A Young Entrepreneur’s Guide to Business Credit Cards |  |
- A Young Entrepreneur’s Guide to Business Credit Cards
- Women Entrepreneurs: Bullish About Their Businesses, Bearish on the Economy
- Small Business Time Tracking Software: How to Choose
- Free Business Templates for Your SMB From Google
- What Are Your Next Small Business Steps?
| A Young Entrepreneur’s Guide to Business Credit Cards Posted: 18 Apr 2012 02:30 PM PDT I don't know if you've been following it, but that young lady named Susie from those Verizon commercials sure has had a meteoric rise – from the owner of a single front-yard lemonade stand to neighborhood magnate to venture capitalist darling to, eventually, the nationwide distributor of "Susie's Lemonade." So, how'd she do it?
Via data solutions, according to Verizon, as apparently "The Business With The Best Technology Rules." That can't be it though; fictional little Susie must have at some point needed a way to make company purchases, manage debt, etc. That means she, like all young entrepreneurs these days, needed to choose the right small business credit card. Starting Your Credit Career The biggest obstacles most young entrepreneurs face in funding their business enterprises or getting truly rewarding credit cards are their credit scores and the law. You see, the CARD Act – legislation that took effect in February 2010 – necessitates that people under the age of 21 either have a co-signer or be able to demonstrate sufficient individual income or assets to make a credit card's minimum payments. Most young people also have limited or no credit history, which means that the credit cards they could conceivably get – whether they be business credit cards for new businesses, credit cards for people with limited credit history, or secured credit cards – will have low credit limits. As a result, credit building is the first order of business for most young business people. Interestingly, a credit card is the most efficient credit building vehicle given that information about card use is reported to a cardholder's major credit reports each month. This means that finding a way to meet the CARD Act's application criteria is imperative. Once they do so, entrepreneurs must focus on staying well below their credit limits and paying their bills on time every single month so that the information streaming into their files at the major credit bureaus is positive and impactful. When their credit standing improves (significant gains may be seen within a year; direct mail offers are good indicators of progress), young people can begin implementing a more lasting business payment strategy. This too is influenced by the CARD Act. Developing a Strategic Company Credit Card Strategy The CARD Act introduced a number of new rules and consumer protections, but they only apply to general-use (personal) credit cards. This means that when using business credit cards, entrepreneurs are not protected by laws such as that which prohibits issuers from increasing the interest rates on general-use credit cards unless the cardholder is at least 60 days delinquent on payment. In order to garner the debt stability necessary to accurately manage a growing company's financials, young entrepreneurs must therefore use personal credit cards for all funding (i.e. expenses that won't be paid off before the end of the month). If they do not, they risk the cost of their debt increasing at any time, for any reason. At this point, it is important to point out that the idea of a business credit card shielding its user from personal liability is nothing more than a common myth. All of the major credit card issuers hold business credit card account holders liable for debt. Therefore, young business people will not be sacrificing anything by using a personal credit card for business. It's also important to note that business credit cards do serve a distinct purpose: They allow cardholders to easily track company expenses, set individualized limits for employee spending, and earn rewards on every dollar they and their employees charge, among assorted other perks that vary by card. A two-card strategy, whereby a personal credit card is used in the aforementioned manner and a business credit card is used to make purchases that will be paid for in full by the end of the month, not only allows entrepreneurs to garner unique business benefits, but also find the best possible terms for revolving debt and earning rewards. No single card offers the longest 0% APR introductory term as well as the best rewards, after all. Of course, having the right credit cards does not ensure business success, but armed with a solid plan for handing entrepreneurial expenses, young people who decide to go into business for themselves have a much better chance of following in Susie's footsteps. Lemonade Stand Photo via Shutterstock From Small Business Trends |
| Women Entrepreneurs: Bullish About Their Businesses, Bearish on the Economy Posted: 18 Apr 2012 11:30 AM PDT How do women business owners feel about the economy in general, their business outlook in particular, and the role of government in business? The Hartford surveyed women entrepreneurs in honor of Women's History Month last month to learn the answers to these and other questions in its Small Business Pulse survey.
