Why Recessions Are a Good Time to Start a Side Hustle
The truth is, recessions happen, and they happen often. Since 1900, the U.S. economy has averaged one recession about every four years. They’re not so regular as to be predictable and they cause real economic damage, but they don’t halt business and entrepreneurship entirely. In fact, according to a 2009 study by Dane Stangler for...
7 Steps to Successfully Launch a Product
There are thousands of companies creating and promoting thousands of products in the global marketplace each year. You probably haven’t even heard of the vast majority—many of which failed on arrival. According to Harvard Business School research, 95 percent of new products fail in their first year. You may have a great, ground-breaking product idea,...
Are Business Loans More Affordable Now Due to the Pandemic?
The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the global economy in a number of ways. Unemployment is up, the stock market is down, and small businesses are struggling to make ends meet. While Congress approved some financial help for small businesses with the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), that aid has since expired and efforts to extend or...
4 Ways the Crisis is Changing Customer Engagement for Online Businesses
There are few silver linings when it comes to the economic impact that the coronavirus pandemic has had on American small businesses. One area of the economy seeing a boom? E-commerce. In these socially distant times, shopping online has never seemed more attractive. Online retailers’ year-over-year revenue growth is up 68 percent as of mid-April....
Dodge These 5 Common Tax Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make
Starting and running a business requires precise attention to detail—especially when it comes time to file your business taxes. Whether you head a startup with a few employees or you’re an independent contractor, taxes are a common pain point for entrepreneurs. Tax law is complex, and penalties for filing mistakes can affect a business’s bottom...
How (and Why) to Continually Update Your Business Plan
“New year, new business plan.” Well, that’s not the exact saying, but in an increasingly competitive business world, it’s a nice catchphrase as we quickly approach the second month of 2020. Truthfully, you should always update your business plan to reflect your company’s current standing in the marketplace, finances, personnel, technology and more. These things...
6 Essential Tools Your Startup Can’t Live Without
Believe it or not, the year and the decade are coming to a close. Now is the time time for business owners to start planning for an uncertain year ahead, not to mention the years to come. Every startup has its own challenges to face—up and down sales, late invoices, hiring difficulties and more. On...
6 Mentoring Resources for Women Small Business Owners
For female founders who face unique challenges (especially when trying to break into male-dominated industries), having a mentor could be the missing piece of the entrepreneurial success puzzle. Navigating the roadblocks to business success becomes much easier when you have mentors with experience to guide you. Mentors can make connections, introduce you to trustworthy legal...
The Best Funding Options for Minority Entrepreneurs
Access to funding is often the difference between growing a successful business and closing up shop. And while there are a lot of funding options out there for entrepreneurs in general, minorities often need to go the extra mile to acquire that capital. A study by the Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency looked at...
5 Easy Changes You Can Make to Boost Your Online Sales
E-commerce business owners know that the most frustrating aspect of running an online business is how quickly sales can slip through your fingers. It seems like you can do just about everything right with your e-commerce business (identify a product and a market, design a beautiful website, come up with compelling marketing campaigns that bring...
The 3 Best Financing Options When Buying a Franchise
Across the U.S., franchise businesses produce $760 billion of revenue and employ over 8 million people per year. Those are the kind of numbers that might inspire you to open a franchise business of your own. However, when you zoom in on how much it takes to finance opening a franchise, you might feel less...
5 Inventive Ways to Use Email Marketing to Boost Your ROI
If you’ve ever dipped your toes into the world of email marketing, you know that it’s often touted as having the best return on investment of any initiative you can take to boost leads and sales for your business. But if you’re not a marketing expert yourself (maybe you’re a small business owner trying to...