FastUpFront Small Business Blog

Yes, there are small businesses out there that are considering growth opportunities even as our current recession keeps a tight hold on our economy. But for those small businesses that are in this situation, any steps that they take to expand operations should be carefully implemented. Here are a few tips on how to responsibly [...]

I recently came across this article in the English Observer that put words to a new cultural and economic reality that is taking shape here in the U.S.: …The era of individualistic consumption that swept aside the Great Society of the 1960s has come to an end. For three decades, American culture has celebrated the [...]

At a time when the American economy is reeling from the effects of unfettered credit card debt, housing foreclosures, and price increases on everything from a gallon of gas to a can of tuna, bank loans are fast becoming a shrinking commodity. According to a recent Federal Reserve survey, the banking world is responding to [...]

Today, I ran across a series of free business finance workshops that seem very helpful. They take a while to load, but they are very well done. There is a PowerPoint style presentation with a voiceover (not just reading what is on the screen.) Each workshop covers a different “How to” – I’ve annotated the [...]

During my morning surf, I found some directories of Business Planning Freeware and I thought I’d put links up.  I haven’t checked these programs out, so use your own judgement.  Some of them look rather old, but a formula is a formula and it looks like many of these programs could be very useful. Many [...]

By using online finance/accounting calculators and other online tools, you are able to bypass hiring someone to calculate for you AND you are able to recalculate quickly and easily for various situations, projections, and ‘what if’s’.   Bank Rate has the following free calculators for Small Business Owners: • Calculate payments on any loan (incl. [...]

Working Capital = Current Assets–Current Liabilities Just like the human body needs calories to survive, a business needs working capital to continue operations.  Working capital is the money that is on hand for normal business operations. If you have a solid business plan, and business is going well, then you should generally have enough income [...]