Even now with businesses beginning to hire again, increasing the number of interns on staff is still a sexy business model because of the low cost and low overhead they bring with them. And while interns may require training that an experienced full-time staffer might not, hiring interns is still very beneficial for businesses (as is hiring a freelancer). Follow these tips to make sure your next intern hire is a great one.

Tip #1: Find an Intern Interested in What You Do

You, as the business owner, are obviously very passionate in what your business does. Make sure the intern you hire is interested in what you do too. If you run a hat store, you want someone with an interest in the fashion industry. Just because another perspective intern has a better resume, they might like sports and not fashion. Choose the intern who will immerse themselves in your business.

Tip #2: Background Education is Important

If you run a marketing or public relations firm, look at interns who are majoring in marketing, public relations, or communications in college. Often, you’ll receive resumes from people with all sorts of education backgrounds and some might be enticing. But someone who has an education in the direct field they are interning in will have an easier and quicker time adjusting to the workload you give them. They’ll also be able to understand your business better.

Tip #3: Set Clear Goals

This is a good tip when managing anyone on your team. Setting clear goals will keep you and your intern focused. Think of setting goals that are time related, results orientated, professional development driven or anything else that fits your business plan. Give them something tangible, like creating a YouTube strategy for your business.

Tip #4: Be Realistic with Your Expectations

Interns bring a lot to the table. They’re often energetic, social media savvy and eager to learn. However, you can’t expect them to be a seasoned professional with years of experience and the knowledge of the business world. With the proper training you can eventually expand an interns responsibilities, but be mindful of choosing the right starting place, as starting slow will ultimately benefit both you and your intern.

Tip #5: Set an End Date

There are several reasons someone would take an internship. Two of the most common are to: 1) Gain experience and 2) Try to get hired full-time by the company they are working for. And even though some companies hire interns after their internship is completed, for a variety of reasons, many do not. Whatever your ultimate intentions may be- set an end date before the internship even starts. This way, it’s clear to both you and your intern that the internship is for a finite period of time. If it continues longer or perhaps becomes full-time, great. But if not, there’s no need to have an awkward conversation when it’s time to part ways.

For more information about internships, visit: http://www.usajobs.gov/studentjobs/

In today’s economic climate, amidst layoffs, downsizing and the general tightening of corporate belts in order to maintain bottom line profit margins, more and more people are choosing to see this as an opportunity to follow their dreams of becoming a small business owner.

Don’t Jump The Entrepreneurial Shark On A Whim

Before quitting your day job there are some important things to consider and take care of long before you even think of launching your own entrepreneurial venture. That said, here are 14 things to think about in advance – some of which seem obvious, but are surprisingly overlooked by new small business owners far & wide.

Narrow Down Your Product/Service Offering

Have you ever heard someone say “Over 90% of small businesses fail?” I hear it all the time. And while I believe numbers and statistics can be easily manipulated to say just about anything, that’s still pretty staggering. Much of that failure can likely be attributed to small businesses having too broad a focus from the start. New small businesses tend to try to generate revenue from virtually any source and, as such, often spread themselves far too thin. Make sure your focus from the start is narrow and specialized to match your skills, goals and business model.  A successful entrepreneur doesn’t shift focus.

Decide On A Company Name

Seems pretty obvious, right? Right. What isn’t so obvious is what goes into creating a brand based on your new company name, or the time that goes into researching a potential company name. Consider these factors when choosing a company name:

• Availability – is any other company anywhere in the United States (or you country of origin) using the same or similar company name? If there is another company using a similar name, but in a completely unrelated industry, you may still want consider it. However, at some point – even if the other company is not in competition with you in any way – there could be some branding issues from an Internet marketing standpoint. It is best to be completely unique whenever possible.
• Market Research – knowing your audience is key. Check out some of the most successful companies you will be in competition with. Is there anything that stands out about them? What are their company names? Do they market using their full company name or a DBA? Corporations spend tons of money researching what will appeal to their target demographic. Whenever you can, take advantage of their investment to gain some insight into the psyche of your market without spending a dime.

Where Will Your Business Be Located?

Again, this seems obvious…but you’d be surprised how many small business owners rent retail, industrial or office space without fully considering what they will need out of the space. You want to make these decisions long before they have the potential to impact your business. Is this a home based business? Do you need a retail location? What is the cost for the space you want to occupy? Will you own, rent, lease to buy?

