The United States is home to over 30 million small businesses, and they make up the vast majority of all business enterprises today. While major corporations are household names, the combined power of all those small businesses is impressive, and they can provide an equally impressive variety of products and services for just about any market. Still, when an entrepreneur launches their own small business, there is no guarantee of success. A new business owner does not have to win any “entrepreneur of the year” awards to be successful, but then again, new entrepreneurs are encouraged to aim for the coveted title of entrepreneur of the year, and aiming that high means learning a lot of useful ideas long the way. The CEO of any young business enterprise could stand to learn a few new tricks, or update older ideas on how a business should grow.

Learning From Experts

The good news for anyone aiming for the title of entrepreneur of the year is that nearly any skill can be learned via books, the internet, seminars, trade shows, and more. Put another way, all the good business tricks and strategies have already been figured out, a new business owner simply needs to check them out and start using them. This can make personal and business growth relatively easy, and major entrepreneurs and figures such as Sam Darwish and Brian Tracy can teach a lot. Such figures often work as keynote speakers or host seminars, and a new business’s owner is urged to attend such events. And of course, education goes well beyond high school and college. Someone aiming to become entrepreneur of the year must be a lifelong learner, and always look for the next book or seminar that can improve their knowledge of their field. There is always one more thing to discover.

Internet Power

An entrepreneur is urged to take full advantage of the Internet’s marketing and organic traffic capabilities. Often, the most skill-intensive internet work comes from outsourced labor, such as SEO firms, digital marketing firms, web designer companies, and the like. Many freelance workers today have contracts with such firms, and are ready to help improve their client’s website and social media presence. In so doing, they can vastly increase organic (human) traffic to the client’s website and social media pages, and thus promote brand awareness. Specialized programs and websites can further help these digital marketing specialists track organic data and constantly adjust, so they can weed out unsuccessful marketing ideas and strengthen the more promising ones. Artists can also e hired to create graphic designs for the company’s website, too.

Loans

There is no getting around the topic of loans. A small business will have limited cash flow and very thin cash reserves, and consistent profits may still be years in the future. So, a business owner aiming to be entrepreneur of the year should be ready to take out smart loans, and avoid risky or unnecessary ones. For one thing, that entrepreneur should remember that lenders will check out both their personal and business credit scores, and both should be fairly high. The same is true for applying for a business credit card. Specialized lenders tend to have more lenient term than big banks and often approve loans for small businesses, but they still have some standards. They will, for example, check a borrower’s history for red flags such as delinquent loan payments or previous bankruptcies. Sometimes, even a lender with iffy credit can get a loan, though with less than optimal terms.

Nearly anything can be financed via loans if need be, and a small business owner may do this even to fund the payroll. Payroll funding companies are all over the place, and a retailer can get an inventory loan so they can have a lot of stock to sell during a busy sales season. That inventory will act as collateral for that loan, making it secure and thus more attractive to the lender. Carrier companies can work with invoice factoring firms, which will acquire the rights to collect 100% of all outstanding shipper invoices in exchange for giving the carrier company an up-front loan. This can, for example, smooth out a truck carrier company’s cash flow until the shipper clients pay their invoices.