SCORE, "Counselors to America's Small Business," is a nonprofit organization of more than 13,000 volunteer business counselors who provide free, confidential business counseling and training workshops to small business owners. Call 610.327.2673 for the Pottstown SCORE chapter, or find a counselor online at www.pottstownscore.org.

6 Simple Steps for Getting Things Done at Your Small Business

Whether you are running a for-profit or nonprofit business, an ability to organize efforts and initiatives is a necessary skill to achieve success. Effectively executing efforts and accomplishing goals requires planning and coordination among team members (which may be a combination of employees, vendors, suppliers, contractors, etc.).

While some small business owners seem to have a natural knack for project management, it is not everyone’s strength. Do not feel defeated if it is not yours and you do not have the resources to hire a professional project manager.

Email Marketing Rules Every Small Business Owner Needs to Know

According to the Direct Marketing Association, the typical ROI (return on investment) for email marketing is about 4,300 percent. With that kind of effectiveness, it’s definitely a marketing activity worth considering for your small business. But before you blast out your first message, you need to know the rules.

How The Business Structure You Select Affects Your Income Tax Treatment

The business structure you choose for your startup will affect your company from a legal standpoint, and it will have an impact on your taxes, as well. Before you decide on the structure for your small business, you should do some research and talk to tax and legal professionals for guidance. The better you understand your options, the more likely you’ll be to operate under the structure that will benefit your business the most.

An Overview of A Few of the Most Common Business Structures

Sole Proprietorship

Simple Tips for Better Time Management

With so many responsibilities to tend to as a small business owner, it is easy to get overwhelmed and fall short on what you want to accomplish. If you are a new entrepreneur who formerly worked for an employer other than yourself, you may discover managing time has become more challenging. That is natural. After all, you have gone from having your work schedule and priorities set for you to needing to prioritize every project and task related to running your business.

Pros & Cons of Outsourcing Your Small Business Payroll Processing

Paying employees involves far more than just cutting a check on payday. Managing your small business’s payroll encompasses a variety of responsibilities that need to be met accurately and on time.

As an employer, you must:

Tips For Choosing The Right CRM Platform For Your Small Business

Customer relationship management (CRM) systems offer technology to streamline a company’s ability to interact with current and future customers. A CRM system essentially provides a central place where businesses can store customer and prospect data, track customer interactions, and share this information with colleagues. It allows businesses to manage relationships with customers, helping the business to grow.

A good introduction to the benefits of having a CRM system can be seen at …

Need Funding for Your Small Business? SBA Loan Programs Might Be the Answer.

Starting a small business takes time, hard work, and money. Depending on your type of business and your present financial situation, you may find you need to reach to outside sources for funding.

How To Find The Right Accountant For Your Small Business

Your business success depends on many factors. Managing your money well and understanding your finances are two of the most critical. Unless you are an accountant by trade, it is likely you will need some outside guidance and insight as you start and grow your company.

Getting help from an accountant can benefit your business in a number of ways:

Press Release Basics for Small Business Owners

Press releases remain among the most effective ways to generate awareness of your small business and its products and services. Media outlets may reproduce a press release as is (or with some editing), or follow up about creating a longer story. A press release that gets picked up by reporters, bloggers, and others who share information with potential customers can result in media attention that facilitates interest in your company, builds credibility, and ultimately leads to more revenue.

Closing Sales Starts With Building Trust

Making the sale, especially when your small business offers products and services to other businesses, demands more than being good at what you do. It also requires building professional relationships. To do that, you must earn your customers’ trust.

There’s no scientific formula for earning trust. It requires time, patience, and honest effort.

Here are some suggestions to help you lay a foundation of trust with your potential customers:

Opportunities Abound for Sharpening Your Small Business Skills

Very few people begin the process of building a small business with a full knowledge of all the skills required for success. Even those who extensive experience or education in business management still need to bring themselves up to speed on the added responsibilities of entrepreneurship—tax issues, employee management, business development, accounting, etc.

Redefine Your Management “Quality Time”

Time is a precious commodity for every entrepreneur. With all the responsibilities of managing and growing a small business, the hours and the days can easily slip by, sometimes leaving one to wonder just how much got accomplished.

For many, the go-to time management tool is the to-do list. Marking off completed items may provide a sense of satisfaction—at least until you remember what else has to get done— but it may not be as productive as you think, according to professional organizer and productivity expert Julie Morgenstern

Planning Can Help A Family Business Succeed, and Survive

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, family businesses comprise 90 percent of all business enterprises in North America, and 62 percent of total U.S. employment.

So why are there always so many warnings about going into business with relatives?

Accuracy is Essential in Small Business Valuations

When you first contemplated becoming an entrepreneur, you probably spent some time calculating how much your time was worth. Now, you may be wondering how much this business that you’ve built is worth.

There are many reasons for determining the value of your small business. You may be ready to raise capital by issuing stock or selling a portion of the business to a prospective partner. An appraisal may also be needed in order to spin off a portion of your business, settle a dispute or divorce, liquidate some assets, or sell the business entirely.

Pottstown SCORE Celebrates 25th Anniversary with Client Expo

On October 22nd, the Service Corp of Retired Executives (SCORE) Pottstown Chapter celebrated its 25th anniversary with a first of its kind Client EXPO. The event was open all of the tri-county area business community and their supporters. SCORE is a national organization of volunteer advisors offering free, confidential business advice to small businesses, entrepreneurs and local communities. All of the exhibitors at the EXPO were SCORE Clients or sponsors.

Understanding the What’s and Why’s of Advertising

Have you ever seen an advertisement and thought that something similar might well benefit your small business? Well, it just could. Or, it could backfire and be a complete waste of money.

That’s because advertising is but one element of a business’s overall marketing strategy. True, it has many facets—print, billboard, online, broadcast, direct mail, etc.—but each element and the message it conveys has been carefully developed with a specific purpose in mind. In other words, image is not always everything.

“Success Thinking”—It’s All About Attitude

As a small business owner, you’re not just “the boss.” You’re also the leader, the person employees, vendors, customers, and prospects look to for guidance, support, and confidence. And being a leader is easier than you think. It begins with a positive, “can-do” attitude that your business delivers what it promises, and can achieve any goal.

Plan Now to Survive the Seasonal Sales Cycle

Seasonal businesses devote a large part of the year preparing for those special weeks or months when most of their revenue is generated. For many retailers the holidays are boom time. Fitness centers soar in January and sag with the summer exodus. Some businesses sell more when the weather warms, the tax or wedding season arrives or tourists travel.

Those boom times come at a price—financial survival throughout the remainder of the year when business slows to a trickle.

Use Mindful Management to Control Routine Costs

You’re very meticulous when it comes to providing quality service or products to your customers. So why treat your routine administrative expenses the same way? Every extra dime or dollar you spend on supplies, photocopies, postage, etc. adds up. Taken together, those “little things” can take a huge chunk out of your profits.

Good Habits Can Translate Into Great Sales

The longer you’re in business, the more you realize that the only constant is change. You may be enjoying strong sales across a broad customer base, but those conditions could be far different in just a matter of months. A competitor’s offer may tempt your customers to try something different. Organizational and operational changes may require you to build relationships with new people from scratch.