Dumb Little Man

Startups are known to have specific needs that bigger companies won’t understand. Those needs inevitably become challenges to business owners. Problems such as inexperience, business size, and the lack of resources can get in the way of an entrepreneur’s success.

 

If you are going through any of those problems, here’s a good news. Below are some of the biggest problems faced by small businesses and what you can do to overcome them.

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Inc.

This time of year, it seems as if very little business actually gets done. Busy partaking of holiday cheer, hitting the slopes and what not, not a few small businesses slow things down around now. It makes perfectly good sense of course, especially if you have had a busy holiday season, but let me suggest that before you shut things down completely, there is one more thing you should strongly consider doing before the year is out:

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Entrepreneur

There are some common culprits that people use as excuses for their lack of commitment -- time of the year, the economy, what others may think. If you continue to dwell on these excuses, they begin to control your actions and keep you from being successful. The most successful people focus on what they can control rather than trying to deal with the things they can’t control. When you focus on the things you do have control over, magic happens.

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Entrepreneur

While numerous companies attempt to journey through the mazelike jungle of mergers and acquisitions, Harvard Business Review reports that 70-90 percent of those attempts end in failure. The terms of mergers can be complex, but experienced business leaders should learn to recognize the red flags that indicate they might be headed into a tumultuous situation.

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Forbes

Does a co-working space amount to anything more than  a collection of desks, a good WiFi connection and communal area  where coffee is made and consumed? Or to put it another way, why rent some desks in a funky but expensive district in a city of your choice, when you can clear a space in the garage or spare bedroom?

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Forbes

The freedom to chase your entrepreneurial dream is one of the great foundations of America. Owning a business is a freedom the U.S. Census Bureau of Labor Statistics records 29.6 million Americans pursue today, supporting local communities with products and services while contributing millions of dollars and jobs to the American economy.

 

It also takes a tremendous amount of hustle, sacrifice and dedication. But what does that really look like across America?

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Ladders

No matter how busy you are as an entrepreneur, it’s important to still take the time to reflect on what you can do better in your work and life. However, even with the best of intentions, time often gets away from us and those goals to make improvements do, too. That’s why I’ve started now on the changes that I want to make in 2018. While my plans to do things differently in 2018 may not be what you had in mind for yourself, I wanted to share them as an inspiration to get started on those things you have been considering but not acting on.

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Inc.

We've all been there. You have a great business idea and an awesome opportunity. You just need some help getting the venture off the ground.

You feel you can't go it alone. You believe that if someone is there by your side helping you through the highs and lows of the start-up process, you will have a greater chance of success. Well, not so fast.

In my experience as a CPA for 20+ years, business partnerships generally don't work very well. More often than not, they end in failure. Simply stated, when you start a business with another person you may have similar ideas and goals, but different motivations and mindsets. As a result, I have witnessed sleep-less nights, lawsuits, and even threats of violence (unfortunately it's true).

So why do these partnerships crash and burn? There are many reasons, but a few stand out.

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DailyWorth

Your soft skills are just as important as your hard skills. A high EQ will set you apart from the rest of the crowd. People respond well to people who can communicate effectively—whether that means speaking well, actively listening, or providing a boost of inspiration at a much needed time.

 

We spoke to Joel Garfinkle, executive coach and author of Getting Ahead: Three Steps to Take Your Career to the Next Level, to explain the five most important soft skills to perfect before you negotiate a promotion. Conveniently, these five soft skills are also ones you’ll want to ace in your everyday life.

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Money

At the office, you probably know not to outwardly trash a coworker’s idea or talk smack about your boss when he’s in earshot. But email isn’t quite as intuitive.

 

It’s easier to have a message misconstrued when the person you’re chatting with can’t read your facial expressions, or hear your tone of voice. If you veer into a conversational gray area, like disapproval of a policy, or a joke at a coworker’s expense, things can get hairy fast.

 

“Your professional email, much like your desk and chair, belongs to the company you work for,” says Denise Dudley, career coach and author of Work it! Get in, Get Noticed, Get Promoted. “Emails live forever, and you don’t want to go on record saying something that could haunt you later.”

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