Our Contributing Authors
Brenda Stokes
Brenda is a graduate of California State University and a professional writer covering a variety of business topics. To learn more about Brenda, check out her website at The Digital Inkwell.
Articles written by Brenda Stokes
- Are You Entrepreneur Material? - How do you know if you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? It does take a special breed of individual to deal with the challenges that being an entrepreneur brings. Are you that person?
- Attracting Repeat Customers - You love getting new customers, but you should also love receiving repeat customers. Believe it or not, a majority of your business is going to be received by repeat customers, but how is it that you can keep attracting them over and over again?
- Building Social Communities to Push Products - Social communities and social networking has taken the Internet and the business world by storm. More and more businesses are utilizing this broad method of communication to push their products. So how can you use social communities to push your own products?
- Business Advice: Knowing What's Sound and What's Rubbish - When starting a business, you will be given business advice from everyone who thinks they know everything about your business situation. So what is legitimate advice and what isn't?
- Common Start Up Obstacles and How to Avoid Them - Every new business owner faces challenges. Some challenges are harder than others and some are even avoidable. The key to keeping the stress at a low level and ensuring the smoothest start up possible is to know the obstacles and how to avoid them.
- Conflict Resolution for Any Situation - When you own a business, it is inevitable that you will have the occasional conflict. You will have conflicts with all of those involved with the business, so how do you resolve those conflicts?
- Deciding on a Business: What Will You Offer? - Your business is built on what it is you're offering; otherwise you don't have a business. So how do you decide upon what it is you are going to offer and make sure you are profitable?
- Ensuring You're Financially Ready to Start a Business - When you want to start a business, you have to make sure you are financially ready. But how do you know that you are ready to take on your business endeavor?
- Expanding Your Business Online - To expand your business online means opening yourself up to the entire world. But what are the steps that you can use to expand your business online?
- Expanding Your Business Using eBay - Throughout the years, eBay has revolutionized the way business is done. It has enabled businesses to expand in many ways. So how can you expand your business through eBay?
- Filing for Tax Time - Filing business taxes can seem like a daunting task, especially when you have to pay taxes. So how do you file your business taxes and survive?
- Finding the Right Time to Launch Your Business - You want to launch your amazing business idea, but you are not sure about the timing. Perhaps it is economic, personal, or social issues that are holding you back. But if now isn't the right time, when is?
- Finding Your Niche - Once you find your niche, you then follow it. That is how you find success. But what if you don't know what niche is the best for you? How do you find it?
- Getting the Most Out of Your Employees - Your employees can help you make or break your business. This is because they are your biggest investment throughout the course of your company. So how do you get the most out of your employees so that you can get the most out of your business?
- Google Ads and Your Business - Google ads have revolutionized advertising by providing business owners with an affordable method of getting the word out about their business. How can you use Google Ads for your business?
- Guide for Going Public - There are many reasons for a business going public. Companies need room to grow and selling parts of the company in the form of stock is one way to do that. But how do you go public with your business?
- How to be a Virtual Assistant - The virtual assistant industry has become very popular. It is mainly because it enables individuals to work at home and achieve the work/life balance they have always wanted. But how do you become a virtual assistant and be successful at it?
- How to Create Guidelines and Manuals to Prevent Time Loss - Employees leave and this can result in the business falling into disarray. Luckily, you can take the time to create guidelines and manuals that will help other employees deal and will help the business to run smoothly.
- How to Find a Web Designer - Having a website is one of the single most important aspects of running a business nowadays. It is also important that you choose a web designer that knows how to incorporate all of the necessary elements into a website to make it successful.
- How to Form an LLC - Having a Limited Liability Company (LLC) means being able to limit your personal liabilities and is worth the time, effort, and the money to establish this business structure. But what is the procedure?
- How to Make a Sales Page - When you create a sales page, the idea is for it to convert into a sale. However, there are specific elements that are necessary in order to make the page that you must know about in order to make the conversion.
- How to Make Your Business Stand Out from Competitors - The only way in which your business will succeed is if you make it stand out from competitors. But how do you do this?
- How to Manage a Startup Business Month by Month Part 1 - The first six months a business is in operation is, perhaps, the most difficult period of the business. That means it is good for you to have an idea of what tasks you need to complete in the first six months so that you can be a success.
- How to Manage a Startup Business Month by Month Part 2 - The second half of the year after starting a business is not as hard as the first half, but is still full of challenges. Those businesses that survive their first six months still have a significant chance at failure within the first year, so how do you manage the business to avoid this failure?
- How to Name Your Business - What's in a name? Actually, everything is in a name. What you name your business can make you or break you, so how do you go about coming up with a name that everyone will know and remember?
- How to Officially License Your Business - Licensing your business is a great way to give your business the boost it needs. But when is the right time to secure a license and how do you do it?
- How to Research for Your Business Plan - Your business plan is the plan for the life of your business and, just like life, it has to be always changing. But how do you conduct research to ensure you have a sound business plan?
