entrepreneurship

Wordless cartoons are the hardest to write, in my opinion. And, to be fair, the above cartoon isn’t truly wordless as it relies on labeling the monkey’s desk baskets. (I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that no one on this blog has never used the phrase “monkey’s desk baskets” before.)

I actually have my kids to thank for this one. One day the boy was doing some sort of impromptu robot dance, and my daughter, noticing Daddy’s guffaws, decided to join in. I later explained the dancing to my wife, who responded, “Monkey see, monkey do,” and this cartoon just popped into my head.

That night each of the kids got a little extra dessert for both the idea and the awesome robot dancing.

From Small Business Trends
Monkey See, Monkey Do

Nice post. The story of lady from Praguay inspired me and she talks about real things, which will happen to everyone in the world too. The circumstances make a person to take that extra risk, which is called entrepreneurship. There is something to learn in this book.

Robert

We need you, small business owners and entrepreneurs. To start new businesses and create new jobs. To drag us out of this long recession and into new prosperity with new ideas and new vision. In fact, there are some things we all could do to help so that small business can do what they do best, create value and new opportunities. It’s up to you small business leaders. Here are some ideas we hope will get you started.

Entrepreneurship

16 steps to better entrepreneurship. It’s no secret that renewed entrepreneurism in the U.S. could be the key to a lasting economic recovery with startup of thousands of new small businesses eventually creating potentially millions of new jobs. But what is the key for putting this new small business renaissance in motion? In this special report, Adam Bluestein and Amy Barrett advance 16 suggestions to radically revitalize American entrepreneurship and begin a whole new growth spurt for small businesses and the economy. Inc.com

80 plus ideas for better small business employees. There are probably as many ways to improve employee performance as there are employees…or maybe as there are small business owners. If you could use some suggestions, here’s a bit of crowd sourcing in which Carol drew on her exhaustive network. You’ll doubtless find some contradicting advice but hopefully some that will fit your particular need. Let us know if one of these suggestions works for your small business. Carol Roth

Operations

On loosing key employees in your business. Developing great employees for your small business involves allowing them to creaste their own branding that contribute to your own. This, of course, involves some risk. What happens when they leave you for someone else taking their brand with you? Lisa Barone has these thoughts. Outspoken Media

Learning from success and from failure. There can’t be a better example for modern entrepreneurs than Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group. But despite the truly fabulous successes he has experienced, the fact is Branson says he has learned as much, if not more from his fabulous failures. Think Virgin Cola and the Australian-based Virgin credit card. What can you learn from your own small business failures that can point you in the direction of success? Open Forum Innovation

Strategy

Innovation isn’t always about being first. There’s a difference between waiting until everyone else has done something and holding off until you have the information you need to make an intelligent decision about your business. There’s also a difference between following a key group of customers in a new direction and changing course abruptly because of a trend that may or may not pan out. Don’t resist change in your business but make intelligent decisions that make sense for you and your customers. More on striking that balance is in Seth’s cool post. Seth Godin’s Blog

Tools

Facebook apps for small to medium sized businesses. Polls, SEO tools, fan page promotion and more, these are not just the latest Facebook apps for the kids. Instead, you can use them to manage the Facebook presence for your small to medium sized business. As FB and other social media sites become more and more important for small business, look for more tools to be introduced with the hopes of making ever greater use of marketing through your social media presence. Small Business Trends

Marketing

Are SMB’s still an uncracked market for your small business? The conventional wisdom is that small to medium sized businesses may be the best market for…well, other small to medium sized businesses. But is this true for your small B2B business and should you stay with this focus instead of trying to land contracts with some of the giants out there? Ben Yoskovitz has some thoughts about why SMB’s remain good markets for small businesses entering the market but bring certain challenges as well. The Instigator Blog

Want to network like a super star online or off? If so, don’t miss Sarah Shaw’s podcast interview with Nancy Fox of The Business Fox discussing secrets of networking and attracting the ideal client. You can also get some free information on networking for your next business event simply by dropping Nancy an e-mail. But first listen to the podcast and learn why opportunities to network should not be treated as uncomfortable situations but rather as great opportunities to connect with future partners and customers. The Entreprenette Gazette

