Yahoo! Small Business Advisor - Profit Minded Blog

When things go wrong. Leadership lessons from Lieutenant General David Morrison

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 17:23:13 -0400

Things go wrong in business all the time. Mostly they are small problems and can be dealt with just by accepting them and dealing with them. But big problems, crises, are a different matter. Suddenly the future of the business is in question - and that makes dealing with the problem that much harder. But [...]

Live Stream Small Business Week to Hear Angie Hicks, Jack Dorsey, Fran Tarkenton

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:02:41 -0400

During the 50th annual National Small Business Week, the US Small Business Administration will offer tips, tools, and training on a variety of topics for small business owners. Register to attend live, or stay home and watch it all on your computer screen June 17-21. At live events five days next week in Seattle, Dallas, [...]

Join a live Twitter chat: The Online Generation: Turning Browsers into Buyers

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 18:34:41 -0400

Next week is National Small Business Week. We’ve got a few surprises planned – so check back here on Monday! One event we have planned is not a surprise – please join Yahoo! Small Business as we celebrate National Small Business Week with an hour long Twitter chat -- The Online Generation: Turning Browsers into [...]

Teen Entrepreneurs Take on Avon

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:26:15 -0400

Halle Holmes was 10 years old in 2010 when she came home empty-handed and aggravated after a trip to the local mall. As hostess of an upcoming spa party, she had her heart set on finding all-natural beauty products in fun fragrances that her girlfriends would like and her sensitive skin could tolerate. “We didn’t [...]

Behind the Scenes on Successful Viral Video Advertising Campaigns

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 12:49:32 -0400

Social marketing is all about sharing content that your audience shares in turn, expanding your reach and getting your message out to more and more people. But guessing — and second guessing — what the next viral trend will be doesn’t get you any closer to social success. So just how do successful brands go [...]

PayPal and the Death of the Cash Register

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 12:38:04 -0400

Paypal has a pretty exciting program this Summer for small businesses – yes, that Paypal. Basically they are hoping to really jump on the post-cash-register movement that has slowly been gaining ground. And by jump on we mean with both feet. Hard. If you run a small business and use an old-school cash register they [...]

Datamining isn’t just for Big Brother and big businesses

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 15:57:21 -0400

Housekeepers, exterminators, landscapers, and other small enterprises that make house calls might not seem like candidates for sophisticated data gathering and analysis efforts. But Jeff Annis says he’s “leveraging the microchip” to run his pest control company, Advanced Services in Augusta, Ga., more efficiently than ever. Mining their own data is enabling Annis and other [...]

How investing his 401k savings in whiskey made an entrepreneur millions

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 13:20:47 -0400

At age 44 Don Poffenroth made what some, including his wife, would consider a dubious decision. He invested all of his 401k retirement savings in shares of the startup business Dry Fly Distilling. But seven years later, he has no regrets. Dry Fly is an award-winning microdistillery with 5 employees and $2 million in annual [...]

4 Reasons Private Companies Matter – A Lot

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 17:35:49 -0400

Wall Street may get the headlines, but did you know that of the 27 million businesses in the U.S., less than 1 percent are publicly traded on the major exchanges? The rest are privately held, and these private companies represent a vital segment of the U.S. economy. Here are four reasons to learn more about [...]

Shaking the Bode Tree: Everything you wanted to know about business valuation but were afraid to ask

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 18:42:38 -0400

Many business owners assume they should only care about how much their business is worth if they’re looking to sell or are going through a difficult situation, such as a divorce or corporate break-up. Unfortunately, this is an extremely short-sighted view that misses the bigger picture. Valuation is the most important concept in finance, and [...]

How a 15-year-old entrepreneur got her product into Nordstrom

Fri, 31 May 2013 19:33:23 -0400

She launched her business two years ago, but Houston teenager Madison Robinson has yet to face something most new entrepreneurs do: rejection. Every store buyer she has approached has placed an order for her Fish Flops for Kids shoe brand. Robinson came up with the idea for her sea-creature-adorned flip-flops with battery-operated lights when she [...]

Case studies, inspiration and the time to start: Small Business Reading for May 31st, 2013

Fri, 31 May 2013 19:25:22 -0400

Ideas and inspiration. These are the starting point for any business whether it is a tiny mom-and-pop or the next billion dollar internet startup. We've recently profiled a set of businesses that are at various stages from just starting out to settled, global success and which cover a range of industries. But they have one [...]

From $250,000 debt to $40 million sales: A small biz survival story

Fri, 31 May 2013 17:29:53 -0400

In the years after racking up $250,000 in credit card debt to launch his startup, Alan Martin hit a couple of obstacles that he says “should have sunk us.” But his company, CampusBookRentals, survived and now, five years in business, projects 2013 sales of $40 million. His experience is a cautionary tale for any would-be [...]

