Raising Equity and Venture Capital on Main Street

Are you an entrepreneur who's also an iPad early adopter, using or developing applications that help your business or the businesses of others? About.com wants you to share with the world your favorite iPad business app(s), why they're important to you, and what you wish someone would develop for the iPad.
What's Your Favorite iPad Business App? originally appeared on About.com Entrepreneurs on Sunday, June 27th, 2010 at 14:13:06.
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Death to the business plan.
Small business CPA Michael Hanley says most entrepreneurs don't need one. "Many people are surprised to hear that, as a small business CPA, I am not a proponent of entrepreneurs creating business plans," Hanley notes. "I view business plans as the #1 barrier to starting a business; 95 percent of the time, once you start your business, you end up going in a completely different direction than you had originally planned as you discover your strengths, your weaknesses, what your customers want and what the economy is dictating.
"Far too often, I see people who want to start a business, but create the 'I'll start up as soon as I'm done writing my business plan' excuse. If you have an idea or a skill and you know how to put that skill to use or bring that idea to market, just get started and everything else will […]

Business owners are told to focus on the 20 percent of the customer base that produces 80 percent of the revenue. But I wonder.
Yesterday, I was coaching a client who had great relationships with the top 20 of her 100 or so clients. But stress fractures were beginning to show underneath the top 20, and they were irritating her — a lot. She has been hearing feedback from some of the "Tier 2" clients, expressing concern, ever so slightly, that she only calls when they call her first. She's very responsive when she hears from them, but they don't feel as looked-after as they'd like.
On average, each of the top 20 clients produces about $25,000 in revenue; the second tier of 30 clients produces about $10,000 on average. So the top tier accounts for roughly $500,000 and the second tier for $300,000. (There's a third tier below that, accounting for […]

When people start a side business, there's a temptation (and rightly so) to keep costs down.
It's common to use your home as your place of business, or perhaps rent a post office box. But both of these choices have their downsides and can hamper your startup's success, says small business CPA Michael Hanley.
"There is such a stigma associated with using a residential address or a PO Box as your business address. Many consumers view the use of a home address as a sign that you are new in business and that your business is not successful," Hanley notes. Read more…
Should You Run a Side Business From Your Home? originally appeared on About.com Entrepreneurs on Monday, June 21st, 2010 at 09:41:26.
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Most businesses with under $1 million in revenue (which is most businesses) sell at a pitiful multiple of earnings when their owners decide it's time. Typically they get two or three times their pre-tax profit, if they're lucky. How can you get more juice out the company you've slaved over? John Warrillow, author of Built To Sell: How to Turn Your Business Into One You Can Sell, has five suggestions.
Recurring revenue: demonstrate that your customers come back to purchase regularly and you'll drive up the value of your business because buyers will have confidence your sales will continue long into the future. Try to find an element of your business that has a consumable component e.g. toner cartridges not printers. Read more…
Getting More Equity Value from Your Small Business originally appeared on About.com Entrepreneurs on Friday, June 18th, 2010 at […]

It's not exactly something to write home about, but small business employment grew at 1.6 percent annual rate in May, according to the Intuit Small Business Employment Index.  This translates to approximately 25,000 new jobs in May and about 240,000 total new jobs since October 2009, Ituit says. The Intuit index is based on aggregate and anonymous online employment data from approximately 50,000 small business employers each with fewer than 20 employees. These small businesses use Intuit's Online Payroll software. What's your take? Are you seeing signs of life in your small business? Please leave a comment.
Signs of Life in Small Business Employment? originally appeared on About.com Entrepreneurs on Wednesday, June 16th, 2010 at 09:18:24.
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In this recessionary economy, people are more likely than ever to not rely totally on their employer for income. Side businesses that people do while employed full-time are becoming increasingly common. But while having a part-time entrepreneurial business can be a great idea, it can be risky if you don't do it right, according to CPA Michael Hanley, who specializes in working with small businesses.
"The #1 most overlooked tip by people running side businesses is that they fail to setup a business entity because they still view their business as a little side business that they will incorporate when things take off," Hanley says. Hanley outlines why this is the most detrimental mistake that a side business owner can make.
Starting a Side Business? Better Incorporate from the Get-Go originally appeared on About.com Entrepreneurs on Monday, June 14th, 2010 at 08:58:37.
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Despite the torrent of emails we all receive, email marketing is still one of the best tools in a small business's arsenal to raise awareness and fuel sales. But email marketing gets a business only so far unless the email contact list continues to grow.  Without new customers and prospects being added,  a small business is not going to see great results with their program. Wendy Lowe, who runs product marketing for the Campaigner email marketing service,  offers five helpful tips on building your email list that can help small companies increase their  list size on an ongoing basis. How's your email marketing effort going?
Tips for Building Your Email Marketing List originally appeared on About.com Entrepreneurs on Wednesday, June 9th, 2010 at 10:20:31.
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Many a successful business started as a part-time venture. One very senior management executive I know is CFO of a major manufacturing company by day and on the weekends tends to her vending machine business in Massachusetts–and it brings in $50,000 a year!  These days, part-time or side businesses that you do while still working full-time can be a smart way to go. Please share your learnings with other entrepreneurs about your side business. Read more…
Are You an Entrepreneur-in-Waiting? originally appeared on About.com Entrepreneurs on Tuesday, June 8th, 2010 at 09:35:52.
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When eBay started in1995, were you one of the people who was endlessly fascinated by (addicted to?) this new way to buy or sell anything in a worldwide market? I certainly was.
I became a collector of…things: Saturday Evening Post magazines with Normal Rockwell covers, Playboy magazines from the Fifties and Sixties (for the articles, or course), and assorted other items. Purchases were expensive because the service was new and  supply/demand equilibrium hadn't occurred yet. As more buyers and sellers entered, the prices of many items dropped through the floor. I stopped collecting because the things I had already acquired became worth virtually nothing, so I was afraid to bid unless I really needed something, like a particular book or DVD.
On the other side of the transaction are all the sellers who started businesses selling collectibles that rapidly depreciated as demand slid. Some of them used to sell through franchised drop-off […]