How a Handshake Can Destroy Your Business

We can be our own worst enemies. Please let me assure you, it's not "'if" a partner, vendor or customer is going to drag you into a lawsuit -- it's when. I see so many investors and small-business owners lose their business and sometimes everything, including their savings, to a deal gone bad and poor documentation.

For some crazy reason, we think it is more expensive to call a lawyer and have them review a contract for one hour than risk a multi-thousand-dollar investment to an email chain or a handshake.

How Can I Pitch My Product to Large Companies?

I've been working on a product I haven't seen on store shelves yet. I don't want to give away the details, but it's something that I could see being sold in electronics stores and maybe even toy stores. Now that I'm wrapping up, I really want to get my product in front of major companies who would want to sell my product. Since I'm not well-known, I think the product would have a better chance of success if I could get it sold under a big label or even a big-box store brand. That's where I'm at a loss. What are the next steps I should take to reach my goals?

4 Steps to Deal with an Employee's Substance Abuse Problem

The odds of substance abuse issues finding their way into your business are sizeable. According to the Department of Health and Human Services' 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, of the 18.9 million adults classified with dependence or abuse, nearly 52 percent were employed.

"Many employers miss the signs," says Cali Estes, a certified drug and alcohol therapist who works with companies and individuals dealing with substance abuse in the workplace and elsewhere.

Schedule Your Tweets and Other Lessons for a Houston Bookshop

Though Houston’s Brazos Bookstore was founded in 1974, the shop created its website, Facebook profile and Twitter feed just two years ago. As with many small businesses, the social-media team is learning by doing. Two staffers, floor manager Keaton Patterson and publicity manager Mary Allen, control the store’s profiles and pen posts while helping with the shop's daily operations. With some advanced planning and strategizing, however, our experts expect the shop can increase foot traffic and maximize its social-media minutes.

5 Qualities of Successful Entrepreneurs

A decade ago, I helped found a business dedicated to helping entrepreneurs bring their business ideas to fruition. I've mentored and coached hundreds of entrepreneurs since. Many of my students have licensed their ideas to powerful companies or brought them to market themselves through venturing. I've often wondered what differentiates successful entrepreneurs from their peers. Are there certain qualities they share? I think so. But I also think it's important to acknowledge that timing, luck and simply being in the right place at the right time play a part in many success stories.

Decades of personal experience and mentoring have taught me that successful entrepreneurs share these five qualities:

Why Your Lawyer Might Be Wrong For Your Business

Image credit: Shutterstock

Any of you that have ever hired a lawyer know that if you really want to screw up one of your business deals, a potential litigation issue or the future planning of your business, all you need to do is hire the wrong lawyer.

Too many entrepreneurs go into the selection process with the wrong pre-conceived notions and set of qualifications for the next critical member of their team. The decision to hire the correct lawyer should be considered carefully and using realist criteria.

Yahoo Overpays Tumblr's David Karp By Another $81 Million

Here's a Jeopardy question for you: "Why would an entrepreneur want to spend four years as a middle manager at a shrinking dinosaur that just paid him $250 million?"

After acquiring Tumblr this May, CEO Marissa Mayer decided that was not enough to keep Yahoo from "screwing up" the deal. So on August 9, Yahoo offered Tumblr founder, David Karp $81 million more to stay at the company for four years. It's a personnel move that will not pay off in higher Yahoo revenues and profits.

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.