by Miriam Buhr

Home and Small Business Owners are categorized as self-employed and as such have no company-provided health insurance.  It’s a different story if you are married to someone who has company benefits because you then enjoy the benefits of being included in the policy with potential of catering to your needs.

If you do not have a spouse with those bennies, there are still other options.  So my next question is, do you belong to a professional association? If so, you may be eligible for group insurance. Another option for the self-employed is that you can connect with an independent insurance professional and talk about getting individual group coverage.

Or follow the lead of other business owners, hit the online pavement and do your own research.  

Before you make a final decision, be sure that you are dealing with a reputable company.  Research their history to get an idea about their track record. You can start your research online but then take it to a live platform and call the companies that you are researching. Keep in mind that companies have issues every once in a while.  Find out how they resolved these issues and how prompt was their response. In the end, be wise about your choice and use your judgment to determine if it fits your needs, values, and if they are likely to be around when you need them.  

What follows is a list of INFORMATION Sources to get you started.

Happy Research!!

Accounting Resources and Small Businesses

Join Shelly Allen as she discusses one of the most important aspects of your business: Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable.

It is crucial that you know who owes you money and who you owe money to.

Keep in mind that there are many ways you can help keep your small business on track with accounting:

For example you can engage in lots of self education with books like, Accounting For Dummies… Also, computer software such as Quicken or Quickbooks… Or even hire an accountant. These are just a few of the ways!

Being prepared and organized in the area is a MUST!

Therefore, make sure to chose a method that best suits YOU and your SMALL BUSINESS.

Join Cassie Strom as she shares a quick story about the importance of keeping track of your business contacts and remembering to follow up.

She also reveals a very easy and FREE tool to use as a way to help with your “social” memory. Head over to Noteleaf to sign up for a free account.

Managing The “Tool Trap” As Business Owners

Join Kim Shahan as she discusses the benefits and pitfalls of getting the “right” tools for you and your business in order to experience success. As a new business owner, the tendency is to rely and trust the advice of your business coaches or uplines. But when the agenda of the day says that every tool recommended is best for you, what do you do? Have you EVER been a newbie in a biz and had a TON of “TOOLS” thrown in your face? What advice do you give to your ‘newbies?’

Watch this video as Kim Shahan shows you HOW to avoid falling victim to the “Tool Trap!”

Financing For Women Owned Businesses

by Miriam Buhr

 There are a myriad of programs for the expressed purpose to help women entrepreneurs to start, grow, and expand their businesses. I am cognizant that a good portion of business owners personally finance their businesses. Yet there is another part of this sector that seeks financial support.

It is well established that business financing come in many forms. The information that follows targets US based government programs, which categorize government financing into two areas: grants and loans.

The current federal and state government agencies do not offer grants to women to help them start a business. Non-profits and private organizations normally endow business owners with grants.   Yet based on experience these grants are very rare and the focus has typically been on helping minority women and women in economically disadvantaged communities.

Although limited in numbers, loans are available specifically to help women start and expand their businesses.

The list below is certainly not exhaustive but it does provide programs specifically for women entrepreneurs:

Keep in mind that the above mentioned resources not only provide information about how and where to locate government funds, but some of the web sites listed also provide other business related information for different types of entrepreneurs: home based businesses, self-employed, non-profit organizations, disabled people, and minority owned and veteran owned businesses.

Ladies, it is wise to research so that you can make a sound business financial decision as well as determine what is available for your own personal use or referral purposes. If you live outside of the US, I encourage you to make note of these financial resources.  You have a good probability that you can locate similar and available programs in your particular country.

Using Interns For Your Home Or Small Business

Join Miriam Buhr as she discusses the use of interns in your home or small business and how to get them started to insure success.

Interns are a wonderful source of low or no cost labor for your business and if you are set up to manage them correctly from the get go they can truly help propel your business forward while providing a student with valuable work experience.

Women Entrepreneurs–Looking For Resources?

by Miriam Buhr

Currently most entrepreneurs are, by a wide margin, women.

U.S. statistics show that women outnumber men by 2 to 1 when it comes down to starting a new business.

As a result, I wanted to share and direct you to a myriad of resources that are at the disposal of our lady entrepreneurs.

Association of Women’s Business Centers http://awbc.biz/

Black Women Enterprises http://blackwomenenterprises.org

eWomen Network.com http://ewomennetwork.com

MANA, A National Latina Organization http://www.hermana.org

National Association for Female Executives http://www.nafe.com/

National Association of Women’s Business Owners http://www.nawbo.org/

National Foundation of Women Business Owners http://www.nfwbo.org/

National Women Business Owners Corporation http://www.nwbox.org

Office of Women Business Ownership at SBA http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/onlinewbc/index.html

Hope that helps and ladies…let’s all be in touch and assist one another.

Leave a comment below with your website if you’s like to share it.