Creating a Profit and Loss Forecast as a Self-Employed Professional (with Template)
You'll often hear or see the advice that you should create a profit and loss forecast for your business. In fact, you may have heard it from me. Forecasting how much you will earn and what expenses will be necessary is an essential step to set appropriate prices for...
Should You Stand Out or Fit In?
When you were growing up, it's a good bet that one or more of the adults in your life advised you not to stand out. Standing out, like showing off, causing trouble, or breaking the rules, was something that good boys and girls didn't do. Now that you're a business...
Building Your Business Means Building Yourself
"Grow your email list." "Speak in your community." "Get active on social media." "Meet people at events." "Start a blog." These are all recommendations a self-employed professional will hear when exploring how to build a thriving business. There's nothing wrong with...
Is That a Great Opportunity or a Waste of Time?
As business owners, we are frequently offered "opportunities" that may deliver a significant return, but also have the potential to take up a great deal of time. You may be asked to provide your expertise, collaborate on a project, help organize an event, or partner...
How Can I Grow My One-Person Business?
If you've been operating a successful professional services business as a solopreneur, it can be a smart move to leverage your experience, contacts, and track record in the industry by adding other professionals to your team. Managing a multi-person firm will allow...
The Only Thing We Have to Fear
There's no question that the state of the world economy is alarming. Here in the U.S., businesses are failing, unemployment is at record levels, and business and consumer spending in multiple categories has plummeted. And there's no clear path to recovery while the...
Is This the Right Business for You? Ten Essential Questions
Evaluating a new business concept is one of the least glamorous aspects of launching a new product, service, or enterprise. When you are excited about a new idea, you may not want to take the time to stop and examine it critically. New business ideas sometimes seem...
Being Unique Is a Good Thing… Isn’t It?
Self-employed professionals frequently hear the advice to "be unique" in their marketing. The basic idea is a valuable one -- to get attention in a crowded marketplace, you must stand out in some way. Distinguishing your product or service from the competition can...
Beyond Billable Hours
In any professional services business, you typically begin by serving clients one-to-one. As you improve your skills at marketing yourself and begin filling your practice, eventually you discover there are only so many hours in the day. You want to keep growing your...
Marketing in Need of Focus? Focus Your Business
"I'm having trouble building a website for my business," a student told me. "The web designer I'm working with says I'm trying to do too many things, and I shouldn't put it all on one site. But there are so many kinds of work I can do, and I don't want to limit...
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