I was interested in helping my boyfriend purchase truck covers and was looking at different brands available and where to best find them. He owns a fairly new truck dealership and was thinking about throwing a truck cover in as an incentive on the purchase of a new vehicle.

I was really impressed by one brand called Attitude Hitch covers. They were nice looking and of really good quality. I thought they would be a big drawing card for purchasing through our dealership. I wanted to do some more pricing, but I thought I would order one for his truck anyway.

Another brand I was quite impressed with was the Budge truck covers. They were nice, as well. I liked the others more, but it was totally a matter of taste and my boyfriend actually preferred the Budge. So, in the next few weeks, we will be able to make a decision on what we are going to do and if we will run this promotion.

In any business, whether it be a product or a service that is offered, it is a good thing to occasionally get opinions and reviews. This will help you to be able to offer a higher quality product or service and meet the direct needs of the consumer.

My brother owns an accounting business and before every client leaves he says ‘I need your opinion on the service we offer’. He asks questions and gets feedback from everyone.

I think that he was right on the mark when he did this, as he has made many changes to the business over the years because of his client feedback and he is now one of the most successful accountants in the city.

Even though some may be negative, it never hurt a company to get views and opinions from it’s consumers. As far as I’m concerned, it is the best way to improve on what you already have.

Perhaps the biggest thing I had to learn to grow my business is that I couldn’t do everything myself.  That thinking was due to my role models growing up in business.  You see, my father ran two businesses (notice the lack of successful - they do okay, but I don’t think either was very successful) and worked many hours to do everything for both businesses.  Whether it was that he was too cheap, or too much of a perfectionist (which he is), his choices shaped and affected the lack of success his businesses enjoyed.

Now that I am older, and more mature (most days anyway), I try not to fall in this same trap.  If it is something that I cannot do in house (me or my staff), then we outsource it, and forget about having to figure it out ourselves.  For example, when we needed larger text message mailboxes for our sales reps mobile phones, we paid a company that specializes in SIM applications to create what we needed, instead of doing it ourselves.

Same goes for the new security cards that we insert in the chip card readers installed in our computers at work.  We hired a card encoding company to create our own, custom security cards that allow access to all the computers, photocopiers and phones in our building - instead of trying to figure it out on our own.

The best part about outsourcing those tasks that we don’t specialize in is that we can get someone that knows what they are doing to do it, and we can focus on building the business, and making the money - which is what we should be doing anyway.

The other day, I was looking into buying some promotional products for the company that I co-own.  I wanted something beyond the pens and mugs that everyone gives out and I was sure that if I did some research, I would find something interesting.

Needless to say, I was amazed at the vast variety of promotional items that are available these days.  It goes way beyond the days of pens and key chains.

My company produces soft drinks and I wanted to find something that would be a good match for that.  So, I was really excited when I found promotional koozies.  I purchased a large quantity of them with our company name and logo on them.  We started a special promotion by putting one koozie in each four-pack of soft drinks we ship out.

I don’t know if it is the most wonderful advertising campaign ever, but who doesn’t like to get something for free?

I have been thinking for some time of investing in a franchise.  I have been leaning this way because I don’t really have time to setup my own company and figure out something to sell.  I really like the idea of having proven systems to follow, so I don’t have to figure them out myself.

Searching for top franchise opportunities is the easy part - picking one is a little harder.  I would really like to get into something that I am familiar with, or have used myself, so I would have a better idea of the value of the franchise.

Take Starbucks for example.  Now, I can see the locations in town here that would benefit from having a Starbucks franchise.  There is a definite need for them, since they only started popping up here in the last five years.

On the other hand, it is sometimes good to get in when the franchise is just growing and the market is not saturated.  I have been keeping my eye on the fastest growing franchises for something that would work for me - but there is nothing on the list that I would have any interest in.

So, I will have to continue looking for a good franchise for me to invest - and do a little more research.  Besides, I am not in a big rush, rather I am looking for a franchise that is a good fit for me.

If you are considering starting a home business, there will be a couple of key items that you will need to equip your office.  I know some obvious things such as pens, paper, and a computer are common, but what about your office furniture?

There are just a couple of things that are essential home office furniture.  The first piece of essential furniture would be a desk.  This is where you would do your work, place your computer (if you have one) and generally the workspace you would use to do your work.  Most businesses do not need a huge desk, but get one that is sturdy.  There is nothing more frustrating than trying to work with your desk wobbling - you may just want to pull your hair out!

The second piece of essential furniture would be an office chair.  Not all chairs are created equal - usually the level of comfort you get from your chair varies with the price you pay - and this is one area you should not cheap out.  Mesh office chairs have been my favorite in this area - they are really comfortable and let you back breathe - resulting in a more comfortable work experience.

