Starting a small business from scratch is difficult at the best of times and raising startup capital is perhaps the hardest part. Your bank will probably want personal guarantees if they even consider you for a loan. Your savings and even your home may be at risk if your business fails, so the thought of a free government grant to start your business is very tempting. But do these grants really exist and can the average entrepreneur get one?

There are indeed many grant and loan programs for small businesses, including many that are administered by state or local government, rather than the federal government. Unfortunately, the whole procedure for finding and applying for a grant can be time-consuming and complex. Some grant eligibility decisions can take a while to wade through the bureaucratic processes. You will have to submit business plans and grant proposals that will take a considerable amount of time to create. Time which could be better spent on building your business.

Having pointed to the drawbacks, there are many genuine government grants for both small businesses and individuals available, and these can be substantial. The government gives away $400 billion, yes billion, in grants. Twenty-six Federal … Read the rest

Before buying any assets, you must understand how to work out the depreciation of a particular asset. Several factors affect depreciation. When will you be going to start the asset in question? What is the expected life of the asset for the period the asset will remain useful? What is the purchase price of the asset at the time of buying? For how much amount you will be able to sell it if you wish at the end of its utility period. For example how much you will get on selling as scrap etc. moreover, you will also take in to the account if there are any additional cost required fro disposing the asset.

Many fixed assets such as computer hardware, plant and machinery, motor vehicle and other trade tools have a certain life that is useful for the owner and after the end of this period they wear out and become obsolete. The length of time for which a particular asset will be used productively is used for spreading the cost of the asset. All this exercise is performed for showing the cost of the asset as an expense that is creating profits over the year instead of just … Read the rest

Your Needs

Many small businesses do not actually need a board of directors. You need to think about areas where you may need a board of directors. If you need someone with specialized skills to oversee aspects like management, you may consider hiring a board of directors.

Functions

Exactly what will the role of the board of directors be? How will they function? How will tasks be executed, and who takes the final decision? These are the questions you need to ponder before you select a board of directors.

Accountability

In order to avoid losses in business or fraud, your board of directors needs to be accountable. They have to implement the ideas discussed and execute tasks assigned to them. Without accountability of the board, your business will suffer not just financial loss but possibly even loss of reputation.

Diversity

The board of directors should have people from diverse backgrounds. This lessens the tendency for groupism and increases the chances of the right decisions being implemented. Moreover, having people from varied backgrounds on board is an effective way of getting new ideas.

Kind of Board

What kind of board do you need? You could have a large board only if … Read the rest

Implementation of a WMS:

The basic logic of any WMS software is combination of items, location, quantity, unit of measure, order information, where to stock, to pick up from and in what sequence to perform these operations. It is all about directed movement before you set up the extensive warehouse system by assigning specific logic to the various combinations of item/order/quantity/location and information in correct sequence.

• Location Sequence: Define the pick up flow through the warehouse and assign a sequence number to each location.
• Zone Logic: It designates an area; combine this with exact location logic within the zone to direct picking, put away, replenishment to and from specific areas of the warehouse.
• Fixed Location. It uses pre-determined fixed locations per item piece picking, case-pick operation, put away and replenishment.
• Random Location: It generally refers to areas where products are not stored in fixed locations. With combination with other logic, exact location can be determined.
• FIFO: Directs picking from the oldest inventory first. First-In-First-Out.
• LIFO: Last-In-First-Out is very relevant for overseas customers because of longer transit time. Especially useful for distribution of perishable goods for both domestic as well as overseas customers.
• Quantity or Unit of Measure: Allows you to

Researching will help you get a clearer idea about your business and the factors that have an influence on your business and will also help you understand all aspects of your business better. Since research is a very crucial aspect, expert help is recommended to conduct it and analyze the results.