Here's some of what they found: They feel optimistic about their businesses. Women overall were more optimistic than men about their businesses and more likely to feel successful. Ninety-one percent of women describe their businesses as successful, compared to 80 percent of men. They're not as optimistic about the economy. When asked to gauge their level of optimism that the national economy will grow stronger this year, only 53 percent of women feel optimistic, compared to 64 percent of men. They acknowledge challenges ahead. Perhaps because of the economy, women business owners still face challenges this year. Their major challenges:
They're taking a conservative approach. When asked to rate the overall level of risk they are currently taking with their business, 55 percent of women small business owners rate themselves as conservative, compared to 47 percent of men. They don't regret this approach, either: 80 percent of them don't think taking more risk would have made them more successful. Just 67 percent of men feel this way. And a whopping 96 percent of women who describe their approach as conservative feel successful in their businesses, compared to 83 percent of those who take more risks. They're looking to government for help. Ironically, while government regulations were named as a major challenge by more than one-third of the women responding, women aren't writing off the government altogether. Eighty-nine percent say a presidential candidate's position on pro-small business policies will have an impact on their vote, compared to 79 percent of men. In fact, 55 percent of the women surveyed say it will have a major impact, compared to 45 percent of men. Women were also more likely than men to believe state and local government should take the lead in providing help and support for small business. How do these attitudes compare to yours? Do you feel optimistic about your business's prospects for the coming year?
From Small Business Trends |
| Small Business Time Tracking Software: How to Choose Posted: 18 Apr 2012 08:30 AM PDT As a small business professional, how concerned should you be with tracking employee time? Well, look at it this way: is profitability important? Is it important to stay on track with budgets and projects? Yes? Then you should absolutely be tracking time.
In part one of this series (“How Small Business Can Benefit from Time Tracking“), we looked at creating a requirements list so you can buy time tracking software with confidence, and understanding the software rollout process. In this second article, we'll look at questions to ask to make sure the demo is rock-solid, and the advantages of software-as-a-service versus installed software. The Most Common Mistake in Buying Timesheet Software: Don't Fall For a Deceptive Demo You have the right to demand that any vendor absolutely, completely prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that their solution will solve your company's specific business problem. You deserve a detailed demonstration that uses your employee list, customer list, project list, your company's logo, color scheme, and that shows you reports on your data that will prove to you that your business problem is solved. If a vendor can’t make you 100 percent certain that the solution will work for your specific business needs, then walk away. Canned demos are designed to deceive. Questions to Ask Vendors:
If the vendor can quickly configure the software during a demo for you and show you that it really meets your needs, then he probably can do it quickly after it's installed at your company as well. SaaS Flexibility Allows Early Rollouts, Server Protection and Easier Upgrades If the software is 100 percent Web-based (and it should be to avoid obsolete technology and installation problems), you can run it from any computer on earth. Software companies can deliver technology via two different models: installed at your location or rented by you and running on the vendor's site. The latter approach is called software-as-a-service (SaaS). There is no reason a provider can't offer both options. SaaS allows early rollouts, server protection and easier upgrades. In an early rollout, the vendor lets you temporarily use the SaaS site while your IT shop deploys the machine purchased for your local installation. Server protection is the process of sending a backup to the vendor in case your local installation fails. Thus, the vendor can get your system running on his site instantly. SaaS allows easier upgrades because you're provided a test site during the upgrade process that requires no hardware purchases on your part. Questions to Ask Vendors:
Look Outside the HR Department When payroll executives implement time and attendance systems to automate payroll, they often miss the chance to facilitate greater profitability throughout the entire company. These executives are, of course, payroll experts. They are usually not experts at project accounting or billing automation. The time data they collect, if collected appropriately, can also be used to automate project management, project costing, project tracking, and project estimation improvement. Additionally, the data can be used for internal, external and reverse billing automation. Think back to that requirements gathering portion of the timesheet software selection process. Bring in R&D managers, marketing folks, and A/P people. Have an entire selection team. Yes, it may be harder, but it will unleash profitability that you didn't know you had available. By following the tips outlined in this article, you can be sure that timesheet software will make enormous profitability increases in your company by automating payroll, billing and most of all project cost accounting.
From Small Business Trends |
| Free Business Templates for Your SMB From Google Posted: 18 Apr 2012 06:00 AM PDT You know what's really nice? When you need something and you instantly know where you can go to get it. You don't have to buy it or make it yourself or reinvent the wheel – you can simply solve your problem by taking advantage of the work that someone else already put in. As a small business owner, this doesn't happen too often. And that's why you want to take advantage of it when it does. I'm a huge fan of Google Docs. I use it while writing on the go, I use it to collaborate with others on projects, and I take advantage of the rich Google Docs template gallery that's available. If you haven't yet taken advantage of this resource, you may want to check it out. Because by using shared content it can help you work more efficiently and put more time back in your business.
