If you’re like me, you understand that running a business can feel a lot like raising a child. There are long hours up front as you help get your “baby” on its feet, and then there’s the pride you feel as it grows. And if you have kids, you know that sometimes they can be great inspiration for your business. My son is the reason why I work so hard: so I can create a life for he and I to enjoy together. Other entrepreneurs, like those we’ll meet below, leveraged being parents to develop viable business ideas. These business owners saw issues or holes in the market, and it some cases were inspired to launch businesses that make lives better for kids. Check out these amazing innovative businesses. InRoad Toys Any parent with a truck-loving child knows that they’ll turn any surface into a road. And yet entrepreneur Andy Musliner wanted his three sons (who are now grown) to have a toy road for their cars. This desire set Andy on a 12-year path that led to him developing PlayTape, which allows kids to create instant roads anywhere. Think of it like Duct tape (without being quite so permanently sticky) with road markings. Musliner’s inspiration, which came from his role as a parent, helped make his product a 2016 Toy of the Year Finalist. Infanttech Any parent of a newborn is understandably anxious when driving with the baby. Lizette Espinosa Veneziano’s worry was that she couldn’t see the baby while driving. She wondered why there were no baby monitors for cars. After scouring the market and coming up empty handed, she and her husband, Giuseppe, launched their own solution: the zooby Car & Home Baby Monitor, through their new company, infanttech. But the car monitor was just the tip of the iceberg: since then, the couple launched the smarttemp, a bluetooth thermometer that lets parents track a child’s body temperature. Hi Little One Friends Nell Lindquist and Maggie Allen were frustrated when shopping for newborn gifts for others that they actually liked. Their target? Cute, personal, and fun items. Since they couldn’t find what they were looking for on the market, they created it themselves in 2015 after a successful Kickstarter campaign. Hi Little One offers personalized gifts for babies and kids. Find Your Own Inspiration Whether the inspiration you find in your own children simply gives you a reason to work hard or actually gives you a genius business idea, joining forces between your two super powers — parenting and running a business — can have fantastic results. If you’re looking for a kid-inspired business idea, look at the world through your children’s eyes. What frustrates you? It might be a kind of toy that was built by adult brains, rather than kid brains. Or a gap in the market, like with the toy truck roads. Connect the Dots Between Parenting and Business Realize that you might be nurturing future entrepreneurs in your own home, and let that shape how you talk to your kids about your business. Realize that unless you communicate to them about what it is you do, they may see your business as something they compete with for your attention. They’ll be more embracing of your enterprise if they understand it in their own terms. For example, you could explain in basic concepts about what you do to a young child (“Mommy helps people start successful businesses”) and go into more details with a teen. You could also bring them to into your home office and show them firsthand what you do. And if there’s an opportunity for them to help out, go for it. Get them involved so they feel like a part of the other thing that you love in your life. Set Some Ground Rules If you work from home and have kids there during office hours, establish rules to help them understand your boundaries. If you can place your office in a room with a door. Keep a jar of candy on your desk to keep them quiet when you’re on a conference call. And when your door is shut, teach them that they are not to disturb you. If possible, arrange for child care or camps to keep them busy (and keep you from worrying about them while you’re working). Try to make time for kid breaks so they don’t get their feelings hurt that you’re home and not paying attention to them. Give 100% … One at a Time It’s impossible to be completely present for both your kids and your business at the same time, so don’t try. Instead, devote all your attention to one or the other. If you’re in parenting mode, put your cell phone on silent and don’t give into temptation to check your email every five minutes. Likewise, if you’re working, make sure your kids are taken care of. Enlist the help of your partner or a family member, or try to work while the kids are at school or asleep. Parenting and entrepreneurship are both highly rewarding roles, and you’re lucky to have both. Just continue to work hard at each to see all aspects of your life blossom. The post How to Be A Successful Parent Business Owner appeared first on Succeed As Your Own Boss. from http://succeedasyourownboss.com/successful-parent-business-owner/
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There are two primary options if your business needs the ability to hold, pay, and receive foreign currency: a multi currency account or a foreign currency demand account. A multi currency account allows you to hold multiple currencies within a single account. A foreign currency demand account allows you to hold a single foreign currency… The post Multi Currency Account vs. Foreign Currency Demand Account for Small Businesses appeared first on . from http://fitsmallbusiness.com/multi-currency-account-vs-foreign-currency-demand-account/ You can easily accept online credit card payments for any business need, with or without an existing website. Credit card payments for sales, invoices, and even memberships and donations can all be accepted online without a tremendous amount of work or expense. In this article, we cover the many ways you can accept credit cards… The post How to Accept Credit Cards Online – For Small Businesses appeared first on . from http://fitsmallbusiness.com/accept-credit-cards-online/ Performance management is just as important for small businesses as it is for multi-billion dollar corporations. Employees need feedback, overperformers need