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Business Insights
Expert Summaries and articles addressing a broad range of issues affecting small businesses
Expert Summaries
InnovatorsLINK experts weigh in on major topics facing entrepreneurs
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Business Planning
Forming an LLC in Any of the 50 States
- LLC requirements vary from state to state
- If you’ll be conducting business in multiple states, you may need to register with each state
- A guide from Nolo offers state-by-state guidance
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Employee Management
Essential Contracts For Every Small Business
- Important contracts for small or expanding businesses
- For all kinds of entrepreneurs and startups
- Limit your liability, ensure confidentiality, and more
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Crisis Management
How to Create an Emergency Fund
- How much cash will you need in an emergency and where will you keep it?
- For entrepreneurs starting and expanding their businesses
- Help your business overcome unexpected financial events
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Branding
Customer Perceived Value: Understanding What Appeals to Your Customers
- Perceived value is how a customer evaluates a product or service based on how it meets their needs or expectations
- Price, convenience, credibility, and other factors will influence a customer’s perceived value
- Perceived value should play a role in your pricing and marketing strategies
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Selling/Closing a Business
Getting Acquired Doesn’t Have to Be a Blood Sport
- Business owners naturally want to get a high price when selling their company, but the process can be stressful and time-consuming
- Accepting a fair offer allows you to quickly concentrate on your next step
- Some options include selling to a family member or employees
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B2C
Big Box Challenge: How Small Business Can Compete
- Small businesses have found ways to endure despite big box stores’ edge on pricing and selection
- Offering a better experience and good service are essential steps in remaining competitive
- A strong online presence has become more of a necessity as well
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Marketing
Which is More Effective: Mass or Niche Marketing
- Your marketing strategy will determine whether you start big or start small
- Niche marketing allows you to target a group of people who are more likely to purchase your product or service
- Mass marketing reaches a larger audience,
Marketing & Sales
How to Find Your Customers’ Pain Points
- Pain points are any specific problem faced by a customer using a product or service
- While there are four areas of pain points, issues often fall into multiple categories
- Market research can help you identify customers’
Branding
Crafting a Customer Survey That Yields the Most Valuable Insights
- Surveys offer useful feedback on how a company is meeting customer needs and how it can change its strategy
- Company owners can choose from several different types of questions when putting together a survey
- Successful approaches make it more likely that a customer will complete the survey
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Business Strategy
How to Get Your Projects Done on Time With a Small Team
- Small teams offer many benefits when working to complete a project
- However, the limited number of employees can also create certain difficulties
- Shared goals, tech options,
Business Strategy
Tips For Building Long-Lasting Small Business Success
- Entrepreneurs often focus too much on their business’s immediate needs and not enough on long-term strategy
- Having a business plan from the outset allows you to set goals and benchmarks to meet
- Business owners should be prepared to regularly adapt their company to fulfill changing demands and meet customer needs
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Employee Management
Want Higher Profits? Keep Your Employees Happy
- Research shows that companies that in their employees and workplace post better profits than those that don’t
- Fair pay and benefits, an open leadership model, and other strategies to improve your company culture
- Ensuring that your employees are engaged with their work is also a crucial factor
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Accounting
Options For Paying Your Employees When You Can’t Make Payroll
- Employers are required by law to pay their employees, but unexpected circumstances may leave you with too little cash to make payroll
- Communicating the situation is essential,
Selling/Closing a Business
Important Steps to Take When Closing a Business
- A checklist for small businesses looking to close up shop
- Make sure you notify your employees, lenders, and other relevant parties
- Wrapping up your taxes and contracts with clients
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Selling/Closing a Business
How to Close, Sell, File Bankruptcy, or Liquidate Your Business
- Develop an exit strategy when shutting down your business
- Business owners have the options of closing, selling, liquidating and filing for bankruptcy
- Review all options to find out what works best for you
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Expanding a Business
Expand Your Business to New Locations
- Businesses often decide to expand to meet growing demand or tap into new markets
- Research is key for finding the right location, analyzing markets, and more
- Have a sound financial plan to ensure that a second location won’t jeopardize the overall profits of your business
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Expanding a Business
Understanding the Risks Of Rapid Business Growth
- Common problems caused by rapid business growth
- Financial problems, poorer customer service, overworked employees, and more
- Grow at a sustainable pace to handle the challenges that come with expanding
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Legal
Common Legal Mistakes Small Businesses Make
- Legal oversights are common in small business, but can be costly as well
- Proper documentation, intellectual property protections, other essential steps to safeguard your business
- Understand and stay compliant with all legal requirements
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Business Strategy
The Most Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make
- Common mistakes made by entrepreneurs seeking to run a business
- Failure to have a clear plan for finances, marketing, and other aspects of the business is a major shortcoming
- Entrepreneurs must also be willing to commit to a venture and seek help as needed
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Accounting
Free Bookkeeping Software for Small Business
- Keeping track of your business expenses and income is crucial for assessing your business strategy and profitability
- Several free online tools are available to business owners
- Help forecast future cash flows,
Outsourcing
When It’s a Good Time to Outsource Your Marketing
- Marketing is essential for finding new customers and generating sales, but an internal team may not be necessary for your company to succeed
- An outside company may be able to perform these tasks more effectively
- Signals in your marketing results and daily workload that it’s time for a change
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Human Resources
Understanding Human Resources Issues When Hiring Employees for Your Business
- If you’re planning to bring on employees at your company, you need to have a grasp of human resources issues
- Get a firm grasp of employment laws and requirements
- Advance preparations allow you to develop a staffing plan,
Outsourcing
Services Every Scaling Small Business Should Outsource
- Determine which company services can be outsourced to optimize time and money
- For entrepreneurs expanding their businesses
- Helps you extend your capabilities as an organization while keeping a focus on your core competencies
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Business Planning
What Are the Main Purposes of a Business Plan?
