Check out 7 Silly Myths About The Economy, Jobs, Taxes & Small Business...

Posted on Inc.com, July 18, 2012
By Gene Marks

7 Silly Myths About the Economy, Jobs, Taxes & Small Business

America's Got Talent is the No. 1 show. Spider-Man is the No. 1 movie. Call me Maybe is the top song in the country. Who's the most popular guy in Washington D.C.?

Why, me! The small-business guy. Everyone's buzzing about me. That's because I represent more than 20 million others who are supposedly just like me. According to the National Federation of Independent Business, my confidence is down. Oh, no! But don't worry! The President and Congress are battling over ways to help me succeed. Hooray!

I appreciate everyone's concern. And I certainly love the attention. But, really, I don't want to waste your time. My technology company has 600 small business customers. And I agree that I probably don't have the right to speak on behalf of the other 19,999,400 small businesses in the country. But then again, why not? I know that small businesses will be an important part of this year's election. We're already getting a lot of attention from the media. So let me help explain a few things. And put to rest a few silly myths about us.

Silly Myth #1: Small Businesses collectively oppose higher taxes....

To read the full article, and find out the other 6 myths and their explanations... click here.

Check out Starbucks Initiative to Brew Up U.S. Jobs through small business lending

A Starbuck Initiative to Brew Up U.S. Jobs

Posted by Michelle Goodman
Entrepreneur.com, January 2012

For little more than the price of a latte, the average American can help finance a new business startup. That's the premise behind Create Jobs for USA, the brainchild of Starbucks founder and CEO Howard Schultz. Through the program, every $5 donated at a Starbucks location or through CreateJobsforUSA.org supports $35 worth of small-business lending.

To get these funds directly into the hands of business owners, Starbucks partnered with Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), a collection of 180 Community Development Financial Insitutions (CDFIs) that specialize in lending to low-income and disadvantaged indiaviduals and underserved communities throughout the nation.

To read more about this great initiative of Starbucks... click here.

Check out "Top 10 Reasons Small Businesses Fail" from the New York Times

Top 10 Reasons Small Businesses Fail
By Jay Goltz
New York Times, You're The Boss
January 5, 2011

One of the least understood aspects of entrepreneurship is why small businesse fail, and there's a simple reason for the confusion" Most of hte evidence comes form the entrepreneur themselves.

I have had a close-up view of numerous business failures - including a few start-ups of my own. And from my observation, the reasons for failure cited by owners are frequently off point, which kind of makes sense when you think about it. If the owners really knew what they were doing wrong, they might have been able to fix the problem. Often, it's simply a matter of denial or of not knowing what you don't know.

To read the full article and see the top 10 reasons, which might surprise you... click here.

Check out this great article from nightclub.com

VIBE newsletter
www.nightclub.com

Mimi's Cafe's Value Revolution
By: Alissa Ponchione
November 14, 2011

When it comes to happy-house specials, every operator thinks their happy hour is not only the best but also offers the most value. However, the executives at Mimi's Cafe claim that theirs is the happiest. Launching its "Happiest Hour" promotion, the Irvine, Calif. based Mimi's Cafe is offering small bites and wine flights every day of the week. Chief Concept Officer Mark Mears says taht at 145 locations, guests will be offered delicious treats and drinks - all part of Mimi's Revolution strategy.

To learn more, read the full article... click here.

Check out A 'Match.com' fr entrepreneurs and lenders from crainsnewyorkbusiness.com

crain's new york business.com
By: Elaine Pofeldt
October 18, 2011

BoeFly aims to aid businesses disappointed by their banks, but there's new competition in this financial services niche.

The Company: BoeFly
What it Does: It's an online marketplace matching small business borrowers with lenders around the country.
How's It Doing: Founded in 2010 by two finance industry veterans, the Manhattan-based site is generating nearly $150,000 in revenue a month. It has raised $4 million from private investors. The founders expect it to become profitable in 2012.

To learn more about BoeFly... read the full article... click here.

Check out Best Practices: Six Steps to Effective Facebook Posts from Nightclub & Bar

Business Sherpa: "Hey check this out bar owners - this is a great article on using Facebook to increase traffic and revenue to your bar!"

VIBE Newsletter
www.nightclub.com
October 17, 2011
By: Dave Dronkers

According to Facebook, more than 1 billion pieces of content are shared on the social networking sites each day! This presents a huge challenge in trying to get Facebook visitors to engage with your brand and your beverage program.

How have some restaurant companies figured out how to move from "broadcast" mode into "engagement"? How have they engaged people so well that their fans invite others along for the viral ride? You and your team may or may not be directly involved in social media marketing, however, it's important to understand how to execute it properly so it reaps the greatest rewards - traffic and sales - for your drink program.

To learn more, read the entire article... click here.

Check out Boomerang Business Owners Sell Shop, Then Buy It Back

Sell the Store, The Buy It Back

by Emily Maltby
Wall Street Journal / WSJ.com Small Business Online
November 11, 2010

Call them "boomerang" business owners.

A handful of entrepreneurs who sold during flush times are repurchasing their old companies for cheaper prices, hoping they can resuscitate the now ailing businesses.

Dave McCarthy, who says he was tired of the day-to-day stress of running his own hand-crafted furniture business, Eldred Wheeler in Hanover, Mass., decided six years ago to sell the shop for between $5 million and $10 million in cash.

But he regretted the decision almost immediately, he says. "I should have gone on vacation rather than selling."

Then Mr McCarthy, who had since bought a candy company that he still runs, noticed last year that the economy had taken a toll on Eldred Wheeler, forcing its owners to severely cut staff and operations. He decided the opportunity was ripe, and bought back his old company for less than $1 million.

To read the full article... click here.

Check out... Former executives want to be their own boss

Laid-off office workers tired of rat race; seeking their own businesses with $100,000-plus income.

by Tanya Mannes
October 12, 2010
San Diego Union Tribune

As high-level corporate jobs dry up, some executives are embracing the idea of trading rush-hour traffic and hectic schedules - as well as steady paychecks - for a chance to be their own boss.

The economic collapse has eliminated millions of jobs, slashed pension programs and gutted home equity and stock portfolios, making the idea of self-reliance more attractive.

Peter Siegel, founder and chief executive of BizBen.com, a California business-for-sale website, is seeing a surge of former executives - many in their 40s, 50s and 60s - seeking a business with an adjusted net income of $100,000 or more.

To read the full article... click here.

