CanvasWork Inc. » Small business online

A new sign for our building!

admin — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 17:29:03 +0000

We’re hanging our new sign just in time for the Thanksgiving. Our temporary banner came down in a big wind storm a couple of weeks ago which gave us a good reason to put up a great metal sign.

Incorporating

admin — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:46:06 +0000

For a long time Canvaswork has give a lot of thought to incorporating. I’ve found a great blog post that talks about a lot of the issues involved with product liablility….

http://www.twincitiesbusinesslitigation.com/2008/08/articles/small-business/you-cant-sue-me-im-incorporated/

it’s a very informative post and what was really interesting was the issue of disclosure of contractors. We are contractors and we use contractors. What I’m not clear on is how do we dislose? Is there a label we should be sewing into our products? Should it be stated on our invoices or price quotes? I’d be interested in hearing from anyone about there opinion.

Human Networks

admin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:07:53 +0000

Our success here at Canvaswork is dependent on our human network. I just read a great blog post about this at:

http://www.brandcampu.com/2009/09/human-network-personal-brands-are-built-on-relationships/ We are in unique position because 90 % of our relationships were born out of our website and the contacts we created from it. Our network of professional contacts has been our goal and we’ve had to work really hard to maintain those contacts. In the parking and transportation industry people move around alot and we try our best to follow. While we may do buisness with Bob in Davenport Iowa he may well end up in Tennessee. But our relationship continues. It’s strange and a lot more difficult than exchanging business cards.

Small Business online

admin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 01:56:23 +0000

I just got done reading a Dave Fleet blog posting: http://davefleet.com/2008/08/why-your-small-business-needs-to-get-online/ and I can’t agree with him enough. But I’d also like to take it a step further. You really do need to understand web developemnt. We started with a web page at the very beginning. But we left it to other only to find ourselves slipping in search engine rankings over time. Now we blog and are constantly looking for links. We are building our business off line and on line. I don’t mean to say all of it has been easy. It hasn’t. My wife and I are still old enough to have taken typing in highschool. But life long learning and the web go hand in hand. Infact the web is great tool for learning through the lifespan.

Small Business

admin — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:25:48 +0000

I just came across a great list of possible small business start ups that require no up front money.

Small Business Lists – 100 No-Cost Start-ups (Part Two)

by Stefan Töpfer on Jul 16, 2008

http://www.sme-blog.com/small-business/business-start-up/small-business-lists-%e2%80%93-100-no-cost-start-ups-part-two

I like to tell people that when my wife and I started our business it was with a little wedding gift money and and the front porch of a duplex we rented in St. Paul. My mother in law has been making gift baskets for a business that’s going out of business. I’ve been encouraging her to build a website and start up on her own.

Making a Small Business a bit bigger?

admin — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:06:22 +0000

I came across a great blog piece on the SBA and on what services are availble to new and existing business.

http://www.stormdawg.com/2009/08/27/small-business-loans-from-the-sba-and-such/

I’m trying to make Canvaswork a bit bigger. That means a few more employees and a bit more space. We’ve always struggled with how much debt to take on and how best to move forward. In today’s economy is it a smart thing to position a small business for the end of the “great recession?” Anyway, we’re rehabing the barn into bigger workspace.

Choosing the right niche for on line business.

admin — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:36:16 +0000

I just found a fantastic web site tailored to the home based small business. My wife and I are always looking for goog advice on how to start and keep our business going. We are constantly looking to improve how we do business and find like minded entrepreneurs quick 3 step rule on how to start a home based small business. Anyway, this fantastic website and blog piece can be found at:

How to Choose the Right Home Business Opportunity

by: Clinton Douglas IV

http://allhomebasedwork.com/small-business-opportunity/

What I really love about this blog is that you really do feel you are part of a community when go there.