Small Business

How to Start a Day Care Center

November 9, 2012 by Karen Schweitzer

There will always be a need for day care centers. To start a day care center, you have got to be motivated and love children. There will be many decisions for you to make along the way, and it will pay off to be well prepared. Starting your own business is never cheap, and you want to make sure that you are successful in your endeavor. So, start off on the right foot by learning how to start a day care center before you actually start.

The Basics of Starting a Day Care Center

Determine the type of child care you will offer and the ages of the children you will care for Before you start picking out a name and making things official, it is important that you assess the need for your business. You can do this by finding out how many children need child care in your area. Finding out the ages of the children is also important because there are different types of child care for different age groups. You are also going to have a few decisions to make to help you along in the steps that follow. For starters, your business will need a name, and you are going to have to decide on how the company will be structured legally. Do you want to have a sole proprietorship, incorporation, or a partnership? There are advantages and disadvantages to each one; most day care centers are sole proprietorships since they are so simple and inexpensive. The downside to a sole proprietorship is that the owner of the business takes all legal responsibility for the business.

Getting Down to Business

Now that you have the basics figured out, [Read more…] about How to Start a Day Care Center

10 Things You Need to Know Before Starting a Home Business

October 23, 2012 by Donald Turner

Starting a home business can seem like a great idea. It’s your chance to ditch those painful 9 to 5 working hours and to do something that you’re passionate about. Without the proper planning and preparation, however, your home business can easily turn into a money-sucking disaster of a project. So, roll up your sleeves and do your research before making the big leap. To get you started, we’ve provided this helpful list of ten things to know before you start your home business venture.

Ten Things to Know Before You Start Your Home Business

1. What You’ll Be Peddling

Unless what you’re offering falls under the category of products or services, you don’t have a true home business. So really think about what you will be offering with your business. Products are tangible things that a person is able to physically possess for a fee. Services are intangible like babysitting, dog walking, or lawn care, and maintenance. By knowing what category you fall under, you’ll get your business off to the right start, be able to define it more clearly, pinpoint a client base, and market to the right people!

2. Start-Up Costs

Most home businesses actually lose money in their first year. Sure, you might be one of the lucky few who turns a profit, but that’s not very likely. Be prepared to do some spending as you get started, and know where those start-up costs are going to come from ahead of time. You will likely need some kind of financing to get things off the ground unless you’ve got savings you can dip into. You’ll probably have to pay for things like office supplies, website design, marketing, and more. [Read more…] about 10 Things You Need to Know Before Starting a Home Business

Five Unusual Business Ideas

October 12, 2012 by Guest Contributor

Unusual Business Ideas-

Have you ever watched television infomercials when you can’t sleep, wondering why you didn’t think of that? Some business ideas seem so startlingly simple after we’re presented with them that we can’t believe that people are actually making money from them. Here are five of the most unusual business ideas that people have turned into real money-makers:

1.Cleaning Skeletons

Whether you know a hunter or a science teacher, you may have wondered how those skulls and bones that they keep got so clean. The answer to your question is this: Dermestid beetles. A few innovative people across the country have packed these little beetles into large boxes or converted freezers in their garages. Once a head or body part is shipped to these people, they place the item into the box of beetles that, in turn, clean the part until nothing is left but clean bone.

2.eBay

It may not be unusual, but people are making very lucrative salaries on eBay. It may seem unique to you, who can’t seem to sell a T-shirt on the site, but people who have an eye for things that sell have turned this into a career. Spending their weekends scouring auctions and garage sales, people are buying things for pennies and making hundreds of dollars on the popular auction site.

3.Crime Scene Clean-Up

It’s definitely not a job for everyone, but [Read more…] about Five Unusual Business Ideas

7 Tips to Finding More Clients for Your Home Business

October 6, 2012 by Karen Schweitzer

More Clients for Your Home Business

Going into business for yourself may seem like a good idea, but you’ll soon find out everything isn’t peaches and cream. Running a home business is time consuming, and can be extremely stressful. Simply announcing you are in business isn’t enough. You have to promote yourself and your business in order to attract customers. Following are a few tips on how to find more clients for your home business.

1) Word of Mouth

Anyone who has been in business for any length of time knows that the best form of advertising is word of mouth. Satisfied customers won’t hesitate to let their family, friends, and neighbors know about their experience and will gladly recommend you. That means you must make every effort to give your clients what they need in a timely manner. In that way, they will have nothing but good things to say about you, because word of mouth works the same way if you provide bad service–you won’t get any new customers as a result of that client’s experience and you may lose potential or even actual clients. Businesses are built on repeat customers and will only be successful if you continue to give good service and have people come back–and hopefully bring a few friends along.