Check out... The Art (and Journey) of Raising Funds

The Art (and Journey) of Raising Funds
By ROSALIND RESNICK

For an entrepreneurial start-up, landing that first check from an investor is a milestone.

What many start-ups don't realize is that the seed capital they raise – often from friends and family – is just the first step in a fundraising journey that can drag on for months or even years.
My client, John White, is more than two years into the process of securing $14 million in funding for his company, Joy Berry Enterprises Inc., which plans to republish the works of popular children's author Joy Berry across multiple media platforms. In June 2008, he and partner John Bellaud won their first $600,000 from angels to jumpstart the company—and expected smooth sailing from that point on...

to read the full article... click here.

Small Business Owners Still Doubtful about Economic Turnaround

Blog By JULIA L. ROGERS, AOL SMALL BUSINESS

Small businesses aren't quite buying the reality of economic recovery yet, reveals a survey conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) in March. Most have continued to be tight-budgeted, stalling hiring and expansion in the sector.

Entrepreneurs in small companies across industries are still frustrated as they watch larger companies get low-interest credit and enjoy rejuvenated businesses. Unfortunately, their pessimism and failure to take advantage of all benefits offered to them is seriously affecting the strength and speed of the recovery. Because of sour attitudes among those in the small business community, economic experts believe that President Barack Obama has his work cut out for him as he attempts to move forward with fresh policies to help smaller companies add jobs and expand. Reuters reports that issues related to employment and job opportunities are critical in this congressional election year and could make or break results...

To read the full article... click here.

Food Truck Entrepreneurs Start a Revolution on Wheels

Click HERE to view entire article.

By LAURA TIFFANY, AOL SMALL BUSINESS

On a somewhat chilly Thursday evening, a group of young college students have driven 10 miles because of a tweet. Their destination: a bar in Costa Mesa. Or, to be more specific, a food truck parked outside a bar in Costa Mesa. Their goal: the nachos served by Taco Dawg, an up-and-coming food truck that specializes in a unique mix of hot dogs and tacos with a few distinct sides like fried mac 'n' cheese.

A first-time patron, also alerted by Taco Dawg's Twitter feed, drove up from Laguna Beach. Another regular customer lives in the neighborhood, and a potential Taco Dawg fan wandered out from the bar, attempting to determine if this truck was more than just a "roach coach." And, indeed, it is.

Like many new gourmet food trucks on the scene in Los Angeles, New York City, Nashville, and Austin, Texas, and other towns, this one's got foodie cred: The menu was developed by classically trained chef Todd Mosher and includes tacos with homemade salsas and hot dogs with custom baked buns. Customer favorites veer toward fusion items like the Texan, a taco that includes bacon, tex-mex sauce and crispy fried onions, and the Taco Dawg, a hot dog topped with taco staples like taco meat, sour cream and pico de gallo.

CEO James Foxall serves as the front man and marketer for Santa Ana, California-based Taco Dawg, which started just a few months ago. He jovially asks the college students to "Yelp" about their meal and hands out free branded T-shirts. "We're trying to create a destination," says Foxall. "The old model of lunch trucks is you just [park somewhere], then find business around the area. What my partners and I, and I'm sure a lot of [the other food truck operators], are trying to do with Twitter and everything is create magnets."

The Truck Trend
One name stands out among the many food trucks that have come on the scene over the past year: Kogi Korean BBQ, the Korean-Mexican fusion truck that took Los Angeles by storm in just a few short months. Launched in November 2008 by former Le Bernardin chef Roy Choy, Mark Manguera, and Caroline Shin-Manguera, Kogi lured hundreds of foodies outside nightclubs and bars with the power of Twitter, tweeting their locations. Since that time, Kogi has grown to four trucks and a brick-and-mortar location.

"The new wave of gourmet food trucks has struck a chord with consumers for three reasons," says Lisa Jennings, the West Coast bureau chief of Nation's Restaurant News. "They tend to offer good food at a low price point; the use of social media to communicate location gives people the feeling they're part of a movement or club; and people are intrigued by the cowboy entrepreneur hitting the road to sell food."

Joshua Henderson, who owns Skillet, a mobile street food business housed in two Airstream trailers in Seattle, agrees that there's a "coolness" to the trend. "It's about the kind of cult-like following and being 'in the know' -- part of something that's viral," says Henderson, who began his company in 2007, before the wave broke.

However, quality is far more important to Henderson than any viral marketing or trends. He changes his menu every few weeks because it's based on seasonal ingredients. "What people consider high-end food doesn't really need to be," says Henderson. "People should have access to good ingredients in well-executed food at a reasonable price."

Moving Forward
While the trend of food trucks is just getting started in some cities, with chefs and entrepreneurs gaining awareness among local foodies and navigating local laws to get licensed and find locations, many existing food truck operators have their sights set on a future in a brick-and-mortar location.

"Many of the food truck operators I talked to hoped to open a restaurant, but they couldn't get a loan in this economic climate," says Jennings. "Some are highly trained chefs who are victims of layoffs. Launching a truck is a more affordable way to test the waters with a food concept. It remains to be seen, however, whether truck operators will be able to successfully transfer their audience to a brick-and-mortar location."

Kogi has set up shop in the kitchen of the Alibi Room, a Culver City, California, bar, and rumor has it they're also going to open a standalone Kogi location.

Meanwhile, Henderson is bottling his bacon jam, a condiment sought after by his patrons, to sell in gourmet food stores. "The growth strategy this year is to open a Skillet diner and get our condiment out around the country," says Henderson, who parks his trailers during lunch service, but also caters many events. "We want to be a company that has somewhat of a national presence but is just physically present in the Seattle region."

Foxhall, whose truck is parked in office parks and high schools during the day and near bars at night, says he and his partners also have bigger plans. "We want to go to brick-and-mortar. We want to go to concerts and events," says Foxhall. "The truck is definitely [a stepping stone]. It's a tool to get our name and our food out there, and eventually get a following."

From Denverpost.com...

The redlining of small businesses
Owners feeling starved of debt and equity capital, and tired of being at the bottom of the priority list.

By Henry Dubroff and John Huggins

Politicians trying to figure out why the electorate is so angry and frustrated will find answers in a simple chat with shopkeepers and small-business owners on Main Street.

When it comes to small business, the disconnect between reality on the ground and what policymakers are talking about is enormous. Even worse, the aspirations of small-business owners are being eroded not only by economic jitters but also by massive uncertainty about deficits and future government policies.

