Archives: April 2007

Make Sure You're Adequately Insured

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on April 30

It's important to assess and reassess your company's insurance needs on a regular basis. Property-casualty coverage isn't enough. Consider a broad range of coverage, from business interruption and consequent loss...

How to Create a Virtual Office on a Budget

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on April 29

The key to creating a virtual office on a budget is to address each aspect of your business so there is little or no sacrifice made when it comes to...

Have Fun

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on April 26

Business is supposed to be fun. Losing sight of that only tends to negatively impact your business and cause you to forget why you started your business in the first...

Paying Your Sales Reps

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on April 25

Many small companies are tapping into or dove-tailing with existing sales channels with limited results. Assuming that the company is linked to the correct sales channel, the problem may be...

Online Branding for Your Small Business

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on April 24

An online business has a greater chance for success if those who buy its products and services recognize its brand. A recognizable brand also makes a business's site more attractive...

Cross-training to Keep Your Company on Top

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on April 23

As a business owner, you know about every part of your business. When your business was fairly small, you did all or some of everything. As you grew your business,...

How to Keep Your People on Their Toes

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on April 22

The old saying "people respect what you inspect" really means that you need to understand how to measure results, and then apply them to your business. The problem comes in...

Developing a Proposal That Will Get Noticed

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on April 19

A crucial function of running your own business is developing proposals and pitches to increase relationships and close deals. To help facilitate the entire new business proposal process—whether you are...

Making a VC Partnership Work

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on April 18

I'm often asked by entrepreneurs what it takes to make a partnership with a venture capitalist work. To them it often seems like all VCs want is results, results, results....

Ways to Prevent Overdue Accounts

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on April 17

The best way to prevent overdue accounts is to avoid doing business with customers who have bad credit histories. If it were only that simple. If you limited yourself to...

Surround Yourself With Experts

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on April 16

As an entrepreneur starting a business, it's easy to take everything upon yourself, especially if you're young. Don't. As you get your business strategies in order, take a step back...

Keep Ahead of the Regulators

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on April 15

Changes to corporate regulations keep on coming at a greater rate than ever before. The many records retention regulations that have changed to catch up with technology, particularly e-mail, instant...

Communicate the Good and the Bad

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on April 12

Many people only want to communicate "good things" to business partners, be they investors, bankers, lawyers, or even customers. As difficult as it may be sometimes, communicating both "the good"...

Give Investors Realistic Expectations

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on April 11

Always provide your investors or potential investors with realistic outlines of the time and resources it will take to complete a product or project. Investors will always look for aggressive...

Who Must Be Notified of an Impending Business Closure?

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on April 10

If your company is a corporation, limited liability company (LLC), or partnership, in order to close the business you and your associates must jointly agree to the closure, following procedures...

Take Time to Communicate Well

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on April 09

It's not what you say but how you say it that counts. And these days, there are a lot of ways to say it poorly. The proliferation of electronic communications,...

Create Good Data Hygiene Habits Early

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on April 08

Good data hygiene is essential for businesses of all sizes, but beyond simply being a matter of good business practice, our research shows that an operational respect for the customer...

Sell It Before You Build It

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on April 05

In the movie Field of Dreams, the advice to Kevin Costner's character was "If you build it, they will come." This is precisely the wrong advice for building a company....

What People Are Saying About You Online

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on April 04

Today on the Web, there are literally thousands of reviews on small businesses that range from restaurants to health spas, retail stores, and real estate agents. More and more consumers...

Common Small Business Legal Mistakes

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on April 03

Small businesses make legal mistakes all the time—some of which can be disastrous. But knowing what pitfalls to watch out for can make all the difference.… To read the full...

Asking for a Higher-Than-Standard Rate

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on April 02

There is a right way and a wrong way to ask your clients for a higher-than-standard rate. To do it successfully, you must show the client that you are worth...

Navigating an Unpredictable Income

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on April 01

All businesses are going to experience some ups and downs. It is the nature of the beast of being in business. Here are two ways to help navigate an unpredictable...