to be engaged, and underperformers need a clear improvement plan. In this guide, we will explain performance management from end-to-end for your small business with a focus on the following areas: What Performance Management… The post Performance Management – The Ultimate Guide for Small Businesses appeared first on . from http://fitsmallbusiness.com/performance-management-system/ Hosting an open house is one of the best ways to find serious buyers. For realtors, it’s also a great way to meet and exchange information with new prospects. To ensure you make the most of your event, a unique and eye catching real estate open house flyer is essential. We’ve created a flyer below… The post Free Open House Flyer Template – Downloadable, Customizable Real Estate Template appeared first on . from http://fitsmallbusiness.com/free-open-house-flyer-template-downladable-customizable-real-estate-template/ When most people refer to a UCC filing, they are referring to a UCC lien. A UCC lien is a notice that a lender has a security interest in an asset. When your business enters into a financing agreement that is secured by collateral, a UCC lien could be filed against any assets you pledged… The post What is a UCC Filing & How Does a UCC Lien Work? appeared first on . from http://fitsmallbusiness.com/what-is-a-ucc-filing-lien/ If you are having performance or behavior issues with your employees, you may be wondering if you need an employee discipline form, also referred to as an employee write up form. The answer is yes–you need an employee discipline form, and you need to document the actions you take to improve your employees’ performance and… The post Employee Write Up Form with Free Template appeared first on . from http://fitsmallbusiness.com/employee-write-up-form/ Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9 pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with Barb Giamanco heads up Social Centered Selling. She’s the co-author of The New Handshake: Sales Meets Social Media and authored the Harvard Business Review article Tweet Me, Friend Me, Make Me Buy. As a small business owner herself, Barb has spent the last 14 years implementing unique marketing approaches to drive revenue results. For more information, visit: www.scs-connect.com. SmallBizLady: WHAT IS A PODCAST? BarbaraG: A podcast can either be an audio or video conversation. Many people who host audio podcasts like I do, invite guests to be interviewed about their topical area of expertise. Think of it as a radio show. Listeners can then download the podcast to listen in their car, at their office or while walking on the treadmill. Podcasts are unique because once a user subscribes to a podcast, new episodes will be automatically downloaded as a new episode is released so subscribers don’t need to check for updates manually. SmallBizLady: WHY SHOULD I CONSIDER CREATING/HOSTING A PODCAST? BarbaraG: In short, it is a great way to share valuable, educational content that helps you market you and your business. You don’t have to interview other people. You could also create short podcast sound bites. For example, a small business sales tip of the day that would expose your message to more people. Remember that not everyone consumes content in the same way. Some people like to read, some like to watch and other people like to listen. Podcasts have surged in popularity the last few years for that reason. They are portable and you can listen any time. A podcast also helps you demonstrate your expert authority as you interview guests on topics that your potential buyers will find interesting and lead to inbound inquiries about your work. Use a podcast to expand your following as people subscribe to your podcast, and grow your network as you invite a variety of guests to join your show. And don’t forget that guests will be sharing their interview with their networks, which also increases your exposure. SmallBizLady: HOW MUCH TIME DOES IT TAKE TO SET UP A PODCAST? BarbaraG: If your podcast is going to be simply tips and tricks that you want to share with people, creating a podcast can be as easy as using the Voice Recorder function in Windows. You could also record mini-podcasts from your smartphone. If you want to create a podcast in which you interview guests, it will take a little bit of time to set up your software and systems. You can plan on setting up the basics in 2-hours or less. SmallBizLady: HOW OFTEN SHOULD I PRODUCE A PODCAST? BarbaraG: The answer will depend on how much time you have. I release one podcast per week. To maximize my time, I record on Monday’s and Friday’s only. On each of those days I will stack the interviews, so that I record 3-5 interviews in one day. This ends up giving me plenty of content that I can then schedule in advance. You don’t want to scramble week to week to find guests for your show. SmallBizLady: HOW MUCH TIME DOES THIS TAKE ONCE I’VE DONE MY INITIAL SET UP? BarbaraG: You will spend time seeking out guests to interview. You’ll want to ask them to provide you with a brief bio, their headshot and 5-7 questions they want you to ask. If you have an assistant on your team, you can offload the communication process to them. Not every guest gets their information back to you in the time you want it, so plan for some follow up time. To minimize the hassle of going back and forth over interview dates and times, you can set up a calendaring system that lets guests choose the best interview date and time for them. I use Schedule Once. Once the guest books their time, it automatically is added to your calendar. After the podcasts are recorded, it should only take you about 15-20 minutes per podcast uploaded to your host site. I always do a brief recap of the show and that takes a few extra minutes. If you don’t do that, you can get the time to about 10 minutes. Again, an assistant can help you. If you don’t have an assistant, plan to invest about an hour of time to upload 4-5 interviews at once and schedule them for the upcoming month if your host provider gives you that option and many do. This is why stacking interviews is helpful. My podcast content is already complete going into March 2017. SmallBizLady: WHAT KIND OF EQUIPMENT AND SOFTWARE DO I NEED AND WHAT