The 5 Worst Cash-Flow Mistakes Small-Business Owners Make

No matter how great your business model is, how profitable you are or how many investors are interested in supporting your business, you can't survive if you can’t manage your company’s cash flow.

In fact, a prominent study from the financial services company U.S. Bank found that as many as 82 percent of startups and small businesses fail due to poor cash-flow management. So, even if you’re a brilliant entrepreneur in every other way, you must stay squarely focused on managing your company’s cash flow to avoid putting your business in imminent danger.
Here are five of the most common cash-flow problems:

A 4-Step Checklist That Will Increase Your Chances of Starting a Successful Businesses

For entrepreneurs, time is among one of the greatest teachers. That sounds like a platitude, but with 90 percent of startups destined to fail, it’s also true.

To be one of the 10 percent of businesses that actually become legitimate you have to show a tremendous amount of dedication, and put in an insane amount of time. But for those of you who are contemplating whether to start a business for the first time, here is a checklist of things you should understand before getting underway.

7 Employee Benefits That Won't Bust Your Budget

There are plenty of benefits that will cost your company little or nothing but reap huge rewards in terms of employee satisfaction and loyalty. Consider these ideas:

1. Negotiate discounts with local merchants for your employees.

Hotels, restaurants, and amusement parks may offer discounts on their various attractions, including lodging and food, through corporate customer programs. Warehouse stores, such as Sam’s Club, allow discounted membership to employees of their corporate members. Movie theaters provide reduced-rate tickets for companies’ employees. Don’t forget to offer employees free or discounted prices on your own company products and services.