Marketing, Advertisting & Communication in Iowa

I am a single mom to a seven month old. I have been staying home with him but now find that I need to start generating my own money.

I have a degree in Graphic Design just acquired in February last year and am a mural artist as well. I have been toying with the idea of starting a design business and/or mural painting business. I don’t have any money to really do any kind of major startup, besides registering the business, but these seem like ideas that wouldn’t take any major investment.

I have a website for my portfolio which needs some polish, but it’s a start. I still am not sure if I should do the graphic design, mural painting, both, maybe just create a website to maintain that I can somehow get traffic to. I don’t know what would be most lucrative and most efficient in time managment. Any suggestions on how to decide, or getting started are appreciated.

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I am a professional dancer but I would like to get a business degree to help me further my dance career. I need to learn how to manage money, run a studio, promote myself, etc… All the things that artists are known to be bad at. I will eventually be starting my own business. What business degree would be best to help me accomplish my goals?

General business. If you can find a general business with concentration in entrepreneurship that’d work well. A bachelor’s degree in your art followed by an MBA would be even better.

Specific majors like accounting, finance, marketing, etc… are for people that plan to get a job in that specialty working for someone else - they aren’t really being taught to run a business. You’ll benefit much more from a general understanding of all of those functions.

I’ve noticed a trend in MBA programs in the last couple years. There are a lot of us "artsy people" following our artistic bachelor’s degree with an MBA for exactly the reason you state in your question. If you plan that route, get a minor in business in your undergraduate degree.

A friend of mine needs a job. He has been a business owner all his life, but due to the economy being so bad, he sold his business. Now he wants to work for someone, but doesn’t know how to write a resume as a business owner. Is it the same as writing a resume if you worked for a companies?
Would it be negative for the employer to know that you owned a business (for many years)? Would they think he is over-qualified?

It should be achievement-oriented. It should elaborate on specific achievements for which he is responsible while operating his own business. It also should outline some of the skills, both managerial and manual, that he acquired during the course of his work in his business, because they may be transferable.

It should remain within the guidelines of a standard resume in terms of length and information. Certain categories concerning personal information and background would remain the same. He would maybe benefit from using a lot of business references who do not present a threat as rivals.

I think your friend should visit his local human resources office and ask whether any sample resumes are available for reference. I have found one on the Internet, but I think I have seen better sample resumes for individuals who have remained in the same position for a number of years.

http://www.freeresumesamples.org/samples/sales/outsidesales.asp

As well, he might benefit from looking at different links on the web site shown above.

Having owned and operated his own business would not necessarily be a negative factor. I think it is more likely to be a positive influence, because it generally seems to be an indicator that he is well-motivated. How much of an influence it would be could depend on the type of job he is seeking and on the individual personalities involved. Whether he is over-qualified for a job would depend on the position under consideration.

I am planning on purchasing a limousine business and I know that the business has debt. Will I be acquiring the debt as well or is this is something that the current owners will have to deal with before or after selling to me?

Yes, of course you will be. That is part of the value of the business.

Carrying debt can actually have a positive effect as it works as a tax shield (depending on the debt). Also if you are a new business an incapable of getting loans, acquiring existing debt can be a good thing, however, the debtors may have covenants saying that the debt needs to be repaid in the even of a change of ownership.

I think you need to seriously look at how you have valued the company. If you have valued it properly, then the debt is already considered. If you haven’t even valued it, you are likely heading into a world of hurt.

You need access to their financial statements and to value the future sales projections. This can be very complex, and it is likely worth the time and expense of hiring someone to do this.

Or you can start here and be prepared to do a lot of research.

http://www.score.org/article_business_valuation_101.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_valuation

If you start reading about a WACC, then instead use a rate of return that you feel you want to make on the business every year for discounting (like 10%, 12% etc.) make sure it is reasonable, as it basically stands for the amount you could have otherwise invested the money for.

Or you can just gut feel it, and go for it, but I highly advise against it.

I need help. I am a senior in high school and I am going to attend college this fall. I need help deciding my major. I know I want to go into business. I’m stuck between marketing, finance and accounting. I have always imagined working in a large sky scarper building, dressed in business attire, traveling, speaking at meeting and possibly traveling. Help me please. Give me details on each.

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I am a business owner in the united states. A dear friend of mine, whom I feel would be a great asset (in the arts) to my business is a Mexican citizen. I know that businesses can often "sponsor" temporary or permanent immigration. After researching online I see that it is a very complicated process. How much does this usually cost and how do I go about starting? Or is it even possible? Thanks in advance!

Everything you need to know about how to petition for a foreign worker can be found on the following websites. Please read these websites very carefully before you apply.

Overview of the Immigration forms:
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

Temporary Workers:
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=a7cc6138f898d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=48819c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

Petition Form
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=f56e4154d7b3d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

Employment based immigration (Permanent):
Overview:
http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1323.html#labor

Petition Form:
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=4a5a4154d7b3d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

If a small business hires either independent contractors or another business to perform work for them, what steps should that business take to make sure that the completed product is legally owned by the business and not the entities or individual employed to create that product? Pointing me to resources on this topic would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

You definitely need an intellectual property agreement before the work commences. My understanding is that, in the absence of this, the contractor would own the rights to the work regardless of your payment for the work.

Whether or not that is true, it makes sense to have one to remove all doubt. Search using terms like "contract programmer intellectual property agreement" (even if the work/product you are talking about is not computer code, because this industry uses them a lot).

I’m going on a business trip to Makati and received several pages of information from my boss. It includes information about business culture. I thought it was unusual though because it said that eye contact was inappropriate because it can be seen as confrontational. Also, it said that "no" is a very very negative word and sometimes "yes" or "maybe" can be used as "no". Are these true? I don’t want to offend.

I am a Filipino American and have lived in both places. Just expect for business dealings and/or negotiations here to take much more time so patience is the key!!! I have never found eye contact to be negative as long as it is not "mataray" or a sharp stare, otherwise you are fine. "Typical" Filipinos are very non-confrontational, therefore, they are not very direct and do not say exactly what they mean or in some cases, mean what they say. Just try to be courteous and hope for the same attitude to be reciprocated. Good luck…

I was thinking about starting up a family business. My husband likes gaming and computers. I like everything else. I was wondering if we start a big business can we have may different business in it? Like a store or something called.. A Little of This and That.

Why not but you will have to arrange alot of capital by applying for loans and make sure that your repayments are easy because in the start you will have to spend a lot and returns will take time to come.

Big family businesses have had successful stories right from the beginning of industrial age. I wish you guys all the best from the bottom of my heart.

Have a Profitable life,

Regards,
~~Susan Janes.~~

I need a business cards for my organization. Can any one suggest a company that is in business card creation?

Ok you too are looking for the same for what I was looking
I was very much woried for that .At last I found a company provider for the same .

I got good response from them .Even Services are good .
Just have a look on Resource.

Thanks
Julia