Featured Napkin
Partnerships
Passing Through
If you’re starting a business with someone else (or multiple people), the partnership is the most basic legal structure. They’re easy to start and maintain as long as you lay the right groundwork at the beginning. Unlike some other types of businesses, partners share profits and losses. They also jointly...
Learn moreMore entrepreneurship Napkins...
Business Plan
Best-Laid Plans
A business plan is a document that outlines your vision for your business. It describes your big-picture...
Learn more
Venture Capital
Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained
Venture capital (or “VC” for short) is a type of financing for startup companies. Venture capitalists invest...
Learn more
SBA Loans
Helping Hand
SBA-guaranteed loans (or just “SBA loans”) are business loans backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)....
Learn more
Valuing a Company
What’s it Worth?
A company’s value is the dollar figure that it might sell for if a person or another...
Learn more
Incorporating
Limited Liability
A corporation is one type of formal business structure that entrepreneurs can choose to use when starting...
Learn more
Retirement Savings for Contractors
Squirrel Away
If you’re a contractor, saving for retirement can be much more complicated than it is for employees....
Learn more
Taxes for Contractors
Welcome to the Gig Economy
A contractor, or freelancer, can be anyone who works for clients on a contract basis rather than...
Learn more
Entrepreneurship
Change the World
Entrepreneurship is building a new business from the ground up. It means coming up with an idea...
Learn more
Kylie Jenner
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous
When it comes to money moves, Kylie Jenner knows what’s up. A Forbes profile of the youngest...
Learn more
Break-Even Point
Point Break
A company is at its break-even point when its revenue equals its expenses. It is neither making...
Learn more
IRR
Crunch the Numbers
The internal rate of return, or IRR, is a measure of an investment’s or a project’s profitability....
Learn more
Financial Statements
State of Affairs
Financial statements are reports a company puts together to measure how it’s doing. Companies create their financial...
Learn more
Crowdfunding
Pound the Pavement
Crowdfunding is a way to raise money from many people, thanks to the power of the Internet....
Learn more
Profit and Loss (P&L)
The Bottom Line
A profit and loss statement, or income statement, shows the money a company earned and what it...
Learn more
Overhead
Keep the Lights On
Overhead refers to the expenses a business must pay just to stay open. Also known as “indirect...
Learn more
Business Insurance
Cover Your Bases
A business insurance policy is a contract between an insurance company and a business. In exchange for...
Learn more
Bankruptcy
Lose Your Shirt
Bankruptcy is the legal process for consumers or businesses to get help with their debt. Bankruptcy starts...
Learn more
Fixed vs. Variable Costs
At All Costs
Fixed and variable costs are types of expenses that businesses pay in order to operate.
Learn more
Convertible Note
Take Note
A convertible note is a type of short-term loan for a business. However, instead of being repaid...
Learn more
ROI
Many Happy Returns
Return on investment, or ROI, is a ratio for measuring the profitability of an investment. It puts...
Learn more
Risk vs. Reward
Double Down
All investments come with risk. With financial investments, risk is usually tied to reward. That means investments...
Learn more
Philanthropy
Greater Good
Philanthropy is giving back. It’s paying forward the resources you have—whether your money, or physical goods, or...
Learn more
EBITDA
How You Slice It
EBITDA (pronounced “ee-bit-tah”) stands for “earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.” It’s one measure of a...
Learn more
Profit Margin
Margin of Error
A company’s profit margin measures the portion of its total sales that it gets to keep as...
Learn more
Financing a Start-up
Sink or Swim
If you’re trying to get a start-up off the ground, chances are you’ll need some cash to...
Learn more
Liability
Much Obliged
A liability is something that will require you (or a company) to spend money or resources in...
Learn more
1099 vs. W-2 Employee
Bring Home the Bacon
1099s and W-2s are both types of tax forms. If you’re a contractor, you should receive one...
Learn more
How to Start a Start-up
Go Big or Go Home
Although plenty of start-ups fail, the ones that succeed can do so wildly. Beyond a financial payoff,...
Learn more
Independent Contractor
Free Agent
An independent contractor is someone who is self-employed and works for clients as a nonemployee. Independent contractors...
Learn more
Depreciation
Wear and Tear
Depreciation is a physical asset’s loss of value over time. Just as your once new car is...
Learn more
