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Count the number of people in business today that do not use a computer to facilitate their business, and help it grow bigger. It’s hard to take an official tally, but most everyone in business must use a computer, at least some of the time, in order to succeed. Why is it that computers are such a big part of the business landscape today? Because they communicate in ways that a simple telephone cannot, and thus the more communication one can have, the better chance the business has to profit. Earning a business degree online is one way to get acclimated with computers, and business.

 

Writing email might sound easy to you, but are your emails truly fashioned for business, or are they more personal in context? The chances are they are a mix, but the business degree online program will help you understand how to master the art of writing emails for business. Simple tips, like keeping an email short, can help you make back your tuition for your business degree online in one email alone dealing with a business project.

Using spreadsheets is a way of life for most online professionals, and while you have most likely mastered a word processor in high school, chances are the spreadsheet didn’t get the same amount of attention. When earning your business degree online it will become a priority amongst your teachers

What documents can you use to avoid disaster For a limited liability company, which is the most common business entity used today in Florida, the document that alleviates problems caused by the death or incapacity of the company’s owner is an operating agreement. Even if the LLC has only one member or owner, the operating agreement can act like a Will for the business. My article titled Do I need an operating agreement for my Florida LLC on LLC operating agreements is a quick read and contains helpful information about those.

For a corporation, the bylaws and shareholder agreement should contain continuity provisions specifying who will take over in the event of the demise of the owner. In Florida, the LLC has eclipsed the Inc. as the preferred business entity because only one governing document is needed as opposed to two. Also, the protections are the same but the management and documentation requirements are less for the LLC. My article entitled Which is better the Inc. or the LLC discusses the differences between these two types of entities in more detail.    What can I do to prepare for a transition In addition to having properly drafted governing documents like an operating agreement prepared by your corporate lawyer, a prudent measure is to develop a transition plan. The operating agreement will say who takes over, but the internal transition plan will tell that person what actually do. This transition plan is similar to  what you would prepare for any disaster response. But this transition plan must be balanced against the needs of the business to protect its proprietary information.

To put it in other terms, the operating agreement is like telling everyone concerned that person X gets everything in your safe. The transition plan would tell person X how to open the safe.   What is a business transition plan and what should be in it A business normally has clients, vendors, and may have employees or independent contractors. The client and vendor information may be confidential or even a trade secret. The business may have other trade secret information, tr

Most people don’t realize it, but one of your first and most important business decisions can be picking your business name.  A great name is one that attracts customers and can really give your business legs in terms of starting a buzz.  Do you think Google would have created the fanatical sensation it has with a name like Search Engine USA?  If you are not the creative type, then bring in others to help you to name your baby.  Work with a team of advisors, family or even just some business savvy friends, but don’t delegate this task completely to someone else, and especially not to a stranger or some internet naming company.  A naming company is not going to understand your business or know you.  If it is your business it should be a name that you like and that links back to your unique value proposition and the personality of your company.  People will ask you, where did you come up with your name.  This can be a golden opportunity for you to say something really brilliant and memorable, come up with a name that allows you to take this opportunity.  If you are conservative, don’t be persuaded into something wild, that makes you uncomfortable and if you are zany, then don’t go conservative just because everyone else in your industry does.  Picking a name should happen over a period of time, not in a day or an hour.  Forcing creativity seldom works, so give yourself and your team time to percolate on it. Hold a series of brainstorming sessions until you are comfortable and excited about saying, seeing, hearing and owning a particular business name.  During these brain storming sessions you should work through these eight rules for choosing a business name:

 

1) Be distinctive and be memorable, but be easy to spell and pronounce.

Your potential clients should be able to easily remember your business name.  However, they also need to be able to find it easily if they’re looking for it in a phone book, directory or online.  So choosing a business name such as “Phorgetmeekknot” is not a good idea.  While we usually encourage the

For those of us who grew up with parents who worked for businesses rather than owned them, the world of business can be quite a mystery. Even more so if we’ve dared to try to start one of our own. There is the factor of what type of business to start – a product or service business. There are the issues of doing a good market analysis, licensing the business, understanding the codes of law governing businesses, and determining just what type of business structure to choose – especially if the business will have employees. For example, should we start a sole proprietorship or a corporate business? It’s a lot to work on, and it’s not an overnight process to the road of success. But, the most crucial challenge to whether a business succeeds or fails lies deep within the realm of emotional versus financial intelligence.Many start-up businesses fail within the first year of existence. This is especially so with businesses started from home, or exist without the traditional bricks and mortar structure we are so accustomed to. And, far too often the reason many start-up businesses fail has to do with the emotional challenge the new business owner faces. The challenge of seeing him or her self now as a business owner, rather than a paid worker for someone else’s business. It means dressing differently, thinking differently, and talking differently. It means believing that you are already successfully established even if you have a long ways to go on the business’s balance sheet. To put simply, if the business owner doesn’t have a firm belief and commitment in the business and his or her role as the owner, then others simply won’t be convinced that this business is the place to get what they need. Then, there is the crucial issue of having the financial intelligence to keep the business going in the direction the new owner desires. To put it simply, if the new business is only taking money to operate and not making money, it won’t be long before the doors of opportunity become closed. No matter how much motivational self-talk and emotional pump-me-up the new business owner does, it is the results shown on the bottom line that determines the future of the new business. And, if the bottom line is steady generating a negative, the business will eventually lose. Far too many new business owner simply don’t understand this simple fact and it’s incredible impact upon the future of his or her business. And, far too many system based business endeavors, such as network marketing, fail to properly focus the majority of their teaching on this.To keep the vision, motivation, commitment and, ultimately, the business alive, a start-up business owner must simply kno