Click yes or no for each of these questions



Click yes or no for each of these questions. | |

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|1)  Can you tell customers why they should buy from you instead of your competition? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|2)  Do you know how you will reach the people that would want to buy your product or service? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|3)  Is the price you need to charge to be profitable competitive? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|4)  Do you have the start-up cash to act now? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|5)  Does your business idea serve a niche or growing market? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|Good help is hard to find. And in this era of job-hopping, keeping it is even harder. As a small business owner, you know just |

|how much prompt service and quality work means to your bottom line. If you’ve found employees who give consistently give their |

|best effort—and, perhaps, a little bit extra when it’s needed—you want to do everything reasonable to make sure they’ll stay |

|with you as long as possible. The process of advertising openings, screening applicants and making hiring decisions takes time |

|and resources; about the only time these tasks are considered pleasant is when business is great, and you need to expand your |

|workforce. |

|  |

|But in areas and industries where labor is at a premium, keeping good employees has become increasingly difficult, especially |

|for those with special talents or experience. You need to find the right combination of challenging work and suitable |

|compensation, and establish yourself as an “employer of choice,” the one that the best people want to work for. |

|  |

|Are you doing everything you can to keep your employees right where they belong—working for you?  Find out by taking this quick |

|quiz. Click “yes” or “no” for each question, then click SUBMIT to see how you did. |

|  |

|  |

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|1)  Do you regularly pass along customer compliments regarding your employees’ performance? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|2)  Do you provide employees with time off for training that will improve their skills and allow them to take on more |

|responsibility? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|3)  Do you have an incentive system in your pay scale that rewards employees for exceptional performance? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|4)  Do you encourage employees to test new ideas that may boost productivity or open the door to new markets? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|5)  Do you solicit employee input when making key business decisions that may affect them? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|Choosing the right bank for your business is essential to the success of your business. Finding a trustworthy banker at a bank |

|where your business can grow, will support your business through the start-up phase. If you have chosen a bank, evaluate your |

|relationship to ensure that your business is benefiting by working with this particular bank. Take the following quiz to |

|determine if your bank is worthy of your business. |

|  |

|Click yes or no for each of the following questions. Then click Submit to instantly discover how your bank works for your |

|business. |

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|1)  Do you feel comfortable talking with your banker? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|2)  Do you have more than one contact at your bank? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|3)  Does the banker refer business to you? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|4)  Are you honest and straight-forward with your banker? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|5)  Does your business have room to grow at your bank? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

|Are you fed up with working for someone else? If so, you may have considered becoming your own boss and controlling your |

|career’s destiny. Starting a business requires hard work and relentless motivation. So, before you dive into this life-changing |

|decision, make sure you’re ready. Take this quiz to determine if you’ve got what it takes to be your own boss. |

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|1)  Can you work irregular, long hours and weekends to make a great start? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|2)  Do you have enough capital to support you and your business through the start-up phase? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

|[pic] |

|3)  Are you passionate about the business you are thinking of starting? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

|[pic] |

|4)  Do you have outside support from an advisor or mentor with business expertise? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

|[pic] |

|5)  Have you studied the demand for your business and calculated the sales potential? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|Running your business and serving clients well takes time. In fact, it can be a full-time job! That’s great when the business is|

|there. The trick, however, is keeping business coming in the door so that slow times are few and far between. That means having |

|a plan of attack from the marketing and public relations angle. How savvy are you when it comes to promoting your products and |

|services? |

|  |

|Take this quiz to see how you’re doing in making your marketing efforts pay off. |

|[pic] |

|1)  Have you sent out news releases to make potential customers aware of your new products and services or your accomplishments?|

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|2)  Do you dedicate time each week or month to plan your next promotions? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|3)  Do you watch competitors’ advertising and marketing to see how the quality of yours compares? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|4)  Do you have a line item in your budget for advertising and marketing? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|5)  Do you attend professional events to pick up on trends in PR and marketing? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|Whether you work out of a plush private room or a corner of your basement, your office is the nerve center of your business. |

|Your office is where you contact clients and take orders, schedule projects and employees, and handle that all-important |

|component of business called “paperwork.”  Your office may also be the place for holding meetings, conducting research, or |

|simply doing your best creative thinking. |

|  |

|Not surprisingly, you’ll also find that nearly every well-managed business has a well-managed office as well. This doesn’t mean |

|simply keeping your desktop clean; it means setting administrative practices and procedures to ensure that nothing falls through|

|the cracks, literally and figuratively. Good office management also makes it easier to translate your daily activities into |

|profits and handle the unexpected. Just as you need a clear head to make good decisions, you need a well-managed office to run a|

|successful business. |

|  |

|How do your office management skills measure up? Find out by taking this quick quiz. |

