SmallBusinessNewz

6 Common Errors That Crush Small Businesses

After 17 years spent helping thousands of small businesses, here are 6 of the most common errors I’ve seen.

The Joys of Working With Small Business Owners

Almost every day a small business owner comes into my office to share his or her dream with me. Sometimes they’ve already got a business, whether it’s a storefront, a home office, or a retail space. Other times it’s just an idea that they want to bounce off me to see if it makes sense. Often the person comes in covertly during their lunchtime so their boss won’t know about their desire to escape the cubicle and create something new. This is the best part of my day.

How To Build A Great Business

Remember when you started your business? I’m guessing you were excited; exchanging the so-called security of being an employee, for the freedom and rewards of being your own boss.  It was the start of something new and inspiring for you. As you read this now, I hope you are enjoying those rewards.  I hope you are in a position, where you have the quality of life you wanted or are making meaningful, measurable progress.

It's Time to Purge the Word Entrepreneur

There’s a long-standing debate in business circles about the difference between the use of the term entrepreneur vs. small business owner. The issue centers on the notion that if you’re an entrepreneur you care about high growth and if you’re a small business owner you’re somehow destined to struggle to make ends meet while working your fingers to the bone.  I think it’s one of the silliest distinctions we accept in business and I’ve actually stopped using the term entrepreneur because I think it confuses more than explains.

How To Work With A Virtual Assistant

A while back, someone mentioned to me that most entrepreneurs switch Virtual Assistants (VAs) every 6 months or less. Frankly, I was shocked!While there have been a few VAs I’ve used for just a short period of time or one-off projects, I’ve been with my main team for 6 years. I’ve even worked with the same VA in India for more than three years.

What To Do About Never Ending To-Do Lists

If you’re an entrepreneur, chances are you have a never ending to-do list about a mile long. And it’s easy for that to cause stress and frustration (and maybe even feelings of inadequacy). Here are three ways to deal with it.1)    Admit it will never all be done. It just won’t. So quite working all hours in a futile effort to do it all, or feeling overwhelmed or guilty when it isn’t.

Are You Upselling?

A while back, my hubby and I were on our way back from one of my speaking engagements, and decided to pick up dinner to go. So we called one of our favorite teriyaki joints (Seattle’s Best, on 1st Ave S), to place an order. Since it’s a little out of the way for us normally, we hadn’t eaten there in a while. So we were rather excited to have it conveniently located on our route home. Then life got even better… The woman who took my husband’s order asked if we’d like brown rice instead of white!

Is Your Business Viable?

My next door neighbor is always talking about leaving her job. She’s very artsy craftsy, and had been making all kinds of different knit, sewn and stitched items—from hats to little beaded bags, to funky zipper pulls. Each time she starts work on a new type of creation, she says “This is gonna be the one that lets me quit my job.” Here’s the thing though…

What It Really Takes To Build A Successful Business

So here’s the deal…After 16 years and six business, I’ve learned a thing or two about what it really takes to build a successful business. And I’ll tell ya, most of what my Mom told me—and most of what I believed going into the first four—turned out to be dead wrong. In each of my early businesses, the busier I got the more of my life I gave up. Soon I was working ridiculous hours but I didn’t have a whole lot in my bank account to show for it. I was basically chained to my computer.

Words Of Wisdom For Running A Business

It’s sad to say but true…Most of what you learn about starting and running a small business before becoming an entrepreneur is dead wrong! You can spend years figuring this out on your own (like I did), or you can read this article and benefit from my mistakes…