An Introduction...

Hello readers,

My very first post on Zak's corner and I'm Über excited! A little bit about myself. I’m a co-founder of a gifts & novelties e-boutique called Finest Expressions. I started this small business venture in September, 2007 and I've worked with my partner into making it what it is today. I thoroughly enjoy having my own small business and spend every day, striving to make it even more successful.

There is a myth that running your business means only perks such as being your own boss, sometimes working out of your home office, telling people what to do, etc. I still have people ask me if I change out of my pyjamas when I’m working from home! It does have perks; there is no denying that fact. However, running your own business is not easy. Research a little and you will learn that everyone can’t do it successfully. About 96 percent of small businesses (1–99 employees) that enter the marketplace survive for one full year, 85 percent survive for three years and 70 percent survive for five years. There are lots of factors that have to come together to run a successful small business. For example, your personality, type of business, skill sets, your vision, resources available etc.

When you start your research before opening your small business or at any point during your business life cycle, it could become overwhelming. It took me sometime but over the years I learned to effectively research and narrow in on a few good resources for my small business. My experience has taught me where to look for guidance and how to apply it to my business.

After five years of running my own successful online boutique, I felt that it was time for me to give back to the small business community. To share with you what I have learned and hopefully it will help you make informed decisions for your small business. The objective of this blog is to assist you, an aspiring small business owner, freelancer, artist into making business decisions that work for you. Even if you are an existing small business owner, I hope the blog will help with your everyday queries.

I don’t have an MBA or any extensive formal business training. What I’ve learned is through my experience running my own business. I’m not an expert. I have made mistakes and probably will continue to make new ones. But I try to learn from them as best as I can. My intentions are to give you practical and useful advice that will help you.

I will post a weekly round-up of resourceful articles and blog posts. So you will find an interesting mix of information to work with all in one place. I will cover various topics for your small business including administrative, marketing, sales and human resource management.  From how-to blog posts to tutorials, I hope to give you a motivating blend of reading that you will enjoy while gaining practical business knowledge.

So let’s enter the exciting world of small business and entrepreneurship!