Category Archives: Resources

Know Your Sales Margins

If you don’t know whether your business makes more selling Product A or Product B, listen up.  Reference: Business on Main Do you make more money selling cookies or cupcakes? Who’s more important to your business: the big customer who … Continue reading

Posted in Resources | 1 Comment

Why a Business Plan?

The successful entrepreneur is generally more inclined, once a business idea is selected, to sharpen the concept by a detailed planning process. The result of this step is a comprehensive business plan, with its major components being the marketing “mix,” … Continue reading

Posted in Resources | Leave a comment

Passionate about Sales?

Do you know what to look for in a sales person?  Most sales applicants can present  a lot of reasons why they will be great for you . Suggest you might be hiring on straight commission and see what they … Continue reading

Posted in Resources | Leave a comment

Selecting a Venture

The basic rule is simple: “Find a market need and fill it!” The process of finding the need, and the method chosen to fill it are where the difficulties arise. Based on an opportunity scan, does the market need a product … Continue reading

Posted in Resources | Leave a comment

Motivation and Commitment

What kinds of people start businesses? Their skills are seldom different from those of people who succeed at working for others. The more successful entrepreneurs tend to be proactive, assertive, and highly observant. Why do people start small businesses? The … Continue reading

Posted in Resources | Leave a comment

Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur?

I received an email a few minutes ago from Lowell Bowie, one of our Cincinnati SCORE counselors. The email included a PDF file entitled “The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur”. It was written by Vivek Wadhwa, Raj Aggarwal, Krisztina “Z” Holly … Continue reading

Posted in News and Muse, Resources | Leave a comment

Small Businesses Are Embracing Digital Marketing—Are You?

The SCORE Small Business Success Blog is a valuable source of information for the small-business community. Here is a recent entry from that blog by Rieva Lesonsky of GrowBiz Media. If you are still focusing the bulk of your advertising efforts on … Continue reading

Posted in Resources, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Seven Most Overrated Businesses: Seventh

Traffic-Driven Web Sites. Everybody has witnessed the success of social-networking sites like Facebook and popular blogs that generate all their revenue off advertising. But as the Internet ages, that’s much harder to accomplish, says Martin Zwilling, a start-up consultant in … Continue reading

Posted in Resources | Leave a comment

Seven Most Overrated Businesses: Sixth

Franchise Ownership. The idea of being handed a proven business plan without the uncertainties and headaches that come with building a business from scratch is understandably alluring. But too many people don’t understand the risks associated with franchising and sign … Continue reading

Posted in Resources | 2 Comments

Seven Most Overrated Businesses: Fifth

Independent Consulting. Common advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is to stick with industries they know. So, for many looking to escape the corporate treadmill that means turning their professional expertise into a one-person consulting firm. It seems practical – more companies … Continue reading

Posted in Resources | Leave a comment