Many small business owners are either all over the map in their business activities or trapped in a routine based on what they love to do. Neither approach is the best way to achieve your business goals or enjoy a high level of personal satisfaction. Surprisingly enough, the solution can be found in creating a productive rut and sticking with to it day in and day out. What areas of your small home based business can most benefit from digging a rut and staying in it?

Time

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In an age of on-line payments and multinational business ventures, many small business owners are finding business credit cards to be a smart choice for simplifying payments, organizing expenses, and expanding the capability and autonomy of employees both locally and abroad. Before diving right in and applying for a small business credit card, however, every responsible business owner should ask himself or herself: is a small business credit card the right choice for my business?

There are several factors that can help determine this, but one of the simplest is how long the company has been in existence. Until a company has been around for at least two years, many banks and credit card companies may be reluctant to draw enough conclusions about the company’s financial responsibility to approve a large line of credit. In cases such as these, whether a business credit card is approved or not will depend on the personal financial and credit history of whatever individual–from business partner to simple employee–actually puts in the application for the card. This may not be a problem in the case of a rock-solid personal finance history, but if there’s any doubt, acquiring a good business credit card may be a trickier proposition.

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The idea of obtaining a small business grant, for many small business
owners, is great. After all, unlike a loan, grants are funds that don’t
have to be repaid. Many of us have heard various sources proclaiming to
have the secret to obtaining small business grants and they may very
well have a legitimate listing of grantors (organizations or
individuals that award funds to others for a specific purpose). But if
you don’t know the real deal about small business grants you may be
wasting your time and your money.

The idea of obtaining a small business grant, for many small business
owners, is great. After all, unlike a loan, grants are funds that don’t
have to be repaid. Many of us have heard various sources proclaiming to
have the secret to obtaining small business grants and they may very
well have a legitimate listing of grantors (organizations or
individuals that award funds to others for a specific purpose). But if
you don’t know the real deal about small business grants you may be
wasting your time and your money.

Read the rest of this entry »