Many small-business owners feel they've been financially and politically redlined — starved of debt and equity capital, shut out of the political conversation and put at the bottom of the priority list while big companies and unions get huge financial and tax breaks.

What's at stake in this redlining of small business is enormous. Although there are only about 5.5 million small businesses in the U.S., they account for half the jobs in America and the lion's share of job growth. The "jobless recovery" is due in large part to the fact that small businesses have yet to see any advantage at all — and see much risk — in adding to payrolls.

This is a far cry from the situation less than a decade ago, when consistent small-business job growth made the American economy the world's exemplar.

This near-perfect environment for small-business job growth was put into place in the late 1980s and lasted for more than a decade. It included infrastructure in the form of cheap technology, readily available access to basic services at Kinko's and Staples, plentiful capital and a tax environment that favored entrepreneurship. Even the tight job markets of the late 1990s didn't stop the steady stream of entrepreneurial wealth creation.

However, around 2003, small-business formation and job growth began to be taken for granted as policymakers took their eye off the ball. Rising health care costs and uncertainty about individual coverage for people who struck out on their own added to the personal risks of starting new companies. Sarbanes-Oxley reforms, intended to reign in excesses at big companies, reached far into small concerns, touching closely held businesses, adding to costs, paperwork burdens and, most of all, risk.

Failure to permanently fix thorny tax problems — including the alternative minimum tax and the estate tax — added to the uncertainty. The easy money of the housing bubble era had the effect of creating a debt trap for folks starting new businesses. Once the housing market softened, those home equity loans became an albatross that could sink a fledgling company.

As we have seen, the financial sector became the dominant growth engine for the American economy. Too much of our nation's intellectual capital was devoted to trading systems, debt securitization and the creation of toxic derivatives that brought the global financial system to the edge of collapse. Comparatively little capital was spent on building small-business resources.

Once the recession hit and the financial crisis worsened, resources went right to the head of the economy (the financial sector), leaving the heart of the economy (small businesses) with no blood and no oxygen supply.

While the government provided up to $700 billion to big banks and big companies through TARP, SBA guaranteed lending fell nationally by 27 percent from nearly $18 billion to $13.1 billion. In Colorado, the results were worse: SBA-guaranteed lending plunged 41 percent, from $556 million in fiscal year 2008 to $330 million in fiscal year 2009.

The National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Optimism index, which had hovered pretty steadily around the 100 range since the end of the 1993 recession, plunged to the low 80s, well below earlier recessions. The December NFIB index remained stuck at 88, not nearly high enough to trigger job growth. Hiring plans "remain in negative territory," according to Wells Fargo Economics, which reported on the NFIB index in its January 15 economic roundup.

At a recent small-business summit hosted by Sen. Michael Bennet, business owners described the perception gap between small businesses and the financial sector. In an example of how the spiral of redlining has gotten out of control, business owners said they were interested in getting loans but perceived the banks as unwilling to lend. Lenders said they were willing to make loans but perceived borrowers were shy about taking on new risks.

Uncertainties about the true impact of health care reform, cap-and-trade legislation, estate and alternative minimum taxes and even capital gains taxes loom. The perception exists that small-business lending remains shut down. These challenges and news of gigantic bank bonuses strongly reinforce the idea that neither the financial system nor the political system are working for Main Street, especially the thousands of small-business owners who have dipped into or even exhausted their savings in order to keep their employees on the payroll.

Unless government policy begins to tilt back in favor of existing small-business owners and entrepreneurs with dreams of striking out on their own, the political and financial redlining of small business will exact a heavy toll on the economy — and on elected officials in every state.

Entrepreneurship & Employment

It's Time to Elevate Entrepreneurs

By Diana Furchtgott-Roth

WASHINGTON-When President Obama delivers his State of the Union address next Wednesday evening, many Americans will be hoping he will offer help on the employment front. The president could usefully approach job creation by adopting measures to help entrepreneurs, the main drivers of innovation and job creation.

The employment situation is worrisome. Not only are over 15 million Americans unemployed, with the national unemployment rate at 10%, but the ratio of Americans of working age in the labor force - the employed plus those looking for work - is 64.6%, the lowest since 1985. Almost 40% of the unemployed have been out of work for six months or more.

The Labor Department's broadest measure of underused human resources-the unemployed plus the discouraged who have stopped looking for work (and so have dropped out of the labor force) and people working part-time because they cannot find full-time jobs-is 17.2%.

If job creation is the country's paramount economic objective, does it matter if the economy is populated by a few large, regulated firms, or by a broad base of entrepreneurial activity in smaller units? It matters, because entrepreneurship and innovation-the driving elements of economic growth-flourish best in smaller business units.

The key is innovation: introduction of new products and services that displace their predecessors because they yield greater output for any given application of labor and capital. Innovation is vital to sustained economic growth.

Entrepreneurs, determined individuals with new ideas, are most responsible for creating innovations. Not all new ideas are economic successes. Some lead to greater wealth and economic growth, and others fail. The beauty of our economic system is that it separates productive from unproductive ideas, allowing the former to flourish.

On January 19, Carl Schramm, president of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which promotes entrepreneurship, gave his annual State of Entrepreneurship Address at Washington's National Press Club. (Full disclosure: the Kauffman Foundation has funded some of my past research.)

Mr. Schramm offered several ideas that President Obama could use to promote entrepreneurship and employment.

Fix our immigration policy. Many entrepreneurs want to hire workers with math, science, and technology skills, but not enough native-born Americans go into these fields. Yet, after we grant college and graduate degrees in these fields to foreigners, we often do not allow them to stay in America. Some education is provided at taxpayer expense, through research grants to universities from the Departments of Energy and Defense.

Hence, we now have the perverse situation where America educates many foreign graduates in math and science and sends them back home to compete against us. Alternatively, Mr. Schramm suggests, "We could start by offering instant citizenship to any of the thousands of bright young people from foreign countries who graduate from our universities."

Let me suggest that the United States could go even further and offer citizenship to foreign graduates who wish to come here from major science universities around the globe, such as China's Tsinghua University and India's Indian Institute of Technology.

Defang Sarbanes-Oxley. Evidence is mounting that the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley legislation, accounting rules designed to protect shareholders from corporate abuses after the collapse of Enron and Tyco, discourages companies from expanding and going public. Furthermore, some new companies are choosing to locate in London and Tokyo rather than in the United States.

