Small businesses are different from larger ones if for no other reasons than they have less money to spend and smaller staffs to help them get the job done. The whole point of marketing is to build relationships with your customers and potential customers. Moreover, even though a small business does not have the budget or staff for large-scale marketing plans, you do have contact with your customers every day. With only 24 hours in the day and a business to run, you may want to hire an ad agency or enlist the help of a marketing consultant.

Yes, Bill Gates is still the richest man on the planet, according to the latest ranking by Forbes Magazine, with a net worth of $58.7 billion, but investing guru Warren Buffett, aka "The Oracle of Omaha," slipped past Microsoft's co-founder for second place. Microsoft's Paul Allen moved behind Mr.

At its May Board meeting, the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board) resolved to create a joint task force with representatives of the International CFP Council to develop a proposal for transforming the existing structures of both organizations for the benefit of the global community of CFPTM certificants.

When Timothy P. Anglim, CPA, CMA, founder of the Fraud Detectives, accepted an assignment as CFO for a struggling family-owned manufacturer in the early 90's, he expected to find a company that was in need of financial and operational discipline, given its known recent track record of operating deficits. And initially, the assignment focused on upgrading manual financial systems and consolidating several operating entities into one, to improve reporting visibility. Cash flow was negative.

Business-interruption insurance can protect you from fires, floods, and other disasters, but are you covered for the loss of your Internet connection? With ISP's shutting their doors around the country, you need to have a back-up plan in place in case your ISP pulls the plug.There are a few insurers that do provide coverage for temporary disruptions in service, but it appears there are no insurers that provide loss coverage when an ISP shuts the doors for good.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and Microsoft Great Plains are co-sponsoring an online seminar on effective strategies for small companies to do business on the Internet and profit from the global expansion of e-commerce.Representatives from Compaq Computer Corporation, a leading manufacturer of hardware and software, also will be on hand to provide expert advice in this area.The free, 60-minute online conference "How to Put the Internet to Work in Your Business" has been labeled a "Webinar" (short for Web seminar) by its organizers.

There are a number of skills and personal characteristics that top accounting services marketing associates share in common. In today's competitive marketplace, you need to do all you can to differentiate yourself in terms of winning new clients. Each question in the following quiz is based on the results of a study of 100 top-producing marketing reps that was conducted during the writing of Building a Profitable Online Accounting Practice by The Accounting Guild in Las Vegas, NV. Answer each question yes or no to determine how well you stand out compared to the competition.

The subject of privacy is receiving considerable public attention today. New federal laws have been passed to help you understand how banks, credit card companies and other financial service providers use and protect your information.

Golf isn't just a sport, it's a good career building activity, according to a recent survey of CFOs conducted by Robert Half International Management Resources.Survey responses came from 1,400 CFOs from a stratified random sample of U.S. companies with more than 20 employees.