Archive for February, 2010

• 13 Sources of Competitive Business Information

Kate Lister - February 22nd, 2010

I wrote an article for American Express OPEN on how to compare your business to you competition. Benchmarking, as it’s called, is also a good way to research a start-up business idea. You can read the whole article here: Financial Benchmarking: How Do You Compare To Your Competitors?

The free and low cost sources of competitor data I discuss in the article include:

1) Your industry association
2) Internal Revenue Service Corporate Sourcebook

3) Annual reports of public companies in your industry
4) Bureau of Labor Statistics Labor Productivity and Costs

5) Bureau of Labor Statistics Labor Pay and Benefits

6) Bureau of Labor Statistics Labor Producer Price Index

7) US Department of Labor

8) US Census Bureau Economic Census

9) US Census Business Expense Survey

10) US Census Annual Survey of Manufacturers

11) Dun & Bradstreet

12) The Risk Management Association

13) Morningstar.com

For other great small business advice, visit:

American Express OPEN and FindingMoneyAdvice.com – our sister site for small business owners

By the way, if you like the article at American Express OPEN, we’d love a tweet and a thumbs-up on their page!

Technorati Tags: financial benchmarking, business competitive information, kate lister

• 12 Steps To A Loan Renewal

Kate Lister - February 17th, 2010

We’ve been invited to pontificate about small business finance for American Express OPEN:

Here’s a peek at today’s article entitled: 12 Steps to a Loan Renewal in 2010.

“Temporary setback” in entrepreneur-speak rings of “loan default” in lender speak. Lenders hate bad news, even when they’re expecting it. They hate it even more when federal regulators are already giving their own financial statements the stink-eye. As a result, while you’re probably happy to have last year behind you, your banker may not be so willing to consider it history.

For the rest of the story, visit American Express OPEN. We’d love a tweet and a thumbs up!

For more about small business loans, grants, angels, venture capital, and financial management, visit our other site: FindingMoneyAdvice.com or, even better, buy a copy of Finding Money—The Small Business Guide to Financing. Instant download as a PDF, just $14.95

• Inc. Magazine Writers Telecommuting

Kate Lister - February 11th, 2010

If you’re here, you probably follow telecommuting. And if you follow telecommuting, you probably know that the writers at Inc. magazine are doing a month-long work-at-home trial. If you missed the buzz, you can catch up starting with Max Chafkin’s story and continuing posts about their experience.

I had a chance to share some of thoughts on telecommuting with Max a few days ago. A man after my own heart, he was interested in the geeky research we’ve done on the staggering benefits home-based work offers employers, employees, and the community. He posted a summary piece called Going Virtual By the Numbers yesterday.

I know you’re not supposed to interview the interviewer, but I couldn’t resist asking Max how it was going (and what he was wearing). Second things first, he was on his way home from a meeting when we spoke so he was fully-clothed. After I scolded him for risking his life on the New York City streets in a snowstorm, we chatted about his experience so far. No big surprises there—just the usual transition issues: missing his co-workers, under-eating and overworking, finding a balance between work and family. But it sounded like he was enjoying his new-found empowerment, productivity, and sense of freedom. I have no doubt he’ll learn to tame the monster.

With the technology we have today, there’s just no reason someone who sits in front of a computer all day should schlep to an office. Yet, most of the big publication writers I talk to still do just that. Kudos to Inc. for blazing the trail! I hope more follow them home. What is it those Big Dog t-shirts say? Lead, follow, or get out of the way!