Yahoo Small Business Advisor Articles and Video: Ideas and Advice

The 4 Smartest Things You Can Do Every Morning

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 19:02:07 -0400

These down-to-earth tips will help get you going in the morning, and keep you productive all day.

Branding: First Impressions Matter

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 16:22:02 -0400

When most people hear the word branding about a business they tend to think big business – Apple, Coke, 3M, BP – and not small business. But branding is at least as important for a small business as a giant corporation.

Resource Guide for the Yahoo Smart and Simple Guide to Starting Your Business Part 5: Branding Your Business

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 16:05:28 -0400

In part five of our Smart and Simple Guide to Starting a Business we have been looking at branding. Read the main articles, How to Brand your Business on a Budget and Branding: First Impressions Matter. The links and articles listed below will provide more background and techniques.

How To Brand Your Business On A Budget

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 15:15:09 -0400

If you’re a mom and pop organization and would like to learn how to brand your business on a low budget, read on…

Averill’s Sharper Uniforms: A revamped website and SEO efforts helped this business change direction

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 16:45:51 -0400

“I smelt an opportunity—there was a huge need there!” The Sharper Knife morphed into Averill’s Sharper Uniforms.

Pop Culture Super Store Stylin Online Delivers the Gear

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 18:27:33 -0400

When you log onto Stylin Online's web site you may think you've accidentally surfed onto Fandango, MovieFone, or some other Hot Summer Movie/TV ticket site. All you see are high-powered, eye-catching, fast-cutting graphics for Iron Man 3 (Style Like Tony Stark With the Newest Tees), Star Trek Into Darkness (Boldly Go Out With Intergalactic Gear Worthy of Starfleet), Man of Steel and Game Of Thrones.

The Top 5 Small Business Mistakes

Thu, 30 May 2013 17:08:35 -0400

Nearly half of all new businesses don't make it past their fifth anniversary, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. That makes it crucial for mom and pops to get basic strategies right from the get-go.

Tubifi Puts Free Video Production Suite In the Cloud

Tue, 28 May 2013 18:22:54 -0400

These days it's easy to shoot professional-looking video on a shoestring budget. Except for the editing.

Four Dumb Branding Mistakes To Avoid

Tue, 28 May 2013 17:04:43 -0400

Whether you're a multinational conglomerate or a one-person shop in Kalamazoo, you are a brand. That means you're subject to the same brand demands as Apple, Coca Cola, and General Motors, only with an infinitesimal sliver of their marketing and advertising budgets.

Kendra Scott: How a Small Business Owner Turned $500 Into Millions

Tue, 14 May 2013 18:58:47 -0400

As the chief executive officer of a multi-million dollar jewelry design company and an active philanthropist, Kendra Scott's work never stops. But when you ask this busy woman how she describes herself, she doesn't hesitate in saying, "I'm a mom first."

Ecommerce Success is Natural for Bulk Apothecary

Tue, 14 May 2013 15:04:43 -0400

Looking for a 570-pound tub of glycerin? Bulk Apothecary will sell you one online for only $398. And it's kosher too. Also available: Citric Acid (50 lb. - $75), Beeswax (55 lb. - $233) and Cocoa Butter (1000 lb. - $2588).

Ivy’s Garden: Growing a gluten-free Asian food business online.

Thu, 09 May 2013 14:18:59 -0400

The niche market chosen by online marketing entrepreneurs Ivy Lau and Mark Ivey—gluten-free, home-style, fresh-frozen Asian food—seems to be, just like their shared first and last name, a matter of destiny.

Resource Guide for the Yahoo Smart and Simple Guide to Starting Your Business Part 4: Naming Your Business

Wed, 08 May 2013 17:44:17 -0400

In part four of our Smart and Simple Guide to Starting a Business we have been looking at naming your business. You can read an introduction to the topic in ‘The Name Game’ and follow an in-depth worksheet, ‘Naming Your Business.’ In addition, the links and articles listed below will provide more background and techniques as well as locations for how to do DBA searches.

Yahoo Smart and Simple Guide to Starting Your Business: Naming Your Business

Wed, 08 May 2013 16:27:33 -0400

Big corporations and consumer product companies like Proctor and Gamble take naming very seriously – so much so that they have consultants and agencies JUST to help them with naming things. Fortunately you can replicate what most of those consultants and agencies do without the $500 per hour fees. And you can have fun doing it.

The Name Game: How To Pick a Business name that will be successful for years to come

Wed, 08 May 2013 15:19:22 -0400

Once you pick your company name, and throw yourself into branding it, it is hard to change the name. Not impossible, mind you, but changing midstream can be confusing for your clients, and potentially expensive for you. It is best to pick the right name right from the start.

Taking it Online or Offline- The New Definition of Location, and Why It Matters for Small Merchants

Fri, 03 May 2013 20:16:49 -0400

Location, location, location. The mantra is storied as the most important aspect for choosing real estate, whether it be personal or commercial. For small merchants, it is critical to be where your customers are. But as technology continues to evolve, so does the definition of the word location.