Mr. Schramm proposes that Congress allow shareholders to vote on whether Sarbanes-Oxley applies to their companies. Congress might not buy this, but the accounting requirements would be optional, and companies whose shareholders believed the costs of compliance would be greater than the benefits could choose not to comply. Some firms would be able to operate more nimbly without the SOX regulations.

Develop Commercialization of Academic Research. Mr. Schramm suggests that the government could encourage a free market in the licensing of innovations developed by professors, rather than having these licenses controlled by the university, as occurs now. This would enable the development of a vibrant market to commercialize research. This might require legislation to amend the Bayh-Dole Act, which gave universities ownership of rights to inventions developed through federal funding of research.

Similarly, the government could set up a system of commercialization fellowships to encourage post-doctoral scholars to work on promising ideas.

In addition to Mr. Schramm's proposals, there are drags on entrepreneurship from uncertainty over taxation and regulation.

Remove uncertainty over taxes. Most entrepreneurs file tax returns as individuals. Their highest tax rate is set to rise from 35% now to 40% on January 1, 2011, if Congress does nothing, and their lowest rate is scheduled to rise from 10% to 15%. Small business deductions for equipment would shrink. It's natural that some entrepreneurs will think twice about starting or expanding a business if they don't know what taxes they will face.

More business regulation is clearly on the congressional agenda. Even though Congress's present version of health "reform" may not survive the election of Scott Brown in Massachusetts, environmental and financial regulation are high on the lawmakers' to-do list, adding to uncertainty and to costs of doing business.

We have no way of knowing what auspicious innovations the future holds, and what small businesses will grow from mom-and-pop shops to global powerhouses. But President Obama should know that most innovations and many jobs will be generated by entrepreneurs, and we need more of them, not fewer.

Money Saving Secrets

Entrepreneurs' Best Money-Saving Secrets
By CHARLOTTE JENSEN, AOL SMALL BUSINESS

Even before belt-tightening became de rigueur, entrepreneurs were building businesses while quietly finding ways to cut costs. So who better to ask in a recession for their smartest, savviest cost-cutting tips? Here are 17 creative, easy and unexpected ways entrepreneurs are slashing hundreds -- and sometimes even thousands -- of dollars from their budgets.

1. When business travel is a must, optimize it. "Drive where possible, use travel as an opportunity to pack in as many meetings as possible, buy your hotels on Priceline, use last-minute flight discounts or take connectors to lower airfare."
-- Aynsley Deluce, partner, Parkingspots.com

2. Examine your balance sheet carefully. "By carefully looking beyond the totals to the details, we cut out $30,000 of expenses without any pain. We cut $10,000 in unnecessary bank fees, $1,800 in paper cups and plates, and $350 in credit card annual fees."
-- Julie Sue Auslander, president, cSubs

3. Think ahead. "We conduct a weekly shipping supplies inventory checklist to track usage. That lets us place larger shipping supply orders about every six to eight weeks, and we save about $1,000/year in freight costs compared to when we placed orders every two to four weeks."
-- Eric Mindel, director, PeppyParents.com Inc.

4. Question everything. "Never, ever be afraid to get four to five different opinions, estimates, thoughts, etc. In my business, I learned a long time ago no price is the final price, so when searching for products or suppliers, I have always asked, 'Can you do better on the price?' I've saved thousands of dollars across the board just by asking."
-- Christian Beebe, owner/founder, Worldwide Graphics & Sign Co.

5. Put an end to unnecessary upgrades. "Technolust can be very expensive--speaking from experience. As long as our existing technology equipment is adequate, we make do. This is a recent change for Geektime and has saved us over $20,000 annually for the last two years."
-- Alexander E. Fowler, president and senior consultant, Geektime Design Studios

6. Give e-learning a try. "For a couple hundred bucks, or sometimes no money at all, we can get schooled on new techniques without leaving our desks for professional development. We saved thousands last year."
-- Colleen Troy, owner, Touchpoint Communications

7. Team up for big savings. "We have substantially cut down on our overhead costs by office sharing with a structural engineering firm that has, like everyone else, had to cut down on staff. It is a win-win for both of us. We get the benefits of a large, fully functioning office, and they get income. We are also co-marketing on several projects since our firms' work is synergistic."
-- Virginia McAllister, principal, Iron Horse Architects

8. Get your green on. "Reduce paper consumption -- it is both green and economical. By changing what we print, we were able to reduce our consumption of paper by 90 percent. That translated to several hundreds dollars a year."
-- Orit Pennington, owner/CFO, TPGTEX Label Solutions Inc.

9. Give new life to items you would otherwise discard. "We save money by using pre-used boxes, newspapers and other scraps for all our packaging."
-- Adrien Edwards, co-founder, TheNakedHippie

10. Hire a college intern. "They will work for experience, are excited to be a part of a startup and will provide insight into their demographic. Give them the opportunity to own their work and see how quickly your company will grow as a result and for nothing more than time, appreciation and a killer recommendation."
-- Colleen Leader, owner, Loose Thread Stitchers

11. Shop around to secure the best deals. "I have begun to use different sites for any travel we do. For example, in the past I might call Avis directly to rent a car. Nowadays I go on RentACarNow.com, which is a marketplace of all vendors, and compare rates. This way I find the cheapest rate for my travel. I also use Hotels.com for hotel booking. It's incredible how much I have saved -- over 40 percent on my travel budget for the year. No longer can we rely on one vendor."
-- Robert Tuchman, founder, TSE Sports & Entertainment

12. Try an alternative compensation structure. "Hire commission-only sales reps and consider giving a sizable commission -- [it's] still cheaper than paying a salary."
-- Bradi Nathan, co-founder, MyWorkButterfly.com

13. Volunteer. "In addition to helping a great cause and gaining a personal sense of fulfillment, you often have the opportunity to meet/network with people who may have an important impact on your business -- including successful business leaders, angel investors, political leaders and members of the media -- that you would likely not have had access to in any other venue, regardless of how much you spend on marketing and PR."
-- Sarah M. Place, CEO, Place Trade Financial

14. Find cheaper ways to network. "A luncheon can easily cost $30 to $45, but you might get away with $5 to $10 to attend a happy hour. You can meet just as many people, if not more, when attending a cheaper event."
-- Ansley Meredith, owner, ENERGIZED Media Relations

15. Create buzz (for free) with social media. "We have developed a loyal following on Twitter and Facebook and have seen traffic to our website continue to grow. We've learned that directly connecting with people in their preferred mode of social communication not only enhances our valuable customer relationships, it doesn't cost a penny."
-- Jeff Avallon, co-founder, IdeaPaint