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|1)  Do you have a regular schedule for backing up your computers? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

|[pic] |

|2)  Do you have a set time to handle administrative tasks that doesn’t conflict with your business-related activities? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|3)  Do you have a set process for tracking your payables and receivables? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|4)  Do you organize your filing system so that other employees can easily locate records if you’re not available? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|5)  Do you regularly inventory your supplies to make sure you won’t run out in a crunch? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. Even the most reluctant believer will soon find truth in this theory, especially in |

|business. Networking is the process of meeting people that may not know your business or who may be able to help your business |

|in some way. There is an art to networking. Simply introducing yourself to someone will not produce the results that you want. |

|Take this quiz to find out how you rate as a networker and how you can improve. |

|  |

|Answer yes or no to each of these questions. |

|[pic] |

|1. Do you attend functions where there are people that you want to meet? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

|[pic] |

|2. When attending events, do you come prepared to represent your business with proper attire and business cards? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|3. Do you present your business to people that you meet in a brief and to the point explanation? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

|[pic] |

|4. Do you send thank you cards for referrals? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|5. Do you follow up with a letter or a phone call after meeting an important contact? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

|Behind every successful business is a staff of talented workers dedicated to providing customers with unique products and |

|services. But in today’s labor market, the old saw that “good help is hard to find” is proving to be frustratingly true. When |

|people weigh job opportunities, money doesn’t always tip the balance. Studies show that opportunities to improve skills and gain|

|promotion are just as important as compensation and benefits. |

|  |

|You may think that only large companies and organizations need or can afford training programs. The truth is that training is |

|just as important for small businesses because even small improvements in service or efficiency will make a big impact on the |

|bottom line. If your staff can boast special skills or expertise, you will almost certainly carve an important and profitable |

|niche for your business. |

|  |

|Are you doing everything you can to cultivate your employees’ skills and talents?  Find out by taking this quick quiz. |

|[pic] |

|1)  Do you actively look for training opportunities that will help your employees keep up with emerging technologies and/or |

|practices related to your industry? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

|[pic] |

|2)  Have you identified job development goals for each position in your business, and the training needs to meet them? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

|[pic] |

|3)  Do you cross-train employees to do other jobs? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

|[pic] |

|4)  Do you provide employees time off to attend classes and seminars that will help their job performance? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

|[pic] |

|5)  Do you use evaluation methods to ensure that the training is helping both the employee and your business? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|Disorganization takes time and energy away from your business. Calculate the time you spend everyday searching for a document or|

|a file and think of the stress that it causes! A messy workspace bears a hefty cost on your business. Take this quiz to find out|

|how organized you are at work and then follow the tips for improvement. |

|  |

|Click on yes or no for each question. Then, click on "Submit" for instant feedback. |

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|1)  Can you easily find papers, tools and materials on a moment’s notice? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

|[pic] |

|2)  Look at your desk—is there a designated place for everything on it? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

|[pic] |

|3)  Do you take the time to put everything back in its place? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

|[pic] |

|4)  Do you reorganize your office at least once every few months? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

|[pic] |

|5)  At the end of the workday, do you clean and organize your workspace? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

Are you on top of what you need to know to protect yourself legally? From the time you open your doors for business—even before—there are many different areas you need to watch. Most likely, you’ve engaged an attorney at least for your startup. But if you’re a sole proprietor, for example, who’s ready to expand, plan on paying even more attention to the legal basics.

Take this quiz to find out how aware you are of legal pitfalls and then follow the tips for improvement.

1) Do you know the difference between an at-will employment relationship and a contractual relationship?

Yes No

2) Do you know whether you are your company’s “agent for the formal service of legal documents?”

Yes No

3) For protecting your business identity, do you know the difference between a trademark and a copyright?

Yes No

4) Does the existing copyright law protect software and advertising copy?

Yes No

5) Does your business have a written personnel policy?

Yes No

|Do other people see you as a leader? They probably did before you started your own business. It’s easy to disappear or “go |

|underground” when your company requires so much of your body and soul. But keep in mind that being visible as a leader boosts |

|your business’s visibility, too. Stay open to ways you can shine as a leader—and give something back to the business community. |

|Take this quiz to see whether your leadership skills stack up—or need a brushing up. |

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|1)  Do you belong to a professional group, such as your local chamber of commerce, and do you actively participate in its |

|meetings? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|2)  Do you take a leadership or committee position in a neighborhood or community civic group? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|3)  Do you regularly contribute articles or information to a professional newsletter or Web site? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|4)  Have you mentored or otherwise encouraged younger professionals in your business or industry to “grow into” a leadership |

|role? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|5)  If you have to renege on a volunteer commitment, do you attempt to find someone else to make good on it before it’s too |

|late? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

|[pic] |

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|Remember that sense of pride and accomplishment when you first qualified for a credit card?  The trust and support afforded by a|

|financial institution vastly expanded your buying power and flexibility. Sure, you had to watch your credit limit and pay a |

|rather sizable interest percentage if you carried a balance over to the next month. But as long as you kept your end of the |

|bargain and made the monthly payments on time, your credit card was as good as money, anytime, anywhere. |

|  |

|Business credit works much the same way. Entrepreneurs rely on bank financing to start a business, fund growth, or help support |

|day-to-day operations. But because these loans and credit lines deal in amounts that dwarf most personal credit cards, small |

|business owners need to prove that their venture is worth the risk and that any financing will be a good investment |

|  |

|Credit qualification requirements vary, but as a rule, your lender will expect you to meet certain qualifications. To see if you|

|are ready to call on your local lending institution for financial help, take this quick quiz from SCORE. |

|[pic] |

|1)  Do you have at least two years of experience in your industry? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

|[pic] |

|2)  Can you provide at least 25 percent of your business start-up costs or major expenditures? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

|[pic] |

|3)  Do you have a well-thought-out business plan? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

|[pic] |

|4)  Do you have a clean personal credit history? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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|5)  Can you secure your loan to recoup possible losses if you cannot meet your payments? |

|[pic][pic][pic]Yes  [pic] No   |

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