Virtual Entrepreneur:

How gloomy are entrepreneurs?

Check out the latest results of a survey of 805 small-business owners by the National Federation of Independent Businesses, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying group. In the last 420 months that the NFIB has taken that monthly pulse of small-business owners–on everything from profits and inventories to hiring and capital spending–last December marked the second-worst in terms of overall optimism. (The most pessimistic month was recorded during another recession–back in 1980.)

Few think the pain will subside anytime soon. There comes a point, though, when it’s time to stop worrying and get down to the business of, well, staying in business.

While every small company has its own specific challenges, there are plenty that span all industries. We canvassed the entrepreneurial landscape looking for common problems–and tapped top business minds for their cures (or at least palliatives).

How can I plan when I can’t project?… read on.

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Bizjournals.com:

Need help figuring out the next step for your small business?

The Montreat College MBA program may have some answers. A team of the school’s graduate students is offering consulting services as part of the class’ spring semester project.

The students interview the selected business owner and employees. They then research a specific issue and recommend a solution.

The program allows students to gain hands-on experience and provides participating businesses with third-party consulting at no cost.

“It’s really a mutual benefit,” Montreat professor Norm Petty says. “It gives our students some insight into business strategy and what it takes to be successful.”

A group of students recently paired with Sweet Dreams Mattresses Inc., a Mooresville retailer, to help the company analyze sales strategies. Owner Greg Law says the students secret-shopped his two family-owned stores, analyzed his market and presented him with a booklet summarizing their suggestions.

Law, who founded the $2 million business six years ago, says he used the research to help plan a third store and increase online sales.

“It was nice to get a fresh, unbiased look at our stores from a group on the outside,” Law says. “What a great resource for a small business.”

Past projects have dealt with personnel, marketing strategies and production.

Program leaders say interested companies need to have at least $1 million in annual revenue and be able to provide meaningful work experience.

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Small Business Entrepreneur blog:

Being a part-time entrepreneur requires a lot of time, hard work, and dedication if you want things to work out well. After all, inside every part-time entrepreneur is the potentiality of being a successful full-time entrepreneur.

If your business ideas are working well for you, keep at it. There are some things part-time entrepreneurs should take to heart as you work toward making your business a full-time endeavor. What follows is a list of some things you can do to be a successful part-time entrepreneur.

Maintain a Strict Schedule
This is especially important if you are working after a long day at another job. Setting aside time each day for your business is absolutely essential. The only way things will continue to grow is if you put in the time and effort now rather than later.

Do Your Best Work
If you are looking to build a name for yourself, you must provide your clients with the highest quality work possible. This applies to all kinds of businesses; if you don’t cover all of your bases and do the best job possible, your business will suffer. Remember that as a business owner, there is an implicit promise of satisfaction when you agree to do business with someone. Keep that promise and watch your business flourish.

Create Value… read on.

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PR Web:

Get the knowledge, attitudes, values, and actions for starting and running a successful small business with the new book, ‘DNA of the Young Entrepreneur.’

Part philosophy, personal experience, and practical advice from author Sean McCauley show how he went from poverty to wealth. Still in his late 30s, McCauley has started many businesses and is worth millions of dollars.

Successful businessmen and women aren’t born with a certain propensity to success. Anyone, even if they’re young, can earn their way to wealth. The way to wealth starts personally, with the ideas and habits we all hold.

Most narrowly define wealth as being able to buy things: a luxury home, nice cars, and expensive vacations. But wealth is more than a quest for materialism. It doesn’t require giving up other important aspects of life. In fact, wealth is a way of living life that goes beyond money, to the foundation of real success.

Now in his late 30s, Sean has become successful in business several times over. He has been named the SBA’s Young Entrepreneur of the year, and recognized as the most successful under 40 in San Francisco. His self-awareness and analytical abilities are clearly described so others can follow.

The book is for anyone young or old, who wants to start their own business and grow it. “Sean gives us a peak into how personal disciplines like the Five F’s directly relate to his vision and success in starting and leading profitable businesses,” said Ron Bernal, Assistant City Engineer, City of Antioch, CA.

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YourHub.com:

Brett Mosley sees value in those old cell phones and music players stashed away and forever forgotten in the bottom of desk drawers – and he says you should, too.

Mosley, president and CEO of BuyMyTronics.com, is the brains behind a cash-for-trash concept that purchases used and, in some cases, broken electronics such as iPhones and iPods in exchange for money. The devices are fixed and later put up for bid on eBay or sold to other resellers.