Tending the Talent: Think Perennially

Wed, 29 May 2013 17:30:23 -0400

Spring is here, and people everywhere are starting gardens. It’s not as easy as it sounds. Besides getting dirty hands, aching backs, and a sunburn, there are some serious decisions to make; one being whether to buy ready-to-plant starters, guaranteed to perform, or to take your chances with great grandma’s forgotten “heirloom” attic seeds, which [...]

Rags-to-riches beach reading: the Barefoot Wine story

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:15:59 -0400

Looking for a good book to get lost in this Memorial Day weekend? The Barefoot Spirit is an entertaining rags-to-riches story of American entrepreneurship. Released this week, the paperback has already climbed to the top of the Amazon bestsellers list. It’s the first-hand tale of California rule breakers Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey, founders of [...]

Fun beach reading for small business inspiration

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:10:04 -0400

The founders of Barefoot Wine spent 19 years transforming their industry before selling the brand to E&J Gallo in 2005. Today, Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey share their marketing and business savvy with other entrepreneurs and the nonprofit causes they support. (See our main story "Rags-to-riches beach reading: the Barefoot wine story.") Their book The [...]

Small Business: Big Crime

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:01:43 -0400

Sobering news from Bolt Insurance in this infographic. We already knew that small businesses are far more susceptible to cybercrime than most owners think. But it turns out that plain old physical crime is also a high risk for the average small business. How bad is it? 35 times as bad - or put another [...]

Which businesses default on loans most? Surprising data

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:30:06 -0400

When it comes to borrowing money, Vidur Dhanda says small businesses are not as risky as the banks think they are, and he has two terabytes of data to prove it. A data-modeling expert and long-time financial industry consultant, Dhanda began three years ago aggregating data points on nearly all U.S. businesses. He licensed several [...]

The Economic History of the World in One Simple Picture

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:51:07 -0400

This infographic from fundersandfounders.com may be a little simplistic – especially because the timeline goes all the way back to pre-history - but it's still a powerful representation of economic history. It should give us all hope for the future – especially since more and more startups are focusing on areas like energy and healthcare [...]

Startup offers DIY way to build a website in minutes

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:18:05 -0400

Surveys show that more than half of small businesses still don't have websites. That number represents a huge opportunity to help busy people on budgets establish themselves online inexpensively and quickly. Among those competing for that prize is RebelMouse. CEO Paul Berry, who served as CTO at the Huffington Post for 5 years, founded RebelMouse [...]

Could online-sales tax hurt privately held retailers’ already-thin margins?

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:01:37 -0400

Privately held retailers are operating with relatively thin profit margins nearly four years after the end of the recession, according to recent data from Sageworks, a financial information company. And some analysts say costs could go up and pinch margins even more if Congress approves the latest effort to get more retailers to collect taxes [...]

Why you should give neurotic colleagues a chance

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:09:50 -0400

Workplace mangers and team leaders tend to have higher expectations of extraverts. People with more outgoing personalities are more likely to be stronger contributors on the job, employers assume. But when it comes to teamwork, UCLA business school professor and researcher Corinne Bendersky says that’s not necessarily the way things pan out. In a recent [...]

Advice, getting help, marketing tips and the return of Summer: Small Business Reading for May 17th, 2013

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:36:39 -0400

Summer's coming for everyone. For some of us it is basically already here. School's going to be out soon. And it's just over a week to Memorial Day. The challenge for the business owner is that for some businesses this heralds a slow time when sales dip and it becomes a struggle to keep the [...]

Reasons to Consider a Company Wellness Program

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:09:09 -0400

Despite the fact that the cost of providing healthcare benefits is rising at a slower pace, organizations continue to look for ways to control healthcare costs. Anyone who administers an employer-sponsored health plan understands that the cost of healthcare coverage is more expensive for organizations that employ unhealthy people. This understanding led companies to embrace [...]

Mobile Payment Strategies for Today’s Small Business Owner

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:02:57 -0400

In order to pay bills and stave off creditors, many small business owners have traditionally used a line of credit or taken out a new card for their business while waiting for invoices to get paid. Nearly half of small business owners surveyed by Bank of America last year said not getting paid on time [...]

Would an Internet Sales Tax cost or win you customers?

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:43:09 -0400

If you buy or sell over the Internet, you likely have an opinion on The Marketplace Fairness Act. And if you’re like most Americans surveyed earlier this month, you don’t like it one bit. The proposed law, which passed the Senate 10 days ago and now awaits vote in the House, would permit states to [...]

Generation Y gives entrepreneurship a new definition

Tue, 14 May 2013 21:14:25 -0400

To be an entrepreneur you need not own a business, risk your personal capital, create jobs, or even work your rump off. You just need to have a certain mindset. At least that’s the definition of entrepreneurship offered by the expanding freelance workforce. Survey results released today by the consulting firm Millennial Branding and oDesk [...]

