by Christopher Freeburn. As any small business owner knows, dealing with people is a crucial element of your business’s success. This applies not only to customers or business partners, but to your employees as well. Creating a productive and well-functioning workforce should be a top priority for every small business. Unfortunately, the more employees you hire, the more complicated things get. Even for very small companies, managing personnel can be a very demanding task. Managing...

By Christopher Freeburn. Stress is a fact of daily life, especially for small business owners. Starting your own company and managing its growth forces you to deal with a myriad of never-ending problems, make quick decisions, smooth over employee interactions, deal with customers, suppliers, and business partners—not to mention bankers and insurance companies. Some people thrive on stress, using it as tool to propel their performance, but others wither under its strain. The Stressed-Out...

A number of facts indicate that small businesses are burdened more by the current healthcare system than large businesses. Fewer than half of firms with under 10 employees offer health insurance at all, according to a recent Council of Economic Advisors Report. In these cases, individual employees are left to purchase private insurance, which can cost in the range of hundreds of dollars per month for an individual to over a thousand dollars for a family. Small companies with more than 50...

How to keep your best and brightest recruits shining long after you've hired them By Max Berry As a small business owner employing a recent college graduate, you find yourself in one of the most potentially rewarding roles a businessperson can inhabit: that of the mentor. Without a stratum of mid-level managers between you, you'll have plenty of contact with the most junior members of your staff, and chances are they'll be looking to you for guidance. So be humble, but don't be intimidated;...

Tips on how your small business can still spread holiday cheer despite tough economic times and a swine flu pandemic By Reed Richardson For many small businesses, the only thing to cheer about in the arrival of the 2009 holiday season may be the fact that it represents the end to a very difficult year. In keeping with that not-so-festive spirit, many entrepreneurs might think that an office holiday party or sending seasonal gifts to customers just doesn't make sense this year, both...

When, if ever, does it make sense for an entrepreneur to stop taking a salary? By Reed Richardson It's a long-held rule of running your own small business: don't forget to pay yourself. However, in an upside-down economy that continually provides exceptions to all the old rules, many entrepreneurs are finding that paying themselves is yet another piece of conventional wisdom worthy of reconsideration. But before you go cold turkey on salary, it's important to ask yourself several questions to...

How to keep your family business alive, prospering and-most importantly-in the family By Christopher Freeburn Entrepreneurs who have invested years of time, dedication, and resources into building a business often want to see that enterprise live on as a family asset even after they step aside from the actual operation of the company. Many hope to see their new business become something that each new generation of their family can inherit, passing the business from themselves to the children...