Steps Involved In Researching a Business Idea:

• Determine the kind of business that you are interested in.
• Determine the kind of product or service you want to offer.
• Conduct as much market research as possible.
• Determine your target market. Classify all data collected to get a clear picture of your target market, such as the age, their average income level, etc. Determine if the market is growing or shrinking.
• Find out the average household income, the spending patterns, and other necessary details by conducting surveys or looking them up on the Net. Determine which kind of customer is dominant in your area–the purchaser, advisors or the actual users of your products and services.
• Determine if there is a market for the product you intend to sell or, if the market saturated, where you can select a niche to specialize in.
• Competitive analysis gives you an idea of what customers

Business leases are important agreements that may affect the viability of a business and requires the guidance of an experienced attorney to fully comprehend even the tiniest detail.

The terms of the lease, the type of lease, the rent, security deposit, etc., has to be carefully negotiated to get the maximum benefit. If the area is in demand, the lessor gets the upper hand in the negotiations. A long-term gross lease will be ideal for any business where as a graduated lease will greatly benefit start up companies.

The option to renew, the annual rate of increase in the rent, the rent for the renewal period, or if it’s to be fixed at the time of the initial lease agreement, has to be decided upon.

The Lessee and the lessor can inspect the property together and sign a document stating the condition of the premises before tenant occupation. It will be better for the lessee to negotiate a sub lease clause.

The lessee has to agree to maintain the property well; paying for the utilities, etc. He has to follow the building rules and regulations involving the parking area and common area usage too. Signs or hoardings can be used … Read the rest

This is all well and good, and indeed our senses – taste, touch, smell and sight are responsible for enjoyable things in our lives. How great it is to savour a delicious kind of food like an amazing tropical fruit, to enjoy a drink so tasty or to feel the sun’s warmth on a glowing summer’s day. How pleasurable to look at a sparkling ocean and to hear music being played. The sound of a grand piano, the pull from our middles of a violincello.

But really, these are the more basic of the human functions we have. Senses work only in conjunction with stimuli and if we are not careful, Pavlov’s Dog can begin to best express our behaviours – conditioned and reflex. Unthought-out and rote. Reactive rather than inspired.

Business demands more than senses – more than just a relationship between external stimuli and our senses. Business demands something from the realm of higher human behaviour. It demands that faculty which lifts us above the mundane, demands the faculty which breaks through all ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ and ‘maybe’s’. It forces from us a relationship with this faculty and says – “stay with me if you want to do … Read the rest

• Optimisation
  App Store Optimisation in your app world is similar to SEO in the web world. Optimising your app’s listings will help in increased workflow and counting the store search results as well. Use the right set of keywords to increase its online visibility. Many of the developers add certain descriptive words to the app titles. Most importantly, App Stores function more like search engines for the popular ones thereby, pulling them to the top. Helping it to secure a high rank becomes easy and simple by adding high-quality images and relevant descriptions.
• Test Different Acquisition Channels
  While starting from the very scratch, it becomes important to test all the various user acquisition channels and choose the most promising options available. Following here are some of the most effective ideas to try out for planning a winning user acquisition strategy.
• Leveraging Social Media
  Building a social media presence has become essential for businesses and considering it as a prime online marketing tool for your products and services. Thus, you must invest your time in social marketing activities like starting or joining conversations, connecting with influencers and much more. You can build groups on LinkedIn or Facebook, active Reddit subgroups, use

There are different types of writing requirements in today’s business environment. You can opt to choose the one that suits your skills, interests and temperament.

• Resume Writing: This is a requirement that job seekers are always on the lookout for, since not everyone can create an effective resume on their own. A creative resume writer can help by making effective resumes that meet corporate requirements.
• Copywriting: There is an ever-increasing demand for copy writing from ad agencies, non-profit agencies and corporate. This is especially suitable for those with a flair for writing persuasively as clients always have products and services they want to sell.
• Search Engine Optimized (SEO) Keyword Articles: This market has grown exponentially in the preceding two years. Businesses and cyber marketing firms have realized that to succeed they have to maintain high levels of traffic on their website and also conversion rates from this traffic. They need to provide content that meets their customers’ needs. SEO keyword article writers meet this requirement. They write articles replete with common phrases and word combinations linked to their business. Every time someone searches for these phrases, the article comes up and helps to route customers to the website.
• Business Writing: