Small Business | Business Institute

Get Started in Your own Import Export Business for Disposable Income

Looking for another stream of income? There is a business that can be started on a shoestring and if worked correctly, can bring in tons of extra income.

Being an importer/exporter can be started with nothing more than a phone call or email. The right person will have supplier contacts in whatever business they want to import or export.

For instance, a construction contractor knows where to purchase quality woods, concrete and cement, tools and materials, or even good steel-toed work boots. These items are things the contractor has knowledge about and can sell to other companies around the world.

Step One: Find out Who’s Buying and Selling

Finding a supplier is key; find one that can deliver on large orders, does international shipping and is well organized. Then, find someone to sell the products to.

There are websites that cater to international buyers, telling them where to find this or that item. Those websites can be used to garner accounts; send an email or call one of those buyers to see how to help with their needs, and then fill the needs.

Find out about tax amounts and tariffs, shipping methods and costs; get all the information necessary before trying out the first deal. Be well prepared and do online searches for advice sites.

Finally, an import/export consultant isn’t a bad tool to use. They often have their own overseas contacts and the experience to be able to give qualified advice. Check their credentials and make sure they’ve got good testimonials and references.

Start doing it as a side-job and work it into a full time business.

Filed Under: Captial, Small Business Tagged With: Business, Insurance, Trade

How can a Degree Help Your Professional Life?

Cover of "Back To School (Extra-Curricula...

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Many people have had a career for a long time before they ask themselves if they should go back to school. You have probably heard at one point or another that continuing your education can be very helpful in almost any career field. But, you might wonder just how much truth there is to that, or if it will actually be worth getting a degree, or a degree higher than the one you have. This is an important decision and whichever option you take will have a big impact on your life.

When deciding whether or not to go back to school, the first thing you need to do is decide why you want to go back to school or why you are considering going back to school. If you know that going back to school can get you a promotion or more job options, you might have a good reason to go back to school. If you are not sure why you are considering going back to school, you might want to take some time to figure it out.

If you are as high up in your job as you can get in your job without a higher degree, going back to school might be worth going back to get that degree. One thing that makes a lot of people upset with their current job is knowing they cannot go any higher. If this is a problem you are facing, you have a good reason to go back to school and it will certainly be a rewarding experience.

Filed Under: Business, Small Business Tagged With: Academic term, Back to School, Education

Doing Business Overseas

Starting an export/import business is a bold move for any entrepreneur or established business. And just like any business venture there is the potential for success or failure.

But there are differences in regards to doing business overseas and what you don’t know could potentially hurt your business. Information and educating your self in regards to the export/import business will be imperative to your success in this volatile and changing business world.

You have the potential for increased business in regards to entering the import/export business. But the first consideration for any business is whether or not there will be the potential for sales.

If you are planning on exporting products into other countries you will want to know the culture and climate of that company in order to assess a demand for the individual product. You will want to research what is already in the marketplace for sale and what your competition will be. If there are products already on the market in a particular country of interest, then you will want to research and identify what will make your product more desirable, what does yours offer that is not already meeting a consumer need? Create a check list and identify why your product is better and why consumers will want to choose it over the current products offered. This will help you design your advertising campaign. Take your product or products to International Trade Shows and spread the word regarding your company and products.

The same advice is true for importing products to sell. You will want to know the demand for any products and why consumers would choose those products over what is already in the marketplace. Research how much it would cost to import and what you could expect to resell the products for and how much profit can actually be made from the product.

Filed Under: Small Business Tagged With: Business, International trade, Product (business)

An Export Business

If you think your product or business has the potential for international appeal and profit, you might want to consider venturing into the export business.

There are many sites online that offer free information, webinars, and ebooks, including legal and government information that will help you to understand what you can expect and should be aware of when considering expansion and entering the export industry.

Knowing what to expect and having detailed planning well in advance will help you move you into this new business dimension with minimal growing pains.

It will be important for you to attend International Trade Show’s and participate in them, announcing and advertising your business. This will help you and your business to create awareness regarding your product and what you will be offering.

Educating your self and those who are part of your business team, will be an important factor in whether or not your business is a success internationally.

An export business is usually thought of as strictly a big business domain, but there is great potential for the small business owner to experience success as well.

In fact if sells have grown stagnant within your current area of sales, then an export venture might prove to be a very lucrative move on the part of a small business.

This type of business expansion is not for the faint of heart, you really need to have a desire to overcome many potential setbacks. Information gained and understanding as to how the export industry works and what will sell in a particular country is vital to the success of your export business.

