Ask SCORE

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

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Bringing On Contractors Vs. Hiring Staff: Which Will Benefit Your Small Business The Most?

As your small business grows, you will find you cannot do everything on your own. To obtain the help you need, you can choose to outsource tasks to independent contractors or hire employees to whom you can delegate work.

To decide which will make the most sense for your company, it is important first to understand some of the key differences between working with independent contractors versus having employees on staff.

Employees vs. Independent Contractors: Four Points Of Comparison

Key Considerations When Firing an Employee

While carefully selecting employees can help prevent human resources issues, your small business might still find it has hired a staff member who is not a good fit.

A number of issues may justify termination of an employee:

How Creating Buyer Personas Can Help Small Businesses in Their Marketing Efforts

Compiling demographic information about your buyers will only take you so far in understanding how to reach and what to say to your target customers. By creating a “buyer persona” (a profile of a customer to represent a particular group of buyers) for each group of customers to whom you wish to sell your products and services, you will gain greater insight. Buyer personas help you drill down to the specifics of what motivates individual customers to buy and identify what communications channels will give you an opportunity to connect with more of your prospects and customers. 

“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.

Self-Employment Tax Basics

Going from “employee” to being your own boss brings some significant changes, professionally and personally. One of the most significant to become accustomed to is no longer having certain taxes neatly taken from your paycheck by your employer.

As a self-employed individual, not only are you responsible for directly submitting the income tax you owe to the federal, state, and local governments, you are also responsible for paying self-employment tax.

Eight Ways to Manage Your Time and Multiple Projects

As a small business owner, you must have fallen into the trap of having to juggle many tasks in a limited time. While there is no magic formula to hitting the right balance and managing your time seamlessly, you can improve your time-handling skills to accomplish more tasks on your to-do list. Here are some ways to help you keep everything in check when working on multiple projects at the same time.

1. Make a to-do list before you start your day

Record Keeping 101: Information Your Small Business Needs to Maintain

One of the most important administrative responsibilities small business owners face is keeping accurate and current records. Not only is it critical for assessing opportunities and risks that can affect your company’s profitability and potential for growth, it’s also necessary for ensuring legal and regulatory compliance.

Regardless of the type of business you are running, record keeping comes with the territory. Some types of documentation and information are required for all businesses and others may or may not be necessary depending on your industry.

Get Ahead of Your Personal Paper Chase

Forget everything you’ve read about the “paperless” office. Though our computers, PDAs, and smart phones have digitized many aspects of daily life, paper is still very much with us.

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.

When It Comes to Collections, Never Assume

Business relationships are usually straightforward. You provide a product or service, and the customer pays you for it in a timely manner. But every small business owner will likely have to deal with tardy or missed payments. Don’t ignore them or assume the customer will eventually follow through. Money owed to your business—known as receivables—cuts into your profits and complicates your cash flow.

A good collections strategy can help prevent slow payments before they become a problem, and ensure that income from aged invoices isn’t lost forever.

Protecting Your Intellectual Properties is a Smart Move

“TM,” “SM,” “PAT PEND,” “©,” “®.” These small symbols and abbreviations carry a lot of legal weight when it comes to safeguarding a company’s proprietary names, designs, products, and services. As an entrepreneur, you should consider making sure the valuable intellectual properties of your small business are protected as well. But which one(s) do you need?

Trademarks are not the same as patents and copyrights, even though the differences are not widely understood. While there are similarities, they serve different purposes.

Make Employee Retention a Top Priority

The expression, “good help is hard to find,” has never been more accurate. Competition for talented workers is intense in most locations and specialties, and the “best of the best” know it. If they’re unsatisfied with their current job, they have no qualms about looking for something else.

"Green" Business: The Shade of Things to Come

Being environmentally conscious is not just good for the earth; it’s good for your business as well. Studies show that consumers are increasingly attracted to businesses that promote their proactive efforts to protect the environment. Many high-profile companies are limiting the product and service contracts to vendors with good “green” track records. Plus, many practices and products that help reduce pollution and conserve natural resources can also help reduce business costs over the long term. 

A Makeover Can Freshen Up a Stale Business

Have those good ideas stopping coming? Do your employees appear to be doing little more than going through the motions? Are your competitors making splashes in the media that you can’t answer?

If so, a makeover could be just the thing to re-energize your business. It need not be a major overhaul; some minor tweaks may be enough. What’s important is that you recognize the need for action, and learn all you can to make informed decisions.

Money Matters When Starting a New Business

Starting a small business requires extensive planning and research. But just because things are up and running doesn’t mean your days as a strategist are done. In fact, they are just beginning.

Planning is an ongoing necessity because the environment in which your small business operates continually changes. New opportunities and challenges will arise that are different than those assessed during the start-up stage. Your initial financial projections may be literally and figuratively on the money— or trending in a different and unexpected direction.

Need a Hand With Hiring? Consider a PEO

Nothing good comes easy, and that includes hiring and managing good employees for your small business. That’s why many entrepreneurs are turning to professional employer organizations (PEOs) to handle the complex, time-consuming administrative burdens of human resource management.

Being Environmentally Friendly is Both Easy and Cost Effective

With climate change and diminishing resources dominating the news these days, small business owners are looking for ways to make their operations more environmentally friendly. Simple steps such as recycling soda cans and turning off lights are a good place to start, but there are many other ways you can make a big difference without a lot of effort and expense.  What’s more, these measures will benefit both the environment and your bottom line.

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