July, 2018

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The Best Small Business Loans and Grants for Immigrants

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Here’s a staggering stat: 48% of overall growth of US business ownership in 2000 to 2013 was attributed to immigrant business owners. Pair that with the statistic that the percentage of self-employed immigrants in the US more than doubled between 1994 and 2015, and it seems to follow that there’s limitless potential for the impact that immigrants can make on the small business landscape.

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Pricing 101: A guide for accountants

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Pricing models explained and top tips for a winning pricing strategy.

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8 Unusual and Unexpected Ways to Increase Your Credit Score

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We’re going to tell you something that you likely already know, and if you do, it’s worth saying again: Nearly all of America’s financial infrastructure is based on credit. Credit allows people to purchase or finance items that they can’t pay for in cash upfront. Credit is what allows you get a home loan, car loan, or business loan. So, in a credit-based economy, if your credit score isn’t strong, you’ll find it hard to qualify for financial products or will have to pay more.

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Should I Finance My Business With My 401(k)? 3 Good Options

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We don’t have to tell you that financing your business is one of the biggest challenges of entrepreneurship, whether you’re just starting out or looking to grow an existing company. Business loans work for many, but you might not like the idea of taking on debt, especially if you have funds of your own that you can bring to the business.

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Get Your Business Cash Flow Positive ASAP: The Total Guide

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The biggest balancing act you’re always performing as a business owner is money out versus money in. And although profitability is certainly something you should be paying attention to, more than anything, the best metric to understand your short-term and long-term survival is by looking at your business cash flow. Specifically, whether or not you’re cash flow positive.

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How to Grow Your Small Business on a Tight Budget

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Nearly every small business owner has stories to share about how they started out on shoestring and managed to survive their first years by being creative with limited cash. If you’re one of those entrepreneurs who wants to know how to grow your small business on a budget, there’s hope. Bootstrapping your small business through these lean years might seem unappealing, but by using some good information here and doing a little research of your own there, you’ll soon see your small business

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3 Secrets for How to Open a Liquor Store and Be Successful

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When Moishe Mayer of The Wine Cave isn’t next to the wine he loves, he loves the wine he’s next to. This kind of passion is exactly what’s needed if you’re considering swapping a life of stable, recurring paychecks for an arduous, entrepreneurial path complete with razor-thin profit margins. But learning to swallow down grim statistics is among the first lessons on your path toward learning how to open a liquor store.

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Is a Personal Loan a Good Idea for Your Business? Yes—Here’s Exactly When

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The right small business financing for your company can come in so many forms, and from so many sources: There’s debt vs. equity, term loans vs. lines of credit, secured vs. unsecured loans, bank loans vs. alternative lenders vs. private equity vs. crowdfunding… At a certain point, you might call the whole search off, and opt for a simple, straightforward personal loan instead.

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14 Important Business Startup Costs to Calculate Before Opening Up Shop

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Common Small Business Startup Costs. Small business startup costs are costs incurred before a business is up and running. The common startup costs business owners might need to budget for can include equipment purchases, starting fees, purchasing office space, buying inventory, advertising, building a website, purchasing office supplies, utility costs, and more.

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How 4 Food Truck Owners Got the Money to Start

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If you think you’re seeing more food trucks lately, your eyes don’t deceive you. In the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s “ Food Truck Nation ” study, researchers found that mobile food enterprises accounted for an impressive $2.7 billion in revenue in 2017. That’s up from a mere $650 million in 2014—more than a 400% increase over three years. Although that figure accounts for only a small percentage of prepared food sales nationwide, analysts predict continued growth throughout the industry.

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The Best High Yield Business Savings Accounts to Cash In On Now

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The 6 Best High Yield Business Savings Accounts. Capital One Spark Business Savings Account. BofI Business Premium Savings Account. Community Bank of Pleasant Hill Business Premier Money Management Account. Goldwater Bank Savings Plus Personal & Business Account. First Internet Bank of Indiana Money Market Savings. Live Oak Bank Business Savings Account.

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8 Best Low-Cost Ways to Promote Your Business

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Once you’ve jumped all the hurdles involved in starting a business , you have to make sure people know about the business you worked so hard to launch. Promoting your business is the next hurdle, but it’s an important one. Getting the word out about your services or product is obviously key to drawing people in—and, hopefully, becoming profitable. And finding the best ways to promote your business will make the whole process a lot easier.

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The 6 Best Indicators of Business Growth

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6 Best Indicators of Business Growth. Demand. Profit. Revenue. Sales. Personnel. Market share. Small businesses, like people, don’t necessarily grow all at once. Just as we use many measures to show a person’s growth—in height, weight, age, and accomplishments—we evaluate business growth using both external factors like customer demand and sales trends, in addition to financial records, and more qualitative inputs like employee headcount and company culture.

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The Best Small Business Bank Account Comparison Guide

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With your entrepreneur’s infinite to-do list, dropping everything to perform a small business bank account comparison isn’t likely a top priority. But as much as you might want to ignore the process, choosing the best bank for your business is crucial, and i t’s vital to conduct a small business bank account comparison that keeps the interests of your company at heart.

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The Best Accounting Methods for Small Business (and How to Choose)

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Most small business owners don’t give the accounting method they use much thought. Your CPA might have told you your tax return is filed on cash basis, but you might not know what that means. Or, maybe you noticed your client billings don’t show up on your financial statements, but you don’t understand why. There’s a reason your paperwork looks the way it does—and it’s because, at some point, whoever runs your books picked been the two main accounting methods for small business.