Alter Ego Comics Sells High-End Collectibles with a Web Site That Rocks

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:24:01 -0400

If web sites could talk, this one would shout: "It's OK to buy this stuff!"

Warning: Your small business may have already been hacked

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:33:44 -0400

“One of the biggest fallacies about small-to-medium businesses is that they're too small to be noticed by hackers,” he says. “That's simply not the case.”

The Yahoo Smart and Simple Guide to Starting a Business. Part 3: Ownership, Funding, Family - three challenges in starting your business.

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:49:57 -0400

One of the critical decisions about starting your business and how it will operate both immediately and in the future is around funding. In the past funding was a relatively straightforward decision.

Funding, Fraternity and Family: Turning three potential F’s for your business into A’s

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:49:44 -0400

There’s no getting around it, running a business costs money. Sometimes it costs a lot of money. However, if you do everything in your power to avoid incurring debt early on, it will increase your odds for survival.

Resource Guide for the Yahoo Smart and Simple Guide to Starting a Business. Part 3: Ownership, Funding Family - three challenges in starting your business.

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:09:34 -0400

Resource Guide for the Yahoo Smart and Simple Guide to Starting a Business. Part 3: Ownership, Funding Family - three challenges in starting your business.

From furniture-seller to trucking entrepreneur: Craigstruck delivers

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 19:35:25 -0400

“I figured that affordable, safe delivery was a niche that I could brand, that would be safe for people to use."

The Yahoo Smart and Simple Guide to Starting a Business: Resource guide for Part 2: Defining your business concept

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 16:17:21 -0400

[Part two of a series – The Yahoo Smart and Simple Guide to Starting a Business. Part one is here: Is it time to start up that startup business? and The Yahoo Smart and Simple Guide to Starting a Business: Part 1- Goals, Values and Ideas and Resources for the Yahoo Smart and Simple Guide to Starting a Business: Part 1- Goals, Values and Ideas]

The Yahoo Smart and Simple Guide to Starting a Business: Part 2: Defining your business concept.

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 16:17:03 -0400

Build A Winning Business Right From The Start

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 16:16:44 -0400

SOS: Strategic Office Support’s Kathrine Farris helps out with advice for startup service businesses.

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:23:36 -0400

Taking the plunge to start a business – especially leaving health benefits behind – can be scary.

The Yahoo Smart and Simple Guide to Starting a Business: Part 1- Goals, Values and Ideas

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:24:31 -0400

This companion article to our introduction to finding your startup goals, ideas and values is a practical exploration of these issues and can be used as a worksheet to help you find the answers to these questions for yourself as you go about starting up your own business.

Resources for the Yahoo Smart and Simple Guide to Starting a Business: Part 1- Goals, Values and Ideas

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:13:35 -0400

The final part of this first week of our Smart and Simple Startup Series is a resource list. The following articles all have information about planning and thinking about your startup business.

Is It Time To Start Up That Startup Business?

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 18:39:59 -0400

The decision to start a business is only the first step of a valid business plan

5 Traits of the Worst Bosses

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 14:22:01 -0500

Bad management can be like porn: hard to define, but you know it when you see it.

Networking Is Dangerous: Never Go Alone

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 16:02:28 -0500

If the United States Marine Corps doesn’t let its troops wander off alone, should you?

From Jessica Alba to Gwen Stefani: Celebrity Mom Entrepreneurs

Mon, 17 Sep 2012 14:53:10 -0400

Celebrity moms are getting in on the ‘momtrepreneur’ boom with everything from clothing to diapers to product review websites,

Small businesses tell Washington they need cash

Fri, 14 Sep 2012 12:40:23 -0400

In meetings with legislators this week, some small business owners said they need better access to loans. Others want tax certainty.

Romney leads with small business owners as healthcare issue splits parties

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 12:59:55 -0400

Regardless of which candidate they preferred, 75 percent of those surveyed said their candidate’s position on healthcare reform will influence their vote.

Ten ways to not get burned by a daily deal promotion

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 18:04:33 -0400

Ten do's and don't for working with daily deal and coupon vendors to optimize your chances of success.

What it takes to succeed in the daily deals game

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 17:30:47 -0400

Groupon has been under attack lately for some well-publicized criticism of its daily deals scheme but it isn't alone and the real picture is far more complex.

Five Tips for Olympics-related sales for your small business

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 20:00:26 -0400

The Olympics present an unparalleled opportunity for businesses big and small. Here are some tips to leverage this attention to build sales

New eBay policies hurt some sellers, boost others

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 16:36:50 -0400

Small online retailers grapple with new rules as eBay pushes sellers to meet buyers' demands for fast shipping and easy returns.

Supreme Court healthcare decision: Small business advocates react

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 15:06:37 -0400

Some applaud, others decry the status of the Affordable Care Act, but all vow to keep working for improvements.

Most small business owners have skipped paychecks

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 14:21:23 -0400

More than one of every two small business owners has had to forfeit a payday or more to keep their business afloat.