Do You Really Invest in Yourself as an Entrepreneur? | Allbusiness.com

September 26, 2014 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

I’m writing this post from my new, shiny HP desktop. It wasn’t cheap, and I dragged my feet on the purchase for years, but I’m glad I bought it. I’m now more productive, and stressing less over slow load times. Are you like me? Do you find your business or your professional development to be the last thing you invest in? I think it’s a symptom of being a micropreneur. If we had staff complaining about their computers, we’d have to do something about it. But when it’s just us, we put up with faulty equipment and subpar technology just because we think we’re not worth it. Let’s change that.

How to Improve Your Business Credit Score | Businessnewsdaily.com

September 26, 2014 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

If you’re good about keeping your personal and business finances separate, you may think that the only credit score you have to worry about is your own. While maintaining good personal credit is certainly important if you’re applying for business loans, you may not realize that your company has its own credit score — and it’s just as essential to monitor.

“Businesses in the eyes of the law are treated like people,” said Jeff Stibel, CEO of Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corporation, which provides credit-building and credibility solutions for businesses. “The smallest businesses tend not to incorporate or get a credit file, so they [think they don’t] have a credit score. Whether you’re proactively trying to get your score or not, it’s very likely that you still have one.”

Time is of the Essence in Funding Deals | Peter Mehit

September 23, 2014January 22, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

‘Time is of the essence’ is a contract clause used when an action must occur by a certain time or the deal is in jeopardy, such as the buying and selling real estate. The reality is, when dealing with funding sources, that time is of the essence for the entire transaction.

I have seen deals that seemed rock solid, collapse. The reasons for their demise didn’t come from any unsolvable disagreement or lack of information. Looking back, I see that many of them just simply took too much time.

When an applicant applies to a bank, there is a flurry of activity. Applications are completed, appraisals ordered, interviews conducted. There is a lot of information gathering as the bank prepares the loan package for underwriting. Once the package goes behind the curtain, the wait begins. Occasionally, requests for information will come from underwriting. If underwriting likes the deal, they’ll defend it to a loan committee and the deal is, or is not, approved.

Continue reading “Time is of the Essence in Funding Deals | Peter Mehit” →

A Google Site Meant to Protect You Is Helping Hackers Attack You | WIRED

September 2, 2014September 2, 2014 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Before companies like Microsoft and Apple release new software, the code is reviewed and tested to ensure it works as planned and to find any bugs.

Hackers and cybercrooks do the same. The last thing you want if you’re a cyberthug is for your banking Trojan to crash a victim’s system and be exposed. More importantly, you don’t want your victim’s antivirus engine to detect the malicious tool.

So how do you maintain your stealth? You submit your code to Google’s VirusTotal site and let it do the testing for you.

It’s long been suspected that hackers and nation-state spies are using Google’s antivirus site to test their tools before unleashing them on victims. Now Brandon Dixon, an independent security researcher, has caught them in the act, tracking several high-profile hacking groups—including, surprisingly, two well-known nation-state teams—as they used VirusTotal to hone their code and develop their tradecraft.

Equipment Finance Advantage | Getting Started with Equipment Leasing and Finance | Washington DC

September 1, 2014 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Get Started

Follow these 5 steps to get started using equipment leasing and finance to your strategic advantage. Consult 10 Questions to Ask for more information.

Consider how you will be using the equipment.

Determine how your company will use the equipment you plan to lease or finance, and the length of time you’ll need it. To help decide if leasing or financing is a profitable financing option for you, perform a simple cost/benefit analysis by comparing the anticipated costs to the revenue you expect to generate from using the equipment.

Find an equipment finance partner who understands your business.

It is beneficial to work with an equipment leasing and finance company that understands your particular market. The company’s understanding of market fluctuations and other factors that impact your business can greatly affect the successful outcome and desirability of your lease contract. It is also important for the company to understand your business’s tax and cash flow requirements and be able to set the residual rates the value of leased equipment at the end of the lease term. Your equipment financier can serve as a valued consultant, providing additional benefits through lifecycle asset management solutions. Find a Provider who meets your needs.

5 Ways for Bootstrapped Startups to Get Through the First Year | Entrepreneur.com

August 29, 2014 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

In the eyes of an investor, a bootstrapped startup that has proven stable and successful within the first year is powerful. It not only raises confidence in the product and the leadership behind it, but also indicates that any invested money will likely not be thrown away.

Ultimately, when it comes to working with investors, it’s important to prove that a startup and the people behind it not only know how to spend money, but know how to bring in additional money.To successfully bootstrap a company in its first year, it’s important to consider a few things:

The Four Stages of Financial Independence | The Simple Dollar

August 29, 2014 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Financial independence is a tricky phrase because it can mean different things to different people.

Right now, I view financial independence as being a state where I no longer have to work for money. Yet, seven or eight years ago, I might have viewed it as simply being free from worrying about my next paycheck. At different points in there, I might have seen financial independence completely differently.

Along the way, I’ve come to realize that financial independence is made up of a series of stages. Some people might see more stages, while others might see fewer; I see four clear ones. In my own financial journey – and in the journey of others that I’ve had conversations with – “financial independence” generally means the next stage that hasn’t been achieved yet.

For example, once upon a time, I viewed financial independence as not needing to rely on my parents or on my very next paycheck to survive. As I achieved that, my definition changed.Let’s walk through these four stages and look at what needs to be done to achieve each one.

Newsflash: Hello Kitty Has Never Been a Cat | The Washington Post

August 29, 2014 ~ knjohn ~ 1 Comment

Despite 40 years of feline imagery, despite the protestation of thousands of anguished fans, despite her very name — Hello Kitty, it turns out, is not a cat.

She is “a friend.”

A “little girl.”

A “perpetual third-grader” living outside of London with her twin sister and parents, eating apple pie and celebrating a Nov. 1 birthday.

But never — never — an actual cat.

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