- Cut Start-Up Costs By Using a Dropshipper By : Tim-Knox
Dropshippers, as they're called
--are an excellent way to start your e-business and, if done properly, don't have to be a costly endeavor. There are literally hundreds of companies out there that will dropship products for you, everything from gifts and housewares to power tools and furniture. - Business Is No Guarantee of Riches By : Tim-Knox
We have all had customers who expected far more than was their due: customers who were unreasonable, overly-demanding, condescending, hard to please and sometimes, even dishonest in their dealings with you. When a customer's reasonable expectations become unreasonable demands you must decide whether or not that customer is doing more harm to your business than good. - Credit Cards, Merchant Accounts, and Your Bottomline By : Tim-Knox
The decision to accept credit cards is a wise one for any retailer. I agree with financial guru Dave Ramsey's teachings regarding the use and abuse of credit cards. Many people dig deep holes with credit cards that are hard to climb out of. But, from a practical business point of view, any retail business that does not accept credit cards is leaving money on the table. - What's In A Name? When It Comes To Your Business, Plenty! By : Tim-Knox
In fact, deciding on a business name is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. The right business name can help you rise above the crowd while the wrong business name can leave you trampled in the rush. - The Business of Identity Theft By : Tim-Knox
The allure of PayPal is that it does not require the seller to have a bank merchant account through which to process credit cards. Anyone with a verifiable email address and bank account can use PayPal and the service can be implemented almost immediately after registering. - Taxing Your eBay Profits By : Tim-Knox
As a small business person-slash-advice columnist I dread the first quarter of the new year. Not because in my mind my own business fortunes start at zero again every January or because I have already dismissed every New Year’s resolution I made when the clock rang out the New Year. No, the reason I dread the first quarter of the new year is that my email box floods with questions about business taxes and the IRS, my two least favorite subjects on earth. - Do You Have What It Taks To Be An Entrepreneur By : Tim-Knox
There are a variety of skills you'll need to succeed as an entrepreneur and chances are do not possess them all. One of the great things about being an entrepreneur is that if you lack certain skills you can always hire people with those skills to help round out your company skill set. - How To Create Multiple Streams of Online Income By : Tim-Knox
I love the E-course concept because it gives you the opportunity to learn from the comfort of home. There are no heavy books to lug around, no rushing off to class, no smelly dorm roommates :o) - Entrepreneurs Just Get Better With Age By : Tim-Knox
According to recent studies 22 percent of men and 14 percent of women over 65 are self-employed. That's compared to just 7 percent for other age groups. According to a Vanderbilt University study the number of entrepreneurs age 45 to 64 will grow by 15 million by 2006. - There Are No Dumb Business Questions, Not! By : Tim-Knox
I've gotten a few head-scratchers in response to this column. You know who you are, but don't worry, your secret is safe with me. I have a confession to make. Writing an advice column, whether it be advice for love or money or business, is often hard to do with a straight face. Occasionally a question comes over the digital transom that just makes me go, "Huh?" - The Thick Line Between Buddy and Boss By : Tim-Knox
I have made just about every business blunder you can imagine. I am like the Evel Knievel of the small business world, if Evel Knievel wrote a weekly column on motorcycle safety. One of the more unpleasant things I've had to do is fire a good friend who was not doing the job I hired him to do. He needed a job, I needed an employee, so I thought I would give him a shot - The Business Autopsy: A Fact Of Life By : Tim-Knox
Last week we discussed the importance of performing an autopsy on a dead business. No, I haven't been watching too many of those wonderfully graphic, TV forensic investigation shows. The reason I recommend you do a business autopsy is to uncover the exact reasons why the business died - The "Other" New Year's Resolution By : Tim-Knox
"This year I will start my own business!" I call it "The American Dream Resolution," and like most New Year's resolutions it is a proclamation of intent that is often made, but seldom carried out (at least in an effective manner). - Perceived Value Is In The Eye Of The Beholder By : Tim-Knox
Pricing is an important aspect of every business because price is used to create financial projections, establish a break even point, and calculate profit and loss. It's also important to establish a good price point from the beginning because it is much easier to lower prices than to raise them. - Investing In Son's Business Could Cause A Real Family Feud By : Tim-Knox
It sounds like your wife wants to make a gift of the money, expecting nothing in return but the undying love of her last born son. You, on the other hand, don't know if you should offer the money as a loan (should I loan him the money) or as an investment (worried that my investment will be lost). Until you can make that distinction, your money should remain in the bank. - How To Tell If Your Amazing New Product Idea Is Really Worth Gambling On By : Tim-Knox
I'm a lousy poker player, mainly because I can't help grinning like the village idiot when blessed with a winning hand or frowning like a sad clown when dealt a dud. I also never make odds on the success of "amazing new products" because more often than not the only thing that's amazing is the way the product is totally ignored by the buying public. - When It Comes To eBay, Don't Follow The Herd By : Tim-Knox
