Tag: BTL-Activities-Supplier-Pune

Strength in Numbers: Taking on a Business Partner

I have always kept to myself, for the most part. I enjoy spending time alone and find it funny that many of my friends would rather be surrounded by a large group of people than by silence. So when I came up with a few business ideas that I felt had potential, I mulled over these ideas in my head and on paper and even with my husband, but didn’t share them with anyone else.

A while back I gained a client for whom I developed a website, and during the course of our working relationship we found that we had a lot in common. I decided to talk with her about one of my business ideas, and from that phone meeting our ideas began to soar. Eerily enough, many of our ideas were the same, and when we began talking about them they got even better. She had some insight into how to work one particular idea and I had some insight into one of her ideas that might make it even better.

Since then we’ve decided to go together to work on these ideas, and the payoffs have been great. I operate my marketing company alone, though I do have contract workers for various projects. This means that everytime I have an idea or want to pursue something, I do this on my own.

Having a business partner to pair up with has really alleviated some stress. With a business partner I can now:

share ideas
share the expense of operating the start up and the company
share networking opportunities
For instance, my partner knows someone who deals with a certain business, which is they type of business we needed to contact and connect with to make one of our ideas soar. She’s also located on the east coast, which is great because she has the insight into what works out there while I know what can work in California. Her strengths lie in the day to day running of a business, such as knowing what your profit margin should be, how to mark up products and the best way to keep track of expenses and profits.

I’m more the creative type. I have a way with words and designs, or so I like to think! I can come up with creative slogans.

Together, we really have made an extreme change for the better in the ideas that we were mulling over when we were working alone.

If you are considering opening a business, you may want to think about going in with a partner, or at least spending some money on hiring a consultant who can do these same things for you. Honestly, two heads are often better than one, as long as you find the right head to connect with! You’ll want to make sure that your business partner:

has the same vision as you
can back that vision up financially if/as needed
balances out what you may lack and strengthens what you can add
Don’t forget to sign a contract, either. While you may think that you will always be best friends with your best friend, even after becoming business partners, there is always the chance that something will go awry. You want to make sure that if this does happen, you’ll both be leaving the company with what is entitled to you.

SBA Criticized by Some Senators for Plans to Boost Women Owned Companies

 Seems the Small Business Administration is taking a hit from Congress in its efforts to boost women owned companies. Currently only 3.4% of the federal contracts are now given annually to female owned companies. The goal has been to bring that number up to 5% but the senators are complaining that the current draft only recognizes 4 out of 313 business categories that are eligible for these contracts. To be eligible, the business category must be considered one in which females are under represented. These categories include engraving and cabinetmaking.

The senators say there must be many more business categories in which female owned companies are under represented. I have to agree here. I have not looked into the details of the 313 business categories but I’m guessing those that deal with automotives and contracting could be included, as could a slew of others.

Read the article and leave your thoughts! I’d love to hear what you have to say on this topic!

Types of Business You Can Own

Home » Business Ideas » Types of Business You Can Own
August 8, 2013 Ervin Quinto Business Ideas Tags: business, business ideas, entrepreneurship, types of business
Many individuals are interested in starting their own businesses, not only because of the supposed financial advantages, but also because it allows them to work for themselves and do something they enjoy. If you are one of those people, you may be interested in learning what types of business are available to you. By knowing these structures, you can start putting your ideas into practice and coming up with a good business plan. To begin with, a business entity is a corporate or commercial institution that is created and administered according to commercial law; the goal, usually, is selling products or services, or managing other business activities.

The more important types of business entities that exist are corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, cooperatives and sole traders. Keep in mind that these are business entities, and not business types, which is what we’re going to present in what follows. The information provided here is general, but you can find a lot more information online on specialized websites, or by consulting professionals of this domain. Thus, the types of business you may be interested in are:

Green businesses – There has been a major upsurge in green businesses in recent years, especially since awareness about the effects of global warming and pollution has been raised. By starting your own green business you are also helping and supporting the environment, and there are numerous fields and domains you can activate in. Besides the large variety of choice, you will also be learning about Eco-friendly business practices.
Nonprofit organizations – While the market may not be lacking in this type of business, good competition is always needed to lead to improvements; moreover, any moral concerns have no place here, because what your business does is utilize profit in order to improve certain services. This is done in the detriment of paying dividends to investors, and you can even get government help to get started. Do some research and find out how you can qualify for funding or loans from your government.
Online businesses – This can be a great avenue for you to sell certain products or offer your services, depending on your skills and professional training. There is an increasing interest in online businesses, and many important companies are now going online as well in order to keep their customers and bring in new ones. There are also many benefits such as reduced start-up costs and the possibility for much better publicity through social media and other online environments.
Home-owned businesses – It doesn’t matter what domain you want to activate in, there are many now-famous and successful companies that started as home businesses and managed to expand. This is a great option because you may not have the start-up money to invest in an office space or headquarters, nor to hire many employees. As an incentive, know that companies like Apple, Ford, Hewlett-Packard or Amazon.com started in their owners’ homes or garages.
Franchise businesses – They can be very profitable because they already have a recipe for success, but owning one is not that easy. In most cases, you will probably have to invest quite a serious sum of money yourself, and deal with other organizational aspects. However, once you find out what those are, you already have a company behind you that is interested in making your franchise work and be successful.
Young entrepreneurship – In certain parts of the world, the government or other institutions or organizations try to support young entrepreneurs by providing them with information, help and advice about how to start their own business, and, in certain situations, even with some funding to help them get on their feet. Do some research and find out whether there are any such programs in your country.
Self-employed contracting – If you know a trade, or if you can provide certain services, you can register yourself as an authorized contractor and choose your own projects. This, of course, poses some challenges because you have to find your own customers and deal with your own publicity, but if you have confidence in your skills the outcome can only be positive.
Women-owned businesses – This may sound strange for some people, but it is important to mention that in certain parts of the world, even though women have the same rights as men, they can be discriminated against in the world of business. That is why governments or organizations try to provide them with help and advice and support them in their endeavors. If this is the case for your country, try to find out how your government can help you.
These are just some of the types of business that you can consider for the near future, not only because they are easier to establish than others, but also because in some cases you can receive informational or financial aid. However, keep in mind that establishing a new business always requires a lot of patience, hard work and dedication, so don’t expect to see progress or profit right away.

More Business Ideas

The Costs of Starting a Business
What is an Entrepreneur?
How to Get Free Advertising
What is Social Entrepreneurship?
How to Come Up with Successful Business Ideas
Small Business Financing