His Denver-based business, which operates out of a small office near City Park, is preparing to expand to include more items, including digital cameras, laptops and camcorders. And in a few weeks, Mosley said he will be able to offer cash back for all Apple devices.

Mosley got the idea after a trip to an Apple store to see what he could get in return for his broken iPod. The store offered to recycle the device for free or receive 10 percent off his next purchase.

“I thought I could probably do better than that,” Mosley said. “So I fixed it on my own and was able to resell it over eBay for $150.”

Mosley decided to expand the concept from there, launching the Web site BuyMyBrokeniPod.com out of his home. The business flourished beyond his expectations and quickly expanded to include items other than just iPods — not bad for someone with almost no prior experience in electronics repair.

Mosley said the service offers additional benefits, including reducing the amount of “e-waste.” All of the items that cannot be resold are recycled, which has kept more than 8,000 pounds of e-waste out of landfills, he said.

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CaymanMama.com:

Step 1 – Obtain an Employer Tax ID
All businesses, large and small, are required to pay federal and state taxes. In addition, local taxes must be paid depending on the state the business is in. A business owner who is just starting out needs to obtain employer tax identification numbers from the IRS and the respective state revenue agency that identifies the owner and the business. Since not every business is required to obtain a tax identification number, it is important to do your research to learn more about the requirements in your state for your specific type of business.

To obtain your EIN, contact the U.S. Internal Revenue Service at 1-800-829-4933.

Step 2 – Decide on a Business Entity to Establish
When starting up a business, the next key step after obtaining a tax ID number is to decide what form of business entity to establish. A business identity determines how much regulatory paperwork that must be filed, personal liability regarding investments into the business, and taxes that must be paid to the government. The most common business structures include:

* Sole Proprietorship
* Partnership
* Corporation
* S Corporation
* Limited Liability Company (LLC)
* Non-Profit
* Cooperative

After you have decided what type of business entity you wish to establish, the next step is to register the business and file all necessary documents with your state government. If your business is a sole proprietorship, you do not need to register your business with the state.

Step 3 – Choose and Register the Business Name… read on.

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Business Wire:

Prospective entrepreneurs of all kinds who want to participate in Global Entrepreneurship Week have a growing list of diverse, challenging and motivating events to choose from. They can check out www.UnleashingIdeas.org for all the details.

The Week, Nov. 17-23, offers a first-ever, worldwide series of events to celebrate the spirit of entrepreneurship and encourage young people to become more innovative and entrepreneurial. In the United States, the Week includes a series of national events and hundreds of locally sponsored activities across the country. Founding sponsors for Global Entrepreneurship Week are the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in the United States and Make Your Mark in the United Kingdom.

“Innovation and entrepreneurship are the keys to developing businesses and creating jobs in any country,” said Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation. “The events and challenges that will take place during the Week will be fun, inspiring and transforming for young entrepreneurs.”

In addition to national events, the open source nature of the Week has given local organizations license to create and promote fun events in their cities and towns. Although this is by no means a complete list, here are 10 cool things to do during Global Entrepreneurship Week:

Let it BE
Entrepreneur and music mogul Russell Simmons will host the Race to BE., a national competition that will engage innovators in three industries, in three cities: fashion in New York; music in Austin, Texas; and film in Los Angeles. Teams can apply for one of the three competitions at www.RaceToBeUSA.com. During the Week, five finalists from each category will be selected from the online applications and will bring their portfolio of completed creative work to the event where they will compete in an on-site challenge. The winner of each competition will receive $5,000, a mentoring opportunity, a possible internship and post-event PR for their winning concept. Read more.

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U.S. News & World Report:

When something gets riskier, you get less of that thing. Just look at how the trend of a decline in venture capital activity has amplified as the economy has worsened.

So consider the following claim a blow against the conventional wisdom about small businesses and start-ups:

Turns out that even in a downturn, the number of business start-ups is pretty constant, hovering at around 640,000 a year. Economic slumps typically last six months, so they don’t tend to affect entrepreneurial plans that have been years in the making. Nor is the start-up success rate hurt by the vagaries of the business cycle, says Brian Headd, economist at the Small Business Administration.

But really, this shouldn’t be surprising. Do entrepreneurs consult the broad economic picture when trying to decide whether or not to start a business? No—if they have a great business idea, then they follow through with that idea regardless of the macro economy. In a poor economy, there are vast opportunities for new ideas simply because there are more economic problems that people need solved.