16. When possible, work virtually. "Maintaining a home office eliminates the costs associated with having office space."
-- Adil Lalani, founder and CTO, TwitVid

17. Keep employees happy (read: prevent turnover). "The costs [associated with] being a person short, running ads, time spent interviewing and the downtime while someone gets trained are huge. And then there are the indirect costs -- a dip in client confidence, burned-out staff because they're picking up the extra load and potential loss of clients. It all adds up to a huge number--a number most small businesses cannot afford to pay." -- Drew McLellan, president, McLellan Marketing Group

How to Calculate Start-Up Costs

The Wall Street Journal - wsj.com
OCTOBER 5, 2009, 10:10 A.M. ET
How to Calculate Start-Up Costs

By COLLEEN DEBAISE
Adapted from the upcoming book THE WALL STREET JOURNAL COMPLETE SMALL BUSINESS GUIDEBOOK (Three Rivers Press, Dec. 29, 2009).

Got a pen handy? To best estimate your start-up costs, you'll need to make a list— and the more detailed the better. A smart way to start is to brainstorm everything you'll need, from tangible goods (such as inventory, equipment and fixtures) to professional services (such as remodeling, advertising and legal work). Then, start calculating how much you'll need to pay for all those goods and services.

Some of the expenses incurred during the start-up phase will be one-time costs, such as the fee for printing up your brochures, creating your LLC or acquiring a permit, while others will be ongoing, such as rent, insurance or employees' salaries. In general, it's best to use a two-step process. First, come up with an estimate of one-time costs needed to get your doors open, and then develop an operating budget for the first six months or even the first year of the business. Check out the Better Business Bureau's sample worksheet here.

The categories listed below will aid you in completing your list of costs for opening and operating a small business:

Location. Think about how much you'll need to pay for rent, to make improvements to the space or for full-scale renovations.

Inventory. Figure out the cost of raw materials, plus any production costs, or the wholesale prices of products you'll be selling. Calculate shipping and packaging costs, sales commissions and other costs related to the sale of your product.

Equipment. Add up how much it costs to buy or lease computers, copiers, telephones, heavy-duty machinery or other fixtures.

Employees. Calculate salaries and wages, plus benefits you would offer, and don't forget payroll-related taxes, overtime pay and workers' compensation.

Marketing. Figure out how much you'll pay for new stationery, marketing materials, advertising campaigns, the sign above your door and meals or entertainment with clients.

Administrative and operational costs. Keep track of how much you'll need to pay for insurance (to protect against property damage, business interruption and floods) and office supplies. Don't forget utilities, a commonly overlooked expense, and other charges, such as phone and Internet service, cleaning and property maintenance.

Professional fees and permits. Add up how much you'll pay for your attorney, accountant or other advisor or consultant. Factor in what you'll need to pay for permits or licenses related to your business.

If you're still having trouble figuring out how much money you need, do research on other companies in your industry and region of the country. Talk to other business owners about how they figured out start-up costs— and ask specifically about expenses they forgot. The SBA offers free counseling through its Small Business Development Centers and its affiliate, SCORE. You can also seek advice from an accountant or attorney accustomed to dealing with small businesses.

When in doubt about your projections, you should always err on the side of overestimating your up-front investment cost and underestimating sales. Eric van Merkensteijn, a University of Pennsylvania business professor who left academia in the late 1990s to open a restaurant in Philadelphia, offers this advice: Figure out your start-up costs, then double that number. Then double it again. Only then will you have a realistic number, says the professor, who closed the business in 2004 and returned to campus.

How to Decide if Entrepreneurship is Right for You

How to Decide if Entrepreneurship is Right for You

By COLLEEN DEBAISE

Adapted from the upcoming book THE WALL STREET JOURNAL COMPLETE SMALL BUSINESS GUIDEBOOK (Three Rivers Press, Dec. 29, 2009).

Starting a business is a lot like becoming a parent. Not only do you have to prepare for your start-up emotionally and financially, but you have to be committed to its constant needs until it's mature enough to hum along on its own. And even then (much like a child) it will always need you in some capacity, no matter how old it gets.

Here are five questions to ask before you start your own business:

1. Am I passionate about my product or service? Let's face it: the start-up phase is stressful. You will find yourself questioning whether you've made the right decision, especially when the hours are long and the initial profits (if any) are lean. As the business owner, you're also chief salesperson for your company. Your enthusiasm for your product or service— whether it's hand-knit sweaters or top-notch tax preparation— is often the difference that hooks customers, lands deals and attracts investors. It's unwise to start down the path of entrepreneurship unless you've got a zeal that will get you through rough patches and keep you interested long after the initial enthusiasm has faded.

2. What is my tolerance for risk? Whether it's quitting your day job or signing a lease on a new space, nothing about starting a business is for the faint of heart. Just ask Ina Garten, who bought a specialty-foods store called The Barefoot Contessa in East Hampton, New York, in 1978 and has since branched out into cookbooks, television and a line of products. Garten tells aspiring entrepreneurs that you have to "be willing to jump off the cliff and figure out how to fly on the way down." Even with enough passion to launch a thousand ventures, you could find any number of circumstances hastening your failure: a location that turns out to be less than ideal, a problem with city or state zoning boards or a kink in the supply chain that can't easily be ironed out. There's no guarantee of success, or even a steady paycheck. If you're risk-averse, entrepreneurship probably isn't the right path for you.

3. Am I good at making decisions? No one else is going to make them for you when you own your own business. Consider how you might handle these early decisions: Do I work from home or do I lease office space? Do I hire employees? Do I pursue high-end clients or sell to the masses? Do I incorporate? Do I advertise? Do I borrow money from friends or family? Do I use my entire savings? Keep in mind that the decision-making process only gets more complicated as time goes on, once you have employees or clients depending on you. The choices you make can lead to success or downfall, so you must feel confident in your ability to make the right call.

4. Am I willing to take on numerous responsibilities? While a corporate employee focuses on a special skill or role within the larger corporation, a business owner must contribute everything to the business. Solo entrepreneurs in particular must be versatile and play a number of roles, from chief salesperson and bookkeeper to head marketer and bill collector. If juggling many roles doesn't suit you, entrepreneurship probably won't, either. The recent economic downturn has made it more important than ever for business owners to have a good working knowledge of their companies' finances. While you will undoubtedly learn much on this topic from getting your hands dirty, the more knowledge you have in advance, the better prepared you'll be.

