The Limited Liability Company or LLC is quickly becoming the preferred business structure of choice for those looking to start a business.  For good reason too – LLC’s are simple to setup, cheap to start and offer great benefits.

You have the dream.  Now it's time to make that dream a reality.  According to an article by Forbes, when starting a business, only 50% survive their first five years, with a third making it to the ten year mark.  With odds like that it’s best to understand all of the options and benefits available to you, so let's take a look at what they are!  

Technology keeps us plugged in 24-7.  With smartphones, tablets and computers, people are able to work from virtually anywhere.  Being so connected makes it incredibly difficult to “leave” the office, especially for a business owner.  Time is an entrepreneurs best friend, but is too much of it spent working?  The answer is most likely yes, so here are five steps to help you reclaim some of that time for yourself!

You need to add certainty to your business over the coming months.  The National Federation of Independent Businesses released a report citing a drop in small business optimism  during the month of January.  So what are your plans for business expansion?  How much control do you have over your business this year?  Let’s discuss the state of small business this month and the 6 steps you can take to help keep your business above water and ahead of the competition.

The sharing economy – companies that facilitate consumers getting paid for sharing their cars, rooms and other stuff – has seen very rapid growth. 

Now, however, the concept is experiencing growing pains as regulators and small businesses say there are negative impacts from these services that outweigh the positive impacts. But is there any truth to this?

With a new year comes big goals and accomplishments just waiting to be tackled.  Over the years you have probably found that reaching those goals is easier said than done.  Thankfully, there are tons of resources that can help make this year’s goals tangible and achievable.

Melinda Emerson is one such resource.  It is no mistake that she’s called the SmallBizLady.  In fact, she recently took the time to write a great article for the Huffington Post about developing your small business goals.

Here at BizX we are fans of what she offers and think that valuable information can be learned by listening to what successful people like her have to say.  So this month, our person to watch is Melinda Emerson.  If you need a bit more convincing check out her resume below!