But if you are a daring entrepreneur who loves a challenge and does not mind a little swimming upstream then you have the potential for success and profit from taking your business into the export arena

Filed Under: Business, Small Business Tagged With: Business, Export, Small business

The Importance of Continuing Education for Business Owners

Successful business owners know that the best way to prosper is to always be open to learning. Learning opportunities might include taking university classes, enrolling in continuing education courses or taking weekend seminars. A business owner who wants to continue growing as a professional can find opportunities for gaining knowledge through many different avenues.

Enrolling in a University Degree Program

Some business owners encounter situations that call into question their knowledge and qualifications. A software provider might find that the industry has gone in a new direction and to truly keep up, he must earn a university degree to gain a wider range of programming skills. Another business owner might find that he has a successful product but he does not possess marketing skills. In his case, earning a marketing degree might be a structured way for him to learn new ways to spread the word about his product.

Continuing Education Classes for Business Owners

In some cases, a business owner may be too busy to go back to school on a full-time basis. He may not need a full-fledged degree to grow his business. Through enrollment in an accounting course or a management course, he might be able to strengthen his skills and improve the operations of his business.

Informal Education for the Business Owner

Not all education takes place in classrooms. A business owner who is committed to growing as an individual and to further developing his business will always be open to learning. Networking with other professionals is a good way to exchange knowledge and advance learning. This can be done through attending trade shows, conferences and other industry-specific events. Researching information on the internet and through reading industry-specific books are also good ways to advance knowledge.

A business owner who wants to keep learning will always find a way. Whether it’s through getting a degree, taking short-term courses or networking with other professionals, ongoing education helps business owners to succeed.

Filed Under: Business, Small Business Tagged With: Business, Education, Informal education

The Power of Online Business Education

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If you’re interested in business education but don’t have the means to travel and are looking to stay in your PJs while you work, look no further. Here are five places to get your business education online! And the best part about these courses you’ll read about? THEY’RE FREE.

The first is the MIT OpenCourseWare from the Sloan School of Management (mit.edu). Simply log in to the site and absorb the wealth of information in bachelor’s-degree courses and master-level courses on business complete with lecture notes, videos, lab demonstrations and more.

Next is the U.S. Small Business Administration (sba.gov), providing courses on finance and accounting, how to start a business, planning, management, government contracting, and international trade.

Third on the list is the Free Nonprofit Micro-eMBA Program (managementhelp.org). The best part about this resource is its comprehensive quality. It’s basically an MBA wrapped up in one program. Of course, you don’t receive a degree for it, but like the rest of these on the list–it’s completely free.

Kaplan University. Believe it or not, this college actually offers two free business courses online. The best part (besides not costing a dime) is you can actually apply the credits from these courses to an actual degree at Kaplan if you so choose.

The fifth is the extensive and easy-to-use web site, myownbusiness.com, specifically titled “My Own Business”, which offers 14 sessions on how to start a small business, which cover subtopics such as business planning, accounting, marketing, insurance, e-commerce, and international trade. It is still free, but if you wanted to invest in some real credentials with the site, you can spend $100 for the accompanying textbook for future reference and a Certificate of Completion. Just food for thought.

There are even more sources to choose from other than these five, and more will be discussed in a future article. Consider these five and see what you think. You might find your gem in one of these!

Filed Under: Business, Corporation, Small Business Tagged With: Kaplan University, MIT OpenCourseWare

Be Grateful to Business Partners

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Do you own and run your own business? If so, and you are like many other people, you know the value that comes from running a business through other people. You have employees, perhaps. You have service providers. You have customers. In addition, you may have affiliate marketers. As you consider the way that these people affect your day-to-day business, consider when was the last time that you actually thanked them for the service that they provide.

It is very easy to overlook the very simple things that business associates do to help your business turn a profit. For example, you may not even know your top affiliate marketers, but you may know that they have helped to make your program one of the top affiliate programs out there. Have you stopped to consider saying thank you to them? Sure, you give them a commission for their sales, but unless you say thank you, you are not going to really appreciate what they are doing for you.

On the other hand, you may not own a business but may be part of one. Do you take the time to say thank you to your employer, coworkers or others that you meet? Most people do not make the time to do this, even at the holidays, because they simply do not realize the role that others play in their day-to-day business. You may not be successful if those people were not there, doing what they are doing for you.

Think about all of those people that help you to make a living, no matter if you are a business owner or just an employee. Find a way to make them feel special and chances as good they will be loyal to you longer. That will help you to become richer in both appreciation and in the profits that they help you produce.