Finance

Bank of America to announce $10 million in small business funding. Could your small business get a piece of $10 million in grant funding Bank of America plans to make available to agencies that regularly provide loans to small businesses? The bank says the grants should allow non-profit lenders to provide $100 million in low cost microloans for the small business sector in an effort to start a “ripple effect” of loaning for small businesses after criticisms that lending institutions are not doing enough. But with huge federal spending and tax increases on the way, will small businesses chance even the smallest added debt without a return to healthier consumer spending? WSJ

Small business lending bill blocked to mixed response. While supporters of the bill say it provides $30 billion in federal funding that could leverage $300 billion in small business lending, critics argue it is just another bureaucratic bailout which will encourage unhealthy risks and further increase government spending, something bad for business as the recession lingers on. Bloomberg BusinessWeek

From Small Business Trends
Small Business News: We Need You

Great article. What an uplifting story. I love that there is no going back; once success has been tasted on an entrepreneurial level, there is no returning to the 9-5 world of being an employee

Jason http://www.facebook.com/pages/StartupSidekick/148793365130702 (Follow us on Facebook fore more entrepreneurial advice)

A good article which i will share in my FB to all my friends…..

Jason & Jake…thanks so much for the kind words as well as taking a minute to share some of your own personal experiences.

I probably have to give credit to my parents for this one, but some of the best lessons i have ever learned have simply been from making mistakes.

Its also good to hear you guys are having fun along the way, thats what its all about for me.

Jonathan (@grasshopperbuzz)

Will small business lift the economy out of recession? Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne hopes so, and he’s trying to help. Recently the online discount retailer announced the launch of its “Main Street Revolution Initiative,” an effort intended to increase the visibility of small, local businesses by giving them an avenue for exposure to national markets.

“This represents a grand opportunity for producers and consumers nationwide to participate and contribute to the national recovery effort,” Byrne said in a statement. “Main Street can be the engine that lifts us out of the recession that Wall Street created.”

Targeting small and minority-owned businesses, Main Street Revolution is a partnership with Overstock.com that enables producers of consumer products to sell their products on Overstock.com and O.biz (Overstock.com’s B2B website).

“The point of this program is to sell products we’ve sourced from entrepreneurs around the country,” Byrne said. “By joining our network, small-business owners can reduce their supply chain costs and expand the awareness of their products among a much bigger audience.”

Overstock.com is working with local chambers of commerce to find small-business owners to participate in the program. In addition to helping “homegrown” businesses reach a national audience, the program helps consumers support small businesses they otherwise might never have heard of.

Overstock.com’s site highlights some successful examples of Main Street participants, including a Minnesota gift-basket entrepreneur who sold more than $200,000 in gift baskets in December alone after joining the program; a chocolate manufacturer whose business has grown so much she’s been able to buy new equipment and add new product lines; and a homebased entrepreneur who designs and sells urban-themed T-shirts.

At first, Main Street products will be listed within their appropriate shopping categories on Overstock.com, Byrne explained. As soon as a critical mass of partners is reached, however, their products will be consolidated into a “Main Street” store on the company’s website.

Overstock.com hopes the Main Street Revolution initiative will be as successful as the Worldstock program, which it launched in 2001. As of April, the Worldstock program—which gives global artisans from places like Bali, Columbia, Ghana, Nepal and Thailand the chance to sell their products on Overstock.com—had surpassed $50 million in total payments. It’s also a top tab on the Overstock.com home page.

For more information about participating in Overstock’s Main Street Revolution, go to the Overstock website to view a video. If you’d like to participate or find out additional details, contact mainstreet@overstock.com.

From Small Business Trends
Overstock.com’s Main Street Revolution Initiative Aims to Help Small Businesses

Does graphic/functional design effect SEO? According to Rand Fishkin over at SEOmoz, the answer is yes!

As the worlds of web design and SEO merge ever closer, we’ve been seeing design-specific elements produce a positive impact on SEO for the sites that employ them. It’s terrific news for SEOs who love design and are capable of and passionate about making it part of their repertoire. It’s also great for designers who find that as they evolved from Flash designs to machine-readable CSS and separated markup from content, they’ve earned more links and more organic search love.

Read Rand’s complete article here.

While seated in smAlbany’s 5th Annual Small Business Day this week, I had a chance to hear from a Verizon Wireless representative from my area. He was there to talk to business owners about the opportunities that lie in the area of mobile applications. He let us know that 52 percent of the phones he sold last week were smartphones – Web-enabled phones that customers are using the access information on the go. And that number is surely only going to grow, especially as Google continues to become further and further entrenched in the space.

