The quicker you invoice, the quicker your chances of getting paid. And shortening your cash flow conversion period is one of the quickest and easiest things a business can do to improve its cash flow.

Traditionally businesses bill at the end of each month, sending all their invoices out in one batch. But that means that if you do a job on the 2nd or 3rd of a month, you're adding almost a whole month to the time that you're waiting for your money!

So don't wait to invoice; change your billing practices so that you invoice immediately after the work is completed.

And to make your billing process even faster, don't send invoices out in the mail if you don't have to. Leave your invoice with the client when the job is completed or email your invoice if possible.

Related Articles:

• How to Invoice - What an invoice has to have on it and an invoice sample that you can use as a template if you like.

• Close the Cash Flow Gap - How to improve your cash flow by shortening your cash flow conversion period.

• 5 Quick Ways to Improve Your Cash Flow - Four more ways to get and keep your cash flow moving.

Photo (c) Robert Gaal

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Lisa Barone reports that a Citibank and Gfk Roper study found that 76 percent of small business owners don't find social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn helpful in generating leads and business (Can SMB Owners Make Social Media Useful?, Small Business Trends).

Lisa's take on this is that it's not that social media isn't or can't be useful; it's just that it takes so much time. The solution? Time management. You need to know why you're using social media and plan in advance where and how you're going to engage.

Lisa's post is full of tips for focusing your time and energy. Planning and scheduling are key, she says, and there are many tools that can help you avoid overload and stay organized such as "Tweetdeck, HootSuite or Seesmic to help you manage conversation and schedule tweets ahead of time" and "Google Alerts via either email or RSS to keep track of social media mentions."

What I found really useful is her point about establishing a "strong listening station" to combat what I've found to be the biggest problem using social media: immediacy. How do you keep up with real-time conversations when you're a person who isn't glued to the Web all day and can't handle constant interruptions? Lisa Barone explains how she does it in How To Find Conversations By Tracking Brand Mentions (Outspoken Media), an article I found really useful.

Now it's your turn. What's your biggest problem using social media? Vote in the poll at right. (And if you don't have any problems using social media to generate business for your business, you can let us know that too in the comments below.)

More on Using Social Media for Business

• 5 Specific Business Goals for Using Social Media
• How to Promote Your Business on Twitter
• How to Twitter: A Get Started Guide

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Christmas season is a time of traditions and as it's also the biggest spending season of the year, you'll want your small business to participate as fully as possible. Christmas display windows, Christmas cards and Christmas parties are three Christmas traditions that most businesses take part in and I've written an article on each that will make participating easier for you:

• Company Christmas Party Ideas - How to make your company Christmas party an event that staff want to attend.

• Business Christmas Card Dos and Don'ts - Including what kinds of cards to send and how to properly address business Christmas cards.

• Create Your Own Christmas Window Display - Five Christmas window display tips.

Image (c) Kim Furey

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To answer this question, I think you have to ask yourself another question; what kind of business do you want to run?

Different types of businesses have different operational requirements. For instance, if you start a retail store, you will have to keep the store open and staffed during regular shopping hours. Specific types of businesses have their own specialized demands. If you open a bakery, you or someone you hire is going to have to get up each morning at 4 a.m. to get the day's baking under way.

You also need to consider how much work you want to go through to start a business. Starting a business from scratch can be immensely satisfying - but there's no question that starting a turnkey operation is easier.

So what kind of business should you start? Which type of business will best suit your personality, abilities and lifestyle? Find out by working through the five decisions in What Type of Business Should You Start?

More starting a business advice

• The Two Paths to Starting a Business
• 5 Resources You Need to Succeed
• Traits You Need to Move From Being an Employee to Being-Self-Employed

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The Secret Language of Money is a light, easy read with some good advice if you can stomach the pop psychology approach. What David Krueger and John David Mann have done really well is make the very serious work of learning how to make better financial decisions entertaining.... Read more...

Like book reviews? Here's another: The Canadian Small Business Owner's Guide to Financial Independence.

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Small Business Internship Program is intended "to improve the competitiveness of SMEs by supporting businesses to actively market on-line and improve their competitiveness with e-business practices and technologies" - which means that your business could get financial support towards the employment of post-secondary students who will work on e-business projects.

The Government of Canada will reimburse 75% of the eligible wages and related expenses such as statutory employee benefits, up to a total of $10,000.

