it comes to marketing is as important as knowing <i>what to do</i>. Let’s face it, the murky world of marketing can be tricky to navigate. So get the full know-how before you go jumping into building that flash website.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Put your customers first.</b> Understanding who your customers are, what makes them tick and what they really want and value, and of course staying in touch with them long after the sale, puts you ahead of the competition.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Know your target market.</b> ‘Anyone who is breathing’ is not a target market! Targeting your marketing activities fairly and squarely at the people who need and want your service or product is the secret to creating quality enquiries and getting prospects to open their wallet.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Understand that marketing is not advertising.</b> Don’t make the mistake of thinking that advertising and websites are the only two ways to attract more business. You can market your small business in literally hundreds of ways, so it pays to know what they are and then eliminate the ones that won’t work, or that you can’t afford, up-front.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Set sales goals and targets.</b> Marketing really is a numbers game. Marketing efforts that won’t directly or indirectly bring in new business have absolutely no point. Know what your goals are in terms of revenue, expenses, profit, number of enquiries and, of course, number of new sales.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Get a handle on the four Ps of marketing.</b> Getting your product, pricing, placement strategy (distribution) and promotional strategy humming along and working together is crucial to good marketing.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n"},{"title":"Essential tools for good business marketing","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>If you’re armed with the marketing essentials you can’t help but succeed in attracting new prospects and bringing in more business. Spend some time on getting your marketing toolkit in place and be prepared at all times.</p>\n<p>Here are a few items to pack into your marketing toolkit:</p>\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>A plan and a budget:</b> Getting a plan that will support you for years to come is essential to keep you on track. It doesn’t need to be as thick as <i>War and Peace</i>, but it does need to be written down, clearly communicated to your team and acted on day by day — even when business is booming.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>A great product or service:</b> Advertising your business has no point if the customers don’t want, value or love what you have to offer. Make sure you do your research and listen to your customers before sending your product out to the market.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>A professional brand:</b> A brand is much more than a logo. It encompasses everything people see, hear, think and feel about your business. Invest up-front in developing a brand that stands out from the crowd. It’ll save you money and heartache in the long run.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Powerful marketing materials:</b> Your business card, sales brochures, sales letters, website, signage, uniforms and car decal speak volumes about your business. Make sure they look professional and appealing at all times.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>An elevator pitch:</b> In the course of marketing your business you’ll get asked thousands of times ‘What do you do?’ Don’t make the mistake of boring the poor person who asked the question. Make sure you have a fun, interesting and memorable pitch ready at all times — and be able to deliver it in the time it takes to travel a few floors in an elevator.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>A brilliant website:</b> Your website must attract attention and give value to those who visit. Use it as a tool to retain and keep in touch with existing customers as well as for enticing new customers. The online world can be very scary to many small-business owners, but, if you don’t embrace it, you may find yourself out of business.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>A simple database:</b> The backbone of all good marketing is about building a solid database of past, present and future customers (prospects) so you can keep in touch and communicate regularly via e-newsletters, emails and phone.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n"},{"title":"Clever ideas for marketing your small business","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>You don’t need to spend buckets of money on marketing. Creativity and a bit of gumption to do something different from everyone else in the market can be the difference between business success and business failure. Here are just a few of hundreds of ideas to market your business:</p>\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Attend networking events.</b> It’s not what you know, but who you know. Get out there and network — meet and greet. You can never have too many friends in life, even if they don’t end up as customers.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Sponsor a local event or charity.</b> It really does make you feel good to support your community, and everyone benefits — you, your staff, your customers, the people you sponsor and, of course, the community at large.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Manage your public relations.</b> Getting your name up in lights on TV and radio, and in newspapers and magazines isn’t as hard as you think — if you’ve got a story worth telling!</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Use social media.</b> Using social-networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, producing your own videos for YouTube or writing your own blog are creative methods of letting people know about you and your business. Go on, have a bit of fun.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Host seminars and events.</b> Hosting your own events and inviting along your best customers and some of their friends is a great way to get to know people, connect at a personal level and build deep relationships.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Become a public speaker.</b> If speaking isn’t your number-one fear after death, hone your skills and become a great and entertaining speaker. It’s a fabulous way to demonstrate your expertise and generate new business enquiries from the audience.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n"},{"title":"Top marketing tips for businesses on a low budget","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>Most small-business owners, especially those starting out, don’t have lots of money to spend on marketing. While the old adage — you need to spend money to make money — is true, you can still generate new business without having to dole out big bucks. Try a few of these tactics for a start:</p>\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\">Focus on relationship-building marketing strategies such as networking, building alliances with other businesses, and calling old customers, friends and people you once worked with.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\">Find people who are prepared to help you with marketing on a commission basis or a uni student who’s studying marketing and might need some hands-on experience.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\">Develop a marketing mastermind group with other small-business owners for the purpose of sharing low-cost marketing ideas and referring each other business.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\">Sharpen your own online marketing skills and learn how to use Google AdWords and write blogs, and market yourself on the social media sites.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\">Promote your business on free online directories and publish your articles on other websites with links to your site.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<p class=\"Warning\">Don’t jump straight into low-cost (or no-cost) tactics without getting the basics right first — plan your marketing strategy, understand your target market and polish up your product.</p>\n"}],"videoInfo":{"videoId":null,"name":null,"accountId":null,"playerId":null,"thumbnailUrl":null,"description":null,"uploadDate":null}},"sponsorship":{"sponsorshipPage":false,"backgroundImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"brandingLine":"","brandingLink":"","brandingLogo":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"sponsorAd":"","sponsorEbookTitle":"","sponsorEbookLink":"","sponsorEbookImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0}},"primaryLearningPath":"Advance","lifeExpectancy":"Two 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Most of the businesses powering the largest economies in the world are small ones! Join this small army of compact companies with the advice in our articles.

