When Insurance Will (and Will Not) Cover Your Side Hustle Property
Around 44 million Americans have taken up what's known as a side hustle. The number of people getting these extra jobs to supplement their income includes about 40 percent of all millennials in the U.S. Side hustles can go a long way to making us feel more financially secure. The added income acts as a...
Beyond Facebook and LinkedIn: Social Media Strategies for Your Business
If you are self-employed or run a startup, not using social media to help boost sales is like going to the plate with a 6-inch bat—you're much more likely to strike out. What many entrepreneurs are learning is that while having a website and Facebook or LinkedIn page is a good start, it's likely you're...
What Goes In to Market Research and How Much Does it Cost?
Market research, the process of gathering information about consumers' preferences, is an important component of your startup's marketing plan. It provides vital feedback about your offerings and those of your competitors, and it can include product trials, focus groups and direct observation. Market research can get expensive, so you might need to consider ways to...
How Debt Stacking Can Threaten Your Business
Debt stacking can destroy your business, yet many entrepreneurs are unfamiliar with the term. Debt stacking is when a business takes out multiple, overlapping loans and/or merchant cash advances without paying off earlier loans, and the debt stacks up. The result is a business saddled with an exploding amount of debt, in which the debt...
Will Your Good Idea Be a Good Business?
A good idea and entrepreneurial spirit are certainly required if you want to establish a new business. But many entrepreneurs find out the hard way that the most critical success factor is opportunity. Great ideas arise all the time, but as a potential business owner, you must be able to translate your idea into a...
Through Mentoring, Angel Investors Offer More Than Just Money
Captaining a new enterprise is like constructing a parachute after you’ve been thrown out of a plane: It’s difficult, it’s dangerous, you’re pressed for time and a wrong decision can be fatal. When faced with the pressures of starting a new company, your ability to act quickly, decisively and correctly will depend on experience, skill...