Kate Lister's blog

Cyber Crime: Can You Afford to Ignore It?

Do you have a business continuity plan? If not, you’d better keep reading. Your company’s financial well-being depends on it.

Save the Planet: Work at Home

If every person in the U.S. with a telecommuting-compatible job worked at home on Earth Day, the one-day greenhouse gas savings would equate to taking 77,000 cars off the road

Growing Smart: Best Bet Strategies to Expand Your Business

Business growth strategies range from the cheap, easy and safe to the expensive, hard and risky — with plenty of room in between. Here's a summary of growth strategies fro

SBA Loans Up 90%

Thanks to American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) initiatives, the first quarter of 2010 shows weekly SBA loan volume up 90% over comparative weeks in 2009.

The Credit Crunch Myth: You Can't Fix What Ain't Broke

In an effort to fix the credit crunch, the American Recovery Reinvestment Act authorized $730 million in funding for the SBA. Only one problem: There may not be a small business

This May Be the Best Time to Negotiate Loan Terms

With credit at its tightest in over ten years, banks are hurting. For successful borrowers, that means loan terms and conditions may be more negotiable then ever.

The Truth About Personal Guarantees

If you’ve ever borrowed money from a bank for business use, you’ve no doubt argued against adding your personal guarantee to the deal. And if you’re like most small business own

The Truth About Government Contracting

It's hard to think of a product or service that Federal, State, or local government agencies don’t use -- and they want to buy it from us, small business owners. Here's how you

The Truth About Business Grants

If you don’t mind lots of paperwork, frequent disappointment, and many strings attached, here’s a quick guide to the slow process of finding grant money for your business.

Cash Flow: What It Is and What It Isn't

When cash flow stops, the situation quickly turns critical. Unfortunately, the concept of cash flow is largely misunderstood. So, before you inadvertently bleed to death, let's

Financial Benchmarking: How Do You Compare to Your Competitors

Benchmarking your performance against that of your competitors can propel you to greatness.

12 Steps to a Loan Renewal in 2010

It’s your job to make sure your 2009 financial statements don’t send bankers running for the hills. So how do you protect your company from being crushed in the crunch come time