This Week's Highlight Getting Started with Email Marketing: “The Most Powerful Tool in Your Relationship-Building Toolbox”
While the rumor that email marketing is about to be replaced by social media continues to float around, all evidence points to the contrary. Here are a few pointers for leveraging email marketing to engage and build relationships with your customers. Read more... Idea Exchange: How Did You Finance Your Business?
While some business owners are able to participate in government financing programs, others find assistance through alternative sources. Share how you found the funds to get your business up and running. Read more...
Recent Articles in the Community Small Business Matters Becoming a Freelancer – Assessing your Readiness to Be your Own Boss and Tips for Getting Started
Who hasn't dreamed of being their own boss? Answerable to no one and free to choose how and when you work, freelancing is an appealing career choice. If freelancing is something you have considered, here are some tips for assessing your readiness and suitability for running a freelance business, as well as some steps to get you started. Read more... Greening Your Home-Based Business – Saving $, Saving the Environment, and Building your Brand
Operating a home-based business means that you have a responsibility to ensure that your home office has a minimal impact on the environment and on your household's bottom line! From office equipment to government energy incentives, here are some ways to "green" your home-based business Read more... Tips for Untangling the Hairball of Regulations that Apply to Your Specific Trade or Industry
From the moment you start-up, and throughout the life of your business- hiring your first employee, formalizing your business structure, and so on-you'll need to understand and comply with a host of government laws and requirements. But for many business owners, there's a parallel path of ever changing trade- and industry-specific government regulations that must also be navigated. So how do you untangle the hairball and make sense of what regulations apply to your specific industry? Here are a couple of resources that can help: Read more... Business Law Advisor The Legal Steps to Buying a Business
There are important legal considerations to keep in mind when buying a business. Read this guide to understand what you can expect, and what to look out for when you’re in the market to purchase an existing business. Read more... Small Business Cents Export Assistance Loans and Grants Programs
Federal and state governments created export assistance financing programs available to small business to help facilitate their expansion into the global marketplace. To raise awareness of these programs, an Export Assistance section was added to Business.gov's Loans and Grants Search Tool. Read more... Liquidating Business Assets
By liquidating your business, you convert your business assets into cash. Business owners choose to liquidate for various reasons – they can’t find a buyer, their business is not profitable etc. However, if you ultimately choose to liquidate your business assets, there are some best practices to keep in mind in order to ensure that you are not only making the right choice for your business, but also maximizing the benefits of liquidation. Read more... In the Loop Power User Spotlight: Starting a Business Takes Hard Work and Dedication
Joseph Lizio is the CEO of www.businessmoneytoday.com, based in Texas. He regularly blogs and writes articles related to financing small businesses. While managing his online business full time, Mr. Lizio (also known as phanio) has been an active member of Business.gov’s community since its launch, sharing business finance information. We recently asked Mr. Lizio to share some more about his experiences as a small business owner. Read more... Business.gov’s New Metrics Dashboard
In an effort to continue to support the President’s campaign for transparency the Business.gov team has created a new metrics dashboard. We have taken it upon ourselves to publish relevant metrics about the Business.gov website for fiscal year 2009 (FY09) that visitors may be interested in. Read more... The Industry Word Turn Delectable Tasty Treats Into a Home-Based Business Enterprise
Do you get rave reviews on your culinary skills? Could your tasty treats be a recipe for business success? Starting a home-based food business may sound fun and easy, but beware -- you could land in hot water. Read more... Use Better Business Planning as A Collaborative Tool
Don’t dismiss business planning just because you don’t need to show a document to anybody. One of the best fringe benefits of a good business planning process is the teamwork and collaboration it can generate. Read more... For Business the Social Media Revolution Was Just the Beginning
The past decade brought to business an astonishingly powerful new way to speak and listen and join in with their customers, colleagues, and friends. In 2009, the promise of social media came to life. For businesses who want to succeed online, the future looks very bright. Read more... State and Local
Small and medium-sized businesses want and need to deal with governments at all levels. Here are some sources of state and local government information. Read more...
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