Should You Get a Women-Owned Business Certification? | Small Business Trends

Female business owners have traditionally faced unique challenges when seeking funding and government contracts. To balance those disadvantages, there are now certain programs and contracting dollars that are reserved just for women-owned businesses. However, owning a business as a woman isn’t enough; there are specific certification requirements companies must meet to be eligible.

What is a Women-Owned Business Certification?

A women-owned small businesses certification is an official designation through the U.S. Small Business Administration. Companies that achieve this certification process are eligible for programs and contracts set aside for women-owned small businesses.

Read More

What Are Accounting Ratios? | business.com

Accounting ratios give you a better understanding of your business’s financial position.

A critical component of running a successful business is understanding where it stands financially. This helps you see where you are today and predict how you’ll fare in the future. While there are many pieces of financial data to keep on top of, some critical ones are accounting ratios. These metrics can give you a quick idea of where your business stands and how well it is positioned to handle any obstacles that pop up.

What are accounting ratios?

Accounting ratios measure your company’s current and projected financial health. They are based on data in your business’s financial reports. On the surface, accounting ratios may seem complicated, but each measures two line items that you should be able to access quickly and easily from your balance sheet. Here are the most common accounting ratios that small businesses can use.

Read More

Why I sold my awesome gaming PC and bought a MacBook Pro | Digital Trends

I did it. I have committed the cardinal sin among PC gaming enthusiasts.

I have ditched my relatively powerful gaming PC in exchange for the breezy console life — and also threw in a new MacBook Pro while I was at it.

I know how it sounds, but give me a chance to explain. My reasons won’t work for everyone, but I’m already loving my life away from my gaming PC, even if it won’t last forever.

Read More

5 Ways to Support Freelancers and Improve Collaboration | The Startup Magazine

Freelancing is a booming industry right now, with great talent pools available. The percentage of full-time freelancers in the U.S. workforce soared from 17 to 28 percent between 2014 and 2019 and has been continually growing since the pandemic.

Moreover, the demand for freelancers is also set to increase as the gig economy proves that they are equally productive as full-time employees, but arguably, a more cost-effective option for employers. To maximize the benefits of hiring freelance workers, it is important to learn how to support them and work with them properly.

Knowing how to work with a freelancer efficiently will ensure the relationship is successful and the collaboration is fruitful. Here are things you should do when you consider working with freelancers:

1. Be Ready for Them

Hiring talented and skilled freelancers can help cut costs for many businesses. But that is only if you employ the appropriate strategy to find, hire, and onboard them. Depending on your business or the tasks at hand, try to find the right platform where you can find the best ones in their field.

Read More

10 Types of People Companies are Hiring | Getentrepreneurial.com

Are you looking to hire new staff and wondering which personalities are right for your business? Here are the top 10 to focus on.

  • Companies benefit from having a diverse group of employees on each team.
  • Employers want to hire loyal and sincere workers who act with integrity.
  • Many employers rely on some form of personality test or psychological profiling technique during the hiring process.
  • This article is for business owners, recruiters and hiring managers who are looking to build a great staff.

Exactly what kinds of people do employers tend to look for when hiring? In the 2021 Traits and Qualities Employers Look For study by Zety, recruiters identified loyalty (52%), integrity (49%) and sincerity (48%) as the three most important qualities in a job applicant. The majority (83%) of those same recruiters said that their first impression of a candidate was an important factor in their hiring decisions.

Read More

Should You Finance Your Startup With a Credit Card? | businessnewsdaily.com

When starting a business, you might consider financing your startup with a credit card. What are the advantages and drawbacks?

  • When used correctly, credit cards can be useful financing tools for your small business.
  • Pros of credit card borrowing include maintaining control over equity, accessing inexpensive capital and avoiding collateral.
  • Cons of borrowing include potential for merged expenses, credit damage, liability issues, insufficient funding and qualification challenges.
  • This article is for entrepreneurs who are considering using credit cards to cover some of their startup costs.

Read More

Essential Employee Handbook Updates to Make in 2022 | AllBusiness.com

An employee handbook is one of the most important components employment attorneys advise companies to have and update regularly. The reasons for this are simple: employee handbooks not only formalize guidelines, expectations, and terms and conditions of employment, but, more important, they can also help provide a layer of protection against employee claims and lawsuits.

A thorough and detailed employee handbook, reviewed and signed by the employee, establishes that both company and employee are aware of the employee and company’s legal rights and obligations. In addition, should the business ever face an employee claim or lawsuit, the handbook also serves as a helpful legal defense by demonstrating that the company strives to operate in compliance with all relevant federal, state, and local laws.

Read More

Beginner’s Guide to the Accounting Cycle | business.com

The accounting cycle provides a detailed overview of your company’s financial standing, simplifies financial reporting and helps protect your assets.

Winning business owners know financial management is one of the most critical factors in a company’s success. An accounting cycle is one of the best ways to keep track of your business’s finances. It creates simple, organized financial data that external parties – such as investors – can easily interpret.

The accounting cycle tracks each transaction from the moment of purchase until the date it’s added to a financial statement. This eight-step process, usually completed through accounting software, is a great way to get more time in your day to focus on growing your business while protecting your assets from theft. By maintaining the accounting cycle consistently, you will notice balance discrepancies at a glance.

Here’s a look at the accounting cycle and its eight-step process.

Read More

7 Benefits of Using a VPN (Spoiler: It Could Save You Money) | Digital Trends

We all regularly use the internet nowadays for a variety of different purposes. Whether it’s to keep in touch with friends and family, to work from home, or to conduct our banking and bill paying online, it’s important to be secure. One of the best ways to keep yourself secure and your activity private is to use a VPN.

With many different VPN services out there, it can be tough to know which is the best VPN for you but it’s also tricky to know if it’s really worth the expense and effort of setting one up. Fortunately, we’re on hand to help advise you on what the key benefits of using a VPN are and why you should get one. Read on while we take you through them.

Read More

World with Bitcoin | The Startup Magazine

Bitcoin is a digital currency that was created in 2009 by an unknown programmer, or group of programmers. The overall world Bitcoin impact permeates a growing portion of the financial ecosystem. Bitcoin can be used to make purchases online and in brick-and-mortar stores using mobile apps. Bitcoin is the first of hundreds of “cryptocurrencies,” which are forms of currency that exist digitally through encryption. Bitcoin has become increasingly popular since its creation, with the total number of Bitcoin users around the world growing to more than 5 million today from 500,000 in 2013. Bitcoin Revolution can help you in providing proper tips and tricks for bitcoin investment.

Read More