So what kind of free templates can you benefit from courtesy of Google? Below's a short list. 1. Budgeting Templates: Whether it's for home or work, we can all benefit from having a budgeting template nearby. One that helps you break out your costs for the month and lets you see where your money is going, what costs you have, and that helps you stay accountable to your receivables. You could waste time creating one yourself or you could do a search for a [budget template] and use one that's already been created. 2. Invoices: Another staple for small business owners. While there are all sorts of other programs that will help you create attractive invoices, a quick search in Google Docs may help you find an invoice already crafted to your specific industry or need. Whether it's an invoice for your snow blower business or an invoice that includes room for instructions, Google already has you covered. 3. Timesheets: It may not take much effort to throw together a weekly timesheet for your employees but why dedicate mental resources to doing it? You can find all sorts of timesheet templates directly in Google Docs. Do a search, pick one, and go. 4. Company Letterhead: So not all of us have been blessed with a gift for design. So what? Google Docs can help you create professional looking letterhead that you can customize to meet your needs. It can be as simple as swapping out a generic logo for your own. 5. Business Cards: They may not be the sexiest business cards on the market, but if you need something in a jiff, you can find plenty of business card templates to help you show up to that networking event looking prepared (even if you really weren't). 6. Request Forms: Because Google Docs gives you the ability to embed forms right into your Web site, you can find Request Forms for both internal use and customer use. Maybe it's a request for time off , new software, for someone to sign up for your catalog, to customize a product, to make a reservation, etc, you can customize these forms to serve whatever need you or your customers may have. 7. Customer Surveys: One reason why I'm such a big fan of Google Docs is because of its survey functionality. You can go directly into Google Docs and they'll walk you through a professional-looking survey that you can use to get customer feedback about your blog, how you handle customer service, what social networks they wish you'd use, or anything else. Taking advantage of the templates provided in the gallery will help you see what your survey could look like and maybe help you prepopulate some questions. Above are just a handful of ways you can take advantage of the templates provided in Google's gallery. It's worth noting that what separates Google Doc templates away from, let's say, templates you can download in Word is that these are a lot more functional. You can embed them directly on your site, there are more (and more updates ones) to choose from, and you get a lot more flexibility. Sure, you could create all these documents with your own hands, but why would you want to? From Small Business Trends |
| What Are Your Next Small Business Steps? Posted: 18 Apr 2012 02:30 AM PDT Great entrepreneurs must keep track of the next steps needed to improve and grow their businesses. They will be different steps for every business, but here are some resources we hope will help. Enjoy! Social Media InnovationMoving beyond Facebook. Yes, the social media giant can be a great help for networking and getting your brand noticed. But when promoting your business, you can’t stop with FB. The above video suggests some reasons. Entrepreneur Now, this is Pinteresting! If you missed the great Facebook live chat on the new social network with marketing coach Stephanie Ward last week, no worries. Our sister site BizSugar.com sponsored the event and has archived it for the ages. BizSugar Blog Human ResourcesAre your employees enjoying Twitter? This story takes a look at whether you should allow employees to use social media at work. We all know happy employees can provide good marketing, but do you want your employees Facebooking while on the job? Marketing HQ Better time management leads to results. This link may, at first, look like a self-help post having little to do with real business. The truth? Surprising things affect productivity. Media Trapper Marketing & SalesMysteries of grassroots marketing. Question: Why do we spend so much on huge advertising campaigns when we know home grown efforts backed by passion will win the day? Check out the example on the link. Inc.com It’s all about the numbers. If you want to know why business sales are tough to master, look at your mindset first when approaching them. Here’s a look at the real secret to sales success. Growth University StrategyMeasuring online success. Studying performance is critical when working toward success in any field, so why should your online business be any different? Here’s how to measure performance of your small business presence on the Internet. Finance & Marketing Blog Don’t say the “R” word. We’re in a post-recession, experts tell us. Time to start moving your business toward growth. But wait! Here are some helpful tips to get you on your way and help make you more profitable. SBA.gov Startups & LeadershipKnowing why your last venture failed. It’s no fun to look at past failures. But taking the right approach can help you do better the next time around. Begin with some problems common to all entrepreneurs. Sales Chase Leadership remains rare. Think anyone can lead an organization? You’d be wrong. One of the great secrets of small business leadership is that there are so few real leaders out there. Fortunately, there are resources to help. Corporate Coach Group From Small Business Trends |
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