03/31/2016
Much has changed since 1994 when the U.S. government implemented an initiative to spend at least 5% of its contracting dollars on women-owned businesses. Today, women-owned businesses in the U.S. account for approximately 9.4 million companies and generate more than $1.5 trillion in revenue nationwide. Although it has taken more than two decades to reach its goal, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced that small businesses  that are majority owned by women earned $17.8 billion in federal contracting dollars, which amounts to about 5% of the $400 billion budget for federal contracts.

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03/29/2016
With the positive effects of social media marketing becoming more and more apparent, most small businesses have started working on a social media marketing strategy.

One of the main aims of social media marketing is to stay relevant to your audience. This might be harder for small businesses as they have more to juggle, in terms of handling tasks. Social media tools and apps can help reduce the stress of multi-tasking and keep your social media activities consistent. Below are social media tools for small business to help make your life as a social media marketer easier.

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03/27/2016
The 2015 tax season is here. Tax planning is a critical part of a small business owners financial plan. The majority of small business owners ignore tax planning; yet good tax advice is a very valuable for a successful business. There are many tax planning strategies available to small business owners. Below are a just a few:

Lowering your tax rate to reduce the amount of taxable income
Taking advantage of available tax credits
Controlling the effects of the AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax)

I encourage business owners to work with a competent accountant or CPA on at least a quarterly basis to take full advantage of all the tax provisions that are available.

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03/25/2016
A full half of small business owners see growth opportunities in the next six months, while 17 percent say they are already seeing that growth.

Only 33 percent say they see no immediately growth opportunities ahead. That’s according to the most recent survey by the National Small Business Association.

According to the National Small Business Associations 2015 economic report (PDF), nearly 75 percent of small business owners surveyed are confident in their businesses — the highest percentage recorded in the last four years. However, there was a relatively less positive outlook among the small business owners on the overall economy than even six months ago.

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03/23/2016
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has become a fine science. Tweaking, changing, and measuring is all part of the ongoing optimization process. SEO truly is a process that requires constant monitoring and attention. In order for a website to perform well, its managers and webmasters must adapt their SEO techniques as the search engine algorithms change.

On Page Search Engine Optimization

03/21/2016
Today, tens of thousands of people are considering starting a home based business, and for good reasons. On average, people can expect to have two and three careers during their work life. Those leaving one career often think about their second or third career move being to their own home. People who have been part of the traditional nine-to-five work force and are on the verge of retiring from that life are thinking of what to do next. The good news: Starting a homebased business is within the reach of almost anyone who wants to take a risk and work hard.

$1,500 or less to start up

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03/18/2016
Your body language is a fundamental part of who you are; chances are you do not even think about how you stand, sit, and move. You should, of course, because other people instinctively pick up the nonverbal signals you send.

Oddly enough, you also pick up on your own nonverbal signals. Gestures and postures make a dramatic impact on how you think, feel, and perform.

Want to use body language to be an even better you? Here are ten simple ways:

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03/16/2016
Imagine if you could become a millionaire. How great would it be to have the money you need to live the lifestyle you have always wanted? Now imagine if you could do this in your 20s?

Even if you think it sounds like a stretch, it is possible to become a millionaire at a young age. I became a millionaire by age 21. My second millionaire student who followed my program became a millionaire by the age of 23. The most impressive part? He did it all by trading penny stocks.

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03/14/2016
Today, Alphabet, the parent company of Google, announces its fourth quarter 2015 earnings. But it is also going to do something different. The company plans to separately break out the results of its core businesses from its other bets. By doing this, the company opens itself up to some criticism about the investments that it makes in unproven, risky technologies – from driverless cars to Glass. But without those investments, Google would never be the kind of company that it is today.

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03/11/2016
Years of experience have taught me that running a small business is a challenge, especially when you are providing a service. Your expectations for success may not match your results, because simply providing excellent service within your field is not always enough. When I first started running my business, I naively assumed that because I was a master at my profession, my business would flourish. I failed to realize that my business skills were equally important and some of those lessons took hard tolls on me before I fully understood them.

Luckily, many of the lessons that I learned were due to mistakes that are actually quite easy to avoid. While learning these lessons won’t make you a business genius overnight, they will help you avoid rough spots that many small business owners encounter.

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03/09/2016
As with personal credit cards, business cards can be dangerous if you do not use them responsibly. High interest rates and fees can add up. But if your business needs a little leverage and you do not have more favorable options, a small-business credit card can be a valuable tool both to get your business up and running and to streamline your handling of operating expenses.

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03/07/2016

Check out the top 500 Franchise List

03/04/2016
For many businesses, getting paid is not the problem – it’s when. Lumpy cash flow is a stressful experience for business owners because the consequences can include delayed paychecks to employees, missed bill payments or stalled growth due to an inability to take on new clients. So, how can business owners avoid putting themselves at the mercy of clients and when those clients mail their checks?

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03/03/2016
Small businesses are hopeful about growth this year according to the new State of Small Business Report by software solutions provider, Wasp Barcode Technologies.

The study says 71 percent of small businesses expect revenue growth, although 50 percent of small business owners said hiring new employees would be the key challenge facing them this year. And 45 percent said that challenge would be increasing profit.

An earlier survey conducted by Yelp had similarly found small business owners optimistic about growth in 2016. According to that survey, the percentage of American small business owners expecting to see revenues grow, however, is higher (85 percent).

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03/01/2016
Apps consume the majority of mobile media time, but local business apps struggle to compete for attention. Columnist Wesley Young looks at how SMBs can instead use space on the most popular apps to get in front of customers.

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