Looking to apply for a business loan? Three areas of improvement for your small business

Tue, 14 May 2013 17:08:26 -0400

Debt Service Coverage One of the most basic measures of a company’s creditworthiness is the Debt Service Coverage ratio, which shows a firm’s ongoing ability to keep in control both debt and interest. The Debt Service Coverage Ratio, defined as EBITDA divided by a firm’s current portion of long-term debt and interest expense, is an [...]

Mothers and raising a business right: Small Business Reading for May 10th, 2013

Fri, 10 May 2013 18:22:00 -0400

This weekend it is Mother's Day - something that EVERYONE has in common. We have a nice article about the founder of the day/event itself (see below) but it is also worth taking some time to think about your Mother. For a small business, the founder is like its mother. You conceived the business and [...]

Who founded Mother’s Day?

Fri, 10 May 2013 13:22:47 -0400

Mother’s Day was founded in 1907 by a West Virginia woman as a tribute to her own mother. In her 40s, Anna Marie Jarvis, a college graduate, quit her job and incorporated herself as the Mother’s Day International Association. Jarvis was so passionate about her vision that she succeeded within 6 years in persuading the [...]

Program pays small businesses to hire injured federal workers

Fri, 10 May 2013 13:03:35 -0400

Would you seek out a new hire who was home with an injury collecting workers’ compensation insurance? What if the government paid you to? Partnership for Employment, an initiative of the nonpartisan group Women Impacting Public Policy, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, is designed to [...]

How a billionaire is changing small business owners’ lives

Thu, 09 May 2013 17:42:03 -0400

Clay Mathile says he feels deep gratitude for two groups of people: those who risk their own capital to create jobs, and the mentors who helped him do the same as owner and CEO of the IAMS Company. So, since selling that dog and cat nutrition business to Procter & Gamble for $2.3 billion in [...]

Marketplace Fairness? Starting a Business? Small Business Reading for May 3, 2013

Fri, 03 May 2013 16:43:32 -0400

Small businesses are anxiously following the progress of the 'Marketplace Fairness Act' through the legislative process - it's due to be voted on by the Senate on May 6th and then will go to the House. Basically the bill is going to make all online purchases subject to sales tax no matter what. Essentially if [...]

How to turn social values into a valuable business

Thu, 02 May 2013 15:24:25 -0400

It’s been several decades since big companies started proving that earning profits and being socially responsible are not mutually exclusive. Ben & Jerry’s, Patagonia, and Whole Foods come to mind. And IBM, HP, and Sprint topped the Daily Beast’s 2012 list of American green companies. But is it affordable for even the smallest businesses to [...]

Small business owners who save better prepared for retirement than most

Wed, 01 May 2013 09:27:33 -0400

So many Americans are unprepared for the costs of retirement that some predict a looming crisis. But small business owners and their employees who put money into retirement accounts might be in better shape than most. In an analysis of the balances of 200,000 small business accounts that utilized its SEP-IRA, Self-Employed 401(k), or SIMPLE-IRA [...]

What to do while waiting for equity crowdfunding to come

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:58:12 -0400

This time last year, the business press was abuzz with equity-based crowdfunding fanfare. Yahoo! Small Business was no exception. According to the JOBS Act, the SEC was to have established rules by January of this year to make it possible for small businesses and startups to use social media and friends-and-family networks to raise investment [...]

Shaking the Bode Tree: VCs and Entrepreneurs “failing-on”

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:39:46 -0400

As an avid football fan, I am constantly befuddled by how losing coaches actually get hired by other teams. And, I am not talking about the exceptional coach that just had a few bad seasons. I am talking about the habitual losers. You know the ones - that guy you pray gets hired by your [...]

Six Tips for Office Time Management

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:26:31 -0400

If you search for time management books on Amazon, you’ll find 106,960 results demonstrating the universal need for help managing this limited resource. Teaching people how to manage their time is an industry in itself, but every one of us can benefit from the valuable skills they provide. We all struggle with managing our time [...]

Benchmark your small business and win the horse race

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:41:38 -0400

Maybe it’s an inherent competitiveness or just the pursuit of improvement, but it’s commonplace for people to seek out benchmarks they can use to assess their relative position or performance. It interests people to know how they compare to their peers. Benchmarks have a place in business, too, and can be an invaluable instrument to [...]

How a business can succeed without a boss

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:26:19 -0400

Your business without a boss? If you’re in management, you might not find the idea as thrilling as many beleaguered workers would. But, believe it or not, there are companies that run quite well without anyone in charge. (Some of these have been described recently in articles including Inc’s A Billion Dollar Company with No [...]