Most small business owners have limited budgets, so it can take a little extra time and some creativity to make the most of the resources you have available. Add a slow market or a personal crisis to the mix, and getting a handle on your small business finances can seem impossible.

But it is possible, through consistent networking, smart marketing and precise cost-cutting. Gather up your determination, creativity and never-say-quit attitude, and browse these six small business hard time strategies to help get you over the financial slump and onto a bright future.

Photo (c) linusb4

Not everyone has the time, energy, ability or desire to maintain their lawns, gardens and land surrounding their homes. This is why lawn care and maintenance can be a very lucrative small business idea. If you have a green thumb and a desire to get your hands dirty (or a team of potential employees at the ready), a lawn service may be the perfect small business idea for you.

Many landscaping businesses provide services beyond general lawn care, including landscape design/architecture, fencing and walkway installation, weeding and pest control. But you don't have to be a landscape designer to start a lawn care business, and there are a lot of reasons a lawn care business may be a good one to start:

• You can customize your service offerings to focus on what you enjoy doing.
• You can get a great workout.
• You can do as much or as little work as you want, basically whenever you want.
• You can take advantage of word-of-mouth referrals from happy customers.
• You can develop loyal customer relationships that result in ongoing scheduled work.

Some of the potential challenges of a lawn care business include:

• An initial investment in equipment that can be substantial.
• There may be periods of work slow-down if you live in a seasonal climate with a lot of rain and/or snow.
• The physical toll from hands-on work can be significant if you do everything yourself.
• You may have to pound the pavement to drum up business in the beginning.
• It can be difficult to find your perfect rate and avoid over- or under-charging.

If you enjoy yard work, then starting a lawn care business is a great example of turning a hobby into a small business that you can approach with passion. For more about starting a lawn care business:

• Starting a Landscape Business
• PLANET (Professional Landcare Network)
• American Nursery and Landscape Association

Photo (c) straymuse

Business Across Borders, a free event series provided by Inc. and DHL, kicked off this week in New York City. The event focuses on giving budding international businesses a chance to rub elbows with leaders from a number of America-based international companies and learn some of their secrets for success.

The event series continues through mid-August and will hit Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, Houston and Los Angeles. Each stop of the event includes one night of interactive events, panel discussions, extended question and answer sessions, and targeted networking. Some of the topics covered include:

• Best practices to make and save your company money overseas
• Surprising legal and logistical solutions you must know to survive abroad
• Relics you can jettison, the tools and technologies you must adopt
• The next big opportunities in international business

Participation is free, but registration is required.

For more on international business, visit DHL's Business Across Borders article library, designed to help you grow your business on a global scale.

Summer may be the perfect time to start a small business as a private tutor. This is a great business idea for teachers or anyone with teaching experience and exceptional knowledge in a specific area. Successful tutors also have a passion for helping others.

While many private tutors are successful on a part-time basis, supplementing their regular income, private tutoring can also make a great small business. Here are some of the reasons that tutoring may be the business for you:

• There will always be students who can benefit from individual help.
• Start-up costs are minimal.
• You can teach anything as a tutor, from math, to exam prep, to piano.
• You can build upon relationships you already have in your community.
• Word of mouth can help you grow your business at a fast pace.

Potential challenges can be increased liability if you conduct tutoring sessions in your home, and having enough business to carry you through school breaks.

More information on starting a private tutoring business:

• How to Start Tutoring From Home
• Implementing Your Tutoring Business Plan
• National Tutoring Association
• Tutor Match

Photo (c) iprole

If you're contemplating starting a business, it's completely normal to feel overwhelmed at some point in the process. I know I was when I started my business. In fact, I still am when I approach other new businesses! There's just so much to do and think about when you start a small business.

To help remove some of the anxiety and guesswork, I compiled a list of nine areas you should consider when you are ready to start your own business. A few of the critical areas include:

• Business Name - Your business name will follow you wherever you go for the life of your business. Make it a good one!
• Research - What are you selling? Who are you selling it to? Will people even want what you're selling?
• Planning - Yes, that means a business plan (in most cases), or at least a written outline of what you plan to do and how you will do it.
• Finances/Investment - You don't necessarily need a huge initial investment, but you need to think through the financial impact of starting your own business.

There are a lot of moving parts in the business startup process, certainly more than nine. But the nine I list are those I consider the most critical when you start your own business.

Read about the nine areas of small business startup that I recommend. Then come back and leave a comment here about what area (either one listed or a new one) you think is most important and why.

Photo (c) arkitekt

A focus group is when members of a target market are brought together to experience something and share their feedback with a moderator.

Focus groups are a powerful method for conducting market research, but many times they're considered "big" business activities. This is a misconception. Small businesses can get just as much value out of a focus group as any of the big guys.

But how do you know if a focus group is right for your business? Some signs may be that you're entering a new market, struggling with collecting meaningful data from other research activities, or you want to get a peek at your target market's motivation.

To get started exploring if a focus group is the right market research activity for your business, learn the basics about focus groups, and explore the benefits and the disadvantages of conducting one.

Photo (c) just4you

Some of the most successful small business owners I know started their businesses out of a hobby. It makes sense when you think about it because our hobbies typically revolve around things we're passionate about, and you need that passion in order to develop a successful business.

Even if you don't have a hobby per se, you can get inspired to start a business from things you enjoy doing, things you're really good at, and things that just interest you. The problem is, it can be hard to see the business potential in an everyday activity. It can be helpful to have a brainstorming partner, throwing you ideas and giving you a chance to grab what interests you for further exploration.

That's my goal with a new series I'll be starting next week on small business ideas. Each week, I'll focus on a different small business interest and share some resources related to the idea that may inspire you to explore a new area. And who knows, maybe one of these small ideas will get you thinking big.

Photo © dhester

If product inventory is something new for your business or if you're in the process of reviewing your inventory setup, consider joining in on Inventory Tracking with Stacy Kildal and QuickBooks Online this Thursday, July 15 at 1:00 pm ET.

The session will cover how to use QuickBooks Online to:

• Set up an inventory
• Purchase an inventory
• Adjust on-hand quantities

The free live online session is hosted by the Intuit Community, a resource for small business owners provided by Intuit, the maker of QuickBooks accounting software. Participation requires free registration on the website.

If you can't make this session, check out the previously recorded small business events available!

Unless you have done it before, incorporating a small business can be an exhausting and overwhelming process. Where to start? What to do next? Where can you find relevant resources?

The article, "How to Incorporate Your Small Business in 7 Steps," helps to make the process manageable by breaking it down into individual steps. It walks you through the major phases of incorporating your small business from choosing your business name, to naming your directors, to filing the paperwork.

If you're just beginning the process of forming a corporation, I'd love to hear if the steps to incorporate outlined in the article are helpful to you. What other information would be useful as you explore incorporating your business?

Photo © forwardcom

Do you have a veteran-owned or service-disabled veteran-owned small business (VOSB/SDVOSBs)? If so, you definitely won't want to miss the 6th Annual National Veteran Small Business Conference and Expo, taking place July 19-22 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

The conference is the largest of its kind, bringing together over 3,200 attendees. The schedule includes a number of educational sessions on federal contracting for small businesses, plus one-on-one matchmaking meetings with government officials in a variety of industries.

You still have time to register! Visit the conference website for more information.