We start our May Day edition of Good Small Business Reads with two articles from entrepreneur.com. First up is “How to Run a Family Business Without Killing Each Other.” As you all know by now, I’m addicted to watching “Save My Bakery” and I thought of this article last night while viewing an episode in which a father and son seemed at danger of coming to blows. On of the tips in this article that is extremely important is to avoid handshake agreements and instead put things in writing. Getting all the important things down on paper from the outset should help avoid the types of arguments that father and son I watched last night were having about who was in charge.

Another recent article from entrepreneur.com that caught my interest is “4 Ways to Dominate Pitch Competitions.” If you’re looking for start-up funding for a small business, you need to be aware of the increasing popularity of business plan pitch competitions across the country. This article features a list of the types of organizations that hold such competitions. I would add to this list entrepreneurship centers or small business development centers at community colleges. Through my work with the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship, I know that a growing number of community colleges across the nation now host business plan competitions in which you can walk away with anywhere from $1,000 to $25,000 for your new business. Find out if your local community college is among them.

My good friend Pat Sweeney, a veteran HR director, is quoted in “Resume and Interview Red Flags That Can’t Be Ignored,” written by Donna Fusco for glassdoor.com. Besides being leery of a resume riddled with typos, Pat advises that you be alert for people who can’t give solid answers to questions about information in their resume. If someone says they increased sales by 25%, they should be able to explain how they did this, for example. Small business can’t afford to make hiring mistakes, so be alert for the resume and interview red flags discussed in this article.

Speaking of hiring, this month’s infographic is called “Why It Pays to Hire.” Put together by Intuit, the infographic covers trends in new business hiring and the benefits of hiring and trying not to do it all on your own. It’s definitely worth a look.

Hope you all have a wonderful May! Happy reading!