2) Satisfy Your Clients

Because word of mouth advertising is so important, it is essential that you do everything you can to satisfy your clients. A satisfied customer is a happy customer, and happy customers will more than likely return. It’s actually far easier to entice an existing client to return than it is to get new ones, so be sure to keep them contented. Once you’ve satisfied the customers you have, then you can concentrate on attracting new clients. One excellent book on this topic is Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach To Customer Service by Ken Blanchard.

3) Know Your Business

When someone is looking for the type of product or service you provide, they don’t want to [Read more…] about 7 Tips to Finding More Clients for Your Home Business

The Role Of an Umbrella Insurance Policy In Your Organization

October 4, 2012 by Rachel Oda

An Umbrella Policy is Full Coverage Insurance

Liability is a big buzzword these days, and there are very few other words that make business people cringe and fearful at the same time. As the world seemingly gets more and more litigious, liability takes on a whole new meaning. These days, there is no predicting what kind of lawsuits will be filed and the amount of money a judge will deem appropriate as a reward for that lawsuit. Because of this, umbrella insurance has become much more common than it has been in the past. Sometimes it is referred to as “Full Coverage Insurance“.

There was a time when umbrella insurance policies were only a luxury of the well-to-do, but that is not quite the story these days. In fact, it has become a norm for organizations, Small Businesses, corporations, and other associations to take out their own individual umbrella insurance policies to fill in any gaps left by other insurance policies.

In short, an umbrella insurance policy is just like a normal insurance policy- in that it protects businesses and individuals from risk- but, it has a much higher liability payout limit. Most regular insurance policies will only agree to cover a person’s liability- also known as risk- up to a certain point, but an umbrella insurance policy lifts the ceiling on that limit. The other defining characteristic of an umbrella insurance policy is that it will cover all types of insurance, from car insurance to home insurance and beyond.

An umbrella insurance policy will add a relatively small additional cost to a normal insurance policy, but- if a person ever finds themselves in a costly litigious situation- it could end up saving you a boatload of money. Some studies done by various insurance companies and professionals have concluded that an umbrella insurance policy can end up saving a person anywhere from $1 million to $5 million if that person does indeed have to go to [Read more…] about The Role Of an Umbrella Insurance Policy In Your Organization

Keeping Worker’s Compensation Insurance Affordable

September 30, 2012 by Jorgen Rex Olson

How Business Owners Can Keep Worker’s Compensation Insurance Affordable –

With the recent hits to the economy, changes in law, and other sorts of changes in the workplace, costs of maintaining workers compensation insurance for companies, and in particular for small businesses, are rising unpredictably. Some of this can be caused by your state’s assigned risk pool, some by the increase of high-risk situations, and some by other factors. However, there are things that you as a business owner can do to help reduce the rates of workers compensation insurance for your company.

1. Preventative Measures

First, there are some preventative measures you can take in the area of safety that may help to reduce workers comp insurance rates in the future. Whether you’ve had problems with worker safety in the past or not, being safe certainly doesn’t hurt. Depending on your line of work, you may want to look into safety precautions at workstations, or even establish a group to keep an eye on workplace safety within your organization. The more you can reduce the risk of accidents, the better you’ll make out in the long run.

2. Experience Rating

You’ll also want to check out your experience rating or experience modifier. This compares your claims history to that of other organizations in your industry. You can check out your rating by looking at worksheets from the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI). Make sure that your rating is accurate, as your rating could save you as much as 45% on your Compensation Insurance.

3. Relationship

Establish a good relationship with a healthcare provider. Sometimes you can use managed medical care to treat your workers. The more quickly you can get injured workers back to work, the better it is for your organization, and the better [Read more…] about Keeping Worker’s Compensation Insurance Affordable

Starting a Business Harder in U.S. Now

September 27, 2012 by Tim McMahon

U.S. behind Rwanda

A country’s long-term financial health is often indicated by the ease of starting a new business. This would seem obvious as new businesses need employees and the majority of employment growth comes from small business. For this reason it is distressing to hear that over the last few years creating a new business in the United States has become more difficult, no wonder our unemployment rate isn’t improving.

As a matter of fact according to the World Bank’s “Doing Business 2012” report, the U.S. has fallen to 13th place world-wide when it comes to starting a new business. What is extremely distressing is that we are now behind such notable countries as Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Armenia, Georgia, Belarus and Macedonia.

