A big resource for small businesses.

Articles, interviews, self-assessments, survey results, book excerpts, the latest trends and outlook for small businesses and entrepreneurs and a customized “Small Business Tool Kit” to help you formulate and achieve your small business and entrepreneurial goals. PLUS links to AMA’s seminars, books and wide range of learning resources.

	How to Succeed as an Entrepreneur. Step one in starting your own business: assess whether you have enough of the three “Ts”—time, temperament and talent. Using the Power of the Press. Seeing your company’s name in a trade or consumer publication doesn’t just happen—you’ve got to actively cultivate relationships with the media. Here are some tips from the Small Business Administration.

Additional Small Business Articles of Interest:

• Taking the Sting Out of Downsizing. Cutting staff is never easy or pleasant for a business owner, but here are some tips that will make the situation less painful for everyone involved.

• Creating an Image for Your Business. How to communicate your business’s unique value to your
  target market.

• Entrepreneurs—Are You Working Harder, But Not Smarter? Here are five “action steps” to help ensure that your business works as hard for you as you work for it.

• Top Women Business Owners. Need some inspiration for running your small business? Check out the profiles of these five outstanding women entrepreneurs honored by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

• All of Your Small Business Questions Answered
  Access the knowledge and expertise of experienced counselors in more than 600 business specialty areas, through AMA’s partnership with SCORE. Click here to pose your business question to a SCORE counselor.

• The Art and Science of Bootstrapping. Ten proven strategies to help your business succeed, from the newly revised book Raising Capital: Get the Money You Need to Grow Your Business.

• Checking a Customer's Credit. Like it or not, you can't always demand cash payment for your company's products or services. Here's how to check out a customer before you extend credit.

• 15 Top Reasons Why a Business Fails. Barry Thomsen lists the tell-tale signs of impending business disaster. Surprisingly, competition and economic conditions aren't on the list.

• Customer Service “Don'ts.” Avoid these customer service taboos and gain a major edge over even your biggest competitors.

• Starting Something? Twelve Tips from an Entrepreneur Who's Been There. If you’re starting a new company there’s plenty to worry about. But your chances of success are greatly enhanced if you stick to these commonsense principles.

• Buy an Umbrella While the Sun Is Shining. It’s not enough to “let a smile be your umbrella” when stormy times hit your business. Here are some common sense steps to take during the good times, so that you’ll be prepared for a sudden change in the business forecast.

• Networking Tips for Small Businesses. For the small business owner, every encounter represents a potential customer. Here’s some expert advice on how to make the most of every meeting or event.

• Using Feedback to Benefit Your Business. Are your customers and employees satisfied? Here’s how to create a feedback program that will help you find out.

• 12 Commandments for Small Business Marketing. Terrific tips from Barry Thomsen, publisher of the Small Business Idea-Letter.

• Lessons from Enron: Is a Board Right for Your Business? A good board can be a key element in the long-term survival of a company. But the needs of a small business are vastly different from those of Enron.

• Small Business Bookkeeping Advice—If You Don’t Know What You’re Doing, Find Someone Who Does! Small business owners who don’t have a talent for bookkeeping would do well to do what they do best and hire someone else to keep the books.

• Building Partnerships Inside and Outside the Organization
  An excerpt from the new book, Partnering: The New Face of Leadership, outlines the internal and external alliances leaders must form to compete and thrive in the future.