Ben Means Business

Home Biz Blues

Earning a full-time income from home is slowly becoming the new American Dream. Many people are abandoning there cubicles with dreams of more vacation time, flexible schedules, and re-invigorated relationships with family members. However, what most people don’t realize is that home businesses can actually have a negative effect on family relations. New home business owners [...]

Guide to Getting Government Contracts Part 2

Having worked as a government contractor for over three years, I am well aware of the benefits of obtaining government contracts. I am also aware of the many intricacies that come with attempting to obtain these lucrative deals. Therefore, I have decided to publish this series in an attempt to bring clarity to the process [...]

Essentials for Retail Success

One of the most popular industries for entrepreneurs is the retail industry. Depending on which product you decide to sell, the retail industry can provide great stability for a new business owner seeking a low-risk investment. This is because there are certain things that will always be in demand (ie…clothing). The retail industry is not difficult [...]

7 Reasons Why Corporate Blogs are Absolutely Useless

Blogs are a great way to connect with people. They invoke discussion, provide exposure, and build trust. They also increase traffic and provide an excellent venue for product promotion. So a corporate blog is the obvious choice for a company’s e-marketing endeavors. Right?…….Wrong! The truth of the matter is that very few corporate blogs actually serve [...]

Business Plans are OUT! Here’s the New Way…

This is a guest post by Mike Michalowicz, Editor of Obsidian Launch and Author of upcoming book “The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur”. I found Mik’es opinion on business plans to be very interesting(if not true) and can’t wait to hear what you guys have to say about it. Comment away!(Image by © David Buffington/Blend Images/Corbis) Here’s the [...]

Thinking About Selling? Better Check this Out

This is a guest post by Peter Siegel of BizBen. I found his site extremely useful for anybody wishing to sell a business. Be sure to check it out. One of the first questions most potential business buyers ask is: what is the adjusted net income or seller’s discretionary cash flow on the business they are [...]

Guest Posts Needed A.S.A.P.

I didn’t want to do this but it looks like I’ll have to. Over the next week or two I will be spending my “blogging time” attempting to move this blog onto a Wordpress platform. I have grown weary of the limitations of Blogger and can no longer avoid the switch I have been dreading [...]

Guide to Getting Government Contracts: Part 1

The U.S. Government is the absolute wealthiest customer any small business could ever obtain. The government always has demands for products and services and is not shy about entering into contracts for large sums of money with companies who can satisfy their needs. Despite the obvious monetary benefits, there are usually only a limited number [...]

Sales Volume vs. Profit Margin: Striking it Rich in Today’s Economy

High Price, low sales volume? Or Low price, high sales volume? This can be a very tough decision for small business owners to make because neither choice will be right for every situation. There are a number of factors to consider when attempting to make this important decision. These factors include competition’s prices/quality, market maturity [...]

Attention All Small Business Bloggers: The Revolution has Begun!

It is becoming ridiculously apparent to me that we (small business bloggers) are the black sheep of the blogosphere. We have some of the most knowledgeable, respectable professionals of any blogging niche and yet you hear but chirps around some of the most informative blogs in our category. We boast gifted minds like Anita Campbell, [...]

Great Business Blogs that were Overlooked

On Monday, I posted the 41 Absolute Best Blogs about Entrepreneurship and Small Business. In this post I said that I would update the list when I found other quality business blogs that I may have overlooked. Well folks, it’s time for our first update. I have found nine more blogs that definitely deserved to [...]

8 Steps to Effective Decision Making

“There is no more miserable human being than one in whom nothing is habitual but indecision.” -William James Entrepreneurs are faced with tough decisions everyday. Our very value, as leaders, is placed in our ability to identify problems, analyze information, and make decisions. Therefore, having a standard process is key to becoming an effective decision [...]

The 41 Absolute Best Blogs about Entrepreneurship and Small Business

There are thousands of small business and entrepreneurship blogs in the blogosphere. Unfortunately, many of them are not at all useful to the experienced or aspiring entrepreneur. We’ve all seen them. The great majority of which are e-commerce “pros” masquerading as entrepreneurship experts. This makes finding solid, useful information for the traditional small business owner [...]

What Is the Best Age to Start a Business?

This is a guest post by Cristian Dorobantescu, author of both the Energybyte and Entrepreneur Interviews blogs.Quote: Youth is the best time to be rich and the best time to be poor. ~ EuripidesMost people I meet that want to start a business have a set of barriers that they need to get over before [...]

Small Business Marketing: The Secret Revealed!

Clate Mask wrote an incredible article over at Small Business Trends earlier this week and I thought that a few points he made would be very helpful to our audience here at Ben Means Business. Clate used the example of the “on again, off again” couple (I know a few who still can’t let go [...]

5 Ways to Expand Your Business with Your Tax Rebate Check

Tax Rebate checks have been a hot topic since the start of 2008. Since then, most people have been bent on buying new “toys” or catching up on bills. However, as entrepreneurs, it is important that we take full advantage of this unexpected capital. While there’s nothing wrong with paying bills, I think that your [...]

Business Advice for Starting a Small Business

I’ve finally landed in my hometown of Detroit, MI and am ready for some R & R (YES…I said Detroit). Therefore, I decided that I won’t be posting any new content until Monday. However, this week was full of business advice from some of the best in the blogosphere. So just in case you’ve missed [...]

Business Failure Rates-The Shocking Truth

Business Failure Rate statistics are some of the most widely misqouted statistics in the world. I’ve heard everything from 90% of startups fail in their first year to 20% fail in their first year. I think it’s safe to say that the actual business failure rate is probably somewhere in between those numbers. I can [...]

Business Class 101: The Fall of EOS Ariline

As of today, EOS Airlines is officially closing it’s doors and has filed for bankruptcy. EOS was one of four “business-class only” airlines that opened in the last two years. Maxjet, one of the others, closed in December. As always, there are things we can learn from these business failures. So let’s take a look. [...]

Social Networking vs. Business Networking-The Art of the Smooz!

Social Networking is one of the most important things you can do for your business. Notice that I used the term “Social Networking” instead of “Business Networking”. Yes, I know that the two are supposed to be different, but as usual I tend to disagree. I think that Social and Business Networking cannot actually be [...]

Links for 2008-06-24 [Digg]

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Worst NBA Draft Lottery Picks of All-Time
5. Robert Swift, 4. Kwame Brown, 3. Kedrick Brown, 2. Michael Olowokandi...Who's No. 1?
12 Steps Getting Your Blog Off To a Good Start
The Blogpreneur - Blogging is a business, treat it like one.
4 Reasons Why Blogging is a Noble Passion
Reason why I get inspired to blog. Read on!

Links for 2008-06-18 [Digg]

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Re-Branding 101 - Changing Your Image
What to consider if you want to change your market Segment.

Links for 2008-06-17 [Digg]

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Ten Biggest Entrepreneurial Mistakes
Nice post by Mike Michalowicz about ten mistakes that entrepreneurs make. The mistakes Mike lists all stem from flaws in one's attitude. Check them out, see which of these flaws are rearing their ugly head in your business.