Small business and entrepreneurship form an integral part of a healthy national economy. In recent years various factors, such as the impact of privatization and specialization in industry and corporate restructuring and downsizing as influenced by new management theories such as Thomas Peters’ “Liberation Management,” (1) have combined to encourage the emergence of many small and medium-sized companies. At the [...]

As small business lending decreases in the wake of a poor economy, many small business owners are turning to credit cards, both business and personal to finance operations. Picking a credit card for your business parallels the process for personal cards in many ways. But, no matter how you cut it, doing homework beforehand is key. A dedicated business credit [...]

Merchants of all shapes and sizes incur them. As a side effect of doing business it’s hard not to at least part of the time. But what exactly are chargebacks, what do they mean to your business, and how can you avoid them, or at least limit their ability to negatively affect your day-to-day operations.

Small business is big business: it account for more than half of the private work force in the country and more than half of all sales. Small business also has the highest potential for growth of any sector of our economy, creating roughly 60 percent of all new jobs. To fund that growth, small businesses need access to capital in [...]

An expanding business offers the potential for numerous growth opportunities. Employees benefit from business growth through increased earnings and promotions. Customers benefit from expanded products and services. Owners benefit through increased profit potential. Society benefits through the new jobs created. Managing this growth, although rewarding, can challenge your skills and financial resources.

Many people dream of starting and managing their own business. Some actually do start a business and achieve their dream; others keep on dreaming. Why is this so? What separates the successful entrepreneur from the unsuccessful? In many cases, it seems to be whether the prospective business owner has access to sufficient funds to turn the dream into reality. You’ve [...]

This booklet was designed to equip instructors of the National Small Business Training Network course “Financial Management: How to Make a Go of Your Business” with the information required to acquaint the small business owner/manager with the basic tools of sound financial management. It supplements the course guide materials; it is not intended to replace their use by the instructor.

INTRODUCTION All businesses, no matter what size, will at some time need toraise more money. For small businesses, the owner may be able todip into his or her personal savings, or friends may be able tolend the needed money. Usually, however, the owner will have tolook to outside sources for financing.

The phrase “traditional venture” refers to the established firms that pool money from many sources for the purpose of pursuing high-risk, high-profit investments in young companies. The strategy employed by capitalists here is to find companies poised for explosive growth. Once found, they will purchase from 20 to 70 percent of the company’s equity. Most do not want to participate [...]

It would be nice to do business in a perfect world where everything is done on a pre-paid basis. But you don’t operate in a perfect world. Extending credit is part of doing business. This is tough for home business owners, who are taken advantage of in credit situations far more often than other types of businesses. Today’s business climate [...]