When it comes to mobile applications, not all apps are created equal. But for every iBeer and PhoneSaber, there’s a business-focused application that can help you engage, build your band, and even help you make smarter business decisions. Below you’ll find a handful of mobile apps that provide big SMB benefit.

Social Networking Mobile Apps

Bump

If you have an iPhone or Android device, you’re probably already using this application. If you haven’t heard of it, Bump allows users to ‘bump’ their phones together to share contact information, photos, calendar information, or connect on social networks.. Though it may sound silly, it’s actually quite helpful at networking events, when discussing potential partnerships or any other time you’re meeting a new business contact. As an added bonus, it also drives Blackberry users crazy when you ‘bump’ in front of them.

Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn

The same social media sites you use via your desktop can also help you connect with customers via the mobile Web. Whether it’s responding to a tweet while on the go, uploading a photo of your business to Facebook or creating a new status update on LinkedIn, these social apps allow you to keep customers and colleagues up to date on your business even when you’re not sitting at your computer. I also feel they help talking that social relationship to the next level. There’s something very personal about the business owner who takes a photo of a pie that just came out of the oven and immediately uploads it to Twitter or Facebook. You reach people in the moment and drive them into your store. Because we’re all using our phones, it seems more intimidate and more connected.

WordPress

If you’re using a WordPress blog then you may also want to pick up the WordPress mobile application that will allow you to post, edit, and approve comments to allow you to manage your blog on the go. You can also configure WordPress to cross-promote your posts to Twitter and Facebook to help share them with those audiences while you’re out and about. I often rely on this application to approve blog comments when traveling or stuck in line at the post office. It’s a lot easier to whip out your Blackberry while seated on the train than your laptop.

Mobile Apps For Doing Business

Evernote Evernote is a mobile productivity application that pretty much amazes you the first time you use it. How it works is that you either take a photo of something, record a snippet of audio (maybe a blog post idea or a receipt amount), enter text, etc, and Evernote will then save what you enter and make it searchable. That means if you’re in a meeting and someone throws up an impressive slide, you can take a photo and have it be searchable later. Or, if you’re out researching new computers, you can take a photo of the spec sheet and then bring it up later by searching for. Because Evernote can actually “read” the text and record it, it makes whatever you scanned/entered completely searchable. It’s pretty cool.

The premium version of this application offers bigger upload capacity and other advanced features at just $5 a month.

ShopSavvy

As the name suggests, this is a shopping application. With it, SMB owners can use their phone’s camera to scan barcodes and find the best prices online and in-store for the item they’re looking at. It may sound like this is one of those frivolous, sheep-throwing type applications, but it can really save your small business quite a bit of money. Use it when you buy office supplies, new electronics, educational books or magazines, or anything else you may purchase for your business.

Or, if you’re a local retailer, either upload your items to Google Base (which you should be doing anyway) or provide ShopSavvy with your API and you can include your items in their database. It’s a great way to expose your business to targeted customers in your area. After all, if customers don’t know about your items, they can’t buy them. Make sure you get your products listed with ShopSavvy to help them find you.

Shoeboxed iPhone App

If you’re currently sporting the iPhone, then Shoeboxed has a great application to help you track expenses. Just take a photo of your receipt and the application will extract the data and post it to your account. From there you can create expense reports, track receipts and more. Perhaps the only flaw with this application is that, to date, it’s only available for the iPhone. I’d love to see one for the Blackberry.

If you’re using an Android device, then Cashbook is a pretty good alternative. I’m still trying to find one I like for the BlackBerry.

Docs To Go

With Docs To Go, SMBs can create, view and edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly from their mobile device. If you often find yourself working on the go or trying to access files, this is handy one to have around. As I mentioned earlier, it’s often a lot easier to grab your mobile device than your laptop. Zoho Mobile is another great application for creating docs or spreadsheets on the go, if you prefer that suite.

Those are some of my favorite mobile apps, but as a SMB owner you should be working with any application that ranks well and is relevant to your business OR that can help you work smarter. Which mobile apps are you currently using?

From Small Business Trends
Mobile Apps SMBs Should Care About

Great post.

