Tips from February 10, 2010 The Small Business tips today discuss the first things to do when starting a business. Business Plan: You need to plan out how you will operate your business, your financial forecast, strategic business goals, and more.  Hire an Accountant or Financial Adviser: There are many complicated financial issues that go into owning your own business, and these professionals will be able to help you out.  Open a Business Bank Account: Separate your personal and business finances with an organized filing system. Don't forget to keep track of your finances at all times. Join a Support Group: Joining a group, like a local business advice center, Chamber of Commerce, or trade organization will provide you with peer support from others who have been in your shoes before, as well as additional contacts for networking opportunities. [Read Full Article]

Tips from September 23, 2009 The Small Business tips today cover talking to your bank about financing. Know the facts, including the current state of economy and type of business you run & its success vs. the industry. Prepare documents, files, and reports to have available for banks. Do light research on various ways to finance. Evaluate your business financially. Use legit records and be honest. Know your net worth as well as annual and personal cash flow. Plan ahead and predict the future. Think about previous years and sales trends. Forecast monthly for the entire year. Daily Overview: Be efficient and have all the information ready & prepared to talk to a bank about financing. [Read Full Article]

Tips from September 22, 2009 The Small Business tips today discuss choosing a bank that is best for your business. Be prepared. Provide banks with necessary info, such as financial history, biz plan, goals and what you need. Do your homework. Know what kind of relationship you want with a bank. Stick to what you want and don't be sold. Ask key questions: find out who is your personal banker, who makes the decision, regular meetings and availability. Create the relationship. Talk to multiple people at the bank. Find out who else uses it. Become knowledgeable. Daily Overview: Choosing the right bank is important. Create relationships & establish trust with the institution handling your money. [Read Full Article]

Tips from June 29, 2009 The Small Business tips today will be about ways to safeguard your finances to save money. Keep track of every purchase by saving receipts from transactions. Find an effective way to record purchases, whether a computer program or check book.  Validate purchases by keeping up with bank statements and your purchases. ABC members have a discounted program, Shoeboxed.com, for record keeping. Try http://bit.ly/7Qb58. Back up your computer! A virus, crash, or even a simple computer malfunction can erase data and records.  If you have a computer program for your finances, back that up as well.  Losing this information could cost your business hundreds of dollars and many hours of recovery.  Save your information on an external hard drive to ensure safety.  Check, recheck, and check again on your bank statements.  Although unl... [Read Full Article]

Last time I looked, American Express was not a bank. They were a credit card company like VISA and MasterCard. However, unlike its revolving debt counterparts, when AMEX gave you plastic and you racked up debt, you had to pay-off each month. Because of this, American Express was a great card to give your college-bound teenager. It was a lesson in fiscal responsibility and living within your means. Those days, like so many other fine things here in America, are gone. Now, AMEX is a bank. The Bank of AMEX The change is not precisely unexpected. We live in perilous times with the government pumping out money at an unprecedented rate to “bail out” Wall Street, AIG, banks, the automakers, the mortgage market, so on and so forth. They say the next wave in the money-tide will cover credit card debt gone bad. American Express couldn't wait for the next crap sandwich of economic largess to be pushed down the taxpayers' throats, they wanted a bite from that or... [Read Full Article]