Besides meeting the general objectives of the program, your business must provide the student intern meaningful work experience for 12 weeks and the internship must run between May 1, 2009 and March 31, 2010.

Follow the link to learn more details and apply; the deadline for applications is December 21, 2009.

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Are home businesses going to be banned in Toronto?

Kristin W. says in the Small Business Canada Forum that the City of Toronto's new zoning by-law project is proposing that no business be allowed to operate out of a home "as of right" which means that someone could apply for a variance to have a home business, but then there would have to be a community consultation to see if the neighbours would allow it.

"And really why would they?" Kristin says. "The city still hasn't addressed the problem of noise/parking, etc. So why would the neighbours want it set in writing that a person could operate a business. Maybe the business is not a problem at the time of application but how are they to know it wouldn't grow?"

I think Kristin raises a good point and is right to be worried, because I think a lot of people would just be too worried about potential future problems with a home business in their neighbourhood to green light one if they were asked, no matter how innocuous and unobtrusive that business might be at the time.

But what do you think? Do you agree with Kristin that "people should have a right to operate a home business and the odd trouble maker who is disturbing the peace should be dealt with by targeting the specific problem behaviour not by passing sweeping by-laws?"

Or do you feel that people have the right to live in purely residential neighbourhoods or at least to have some say about whether or not a business should be allowed to operate where they live?

More on Operating a Home Business

• Before You Start a Home-Based Business - factors you need to consider before you turn your home into a business, including the suitability of your neighbourhood and house, and how well your family and personality suit a home-based business.
• Home Business Insurance - because your basic home insurance won't cover it.
• 6 Home Based Business Tax Deductions You Don't Want to Miss - special benefits that only apply to home businesses.

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Talking to my fitness trainer the other day reminded me of niche markets and how they're central to so many small business's success.

She is a multiple business owner currently who runs a successful restaurant and cofee shop in addition to her work as a fitness instructor and we were chatting about how she got started. Turns out her first small business involved measuring hot tubs and supplying hot tub covers - because no one else locally would come out to people's houses and do that.

And that's the key to finding a niche market that will provide the basis of a successful small business for you - finding and filling an unmet need.

How to Find and Master a Niche Market gives more details on how to do this. If you're looking for a small business idea, have a read; there may be a niche market nearby that you can supply.

More on Niche Marketing

• What Is a Niche Market?
• Defining Your Niche Market (About Marketing)
• Niche Marketing vs. Mass Marketing (About Marketing)

Image (c) Vic Brincat

And when you're ready, use The Steps to Starting a Business to guide your start up process.

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A new breed of leader has emerged, says John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing in 7 Traits of the Modern Leader.

Now this modern leader John describes is not an entirely new animal. He or she still exemplifies the leadership traits I explain as The 5 Keys to Leadership for Small Business. For instance, John's modern leader still has a vision (he or she is trying to guide people on a journey worth taking) and still has to lead by example. (The most attractive form of leadership, John says, involves no words.)

However, the leader John talks about also has some traits I didn't mention. "An authentic trust in oneself" is a leadership trait I just assumed is implicit in leadership - although perhaps I shouldn't have. A person could lead people very well for the wrong reasons or even lead them to act in dangerous, destructive ways. (Jim Jones persuading his followers to kill themselves comes to mind.)

Three other traits of the modern leader that John mentions that I don't are:

• Embracing change;
• acting congruent; and
• practicing abundance.

What do you think? Are these necessary leadership traits?

More on Leadership

• Leadership Definition
• 7 Secrets of Leadership Success
• More Articles on Leadership

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There are lots of different paths to starting a small business. For some people, starting a small business is a logical choice after a university degree in business while others choose starting a small business after losing jobs. Still others leave jobs to start their own businesses because they've spotted a small business idea that "just can't miss".

Share your starting a small business story here.

I'm sure all of us can learn from it, whether we're at the stage of thinking of starting a small business of our own or already running one. And there's a place on the form where you can tell everyone about your business (a little free advertising).

Update: Stories are starting to come in! You can read starting a small business stories here.

A big thank you to those of you that have contributed already and please keep the stories coming!

More Places to Have Your Say & Share

Here are some more topics where you can share your tips and advice with other small business people:

• What Are the Most Common Business Startup Mistakes People Make?
• What Are Your Tips for Going Green in the Office?
• What Are Your Time Management Tips?
• What Are Your Inexpensive and Free Marketing Ideas?

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