SCORE Central Coast Business Resource Library

Do you have any employees who work from home? If you understand the tax rules they face for claiming a home office deduction, you can help them.

Put everything you do in writing. It might be worthwhile to look at some of the areas where businesses put themselves at risk by not using paper (electronic communications can count as paper).

What exactly does your business insurance cover? Too many businesses take out insurance that protects them from liabilities arising from accidents that cause injury to customers or employees and damages due to misfortunes like floods and fires but never ask if that is enough.

Some questions can be unpleasant. One issue some business owners must face even though it is painful is employee theft. Every business, whether small or large, can take steps to minimize (or, with luck, eliminate) this aggravating problem.

Consider these points in dealing with your employees and you’ll maximize their contribution to your success.

You can share a laugh with your employees when it is appropriate, but you must keep yourself on a higher (though not aloof) level to ensure that the business runs smoothly despite all its (sometimes confrontational) personnel interfaces.

Customers expect top-quality customer service. When they don’t get it, they show little patience. They can quickly Google up an alternate source and leave, dropping a bad review on the offender as they go.

It makes good sense to put together a business estate plan that covers your company’s assets, trade secrets and organizational structure so that forces beyond your control don’t slow it down.

Ten tips for new small businesses.

Dr. Alan Zimmerman has helped over one million people over the last 25 years. His success is seen in the fact that 92% of his speeches result from referrals and repeat engagements. This recent interview provides some of his key thoughts.

Many successful businesses started as one-person operations. Whether you expect to add employees in the future or plan to stay solo, these tips will help you run your one-person business properly.

Maybe you don’t know what an elevator speech is. You should be your business's biggest fan and booster. Your best tool is a 30-second pitch that you can deliver anywhere, anytime you meet someone who might be a prospective client or customer. Many small business people fail to have one simply because they’re not sure how to compose it.