Running a Business


Recent Running a Business Articles

Don't Worry, Be a Little Unhappy

CEO Brodsky suggests that legal disputes rarely yield an ideal solution for either party. If you're prepared to be a little unhappy with the outcome, you'll ...  Read more

Nine Steps Toward the Home Office of Your Dreams

What to think about when it comes to design, equipment, and management.  Read more

Techniques: Microcases

How two companies solved problems with technology. Topics include developing a system for managing pet kennels and off-the-shelf software for tracking invent...  Read more

From Steer to Eternity

American beef producers are revolutionizing their industry with technology. New tracking systems allow ranchers to document every aspect of a cow's life, imp...  Read more

All in the Family

Anthony Scaturro, CEO of EZRider, explains to his father, the CEO of Ski and Sport Shack, why he should get with the times and use technology to help run his...  Read more

There's No Office Like Home

A look at how four entrepreneurs designed unique home offices to meet their specific needs, personal tastes, styles of work and physical limitations.  Read more

Creating Companies of Companies

Once a company grows beyond a few employees, it's easy for people to lose sight of the business. They work in departments. They worry about keeping the bo...  Read more

Swap Shop

Export trading companies, which act as international distributors, can offer a wealth of experience in negotiating the labyrinths of overseas transportati...  Read more

Free Association

Many salespeople give thumbs down to ever buying a list of sales leads. Doug Cobb, founder of a subscriber-based newsletter publisher in Louisville, saved...  Read more

Global Export-ise

Looking for information that can help you tap foreign markets? When it comes to resources for developing international trade, start at home--with ...  Read more

Go Snow City Hall

If you're trying to sell a product or service to a government agency --local, state, or federal--be aware that bidding is the rule. That i...  Read more

Associated Press

As a financial planner and investment adviser, Betty Hedrick knows the value of numbers. By cross-promoting the Hedrick Co., her $600,000 business, with s...  Read more

Paying Homage to Royalty

You are convinced that your new invention is destined to be the bedrock of a new company. If so, ask yourself these questions: Do I want to own 60% of a c...  Read more

Sales: Up for Election

"We underestimated the politics behind purchasing decisions in government offices when we started in this business. One of an elected official's primary r...  Read more

Avoid Party Animals

Selling to governments can take a notoriously long time. In desperation, many companies succumb to the charms of so-called political consultants, who prom...  Read more

Rallying Overseas Reps, Training Article

Rallying Overseas Reps ...  Read more

Work Your Way Out of the Office

Many CEOs who work long, hard hours dream of cutting back. Although it may be a while before you can reduce your hours at work, even today you can Read more

Hands-Free Travel Computing

Personal information managers are all the rage, but how do you use one of those tiny keyboards when you're driving? Jeffrey Epstein has found a better alt...  Read more

Don't Pay Until It Works

Buying his first network was a disaster for Joe Alloway, owner and founder of Credit Union Marketing, in Mount Pleasant, Mich. The idea was to link writer...  Read more

Who Says You Can't Survive EDI?

Even before Jody Kozlow Gardner and Cherie Serota knew what it was, they dreaded electronic data interchange (EDI). Belly Basics, in New York City, is the...  Read more

Computerize on a Shoestring

Time is of the essence in Allison Rosson's $1 million design and manufacturing business. Mike & Ally, in New York City, makes decorative purse, bath, and ...  Read more

Streamline, Then Automate

Lantech's plant runs on technology that could have been installed 40 years ago. Instead of a shop humming with numerically controlled lathes and automated...  Read more

Buy It or Build It?

Tim Litle's business processed mail-order companies' credit card orders. Each day, Litle & Co., in Salem, N.H., faxed its customers information on the pre...  Read more

Track Hardware Depreciation

Most electronic equipment -- e.g., computers, fax machines, telephones -- has a five-year life on tax depreciation schedules. After that, it's considered ...  Read more

Share Data with Your Suppliers

Some growing companies are extending their data sharing with their large customers. And, rather than having to establish systems that are compatible with ...  Read more

Getting a Fix on Outside Contractors

Air Taser, a stun gun manufacturer in Scottsdale, Ariz., decided the best way to handle order fulfillment was to outsource. If you outsource any process, ...  Read more

Let Your PC Draw Up the Contract

When Munchkin Inc., a manufacturer and designer of infant products in Van Nuys, Calif., needed to prepare its second international-distribution agreement,...  Read more

Who Owns Your Web Site?

If you're not careful, someone else could end up owning your Web site . Be sure to address these issues early on: Who has the i...  Read more

Watch Your Postage Meters

When Federal Express lowered ABL Electronics' shipping prices, the cable manufacturer started billing clients according to the new rates. But FedEx had ne...  Read more

Workers Who Stay Put, Office Design Article

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Low-Tech Touch

Sometimes new equipment is not the answer to increasing productivity, and simply rearranging the equipment you already have can make all the difference. K...  Read more

Store Your Records Electronically

The problem, everyone thought, was that there wasn't enough space for ingredient storage. Producers Dairy Foods, a manufacturer of dairy products in Fresn...  Read more

Enter Ergonomics

Smart businesses aren't waiting for regulations or lawsuits to prompt action geared to preventing such repetitive-motion injuries as carpal tunnel syndrom...  Read more

Start Computer Training at Home

At MDP Construction, in Colorado Springs, Colo., secretary-treasurer Rick Lewandowski had his work cut out for him. The $12 million company was automating...  Read more

Sitting Prettier

Computer users are a heady--as opposed to corporeal--lot. They invest an inordinate amount of money in computer systems, software, accessories, customized...  Read more