Category Archives: General Business

General Business

A Joint Venture Combination is Like Partnership Business

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A Joint Venture Agreement is a document that sets out a type of partnership agreement put together for some specific purpose. The agreement spreads the risk attached to the project among the various parties to the agreement as well as details the sharing in any of its success and profits. It also sets out the profit as well as the risks to the agreement for each of the participating parties.

The joint venture agreement gives an element of control to the project since it establishes the extent of the agreed to actions as well as setting the supervisory protocols for the smooth functioning and efficient operations of the business venture. In addition, the agreement bears in mind each party’s best intentions for achieving the general business goals.

Usually, such a bargain will be made and entered into on a specified date between the parties to the agreement. It shall set out the business purpose of the agreement as well as define the terms of the agreement which may specify the abovementioned starting date and shall continue till terminated, dissolved by law or ended by other stated provisions. The joint venture agreement may further define the terms as they are used in the agreement.

The obligations of the parties involved shall name who will be responsible for all of the decisions and operations of the business as well as compensating them for services rendered. It shall also state how the profits and losses shall be owed at the end of each fiscal year.

The agreement shall also name the business participating in the joint venture that will have complete, total and special influence to manage and control the business for the purposes as stated in the agreement. Affiliates of the arrangement may take part in rendering services on behalf of the joint venture. Also, parties to the agreement as well as affiliates may have interests in businesses that do not form a part of the relationship. The joint venture agreement shall also specify the persons or persons who shall pay the expenses of the partnership.

Each of the parties to the agreement shall be indemnified by the other for losses, judgments, liabilities, expenses as well as for amounts paid as completion of claims sustained by the partnership. In case any of the parties suffers a loss but this is not due to neglect or bad faith and that the course of action taken was in the best interests of the joint venture, then none of the parties will be liable to pay the other for such losses incurred. The arrangement may be dissolved in any of the following instances:

• Bankruptcy, withdrawal removal or insolvency of either party
• Through sale or other disposition of all or most of the significant assets
• Mutually agreed to by the parties to the agreement

Furthermore, the joint venture shall keep adequate books and records of its place of business giving a true and accurate picture of the business transactions. In case any of the provisions of the agreement shall become invalid it would not affect the outstanding provisions of the agreement. All notices that are required should be in writing and will be deemed to have been given when deposited in the postal mail or through certified mail or be addressed to the rightful address of the parties to the agreement.

By using pre-defined joint venture agreement forms to enter into a project there are not only substantial savings in time but also totality is offered in these documents which can be tailor-made to suit individual needs. In addition, the language and attributes of these documents adequately meets the necessary stipulation of a legally binding document.

General Business

Business Credit Cards – Bookkeeping Made Easy

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A small business credit card has a number of advantages. In addition to being able to help with start up costs and providing special rewards that are meaningful to business owners, business credit cards can make bookkeeping much easier. In fact, using a business credit card can take nearly all of the headaches of keeping track of expenses out of your hands, giving you time to focus on company growth.

Business Expenses

To help keep bookkeeping a snap, you can place all of your business expenditures on your business credit card. By having a separate personal credit card and business credit card, you don’t have to worry about sorting through your credit card statement to determine which were for your business and which purchases were for personal reasons. In addition, this helps keep the liability for repayment on your business rather than on you personally, which is particularly important if you form any type of business configuration other than a sole proprietorship. In the eyes of the law, other business formations, such as LLCs, are their own entity. Therefore, you are not held personally responsible for the business expenditures because the company is responsible.

Itemized Statements

Generally, business credit cards also provide the cardholder with itemized statements. These may be monthly, quarterly, or annually, depending on the card. Therefore, when you compare business credit cards, you should inquire about how often these statements are issued and choose the one that best suits your business needs. This feature is quite helpful because it frees you from having to keep track of all of your receipts. Instead of sorting through numerous receipts at tax time, you can simply use your itemized statement or take the statement to your accountant. To help make things easier, some of these itemized statements will even categorize your purchases into different areas needed for filing taxes, such as Office Supplies, Entertainment, and Postage.

Earning Rewards

In addition to assisting you with bookkeeping, business credit cards can also help you save money. Many offer travel rewards, special business related discounts, or cash back rewards. When you compare business credit cards, be sure to look at the various incentives they offer in order to find the one that best suits your business. If you purchase a great deal of office equipment, for example, you will want a card that provides points or cash for making such purchases.

If your business requires you to travel frequently, you might want to get a business credit card that provides airline mile rewards. These cards typically offer other benefits that are attractive to the traveling businessperson, such as baggage protection, travel insurance, rental car insurance, and discounts at hotels. Again, these cards take away some of your bookkeeping hassles because you don’t have to worry about acquiring these forms of extra protection on your own. Simply use your business credit card and you are covered.

Carrying a Balance

If you anticipate carrying a balance on your credit card from one billing cycle to the next, you should definitely look into acquiring a business credit card with a low APR. Some offer special introductory rates that can last for up to a year depending on the credit card and your credit history. Take full advantage of these cards to get your business up and running and work toward being capable of paying the balance off at the end of each billing cycle. For some businesses, however, carrying a balance is inevitable. Sometimes, paying the balance depends on customer invoicing and customers may not always be reliable about paying their invoices on time. Or, your business may have slow periods where more cash is going out than coming in. In these cases, it is best to acquire a card with a low APR, but that still provides you with all of the desirable bookkeeping features.

General Business

Promote Your Home Business

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It’s an exciting adventure that you’re about to begin by being self-employed. It’s time to let everyone know about your soon-to-be successful company by promoting your home business.

