I was flipping through a Kiplinger’s magazine, when I came across an ad for an exercise machine promising a full workout in only four minutes. I don’t normally pay much attention, since I generally believe that most exercise machines, like most diet pills and diet plans, are simply a way to take money from people…
The idea of starting a business is very attractive to many people. It is practically a genetically imprinted desire in the United States to want to one day own your own business. At last report, nearly 3 out of 4 adult Americans indicated a desire to someday start their own business. I know I have…
Having people backing you who believe in what you are doing can make a crucial difference in your overall chances for success. If you are single and have no one depending on you, this is the easiest situation to be in when starting a business. You may or may not have your patents and friends…
Lots of people will tell you that entrepreneurs are risk takers. That isn’t actually true. Most of the entrepreneurs I know would rather avoid risk. What they want to do is maximize their success by jumping into sure things that other people haven’t discovered yet. They use their inside knowledge or insight to make a…
There are many sources of capital for starting a business (or funding an existing one), but not all kinds are a good fit for each type of business. This post is a quick run through of each of the major types, pros and cons of each, the amounts available, the time frame and requirements to…
A point largely missed by many people new to the idea of starting a business for themselves is that you don’t need a blow-the-lid-off great idea to get started. In fact, most of the time, you are much better off not trying to launch a fantastic new idea. Or waiting around to have one. The…
This is a frequent topic of conversation among people considering entrepreneurial ventures- is it better to do what you know or do what you love? My response is that it is usually best to do what you know in a way that you can love. For me, I love working with entrepreneurs and hearing about…
Most of my clients need the same types of products and services to manage and run their businesses, but they end up choosing from a huge variety of different providers. Why is that? Most, I’m sure, go with whatever is convenient (hey- the guys around the corner) or a referral (Joe said he was good)…
Hey- I wrote a book! I always wanted to write one and now I have. Of course, I used to think if I wrote a book it would be a cool fiction book that would be read by millions. That hasn’t happened yet. But that’s OK- the book I did write is still great- if…
One of the fastest and easiest ways for us to provide a free review, evaluate a potential new client and/or to provide a quote for services is for us to take a look at the QuickBooks file currently in use. The question is, how to send it, since these files are often large (depending on…