Cutting Costs When Staying in Other Countries
Most consolidators and hotel discount directories cover international as well as domestic locations. You may want to collect several directories to optimi... Read more
Running a Business
Recent Running a Business Articles
How do I determine whether someone is an employee or an independent contractor?
Law & Taxation mentor Barbara Weltman responds to the following question from an inc.com user: My company is trying to figure ou... Read more
Understanding Commercial Leases
Your lease is a contract between you and your landlord. A lease can be for a short term (as little as one month) or long term, and it can be written or or... Read more
Software Development Agreements -- Just Hold Your Nose and Write One
The late movie producer Samuel Goldwyn, a Russian immigrant with a shaky command of English, was famous for his malapropisms. Perhaps his most famous, and... Read more
What Web Site Builders Need to Know about Trademark Law
Doing business on the Web doesn't spare you from many of the same laws and customs that govern businesses in the physical world. You must pay especially c... Read more
Legal Hiring Practices FAQ
A big part of your job as an employer is finding and hiring new people for your company. From composing job advertisements to making an offer of employmen... Read more
Legal and Illegal Preemployment Inquiries
The chart below outlines the type of information you can ask for in applications and during job interviews as specified in federal laws. The chart may als... Read more
What questions should I ask contractors before agreeing to outsource work to them?
Offices & Operations mentor Charles Bodenstab responds to the following question from an inc.com user: I am the president of a ... Read more
Decide Whether to Design Banner Ads In-House or to Outsource
Careful planning and research up front will save you time and money later in the banner ad creation process. If you want to create a banner ad in-house, y... Read more
The Lowdown on Contracts
Like most people, small-business owners tend to shy away from signing anything. They avoid contracts like the plague. But this is a risky way to do busine... Read more
Obit: Restaurateurs Lose Grip on Star's Coattails
What better celebrity to endorse your restaurant than Michael Jordan? But when the owners' friendship with their celebrity patron deteriorated, it was only a... Read more
The Second Annual Inner City 100
A listing of the fastest-growing privately held inner-city businesses in America. Read more
The Inner City 100 Almanac
A statistical look at 2000's Inner City 100 companies and the CEOs who run them. Read more
Urban Outfitters
Inner-city businesses are finding that some of their best friends are in city hall. The mayors of many cities across America -- including Austin, Chicago, Cl... Read more
On the Street Where You Live
Two experienced founders discuss why more inner-city residents don't seize the opportunity to start companies on their home turf. Read more
What? Me Worry?
Reviews of four new business books -- two on minimizing risks and competing with the big guys, one on how to effect change, and one about setting up a home o... Read more
Fishing for Big-Name Partners
It's no secret that small businesses often struggle when it comes to getting an "in" as a strategic partner with larger organizations. But companies seeki... Read more
The Secrets to Their Success
Michael E. Porter and Anne Habiby discuss the types of businesses that are thriving in U.S. inner cities. Read more
Meals on Wheels (and Rails and Water)
Paul Robbins looked at a run-down Florida neighborhood and beheld a transportation utopia. The story of this year's #1 Inner City 100 company. Read more
Lost in the Translation
Communication is tough. It's even tougher when workers don't speak your language Managing workers who don't speak English as their... Read more
Your Basic qué pasa?
Communicating with non-English-speaking workers isn't just an intellectual exercise; it's a daily, hands-on challenge, says Lisa Willis Johnson of the Soc... Read more
How do I make a joint venture work?
Leadership & Strategy mentor Keith Lamb responds: We at the Lamb Group have had both good and bad experiences with joint ventures.... Read more
Speaking Their Language Even When You Don't
Now I know why my friends are so interested in speaking abroad. It is a rewarding, exhilarating, ego-building experience, even when the audience doesn't s... Read more
Implement a Strict Quality Control System
Unlike face-to-face shopping, where customers can touch and inspect goods before making a purchase, online customers must rely completely on your ability ... Read more
The Entry Level
Inc. magazine's editor-in-chief discusses the promise and reality of small-business Web sites; how the merger process goes beyond financials; why th... Read more
Merge Now, Pay Later
Take it from the Cuningham Group: When you're merging two companies, crunching the numbers is easy; melding the two company cultures is the hard part. Read more
The European Road Show
By most accounts, getting ready for an initial public offering is a bear. For days at a time, a CEO must schlepp from city to city, pitching his or her co... Read more
Be a Culturally Mindful Global Manager
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Read moreUnification Theory
Jim Carlson, CEO of Hospitality Solutions International during its acquisition, identifies seven practices that enable HSI to manage its far-flung employees ... Read more
How can I turn a small sales team into a business development group forming strategic partnerships?
Finance & Capital mentor Guy Kawasaki responds to this question from an inc.com user: In reality, every one of your employees shou... Read more
Cause-Related Marketing: Doing Something Good for Your Company and the Community
Sometimes explaining that I work in the public relations field elicits disdain, maybe a snort of derision, perhaps a subtle shaking of the head. Then ther... Read more
Protect Your Data from Prying Eyes
Are you just being paranoid if you worry that the data on your hard drive may fall into a competitor's hands? If your laptop should suddenly... Read more
Finding Electrical Outlets in an Airport
Waiting for a flight at the airport can be a bore, but if you can whip out your laptop, at least you can get some work done. But those with a long flight ... Read more
