Even as the economy turns a corner, many small business owners are still feeling the effects of the 2009 recession. There are a whole host of options available that take advantage of technology to save money on everyday operating costs.

VoIP

Many consumers are aware of VoIP services and are starting to use them for residential local and long distance calling. However, small business owners aren’t taking advantage of these cost savings that work with your existing network – no upgrades needed.

Small business owners looking to get the biggest bang for their online marketing buck should study up on a powerful, emerging trend: Retargeting.

In short, this is a simple concept that's allowing entrepreneurs to extend their reach -- and their brand -- far across the web. Retargeting essentially allows you to track visitors to your website after they leave and to strategically place ads on websites they visit. It's an incredible tool that can help you reach consumers who don't convert on their initial visit to your online storefront.

I was going to write this week's newsletter on practical legal stuff (i.e. what costs more: paying your managers hourly or salary). I changed my mind last minute, though, because something unexpected happened this morning. The lawyer in the neighboring office got hit by a car while walking to work. In typical lawyer style, though she was seriously hurt, she was protesting that she needed to get up and go to court.

Even with sky high postage costs, a properly executed direct mail campaign still provides a solid ROI. What? You've bought into the myth that direct mail is dead?

Even during a good economy, starting a small business and building it into a success is a hard task. When times are tough, like they certainly are now, it can be almost impossible. The ironic part is, or one of them at least, is that small business growth is a common indicator used during a recession to determine how, or if, the economy is improving.

When you’re a small business, rising expenses that bigger companies find as an inconvenience may be what puts your profit margin in the red, for good. Sometimes little things such as an increase in gas prices at the pump, higher taxes or a few extra cents for stamps are things that can really make staying afloat difficult.

Contrary to what most small business owners think, financing a business is not rocket science. In fact, there are only three main ways to do it: via debt, equity or what I call “do it yourself” financing.

Each method comes with benefits and drawbacks you should be aware of. At various stages in your business’s life cycle, one or more of these methods may be appropriate. Therefore, a thorough understanding of each method is important if you think you may ever need to secure financing for your business.

Business professionals and their clients want an easy, more streamlined means to make and receive payments. E-checks, or the Automated Clearing House (ACH), allow payments to be processed via the internet and offer a multitude of benefits.

1. Save money. No more wire transfer or credit card processing fees. E-checks are transferred directly from the consumer's account to the merchant's. Money, time and other valuable resources are no longer spent on processing payments. Since the entire transaction, from invoice to payment to receipt, is handled digitally, with a lower payment processing fee, merchants stand to reduce their bottom line.

In the restaurant industry speed and efficiency within operating procedures directly affect company profit margins. Restaurant owners are continually searching for new ways to save money and make order placing a much more speedy process.

A recent press release from Dinerware who is a leading restaurant software company announced their release of SpeedMenu. SpeedMenu is a mobile menuing, ordering and payment service that enables guests to add, close and pay out their tabs via their Internet-enabled mobile devices.

When Designing Promotional Products, Aspect Ratio can Make or Break You

If you’re like most small business owners, you probably don’t spend a lot of time thinking about your logo’s aspect ratio. A lot of people don’t. But seemingly small changes in the aspect ratio – the proportion of your logo’s height to width – can really change the readability and overall look of your logo.

Editor Note: As a rule, all Idea Cafe grant winners provide monthly reports on how their business is doing since receiving Idea Cafe's Grant. Here is the first update from Gerhard Guevarra, owner of All-American Fencing Academy, where he passes on his business wisdom and entrepreneurial spirit, and shares thoughts on how to use the grant money most effectively to take his business to the next level.

The All-American Fencing Academy has now survived two summers as a fully fledged LLC. Since 2003, the All-American Fencing Academy has been in existence, providing fencing programs, but it had existed upon the shoulders of Parks and Recreation programs and other community sponsored activities. In 2008, the All-American Fencing Academy took a flying leap into the small business world.