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smSmallBiz:

Slash Expenses
Streamlining your business can help you stay in the black even when customers make fewer purchases. Be sure to call in overdue accounts receivables, sell off unsold inventory and analyze expenses such as office space, supplies and even your company’s phone bills.

“Cut your costs viciously,” says Cloutier. For instance, if you’re long-time delivery vendor isn’t fulfilling orders on time and it’s costing you money, cut them loose. The same is true for employees who aren’t pulling their weight. You might even need to do away with some benefits. While having to let go of a trusted staff member or business partner is never ideal, when the economy sinks, business owners need to make tough calls.

Eliminate Unprofitable Operations
Consider spinning off unprofitable business segments, suggests Victor Cheng, a small-business consultant in San Francisco. “Focusing on your core business”—especially if your other divisions are losing money—will serve you in a downturn, he says. To help you figure out what’s working and what’s not, schedule an appraisal of your business’s operations.

Seek Alternative Funding
Some business owners take on a second job. Others use consulting to pad their wallets. One thing is for certain: If you’re relying on a credit line to float your business until, say, after the holidays, now’s the time to create a backup plan. “Don’t assume that line of credit will be there,” says Cheng. “If you are in that kind of situation, you either have to have a back up financing source or back up revenue source.”

Embrace Incentives
As the nation’s unemployment rate ticks up, business owners should think about restructuring their company’s compensation, says Dave Waddell, president of Waddell & Associates, an investment firm in Memphis, Tenn. He suggests linking more employee pay to variable incentives such as commissions, which are payments linked to specific sales targets. For instance, if 20% of an employee’s compensation stems from commissions, make it 50%.

While commissions generally work well for sales staff, linking bonuses and other financial incentives to a company’s performance is another compensation technique, which generally goes for everyone. “If employees hit goals for the firm, the firm is going to do well even in tough times,” says Waddell.

Cut Production Costs
“The only way to make it through a recession is to be a low-cost producer,” says Bob Prosen, a small business management consultant in Dallas. Think about it this way: Inefficient competitors can survive for a time at their current cost structures, but in the end, they’ll have to either raise prices or go out of business. In contrast, a low-cost producer may try lowering prices to attract added sales, says Prosen. “You’re better off taking a little less profit to keep the business going.”

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PR-Inside.com:

EWS is now accepting inquiries from those entrepreneurs (and ecopreneurs) who are interested in learning more about how they can benefit from this lucrative green business opportunity.

No one can predict the future, but you can prepare for it. By embarking on a new venture as an Affiliate with Environmental Waste Solutions (EWS), you will ensure that your financial future will sustain itself through down markets. Since 1974, EWS has been launching ecopreneurs into new green business opportunities with their proven business model. Located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, EWS is readily able to assist new Affiliates around the country with extensive training and consulting services, and will work closely with their Affiliates to partner with them through joint ventures as well to help fuel their success.

The goal at EWS is to assist companies in developing green business practices, and very few small businesses can also offer their Affiliates the potential for earning a six-figure income while doing well for the environment. ‘For reasons that are obvious, Affiliates have been succeeding in the business of waste removal. With more companies having to legally (albeit morally) comply with environmental laws as to how to not only dispose of their trash but how to limit excess that is filling up our landfills, people have become more creative in finding various waste disposal solutions while also cutting costs,’ states Darwyn Williams, President and Founder ‘We are only scratching the surface when it comes to green business opportunities available to us even in a down market.’ Read more.

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The B2B Lead:

Every marketer makes mistakes. As an entrepreneur with a limited budget, and only a few chances to make your business a success, the goal is simply to avoid making too many.

The five marketing mistakes every entrepreneur is tempted to make are:

1. Betting On the Big Event: Gambling Instead Of Planning
2. Depending on Others / Outsourcing the Wrong Things
3. Marketing Nonexistent Product
4. Failing to Measure
5. Adding Complexity

The good news is that you don’t need to learn from your mistakes – you can learn from other people’s mistakes, saving yourself trouble. Here’s how.

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UKpreneur.co.uk:

Jason Salim was searching for an earth-friendly way to make money last year when he discovered the power of garlic.

Now the 24-year-old Norton, Mass., entrepreneur is using the legendary vampire repellant to ward off another kind of bloodsucker.

His heady concoction of garlic extract and soybean oil can rid a field of pesky mosquitoes for weeks.

