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24 Nov My wife and I have a well-established dry cleaning business. Due to increasing operating costs we are in a real need to raise our prices but are concerned that a lot of people will complain and that potentially we can lose some of our customers. Anything we can do to make this a smoother transition?

Honestly, you may be worrying too much about this. A common problem that small business owners have is that they underestimate their own product and its worth. A reasonable price increase is unlikely to drive away most of your key customers and might even draw...

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24 Nov Self-employed artist needs advice about record keeping. Lately my business has been growing and I find myself in need of having more than a pen and paper record /receipt keeping system. Unfortunately, I am not very familiar with different types of software options. Would you suggest a starting point for me?

There are several options for accounting software that can help you out. QuickBooks is by far the most popular, well-known application for this, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's the best for your needs. How many different reports do you need? Do you have...

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24 Nov I am a self-employed massage therapist. I have been on my own for 2 years now and did well until about 6 months ago when my steady cliental started to vanish. Even the ones who still use my services do so a lot less often. What can I do to build up my client list?

The answer to this might be much simpler than you think. If you're losing customers, it might be time for you to reduce your prices a little. Check your surrounding competition and price yourself just under them, start pushing for volume and repeat business. It...

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24 Nov I am looking for a creative way to deal with a common problem. The owner needs to sell the business. The value of the business depends on the owner’s continued involvement for at least 18 months. The owner is not amenable to employment and the buyer does not want a consulting agreement. Any ideas?

The first thing I'd try is to find out what the specific issues of consulting verses employment of the selling and buying parties were. Talk with each of the parties; find the common ground in the specifics of what they both agree on. I'd then...

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24 Nov I own a landscaping business which has been declining. The majority of my business comes from residential customers and a small portion from commercial contracts. Our prices are competitive, no recent increases, but customers started to decline our services. What can I do to find out the true reason behind it?

For one, talk to your customers. Being in business means building a relationship with your customers, and if they have a problem with your business that you don't know about, ask yourself if you have been listening to them. Talk to the customers that haven't...

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