Cash Flow

Even though small businesses collectively generate $5 trillion in sales in the U.S., the biggest challenge of an individual small business is survival. 80% of all new business start-ups are out of business within five years. And if that doesn’t get your attention, 80% of the 20% that survive the first five years don’t survive the second five![read more]

Given the fact that small business employs over half of the private sector and contributes to half of the private GDP, a pessimistic small business community is not good for our economy. However, another survey claims that not everyone is pessimistic.[read more]

Lots of people talk about business models these days, but what does it really mean? When it comes to starting or planning for business success your model is essentially your decision about how you intend to add value – which is another way of saying – how you intend to make money.[read more]

Jeff Cornwall interviews venture capitalist Vic Gatto. Gatto co-founded InfoTech, a software company in Boston, which grew from three to over 250 employees when sold in 1999.[read more]

While crowdfunding is best known for raising money for non-profits, a growing share of crowdfunding money is going to small businesses and startups. Games and gadgets are the most common type of business funded. The best known of these is Pebble, a maker of smart watches that raised over $10 million on Kickstarter.[read more]

Of course, critical and big, as they apply to deals, are relative. A large, critical make/break the quarter deal for a $5 million company may be (only) $300k. For a Fortune 50, it could be $100 million. But however big your company is, you get to decide what’s a critical win and what isn’t.[read more]

When I got into the business in the mid 80s, I was schooled that you needed to produce at least 20% annual returns net to the limited partners to stay in business. In the last 10 years, venture capital hasn't had returns the break the double digits.[read more]

There are two social media networks that I have found to be very helpful in building my direct sales business.  The first is of course, Facebook which many of you may already be using on some level.  The second is Pinterest.  I hope to do another guest post on Pinterest but for now let’s focus on Facebook. I’ve found...[read more]

Q: What is the best path to take if a VC which has invested in my company closes down, but we have not exited and are still operating profitably ? What happens to the LLC entity that was formed at the time of investment?  Do we ask the VC for our shares back or buy them back at a discount?  A (Brad): First, you need to...[read more]

These days, if you aren’t offering a discount of some kind (or at least the appearance of one), you might not be selling much of anything. Pervasive discounting by businesses both big and small has caused buyers to demand deals on anything and everything.[read more]

Business owners and startup entrepreneurs are always searching for low-cost and no-cost ways to promote their businesses and get their name in front of potential customers. PR is a perfect way for most  businesses to get attention and attract new customers. Nothing brings people to your door (website, Facebook page, etc.) like PR....[read more]

A long time ago, I realized that every successful business was a continuous process of small experiments that operated in the context of a long-term vision. When an experiment worked, you did more of it. When it didn’t, you ended it and moved on.[read more]

It seems preposterous to suggest that there are online companies that put time and money into social media and don’t bother to measure their return on investment (ROI). In fact, it is believed that over 70% of online businesses that utilize social media as part of their marketing drive are guilty of this crime. When you consider the fact...[read more]

Women-owned businesses start life with significantly less capital than those owned by men. How can a business grow if it starts life undernourished? The good news is there’s an alternative to loans, and angel and venture capital financing: crowdfunding.[read more]

Pay no tax before it's time. That old tax axiom generally is good advice. But not necessarily this year. Higher income folks should consider springing into action before the end of 2012 and selling appreciated assets.[read more]

People and brands put their money where their mouse is. Can’t see this presentation? Click here to view it directly on Slideshare. What is Crowdfunding? Source: p22earl on Flickr Crowdfunding involves people coming together to collectively fund projects they are passionate about and help bring them to life. Crowdfunding has been used...[read more]

High-potential startups are key to economic growth. They created an average of over 2.5 million new jobs annually between 1994 and 2008. If banks are reluctant to lend high-potential startups investment capital so they can grow, what other sources of investment capital are out there?[read more]

    I have previously written about the Android platform's struggles in effectively monetizing apps. This is one reason why the developer community has traditionally launched apps on iOS first, before moving on to Google Play. However, recent data hints that this "monetization gap" may be shrinking thanks to in-app purchases...[read more]

What do we love most about Craigslist? Its used as a forum for well-written pranksters to give us a laugh. We’ve collected some of the most hilarious Craigslist ads out there. Take a look.[read more]

Venture capital attorney Jennifer Hill took a few minutes with me to talk about business owners who are raising capital – and what they need to know so that they avoid making big, costly mistakes.[read more]