Rhonda Abrams


How can I make financial projections in my business plan when I have no solid numbers?

Sep 6, 2000

Writing a Business Plan mentor Rhonda Abrams responds: Rhonda's rule: Numbers reflect the decisions you make. One of the bigg...  Read story

What does it take to make a business plan attractive to venture capitalists?

Sep 6, 2000

Writing a Business Plan mentor Rhonda Abrams responds: Most new entrepreneurs think that a great idea is what captures a venture cap...  Read story

A Good Idea -- but Is It a Business?

By Rhonda Abrams |  Sep 11, 2000

A friend took me to dinner to pick my brain about her new business. She was excited: she had a great idea, had lined up a strategic partner, and was rarin...  Read story

Sorting Out Your Strategic Position

By Rhonda Abrams |  Sep 11, 2000

During my first few years consulting, I helped business owners and managers learn to improve their operations and marketing -- the nuts and bolts of runni...  Read story

The Changing Face of Competition

By Rhonda Abrams |  Sep 15, 2000

If I asked you who your competition is, you're likely to mention the company down the street or across town that sells the same product or service as you....  Read story

What do investors consider an ideal team of founders?

By Rhonda Abrams |  Oct 13, 2000

Writing a Business Plan mentor Rhonda Abrams responds: If you want to build a business with real growth potential, you can't do it a...  Read story

How do I research an industry?

By Rhonda Abrams |  Nov 13, 2000

Writing a Business Plan mentor Rhonda Abrams responds to the following question frequently asked by inc.com users: I'm planning ...  Read story

Once your business plan is done, how do you get investors to read it?

By Rhonda Abrams |  Jan 5, 2001

Writing a Business Plan mentor Rhonda Abrams responds: The best way is to find an intermediary -- a person whose name and/or influen...  Read story

What size market interests potential investors?

By Rhonda Abrams |  Jan 18, 2001

Writing a Business Plan mentor Rhonda Abrams responds: If you're looking for money for your business, one of the key things investor...  Read story

How many years should my financial projections cover for a new business?

Feb 16, 2001

Writing a Business Plan mentor Rhonda Abrams responds: Let's face it, for a new business, financial projections are a lot like astro...  Read story

What does it take to impress an angel investor?

By Rhonda Abrams |  Mar 29, 2001

Writing a Business Plan mentor Rhonda Abrams responds: Angels truly are heavenly. Unlike venture capitalists who invest other people...  Read story

Powerful Presentations

By Rhonda Abrams |  May 4, 2001

"Can you come by and tell us more about your company?" Words you've wanted and dreaded to hear: an invitation to make a presentation to an important poten...  Read story

Doing Well by Doing Good

By Rhonda Abrams |  Aug 9, 2001

Every entrepreneur hopes to do well. We'd all like to make a lot of money and have a big, profitable customer base. But over the years, I've realized that...  Read story

A Business Lesson from Down Under

By Rhonda Abrams |  Aug 16, 2001

"No Worries." The one phrase I heard most often on my recent trip to Australia was, without question, "No Worries." Whenever I asked someone for he...  Read story

Reaching Your Goals

By Rhonda Abrams |  Aug 2, 2001

Well I did it! Last year on my birthday, I promised myself I'd get certified for scuba diving before my next birthday rolled around, and I just did it. I'...  Read story

Business Cards that Work!

By Rhonda Abrams |  Oct 11, 2001

Everyone in business needs a business card. It' s the most important marketing item you have. It' s also the smallest, typically the least expensive, and,...  Read story

Are the New Internet Names Right for You?

By Rhonda Abrams |  Nov 8, 2001

Are you frustrated trying to find just the right name for your Web site? Is every .com name you' ve wanted already taken? You' ve now got two new options:...  Read story

Rhonda?s Sixth Annual Holiday Survival Guide

By Rhonda Abrams |  Nov 29, 2001

Each year, I write a column on how to survive the holidays. Never before, however, have I had to take the term " survival" quite so literally. With threat...  Read story

Year-End Tax Strategies

By Rhonda Abrams |  Nov 26, 2001

With all the other things going on in the world and in your business, it may seem downright cruel of me to even bring up the subject of taxes, but a few c...  Read story

Getting the Dirt on Your Market

By Rhonda Abrams |  Feb 20, 2002

New location? Get market information, including population density, demographics, and the number and type of local businesses.  Read story

New Business from Old Clients

By Rhonda Abrams |  Apr 4, 2002

Before you spend a fortune trying to drum up new business, get in touch with former customers. This entrepreneur and small-business columnist has suggestions...  Read story

Take It With You When You Go

By Rhonda Abrams |  Aug 8, 2002

It used to be that your contact information only changed when you moved. Today, chances are your information changes on a more frequent basis. Here's how to ...  Read story

Making Money by Making Something

By Rhonda Abrams |  Oct 2, 2002

Small manufacturing businesses are alive and well. Here's how to get your start as a manufacturer.  Read story

Free Money?

By Rhonda Abrams |  Nov 11, 2002

Can you make those enticing credit-card offers work for you? Find out how with this advice from Rhonda Abrams.  Read story

Small Business, Not All Business

By Rhonda Abrams |  Nov 13, 2002

The Republican Party controls the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. What does that mean for small business? Rhonda Abrams challenges...  Read story

Booking Travel on the Internet

By Rhonda Abrams |  Dec 3, 2002

In the first article of a two-part series, Rhonda Abrams offers tips and tricks for using the Web to make travel reservations.  Read story

Year-End Tax Strategies

Dec 15, 2002

Rhonda Abram's year-end tax tips for 2002.  Read story

Creating Customer Loyalty

By Rhonda Abrams |  Jan 23, 2003

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

Make Your Business Count

By Rhonda Abrams |  Feb 20, 2003

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

All Those Little Government Things

By Rhonda Abrams |  Mar 25, 2003

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

Focusing in on Your Business Focus

By Rhonda Abrams |  May 7, 2003

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

Reviving Main Street

By Rhonda Abrams |  May 30, 2003

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

Forming a Virtual Company

By Rhonda Abrams |  Jul 1, 2003

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

What Kind of Business Should Your Business Be?

By Rhonda Abrams |  Sep 1, 2003

The form of incorporation you choose will affect the taxes you pay, who can invest in your company, and your financial security.  Read story

Working from a Distance

By Rhonda Abrams |  Oct 1, 2003

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

Do I Need to Collect Sales Tax?

By Rhonda Abrams |  Oct 1, 2003

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

Year-End Tax Strategies

By Rhonda Abrams |  Dec 1, 2003

"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

How Much Money Do I Need?

By Leslie Taylor |  Mar 15, 2007

You'll need to answer quite a few questions -- and be very realistic -- to determine your start-up capital requirements.  Read story

The Traits of an Entrepreneur

By Josh Spiro |  Aug 20, 2009

A new entrepreneurship study conducted by Ace Hardware reveals that many small business owners think that, when it comes to the secret of their success, hard...  Read story

FCC Turns TV Off on Small Businesses

By Rhonda Abrams |  May 22, 2003

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