Just remember that if you do purchase these items, schedule some time to put them together - typically it will take you a whole afternoon.

Webmasters are much like regular business owners - they just want their website (business) to run smoothly.  It is a lot less stressful when things are going okay - and the income is usually better.

It is not too hard to take the necessary steps to ensure that your website runs smoothly.  Simple things like registering your domain name at a credible registrar for example is important.  Perhaps the most essential step to having a smooth running website is securing reliable web hosting.

Your web host can make or break your site.  When the site is running smoothly and fast, things are good.  But, should your site slow down or not be available, it can become catastrophic really fast.  A really good example of catastrophe that occurs when your web host is down is people that use pay per click advertising.  In this case you will be still paying for the traffic you receive - but you will not make any money off the traffic you are receiving.  Too many minutes or hours of your website offline can ruin your business.

Protect your business and your income by using reliable web hosting.  You may pay a little more each month, but the money will be well spent, reducing the possibility of problems.  The trick is to get cheap web hosting, but not free - usually the free web hosts put their own advertising on your site and make no guarantees with respect to reliability.  When you do find a good web host, you will sleep better at night - your smooth running website will be a delight!

We recently decided to open a new shop - actually a coffee shop.  Now, I have had experience running a coffee shop, so I really wasn’t worried about figuring the operations of the business out.  What I was unsure about was the best way to equip our business - whether I should buy or lease the equipment.

I went to talk to a loan officer at the bank about equipment financing and whether or not it was a good idea.  He showed me the loans that they offered and the rates seemed reasonable.  He stressed that ownership was the better way, because leasing would just be like I was renting the equipment, and then the company would not have any assets.  After our meeting I thanked him for his time and told him I would think about it.

Later on that day, I went to a commercial leasing company to talk to one of their representatives about leasing.  Since I didn’t know a whole lot about it, I asked them to explain why equipment leasing would be good for my business.  I found out that there were tax advantages to leasing as well as all the maintenance was covered by the leasing company - that way I would know exactly what my expenses were each month.  They also stressed that a lease in no way would impair my ability to function as a business - it would not affect the amount of credit available to the company, so my line of credit would be there should I need it.

Thinking about my options when I returned to the office, it sure seemed that a lease would be a better way to equip the business.  The tax advantages intrigued me a lot - I think I will talk to my accountant and get their impartial perspective on my situation - and make my decision from there.

As some of you know I run a business.  But I am also a real estate investor.  Especially once you get bigger than a lemonade stand, most businesses depend on financing to operate and expand.  In fact, financing is part of the day to day operations of a business.

Now if you are not in a rush, usually unsecured business loans are the way to go.  Sometime the approval time of these loans are not quite quick enough for some types of transactions such as the investment in auction goods.  Also, in most cases there is a lot of paperwork to fill out - and you need to provide accurate financial statements.  Quite often the credit of the company comes into play - and if it has some bad credit, that is a whole different situation all together.

Business loans for bad credit are a little harder to get.  They make you jump through a few more hoops.  In this case (as in all others) honesty is especially important - if you are being honest with your loan officer, you will have a powerful ally on your side.  Time wise, this is not the best type of loan to get and you can expect approval times to be longer than a regular unsecured loan.  In some cases you will have to pledge some assets as security against the loan to ensure the interests of the lender are protected.

If speed is of great interest (for example in the purchase of a business at an auction) a business cash advance is a great alternative to a traditional loan.  Most of the institutions providing these cash advances do not require the amount of time, paperwork, or financial documentation a traditional loan requires.  Approval (provided you meet the conditions of the advance) is typically less than twenty four hours, with advances typically up to $250,000.  Also, they are less concerned with your credit rating, so this is also suitable for companies with bad credit.

A final word of advice: as with any other financial decision, I would recommend consultation with a financial professional - though the information is accurate, it may not be accurate for your situation, and a financial professional can give advice that is tailored to you and your organization.

Being an employer with many employees, you are in a position to hire and fire staff.  Though I don’t quite care for the firing part, it is a necessary part of the success of my business.

This past week it came to my attention that one of our writers was having big issues.  Usually his work has been good, though he has only been with us for two months.  Lately though, he has had a lot of spelling problems.  Because our work requires precision, we needed to have a talk with him.

He was a little nervous when he entered my office.  Not that I look too scary (at least I don’t think so), but not too many new people have made it to my office.  I sat him down and explained to him our problem with our work.  I asked if there were any problems in his life or with his work.  He said that things were going fine.  An idea popped into my head that I said out loud:

"Maybe you are dyslexic."

We contacted a firm that specialized in dyslexia tests and ordered one promptly after we found that he had dyslexic symptoms.

While we are waiting for the test in the mail, we have reassigned him to another department.  I am sure that we will figure this out - we might just have to send him for some special training - I am sure he will overcome this challenge.