Startup
Midweek Reading: Failure, Publishing, and Altruism
Entrepreneurs often experience failure, but Jonathan Aberman explains why a true entrepreneur never truly fails. Analytics on how people read ebooks are giving publishers and marketers new insight into reader engagement, with a potential big impact for book retailers. Studies suggest that most businesses that get involved with social responsibility programs are motivated by either…
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Estimated Taxes: 5 Frequently Asked Questions
Most of you who earned your first 1099 will likely file Schedule C (sole proprietor) with your first year of income. Some of you may have set up an LLC, but are still uncertain how exactly money gets from the check that got deposited in your bank account to the IRS for federal taxes and…
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Business Insurance: Special Risks Checklist
A prudent business owner will purchase a multi-peril policy. Generally, a multi-peril policy will cover risks that are not specifically excluded in the policy provisions. There are risks, however, that are outside the norm. Certain of these “outside the norm” risks may be applicable to a particular small business. The entrepreneur should be alert to…
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Create a Winning Business Plan
You probably wouldn’t set out on a cross-country road trip without a map. Likewise, you shouldn’t start your business without a business plan—an essential tool that lays out how your company intends to grow. While a strategic plan talks about the overall purpose of your business and your company’s desired results, a business plan is…
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The Power of Experimental Innovators
Successful small business owners and entrepreneurs come in all different types. They can have a lot of different interests, backgrounds, and styles. I recently read Originals, the newest book by Adam Grant, professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. I’ve loved his past work, and he has more great insights and ideas…
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Midweek Reading: Employment Brand, User Experience, and Apple
Gallup research finds that for companies to attract the best employees, they have to create and market a strong employment brand just as they market their brand to consumers. If you’ve ever been driven to the brink of madness trying to put together Ikea furniture, Chris Myers shares how his recent assembly experiences influenced his…
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Setting Up Your First Location
Small business owners have a wide range of options when it comes to setting up a physical location for their business. It can be a complicated decision featuring significant amounts of planning to find the optimal spot. After all, options range from having an office in the home all the way up to a manufacturing…
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So You’re a 1099 — Now What?
You have decided to leave your employer and make a go at a consulting business on your own. Perhaps you were a stay at home mom and now the kids are in school and you opened up a small interior design business from your home. Or, you are the recent graduate of an arts and…
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Midweek Reading: The Patent King and the Super Bowl
Thomas Edison is the man most famous for his incredible number of patents. But Artur Fischer, a German inventor who died earlier this year, had even more—more than 1,100, all based on obstacles and problems he encountered in his own life. The Super Bowl is also the biggest advertising day of the year. This year’s…
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Midweek Reading: Success, Productivity, and Creativity
The traditional success life-path of education/job/home-ownership/marriage/children/retirement is under pressure, as Millennials are re-evaluating those ideals in a new economy. Various quantification apps can help you track how you spend your day—your activity, your productivity, your sleeping habits, and more. Adam Grant’s latest book gives guidance for how to take a creative new idea out to…
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