Can A Credit Union Replace Your Bank?
Escalating bank fees and the difficulty of getting the loans have caused many people to go looking for a new financial partner. Credit unions are answering the call. If you're dissatisfied with your big bank, here are four areas where a credit union might do a better job of providing the financial products and services you need.

Tax News You Can Use
Keeping up with tax changes can be a full-time job for small-business owners as well as individuals. So here are just a few pieces of tax information that might come in handy as you complete your 2010 tax forms and plan for your taxes in 2011.

Reduce Credit Card Risk: 5 Tips
Credit cards can be a handy alternative to carrying cash around in your pocket—especially during the holidays. But, the convenience of plastic also comes with risk, and we’re not just talking about the risk of running up debt. Follow these 5 tips to help reduce your risk.

Simple Vehicle Maintenance Saves You Money
In an effort to save a few bucks, some people are putting off important maintenance on their cars and trucks. Don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish. Performing preventive maintenance now can help you avoid costly repairs in the future.

What The New Credit Card Rules Mean For You
The provisions in the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act that passed last year are now going into effect and should save consumers at least $10 billion a year, reports the Pew Foundation. The savings come from new rules governing the fees and penalties that credit card issuers can charge cardholders.

How To Find A Better Bank
Are you fed up with the fees and impersonal service you get from your bank? Are you fuming about the fact that big banks may have received billions of dollars in federal bailout funds? Then it might be time to start looking for an alternative.

Watch Out for Product Recalls
Unfortunately, there is no clear protocol for product recalls, and the system for handling them is complex and decentralized. That means it’s up to you to stay informed so you’ll know what to do when something you use is no longer safe. Here are five tips that will help make that job easier.

How To Claim Energy Tax Credits
If you thought the window closed in 2009 for getting a tax break on the purchase of energy efficient upgrades for your home, here’s some good news: You have until the end of this year to claim the tax credit. Here’s what you need to know to claim your tax credit.

6 Ways To Balance Work And Play
Learn how to maximize the limited hours in each day with these tips, which have been designed to help you carve out time for both business and pleasure.

Flu Prep For Small Businesses
Representatives from numerous government agencies offered recommendations for helping small-business owners cope with an H1N1 outbreak. The bottom line? Prepare your business now. Here a few resources to help you get ready for a potential H1N1 outbreak.

Answers About ARC Loans
The goal of the ARC loan program is simple: Help small businesses survive and get their cash flowing again by providing temporary financial relief. But, of course, the details aren’t so simple. Here are answers to some of the most common questions being asked about ARC loans.

4 Easy Ways To Fight Stress
The troubled economy has everyone worried, not just about sales or projections, but for their very livelihoods. Small-business owners bear the weight of this burden perhaps more than most. Here are a few painless steps you can take to set the right tone for everyone’s day, including your own.

Fuel Your Motivation: 6 Tips
Word-of-mouth referrals are a coveted form of advertising because they’re highly effective and free. Here are four ways you can fast-track word-of-mouth referrals and generate some buzz for your startup business.

Time For A New Biz Plan?
There’s no substitute for a written business plan, especially in these uncertain times. If you’ve never created a business plan or haven’t updated your plan recently, there’s no better time to do so than right now.

Is Your Business Cash Safe?
The growth and success of your small business is directly impacted by the quality of your employees. Whether you manage one employee or 10, you can become a better boss by following these guidelines.

Improve Your Negotiation Skills
"Everything’s negotiable." If you’ve been in business for any length of time, you’ve probably witnessed this truism at work. Here are 10 expert tips for how you can improve your negotiation skills and arrive at more win-win solutions.

Do You Need A Financial Planner?
For many small-business owners, the demands of running a business leave little time for managing their personal finances. This is why owners can often benefit from the advice and assistance of a personal financial planner.

Be A Better Boss
The growth and success of your small business is directly impacted by the quality of your employees. Whether you manage one employee or 10, you can become a better boss by following these guidelines.

Tap Your Strengths In Tough Times
Gas prices keep going up. Credit is tightening. Home values are slumping. Consumers are cutting back spending. Learn how to tap into the traits that made you a successful entrepreneur.

Work Faster!
You can’t add more hours to your day. But you can work faster by tapping into these small-business resources.

How To Be A Better Boss
If you want to know how you’re doing as a boss, take a look at your employees.

4 Biz Books For Summer Reading
Summertime and the readin’ is easy. Kill two birds with one stone this summer. Relax with a good book, but make it a book that’s good for your business.

Negotiate Like A Pro: 11 Tips
Volumes have been written about conducting business negotiations, and if you’re too lazy to read, high-paid consultants will advise you.

Motivate Yourself
There are days when it’s tempting to swat off the alarm clock and hide under the covers rather than face another round of luring, serving and pleasing customers.

Polish Your Speaking Skills
If you’re like most folks, you’re petrified to stand at a podium and speak to two or more people, but have no problem yakking away in a room full of family and friends.

Make Yourself Memorable
There are truisms in business we ignore at our peril.

Get Organized In 2006
January is National Organization Month. There’s no better time to get your ducks in a row or to get your desk in order.

Get The Technical Training You Need
Busy small-business owners can’t afford a steep learning curve. You need to get up to speed fast with computer software technical skills. That’s where training comes in.

7 Business Card Blunders And How To Fix Them
The ubiquitous business card. So vital, yet so often an afterthought. That’s blunder No. 1.

Teamwork. How Project Management Software Can Help.
Every business project needs a manager to oversee the progress and the end result.

9 Cold-Calling Secrets Of The Pros
Cold calling gives many otherwise competent business people a cold sweat and lockjaw. Few folks naturally have the personality or the gumption to spontaneously talk to virtual strangers.

5 Rules To Be A Better Communicator
Are you a good communicator? How can you know? Why should you care?

7 Ways to Say Thanks
Happy customers are repeat customers. Repeat customers are the least expensive customers to market to, and the most profitable customers to sell to.

Let’s Do Lunch
Many deals are sealed – or lost – over business lunches. These face-to-face encounters prove the adage, “People do business with people they like.”

Improve Your Productivity. Get Some Sleep!
If your productivity is suffering, take a look at your sleeping habits. Chances are, you’re not catching enough Zs at night to keep yourself perked up during the day.

Get On The Fast Track
Generalized training may be fine for learning basic business skills. But if you want to take your small business to the next level, you’ll need to break out of cookie-cutter seminars and workshops.

5 Success Basics For Service-Based Businesses
Sole proprietors in every nook of the nation operate service businesses. Plumbers, Web site designers, janitorial firms, landscapers, electricians and a host of other service providers build their small businesses one customer at a time.

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