Looking for a business idea? Start with the target market

Choosing the right business idea is the first hurdle in joining the ranks of entrepreneurship. If you aren't sure what you want to do, but know you want the independence of owning your work life, starting your idea search with the target market makes sense. You likely are very aware of the type of people you would (and would not) like to deal with on a daily basis. Thus, developing business ideas based on who your venture will serve makes perfect sense.

How to create daily success

One of the biggest challenges I see when I coach an entrepreneur is how they manage their time daily.  I can give them all the success strategies in the world, but they won't work if the business owner doesn't make the time to put them into action. If you own a home based business or even if you're starting a home based business, one critical part of success is how  you flow through the day

In celebration of small

The conventional business world is obsessed with big. The prevailing myth is that bigger is better – including the outward appearance of big. The dominant definition of success is that of big money.

If we scratch beneath the surface of big, we find small. There is amazing transformative power in the Small.

Haggling is becoming a part of every sales deal

Welcome to the new world order: consumers are learning to haggle. In the extended global economic recession, consumers who never used to even think about bargaining are suddenly starting to haggle over every deal.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing? 

Which industries are thriving in the 2007-2009 recession?

There is a lot of difficult news out there these days. With all the talk about pension cuts, pay freezes, layoffs, bankruptcies, and government bailouts, the fact that some industries are not only surviving the recession, but thriving in it, may seem hard to believe. But the truth is that in the midst of all the economic turmoil, there are industries that are prospering. Some of these businesses are typical recession-busters, others are particular to the current recession.

Do You Have What it Takes to Start Your Own Business?

Each week the media reports hundreds of thousands more people losing their jobs. Since the recession started, over 5 million people have been laid off. For many of these workers the idea of going back into a corporate role gives them the chills. There is a disillusionment from those who have been effected by a lay off that makes them want to avoid getting back into it.

7 Tips for a business partnership that works

Business partnerships take on a variety of forms. They may be a long term formal legal commitment or a simple short term venture to test a market concept. The same principles apply in all cases.
Here are 7 tips to make sure the partnership starts strong and stays strong.

Adopting a business mind set: find what works for you

There are millions of different ways to find the right business mind set. The principles are usually the same, but there are different styles that work for different people. To determine which mindset will work best for you, you need to ask yourself a series of questions to find out what type of business owner you are or will be.

Financial fundamentals: What every small business owner should know!

Business owners rarely go into business to deal with the financial aspects of running a business. It’s easy to understand why! You are passionate about the products or services you provide and want to focus your time there. The financial aspect usually falls to the bottom of the “desired responsibilities” list.

Advice on buying a business: due-diligence questions

Entrepreneurs must perform their due diligence before buying an existing business. Be sure to think your way through everything you need to understand before making this commitment. Why is the business for sale? You must get an answer that you feel is credible. You have the right to be skeptical; do not think you have to accept the first answer you hear.