Small Business United Blog

Are the Clouds Beginning to Part?

by Nora Denzel

Our latest Intuit Payroll survey findings are out, and the results give me hope. While unemployment figures have reached a 26-year high, 44 percent of the 1,000 Intuit Payroll customers we surveyed said they plan to hire new employees within the next 12 months.

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Get Your Business Financially Fit!

by Lily Wong

My Intuit coworker Sherry Martin and her husband, Todd Martin (a former Intuit executive turned small business owner), have a very successful restaurant business. Their Tucson Tamale Company has been in business for about a year, and it has already received numerous rave reviews online and spotlights in various magazines! Todd told me that one of the most important financial decisions he has made as a small business owner was to make a commitment (with Sherry, of course) “not to take any money out of the business for the first two years”…

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Today’s Young Entrepreneur

by Rachel Euretig

It must be the month of the Young Entrepreneur. A couple weeks ago, BusinessWeek announced its fifth annual list of the country’s top 25 entrepreneurs 25 and under. And the October issue of Inc. Magazine features America’s 30 “coolest entrepreneurs” under 30.

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Collecting Positive Reviews

by Becky McCray

People trust other people, much more than they trust you. That means your potential customers trust the semi-anonymous reviews written on online review sites more than all that great text on your own website.

Do you regularly monitor what is said about you on TripAdvisor, VirtualTourist or Igougo? How about mainstream booking sites like Hotels.com, Expedia or Orbitz?

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Jumpstart Your Relationships with Customers

by Mee-Sun Yuk

In recent outreach to small business retailers, we found that the big issue on their minds is getting more business, but time and money are holding them back. One great tool unique to small business retailers is their ability to establish great relationships with their customers. Find new ways to use that to your advantage - reach out to customers you already have to drive repeat business to your store.

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Getting Paid in a Tough Economy

by Will Hambly

Looking back at a survey our team conducted last year, I came across a staggering statistic: small businesses have an average of $1,500 in overdue payments from their clients. The fact that so much money is left on the table and perhaps goes completely uncollected is huge burden on cash-strapped businesses. Over the last month or so I’ve talked with dozens of freelancers and micro-business owners who need to get paid faster, which I’ve learned can be an even more difficult task in a tough economy.

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Take Local Bigger with a Shop Local Campaign

by Becky McCray

Featuring your local ties can give you an advantage in local business. If you’re ready to go bigger with this concept, start a Shop Local campaign.

Do Shop Local campaigns work? The research says yes. Let’s take Portland, Maine, as an example. In a 2007 survey to check the results of their project, more than 60 percent of businesses said they were seeing improved customer loyalty and sales. Almost 75% of businesses said customers had told them…

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Get Paid Online for Just 50 Cents and Pay Bills for Free

by Cheryl Manalo

Want to get paid? Yet tired of making endless trips to the bank? Or paying hidden fees for online payment services?

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Learn to Leverage Local at Next Cram Session - August 12th, 12 Noon Pacific

by Jason Wisneski

In our first Cram Session, we looked at how three different entrepreneurs each started their own business and listened to their tips and takeaways. In our second Cram Session, we focused on Social Marketing, looking at how to use social media and how to integrate your online conversation with your offline activity.

We’re continuing the series next week, August 12th at 12 Noon PT with the theme “Leveraging Local”. For this online session, we’ll be focusing on how you can leverage your local community to help start a new business or grow your existing business. Our three featured panelists will be…

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Social Marketing for Startups - Condensed Cram Session

by Gretchen Harding

Three young entrepreneurs working on startups (in business for between 10 months to 2 years) shared their real-world experience and lessons in using social marketing in last week’s Young Entrepreneur Cram Session. Our own Jason Wisneski hosted.

Our youngest business was Kogi BBQ, a wildly popular Korean taco truck in Los Angeles, and our youngest entrepreneur on the panel was…

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