BizOp Blogs

MarketWatch: The IRS’s online filing system is up and running on time. No last-minute bits of legislation to change the whole playing field. What’s the big news this year? Lots of free advice and better question paths in all services. About 145 million tax returns were filed last year. The IRS... More

Michigan Business Review – MLive.com: It’s always hunting season for the next great idea. The Edsel and the smartphone have vastly opposite records of success, but they both came from the same source: an idea. In their book “The Idea Hunter,” Andy Boynton and Bill Fischer observe... More

PC World: After just over a year as a coveted, invitation-only beta, Google has officially launched Google Voice as a free service for all. Google Voice adds another component to the suite of tools available from Google providing small and medium businesses with cost-effective tools enabling them to... More

Despite that fact that it is 2010 and today’s marketplace being technologically driven, you might be surprised at how just many small-businesses still don’t accept credit card payments. If your small business doesn’t currently take credit/debit cards than you are really missing out on a sizable... More

BBC News: One of the big issues for ambitious small firms looking to grow is how to attract new customers. You know you have a great product, or offer a good service, but how do you best make yourself known to would-be buyers? Here Ganesh Selvarajah, an advisor at Business Link, the government-funded... More

Atlantic Online: To stanch the flow of continued job losses (with 263,000 jobs lost in September, up from 201,000 in August), the White House is weighing new options. Among them are more stimulus-style projects as well as traditionally conservative approaches such as tax cuts for small businesses.... More

BusinessWeek: 1. Keep Selling. Purchasing agents are reporting sharp drops in weekly sales calls across many industries, Rauseo says. That means less competition for your products or services. “It’s easier to get a commission-only sales force going today” with so many individuals looking... More

 Read More →

Financial Post: The recession has become the consuming priority for small business owners, who don’t have the clout to lobby government for billion-dollar bailouts. But help is out there. Just look at this press release that was received the other day at my friend’s uncle’s cousin’s... More

Entrepreneur.com: 1. I will work smarter. Can you identify three things you can do to be more efficient and effective in your current job? Is your staff spending too much time on e-mail, for example? Too much time returning phone calls? Does it interrupt their work too frequently? Sometimes, those job... More

Thank you readers, supporters and sponsors for your business, friendship and continued loyalty. Best wishes for a safe and wonderful Christmas! Check our bizops and start 2009 running your own business!  Read More →

seattlepi.nwsource: * Clear, unrelenting focus around purpose and goals. * Flexibility and openness to new approaches, roles and ways of getting work done. * A climate of learning, creativity and a proactive approach to finding opportunities to improve (even when stressed). * Trust, cooperation and... More

24-7PressRelease: Small business owners are increasingly pressed to find creative ways to cope with the economic downturn and some are doing so by turning regular store customers into passive income producers. By acquiring a Business Associate license from DubLi.com, the next “eBay”, business... More

Chicago Tribune: Helping her entrepreneurial father as a youngster paid off later in life for Rochelle Boersma. “He was a plumber and an inventor,” said Boersma of her dad, who started a business when she was 8. “He invented the stainless steel grate that snaps into a floor drain.... More