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It may have noting to do with sales, marketing or products and services, but how you manage your money is at the core of your small business. What are the best suggestions you can share with your fellow entrepreneurs? We’ve added our suggestions below.

Success Story

Managing your business through tough times. When it comes to managing your small business, probably nothing tries your skills as an entrepreneur and small business owner more than dealing with tough economic times. The recent economic downturn was perfect example of such hard times and one story of a small business and how it survived will surprise you. Small Business Trends Radio

Spending

Watching out for your bottom line. If you want to know how to boost the profits in your business, be aware that it isn’t always increasing revenue you need to look at first. What costs are impacting your bottom line and how can you address them? Understanding the way in which your overall costs can be affected will help you address your overall earnings and take your earnings in the right direction. Open Forum

Getting real about dealing with debt. Want to know how important it is for your business to control spending? Just take a look at the lack of self-control in Washington and witness the result. Say no to the items on your budget you know you can’t afford. The alternative could be a cycle of escalating costs from which there is no escape. Bloomberg

Revenue

Offering discounts for early payment. If your small business needs money fast, one option may be offer discounts for early payment. Some larger corporate clients and customers may also offer this option but be aware that the standard discounts they take for earlier payment may be largely beyond your power to negotiate. Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Surviving major changes in your market. Many small businesses have dealt with major shifts in their market. Tastes, demographics, local income levels or any number of other things can contribute to these changes. But what would you do if your whole market disappeared over night. On small business had to deal with just that when the local industry closed leaving no one in town but the owners of a local store. WSJ

Management

Every small business owner wants to make more. As entrepreneurs we’ve worked hard and sacrificed. We’ve done everything that was asked from us and maybe a little more. The trouble is that when it comes to revenue, cutting costs and doing what’s right there are so many spending decisions that can contribute to out bottom line. Here’s an info graphic with some extras. Open Forum

Preparing for the worst. When operating a small business or any entrepreneurial venture, it’s usually a good idea to anticipate any contingency. This means making sure your balance sheet is long including having enough cash on hand to operate even when times get tight. With some worriers suggesting more economic trouble may be ahead, is your business ready to weather the storm? Biz Money Matters

When it’s good to spend money. Not every decision in small business money management involves cutting expenses. Sometimes it’s also important to know when to spend on what your business really needs to succeed. Of course, this varies with every business, so what’s the best money you’ve ever spent? Inc.com

Financing

Why the best financing ideas are unique. If you’ve never thought of a box of specialty cereal as a kind of fund raiser for your business, well, it’s time start thinking a bit more creatively. There’s no reason to think of raising capital only in terms of seeking outside investors, credit or loans. Get creative about raising finances and it may surprise you what’s possible. The Seed & Startup Capital Blog

Small business credit still a challenge. Though certainly not impossible, data says credit for small business is still hard to come by and thought there are signs of improvement in some quarters it may be helpful to consider what other options are available for your small business financing. There are other options out there. It’s time to get creative. Grow Smart Biz

From Small Business Trends

Small Business Money: Entrepreneur’s Guide

View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends

I’m an entrepreneur. The last time I was an employee was in 1983. So what did I get from my MBA studies?

It wasn’t about earning power. I quit the fancy high-paying MBA job I’d recruited into just a few weeks after graduation. I went back to the consulting firm I’d worked with while I was at business school, before I graduated. And I was self employed less than two years later, and I’ve never worked for anybody else since then. I was an employee of the company I founded and owned.

So was it worth it? Yes, many times over. Because of business school, as I developed my own business, I had a general idea of all the parts and how they came together. I knew enough about finance, accounting, marketing, sales, and administration to do it all myself in the beginning. Later on, as the company grew, I had experience and some knowledge about each of the key functions in the business.

Nobody taught me entrepreneurship. I didn’t learn that in school. What I did learn, though, was enough about business to make starting, running, and growing a business conceivable. Maybe I would have made it anyhow, but I doubt it. Knowledge is power. And it gives you the confidence to take risks and move forward.

Is the value of an MBA degree the income with the degree less what it would have been without the degree, less the cost of the degree, and the earnings sacrificed while studying? What’s education worth? Do you measure it in salary? The value of studying literature is the earning power gained? Fine arts? Philosophy? What about business or engineering?

I don’t think so.

From Small Business Trends

What’s An Entrepreneur’s MBA Degree Really Worth?