5. Will I be able to avoid burnout? Working seven days a week, losing touch with friends, abandoning old hobbies and interests and not making time for loved ones can quickly lead to burnout in the midst of starting up— and ultimately to business failure. That's what happened to James Zimbardi, an entrepreneur in Orlando, Florida, who says he didn't know any better when he started his first company in 1997 and worked as hard as possible, for as long as possible, until his creativity, enthusiasm and energy were sapped. By 2002, he was a broken man— the business took a downturn, and so did his personal life. Now Zimbardi is at work on his second company, Allgen Financial Services, and sticking to better habits to maintain work/life balance, such as not working on Sundays, making time for hobbies such as sailing and salsa dancing, and building close ties with other business owners through a faith-based support network.

Take some time to mull over these questions, do some soul-searching, and then if you think you have what it takes, go for it.

How to Decide if Entrepreneurship is Right for You

By COLLEEN DEBAISE

Adapted from the upcoming book THE WALL STREET JOURNAL COMPLETE SMALL BUSINESS GUIDEBOOK (Three Rivers Press, Dec. 29, 2009).

Starting a business is a lot like becoming a parent. Not only do you have to prepare for your start-up emotionally and financially, but you have to be committed to its constant needs until it's mature enough to hum along on its own. And even then (much like a child) it will always need you in some capacity, no matter how old it gets.

Here are five questions to ask before you start your own business:

1. Am I passionate about my product or service? Let's face it: the start-up phase is stressful. You will find yourself questioning whether you've made the right decision, especially when the hours are long and the initial profits (if any) are lean. As the business owner, you're also chief salesperson for your company. Your enthusiasm for your product or service— whether it's hand-knit sweaters or top-notch tax preparation— is often the difference that hooks customers, lands deals and attracts investors. It's unwise to start down the path of entrepreneurship unless you've got a zeal that will get you through rough patches and keep you interested long after the initial enthusiasm has faded.

2. What is my tolerance for risk? Whether it's quitting your day job or signing a lease on a new space, nothing about starting a business is for the faint of heart. Just ask Ina Garten, who bought a specialty-foods store called The Barefoot Contessa in East Hampton, New York, in 1978 and has since branched out into cookbooks, television and a line of products. Garten tells aspiring entrepreneurs that you have to "be willing to jump off the cliff and figure out how to fly on the way down." Even with enough passion to launch a thousand ventures, you could find any number of circumstances hastening your failure: a location that turns out to be less than ideal, a problem with city or state zoning boards or a kink in the supply chain that can't easily be ironed out. There's no guarantee of success, or even a steady paycheck. If you're risk-averse, entrepreneurship probably isn't the right path for you.

3. Am I good at making decisions? No one else is going to make them for you when you own your own business. Consider how you might handle these early decisions: Do I work from home or do I lease office space? Do I hire employees? Do I pursue high-end clients or sell to the masses? Do I incorporate? Do I advertise? Do I borrow money from friends or family? Do I use my entire savings? Keep in mind that the decision-making process only gets more complicated as time goes on, once you have employees or clients depending on you. The choices you make can lead to success or downfall, so you must feel confident in your ability to make the right call.

4. Am I willing to take on numerous responsibilities? While a corporate employee focuses on a special skill or role within the larger corporation, a business owner must contribute everything to the business. Solo entrepreneurs in particular must be versatile and play a number of roles, from chief salesperson and bookkeeper to head marketer and bill collector. If juggling many roles doesn't suit you, entrepreneurship probably won't, either. The recent economic downturn has made it more important than ever for business owners to have a good working knowledge of their companies' finances. While you will undoubtedly learn much on this topic from getting your hands dirty, the more knowledge you have in advance, the better prepared you'll be.

5. Will I be able to avoid burnout? Working seven days a week, losing touch with friends, abandoning old hobbies and interests and not making time for loved ones can quickly lead to burnout in the midst of starting up— and ultimately to business failure. That's what happened to James Zimbardi, an entrepreneur in Orlando, Florida, who says he didn't know any better when he started his first company in 1997 and worked as hard as possible, for as long as possible, until his creativity, enthusiasm and energy were sapped. By 2002, he was a broken man— the business took a downturn, and so did his personal life. Now Zimbardi is at work on his second company, Allgen Financial Services, and sticking to better habits to maintain work/life balance, such as not working on Sundays, making time for hobbies such as sailing and salsa dancing, and building close ties with other business owners through a faith-based support network.

Take some time to mull over these questions, do some soul-searching, and then if you think you have what it takes, go for it.

How to Start an Adventure Travel Company

How to Start an Adventure Travel Company
Check every hotel personally, says Brian Morgan of Adventure Life. Same goes for the zip lines.

By Leigh Buchanan Jul 1, 2009

Company Dashboard: Adventure Life
Founder Brian Morgan, 35

Location Missoula, Montana

2008 Revenue $11 million

Employees 16

Start-up Year 1998

Start-up Costs $3,000 for two brochures and a laptop

Breakeven One year out on sales of $125,000

Biggest Expenses $11,500 on advertising in 1999 and $33,500 in 2000. The biggest bite was print ads in magazines such as Outside and National Geographic Adventure.

Qualifications Fluency in Spanish. Relationships with trusted locals and longtime expats on the ground

Red Tape Regulatory burdens fall on lodges and providers of transportation and other services in countries visited, rather than on the tour operator.

In 1998, Brian Morgan traveled to Ecuador to learn Spanish and because someone he met in college once told him it was beautiful. There he trekked in the shadow of a volcano and rafted through the rain forest to a soundtrack of monkey chatter and birdsong. It would have been easy to put down roots in South America: Morgan envisioned building a life there as a consultant. But heart and home were in his native Montana. So, after some last-hurrah backpacking around Bolivia and Peru, Morgan flew back to Missoula. He hoped to land a job that would support regular visits south of the equator.

Then Morgan had an idea. "I thought I could put a group of people together a few times a year and take them to Ecuador -- show them the things that I found most spectacular," he says. His nascent business, Adventure Life, would lead travelers off the beaten path toward encounters with the land and culture. On some nights, clients would luxuriate in hot baths at a charming hotel. On others, they would rough it in a villager's plumbing-less home.

