Top 5 Tips
SCORE's Top 5 Business Tip Series
SCORE's top 5 business tips are a quick and easy way to hone your skills. Use the categories below to navigate your way to a better business.Business Planning
- Effective Business Planning
- Making the Most of Your Business Plan
- Using Colleges and Universities to Help Your Business
- Budgeting
- Building a Sound Business Plan
- Developing Policies for Your Business
- Exit Strategies
- Preparing for Change
- Technology Planning
- Preparing for Growth Spurts
E-Business
- Electronic Contracts
- Ensuring Your Customers' Privacy
- Improving Your Website
- Marketing Your Website
- Getting Noticed Online
- Getting Closer to Customers with Technology
- Managing Virtual Relationships
- Meeting the Demand for Speed
- Running a Website
- Taking Your Small Business Online
- See Whether Your Website Is Up to Snuff
Finance & Capital
- Writing a Business Plan for a Loan
- Approaching Your Bank
- Conserving Capital
- Factoring
- Financial Packages
- Being Creative In the Search for Funding
- State and Local Funding
- Vendor Financing
Human Resources
- Building a Senior Management Team
- Employee Performance Reviews
- Helping Employees Take Pride in Their Work
- Hiring Immigrants
- Hiring Quality and Reliable People
- Hiring Smart
- Recruiting Workers in a Tough Labor Market
- Promoting From Within
- Where to Publicize for New Hires
- Where to Go to Gain Referrals
Leadership
- Hands-On Leadership
- Renewing Yourself as a Leader
- Cultivating Confident Employees
- Effective Leadership
- Exemplary Leadership
- Creating an Innovative Environment
- Empowering Your Employees
- Knowing When You're Getting Stale
- Managing Yourself
- Teaching Employees to "Own" Their Work
- What Employees Want from You as a Leader
Legal
- Avoiding Legal Problems
- Policies for Employers to Implement
- Obtaining a Lease
- Advertising Legally
- Consumer Credit Basics
- Developing an Employee Handbook
- Protecting Yourself from Employee Lawsuits
- Patents
- Researching Your Invention or Idea Before You Patent
- Resolving Disputes
- When Military Duty Calls
Marketing & Public Relations
- Establishing a Presence in Your Community
- Sprucing Up a Tired Image
- Advertising Basics
- Developing a Marketing Plan
- Effective News Releases
- Good Business Signage
- Hiring a Public Relations Firm
- How to Advertise, Cheap!
- Low-Cost Marketing
- Simple Market Research
- Using PR to Your Advantage
Office Management
- Setting Priorities
- Successful Debt Collections
- Avoiding Conflicts of Interest
- Choosing a Location for Your Business
- Creating an Office Where You Can Work
- Good Vendor Relationships
- Becoming More Efficient
- How to Be Sure You're Adequately Insured
- How to Stop the Work Pile-Up
- Leasing Equipment
- Paying Yourself
- Preparing for Disaster Recovery
Sales & Customer Service
- Business-to-Business Selling
- Pleasing Customers
- Building Customer Relationships
- Building Your Referral Business
- Enhancing Sales
- Forecasting the Future
- Finding Your First Customers
- Getting to Know Your Customers
- Great Telephone Customer Service
- Superior Customer Service
- Supporting Your Sales Staff
- Ways to Sell Your Products or Services
- Making Customers Come to You
Taxes
Training
- Developing Employees
- Educating Outside Salespeople
- Getting the Most Out of Training
- Training on a Budget
- Employee Orientation
- Ethics Training
- What Makes Online Training Valuable
- Where to Find Employee Training