WILL IT COST? BarbaraG: If your goal is to produce a more professional podcast that people will subscribe to, here are the tools that I use for my podcast. I host and record my guest interviews using Skype (FREE) and a program called Callnote Pro. I pay for the pro version because it provides me with additional capabilities but the FREE Callnote Premium will give you what you need to record great podcasts. You will also want to invest in a decent microphone and or headset. I use an Audio-Technica ATR2500-USB Cardioid Condenser USB Microphone, which you can purchase on Amazon for less than $100. If you like headsets, I also recommend the Sennheiser Century SC 660 USB CTRL Premium Dual-Sided Wired Headset. Whether you purchase a microphone or a headset, the quality is worth it. Don’t skimp on the audio investment. If your podcast sound quality isn’t good, people won’t listen. As a backup option, I use Free Conference Call but you are limited to people having to call into the conference line. If you don’t plan to interview people internationally, as I do, a conference line (FREE) can work fine, especially when getting started. Keep in mind that using a conference line will give you good quality but not as good as using Skype with a professional microphone. Most sites where you will host your podcast is free and you may want to check out their pro features to see if it is worth the investment. For example, I pay for SoundCloud Pro because I don’t want ads showing up in my podcasts. SmallBizLady: WILL I NEED ARTWORK FOR MY PODCAST? BarbaraG: Yes. Especially for your iTunes channel. High quality artwork attracts new subscribers to your podcast. You will want to include a title, brand, or source name as part of your artwork. You can use a source like Fiverr to have a someone design artwork AKA logo for your podcast. Or, you could hire a local graphic designer to do the work for you. SmallBizLady: WHERE DO I HOST MY PODCAST? BarbaraG: Sticher, SoundCloud, Podbean, Libsyn and Blubrry are some popular sites. All of them have their pro’s and con’s. If you are just starting out, you might want to go with a site like SoundCloud or Libsyn. Both give you different types of analytical data. But I also just heard about Blubrry, which I plan to use because it also includes a plugin that gives me even more detailed data and the ability to integrate with my Wordpress blog. This is certainly a more sophisticated way to go but if you have a technical or web person to help you, you might want to start with Blubrry. SmallBizLady: HOW DO I GET MY PODCAST ON ITUNES? BarbaraG: You cannot host podcasts directly on iTunes. You must host media files and RSS feeds on your own web servers or use a third-party host (i.e. SoundCloud, Libsyn or Podbean). You can then submit your podcast feed directory. You need to apply and submit the RSS feed to your podcast. The host company you use will generally create the RSS feed for you. SmallBizLady: WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER HOSTING SITES YOU MENTIONED, DO I NEED TO APPLY TO THEM TOO? BarbaraG: Not all of them. Sticher does have an application process that you need to work through. Other sites like SoundCloud or Podbean simply require you going to their website to set up your account. SmallBizLady: HOW DO I GET PEOPLE TO SUBSCRIBE OR FOLLOW MY PODCAST? BarbaraG: Include the link to your podcast in your email signature, promote through your social media channels, embed on your website or blog and include in your newsletters. You could also include a link to your podcast in any presentations that you deliver. Increase the number of followers or subscribers by asking guests to promote to their networks. Don’t be shy about asking people to subscribe or follow your podcast channel. SmallBizLady: AM I ABLE TO MAKE MONEY WITH MY PODCAST? IF SO, HOW MUCH DO I CHARGE? BarbaraG: Yes. Many podcasters have paid sponsors for their podcast. The fee you charge will have a lot to do with how much data you know about your audience. The number of subscribers is certainly a big factor in how much you can charge a sponsor to advertise on your podcast. The standard approach to determine your pricing is based on something called CPM, which stands for Cost Per Mille. As it relates to podcasting, this means the amount of money an advertiser will pay per thousand people listening to your podcast. So if your CPM is $2, an advertiser will pay you $2 for every 1000 people that hear an ad of theirs that you put in your podcast. In the beginning, you won’t have a lot of listener data to base your advertising pricing but you could include numbers related to your newsletter or social followers reach. If you found this interview helpful, join us on Wednesdays 8-9 pm ET; follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter. Here’s how to participate in #SmallBizChat: http://bit.ly/1hZeIlz The post How To Use Podcasts To Grow Your Small Business appeared first on Succeed As Your Own Boss. from http://succeedasyourownboss.com/use-podcasts-grow-small-business/ Ecommerce shipping software lets you easily and quickly compare shipping rates for different carriers, select the best, and print shipping labels. For this buyer’s guide, we looked at the most popular options and rising stars and decided to review Ordoro, ShippingEasy, and ShipStation. These companies covered the range for small businesses in terms of of… The post Best Shipping Software for 2017 – Ordoro vs. Shipping Easy vs. ShipStation appeared first on . from http://fitsmallbusiness.com/best-shipping-software-rate-comparison-tool/ Schedule C is the tax form that’s used to report income or loss from a business that’s structured as a sole proprietorship or a single member LLC. It is also known as Form 1040, Profit and Loss, or Profit and Loss .To qualify as a business you must meet the following requirements for the tax year:… The post How to Complete Schedule C – Profit and Loss From a Business appeared first on . from http://fitsmallbusiness.com/schedule-c-profit-and-loss-form-1040/ |
AuthorHello I am Teri Crawford 26 years old living in Toronto, Canada. I have recently finished my MBA and planning to start my own business. Archives
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