Morgan had just a couple thousand dollars in savings, though, so he accepted a software job and relegated start-up work to evenings and weekends. He printed 200 brochures advertising a single excursion and deposited them in coffee shops and sporting-goods stores near universities. No one called. Travel agencies waved him away. Concluding that travelers wanted more than one option, Morgan created a second brochure offering three itineraries with six departure dates. He also built a website, which looked like the work of an Amazonian howler monkey. Fortunately, a graphic design student redesigned the site a few weeks later. Drawn by the brochure and the site, 100 people booked the first year.

Morgan had expected young backpackers to flock to the tours and assumed rudimentary accommodations and transportation would suffice. In fact, many clients were as old as 65. In addition, Morgan based his fees on data harvested from European company sites, which were plentiful. But because Americans take fewer vacations than Europeans, they are willing to spend more on shorter trips. "I lost money on my first group in Peru," says Morgan. "Once I got there, I was like, 'Oh, my God; we cannot stay at this hotel.' I had to spend an extra $100 per person to upgrade." Morgan began booking rooms in classier hotels and switched from bus travel to car services. That first year, prices rose 25 percent to 30 percent.

Morgan had also assumed he would maintain a staff of expat tour leaders in the countries in which he did business. Those guides would take over in challenging terrain and run tours themselves as the company grew. But on his first tour, Morgan observed that local guides were far better versed in the flora, fauna, and culture than their North American counterparts. Many spoke indigenous tongues as well as Spanish and English. And though local guides charged about twice as much per day as Americans, they were generally willing to sign on per tour rather than be hired as staff. So Morgan began recruiting locals, e-mailing people he had met on his travels for referrals.

Not surprisingly, the first few years required a lot of time in the (steamy verdant) field. Morgan spent a third of 1999 in Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Peru leading tours and inspecting hotels -- sometimes as many as 12 a day -- for cleanliness and character. "You lift the covers and check the sheets and mattresses; check the bathrooms for mold," says Morgan. He also personally auditioned activities offered to clients. "In Costa Rica, I rappelled down all these waterfalls," he says. "When I was done, I turned to my outfitter and said, 'My travelers can never do this.' "

With its founder abroad, Adventure Life needed a presence in the U.S.; at first, that presence was Morgan's mother. After 10 months, he hired an administrative assistant to help create new brochures and assist clients preparing for trips.

Over the years, Adventure Life's business has waxed along with interest in the environment and indigenous cultures. Today, 40 percent of sales derive from customer referrals and coverage in guidebooks and travel magazines.

Morgan warns that running a company like his may wear down even the most wanderlustful entrepreneurs. "I went through major burnout a few years ago and almost left the industry," he says. "I lost all the original things I loved about travel." To keep going, Morgan began mentally framing his trips as opportunities to see old friends and explore places he will never take clients. "It was totally unexpected that sharing my passion with others ended up dampening that passion," he says.

SMALL BIZ: More seniors shun retirement

SMALL BIZ: More seniors shun retirement
Older people are nation’s fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs
Sat. July 25 - 2009

Peter Schnitzler - pschnitzler@ibj.com
IBJ staff
For four decades, Jim Ashby worked as a manufacturing floor manager, first for General Motors Corp., then, after a buyout, for an Ingersoll Rand subsidiary. He likes to relax and fish, but Ashby considers himself too energetic for retirement.

He’s now 67 years old. And a first-time entrepreneur.

Three years ago, Ashby bought a black Lincoln Town Car and launched Ashby Private Chauffeur LLC. Now he spends his days transporting executives to and from meetings, driving wedding guests to receptions, and ushering the occasional celebrity around Indianapolis.

“If they need to be at the airport at four in the morning, they can rely on old Jim,” Ashby said. “The wife’s not going to get up. The dog’s not going to get up. But Jim will be there.”

These days, many seniors are following in the footsteps of Harlan “Colonel” Sanders, who famously used a Social Security check to found Kentucky Fried Chicken at age 65. Some of them have suffered massive losses to their retirement portfolios in the economic downturn and need to earn back their nest eggs. Others encounter ageism, and form their own companies when they can’t find jobs commensurate with their experience.

And then there are those like Ashby, who simply reject the concept of retirement. His whole life, Ashby said, he always wanted to work for a luxury hotel. One day he was “putzing” around Circle Centre mall downtown. He saw the Conrad Indianapolis, and decided to walk in, just to look around.

The concierge soon inquired if he could help Ashby, who responded by asking for a job application. Before he knew it, he had landed a post as a valet. Ashby said the Conrad’s managers told him he was one of the best “lobby ambassadors” they’d ever seen because he was so friendly. Within months, they made him the hotel’s chauffeur.

Soon, Ashby started handing out his card, offering his services when he was off the Conrad’s clock.

“I thought, ‘Hey, I can make a business out of this,’” Ashby said. “I liked the people, and they liked me.”

Ashby no longer drives for the Conrad. He now charges $60 an hour, with a three-hour minimum for events. Trips to the airport are priced by distance. He attributes the bulk of his success to a keen eye for detail.

For starters, Ashby keeps his car meticulously clean, and always has cold water and copies of publications like The Wall Street Journal aboard. He automatically opens doors and, when his passengers depart, Ashby double-checks to see whether they’ve forgotten a purse or cell phone. And Ashby gives himself a roomy time cushion, always setting off for pickups long before necessary. He prides himself on the fact that he’s never been late.

Not too old to hustle

Seniors like Ashby are disproving the notion that older people don’t have the energy or hustle to become entrepreneurs. In June, the Kansas City, Mo.-based Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation set out to debunk the stereotype. The highest rate of entrepreneurial activity for the last decade has been among the 55-to-64 age group, said a Kauffman report, “The Coming Entrepreneurship Boom.” The lowest level of entrepreneurial activity was among 20- to 34-year-olds, defying the conventional image of the risk-prone Internet entrepreneur.

“The United States will, at some point, recover from the current deep recession. But the overriding question upon recovery will concern resumption of growth rate,” the report said. “Several facts have emerged in the course of Kauffman Foundation research that indicate the United States might be on the cusp of an entrepreneurship boom—not in spite of the aging population, but because of it.”


The Kauffman report noted that the baby boomers, now age 45 to 64, are entering their golden years. It also pointed out that life expectancy has risen, and people are staying healthier longer. Meanwhile, longterm employment with a pension attached is becoming a thing of the past.

Longtime advertising executive Hal Goldman embodies the trend. A senior, he asked that his age not be printed. His career included stints in top marketing jobs at major companies, like New Jersey-based Schering-Plough Corp. He finished in Indianapolis at Thomson Consumer Electronics. A decade ago, Thomson offered him a generous buyout. Goldman took it and decided to become an entrepreneur.

