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The numbers are gloomy. Statistics show that of one hundred new business startups, eighty will be out of business within five years. Too often, the causes of these failures are recurring inefficiencies and their offspring: fire-killing and distraction. Most business owners wake up in the morning with only a vague sense of their ultimate, primary [...]

At this stage in the game I am crunching the numbers to ensure that I will not be working for free and actually have a viable business plan.  A couple of resources that I am using to assist in this process are the book Fashion For Profit by Frances Harder and information from a seminar I went [...]

So let’s review for a minute. By now, you’ve:

Started discussions with your family and decided that you might be interested in owning your own business, and
Accumulated a nice list of opportunities to consider.

Now we’re on Step #3. The analysis phase. I recommend starting with an Excel spreadsheet, each franchise disclosure document (FDD) and an old-fashioned pen [...]

Do you know what’s the worst thing about starting up a home business, besides the two weeks my husband is on vacation and decides he wants to help me? I’ll tell you: it’s the “helpful” advice that you get from your so-called friends and family members, all of whom usually wear suits.
You know the worn-out advice…
“Well, Stella, you [...]

As you start your new business you need to think about your health insurance and its costs.  If you have left an employer that offered you health insurance then you will be offered COBRA.  Typically, COBRA can range between 102%-150% of the cost of the group health insurance.  If you are healthy, the best thing to do is [...]

As I indicated in Part 1 of this series of blog entries, Suzy Batiz, founder of Poo-Pourri, shared her advice, further proving what a true shining star she is, right here, living and working among us in the StartupNation community. What a role model!
Below Suzy provides more of her advice.
In Suzy Batiz’s Words:
COVER YOUR BASES/PROTECT YOURSELF
Only once [...]