Running a small business can be overwhelming at times. There are countless decisions to be made, and it’s helpful — even essential — to work with people you trust. You want to be careful not to fall into a trap set by a crafty salesperson. If the integrity of a purchase is questionable, it can trickle down and hurt your entire organization, as well as your customers. The best way to avoid problems is to focus on working with honest individuals.

Networking - it's the word on everyone's lips, the ultimate tool in climbing the career ladder. However, calling too much attention to this word can be detrimental to your small business. Networking is what people have been doing for centuries—it's an age old concept entailing socialization and genuine teamwork to further professional aims. Here are some tips for your small business to follow in the modern age.

Though we are now nearly four years past the official end of the Great Recession, obtaining credit remains challenging for many small and mid-sized businesses. This is especially true for businesses that have experienced difficulties such as a drop in revenue, or those with inadequate capital structure to support their cash flow.

Small businesses thrive or die daily due to how well they maintain cash flow. Although there are a number of ways to generate revenue, often small business owners worry when a sale occurs but the actual payment is in arrears. This puts the business in the position of having to front cash for expenses while waiting for a payment to post. The business remains in a tenuous position, especially with traditional payment formats such as checks and cash.

You conduct business everywhere you go thanks to the new smartphone technology. Business emails are answered while at the drive-thru and appointments made while getting a haircut. Your payment solutions should be just as versatile.

With mobile payments and processing, you can make sales anywhere you are --even when you are miles away from your credit card machines. While there is a vast number of reasons your company should be looking into the mobile payment trend, here are five good reasons to start:

Editor Note: As a rule, all Idea Cafe grant winners provide monthly reports on how their business is doing since winning Idea Cafe's Grant. Here is the first update from Amanda Bloom, the owner of The Mercurial. Enjoy reading, and don't miss out on the opportunity to be inspired by her entrepreneurial spirit and business wisdom. In a six-month period she will share thoughts on how she uses the grant money in the best possible way in order to take her business to the next level.

Without your reputation, what are you as a business leader?

Unfortunately for some business owners, their reputations are called into question at times, something that can certainly have a negative impact on their ability to conduct business.

If you have found your business reputation questioned at one time or another, here are some ways to improve it, moves that may very well increase your revenue stream:

What your clients say about your business, matters a lot. It goes a long way in shaping the opinion of others and when it comes to business, perception is often taken as reality. When looking for an effective form of marketing your business, your best advertisers are your clients. Their experience with your enterprise is what they will talk about and this can be beneficial or detrimental to your business.

There is a lot to think about when you own a small business.

Not only do you have to think about offering insurance to your employees, but you also have to think about auto insurance for company vehicles, or any vehicles used for business purposes.

This is not something to skimp on, as you don’t want to end up paying big bucks if something happens, or worse, risk your business.

Besides spring, April brings two other things with it: cleaning and taxes. Even though we don't usually anxiously await either, if you work from home or own your own small business, I have good news for you that will help to soften the blow. Many of the improvements and upkeep for your office are tax-deductible! If you complete a few, simple DIY projects now, you can write-off some or all of the cost when you file your taxes next year. And isn't that something to look forward to when April rolls around again?