By Casandra Ramey

Taking out a small business loan is not to be taken lightly. It’s a major undertaking that is going to have serious implications on the borrower’s future.

Above all, a person should really only considering taking out a business loan if doing so is going to have a profoundly positive effect on their life. Interest rates on loans, even the lowest ones – are still relatively high by financial standards. And this means that anything you can definitely afford should be purchased in cash.

However, there are a variety of situations, such as buying a franchise or covering manufacturing costs in which borrowing money makes real sense. Just make sure that you fully think through the transaction before you commit. With that in mind, take a moment to review these important considerations when taking a business loan: (more…)

By Danielle Buffardi

Every business, be it virtual or not, needs new and existing customers in order to not only advance their bottom line, but also to keep growing and getting better. It can be intimidating for some to find new and innovative ways of bringing in new clients.

Don’t fear – I’ve compiled five easy ways to grab the attention of new customers and help make them repeat ones.

1. Referrals:

New clientele are virtually right in your own backyard. Examine the clients that you presently have and seek out whom they think would be in need of the services or products that you offer. (more…)

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your entrepreneurial journey.

My journey is a bit complicated to say the least. After many years in the graphic arts and advertising I decided I needed a major career shift so I went back to school and got a Masters in Montessori Education. After receiving my credential from Loyola and the Montessori Association International (AMI) I worked with children between the ages of 2.5 and 6 in a Montessori school.

A dream come true, I had always dreamed of one day having my own school, yet as I worked with the children I realized parents often had many questions and always wondered why their children were so different at home then in their Montessori classroom.

I offered home visits through the school and helped parents understand how their home environments could be altered to help their child be more at peace, independent and self-disciplined at home. I realized the impact I was having and was encouraged by some parents to pursue this as a business model.

The rest is history; I am truly passionate about the information I share with parents as I do workshops, talks and private home consultations as well as Skype consultations, for expectant parents and parents with children from newborn through six years of age. (more…)

Tell us a little bit about yourself and you got into writing, producing and directing.

Growing up, I was a very poor student and never thought of myself as a writer. In my wildest dreams, I never imagined that I’d be making a comedy series which BuzzFeed would compare to Curb Your Enthusiasm and Louie or that I’d be trying to crowd-fund from my audience. Visual art was gentle and slow and solitary. It came to me naturally. As soon as I got out of college, I saved up money from waitressing and went to Paris to live in a maid’s room, so I could study at the Beaux-Arts. I wanted to learn to draw like Leonardo da Vinci.

A few years later, as a graduate student at the Mason Gross School of Rutgers, I was studying to be a sculptor and making what the second year students referred to (derisively) as “free-standing monoliths”.  Goaded by their ridicule, I was determined to figure out conceptual and performance art: fortunately, the performance artist Joan Jonas came out to visit for a day as a living example of what a smart and driven woman artist could do.

I eventually, put together a performance but it nearly killed me. The logistics were very difficult between the 8mm film, the slide show, the audio track of “American Birdsong: Volume 2″ and five or six of my classmates in drag.  And then once it was over, there was only a poor- quality video record. What I loved about performance was that it had the three dimensions of sculpture plus the possibility for written and spoken words and performers, and that all of this could take place in time. (more…)

With advances in mobile and cloud technology in the last few years, running your business will never be the same. In fact, you can set up shop with just a smartphone, tablet or laptop with a mobile hotspot from your phone company. The advantages are obvious: You can spend less money on infrastructure and run your business with minimal fixed costs, which will help boost profits.

A Business Revolution

With the development of easy-to-carry devices such as tablets, you can potentially run your business from a different location every day. This is especially true if your business doesn’t deal in hands-on handling of merchandise — such as companies that specialized in writing, affiliate marketing and website operation.

What has really created a new sense of freedom for small business owners in the last two years is the ability to run credit card payments and checks through software that can be run from a laptop, tablet or phone. Point-of-sale software (POS) is often the lifeblood of running a small business. (more…)