Ellen Arndt
October 6th, 2009
With the ongoing recession, it is critical for existing and new business owners to carefully analyze the risks prior to entering the marketplace and how they intend to overcome these challenges, or barriers to market. Not every business plan service includes a risk analysis, but as an experienced business plan writer, I argue that it is necessary to acknowledge any risk(s) associated…
admin
October 2nd, 2009
Eighty-one US banks have closed so far this year, and unfortunately for businesses, misery loves company. With high-street staples such as Circuit City closing, and many other big brands scaling back operations (Dell has closed 140 stores, Sprint/Nextel 125, even Disney has stopped supplying the public with cartoon merchandise in 98 locations), one might have to read these five reasons…
Merrin Muxlow
September 29th, 2009
Think your sales department is doing all it can to convert credit card processing sales leads or VoIP sales leads into paying customers? Think again. When it comes to maximizing lead generation efforts, perceived success rates are much higher than real statistics indicate, according to our recent study.
Ellen Arndt
September 28th, 2009
Having written hundreds of business plans, I’ve found that some of our clients insist upon receiving business plan documents of more than thirty pages, not including financial charts. The end-result is a document with too many pages of additional market research, a lengthy product and/or service description, and other elements such as company history and client background.
To create a solid,…
Merrin Muxlow
September 22nd, 2009
Is Canada the newest entrepreneurial frontier? Maybe. Globally, the country has the highest population of entrepreneurs within its working population (15.9% compared to 10.1% in the U.S.*). By some measures, it’s easier to start a business in Canada than in almost any other large-economy country: Canada ranks #1 among the G-7 and OECD countries for fewest number of procedures required to…
Merrin Muxlow
September 15th, 2009
With news that retail sales rose 2.7% in August (higher than the 2% increase many experts predicted), many small business owners are breathing a sigh of relief. Nearly every business blogger has done some version of the “Recession-proof Companies” post, but what many fail to address is how you as a small business owner can translate these successful strategies for your…
Ellisa Brenneman
September 8th, 2009
It’s always been a slightly antagonistic cocktail party trick of mine to get a conversation going about a well-known business or technology that I know for a fact is founded by a female entrepreneur and see if the person I’m discussing this topic with also knows this. You’d be surprised how often I wear a smug smirk on my face when…
Merrin Muxlow
September 8th, 2009
Ever wondered whether you could put your iPhone to work for practical business purposes, like, say, credit card processing or tracking product shipments? The competition for the best iPhone Application (App, for short) has heated up since we cataloged our 10 favorites last year. In honor of Apple’s super-secret big announcement this week, here are our top picks for the best business iPhone…
Merrin Muxlow
September 1st, 2009
As an online entrepreneur, you know that great ecommerce web design can make or break your sales numbers. But statistics like site visits, click throughs to item descriptions, and other numbers might not tell the whole story: according to BizReport and eWay Direct, the majority of shoppers- a whopping 70%- browse products, set aside items for purchase and then…vanish. It’s called shopping cart…
Merrin Muxlow
August 25th, 2009
You’d probably think twice before going for a trim at Yummy Hair or getting an oil change at Sham Auto Repair, right? Choosing a business name is one of the most important decisions an entrepreneur can be faced with- the name will stick with your company for years into the future, tell customers what your business is all about, and determine…
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