http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/apr2010/sb20100426_562725.htm

Karen E. Klein
Bloomberg BusinessWeek
Tuesday, April 28, 2010

Karen outlines some ways to clearly define how you expect to be paid for your services as an independent contractor, or any service provider really.  Establish the payment criteria in the contract and stick with it.  We all have that one client that we want to help out by giving some flexibility, but the rest should know what is expected for the services provided.  I’m not sure I would push for the aggressive collection tactics that she indicates, but then again, we don’t have collection issues because everything is discussed up front.

http://www.thejfblogit.co.uk/2010/02/04/some-interesting-facts-about-referral-based-selling/

Jonathon Farrington
Jonathon Farrington’s Blog
February 10, 2010

I first heard the term “Referral Based Selling” and some statistics related to it from Jim McDermott back in 2002 when he was part of the founding team of Spoke Software. Before there was Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn and social media was in it’s infancy, Spoke’s mission was to connect business people and turn every cold-call into a referral, which dramatically reduces selling and closing times and costs. This blog-post from Farrington provides some updated statistics on the value of referrals and gives a good overview of why this type of selling works. We are obviously believers. Insight Press Release.

http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/lifestyle/article/80-ways-to-steal-valuable-minutes-for-your-work-day-glen-stansberry

Glenn Stansberry
American Express OPEN Forum
March 22, 2010

Ironically, this article is long and takes some time out of your day to read. But the investment is worth it, as there are tidbits in here that I’m sure you will find valuable. Some things are reminders of what you KNOW already works but have just ignored (or is that just me?), others may be light-bulb moments of inspiration. Let us know which ones actually work for you!

Clear the clutter out of your relationship, family and career

http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/22/spring-cleaning-relationship-forbes-woman-well-being-career.html

Emma Johnson
Forbes Magazine
March 22, 2010

If you are like most people, your “worlds” overlap between your relationships, your family life, your personal issues and your professional obligations. So, perhaps Spring-cleaning with a more holistic approach to life to thin out some of the “clutter” makes sense.

http://www.smartmoney.com/Personal-Finance/Taxes/Get-the-New-Business-Tax-Breaks/

THE TAX GUY by Bill Bischoff
SmartMoney
March 24, 2010

With all the hoopla regarding the Healthcare reform that passed last month, some might have missed this. Tax credits available for businesses that hire an out-of-work person to fill a position, for those that hire and keep that person employed for 12 months, and the continuation of generous Section 179 deduction provisions from 2009 into 2010. Read on if you are interested in such things.

http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/24/bigcommerce-turns-to-facebook-to-socialize-online-storefronts/

Leena Rao
TechCrunch.com
March 24, 2010

It is getting easier and easier to sell your wares online and to share your business happenings with your friends and colleagues. Our Blogsite is tied to our Website and to our Facebook page via an automated stream. Now you can connect your online store directly to a page within Facebook, as well. The lines are blurring…

http://smallbiztrends.com/2010/03/life-plan-before-business-plan.html

Melinda Emerson
Small Business Trends
March 22, 2010

Every good business coach, life coach or motorcyclist will tell you that you steer where you look. If you believe you will have a small business, that is how it will turn out. If you believe you will have a larger business that operates in a specific way, and you remind yourself of those goals regularly and publicly, you will steer your business in that direction. Going one step further, developing a life plan for how you would like your professional life to interact with your personal life will help you to craft a business plan that will be focused in the right directions. Chuck Blakeman at TeamNimbusWest has some great insights on this very topic.

http://www.livedowntowndenver.com/LDDBlog/?p=1747

March 8, 2010
The Urban Eye Blog

With more and more resources like this new bike sharing program, the car sharing that already exists in Denver and decent (yet improving) public transportation, the need to own a vehicle for urban-dwellers is diminishing by the day. We are a two-car household, but we are looking at making that one car, plus a scooter and a couple of bikes. We’ll see how that goes!

http://www.gazelles.com/fsb/SizeDoesntMatter.pdf

Ellen Spragins and Verne Harnish
Fortune Small Business
March,2004

One of the authors of this article, Verne Harnish, wrote an article in this month’s Fortune magazine which I will post as soon as it becomes available online. But his commentary was valuable enough that I sought out other pieces that he has written, coming across this one from 2004. I think small business owners intuitively understand that profits are better than revenues, but Spragins and Harnish point to some very obvious reasons why small businesses should have a larger focus on the bottom line and stop worrying about “growth at all costs.”