As many of you know, every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter chat #SmallBizChat. Over the year, our chats with a variety of professionals who share their insight and experience generate a lot of great discussion. Each of those chats creates abundant value for my readers, so I encourage you to dig in to the smallbizchat category on the blog and discover the gems you find most relevant. This year, so many of these interviews stood out to me — there were really too many to list — but we whittled it down to seven that are fascinating reads to share with you as we reflect on 2014.
- As small business owners, we need to know how to successfully close sales. Generating sales is Jeffrey Gitomer’s specialty, and in this chat he shares key pointers to help you attract sales. He outlines the habits and actions necessary to make sales, including how you can create consistency in your daily business habits. Make Jeffrey’s insightful analysis of the steps you need to take to make sales second nature a must-read for your list.
- Personal finance expert, bestselling author, TV personality, and sought-after speaker Farnoosh Torabi discusses the challenges faced by couples when the female makes more money. In this honest dialogue, Farnoosh highlights some of the cultural biases that challenge women and offers suggestions on how couples can counteract those issues. She also provides detailed advice for entrepreneurs facing an inconsistent income stream.
- Another great chat from 2014 was with bestselling author, Robert T. Kiyosaki. You might know him better as the author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad. In this timely chat, we discussed how to build wealth through your business. Robert also shared incredible insights, including one compelling piece of advice that will change the way you think about planning for retirement forever.
- Adeel Ahmad knows retail from top to bottom, and he shares with us some profound insights regarding the changing face of retail in this #SmallBizChat. In addition to sharing numerous tips on how to survive in modern retail, Adeel describes the attitude that online sellers must adopt in order to succeed in the constantly evolving market that is modern retail. There is so much important information in this chat that you’ll have to read about it to glean it all!
- Building a thriving small business is easier said than done, but Mike Michalowicz has done it more than once. In fact, he has developed a sure-fire process for ensuring small business success. In this chat, Mike shares with you why you should put profit first in your small business. Mike is fearless, and he tears down the old model of Sales – Expenses = Profit to illustrate a new model that prioritizes profit from day one.
- In this chat, Jill Konrath details the steps needed to prepare your small business for salespeople. Jill Konrath knows sales and she challenges us to throw out the old concept of salespeople as hucksters and embrace the notion of agile selling. Sales are vitally important, and Jill shares why entrepreneurs need to understand how sales work before they hire someone to help them sell. She also reveals several new ways that small business owners can develop new learning skills.
- Steve Strauss is not only the Senior Small Business Columnist for USA TODAY, but in 2014 he also celebrated his 20th year being in business for himself. In this chat, he shares his expertise in how to survive as a small business for five years or more. Steve discusses many things, including the mistake that he sees small businesses make too often, as well as tips on marketing and what it takes to stay in business. He also shares his favorite free resource for small business owners.
In order to succeed as your own boss, you need to cultivate lifelong learning. #SmallBizChat is a great resource for those of you building your business and for those who are making the leap to become their own boss. 2015 promises to bring more wisdom and knowledge in our weekly #SmallBizChat sessions; join us every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9 pm ET.
| To celebrate the launch of my new book, I’m running a promotion where you can grab some awesome free extras when you purchase the book, Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, 2nd Edition. The offer expires on January 10, 2015, so click here to order now. |
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