Budget must be flexible in uncertain times

How can you plan for your business future when sales may go up, stay the same or hit another dip? The long-term unemployment and depressed housing market of the past four years have resulted in a pervasive sense of uncertainty, especially for small businesses...

How to create a winning loan package

Business lending is tight right now, even for companies with existing loan officer relationships. It’s more important than ever to submit a complete loan package. Besides making the process smoother, a well-executed presentation will testify to your professionalism...

Are you taking your best customers for granted?

Just as with other relationships, it’s easy to take customers for granted – especially those you’ve had for a while. It’s important to remember that feeling of gratitude you had when you first started your business and your very first customer paid you. You knew then...

Servant leaders focus on employee loyalty

The way managers approach their job tends to evolve over time. The archetypal manager 100 years ago was a no-nonsense authority figure who acted as overseer, making sure employees were hard at work and not goofing off. By the 1960s, ideas about management became more...

Oops, need to change your income tax return?

Having second thoughts about your tax return? Realize you forgot to include something important? An amended tax return allows you to file again to correct your filing status or income or to add deductions or credits you may have missed. Here are eight points the IRS...

Internal reviews help ensure a healthy business

Because of the economic woes seen during the past few years, many businesses have seen decreased profits. Some companies that were barely getting by and didn’t adjust during these tough times have gone out of business. Remarks often heard from such businesses are “How...