http://www.fastupfront.com/blog Small Business News, Tips, Information, and Discussions Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:13:11 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Because so many small businesses out there are salons (hair salons, nail salons, massage parlors, tanning salons, etc) I decided to compile a list of software for salons. Prices range from free, to $1600. Check out the options. If there is a program you like to ... http://www.fastupfront.com/blog/hairbeauty-salon-businesses/top-freeware-and-software-for-salons/ Here is my latest attempt to bring humor to the business financing industry. Everyone knows how tough it can be to get a loan, especially a business loan in high risk verticals without any collateral. Hope you enjoyed the comic! http://www.fastupfront.com/blog/fun/secured-loans-from-hell/ Why? Almost all businesses have a logo, whether it was designed by a professional, or simply the company name in a special font and color. Some are just graphic, some just text - others are a combination. The importance of your logo depends on a lot of factors, not ... http://www.fastupfront.com/blog/business-marketing/changing-the-logo-for-your-small-business/ We all know that it is hard for small businesses to get financing these days from banks - it was never a piece of cake, and now that the credit crunch is on for so long we see it has gotten ridiculous.  But... did you ever wonder what a bank ... http://www.fastupfront.com/blog/business-loans/who-finances-the-financier/ Every successful company has a list of values, vision and goals -- although some "mean" them more than others. What I mean, is that sometimes they are empty phrases so that they have an answer if someone asks, "What are your company values?" Other companies, really try to ... http://www.fastupfront.com/blog/uncategorized/how-to-define-your-personal-values-vision-and-goals/ I saw a great "photo essay" at Sports Illustrated yesterday inspired by Tiger Wood's recent victory.  It captured the moments where 24 sports greats such as basketball star Michael Jordan, Olympic medalist Kerri Strug, and baseball pitcher Curt Schilling played and WON when they were suffering great pain. Reading this article ... http://www.fastupfront.com/blog/business/playing-in-pain-what-business-owners-can-learn-from-sports-legends/ OK, I'll post two jokes just to be fair - showing both sides of the story. First, the way most of us would see it: A Loan Officer died.  When he met St. Peter at the Pearly Gates, he presented himself for admittance to Heaven. Peter said, "Well, you did a lot of ... http://www.fastupfront.com/blog/fun/joke-what-happens-when-a-loan-officer-dies/ Because such a large percentage of small businesses are restaurants, I would like to make a dedicated series of posts to running a successful restaurants. There will be a post for this series about once every week or two. Please email me requests for specific topics. Like most small businesses, ... http://www.fastupfront.com/blog/restaurant-management/running-a-successful-restaurant-the-menu-format/ I just found out about a great webcast which will be taking place on June 24th. “The American Dreams Rude Awakening- Mortgage Debacle and Foreclosures” The OU (Orthodox Union), a Jewish organization, is sponsoring a free webcast focusing on how to deal with the mortgage crisis, whether you are looking to ... http://www.fastupfront.com/blog/credit/upcoming-free-webcast-on-financing/ One financing option which I have given less attention to in this blog than to other options is the "Unsecured Line of Credit". This financing method has two things in common with business cash advance: "unsecured" and "financing". That is where the similarities end. Unsecured lines of credit are ... http://www.fastupfront.com/blog/business-cash-advances/unsecured-lines-of-credit-can-you-get-one/