Business planning and strategy

This is the second post in a series on the basics of small business finances. Check out our first post on small business bank accounts, and stay tuned for future posts in this series, including information about bookkeeping.

This blog was originally posted on the website of Small Business Majority. 

In honor of National Small Business Week, we asked several members of our national Small Business Council to share their expert advice on starting and running your own business. 

Our panel includes

This post originally appeared on the blog of our partner, Justworks.

It should go without saying that most job seekers want a quality benefits package to pair with their job offer. But which employee benefits are the most desired, and how can your company keep pace with the bigger guys?

Justworks conducted an original study* to answer that question.

Below, find out about the gaps between what employers offer and what prospective employees want — and the big opportunities available to growing businesses.

Finance 101: Understanding the building blocks of good credit

This post originally appeared on the blog of our partner, CDC Small Business Finance.

Think quick — what was your childhood phone number? I bet those 10 digits came spilling out without hesitation.

You might be perfectly content at work. Maybe you like your co-workers, your boss is a great person, the company seems to be doing really well and you are totally satisfied with your current salary.

If this describes you, than we just have one thing to say: You should join a franchise.

This may seem counterintuitive. After all, why would you leave a job you’re perfectly happy with to take a risk on business ownership? There are actually several reasons why you should do this:

1. No job is safe.

Are you one of the 300,000 U.S.-based small businesses that export your products and services to international markets? Do you know there are ways to protect your company’s assets from non-payment by foreign buyers and to improve your cash flow? 

This post originally appeared on Small Business Majority. 

This post originally appeared on the blog of our partner, CDC Small Business Finance.

Are you looking into a small business loan? Before filling out an application, you’ll want to know whether you have a high enough credit score to qualify for financing. And if your score is not quite there yet, don’t give up — you have the power to fix your credit yourself.

This is the fourth post in a series on the basics of small business finances. Check out our posts on small business bank accounts, small business credit cards and accounting software. Stay tuned for future posts in this series.