Month: October 2014
The Water’s Fine: How hiring a business broker turned a Florida couple into pool entrepreneurs
After 30 years of telecom and network systems work in corporate America, John Smee was ready for a change. He’d thought plenty of times before how nice it would be to find a little operation of his own and take over as its boss. So in late 2012 he decided to get to it. He was ready to buy a small business. Fast-forward six months, and Smee and his wife, Kathleen, had set up asRead More
Chris Myers: Small Business, Startups and the Wisdom of Crowds
My fascination with the concept of crowdsourcing started back in 2004, as it did for many who read James Surowiecki’s brilliant book “The Wisdom of Crowds.” The idea that the collective wisdom of a large group could prove superior to the expertise of individuals is powerful. It has been proven out to a great degree by experiments both large and small. However, for the longest time I wondered about the commercial aspects of collective wisdom.Read More
Three Best Ways to Insure Your Small Business
Insuring your small business against a natural disaster, a fire or a catastrophic event is almost an afterthought in the scheme of daily operations, but it shouldn’t be. For starters, if you don’t have enough coverage to replace damaged or destroyed equipment, it might be harder – or impossible – to get your company running again. A quarter of businesses never re-open after a major calamity, according to the Institute for Business & Home Safety.Read More
How to Create a Disaster Plan
No matter how good you are as a businessperson and manager, there will always be circumstances beyond your control that can affect your business. No one likes to think about such large-scale catastrophes as devastating hurricanes, earthquakes or — in today’s world — terrorist attacks. Fortunately, those events are rare, but smaller “disasters,” such as computer crashes and power outages, can wreak havoc on a small firm. Preparing for the worst can help minimize theRead More
Medical marijuana in New York: Barriers High for Small Businesses
Medical marijuana is coming to New York state, and it could make some companies a fortune. But small business owners shouldn’t expect to make money from it. Providing New Yorkers with medical marijuana could be a profitable business for those savvy enough to get a license. Derek Peterson of Terra Tech, who ditched Morgan Stanley in 2012 to become a medical marijuana entrepreneur, says profit margins for the leafy business can be anywhere between 30%Read More
Document of the Week: Confidentiality Agreement for Your Small Business
What is a Confidentiality Agreement? A Confidentiality Agreement is a legally binding contract where a person or small business agrees not to disclose certain information with other people or businesses. This type of agreement is also known as a non-disclosure agreement or a NDA. When do you need a Confidentiality Agreement? In the course of doing small business, whether developing a product or marketing a service, a company inevitably has to enlist the help ofRead More
Former Small Business Entrepreneur Leah Kalanguka Poultry Farmer Crowned Miss Uganda
A former small business entrepreneur of mushroom and poultry farmer has been crowned Miss Uganda following a major rebranding of the annual beauty pageant, now designed to promote agriculture in the east African nation. Leah Kalanguka, 23, beat off 19 other finalists after a competition that saw the glamour of the catwalk ditched for an army-sponsored boot camp on a farm, where contestants had to milk cows and work with goats and sheep. “The youth willRead More
Hottest Small Business Trends
Trend watching has emerged in big business as a discipline of business management and a popular topic among top media publications and futurists. Small business can benefit from trend watching, too. This week’s feature is on the hottest trends for business of all sizes. Trends are far easier to observe than time. Timing of entering into a growing trend market can be costly if the trend has yet to enter public consciousness. My personal experienceRead More
There’s No Such thing as “Perfect Work-Life Balance”
“Stop trying to achieve it all.” That bit of wisdom may sound surprising, coming from the head of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO). After all, you might expect the head of a prominent women’s business organization to advocate for trying to achieve everything you can possibly achieve. But Darla Beggs, the National President of NAWBO, is NOT saying women should stop pushing for business success or settle for something other than theirRead More
What Issues Are Affecting Small Business Right Now?
Small Business owners have their fair share of issues they need to stay on top of. These days they can add three more to the list. Gas prices are plunging. Fears about the Ebola virus are increasing. And the upcoming elections are raising questions about what the new Congress is likely to do. All of these issues affect small businesses and can have positive or negative ramifications depending on the situation. Here’s a look at each:Read More