While it's true that selling products on eBay can be a quick, low cost way to launch an online business, following the herd by selling the "hot product" of the moment, is not a great idea. To the contrary, chances are you will be stomped in the ground by the herd and left lying in the dust with your unsold inventory in hand. - Don't Fall For The Latest Internet Identity Theft Scam By : Tim-Knox
The shear number of PayPal customers is one reason it has become a popular target of scam artists trying to steal personal information from individuals and businesses alike. Identify theft is on the rise. Thanks to the Internet stealing someone's identity has never been easier. At any given moment, there are any number of Internet thieves using all manner of high tech wizardry to steal personal and business information from unsuspecting souls, - How To Create Your Own Info Product By : Tim-Knox
In the last article we talked about why informational products are the best type of products to sell online. An informational product can be a digital book (known as an e-book), a digital report or a white paper, a piece of software, audio or video files, a web site, an ezine (electronic magazine), or a newsletter. - Is Selling On eBay Just A Hobby Or A Real Business? By : Tim-Knox
With so many people selling on eBay these days this is a question I get all the time. To many eBay sellers the thought of running an actual business is about as appealing as getting negative feedback, so they go out of their way to convince themselves that selling on eBay is really "just a hobby" and therefore, should not be susceptible to income tax laws - Website Design Considerations By : Tim-Knox
If you want to be a web designer, be a web designer. However, if the key focus of your business is building widgets, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that your time would be better spent building widgets, not Web sites. - Use Noncompete Agreements To Help Protect Your Business From By : Tim-Knox
Renegade former employees riding the free enterprise wave is one reason noncompete agreements are gaining in popularity among employers who hope to use them to help protect their business from competitive threats launched by former employees. Many employers are now demanding that key employees sign noncompetes as a stipulation of employment. - The Joy and Hazards Of Finding Your First Office By : Tim-Knox
Putting your name on a commercial lease is one of the first tangible commitments an entrepreneur makes to his or her business and searching for that first office or retail space can be a truly invigorating experience. - Starting Your Business By The Book By : Tim-Knox
To begin, here's the best legal advice I can give you as a new business person: find yourself a good lawyer and make him or her your very best friend. Granted, your new best friend will charge you an hourly fee for chatting on the phone or talking business over lunch, but you'll find it to be money well spent. A good attorney can save you far more than the cost of his services. I rarely make any decision that has the potential to impact my business without first consulting my attorney. - SBA's 8(a) Program Can Help Some Companies Compete By : Tim-Knox
The 8(a) Program (named after the section of the Small Business Act from which it comes) is an SBA program created to help small disadvantaged businesses better compete in the U.S. marketplace and within the arena of government procurement. The SBA provides business development, technical assistance and other services to the small businesses that are accepted into the 8(a) program. - Navigating The Internet Sales Tax Laws By : Tim-Knox
Internet sales taxation has always been a hot topic for those of us who make our living selling goods and services online. One of the more controversial points is that no one, including our own government, has a clue how to implement a fair and logical Internet taxation process. - If It Was Easy Everybody Would Do It By : Tim-Knox
Even on the best of days running a business can be incredibly stressful, not to mention overwhelming and exhausting. It's only natural that there will - How To Handle The Occasional Oop-See! By : Tim-Knox
First off, it's important that you understand that the magnitude of your mistake will determine the course of action you take to make amends. If your company's error was such that it caused your customer a significant amount of lost time or revenue, embarrassed them publicly, caused damage to their reputation, or otherwise negatively affected their bottom line, you may face legal repercussions that saying "I'm sorry" will not deter. - Achievements Outweigh Education and Experience By : Tim-Knox
Even on the best of days running a business can be incredibly stressful, not to mention overwhelming and exhausting. It's only natural that there will be times when you wonder if it's really worth it. Asking yourself the "should I just get a real job" question simply means that your human side is showing. And as a human you have a limited tolerance for things you can not control. - Business Lessons Learned At The Mall By : Tim-Knox
No offense to my mall merchant brothers and sisters, but a trip into the deepest jungle is more appealing to me than a trip to the mall. I get no joy out of trudging from store to store, attempting to communicate with salespeople from other planets, browsing discount racks of last season's dollar merchandise and peering into windows at mannequins that seem to be in some sort of inanimate pain (why can't they make a happy mannequin?).
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