- Understand why a business plan is important and what it needs to accomplish
- This document provides crucial guidance and minimizes the chances that you’ll run into common mistakes
- Business plans can be dynamic documents,
Business Planning
6 Types Of Business Plans
- Understand different types of business plans
- Business plans can assist you when starting a business and when growing one
- Choosing wisely during the different periods of your business will help you better achieve your goals
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Business Planning
What Is A Trademark and How Do I Apply For It?
- Understand the details about what a trademark is and how to apply for one
- For those starting or expanding businesses
- Learn how a trademark can protect your services,
Business Planning
Understanding the Difference Between Domain Names, Business Entity Names, and Trademarks
- Understand the difference between domain names, business entities, and trademarks
- An essential distinction to learn when you start your business
- Clear explanations from a knowledgeable attorney
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Information Technology (IT)
An Introduction to NAICS Codes
- NAICS codes are a 2- to 6-digit code that help businesses with getting loans and government-related services
- Businesses that wish to become government contractors or verified veteran-owned businesses especially need this
- Tips for you to know how to get NAICSs codes.
Digital Services
How to Get a Virtual Business Address
- Set up a physical address for your business while maintaining your privacy and security
- For those who run home-based businesses or otherwise don’t wish to divulge a company’s physical location
- Establishes a place to receive mail and important documents
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Business Planning
Understanding An LLC Operating Agreement
- How an operating agreement can assist with the management of a Limited Liability Company
- For those looking forward to starting their company as an LLC
- Helps govern internal operations of the business in a way that suits the specific needs of the business owners
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Business Planning
Understanding the LLC Articles of Organization
- Articles of organization formally establish a limited liability company (LLC) with the state
- Provides basic information about the company and its members
- Distinct from an LLC operating agreement
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Employee Management
Evaluate Employee Personalities to Maximize Your Workflow
- How personality assessments can influence your business strategy and improve productivity
- Tips for those managing a business
- Help identify your own leadership style and evaluate employees’
Business Planning
Common Business Plan Mistakes
- A business plan can help you prep your company for launch, but you can jeopardize your chances of success if you make one of several common errors
- Factors range from sloppy grammar to unrealistic financial forecasts
- For those planning a business
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Business Planning
Free Business Plan Templates
- Resources providing free business plan templates
- For those planning a business
- Makes the process easier and more manageable
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Business Planning
The SBA’s Guide to Writing A Business Plan
- An official, simple guideline for writing a business plan
- For those planning a business
- Get an overview of the key concepts of a business plan
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Business Planning
How to Write the Financial Section of a Business Plan
- Tips for writing a financial section that can help attract investors or win approval for a loan
- For those planning a business
- Income statements, cash flow analyses,
Accounting
Bookkeeping Basics For Small Business Owners
- The definition and importance of bookkeeping
- For those starting a business and those who haven’t hired an accountant
- Learn the basics of small business accounting
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Data Analytics
Frequently Asked Questions About NAICS Codes
- Official website on NAICS code answers 27 frequently asked questions
- For business organizations and institutions
- Learn more about how NAICS code facilitates economic analyses through the collection,
COVID-19
COVID-19 Information for Connecticut Small Businesses
- Business resources to help Connecticut businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic
- For small or mid-sized Connecticut businesses owners struggling during the pandemic
- Sector rules and other information
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Expanding a Business
Is It Time to Scale Up Your Business?
- Understanding when your startup has reached its tipping point, and what to do next
- For those who have started businesses and are thinking about expanding
- Understand the challenges that will inevitably come as your business scales
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Accounting
Do You Need an Accountant for Your Small Business?
- Deciding whether you should hire a professional accountant or balance your own books
- For any kind of business organization
- Avoid costly financial and tax mistakes
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Legal
Protecting Your Intellectual Property and Business with Patents
- Learn the proper strategy for safeguarding your company’s intellectual property
- For those starting or expanding a business
- Protect your business’s ideas and products
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Business Strategy
Build a Loyal Customer Following For Your Business
- Ways to create real customer loyalty
- For those starting or managing a business
- How to consolidate your market share and develop your business in a way that retains customers
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Business Strategy
How Do I Find My Suppliers, Manufacturers, and Distributors?
- Finding manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers to acquire the items you need to develop your own products
- Pricing, quality, minimum orders, and other considerations in choosing a company to work with
- Directories,
Accounting
Is It Better to Lease or to Buy Equipment?
- Whether it is better to buy or lease equipment for your company
- For those starting or expanding a business
- How to decide which option makes the most sense for your business
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Business Planning
Are Some Locations Better Than Others?
- Factors that go into choosing a business location and questions that entrepreneurs should ponder
- For those starting or expanding a business
- Also a resource for Connecticut business location selection
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Marketing & Sales
How Do I Set Price Levels?
- How to meet business goals in pricing products, and some considerations when pricing
- For the early-stage business entrepreneurs
- Increase sales and create an essential foundation for your business
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Marketing & Sales
What Is My Market Potential?
- The elements of determining market potential
- For those starting or expanding a business
- Forecast your potential customers
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