December 7th, 2012
post by Lewis Humphries | Closed

Evaluating a Law Firm for your Small Business: Three Things to Look for

When operating a small and independent business venture, it is all too easy to become complacent and neglect your legal requirements as the owner. This reflects the transition that takes place when you switch from being an employee to someone who is in control of their own destiny. Although it is a largely positive experience, it brings with it a great deal of responsibility and accountability, and the failure to recognize this can result in disastrous consequences for your small business. With this in mind it is crucial that you employ the services of a reputable law firm, in order to establish your business correctly and in line with existing government legislation.

Evaluating a Potential Law Firm: Three Things to Look for

So what exactly are the key points that you should be addressing when evaluating a law firm? Consider the following: –

  • Identify Firms that have Worked Within your Industry or Sector: While the fundamental principles of business may remain the same across multiple industries, each individual sector has its own regulatory procedure and specific points of order. With this in mind, your first step should be to identify reputable firms that have experience within a chosen industry, as this will expose you to relevant and trustworthy legal advice. They will also understand the jargon that defines your businesses particular market niche, and will therefore be able to offer a clear representation of what is required from your firm.

  • Target Small and Independent Law Firms: Your may also wish to consider the size of the law firm that represents you, as this can have a huge influence on Read the rest of this entry >>

Home Business Basics
November 29th, 2012
post by Lewis Humphries | Closed

Acknowledging the Cyber Threat to your Business – How to Protect your Intellectual Property

As the worlds of commerce and small business have evolved, so too they have encountered a range of new and diverse threats. While the small business owners of the past were preoccupied with locking their places of businesses and ensuring that their merchandise was kept in a secure location, now they have to consider additional measures to protect the integrity of their commercial interests.

While the advent of technology has been largely positive for small businesses, however, it is also responsible for the increasingly sophisticated threat posed to intellectual property. Although as an owner you can patent your innovative concepts, blue prints and auto-CAD designs, for example, this means little unless you are able to store the associated digital files in a secure online location. Read the rest of this entry >>

Home Business Basics
October 25th, 2012
post by Ginny Adkins | 1

My Favorite New Small Business Tool is a POS System

I am old fashioned and don’t even own a fax machine (I JUST got a Facebook page up for goodness sake) But my other half, the techie, bought this gadget and made me learn how to use it (after meeting a lady at a nearby bakery who had one, he fell in love…with the POS, not the lady!) I LOVE to blog and think I was meant to be a writer (despite being a happy small business owner) so here’s the low down…

The new POS (point of sale system) can replace almost any other system most small business use, be it a manual cash register and hand written receipts or an expensive POS like Aloha. Counterpoint software offers a variety of POS (or point of sale) options for small to medium sized retailers.Here are 5 reasons to use the POS to help your business run smoother and more productively.

  1. It’s Cheap. Far less expensive than most business owners realize, a POS system basically pays for itself in the long run by increasing sales and eliminating the need for paper and ink.
  2. Forget about paper. Imagine helping the environment and saving money at the same time! Most credit card machines print out 2 copies of the receipt, one for you and one for the customer. Most times the customer throws out the receipt or says they don’t want it. With the POS system you don’t have to print a copy even if Read the rest of this entry >>
Home Business Basics
June 3rd, 2012
post by Lewis Humphries | Closed

How to Save Time When Running Your Online Fashion Store From Home

With m-commerce now starting to dominate in terms of how consumers source, review and purchase products, owning and operating an online fashion store front is emerging as significant business. As this business grows, however, you faced with a difficult time management challenge in terms of how to maximize your efforts and realize the full potential of your store. So how should you go about managing your time as an online entrepreneur when working from home, and ensuring that you are as productive as possible?

Prioritize Your Workload: Regardless of the nature of your business, there are likely to be several tasks that are crucial to organizing it on a daily basis. In terms of online fashion e-commerce, these are likely to include shipping, liaising with customers and stock management, it is important to create a regimented schedule that dictates when and how you undertaken these tasks. While some degree of flexibility is always necessary, creating a prioritized schedule of work eliminates procrastination and disorganization from your business. Read the rest of this entry >>

Business Hacks
February 7th, 2012
post by Matt Forensky | 1

Influencing Consumer Behavior Is Not As Easy As You Think – Psychological Theories

As long as there have been consumers (forever), sellers have been trying to influence their behavior. In the twentieth century advertising firms made influencing consumer behavior an art form and developed an array of psychological theories to explain it.

Fast forward to the twenty first century and the playing field has changed completely again. Thanks to modern information technology consumers approach their purchases in an entirely new way.

When modern consumers want information on a product they don’t go to the producer, they go to each other. Online forums have become the site of intense debate over the relative benefits and flaws of different products. Consumers trust each other because they know they have nothing to gain from the exchange but relevant information.

So where are these conversations taking place? Well one interesting development of the twenty first century has been the emergence of Social Media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. Increasingly marketers are going to these places and influencing consumer behavior directly. Read the rest of this entry >>

Small Business Marketing
September 7th, 2011
post by Tara Williams | Closed

Mandura Scam? Evaluate Mandura IBO Opportunity

The Product- Evaluate the product and the cost of the product
Start-up Cost- Is the start up cost reasonable that the majority of people that you market to can afford?
Comp Plan- Is the comp plan easy to understand? No hidden gimmicks
Company Reputation- Check out the company, is it financially sound, who are the owners? check out the company with the Better Business Bureau, also check out the MLM Watchdog websites that have information from different 3rd parties.
Training- Does the company provide needed training for your self and your down line?
Technology- What type of investment has the company made on technology? It is important to see the company making investments to be cutting edge. If they do not provide the right infrastructure, should you get involved?
System- Does the company have a marketing system, and a system that is easily duplicated so that it is easy for you to have your down line grow their business? Read the rest of this entry >>

Business Opportunities