Starting a Business- Harder Now

According to another Investor’s Business Daily study, 80% of new jobs are created by small businesses. Unfortuantely, small businesses and new business start-ups are being choked by government regulations in a time when we need all the new jobs we can get. Interestingly, this is a rapid descent since as recently as 2007 when the U.S. ranked 3rd, we ranked 4th in 2008, 6th in 2009 zooming to 11th in 2011 and finally tied with Ireland at 13th in 2012. At this rate in four more years

Can Small Businesses Benefit From Outsourcing?

September 11, 2012 by Marie Into

Small Business Outsourcing-

Outsourcing is largely thought of as a corporate practice, but the truth is that any business of any size can benefit from hiring agencies to take care of various things. Very few tasks need to be done on-site anymore, and it’s almost always cheaper to let someone else handle it than it is to hire more staff. Even hiring independent contractors is usually more cost-effective than taking on more employees, and it can even produce better results.

Let Everyone Do What They’re Best At

The things that outsourcing shouldn’t be used for are the things that are most essential to the core of a small business. In a lot of cases, these are things that can’t be outsourced in the first place. A coffee shop can’t outsource the brewing of coffee; that would defeat the whole purpose. It can outsource accounting duties, and that’s a good idea regardless of how capable the business owner is of doing it himself. People who don’t do accounting for a living are far more likely to make errors, and the tax code is so complex that someone who isn’t constantly brushing up on it is bound to miss a few things on that end. There’s nothing that someone could do in-house that couldn’t be done better by [Read more…] about Can Small Businesses Benefit From Outsourcing?

Laying the Groundwork for Success When Starting Your Own Business

September 4, 2012 by Guest Contributor

Starting Your Own Business-

The business world is risky; entrepreneurs can’t leave anything to chance. That contradicts conventional wisdom as business owners are often viewed as gamblers and risk takers, but the truth is that those who take charge of their own enterprises are the most calculating people on the face of the planet. Those who assume otherwise end up falling flat on their faces, and people who want to avoid that fate need to carefully consider every action before signing the dotted line at the bottom of a business loan.

Step One: Save Capital

Debt is a tool, and it’s incredibly useful when it’s well managed. The key is preparedness. Someone who has to finance a venture with nothing but borrowed money is sitting on a time bomb. It creates a situation where a new business has to be profitable from day one in order for the debt to remain manageable. When that doesn’t happen, interest rates and late fees pile on to create a financially ruinous snowball effect. As a general rule of thumb, new business owners should have at least a quarter of their starting capital in the bank before getting things under way. As long as there’s enough money on hand to cover expenses for three to six months, it’s possible to recover from early hiccups and create [Read more…] about Laying the Groundwork for Success When Starting Your Own Business

How to Choose a Small Business Retirement Plan

August 31, 2012 by Guest Contributor

Small Business Retirement Plans-

As a small business owner, you may decide to offer the benefit of a retirement plan to your employees as one of several strategies to obtain and retain the best workers. There are a number of options available, including Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plans, Savings Incentive Match Plans for Employees (SIMPLE) Individual Retirement Account (IRA) plans, and 401(k) Plans. The plan you ultimately choose depends largely on the particular circumstances of your business – there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

SEP Plans

SEP plans are entirely employer-funded. As an employer, you may determine how much to contribute. The maximum contributions to SEP plans vary annually; for 2012 the limit is 25 percent of an employee’s salary or $50,000 US, whichever is less. SEP plans do not allow catch-up contributions for older employees.

Setup for SEP plans is simple, and any employer with one or more employees is eligible to set up SEP plans. Once the plan is established, employers must offer SEP plans to all employees over age 21 who have been employed with the company for three of the past five years and met a minimum salary threshold, which was $550 for 2010 and 2011.

SIMPLE IRAs

If you have 100 or fewer employees and you wish to establish a retirement plan that allows both employer and employee contributions, a SIMPLE IRA plan may be a good option. For 2012, each employee’s plan may be funded up to 100 percent of his or her compensation or $11,500 US, whichever is less. Plans for employees over 50 may be funded up to $14,000 US for 2012. You must make matching contributions of up to three percent of the salaries for all employees who make contributions to their SIMPLE IRA funds, or two percent of compensation for each eligible employee.

If you elect to establish a SIMPLE IRA, you must do so before October 1 of each year; other retirement plans generally have a deadline of December 1 of each year. You must establish a SIMPLE IRA for each of your eligible employees. Employees are eligible if they have earned at least $5,000 US any two prior years, and expect to earn the same amount during the present year. [Read more…] about How to Choose a Small Business Retirement Plan