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Start-Ups Entrepreneurship For Dummies Cheat Sheet

Cheat Sheet / Updated 12-09-2022

Prepared entrepreneurs learn as much as possible about their marketplace and what customers want. This cheat sheet helps you test new ideas and weed out the keepers from the also-rans. It poses key questions about your concept, the marketplace, the industry, and your team. It even shows you how to create a marketing plan, and more!

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General Small Business Tapping into Five Free, Valuable Online Tools for Managing Your Business

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.

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Start-Ups Business Plans For Dummies Cheat Sheet

Cheat Sheet / Updated 05-12-2022

A well-developed business plan is critical for any start-up business. To develop a thorough business plan, research your customers and competition; avoid mistakes that lead to business failure; and know how to implement a business plan and make it work. Your business plan should include a basic financial statement, all major pieces of a business plan, and information from your business-planning checklist.

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General Small Business Small Business Kit For Dummies Cheat Sheet

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.

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General Small Business Small Business Financial Management Kit For Dummies Cheat Sheet

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!

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General Small Business Small Business Marketing Strategies All-in-One For Dummies Cheat Sheet

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.

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Start-Ups Side Hustles For Dummies Cheat Sheet

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-15-2022

A side hustle is usually a sort of business that you’re running in addition to whatever you do for your full-time job or career. Or, you can pull together two or more side hustles and, taken all together, that’s how you earn a living. If you’re not sure whether a side hustle is right for you, getting clear on the reasons you may want to start one is a good place to start. You may also find it helpful to think about different categories of side hustles, in order to find the one that’s best for you. Finally, if you’re trying to juggle a full-time job with a side hustle, you need to know how to keep all those balls in the air. This Cheat Sheet has you covered on all of these fronts.

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Start-Ups Starting a Business Cheat Sheet (UK Edition)

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-09-2022

Getting a business off the ground may not be easy but it can be great fun, especially if it gets off to a flying start. This cheat sheet serves up key ways to make sure that your business gets the initial boost that it deserves.

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Start-Ups Starting an Etsy Business For Dummies Cheat Sheet

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-25-2022

If you're looking to channel your passion for crafting and artful creation into a business, consider selling your work on Etsy. Countless crafters have ditched their day jobs to start their own Etsy craft business or have supplemented their existing income by selling their own crafts, vintage items, or crafting supplies. If your dream is to "make a living making things," then Etsy is for you!

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General Small Business Marketing Your Small Business For Dummies Cheat Sheet

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.

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