Tips for Keeping Costs Low When Starting Your Small Business

Are you trying to open a small business and need to save time and money?  The following post offers tips that can help.

Time and money seem to be the two perpetual challenges every entrepreneur and business owner faces. I speak from experience; I started a successful small retail business while attending college in the United States and now am juggling two other startups as I finish my degree in Germany. What I’

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Tips for Keeping Costs Low When Starting Your Small Business

University of You: Starting Your Own Business in College

College students receiving business training. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

Brandon Bernier is a junior at George Washington University, majoring in computer science. He’s also making financial ends meet as president of Bernier Enterprises, LLC,. How does he run a business while juggling a full-time student schedule? It’s not as hard as you think. Continue Reading

10 Recommendations for Job Seekers With Criminal Records

Prisoner behind chain link fence courtesy of Shutterstock

While having a run-in with the law can have long-term repercussions for job hunting, a new study from CareerBuilder shows organizations are open to giving people second chances. Fifty-one percent of human resource managers reported that their organizations have hired someone with a criminal record.

The study, which was conducted by Harris Interactive^© and included more than 2,000 hiring managers nationwide, also looked at what job seekers with criminal records can do to help their chances of getting hired.

“The number one recommendation hiring managers have is to own your past and focus on what you learned from it to grow professionally and personally,” said Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources at CareerBuilder. “You also want to stay active. Taking classes, volunteering and tapping into social networks can be good ways to help overcome obstacles associated with job hunting with a criminal past.” Continue Reading

Learn from Entrepreneurs to Achieve Career Success

You may have many people who give you advice on how to have a successful career.  Developing the mind set of a successful entrepreneur may help you achieve this success.

There used to be a simple formula for building a good American life: Go to school and make good grades. Then go to college. Then find a job with a good company. Work hard. Save money. Finally, enjoy a decent (if not lavish) retirement. For years, the middle class has dutifully followed this path. Okay, maybe it wasn’t the most exciting life but it paid the bills and maybe even allowed for a week or two of vacation every year.

Amazing how much can change in a decade or two. These days the traditional path leads only to daily stress, crushing debt, and uncertainty about the future. The most remarkable part is that so many people continue to blindly follow it, says Gregory Downing—when what we really need to do is make an about-face and learn how to think about work and wealth in a whole new way. Continue Reading

5 Tips for Becoming an Entrepreneur After College

Ken Sundheim, CEO of KAS Placement

Many recent college graduates consider the option of owning their own business, yet only a small fraction of those individuals follow through on those thoughts.

Opportunity to Start Franchise is Improving

Have you ever thought about starting your own business?  If you’re holding back because of the economy, you may want to reconsider.

The first few months of 2012 have brought some encouraging news for potential franchise owners hamstrung during the recession by a clenched-fist credit market.

Since the collapse of the housing market and near-collapse of the world economy in the fall of 2008, banks facing increased regulation and oversight of their lending practices have been loath to lend money, especially in the form of unsecured loans — the kind that most newly minted franchise owners need to cover their initial investment costs.

Lately, though, franchisors that work with FranNet, the international network of franchise consultants, have reported that their franchisee candidates are finding it easier to borrow money, even in the form of unsecured loans. It’s a sign that the economy is on the road to recovery and that banks are recognizing the benefits of lending money to worthy business ventures. Continue Reading

Student Turned Entrepreneur: What Your Social Media History Means to Future Customers

When you’re in college, social media sites often serve as more of a playground than an area to make serious business connections, and, while the friends you make during this time can potentially become beneficial to your career in the future, there are also things about your online activity that can cause you problems in the business world. If you’re a recent graduate running a small business, or who has an otherwise entrepreneurial spirit, you have most likely already turned to social media to help market your ventures, and rightly so. Social media is one of the most significant platforms today in public communication and marketing. It can make a brand or promotion blow up in instants. Unfortunately, it can also tarnish a reputation in the same amount of time. And, when you’re trying to make the transition from keg party photo-ops to trustworthy business owner, it’s time to start thinking about how your social media footprint will affect potential customers. Before you continue to use social media in the future, take a look at your past to get some great insight into the most important things consumers are questioning about your brand and how it could affect their purchasing decisions. Continue Reading

Tips to Guide Your Entrepreneurial Spirit

Do you want to be an entrepreneur?  If so, what kind of business would you like to own?

Entrepreneurship can be a rewarding career path – you set your own hours, do something you love and answer only to yourself – but it also comes with many challenges. Deciding what kind of business to begin is the first obstacle. Continue Reading

Want to Invest in the Real Job Creators? Invest in Women.

Women aren’t micro–so why do they only get micro-loans? At TEDxWomen reporter Gayle Tzemach Lemmon argues that women running all types of firms– from home businesses to major factories– are the overlooked key to economic development.

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How Can I Create My Own Job Stimulus?

Debt-ceiling debates, credit-rating crises and international economies teetering on a double-dip recession might just be more than enough to scare would-be entrepreneurs out of the risky business of pursuing their ambitions. But not all of them.

Self-made success story Melissa Evans believes innovators who have come to know their true strengths and align their business with their purpose and natural abilities will succeed even in turbulent times.

“Entrepreneurs and companies who have a clear understanding of who they are operate with certainty and confidence, which are the two things businesses and customers want most in these troubled times,” said Evans, a healthcare industry consultant and author of Sole to Soul: How to Identify Your Soul Purpose and Monetize It (www.soletosoulbook.com). “Everyone is not broke in this economy, some are thriving. Monetizing your purpose is the best way to have an abundant life.” Continue Reading