small biz 100

When NOT to be a Sole Proprietorship: Forming an LLC or S Corp

Sole proprietorship is the simplest form of business, but it also has some disadvantages. So for this installment of the Small Biz 100, I'll talk about some of the situations where you don't want to...

SBA Basics: 504 Loans

Recently Becky asked me to help with some information about US Small Business Administration (SBA) programs. Here are a few basics everyone needs to know; first, SBA does not do direct lending except...

SBA 504 Loans: A Tool for Economic Development

Recently Becky asked me to help with some information about US Small Business Administration (SBA) programs. Here are a few basics everyone needs to know; first, SBA does not do direct lending except...

Delegating without freaking out your clients

Getting past the point of being a one-person, do-it-all, no-rest-for-the-weary business means helping customers to work with your employees or subcontractors, as well as you. But if every client...

Two ways to build your small biz website yourself nearly for free

Not every small business can afford to hire someone to create or maintain a website. So let's go over some relatively easy do-it-yourself ways to build your site, kind of two by two. It just so...

POV: A major decision point

All small businesses run into decision points. These are the things that can keep you up at night! Twitter friend Shama Hyder, of After the Launch, has come to one of these, and "tweeted": After The...

Say NO gracefully

Part of being a successful entrepreneur is saying "no."Small businesses are constantly hit with offers from potential suppliers, hopeful partners, and even potential customers. Then there are the...

Can you be self employed AND on Social Security?

A reader arrived at Small Biz Survival with this search query:"I want to start a home business, but I'm on Social Security. Can I still be self employed?" This sounds like a good addition to the...

10 ways out of a crunch without hiring employees

As your business starts to take off, you'll hit a time when you have more work than you can do, but not so much that you are ready (or can afford) to hire an employee. How can you handle the crunch?...

Draw the line between free and paid

Many newly independent small business people make the mistake of giving away too much of their services for free. Many seasoned professionals run into the same issue, like Drew McLellan giving away...