Running Your Business

Tips to handle the day-to-day operation of your business.

Six Areas Where You Can Cut Business Expenses

September 27, 2011 By Tim Hicks Leave a Comment

Controlling costs is critical to all small businesses, including home-based businesses and it's even more critical in this current economic climate. For many home-based business owners, this becomes even trickier. Since they already own many of the things they'll need for business (such as a PC, printer, etc.), many home-based business owners get lulled into false security. It's almost as though they feel their overhead is "too low," and get the powerful urge to spend money on upgrades and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Finance Tagged With: Cut Expenses, Save Money

Things To Consider Before Buying A Business

September 26, 2011 By Tim Hicks Leave a Comment

Things you should consider before buying a business.

I know we normally talk about starting a business from scratch, but just suppose you wanted to jump ahead and buy an existing business. What should you look for then? Well, that's what this article is all about. Let's look at a few things you really should check out before you part with your hard-earned money: Establish a value for the business. Is it worth the asking price? This is an obvious question to ask, but it can be fairly tricky to answer. Why? Because different businesses … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Running Your Business Tagged With: Buying A Business, Due Dilligence

Using Square To Accept Credit Cards

September 10, 2011 By Tim Hicks 4 Comments

Square helps businesses and individuals accept credit cards

We all know that accepting credit and branded debit cards is important in business. The tough part is figuring out which payment processor to use. Up until now, I have been using Virtual Terminal from PayPal for my credit card processing. This allowed me to accept credit card payment over the phone/web, through the mail and in person. PayPal charges $30 per month whether you process a single charge or not. In addition, they also charge 2.4-3.1% plus 30 cents per transaction. There … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Finance, Front Page Tagged With: Credit Card, Merchant Account, Square

What’s In A Name

August 14, 2011 By Tim Hicks 2 Comments

When you start your business, you have lots of things to think about. One of the most important is the name of your business. After all, this is how people will know your business and it is what you will build your brand around. Obviously, choosing the proper business name is quite important. Before we go too far, let me explain that your business will actually have two names. One is the legal name of your company and the other is the business you do business under. Allow me to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Front Page, Legal & Taxes, Starting Your Business Tagged With: Business Name, Doing Business As, Trading As

Working At Home Is Still Work.

July 18, 2011 By Tim Hicks 1 Comment

Working at home can be fun,but you still have to work.

Too often, people have an unrealistic view of what it means to work from home. The imagine themselves lounging around in their pajamas and relaxing the day away, or they may see themselves on perpetual holiday. Sure, these things may happen at some point, but it's not usually right away. In the beginning, starting a business - any kind of business - involves a lot of work. You have to put the time and effort in if you ever want to see the return. This is especially hard to do when … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Front Page, Running Your Business Tagged With: Discipline, Work From Home

Corporation Vs LLC – How Do You Choose

July 16, 2011 By Tim Hicks 2 Comments

When you are starting a home-based business, you have a lot of things to consider. One major consideration is what form your business will take. Will you go with a "sole proprietorship?" How about an LLC or corporation? How do you know what to choose? Well, before we begin, allow me to state that I am not a lawyer and this article is not intended to render legal or financial advice. It is for information purposes only and you are strongly cautioned to seek out advice from competent … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured, Front Page, Legal & Taxes, Starting Your Business Tagged With: Business Structure, Corporation, Limited Liability Company, LLC, Partnership, Sole Proprietorship

Using VOIP For Your Business

July 3, 2011 By Tim Hicks 6 Comments

Most successful business people would agree that it is preferable to have a separate phone line for your home-based business, if at all possible. After all, you don't tie up the family phone for business use and your business really does come off as more professional. After all, there are few things that make your business sound amateurish than to have a five year-old answer the phone when a client or prospect calls. It's just as bad when a family member picks up an extension while you're … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Administration, Front Page, Telephone Tagged With: Business Line, Home Office, telephone, VOIP