Welcome to the SCORE Small Business Success Blog, where small business experts and mentors share tips, discuss trends, and provide advice on a wide range of topics affecting entrepreneurs in every industry.
- Strategy & Planning (328) Apply Strategy & Planning filter
- Marketing, Public Relations & Sales (265) Apply Marketing, Public Relations & Sales filter
- Human Resources (134) Apply Human Resources filter
- Business Plans/Startup Assistance (120) Apply Business Plans/Startup Assistance filter
- Operations (113) Apply Operations filter
- Financing/Capital (101) Apply Financing/Capital filter
- Accounting & Cash Flow (86) Apply Accounting & Cash Flow filter
- Technology (67) Apply Technology filter
- Legal Issues (62) Apply Legal Issues filter
- Customer Relations (60) Apply Customer Relations filter
- Tax Planning (41) Apply Tax Planning filter
- Buying or Selling a Business (20) Apply Buying or Selling a Business filter
- Other (17) Apply Other filter
- Product Development & Manufacturing (17) Apply Product Development & Manufacturing filter
- Franchising (13) Apply Franchising filter
- International Trade (10) Apply International Trade filter
- Government Regulations & Contracting (7) Apply Government Regulations & Contracting filter
- Non-Profit (3) Apply Non-Profit filter
- Women Entrepreneurs (38) Apply Women Entrepreneurs filter
- Solopreneur/Freelancer (30) Apply Solopreneur/Freelancer filter
- Hispanic Entrepreneurs (26) Apply Hispanic Entrepreneurs filter
- Black Entrepreneurs (19) Apply Black Entrepreneurs filter
- Young Entrepreneurs (14) Apply Young Entrepreneurs filter
- AAPI Entrepreneurs (8) Apply AAPI Entrepreneurs filter
- Veteran Entrepreneurs (8) Apply Veteran Entrepreneurs filter
- Encore (50+) Entrepreneurs (6) Apply Encore (50+) Entrepreneurs filter
- Rural Entrepreneurs (2) Apply Rural Entrepreneurs filter
- Retail Trade (23) Apply Retail Trade filter
- Nonprofit, Public and Professional Organizations (17) Apply Nonprofit, Public and Professional Organizations filter
- Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (15) Apply Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services filter
- Accommodation & Food Services (10) Apply Accommodation & Food Services filter
- Other Services (except public admin.) (9) Apply Other Services (except public admin.) filter
- Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation (8) Apply Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation filter
- Real Estate & Rental & Leasing (7) Apply Real Estate & Rental & Leasing filter
- Health Care & Social Assistance (6) Apply Health Care & Social Assistance filter
- Manufacturing (5) Apply Manufacturing filter
- Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting (3) Apply Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting filter
- Transportation & Warehousing (3) Apply Transportation & Warehousing filter
- Construction (1) Apply Construction filter
10 Rules for Productive and Effective Meetings by Nick Cray
10 easy-to-follow rules for conducting productive and effective meetings.
Should I Form A Corporation Or An LLC? What's The Point? by Bill Ferguson
If the legal protection of the two types of these business entities is almost the same, which is better, corporation or LLC? Most of the time, the simple answer is this – an LLC is better. It’s simpler to form and it allows for the most favorable tax elections.
Mission Statements - Who Needs Them? by Kenneth Wundrow
Businesses need mission statements to tell the public and especially their customers what it is the business does.
To Be (Self-Employed ) or Not To Be by Bill Ferguson
It takes more than a better mousetrap to be successful in business. The purpose here is to tell you what you need to be successful, in addition to the better mousetrap.
Lean Manufacturing Tools by Nick Cray
One of the early-developed lean tools, developed in the 1930’s, is The 5 Whys. It is a problem-solving technique developed by the founder of Toyota Industries Corporation, Sakichi Toyoda. It's also useful for solving your business problems, regardless of your industry.
It's As Simple As Asking a Question by Kathleen Paris
I have had an exciting, intense and wonderful career as a management consultant and have worked with organizations around the world. I have worked with groups trying to chart their future, groups that were stuck trying to get to the future, groups that were locked in conflict, and all kinds of situations in between.
Budgeting for Next Year by Bill Ferguson
Companies using a calendar year to do their financial statements need to take this time of the year to do budgeting for next year. Budgeting? Why would a company need that? Just do their thing – sell and hope for the best? That’s NOT a good way to run a company. Not good at all. All the big corporations budget everything – sales, expenses by category, cash flow, etc, etc. And, they do it on a quarterly basis. Why? One, they want a target that they believe they need to hit and so they then plan what they must do to hit that target. And, secondly, they use it for accountability – to measure the performance of each subsidiary or department that fed their budgets into the overall budget. Planning and accountability.
Validating a Local B2C Business Idea
If you don’t have customers, you don’t have a business. First things first, who’s going to buy what you’re selling? And why buy your product, or service, instead of the competitions?
11 Questions To Cover During a Midyear Check-In
From asking about short and long-term goals to identifying top-performing employees, there are several questions to cover during a midyear check-in.
9 AAPI Business Owners Share Their Secrets To Success
From adopting solid business practices to working with a goal-oriented mindset, there are several success secrets shared by AAPI business owners.
Social Selling Success
Social media has increasingly become a more important channel for retail sales, so it’s even more an imperative to make social commerce a part of your sales strategy.
11 Tips on How to Handle Challenges and Overcome Adversity as an Asian Entrepreneur
From evaluating yourself to asking for help, there are several tips for overcoming adversity as an Asian entrepreneur.