10 Clues That It's Time to Start Your Own Business

Many budding entrepreneurs struggle mightily with that first step – out of their comfort zone and into the unknown. They keep asking people like me whether the time is right, and the truth is that there’s never an ideal time to start your own business. It’s like starting a personal relationship, if you wait for exactly the right time, you’ll never do it.

I’ve talked to many experts, and everyone has his own view of the right personal attributes, and the right business conditions to jump in. In my own view, the recovering economy is ripe for new startups, but successful startups are more about the right person, than the right idea or the right climate. So the real challenge is looking inward to check your alignment with these clues:

Aligning Your Passions With Your Business Idea

What are you passionate about and can align with a new business concept? This article shows you how through your ambition, work ethic, and continuous learning.

5 Money Management Tips for New Entrepreneurs

If you have ever attempted to run a small business or you run one now, you should know that it requires a lot more than a good idea and your personal energy to get things moving in the right direction. Running a small business requires skills, plenty of skills. Aside from other equally very important skills, entrepreneurs must also have good money management skills to make a success out of their business ventures. These 5 tips come in very handy when it comes to managing financial resources in a small business.

7 Qualities Any Smart Entrepreneur Must Look For in a Business Plan

By Sule Yesufu

According to management experts, a business plan usually represents and places clearly on paper the vision of any business. It shows the business owner, staff, partners and financiers the direction the business is expected to go and how it is expected to get there within a known time frame. Many smart entrepreneurs know that starting a business without a known and workable business plan is akin to flying an airplane without a flight plan.

4 Benefits To Having A Government Contract

By Ilene A Giles

A government contract is not made for every business but if you find that the federal arena works for you the outcome can be very beneficial. In order to succeed you have to know your business and what is being offered to you in the federal marketplace. Just because your commodity is well received commercially does not mean you will have the same response federally, so do your research. If you find that it is the right fit here are a few of the benefits that you can reap:

Five Wise Tips to Get Cash For Your Small Business (Without A Bank)

By N. S. Jenks

Rhetoric about the importance of small business to the U.S. economy abounds. Yet our politicians continue to create policies and programs that make life difficult for those who run, or are trying to start, such a venture. Raising capital and maintaining profitability rank among their most frustrating - and debilitating - challenges.

Help is out there! It just takes some creative thinking and willingness to look beyond traditional methods of financing. Following are 5 Wise Tips to stimulate your thinking and produce lucrative leads:

How to Minimise Your Business Overdraft Charges

By Keith M

The traditional finance source for SMEs is the bank overdraft. In a typical trading instance this will allow cheques to be written for wages till cash is received from debtors, and it may cover many other trading and general expenses. But finance charges may be steep, so prudent owners will take steps to minimise the overdraft balance, and always check for more suitable alternatives.

The Art of Managing Customer Agreements - From The SME Adviser

By Keith M



One thing small business owners do not want is more paperwork, but another is disputes over payments. When you give credit you are effectively becoming a banker, financing your customer's business. Here is your new situation as credit provider:

What Are The Benefits Of A Clear Roadmap, A Robust Plan And Cash Flow Management For SME's?

By Keith M

A business is very much like a sailboat - it needs up to the minute direction

While business plans may be out of date before the ink dries, the orderly progress of a growth business still depends on having a coherent game-plan. The key is to create a dynamic feedback loop, to keep things on track and up to date. Here are some other benefits of the planning and feedback loop.