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Selling to Millennials Isn’t Hard: 5 Secrets From a Millennial

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Millennials: Just the word alone is enough to stoke ire, confusion, condemnation, or fear in the hearts of even the most hardened marketers. Whether millennials are bringing down fast-casual chain eateries , redefining the very existence of shopping malls , or spending a supposed down payment’s worth of money on avocado toast , they seen to confound small business owners and entrepreneurs.

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How to Check Another Business’s Credit Score (and Why You Should)

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Most of us are familiar with the concept of checking our credit score—and, luckily, it’s a fairly simple process these days (for instance, you can do it right here). And although you almost certainly know how important it is to understand how to check your own credit score, did you know that it’s also just as vital to know how to check another business’s credit score?

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What’s a Charge-Off, and How Does It Affect My Credit?

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What’s a Charge-Off? A charge-off is when you’re so late on your credit card or loan payments that the lender expects you’ll never pay, so they remove the anticipated income from their ledger and document the loss as bad debt. Technically, that bad debt is “charged-off.” That demerit is considered a final status indicator on your credit report that the account is no longer active.

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What to Know About Business Identity Theft—and How to Avoid It

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Business identity theft is a lot like jury duty—unexpected, time-consuming, and almost always inconvenient. Although there’s nothing you can do to prepare for business identity theft, there are steps you can take to mitigate the fallout once your business identity is threatened. We’ll go through everything business owners need to know about business identity theft—what it is, exactly, how to protect yourself, and what to do if you’re a victim.

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Credit Card Loans: 4 Ways to Use Credit Cards to Finance Your Business

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Popular Types of Credit Card Loans. Using a Rewards Credit Card for Daily Expenses. Using a Secured Credit Card to Build Credit. Credit Card Cash Advance Loans. Business Credit Card Stacking. Using credit cards to finance a business might seem like a bad idea, but can actually be a highly convenient, flexible option. Both startups and existing businesses can incorporate business credit cards into their financing plan and growth strategy.

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5 Different Kinds of Collateral Business Lenders Might Want to See

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5 Common Types of Business Loan Collateral. Real property. Inventory. Cash. Invoices. Blanket Liens. As you likely know from your research on small business loans , pledging collateral is critically important when attempting to secure financing for your company. But why is that? And, further, what is collateral in business? On that first point, collateral is just one form of security for lenders.

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6 Most Effective Marketing Decisions You Can Make with $50

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You’ve poured your heart and soul into building your business. And, when time permitted, you’ve done your best to create a coherent marketing plan for your business. But unless you’re a modern Don Draper in addition to being a busy entrepreneur, you likely aren’t totally satisfied with what you’ve come up with. Or, even worse, you have no idea where to begin, and don’t have the money to make mistakes.

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Dress For Success: 8 Attire Tips from Famous Business People

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No matter what you do for a living, it can be challenging to determine what “dressing for success” means in your specific office environment. There’s lots of information online about different types of work appropriate styles that you can incorporate into your wardrobe, but, getting down to it, lots of this info ends up feeling contradictory or plain useless.

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The Best Business Decision Every Highly Qualified Borrower Makes

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As you start your own business, you’re stepping out onto uncharted territory. Luckily, there are many, many business owners who’ve done this before you—and quite a few of them who have pulled off things successfully. That means you have a template for success in lots of respects. Though much of your success will rely on sheer luck and perseverance, one common theme we’ve seen in the some of the most successful businesses is something you can control.

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The Unexpected Connection Between Payroll and Employee Retention

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Think payroll is just about paying your workers? Although most people see payroll as a transactional affair—payment for a job performed—it’s actually more important that that. Payroll can actually have a much broader impact on your business’s overall health, driving employee morale, productivity, and even turnover rates. The key is to understand the unexpected connection between payroll and your workers’ job satisfaction.

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Looking for Ally Business Checking? What Small Business Owners Should Know

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If you’re excited about online banking, then you certainly know Ally Bank. In the handful of excellent online-only checking accounts on the market, chief among them is Ally. Ally Checking is not only fee-free, it also actually accrues monthly interest at rates that are comparable to those of a savings account. Plus, Ally offers class-leading customer service.

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3 Important Reasons Why Small Businesses Should Invest in Hiring Gen Z

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Many millennials, now in their late twenties to early thirties, are making up more of the workforce every day. But Gen Z , a generation with birth dates that started in 1995, are just getting started. Much like previous generations before them, they are ready and hungry for the experience—and it’s time to save them a seat at the table with intern and entry-level positions.

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5 Important Legal Considerations to Know When You Work with Freelancers

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The costs of launching a business can be steep for any entrepreneur—especially if you’re looking to hire additional help. Businesses that hire traditional W2 employees to fill this need will also need to take into account extra costs that can impact their business development plans. They’ll often have to factor in health and benefits plans, FICA and withholding taxes, training, and more.

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The 5 Best Business Renovation Loans to Upgrade Your Space

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Best Business Renovation Loans. SBA 504 Loans. SBA 7(a) Loans. Business Lines of Credit. Equipment Loans. Barter/Trade. The way your business space looks says a lot about your company. A wine bar in a modern setting, for example, tells a completely different story and creates a completely different feel than one in a rustic setting. The way your home is decorated probably speaks to your personal preferences and lifestyle.

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Top 5 Luxury Business Credit Cards for Indulgent Perks

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When you think of a business credit card , the first word that comes to mind is probably something like “bill” or “plastic”—but probably not “luxury.” Which, well, fair. But if you think about your business credit in a savvy way, all of those bills you pay on that little piece of plastic in your wallet can actually amount to some real indulgences. You just have to spend on one of the best luxury business credit cards.