There’s a big difference between having an idea for a business and actually running a company and dealing with its financial obligations. The second always proves to be more difficult and all businesses struggle with their finances.

Luckily, there are rules that business owners should stick to in order to make their financial future more stable and predictable. These aren’t that difficult and they won’t limit your business in any way, but they can help you go through a difficult financial run when one arises (as they always do).

It’s no secret that small business owners care about their employees -- they are like family. Making sure employees stay healthy is a priority for most business owners. One important way to promote employees’ health is to provide health insurance, but many small business owners may think doing so is out of reach for them due to the cost and complexity.

While larger organizations may have the privilege of entrusting their finances to professional accountants or accounting firms, as a small business, you might need to tackle the major part of your finances on your own. This means that when it comes to making cuts and adopting business practices with a better ROI, you will be on your own. With this in mind and without further ado, here are five small business finance optimization tips you need to hear as soon as possible.

Success is all around us. And when the observant entrepreneur looks at others having success, they will learn a lot. That’s why today I want to share a story with you.

Three months ago, Darren decided to invest some time in growing the Twitter account for one of his online properties - FindBestSEO.com (@findbestseo), a sister site to Idea Cafe.

Despite the newer online marketing tools currently available, a lot of businesses still rely on email marketing as a way to communicate with their audience. Email marketing has maintained its effectiveness over the years, plus the technology behind today’s email marketing tools enables better control and fine-tuning with every campaign.

Franchising is hailed as one of the most effective growth strategies ever. Many businesses have used it as a launching pad for reaching dizzying heights. The proposition is simple: you have a chance to finally become your own boss without having to go out of your way to pull it off. Both the franchisor and the franchisee stand to benefit from the relationship. For the latter, franchising is a real game-changer, a tactic that opens doors that would otherwise remain firmly shut. So, here are some strong reasons to consider going down this path.

Helpful Tips To Improve Money Management Skills      

Good money management skills can make a difference in the type of life you can create for yourself and your family.  Your ability to save for emergency situations and pay your bills on time can have a direct influence on your interest rates and credit limits, which in turn reflects on where you live, what car you drive, and whether you can afford a vacation.  It’s never too late to improve your money management skills.  Whether you're looking for credit card debt settlement programs or just want more out life, these skills will help you become a first-class money manager.

One of the things Michael and I did when we decided to take the first step towards our cat café was to take a free online course from Udacity on How to Build a Startup. I admit, we didn’t get through the entire thing – it was quite a lot of information for someone new to entrepreneurship. But one of the main points we took away from it was how to identify our customers. This permanently altered the way we thought about doing business.  

Running a successful website requires a lot of regular maintenance, but it is extremely important for the prosperity of a business or organization. While there are a lot of housekeeping tasks to take care of on a website, one of the most important tasks of a functioning site is keeping them secure. As we creep further into the 21st century, the rates of cybercrime are higher than ever. There is a wealth of information stored in cyberspace, which makes it a constant target for cybercriminals. While there are various security software applications that can help decrease your site’s chances of being hacked, cybercriminals continue to find ways through standard website security. This means websites must continually update and check for malware to avoid becoming victims of cybercrime.

Running a business is a dream that many people have, but is also a significant challenge. For those that own or manage a business, paying attention to all of the details involved is very important. One important factor to consider is the curb appeal of the business as it can have a direct impact on your company’s revenue. There are five tips that should be followed to help improve the curb appeal and revenue of your company.