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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Revitalizing Your Old PCs Can Maximize Your IT Investment

Computer technology changes so quickly, it almost seems like today’s state-of-the-art today might well be obsolete. Though few small business owners can afford to be on the “bleeding edge” of PC technology, they also don’t want to compromise their employees’ productivity with seemingly outmoded machines.  As a result, they find themselves making periodic purchases of new hardware while the old machines pile up in a closet or corner.

Your Price Is Right — If You Do Your Homework

“How much should I charge?”

That’s one of the first questions most small business owners ask. And it’s not an easy one to answer. Setting a pricing strategy depends on many factors — the type of product or service you’re offering, your own costs to provide it, your expected profit, your customers’ location, the “going rate” for your industry, and many others.  

Finding just the right balance between all of the factors involved is more art than science. Pricing too low can cut into your profits, while overpricing also can hurt your business.

Good Planning Will Help You Know How to Grow

After a fast start, your small business seems to have lost momentum. What happened? And more importantly, what can you do about it?

Given the interconnected nature of today’s economy, even small, largely local businesses are influenced by trends and events in other industries, and even other continents. 

For Fast-Track Fulfillment, Consider Specialized Shipping Services

Handling the fulfillment responsibilities yourself may seem like a good, cost-saving idea when you’re just starting out. But as demand for your products grows, so too will your fulfillment backlog. Unless you stay on top of it, your sales will suffer along with your company’s reputation for quality and responsiveness.

Ethics — Don't Do Business Without Them

Operating an honest, ethical business may seem like a no-brainer. But in today’s highly competitive business environment, the temptation to bend the rules looms large. And don’t think that it’s OK to do something “just this once.” Not only is a wrong choice always wrong, but one-time ethics breaches often become habits. And, once the reputation of you and your business are compromised, it may be impossible to repair the damage.

The Potential Power — and Pitfalls — of Partnerships

The idea of a partnership may be appealing if you’re considering launching a small business.   Unlike solo ventures where the burdens fall on a single person, partners can share responsibilities and often bring different skills and knowledge to the business. One partner may be great with numbers and planning, while the other is a whiz at marketing and sales. Combining these elements can open more doors and help the business realize more opportunities more quickly than it could with only one person involved.

Overtime Awareness Will Protect You and Your Employees

Will you be asking your employees to work overtime this year? Before you start setting those work schedules, make sure you fully understand the rules governing overtime pay.

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA, administered by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, hourly employees must be paid overtime at time-and-a-half for working more than 40 hours in a workweek. Overtime pay may not be waived by any agreement between you and your workers.

Overtime Awareness Will Protect You and Your Employees

Will you be asking your employees to work overtime this year? Before you start setting those work schedules, make sure you fully understand the rules governing overtime pay.

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA, administered by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, hourly employees must be paid overtime at time-and-a-half for working more than 40 hours in a workweek. Overtime pay may not be waived by any agreement between you and your workers.

Some Insights on Successful Outsourcing

Outsourcing is a common practice in today’s business world, but it’s not the domain of large companies. Small business owners use outsourcing for a variety of reasons— to handle work overflows, receive specific expertise in a new or unfamiliar area such as marketing or IT, or take on more routine administrative tasks that are taking up too much of their time and attention.

In Search of Big Customers for Your Small Business

Landing a public institution, government agency or major corporation as a customer can be a big coup for your small business—IF you can find and meet with the right people. If you’ve been having difficulty getting your proverbial “foot in the door, the Small Business Administration’s Business Matchmaking program may be exactly what you’ve been looking for.

Change is Coming: Don't Let It Leave Your Small Business Behind

Predicting the future is one of humankind’s oldest endeavors. Nearly everything from tealeaves to caterpillars has served as a bellwether of fate. Twenty-first Century small business owners can draw on a host of technology and information resources to chart the course of their enterprises. But given the increasing pace and unpredictability of change, one can’t help but wonder if those caterpillars might really know something.

Understand the Many Facets of Franchising

Franchising is a popular way for entrepreneurs to fast-forward their small business ownership ambitions. Franchisors provide a tested and proven base structure of the business, freeing their franchisees from having to invent the operational wheel. Franchisors also provide ongoing guidance, innovations, and tested marketing materials. And new opportunities emerge on an almost daily basis. According to the International Franchise Association (IFA), 900 new concepts were launched between 2003 and 2005.

Secure Your Database from Information Leaks

Locks, alarms, and cameras can help safeguard your facilities and equipment.  But what about your computer databases—the places where valuable, sensitive, and potentially irreplaceable assets of your small business are stored?

Give the Boss — You — A Well Deserved Break

“Be careful what you wish for; you may just get it.” That adage certainly applies to owning a small business.  Being your own boss has many rewards, but success usually requires a lot of hard work and long hours that can take a toll on your emotional health. The result is burnout, a condition that also has mental and physical consequences. 

Loyalty Comes from Making a Commitment to Your Customers

The competitive nature of today’s world may be intimidating to the small business owner. If a competitor cuts prices or offers other incentives, you may feel tempted to do the same thing in order to hold on to your customers, even if it puts the stability of your business at risk.

Though cost is important to customers today, it is but one component of a larger, more important attribute—value. If your business provides it through service, responsiveness, and going the “extra mile,” your customers will respond with loyalty, regardless of what your competition does.

Make Your Website Memorable for the Right Reasons

As more and more customers rely Internet search engines and online directories to locate sources of products and services, Web sites are increasingly becoming a “must” for all types of small businesses. 

But it’s not enough to simply have a presence on the Web. Unless your site is set up with the customer’s needs in mind, it may be doing very little to benefit your business.

To Your Good (Business) Health: Get to Know Your Cash Flow

Just as watching your blood pressure is important to your personal health, monitoring cash flow is vital to the well-being of your business. Minor “hiccups” may be expected, but they can also be an early warning of bigger, potentially chronic problems ahead, especially if other indicators such as sales seem positive.

Though critically important, monitoring and predicting cash flow is actually a matter of consistently following some simple, common-sense financial management practices. 

Business Planning: The Next Generation

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.

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