I’ve made more mistakes trying to create a profitable startup (and failing) in the past 2 years than at any other time in my whole life – Funnily enough I’ve had a great time and in the process I’ve learnt many valuable lessons.

1.) Old adage – fail fast. A lot of time was wasted umming and ahhing without actually launching anything. In the meantime competitors were out there reaching real life customers, making mistakes with minimum viable products and iterating quickly.

2.) Hire the right people. I was more concerned about having someone on my team rather than finding the right person for the job. This backfired on me 3 times in succession. Within reason, take your time finding co-founders – it’s one of the most important decisions you make in a startup.

3.) Spend some money. Don’t splash it about, but spend it to get results. A lot of my problems were caused by trying to save too much money. Fact: people working for free have a next-to-no incentive unless your reality distortion field is Jobsian. The great thing about being an entrepreneur today is that you can outsource a lot of the work to experienced overseas professionals at very low cost. The internet is your friend.

Cheers,

Jake

Fifty outstanding black women and their achievements. In his review of Jewels: 50 Phenomenal Black Women Over 50, Pierre DeBois focuses on the portraits of black women over the age of 50 who have become great achievers including in the world of business. DeBois says the lessons about balancing personal and professional responsibilities can have a much broader audience. Is this a book for you? Small Business Trends

The story of Facebook. Ivana Taylor reviews The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That Is Connecting a story about the history of one of the most important social media platforms around today. Increasingly more important for small business, this may be a great look at the behind the scenes details of a company whose services many small business have used from time to time. Enjoy! Small Business Trends

Passion trumps recession. You might not think specialty pet business would be successful in an economic slump when discretionary spending is down. But these pet business owners have found big success despite the recession by following their heart and giving their all in a business they clearly love. Open Forum Innovation

From Small Business Trends
Small Business News: Ups and Downs

Website design is a science all to itself.  I have felt for a long time that the goal of every website should be to create an emotional connection to a user.  Something that once used and then taken away leaves a sense of loss.  Often we refer to this as becoming “indispensable.”

At the core of this effort is the store front, or in web parlance, the home page.  The interface design needs to create a real connection, one that fits the personality of the app, and yet one that alligns with the taste and interest of the user.

I was reading over on Xydo.com in the startup subject, and came across this article which I would highly recommend for your reading and study.

Emotion Interface Design: The Gateway to Passionate Users

Give it a read and let me know what you think.

Nice article Jonathan. Your article sums up what it’s all about:

1. Solve an important problem 2. Fail fast 3. Hire people that will help you reach your goals

If you can check off all 3 of these things when starting your business, you’re going to be very successful. Neglecting even one can cause failure though. Good read.

Jason http://www.facebook.com/pages/StartupSidekick/148793365130702 (Follow us on Facebook for more entrepreneurial advice)

I have made so many mistakes that I can’t even remember and it just frustrates me to think about it, but after you’ve gone through it, it was worth it for all the time that you spend on it.

I totally agree with point 3, “Waiting until things are “perfect” before you launch”.

I’m waaaay to much of a perfectionist for my own good, and I’m even doing it now on my web start-up. Part of me says “launch it into beta already” other part says “doesn’t look right yet, hold off, it needs to be spot on”.

The fact of the matter is myself, and any one else in a similar situation, should use the label Beta as an excuse just to get the rough product out there. Then fine tune it and make it look pretty once users have had a play.

Good read.

Good read from the Harvard Business Review on consumer preference for self service options (en lieu of dealing with a real human). Have you ever walked into an airport, seen that there is nobody in line at the check-in counter, but still made a bee-line for the self-service kiosk? Better yet, have you ever waited in line for an ATM machine even though there is nobody in line for the teller inside the bank?

If you answered “yes” to either of these questions, you’re not alone. Most customers these days demonstrate a huge — and increasing — appetite for self-service, yet most companies run their operations as if customers prefer to interact with them live.

Click here for the full article.

Very inspiring article. Looking forward to reading the book. It is never too soon to start chasing your dream!

Bluewater started at ground zero of the tough economic times in America – Detroit. As one of their people put it: “I love Detroit. But it seems to have become known lately as the world capital of bad business decisions. That has made it a great sandbox to play and learn in.”

Checking Out Your Loan Collateral

Bluewater’s employees and contractors are mostly loan collateral field examiners who regularly visit borrower companies (located anywhere) on behalf of the bank to make sure the loan collateral is actually and physically as reflected by the company’s regular financial reports.

