Small Business Resources

Favors for Friends – Do’s and Don’ts for a Small Business Owner

Nothing makes a person feel better than knowing that they were able to help out a friend in their time of need. Small Business Owners are often in the unique position of being called upon by many a friend to provide them with their goods or services at a reduced cost or in a manner that you would not typically agree to if the request was made by your average ordinary customer (who was not your friend). Oftentimes, the business owner is faced with the dilemma of offending a dear friend or hurting their small business. Below are some good rules of thumb to use when deciding whether or not you will be able to grant the request of your friend.

Don’t jeopardize your business by granting favors that you cannot afford. If the favor your friend is requesting will cost your business money that you do not have, be upfront with your friend and tell them that, unfortunately, you are financially unable to help them at this time. Assure them that if things improve you will be more than happy to help them out as much as possible.

Do look for ways to barter goods or services with your friends. No doubt they will wish to be of service to you in any way they can. Perhaps they would be willing to exchange babysitting or housecleaning or errand-running for the goods or services they need from you. They may be willing to offer Small Business Help to you. Perhaps they have computer skills and would be willing to help in developing a website or getting a Facebook page started for you. Friends and family members are often overlooked small business resources in and of themselves.

Don’t allow your friends to take advantage of your generosity and unwillingness to say no. Do that which is reasonable and which will not overextend your business, but be sure to draw the line where it needs to be drawn.

Do recognize who your true friends are and who are merely your “friends” for what they can get out of you. True friends would never exploit your relationship for their own personal gain. True friends would wish to be as much of a help to you as you are to them. True friends would be the ones wanting to pay you over and above what you normally charge in their desire to be of a help to you and your business. True friends will be the ones who are doing everything in their power to help you promote your business and gain customers. True friends will stand by you through thick and thin.

Don’t jeopardize a good friendship by being petty. If the request is doable, then grant it. If it requires a little extra effort and expense on your part, but has been requested by a very dear friend, then put forth that effort and expense and consider the friendship you have worth it.

We must judge carefully how much we are able to assist our family members and friends without jeopardizing the health of our small business. Our small businesses must make a profit in order to survive, and those who are truly our friends and care about us will recognize this fact and not fault us if we are unable to grant them special favors.

For more details about
small business help
&
small business resources
, please visit us online.

Finances of a Small Business

DeLonghi BCO130T Combination Coffee/Espresso Machine $210.00 Brew coffee and espresso simultaneously. Adjustable brew strength. Programmable digital “wake up” timer for coffee. Four-cup espresso carafe and 10-cup coffee carafe. Gold tone filter. Number of Cups: N/A Number of Burners: N/A Warmer: N/A Capacity (Volume): N/A.Unit of Measure : Each…

First Aid Kit With Hard Case- 326 pcs- First Aid Complete Care Kit – Exceeds OSHA & ANSI Guidelines – Ideal for the Workplace – Disaster Preparedness (Colors May Vary) $24.85 This highly organized kit provides comprehensive first aid treatment for a variety of needs. It complies or exceeds all OSHA guidelines for small business and meets ANSI types I and II requirements. The kit is fully organized for easy use and will treat many emergency situations. It can be wall mounted or stored easily. Clean: 30 Antiseptic Towelettes, 30 Alcohol Pads, 6 Sting Relief Pads, 3 Hand …

Decorative Table Figurine Fan – Robin (Small) $50.00 Let this charming Robin Shaped Decorative Figurine Fan brighten your day while keeping you cool. With its decorative appeal, a Figurine Fan can easily become a permanent part of any desk, vanity, bedroom, kitchen or bathroom decor….

Proxim SURGE ARRESTER 0-6 GHZ-STD-N FEMALE TO FEMALE ( 5054-SURGE ) $121.99 Proxim delivers a complete range of flexible, multi-standard wireless networking solutions for enterprises, service providers, small businesses and homes. With more than 15 years at the forefront of wireless networking innovation and product development, Proxim has solutions that meet the unique needs of every market. Proxim’s products wirelessly connect people to the information and resources the…

White Castle $1.99 …

Small Business Marketing Success Stories $36.95 Are you ready to fulfill your dream of starting or expanding your business this year? Let America’s most lauded small business television program inspire and advise you! Making It! takes you into the lives of real-life entrepreneurs as they offer you small business advice told through their experiences of struggle and triumph. With over a decade on the air and over 1000 entrepreneur stories told…

Small Businesses with Big Customers (part 1) $36.95 Are you ready to fulfill your dream of starting or expanding your business this year? Let America’s most lauded small business television program inspire and advise you! Making It! takes you into the lives of real-life entrepreneurs as they offer you small business advice told through their experiences of struggle and triumph. With over a decade on the air and over 1000 entrepreneur stories told…

Microsoft Office Home & Business 2010 – 2PC/1User (Disc Version) $279.99 Office Home and Business 2010 32-bit/x64 English US DVDUNSPSC CodeUNSPSC Code :  43231513 …

Sid Meier’s SimGolf $9.99 Sid Meier’s SimGolf puts you in charge of your very own golf resort. You’ll get to play the roles of course designer, CEO, and resident pro as your try and grow your business from a small, public pitch-and-putt to a five-star resort complete with private memberships, airstrips, and luxury hotels. To do this, you’ll need to design courses that are fun and challenging and manage your resort’s resour…