Will You Have A Staff or Are You On Your Own?

How much of this work are you going to be able to handle on your own from the start? Will you need a full-time staff to meet the demand for your products or services? Will part-time help be sufficient? Who will handle the employment paperwork? Payroll? Recordkeeping? Hiring employees certainly does raise the bar on the level of difficulty for a start up, so great consideration should be given to this issue long before you launch.

Corporate Structure Options

There are a lot of corporate structures that address a variety of business needs. Should you opt for an LLC, a sole-proprietorship, S-corporation, C-corporation? Consult an accountant and/or attorney to help determine which corporate structure will work best for your business.

Establish Your Business Entity

Once you’ve decided on a business name and corporate structure, it’s time to file the paperwork. Can you do it yourself? Sure…but you probably shouldn’t go it completely alone. You could hire an attorney to handle it for you, but that can get a little pricey. There are a variety of companies out there that can help you. The Company Corporation and Legal Zoom are two such companies.

Projecting Sales and Expenses

It’s important to know where you are now and have a plan for moving forward. Estimating your monthly expenses and projecting sales on a cash flow statement is an integral part of the planning for any small business venture. More detailed cash flow statements will be created during the development of the business plan, but having an estimate in mind from the start is important.

Additional things to take into consideration:

• Complete a break-even analysis
• Establish a business-specific bank account
• Business communication system – cell phone, e-mail, VoIP, etc.
• Buy basic necessary equipment – computer, manufacturing, etc.
• Start building a list of potential customers
• Find a graphic/web designer & SEO/Internet Marketing
• Consider your future plans – investor control, your ownership percentage, etc.

Business owner’s insurance policies protect businesses against unanticipated losses such as theft and equipment damage etc and are an inevitable cost of operating a business.

Business owner’s insurance policies are an ideal product for protecting your business from bankruptcy and/or insolvency in case of difficult financial situations. Besides covering conventional losses such as theft and equipment damage etc. most business owner’s insurance policies also provide protection against liability claims from clients and employees in case of injury in your premises (for clients) or at work (for employees). This is, however, not an inherent feature of all business insurance policies and will vary from company to company. In case of business insurance for a home business first damage covered is that to business equipment including laptops, PDAs, desktops, printers, photocopiers, fax machines, cell phones and answering machines etc.

Liability Protection for Home Business Owners

If your business requires liability protection as part of your business owner’s insurance policy it may not be a wise decision to amend your homeowner’s insurance policy. Most companies providing homeowner’s insurance with (partial) protection for your business would not be willing to provide liability insurance. Liability protection is vital for most service providers because they have higher probability of being sued. This is because it is not as easy to determine exact specifications of a service/project as it is for a product. Thus your end product may not be in line with customer needs raising a dispute. Most business insurance companies offer protection for damage to key property along with liability protection in one policy. However, they can also be separated as per your needs. This is because of the varying needs of small, medium and large businesses operating in different markets. Small and medium sized businesses usually prefer business owner’s policy. Businesses facing similar type of risks can also be offered package policies.

Types of Business Owner’s Insurance Policies

There are two types of business owner’s policy i.e. standard and special policies providing comprehensive cover. Business owner’s insurance can also provide property insurance for various properties owned by the company. Business interval insurance or business disturbance insurance providing covers against loss of income because of fire and/or other disasters (such as floods, hurricanes, earthquakes etc.). It also covers additional expenses incurred in (shifting and) operating from a temporary location. As discussed above liability insurance covers the business against liability suits including physical or emotional damage to your clients and/or employers as well as property damage because of faulty products, defective installations and mistakes in service provision.
Business owner’s insurance policy, however, does not cover professional liability, vehicle insurance and employee compensation for health and disability. Thus, separate insurance policies in addition to business owner’s insurance are required to cover professional services, automobiles and employees. Capital, motivation and consistency are required for launching and running a (new) business. Along with higher returns it has greater risks, as you cannot predict the success or failure or your venture. According to a survey one out of every five businesses fail within five years of starting operations. This is because entrepreneurs often ignore the most basic requirements of starting a new business and launch the venture haphazardly.