If you want to borrow money and have nothing to hide, you will welcome the Bluewater Field Examiner dropping in to check out your collateral.

Kicking The Collateral Tires Means You Have to Be There

Yes, that involves old-fashioned shoe leather. You cannot do this safely just by reading documents. So Bluewater’s Field Examiners have to be close to where the borrowers are. Having them at a desk in the main office is not helpful.

Bluewater is a national tale, not yet multinational. The company has 19 employees and several contractors spread across nine U.S. states. But it is growing nationally by using online tools and this will enable the company to grow internationally when the time comes.

Process Driven

This is process-driven work. As Robert Bowles, founder, explained to us:

“The Field Examiners typically spend three to four days at a borrower’s location. They observe, report, then move on to the next assignment.  Most of their scheduling is communicated by logging in to the office file server, reviewing the up-to-the-minute schedule (an Excel worksheet), and making travel plans based on that. Work papers and files are stored on the office file server, and communication is handled via phone and e-mail. To date, it’s been a pretty analog process without a lot of innovation. We’re hoping that Worketc helps us improve, centralize and streamline all our processes, improve collaboration, making information more accessible and in real-time.”

Scaling the Micro-Multinational Model

We asked Robert how he would envisage scaling this model if capital were not a constraint. We heard an answer that we are getting from many micro-multinationals about improving online connectivity. But one part of his answer stood out:

“And we’d have a bigger party every year where everyone comes together in person.”

Yes, the jet plane is the tool that augments all those online tools! This is why networking events are thriving while traditional media wilts before the online wave. People need to make face-to-face contact, to break bread together, to look each other in the eye and laugh together.

Robert told us what concerns him when he looks at scaling the business in a more traditional model:

“I fear the efficiencies of scale might not offset the less tangible effects of what would surely become a less personal and interactive workgroup.”

Stay Close to Your Clients

But in the end, the ability to stay close to clients is a core advantage of this model:

“One of our key distinctions, separating our Lender Analytics group from direct competitors, is our motivation to keep our senior executives within easy reach of all our clients. Maintaining a small, nimble structure may be a key ingredient that cannot be extracted.”

Next Is The Real Time Project

This is the fifth in a series of six articles on micro-multinationals. Next is The Real Time Project.  If you run a micro-multinational and want to tell your tale to the world, send an email to bernard dot lunn at gmail dot com.

From Small Business Trends
Tales of Micro-Multinationals: Bluewater LLC

I was lucky to attend yesterday’s 5th Annual Small Business Day that was put together by smAlbany, a networking group for small business owners living in the Capital District. The whole day was spent chatting with other SMB owners and learning from experts. While I had the chance to sit in on a number of great sessions, one that particularly stuck out was the Tools for Small Business panel. Surprising to me was that  the “tool” being discussed wasn’t Facebook or Twitter or LinkedIn. It was all about getting press coverage from media outlets, specifically newspapers.

Yes, newspapers! I know what you’re saying – newspapers are dying! They’re extinct! But the truth is, they’re not. Getting local press coverage can help you build exposure, establish expertise and allow you to grow your business. Also, all the advice shared for getting local newspaper coverage can easily be tweaked to help you get coverage from online media, as well. So, it’s a win/win!

As a small business owner, how do you get your SMB in the news? Here are some tips from the people who know.

Know your news outlets: Before you pitch a story idea or send an editor an e-mail, do your research. Whether you’re looking to pitch a blog, a newspaper or a mix of the two, you want to be familiar with the outlet you’re going after. You should know the types of stories they cover, what sections you can get your business to appear in and what the audience of that paper responds to. This will show you whether or not you’re a good fit for inclusion and if your audience is even reading this publication. If they’re not, then it’s not going to do you much good to get coverage there.  Doing your research also allows you to bring something to the table when it’s time to pitch.

Understand the mind of a reporter: Many SMBs are afraid to pitch stories to local media. They think that they’ll be bothering someone, that the reporter has another story in mind or that the person on the other end won’t find it useful. If you have something worthwhile to pitch, don’t let fear stop you. Understand that reporters are busy. They’re busy just like you are. That means they can’t be aware of all the news that’s going on. They rely on relevant tips/pitches/scoops to help fill their space. If you know something about your business and you want to see a story about it, pick up the phone or drop an editor an email to let them know. The fact that they’re busy is why you need to pick up the phone, not a reason to avoid it.