Filed Under: Business, Corporation, Small Business Tagged With: Affiliate marketing, Marketing, Opportunities

The Power of Online Business Education II

Interested in more sources for business education? Especially when it’s free of charge? Yes, tuition can be costly, costing both arms and legs, your teeth, maybe even your liver; but in this day and age of free enterprise, you don’t have to pay for some education out there. Do some searching, and you’ll find out. Here are the last five to help you with that search:

Business Entrepreneur Courses through Trump University (trumpuniversity.com) is the place to be, especially if you want to associate with the likes of “the Donald”. That means Donald Trump, of course. The courses available are so easy to use that you can basically finish some of them in literally an afternoon. Faster than Trump saying “You’re Fired”.

Kutztown University also features their Small Business Development Center (kutztownsbdc.org) right in Pennsylvania, which provides a business course that takes less than one week to complete. The official name of the program within the University is actually “SmallBizU eLearning University at Kutztown”. And don’t worry–you don’t actually have to be an enrolled student in the university to register for the online program.

Now THIS is the big deal: UC Berkeley, believe it or not, actually offers two FREE courses in business, named respectively, “Introduction to Economics”, and “Introduction to Probability and Statistics”. Amazing? Yes. For crying out loud, it’s UC Berkely, and these courses are absolutely free.

Fourth on the list are the specialized Financial Management Training Center Courses through http://exinfm.com, providing such courses as “Managing Cash Flow”, “The Management of Capital”, “Creating Value Through Financial Management”, and “Project Management”. Besides being free, the free downloadable courses actually provide exams as well!

Last but certainly not least, State of Maine’s Small Business Development Center (mainesbdc.org), which offers a few workshops resulting in a Certificate of Completion after only a few hours of study work. And, yes, of course, it is ABSOLUTELY FREE.

There you go. A wealth of information to go on your entrepreneurial own. Get to it!

Filed Under: Business, Small Business Tagged With: Donald Trump, Project Management

Make Money Working From Home

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Are you ready to work from home? In today’s economy, more people than ever are looking for ways to work from home because they need the extra income and are having a difficult time finding employment otherwise. You are not alone in your quest for a position that will help you to turn a profit for your family. No matter how big or small you hope that income to be, do focus on building your own business instead of just taking on a job from a company. One way to do this is through affiliate marketing.

As an affiliate, you can turn a profit by helping to promote the products or services of another business. You do not have to spend much to get your process set up, but you can be in control of the amount of money you make. Some of the top affiliate programs are producing significant returns on investments, making it easy for businesses like yours to make a profit. There are many people who have started with very little knowledge and money and created a successful business for themselves. You can do this as well.

As you consider all of the options available to you in working from home, realize that, in many cases, you have to do a little research to find the right program or product to promote. One way of getting this process started is to simply compare the top affiliate programs available in an area that interests you or where you already have a great deal of experience. Then, the process of promoting these sites becomes much easier.

The good news is that your business can turn a profit without the process having to cost you a significant amount of money. Take a look at the options available to you today and start working from home for yourself through the use of affiliate marketing.

Filed Under: Business, Small Business Tagged With: Affiliate marketing

First Impressions Start With a Business Card

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You only get one chance to make a positive first impression. That message is drilled into us from a very young age. In the business world this is especially true. If you want to be taken seriously then you need to present yourself accordingly. Dressing for success? Obviously that is important, but so is the first impression you can make with the presentation of a business card. Quite often, business cards will be the only thing you’ll leave behind after a meeting. Here are some tips for making your business card stand out:

Avoid Clutter

We all have a lot of options for contacts, but does your potential future boss really need to have your Facebook address on the business card you hand him? There is nothing wrong with having a professional and a social card for introductions. There are some people you meet who you want to give your Twitter account to. Others might not need your business phone number. Have both handy for any situation.

Keep Your Card Up-To-Date

We all move and switch phone numbers. That’s part of life. That doesn’t mean you can’t be bothered to update your business card. Imagine the impression you’ll make if you hand over a card with a scratched out number and quickly scribbled new number. Yes, you might have hundreds of cards you don’t want to waste, but what are you telling the person you’re giving the card to? That you’re frugal or just sloppy? Recycle the old cards and print up new ones.

Make It Professional

Can you make business cards on your own computer? Probably. Will they look like it? Most definitely. Again, consider the impression you want to make? Do you want to hand over a strong business card printed on sturdy paper stock or something flimsy? The choice is obvious.

Filed Under: Business, Corporation, Small Business