Screening Your Transactions; No License Required (NLR) Rules; Lists to Check Before Exporting; Red Flags; Source: Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS)
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Ah, youth — the time of a million great ideas that are a million dollars short of ever coming to fruition. Of course, if you believed that, you wouldn’t be an entrepreneur.
In truth, while finding financing for a business run by a young entrepreneur may be difficult, especially considering the current economy, it’s not impossible. In fact, some funding sources are practically designed for the unique needs of young entrepreneurs.
To the collective sigh of young entrepreneurs stateside, the Small Business Administration (SBA) offers several loan programs that don’t penalize you for lacking experience. Most of these programs are administered through banks and underwritten by the SBA, so make sure you ask your bank’s commercial loan officer about SBA-related options. (more…)
It’s a common experience—we’ve all been told one thing, only to find the opposite holds true. And for many young entrepreneurs, this phenomenon comes to fruition when working with older business associates. Growing up, you may have been told, “Do not let anyone look down on you because of your youth.” But this doesn’t always hold up in the real world.
Because we live in a society that generally assumes people gain worthwhile experience over time—and for good reason, because it’s often the case—you’ll likely encounter potential investors, partners and even customers who will intimate (or vocalize) their concern about your youth and relative inexperience.
While this is the cross the young entrepreneur must bear, it doesn’t mean these opportunities are beyond your reach. As you pursue new business where your youth seems to put you at a disadvantage, try to include these points as you argue against a perceived lack of experience. (more…)
Do you know the difference between being responsive and being responsible? When it comes to government contracting, you have to be both.
Being responsive means giving the government exactly what it wants. When a government buying agency invites vendors to submit a bid, it has very specific requirements in mind. If the agency is looking for paper drinking cups, don’t submit a bid for plastic cups, even if you think the plastic ones would be better.
If the government wants the cups shipped in quantities of one hundred packaged in poly bags, don’t propose to send batches of five hundred in cardboard cartons. The time to offer alternatives is before the invitation to bid is issued. (more…)
Maintaining a positive cash flow is often one of the most difficult aspects of running a small business. Even when business is booming, that 30-day lull between sending an invoice and receiving payment can be the death knell for small businesses in perennial debt.
But thanks to relatively recent advancement in business-to-business electronic payments, you can cut the time making deposits at the bank and waiting for checks to clear, as well as streamline processes such as invoicing and collections.
We’ve identified some of the most common online financial tools that can help you keep your cash flow positive by cutting the time it takes to receive and deposit your payments. (more…)