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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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.

Retirement Planning for Small Business Owners

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Planning for retirement needs to be a priority for every small business owner. Here are three types of small business retirement plans that you can take advantage of to save for retirement that also provide tax advantages for your business.

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.

Press Release Basics for Small Business Owners

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A press release is a smart awareness-generating marketing tool when done right. Start by following these press release basics to better your chances of getting the attention of media and creating positive news coverage for your business.

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5 Benefits of Hiring a Diverse Workforce

Not only is variety the spice of life, but it also holds a lot of value for small businesses. Hiring a diverse workforce—a staff that’s inclusive of people from different cultures, capabilities, religions, ages, educational backgrounds, political affiliation, sexual orientation, and personalities—can bring new perspectives and insight to your company.

Advantages of Diversity in Your Business

The B2E (Business to Employee) Focused Company

Naturally, most small businesses put a lot of time, energy, and resources toward catering to their customers. Whether your business is B2C (business to consumer) or B2B (business to business), there is another audience you need to keep happy: your employees.

Solopreneur Tips: Ways to Grow a One-person Business

Solopreneurs encounter many of the same challenges that other business owners face — and some unique ones, as well. Tasked with single-handedly managing all aspects of their businesses — sales, marketing, production, office management, accounting, etc. — they can quickly become overworked and overwhelmed. They may also find it difficult to grow their businesses as they deal with competing priorities and not enough hours in the day.

Fortunately, with dedication to working smarter and not harder, solopreneurs can gain the capacity to devote more time and energy to revenue-growth.

Self-Employment Tax 101 for Small Business Owners

When you have made the transition from someone else’s employee to being your own boss, you gain the autonomy to create your own professional path. You get additional responsibilities, as well—including paying self-employment tax. 

Self-employed individuals are required to not only directly submit the income tax they owe to the federal, state, and local governments, they must also remit self-employment tax to the IRS.

Who Is a “Self-Employed Individual”?

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