- How to Set Product Prices - The difference between wholesale and retail prices is going to determine how much of a profit you make. So how do you set your retail prices so that you are reasonably priced, but still making a reasonable profit?
- Identifying Investment Opportunities - There are many investment opportunities, but what investment opportunities are worthwhile? Knowing can help you make the wisest investment opportunity of your life.
- Incorporating Your Business - Why should you incorporate your business? Whether big or small, there are several advantages to incorporating that may be in your best interest.
- Increasing Website Performance - You have the website, but you have to really make it perform. There are some very crucial elements to good website performance, but you need to know what they are in order to make it happen.
- Low-Cost Business Startup Ideas - When you want to start a business and you don't have a lot of money to do so, it is worth investigating some low-cost business startup ideas. But the question is if these ideas truly exist?
- Make Your Business Card Stand Out - When you own a business, you need a business card to hand out. But how do you make a business card that will stand out and not find itself in someone's garbage can? How do you make a card that will inspire the recipient to keep it?
- Making Sure the Capital Fits the Business Type - When starting a business you need startup capital to fund the business, but the question is how much you need. Too much can be bad and so can too little.
- Organizational Tools for Business Owners - A successful business is centered on organization. Without organization, it is difficult to succeed because it is difficult to focus. Organization allows you to ensure that all tasks are complete, but it is just a matter of having the right tools to do that.
- Promoting on Twitter: Building Your Twitter Audience - Twitter has taken the world by storm with Twitter updates that are only 140 characters long. Those 140 characters enable a business owner to let the world know what is going on with their business. So how can you use Twitter to benefit your business?
- Resolving Disputes With Email - E-mail is more and more becoming a primary form of communication in business. Some business deals and correspondence are done through email and no other way. So what do you do when a dispute, complaint, or a complication arises?
- Start Up Costs: Deciding What's Essential and What's Not - You want to start a business, but doing so involves money. How do you determine what is essential and what is not essential in order to spend as little money as possible?
- Starting a Business on a Shoestring Budget - Many business owners have started their business with very little money. Of course it depends on the type of business you are establishing, but how is it these business owners do this?
- Starting a Business With an Invention - When you invent a product or an idea in order to make a profit, you are potentially providing customers with something unique. It is then that your invention can serve as a business model based upon your creativity.
- Starting a Candle Making Company - Candles are a passion for many people, which is why they start their own candle-making companies. You do, however, have to be vigilant because this is a competitive business. So how do you start a candle-making company that can be successful?
- Starting the Right Business for Your Location - You always hear about how the location of a business can make or break that business. But what if you have limited business location choices and no definitive business idea yet? How do you choose the right business?
- Targeting New Customers on Facebook - Currently, there are millions of users on Facebook just waiting for you to market your product. Because of methods offered by Facebook that enables you to market to your target audience, it is time for you to use what they're offering.
- Teenage Entrepreneurs - Can teenage entrepreneurs be taken seriously? This is a good question considering there are teenage entrepreneurs who have found extreme success with their original business ideas.
- The Benefits of Starting Small - Everyone has big dreams for their business, but is trying to start as big as possible the right thing to do? Believe it or not, there are benefits to starting small and then building the business to all it can be.
- The Importance of a Business Credit Card - Many businesses have to have credit of some kind to operate. This is where the business credit card comes in. But how important is this form of credit?
- The Importance of Meta-Tags for Internet Marketing - Meta-tags are very important in Internet marketing, but what are they and what role are they truly playing in making your Internet presence a more prominent one? You may be surprised at how important these simple little items really are.
- The Latest Startup Trends - Every year there are business startup trends that take the world by storm. Knowing what these trends are can help you appeal to a particular audience. But are these startup trends worth making long-term goals when trends tend to not last long?
- The Marriage of Brick, Mortar and Online Ventures - We live in the day and age when the brick and mortar business and the online venture becomes one in the same. So how does this marriage become one that works perfectly in sync?
- Turnkey Business Opportunities - Have you spotted a turnkey business opportunity and wondered if you should take it? If you have, there are signs to look for that an opportunity is a great one and signs that it isn't.
- Types of Start Up Financing - Unless you have been saving money for years to start your business, you are going to need start up financing to make your dreams come true. But what types of start up financing are available to you?
- Using Bonus Offers to Make the Sale - When customers shop, they like to look for businesses that will offer them something for shopping at the business. In other words, they are looking for the bonus offers that you create as incentives for them to shop, but how do you use these bonus offers?
- What to Look for in a Business Plan Writer - A business plan writer can put a solid business plan in place for you, saving you a lot of time and ensuring appeal to investors. But how do you know you have a good business plan writer working for you?
- Why Not to Start a Business? - Unfortunately, many start businesses and they fail. There are a number of factors behind this failure. Perhaps they should've waited or chose another sector to do business in. Perhaps starting a business was not right for them.
- Writing White Papers for Broader Success - You see a lot of businesses writing white papers. They do this because it helps provide them for broader success. With this said, how can you write white papers to make your business more successful?
Share this article
Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs