Posts by Chris Barnes
Startup? Don’t Forget These 4 Areas
The final phase of starting a new business involves several administrative matters. With the business entity formed and registered, the physical facility ready, the new business owner must address outside professional support: banking, insurances, accounting and tax systems, and staffing. Some of these administrative elements significantly impact the financial health and management efficiency of the…
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Enlist Vendors for Marketing Help
As a small business owner, you’re always looking for an edge. When it comes to marketing, you look for efficiency and effectiveness—whatever will bring you the highest return on investment. There’s one area where many businesses don’t think to look, though: vendors. Getting marketing help from your vendors can dramatically help your business and bring…
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Keeping Customers After Losing a Sales Rep
When you run a business, things are going to change. It’s inevitable. Your products and services, technology, and even your marketing strategies and personnel will all change over time. But one of the biggest challenges you will face in the midst of these evolutions is finding ways to retain customers when you lose a sales…
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Building the Right Team
Achieving success as a start-up is never easy. Over 50% of startups fail, for a long list of reasons. But at the core of every successful start-up you will find one uniting factor: great people. Hiring the right employees does not only help mitigate the risk of having to replace them down the road. It…
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The 6 C’s of Relevant Benefits
No matter what business you’re in, the way to succeed and get more customers is by providing great value. Consumers have to look at your product or service and decide that what you’re offering is worth paying you for it. If something doesn’t provide value, then customers won’t waste money on it. Sure, you might…
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5 Questions to Ask When Choosing a Location for Your Business
When deciding where to locate your startup, there are a number of factors to consider. Does it make sense to move your tech company to the Silicon Valley where you have easy access to freelancers, or should you file for licensing in Delaware where laws and taxes are very business-friendly? With no clear right or…
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How to Negotiate a Personal Guarantee
Personal Guarantees are a part of doing business. You need a loan, you seek a loan, and the lender requires a guarantor to sign the loan agreement. There are no ways around this. However, there are ways to negotiate a deal so that your personal assets are not entirely at risk of being liquidated in the…
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The Common Trait Among Top Producers
I have been working with Tarkenton Companies for 12 years now. I typically work hand in glove with new Tarkenton Financial agents to provide the initial assistance they need to flourish in the Tarkenton system, but the relationships I have built with agents allow me to continue to work with them for years to come.…
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5 Tips for Working with Lenders
Obtaining a loan is a challenge that many entrepreneurs face during the first years of running their business. Whether you need money to fund a new project or to expand on an existing one, here are 5 tips for working with lenders that can help you seal the deal on that loan to put your…
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Getting Free Local Publicity for Your Business
Once you’ve developed a great product or service, you need to find a way to communicate about that product to the public. Without public awareness of what you can provide, how will anyone know it even exists? You need to get your name out there, and make sure that people know who you are and…
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