The Godfather II $0.99 Inspired by the events of the classic film of the same name, in The Godfather II players take on the role of Dominic Corleone, a little-known member of the Corleone crime family tasked with rebuilding the once dominant, but now faltering mafia empire. Set in an open-world gameplay universe full of dangers and opportunities, players must maintain and develop the Corleone crime family’s resources us…

ACT! 2010 $229.99 For managing contacts and customers effectively Designed for and highly recommended by small businesses and salespeople. Equipped with just the right feature set making it powerful enough to support business needs but still easy to learn and use. Can be personalized to fit your business processes. Design views, add fields and tabs, edit drop-downs, and customize templates, all to make your day more productive. Affordable on day one and into the future! Free from hidden costs and ongoing subscription fees. Works with a variety of familiar business solutions. Microsoft(R) Outlook(R) and Lotus Notes(R) are just a few of the popular software programs that are compatible. Get the most from this software with a variety of resources available. Large user community and a vast, mature partner network offer immediate answers to questions about using “ACT!,” training, and customizations. Add-on solutions extend the “ACT!” feature set.

APC Smart-UPS SC 450VA Rackmount/Tower $233.95 Smart-UPS SC 450VA Rackmount/Tower is the perfect protection for the IT resources of your growing business. Manageable and cost effective, APC Smart-UPS SC is designed for use by small and medium companies looking to protect entry level servers and networking equipment, providing both power and data-line protection.

APC Smart-UPS SC 450VA Rackmount/Tower $189.99 Smart-UPS SC 450VA Rackmount/Tower is the perfect protection for the IT resources of your growing business. Manageable and cost effective, APC Smart-UPS SC is designed for use by small and medium companies looking to protect entry level servers and networking equipment, providing both power and data-line protection.

Cisco SF 100-16 16-Port Fast Ethernet Switch $75.95 The Cisco SF 100-16 16-Port 10/100 Switch, a Cisco Small Business Unmanaged Switch, offers the performance and ease of use you need to get your business connected. This easy-to-use switch works right out of the box, with no software to configure. Use this switch to connect up to 16 computers, printers, and wireless access points, as well as to share network resources such as servers and network-attached storage. Quality of service (QoS) enhances network performance and improves the quality of voice and video. The Cisco SF 100-16 delivers the reliability and performance you need to keep your network running smoothly and is protected by a limited lifetime warranty.

Cisco WET200 Wireless-G Business Ethernet Bridge $157 The WET200 Wireless Bridge seamlessly bridges separate Ethernet networks together wirelessly and is ideal for small businesses with offices and resources that are in different office suites of a building or a closely adjacent building. The WET200 is a Power over Ethernet (PoE) end device so it can be installed anywhere an Ethernet cable can be run if there is not ready access to a power outlet. PoE enables delivery of both data and power to the WET200.

Cisco(R) Small Business RV016 10/100 16-Port VPN Router $425.95 Virtual Private Network (VPN) firewall provides business-class protection for your office network.Of the 16 ports on this high-performance router, 13 are Auto MDI/MDIX 10/100 Mbps LAN ports with up to 200Mbps of throughput per port.2 ports are dedicated Internet (WAN) ports that let you connect a second backup Internet line. Or, you can use both Internet ports at the same time, and let the router balance your office’s requirements between them for maximum bandwidth efficiency. Also includes 1 DMZ port that gives you a publicly accessible channel so you can set up a web or FTP server.50 IPsec VPN tunnels let remote users securely connect for full use of office resources.Advanced SPI (Stateful Packet Inspection) firewall protects your PCs from most known Internet attacks.IP address filtering lets you specify exactly who can gain access to your network.Web-based browser makes installation, configuration and operation a snap.Backed by the manufacturer’s 1-year limited warranty.

Cisco(R) Small Business SD208P 8-Port 10/100 Switch $139.99 Great for small businesses – easy-to-use switch lets you expand your network Connects up to 8 devices to your network. Connect additional computers, printers, and servers, Allows you to create a reliable network that lets you share resources and transfer files and videos. Unmanaged switch provides wire-speed Fast Ethernet transfers at up to 100Mbps. Supplies power to your network devices, too. Power over Ethernet (PoE) support cost-effectively powers your VoIP telephones, wireless access points and video cameras. PoE is available on 4 ports. Compact size and a no-fan design let you place it almost anywhere. Size is just 1.31in.H x 5.51in.W x 5.51in.D. Works right out of the box with no software to configure.

HP Officejet G510N Multifunction Printer $100.95 This affordable flatbed all-in-one with wireless connectivity prints professional-quality color for a low cost per page. Productive and reliable, this all-in-one can help you complete tasks and keep pace with the speed of business, in your home or small office. Plus, you get an energy-efficient all-in-one that conserves resources.

HP ProLiant ML110 G6 4U Tower Entry-level Server – 1 x Xeon X3450 2.66GHz $1391.95 The HP ProLiant ML110 G6 is the perfect first server for growing business. It provides an affordable and functional solution to small/medium businesses that are budget-conscious and who have basic or no in-house IT resources.Package Contents:ProLiant ML110 G6 Server 1 x 6ft. country specific, Lowline NEMA Power Cord

HP ProLiant ML110 G6 597556-005 4U Tower Entry-level Server – 1 x Core i3 i3-530 2.93GHz $494.95 The HP ProLiant ML110 G6 597556-005 Entry-Level Server is the perfect first server for growing business. It provides an affordable and functional solution to small/medium businesses that are budget-conscious and who have basic or no in-house IT resources.Package Contents:ProLiant ML110 G6 597556-005 Entry-level Server 1 x 6ft. Lowline NEMA Power Cord