Blog

Just because you might be the best accountant, plumber, or chef in town doesn’t necessarily mean that you have all the skills you need to open a business.  In fact, leadership itself is a skill – a set of behaviors that can be learned and improved upon. Since we can... Read more

As a small business owner you need to be really frugal. Lack of or misuse of capital is one of the main reasons why companies fail . That said, priority number one should be to save money. While some ideas will save more money than others you need to understand... Read more

In a recent Harvard commencement speech, Mark Zuckerberg explained how some big companies wanted to buy Facebook a couple years into his venture. Everyone around him told him to take the money and run. But Zuckerberg held onto his business a little longer. He felt it was destined for something... Read more

Do you remember Blockbuster? At one time, the chain of 9,000 video-rental stores seemed to be everywhere. Families spent their Saturday or Friday evenings perusing the shelves for the latest releases or old classics. However, as the industry and world changed, and movie-renting habits evolved, Blockbuster failed to adapt, even... Read more

Surely you had an inspiration when you decided to start your business. Was it to provide a service or product better, faster or cheaper than what was currently available? Was it to fill a gap in the marketplace? Perhaps you were inspired to run a business that people enjoyed working... Read more

So, you’re ready to start a company. You have a great product or service you think people will really like, and you’re ready to get started. There’s just one question: Where do you start?  Building a company from scratch is not easy, especially if you intend for that company to... Read more

The right words of advice can get you closer to a goal. They can also inspire you to be a better leader. Josh Linkner is the author of the best-selling “The Road to Reinvention,” which urges businesses to go beyond the status quo for success, as well as a relatively new... Read more

The failure rate of startup businesses is a common story. And many of these startups were founded on great business ideas. You might ask yourself why businesses built on brilliant ideas still fail. The answer is usually fairly simple. Having an idea for a business and having an idea about... Read more

A body requires routine checks and examinations for its health. So does a business. No matter what stage your business is in, to keep it going you must check its systems, pay attention to any ailments and prevent early death. For the newborn business, the goals and system checks are... Read more

Before choosing an accountant to handle the nuts and bolts of your business’s numbers, first you might want to interview the accountant and found out how they conduct their own business matters. We visited this topic in a more general overview in the past, but this time let’s take a... Read more

It is only to be expected that business owners make financial mistakes which can jeopardize their dreams. Here are four of the most common small business mistakes and how business owners can avoid them. Failing to plan Few small businesses have a working budget and cash flow forecast which is... Read more

An expected 75,000,000 millennials are preparing to join or joining the workforce. These can be very good employees. Managing your millennial employees in a fun, yet structured setting will let you build the foundation for the superior workforce you desire. Here are some tips on how to best manage millennial... Read more

Stephen runs a construction business specializing in large basements and car parks. The business has been established for 25 years and has grown steadily, with revenue now into eight figures. Unfortunately, the profit margins are very slim and last year, Stephen’s business barely broke even and he was unable to... Read more

As the year moves further into Spring, it’s time to start thinking about how to refresh your financial life with these Spring financial tips. It may require just looking at things differently rather than making drastic changes. In the end, you want to put yourself in a position to take... Read more

Research shows that 45% of Americans usually make New Year’s Resolutions, while only 8% are successful at achieving them. What is it about those 8% that make them so different? It might sound simple, but it comes down to their habits. Here are 11 you simply must have if you... Read more

Just as important as goal-setting is developing a way to track your progress. Having barometer, so to speak, will show you how you are progressing — and how close you are to reaching your goals. Seeing your progress will also help keep you focused and motivated. In short, having a business barometer will keep... Read more

It might be time to stop cutting costs and start focusing on growth strategies again. The law of diminishing returns tells us that cutting costs with your business will have a positive effect, but there comes a point where the return on investment starts to diminish. Is your company too... Read more

Office mindfulness is an increasingly popular notion, with companies such as Apple, Yahoo, Starbucks, and Google using it to their benefit. Google, for example, offers employees a 19-hour course on office mindfulness , which is so popular that thousands of Googlers take it each year. So what exactly is mindfulness? Mindfulness... Read more

Owning a service business can be tough, and running a service business day-in and day-out can be even tougher. For many service business owners, building a service business stopped being fun a long time ago and somehow it mutated into a “job.” Here are 4 tips to help you scale your service... Read more

Staff motivation should always be on top of your priority list because a business thrives when it’s people thrive. If they’re not motivated – if they don’t feel as if they’re adding value and are indispensable within the team – then your business is at a huge disadvantage. It’s a... Read more

What are the Strategic Planning Steps? The Strategic Planning Steps business management system is an organizational tool that is used by groups and corporations globally to refine their goals and maximize their resources. Drawing from the concepts of strategic military planning, the Strategic Planning process is one way in which... Read more

Everyone deserves a break, especially those who work hard trying to a get a business off the ground. A recent survey found that three quarters (76%) of small business owners and entrepreneurs skip their holidays in order to keep their business running smoothly. But while there may never be a... Read more

Is Your Accountant Proactive or Reactive? Does your Accounting and Tax Firm offer you advice before it happens or late or not at all? Do they offer value added services that help your business improve and grow or do they just process your work? Are they constantly looking for legitimate... Read more

Since its inception, the United States has always been considered “the land of opportunity” – a place where any individual with motivation and drive can have a successful small business. This notion still holds true today as 99 percent of all American companies are small businesses, according to Small Business... Read more