Value freshness: Always be on the lookout for ways to insert your business into timely issues. If your local paper ran a story about how to improve your plumbing last month, they probably won’t be running another one this month. So don’t pitch that idea. Look for another angle or a way to tie your company into things that are happening in the region or the news.  The companies that get the most news coverage are the ones that know how to create stories. That means either creating a press opportunity or finding ways to tie your business into current events.  If you’re what’s hot, newspapers will have no choice but to cover you.

Speak their language: Sometimes getting coverage is a matter of speaking the same language as the editor whose eye you’re hoping to catch. This is, again, a reason to familiarize yourself with the outlet as much as you possibly can to get an understanding of what they do and what they like. Know what part of the paper you want to be in, what types of stories they cover and how they’re written. How can you build the best presence?

Find reporters on Facebook and Twitter: This is a super important point that I think many SMBs miss out on. It doesn’t matter if the outlet itself is offline or online, the people who write for it are on the Web interacting in social media. Look for them, follow them, friend them and then start talking to them. Often newspapers, TV outlets and magazines will use their Twitter handle on air/in print/on their Web site. Make note of it and seek them out. If they don’t list it, do a Twitter or Facebook search to find it. Use a site like Listorious to track down Twitter Lists filled with local or niche media outlets. Building relationships with reporters of news outlets you want coverage from makes it easier to pass stories back and forth.

Know when to get in touch: The right time to approach reporters is when you have a story that will benefit their audience. Pick and choose when to make contact to get maximum coverage, as the same outlet can only give you so much coverage. When should you get in touch?

• When you have an idea for an interesting partnership or joint venture
• When you’re hosting or part of a unique event
• When you can tie your business in with current events
• When your business is doing something to help the community

And think ahead. If you know you have an event coming up or want something in Sunday’s printed calendar, get it in at least three weeks before the printed publication. You can’t call a newspaper on Thursday about an event taking place that weekend. You also want to know who you should be contacting. Check the news outlet’s masthead or Web site for the names of the reporters that cover your area or beat.  Don’t e-mail the Editor In Chief when you should really be e-mailing a hungry beat reporter.

As a small business owner, you always want to be on the lookout for ways to make your business relevant and worthy of local press attention. The tips above should help give you a solid foundation on how to reach out, when to do it and what to say when you open that door.

From Small Business Trends
How to Win Media Coverage as an SMB

I just received a bill from my lawyer today in which he itemized his time spent on my file last month. He spent four-tenths of an hour on an e-mail to a colleague and one-tenth of an hour leaving me a voice mail.

I have found billing by the hour to be a liability in trying to build a sellable business. Years ago I owned a small design studio that charged by the hour. We had $750,000 in revenue, of which more than 20 percent was flowing to the bottom line, yet the business was worthless because we were simply four people hawking hours.

Billing by the hour reinforces that your firm is just a collection of people and, therefore, that future profits (what acquirers pay for) are contingent on your sticking around. That’s one of the reasons firms that bill by the hour rarely get acquired, and if they do, their owners are bound to sign on for a torturous three- to five-year earn-out, the equivalent of selling their ownership status in return for a glorified job.

Not only does billing by the hour undermine your ability to be acquired; it has a number of nasty side effects while you’re building your business. Billing by the hour:

• Makes customers hesitate before calling you for advice (Wouldn’t you rather be the go-to person for your clients?);
• Creates a negative cash flow cycle because you have to know how many hours were worked before sending a bill;
• Forces employees to fill out time sheets, making them feel as though they work in a sausage factory (No offense to the sausage workers of the world);
• Leaves your customers feeling “nickel and dimed”;
• Provides a disincentive for your employees to work quickly and efficiently, ultimately peopling your company with a bloated and slow-moving set of clock watchers.

The alternative to billing by the hour is to pick a few things you’re really good at—and that your customers ask for—and to come up with a standard formula and a standard price for delivering them. Don’t think it would work in your business? The practice of law is arguably the most addicted to billing by the hour, yet a Toronto-based lawyer named Jane Harvey has a standard set of services for which she charges a flat rate.

Are you still tied to charging by the hour?

From Small Business Trends
6 Reasons to Stop Charging by the Hour