“You know the old story,” he joked. “It’s hard to make a lot of money working for a major company unless you’re the president, and I had no chance of being president of Thomson.”

He bought a dream home on a lake in Tennessee, founded a consultancy called Hal Goldman Associates, and kept busy on marketing projects for companies as diverse as New York-based Citicorp and Cleveland-based Sherwin Williams. It should have been a dream come true.

But Goldman found he didn’t like the feast-or-famine work flow of the freelancer. His clients generally brought him rescue jobs—complicated projects they couldn’t handle internally, usually with ridiculously short deadlines. Worse, he never got to see the results of his efforts. Goldman complains that he’d go to great lengths in research, then make detailed recommendations. But once he turned in a report, he seldom learned whether it was ever used, or just filed in the back of a drawer.

The lake house had its flaws, too. The nearest grocery store was an hour away, and forget about restaurants. Rather than commute by boat, Goldman sold it and moved back to Carmel. Then the stock market downturn took a big chunk out of his savings. Goldman said he’s still got enough to get by, but he likes to travel and help his kids financially. So he’s now looking for a full-time job with a large company.

Goldman said he’s sharper now than he was 25 years ago, but it’s tough to convince hiring managers.

It’s difficult to tell exactly how many seniors are entrepreneurs, since federal databases account only for self-employed people who formally incorporate their businesses. The number of U.S. citizens over 55 known to be self-employed has grown from 2.5 million in 2000 to 3.3 million in June, said Sara Rix, strategic policy adviser for the Washington, D.C.-based AARP.

But the elderly subset of the total population is growing even faster. If there’s a widespread proportionate upswing in senior entrepreneurship, Rix hasn’t seen it yet.

“I think workers today are hanging onto jobs if they have them. They may be dreaming about moving into self-employment when they retire, or using it as a backup when they leave or should they lose their jobs,” she said. “But small businesses fail at a really high rate. You’ve got to have something truly marketable to make a success of it, by which I mean earn enough to live on.”

Still, some seniors are undaunted by the economic downturn. Bill Alerding, 74, and his wife spent the majority of their careers doing development work in Spain, Mexico and Guatemala. They finally returned to the United States because of concerns over his elderly mother’s health.

Alerding’s not as focused on the recession as he is on an even larger trend—the influx of Spanish speakers into the U.S. work force. Companies are missing out on both sales and hiring opportunities if they ignore the fast-growing Hispanic population, he said. So in December, Alerding incorporated Profluent, an Indianapolis-based consultancy that aims to teach managers a working knowledge of Spanish in just a few weeks.

“I always thought retirement was the dirtiest word in the English language. What are you retiring from? That’s the most boring existence alive,” Alerding said. “If you keep using your brain, the older you get, the smarter you get.” •

Six Tips for Names That Stand Out

Six Tips for Names That Stand Out
(click title to view original article online)
By DIANA RANSOM, SMSMALLBIZ.COM
Posted: 2009-06-19 12:01:08

Many casual wine drinkers know that Champagne comes from Chardonnay or Pinot Noir grapes and that Chianti hails from Italy's Tuscan countryside. But even the world's most educated sommeliers may have a tough time pinpointing the origins of Cheap Red Wine, Pancake and The California Wine Party. The vineyards and distributors responsible for these obscure brands are trying to change that by showcasing their attention-grabbing labels on store shelves.

At Click Wine Group, the Seattle-based owner and importer of such wines as Fat bastard, Clean Slate and 2 Up, easily pronounced names and consumer-friendly packaging are prized traits. "We start with the consumer and work backwards," says Peter Click, the company's founder. "This has been an intimidating product category for them... We make our brands very simple and easy to communicate," he says.

Click is among many vintners aiming to keep their brands clear and unpretentious, says Josh McFadden, a partner at Proof Wine Marketing, a wine-branding firm in San Luis Obispo, Calif., that has helped launch 20 new brands of wine in the last year. While it's important to produce quality wines that consumers can trust, coming up with an enticing product name has taken on a much more vital role in today's crowded marketplace, says McFadden. "It's all about standing out right now."

Just as the wine business makes the case for devising clever monikers, any company looking to reel in new customers or clients can benefit from a few brainstorming sessions before settling on a product or company name. Here are six tips for picking names that stand out:

Avoid odd-ball words
Kooky company or product names like Google and Amazon's Kindle can grab attention. However, most businesses that try this strategy end up picking zany, nonsensical names and spending substantial time and money explaining what the company or the product does, says Brenda Bence, founder of Brand Development Associates, a personal and corporate branding consultancy in Chicago. Instead, small businesses, which tend to have fewer resources than bigger firms, should stick to common concepts, she says. "This way, business owners can spend more time working for customers rather than working to explain things," says Bence.

Use business or product descriptors
Names should correspond to what a product or company does, says McFadden. For instance, after consulting with a winery owner who samples assorted vines from outside vineyards to create new wines, McFadden and his partner Elly Hartshorn suggested the wine maker adopt the name Field Recordings Winery. "We wanted to answer the question: Why would someone buy this wine?" says Hartshorn. "Someone would buy this wine because [the wine maker] is the insider. He has hand-selected vines and made connections that few others can mimic," she says.

Veer away from limiting language
Naming a company or a product after what it does will cut down on having to explain more later, but businesses should be wary of pinning themselves into too narrow a niche, says Bence. For instance, a company that caters mainly to other businesses, but not solely to them, is limiting itself by inserting "B2B," which stands for business-to-business, in its name, she says. "This is only a good idea if you're really, really sure that your company is going to focus solely on businesses," she says.

Mind your audience
To select a company or product name that resonates with specific consumers, cater to their values, says Hartshorn. To determine what those values are, home in on the small details of their subcultures, she says. "Making labels that hit [potential customers] subtly -- as though they were an inside joke -- can often capture people’s attention," she says.

Match price points
Your company or product name should also correlate to the price points you're aiming at, says Paige Arnof-Fenn, founder of Mavens & Moguls, a marketing consulting firm in Cambridge, Mass. Higher-priced items often bear more sophisticated names and packaging, while less-costly items tend to be more playful and lighthearted, she says.

Be memorable
"Even at higher price points, however, don't be afraid to be different," says McFadden. Naming products or companies so that no one gets offended is outdated, he says. Arnof-Fenn calls names that follow this practice "boring wall paper." She adds, "In this day and age, customers have to be able to remember it and spell it to break through the clutter."