While hiring a marketing or public relations firm is an easy option, since you are just starting out, it may be a tool you cannot yet afford. If this is the case, it is up to you to develop different media means to promote your home business.

The most obvious is starting a Web site. There are many freelancers out there who would gladly do this for you for a fee, but this is not really necessary if you have basic computer skills. Several sites are dedicated to instructing you on a step-by-step procedure on how to create a Web site for promoting your home business. Many provide usage for a price, but there are some out there which you can use for no cost at all. This would be a practical option. A free site might not offer all the flourishes of a paid-for one, but as your first priority would be simply promoting your home business, other features, graphics and designs can be added once the money starts rolling in and you have extra cash to spend on creating a stand out site.

Writing a weekly or monthly newsletter is also a great marketing tool in promoting your home business. Fill the copy with your personal background, services provided and costs involved. Update your newsletter with savings advertisements, new services offered and comments from pleased customers when promoting your home business through a newsletter.

While posting a link or subscriber option to your web site for the newsletter is a given, additional initiative must be taken as part of promoting your home business. Obtain e-mail addresses of several companies or individuals who might be interested in using your services. Search for the addresses of actual people rather than sending a letter promoting your home business to a general business site. You are then taking the risk of becoming a deleted spam file.

If your home business is a local one, such as a day care or accounting service, advertise in your local newspapers and trade magazines. Coupons always catch a consumers eye, so including them in your ad would be a key tool in promoting your home business. Offering a 10 percent discount is always a plus.

Also, holding contests with prizes would catch they eye of a newspaper or magazine browser. Consider making the prize a week of free service or a sales item.

Lastly, get some business cards together as part of promoting your home business. You can design and print them using a home computer or pay a professional printer who may have additional design ideas that would capture consumer’s attention. Distribute your business cards to individuals and companies, and post them in every store that offers a free advertising billboard.

General Business

Home Business Mentoring

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When people first begin a home business, it is most likely their first foray into this type of work. No matter their experience level in the business they are running, operating a business from home is way different from working for someone else. Many communities have retired business people who are willing to share their past experiences and knowledge to help mentor those opening a home business.


You need to keep in mind, however that many offering home business mentoring may not have the experience of internet or online businesses but their general business experience will still be appropriate. It makes no difference whether your business is online or offline, the basic theories of customer service and maintaining business ethics will be the same. When it pertains to marketing and advertising your home businesses, there is going to be vast differences between online and offline businesses.


With the understanding that an online business will lure its customers from the internet, you will need to market your business mostly on the internet. It is the age old practice of being where your customers are. However, how and where you market your business is only one piece of the home business puzzle. You will still be working at home and have a home business mentor that can teach you how to juggle your work and home life successfully, this can mean more than any aspect of your business.


Working from home can offer challenges that never present themselves when working outside the home. Little, daily chores always seem to get in your way while trying to work at home. You have to learn to ignore the little tasks around the house during the hours that you set aside as working hours. Additionally, you have to teach other family members and your friends that your home business is your source of income and constant interruptions in your conducting business can mean interruptions in earning your living. Without that understanding, you can plan on your home business failing. Someone actually suggested once that when working in your home office, you may want to get a guard dog to keep people out while you work.


That may sound like an off the wall suggestion but being able to maintain a proper work environment while working at home is mandatory for your home business success. Organizing you home business for efficient working conditions will also help make running your business easier and you can work with a home business mentor to help determine the right equipment to help run it more smoothly as well as how to arrange your home office to make it more efficient. Having items you will need daily at your fingertips and getting into the habits that are important to your organization are things a home business mentor can help you learn.

General Business

Being a Consultant and a Business Coach

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The question in the minds of most service providers and consultants today is whether they should add business coaching to their existing consultancy business or not.


Business coaching is a part of the service industry. Anybody and everybody can, and does, feel like a coach of some sort. There are a number of coaching programs available today and self-styled coaches offer these courses. The coach is expected to assure the client that the reason behind the coaching requirement and the motivation behind the coaching initiative are based on sound business needs. You need to assure them that, as the coach, you follow processes that are not only very reliable, but also have a measurable and quantifiable outcome. You need to communicate that you as a coach actually do know what you are doing and thoroughly understand the business requirements.


Most people benefit from working with and being coached by a professional coach and there is always a coach available for all kinds of coaching requirements. Anyone wanting to be a coach, to work with executives and business leaders must first understand how the business environment works. The existing service provider and the consultant are in a perfect position to be able to provide specialized and targeted coaching services to a business marketplace, a place that they are already a part of.


A specialist service provider and a business consultant have limited market reach. As one of them, you are limited to the clients who are within your area of specialized expertise and it limits your income and client base. Diversifying into coaching can open up a new and much wider market and can provide you with many more marketing opportunities. Coaching can also increase the profitability of your business manifold and is a highly rewarding field of work.


As a service provider, you can carve out a niche for yourself by specializing in specific and well-chosen areas of coaching. Specialization is good for everyone because not only does it enable you to increase your rates and by extension, your overall income, it also enables you to focus on your skills and attention for the good of the client. As service provider who is also a coach, you can use your intimate knowledge of the client business to help him set particular relevant business goals. You can show them the best way to achieve those goals and you can work out, in conjunction with the clients, how to best evaluate and then adjust their progress.


In addition, chances are that as a service provider you already possess the necessary soft skills like communication, listening, teaching and advising, along with your service strengths. However, keep in mind that you will need to enhance existing skills. It is also recommended that you learn the best coaching methods, techniques and communication tools from a reputable institution.


Business coaching has become a great means for service providers to augment their income and secure their future. Business coaching is the ideal a way to combine financial know how, management skills and general business knowledge and use it to branch out into new advisory business.