The latest news from Washington D.C. talks about a possible government shutdown due to the inability between Democrats and Republicans in Congress to agree on a budget for the fiscal year. A “government shutdown” means that the government will stop providing non-essential services. These may include parks, museums, the IRS information hotline, and passport offices. The shutdown would be only partial, so essential Federal offices such as the FBI and Coastguard will still be operating. [...]

On our blog, we like to highlight different aspects of small business finance and management, such as advertising. On one of our earlier posts, Chrystal mentioned Exciting Ways to Get Customer Attention. From nightime silhouettes to the more traditional sign spinning, there are some innovative and fun advertising tactics out there. However, some business owners like to take a page from politics and have started to use smearing tactics. One of the more outlandish ones? Releasing mice in [...]

In honor of Global Entrepreneurship Week, Merchant Resources International is launching its 1st Annual Business Story Contest. For over six years, MRI has been providing small business owners in the United States with an alternative to the traditional bank loan and the opportunity to receive up to $500,000 in business funds and we have recently extended our services to include merchants in Canada. As Global Entrepreneurship Week continues and entrepreneurs across the globe offer mentoring, [...]

As the saying goes, two heads are better than one.   Small business owners often need to go outside of their businesses for help and advice.  Whether it’s about finances, hiring or even firing, an extra expert opinion can make all the difference. Below are a few places where small business owners can go for advice as well as resources available to small business owners in search of information and guidance. SCORE “SCORE ‘Counselors to America’s [...]