Managing your work force

So you have your business in full swing. You have even managed to hire a few workers. Now what do you do about labor expenses? Have you figured out how much it costs you you have extra workers? Did you figure those extra costs into your product or service? How about payroll, do you have the time to sit down and manage payroll and deductions? Don't worry if you can't answer those questions right away, but they are something to keep in mind as your business grows.

Not hiring people or should I say the fear of hiring people to help you with your business should not be a deterrent to expanding your business. There are websites and software companies that help by offering Online Time and Expense solutions. Don't let fear of not knowing how to handle payroll hold your company back from growing.

Business advice for the woman

Finally some business advice geared for the woman, but is it that good?. Why is it that really good business advice for women business owners is very much lacking. I for once would like to see how to react and handle family situations when your business is based in the home. I know from experience that most men think that if you are home you are not working. By the same token they think they can bother you at any time to do some wifely chore regardless if you are in the middle of a sale or product development.

Looking for money making ideas

Where do people come up with ideas to start a business or develop a product? Sometimes they are right in front of your face. There is a news report that was running on MSN today about a 12 year old girl that was making ans selling hair products online. Apparently the products were made from an old family recipe that was handed down from her grandmother to her mother and she thought of the idea of going public with it. She is currently making $5K a month. Maybe you have something similar in your family, an old cooking recipe, a household cleaning gizmo or something else that you might think is common but in reality is not. Look and ask around you might come up with something.

Locating inventory for your business

So you have decided to sell items and products at the retail or sub-wholesale level. You even have an idea of what types of products you want to handle, but where to find them? One of the simplest ways is to contact the manufacturer but many of the larger companies will refer you to one of their distributors for stock purchases. If you are a small start up business you might be left out in the cold trying to find your first initial stock.

Here are some ideas and links for you to find products for your retail business. For a directory of manufacturers so you can contact them directly try Thomas Net.  While on the subject of video games how about the suppliers for Xbox, PS3 and Wii? .

I hope I have given you a start on your search.

The biggest down turn a business can take

Starting a new business is never easy. Throwing a wrench into the works will almost always end your start up. That wrench is not usually business related but related at the personal level, after all we are all human. My "wrenches" in the past have been:

• Having a relative make constant fun of my business to the point of harassing jokes and me giving up on it. Looking back, the business was doing fine but I just couldn't take the ridicule anymore. That person is no longer in my life - thank God.
• Having 2 parents die within 2 years of each other. The grief I went through put all other thoughts on the back burners for quite some time. Plans for starting up a second business were delayed.
• Pressure from becoming suddenly unemployed. A business should not be started out of desperation, because to establish a good growing business takes time. Time is what you don't have when you are just trying to pay your bills, what you do have is panic mode.

If you can over come the many "wrenches" that life throws at you at the time you are just starting up a business get some counseling or a mentor to talk things out. Your future business success will thank you.