Small Business Issues and the Presidential Election
This past week, I spent hours gathering the presidential candidates' positions on small business issues. I did a lot of work but then hesitated to write a... Read story
Rhonda Abrams
An Entrepreneur's Declaration of Independence
Independence Day - isn't that what we're celebrating on the Fourth of July? Independence has been a goal of Americans since the founding of our country, a... Read story
All Hat, No Cattle
When it comes to pronouncements about small business, President George W. Bush stands tall, "Entrepreneurs create between 60 and 80% of the new jobs natio... Read story
Mickey Mouse Needs to Eat His Vegetables
"I write a column about small business. A question I often get is, 'What's the biggest problem facing a small business?' ... My answer always surprises pe... Read story
Remembering Eugene Kleiner
Remembering Eugene Kleiner, the pioneering venture capitalist and co-founder of Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers Read story
Year-End Tax Strategies
"The hardest thing to understand in the world is the income tax." -- Albert Einstein Each December, I have the unpleasant duty of interrupting my r... Read story
Take Care of the Fundamentals First
Do you have a great idea for a new business that you're sure will make a fortune? Have you invented a really innovative product or thought up a cool new s... Read story
Working from a Distance
Once upon a time, long ago -- let's say 25 years ago -- people who owned businesses actually worked in the same building as their employees. Their custome... Read story
Lessons in Leadership
All of us need role models, especially those of us who run our own businesses. When I first became a manager, I searched for people to emulate when develo... Read story
Do I Need to Collect Sales Tax?
As a buyer, when I purchase something from a local business, I pay sales tax. I may not like the extra cost, but it's a pretty seamless transaction -- the... Read story
How Well Do You Know Your Customers?
An entrepreneur realizes that she hasn't paid enough attention to her best customers. Read story
" Hear the One About the Entrepreneur Who..."
Life is too short not to have fun, and that includes the time you spend at work. When I started my own business, I was determined to create a light... Read story
What Kind of Business Should Your Business Be?
The form of incorporation you choose will affect the taxes you pay, who can invest in your company, and your financial security. Read story
A Little Radical Thinking
In my company, this time of year we do our annual planning. While January is the beginning of the calendar year, it often seems natural to sit down at the... Read story
Turning One-Time Customers into Lifetime Business
For the first decade of my consulting business, I depended on "one-off" clients: I'd do the work for them, and then they'd have no need for my type of wor... Read story
Shape Up Your Shipping
"Free Shipping!" As customers, we all like to get free shipping when we place an order. But as business owners, we know shipping costs can quickly eat up ... Read story
Getting Attention to Get Businesss
I have an official announcement to make: I am not a candidate for Governor of the state of California. I did, however, give serious consideration to the i... Read story
Finding Money to Grow
I've got a problem: the better my business does, the less money I have. I'm not alone. Virtually all growing companies have problems with cash flow. <... Read story
Forming a Virtual Company
Have you ever failed to land a prospective client because they thought your company was just too small or that you couldn't serve the scope of their needs... Read story
Finding Sales Leads
Advice on how to find better sales leads for your company. Read story
Using Digital Photos in Business
(Editor's note: This is the first in a two-part series.) Remember printed documents before computers? Everything was typed -- usually in the same t... Read story
Getting Your Ads Right
"We're moving online!! Blow out sale at our store location. Phone orders welcome." That's what was on the postcard. This advertisement was sent to ... Read story
Businesses Fighting Hunger
The other night, Deborah, my marketing director, went to dinner at a fine steak restaurant. Declining the waiter's suggestion that she order dessert, she ... Read story
Reviving Main Street
Growing up in Los Angeles, I didn't have a "Main Street." We shopped at the mall and drove everywhere, even to buy a carton of milk. In those years, L.A. ... Read story
FCC Turns TV Off on Small Businesses
Hey, what about us? Regular readers of my column know I get really irked at how small business is overlooked by the government. Legislation and regulation... Read story
Inexpensive Ways to Reward Employees
Your business is only as good as the people who work for you. No matter how good your product, how necessary your service, how innovative your technology,... Read story
Focusing in on Your Business Focus
Whenever someone asks me to name the biggest problem for small-business owners, my answer is a surprise. I don't recite the expected litany of typical res... Read story
An Easy-to-Give Child-Care Benefit
Boy, do I feel foolish. It turns out there's a fringe benefit I could have been giving my employees that would have saved both them and me money. It costs... Read story
How Smart Is It To Be Nice?
My theory of business, and life, has been "expect the best, and you're likely get it." It's the basis of how I treat employees, customers, and others. I e... Read story
All Those Little Government Things
Most of the mail I receive from readers deal with the big things of business -- marketing, employees, leadership. But many readers also need help with tho... Read story
Responding to Prospective Customers
Your phone rings. It's a prospective customer wanting information about your services and prices, requesting a bid or proposal. That's a good thing, right... Read story
It's Easy Being Green
March is the month for St. Patrick's Day, and you know what that means -- it's time to be green. But in addition to wearing green clothes or drinking gree... Read story
Increasing Web-Site Traffic
If you build it, will they come? Last year, Internet sales reached $79 billion, according to Forrester Research, or 3% of all retail sales. Can your busin... Read story
Make Your Business Count
Make your business count! And have your business be counted. It's time for the Economic Census of the United States. Every five years, the US Censu... Read story
Presidential Wisdom for Entrepreneurs
Here's a trivia question: Who's the only U.S. president to receive a patent? No, not Thomas Jefferson. Abraham Lincoln! This month, we observe Pres... Read story
Why America Needs the Estate Tax
Save small businesses! Save family farms! You'll soon hear those cries as Congress considers permanently eliminating the estate tax. Don't be foole... Read story
Creating Customer Loyalty
In my wallet, I have: -- a punch card from a beauty supply store -- two airlines' frequent flyer cards -- a coffee house frequent buyer... Read story
How Can I Be Diverse When I'm So Small?
Over the last few years, the stock market's plunge confirmed an important truth -- for financial security, you need diversity. Last year, in Austra... Read story
New Year's Resolutions 2003
As I was writing this annual column on new year's resolutions, I asked a colleague for his business resolutions for 2003. He replied, "Why bother? Nobody ... Read story
Booking Travel on the Internet
Rhonda Abrams picks her top sites to book travel through. Read story
