BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com BloggingStocks http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/media/feedlogo.gif BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Entrepreneur's Journal: What does the financial meltdown mean for your business?]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/09/21/entrepreneurs-journal-what-does-the-financial-meltdown-mean-f/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/09/21/entrepreneurs-journal-what-does-the-financial-meltdown-mean-f/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/09/21/entrepreneurs-journal-what-does-the-financial-meltdown-mean-f/#commentsFiled under: ,

This week, I received a number of calls from friends and family about the incredible events in the financial markets. I've tried to be optimistic, but it wasn't easy. Every day, there seemed to be a new avalanche of bad news.

So what does this all mean for your business?

Well, I think it's critically important to be careful and conservative. Basically, assume the following:

  • It's going to take longer to raise capital -- and the terms will be tougher.
  • It's going to take longer to get customers.
  • Oh, and customers will take longer to pay you (and that's assuming they actually do pay you).

In other words, you need to find ways to manage your cash flow. You can use some nifty online tools, such as NetBooks. There are also some great books on the topic, like Tim Berry's The Plan-As-You-Go Business Plan.

And another thing: Be sure to focus on your existing customers. In tough times, it can be easy to lose them. And, of course, it's always expensive to get new customers.

Continue reading Entrepreneur's Journal: What does the financial meltdown mean for your business?

Entrepreneur's Journal: What does the financial meltdown mean for your business? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 21 Sep 2008 18:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Financial instabilityNetBooksrecessionRidgely Everssmall businessTim BerrySun, 21 Sep 2008 18:37:00 EST<![CDATA[NetBooks gets $9 million to challenge Intuit]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/05/netbooks-gets-9-million-to-challenge-intuit/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/05/netbooks-gets-9-million-to-challenge-intuit/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/05/netbooks-gets-9-million-to-challenge-intuit/#commentsFiled under: ,

NetBooks logoIntuit (NASDAQ: INTU) has made a fortune by selling easy-to-use and affordable accounting software for small businesses. But competition is heating up -- which is, no doubt, a great benefit for customers.

The latest entrant is NetBooks, which recently raised about $9 million in a Series A round. The investors include CMEA Ventures and Integral Capital.

Developing accounting software is extremely complex. As a result, it took NetBooks about four years to create its offering. Interestingly enough, the company's founder, Ridgely Evers, was the mastermind of Intuit's QuickBooks.

With NetBooks, a small business can accomplish things like sales management, customer relationship management (CRM), vendor management, and so on.

And since it uses an on-demand approach, NetBooks is fairly easy to implement and does not require large information technology (IT) expenses.

But the big test will be the upcoming IPO of rival NetSuite. If it's a success, I think we'll likely see more companies like NetBooks hit the market.

If you want to check out more venture fundings, click here.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

NetBooks gets $9 million to challenge Intuit originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Sep 2007 15:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>accountingINTUIntuitNetBooksNetSuiteQuickBooksRidgely EversRidgelyEverstax softwareTaxSoftwareWed, 05 Sep 2007 15:09:00 EST