“I can’t believe no one’s thought of it,” says Salim, who owns Mosquito Foggers.

Using garlic to kill mosquitoes is hardly a novel concept.

The pungent bulb contains chemicals long known to destroy the soft-bodied insects and may overwhelm their sense of smell.

Organic gardeners often treat their properties and small ponds with garlic extract, along with other natural bug deterrents.

But few entrepreneurs have tapped into the sales potential of the odiferous plant as an alternative to harmful chemicals.

And fewer have tried to market it to homeowners.

A self-described “spiritual and holistic” guy who eats organic and tries to “go green,” Salim was turned on to garlic during last year’s Eastern Equine Encephalitis and West Nile Virus scare.

He saw state and local governments attacking mosquitoes with pesticides and thought, “There must be a better way.”

“I believe in anything that benefits someone without damaging the earth,” he says.

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Internet Mastery Marketing Blog:

Manage Your Cash Flow
What do online entrepreneurs, freelance writers, real estate agents, virtual assistants, and plumbers all have in common? We face periods of uneven cash flow. To ensure that you always have money reserves, be sure to develop a budget that allows for swings in your income. Begin by determining an average of how much revenue you know you can count on each month and use that as a base for monthly expenses. During months that you earn more than this base, resist the urge to spend beyond your budget and make sure that this money gets safely transferred to an interest earning savings account or money market account. It is also a good idea to begin your budget by paying yourself a set salary each month, if possible. Many banks these days offer free checking so be sure to keep your personal and business cash in separate accounts. You have no idea how this will simplify your life at tax time.

Pay Your Taxes
As an employee, you receive a Form W-2 detailing your income and the amounts your employer paid out for federal, state, Social Security, and Medicare taxes. As an independent contractor, you will receive a Form 1099-MISC from every organization that pays you $600 or more during the tax years. Since no taxes were withheld, it falls to you to calculate the amount that you will owe and make sure that this money is safely stashed away in a savings account. This is a good time to invest in a good tax software program such as TurboTax. Don’t overlook the fact that you will also have to pay your own Social Security and Medicare taxes. Use Tax Form Schedule SE to calculate these amounts. I strongly advise that you hire a personal tax advisor to help you determine what your business deductions are and how to contribute to retirement plans.

Prioritize Insurance Planning
As a self employed entrepreneur, or contractor, it is up to you to provide your own health, disability and life insurance. It is a sad fact that many self-employed people forego this important financial safety net, fearing that they simply can’t afford it. Do not make this mistake! At the very least, you should have enough coverage to protect yourself against potential loss of income due to illness or disability. You may also need to consider boosting your home insurance coverage or purchase liability insurance if your office is home based. Again, speak with your licensed financial advisor, accountant, or insurance representative to determine how much insurance coverage you really need.

Invest in Your Future
The government affords the self-employed many generous advantages and it is never too early or too late to begin saving for retirement. Again, take the time to sit down with your financial advisor. Ask about retirement accounts for business owners, including the traditional IRA, Roth Ira, Keogh plan, and Simple-Ira among others.

Working for yourself can be one of the most exciting and rewarding things that you will ever do. It can also appear overwhelming and challenging if you don’t have your finances set up properly from the beginning. By creating a comprehensive game plan you will ensure many years of economic security and business success.

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Quick Sprout:

1. You don’t know how to manage money. Fancy offices and high salaries are great ways to blow money. You need to learn when to spend your money and when you should not. For example, if your employees want fancy desks or cubicles, when it will not help them do their job better, tell them no. But if a developer wants two monitors so he or she can be more productive, then buy the second monitor.

2. You don’t have multiple game plans. You can’t rely on one person, one business model, or even one solution. Things you can’t predict happen, so the best thing you can do is have multiple game plans. Single game plans such as relying on marketing to make your website popular is a bad idea. If you hire a bad marketing firm, what are you going to do now?

3. You make too many mistakes. It is natural to make mistakes, but good entrepreneurs make few mistakes. The easiest way you can reduce the amount of mistakes you will make is by learning from others. Find entrepreneurs in similar fields and place them on your board of advisors. By giving them a small amount of equity in your company, you will make fewer mistakes.

4. You aren’t agile enough. You have to be able to adapt quickly. If you aren’t able to adapt to market changes, someone else will.

5. You think you know everything. The reality is, you know very little. So instead of thinking you know everything, find others who are smarter than you.

Other reasons here.

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