A man stepped into my office seeking business-startup assistance. The frantic look on his face and his uneasy demeanor caused me to label him as ‘desperate’ (the worst position to be in when starting a business). Automatically, I went through a series of questions regarding his business idea: did he have experience, money, and a passion? I also wanted to know about his personal finances – was he expecting to support himself right away from the business or did he have a “day job”?
Read more »A Small Business Blog for Inquisitive Entrepreneurs
Make Your Goals SMART-er
Setting goals the SMART way can help you reach your goals, whether it’s a short-term goal of losing 15 pounds or a long-term one of saving enough money to start a business. The act of writing goals down forces you (and me) to focus on those goals in a SMART way. So, this year, I resolve to turn my resolutions into SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-Oriented, and within a reasonable Time-frame.
Read more »What “Credit” Really Means
Even though buying on credit is convenient, it is not always a good decision. Once a person crosses that line, of buying now and paying later, the process becomes more tempting to buy items we do not need or items that are on sale.
Instead we should be asking ourselves, “Can I pay off the debt in a month before interest is added?” “What is the long-term benefit of this purchase?” “Will I end up paying more (in the long run) for the item than it is worth?” “If I had the cash, would I make that purchase?” “Is it a need or a want?”
The wise reasons for not using credit cards are:
Read more »Financial Education: Get ‘Em While They’re Young
You hear it all the time, “I wish someone taught me financial education when I was in school. That sure would have saved me from learning the hard way!” It is a hot button topic right now, especially considering the current state of the economy. Can we prevent future generations from repeating our mistakes? The answer to that question is a resounding “YES!”
Read more »Giving: It’s All About Perspective
As a non-profit, WESST only exists because of people and organizations giving us money to do what we do best—helping entrepreneurs from the idea stage to actually starting and expanding their own self-sufficient businesses. What is the perspective of our investors? Our investors want to know that the investment they are making is a good one. To answer that question, we have to be able to produce actual, quantifiable results.
Read more »NAWBO Goes Global with Inaugural Exporting Event
Last week, the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) New Mexico chapter presented its first time ever program, Go Global with NAWBO. “With the world getting smaller and with increasing competition from foreign and domestic sources, NAWBO wanted to present options to members and guests on how to grow their businesses with exporting opportunities.
Read more »Google Launches Google+ Pages for Businesses/Brands
As news of Google’s official launch of Google+ Pages for Business spread rapidly across the Internet on Monday afternoon, digital marketers and brand managers for big companies scrambled to get their G+ pages created for their brands. I, too, rushed to get a page created for WESST by early afternoon. Did I jump on board too soon? Should you bother creating a Google+ page for your small business?
Read more »Can I Sell My Products and Services…Abroad?
So, your business plan has proved to be a good tool — a roadmap essential to your building a successful business domestically. Maybe you sell regionally or throughout the U.S. and now you are thinking of expanding your business to international markets. Good thought since exporting can even out sales and cash flow.
But before spending too much time and money on research, there are a few things to contemplate before you begin your Export Business Plan.
Read more »5 Truths You Need to Know About Social Media for 2012
Many small business owners approach social media like a Whac-a-Mole player who swings the mallet wildly. Rather than launching an assault on social media like a hit-or-miss game, plan out a strategy. Because without preparation, your social media efforts can quickly fizzle.
Before you embark on a social media campaign, consider these five practical truths about social media that will help you develop a winning strategy.
Read more »How to Optimize Images to Improve Your Website Visibility and Traffic
We’ve all heard the phrase, “A picture is worth a 1000 words.” But in the case of a website, this only holds true if you use words to describe your image to search engines. You see, search engines can’t really “see” your images. But they can read what you say about an image through text.
This information can be conveyed several ways, including:
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