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You are here: Home / Archives for Women in Business

What the 2026 Midterm Elections Mean for Small Business Owners

October 26, 2026 By Melinda Emerson Leave a Comment

Running a small business requires making decisions about money, employees, customers, and growth. Government policy is another factor that belongs in that decision-making process. Tax legislation, healthcare requirements, trade policy, and access to financing can all affect a company’s operating expenses and long-term plans. On Nov. 3, Americans will vote in the midterm elections. All […]

Filed Under: Branding & Marketing, Business Inspiration, Featured Post, Fix Your Business, Grow Your Business, Leadership, Sales, Solopreneurs, Starting A Small Business, Women in Business, Your Small Business Tagged With: decision making, government policy, healthcare, labor laws, small business financing, tax legislation, trade policy, voting

How to Develop a Spotify Ad Campaign

October 19, 2026 By Melinda Emerson Leave a Comment

If you are looking for another way to reach potential customers beyond Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Google, it might be time to listen up, literally. Spotify reaches 750+ million monthly active users worldwide, including 300 million Premium subscribers. That means a Spotify campaign potentially gives small businesses access to an enormous global listening audience. Spotify […]

Filed Under: Branding & Marketing, Featured Post, Fix Your Business, Grow Your Business, Sales, Social Media, Starting A Small Business, Women in Business, Your Small Business Tagged With: audio copy, Optimization, sales funnel, social media marketing, spotify ads manager, spotify campaign

10 Fixes to Get Sales Moving on Your Website

October 12, 2026 By Melinda Emerson Leave a Comment

You’ve invested in a website. You’ve got a logo, great photos, an About page, and maybe even a few testimonials. You post on social media and send people to your site. But there’s one problem: nobody is buying, or at least not enough people are buying. Here’s the issue. Traffic does not automatically turn into […]

Filed Under: 10 Things Lists, Branding & Marketing, Customer Service, Featured Post, Fix Your Business, Grow Your Business, Sales, Starting A Small Business, Women in Business, Your Small Business Tagged With: boost sales, building a website, call to action, drive traffic, lead capture, sales tools, Value Proposition, website sales, website traffic

Launch Your Holiday Sales NOW! 10 Ways Small Businesses Can Win the Holiday Shopping Season

October 5, 2026 By Melinda Emerson Leave a Comment

If you’re waiting until November to start thinking about holiday sales, you’re already late. The holiday shopping season doesn’t begin when the turkey hits the table. Customers start researching gifts, comparing prices, making wish lists, and watching for deals well before Black Friday. For small business owners, that means October is not “too early.” They […]

Filed Under: 10 Things Lists, Branding & Marketing, Featured Post, Grow Your Business, Leadership, Sales, Starting A Small Business, Women in Business, Your Small Business Tagged With: Black Friday, gift guide, holiday sales, holiday sales goals, shopping season, VIP customers

How to Handle Difficult Customers Without Losing Your Reputation or Your Mind

September 28, 2026 By Melinda Emerson Leave a Comment

Every entrepreneur eventually encounters a difficult customer. Whether it’s someone who demands the impossible, complains about every detail, has unrealistic expectations, or all that stuff, and pays late. Dealing with challenging customers is simply part of doing business. The good news is that difficult customers don’t have to become difficult situations. The key is learning […]

Filed Under: Customer Service, Featured Post, Fix Your Business, Grow Your Business, Leadership, Sales, Starting A Small Business, Women in Business, Your Small Business Tagged With: conflict, conflict resolution, customer relationships, Customer Service, difficult customers, documentation, healthy business boundaries, team training

AI, Sourcing, and Social Commerce: 8 Small Business Lessons from Alibaba.com CoCreate 2026

September 22, 2026 By Melinda Emerson Leave a Comment

By: Leyanis Diaz, SmallBizLady Team Disclosure: I attended Alibaba.com CoCreate 2026 as part of a hosted press trip. All opinions and takeaways shared here are my own. Artificial intelligence is no longer something small business owners can afford to watch from the sidelines. That was one of my biggest takeaways from attending Alibaba.com’s CoCreate 2026 […]

Filed Under: AI for business, Branding & Marketing, Cash Flow & Finance, Featured Post, Grow Your Business, Leadership, Sales, Social Media, Starting A Small Business, Technology, Women in Business, Your Small Business Tagged With: AI, Alibaba, cash flow, CoCreate 2026, execution, growth strategy, social commerce, sourcing

How Do I Grow a Business Someone Else Built?

September 21, 2026 By Melinda Emerson Leave a Comment

Buying an existing service business can be one of the fastest paths to entrepreneurship. Instead of starting from scratch, you inherit customers, revenue, employees, systems, and a proven market position. Whether you purchased an accounting firm, marketing agency, consulting practice, insurance agency, HVAC company, cleaning service, home health business, or an existing franchise, you have […]

Filed Under: Branding & Marketing, Customer Service, Featured Post, Grow Your Business, Leadership, Sales, Starting A Small Business, Teams, Women in Business, Your Small Business Tagged With: acquired service business, building trust, business growth, business systems, buy a business, customer relationships, First-Year CEO

Is Your Business Ready to Become an AI-Enabled Workplace?

September 14, 2026 By Melinda Emerson Leave a Comment

Artificial intelligence isn’t replacing your employees; it’s redefining how successful organizations work. For decades, organizations have adapted to waves of technological change. We moved from paper files to personal computers. We embraced email, cloud computing, mobile devices, and remote work. Each shift transformed how work got done, and organizations that adapted gained a competitive advantage. […]

Filed Under: AI for business, Branding & Marketing, Featured Post, Grow Your Business, Leadership, Starting A Small Business, Teams, Technology, Women in Business, Your Small Business Tagged With: ai-enabled processes, ai-enabled workplace, human advantage, integration of ai, leadership, workplace dynamics

The AI-Enabled Workplace: 7 Signs Your Business May Be Falling Behind

August 31, 2026 By Melinda Emerson Leave a Comment

AI is quickly becoming an everyday business tool that is transforming how we all communicate, make decisions, serve customers, and improve productivity. The question is no longer whether AI will change the workplace. The real question is whether your small business is keeping pace. Many business owners believe adopting AI simply means purchasing a subscription […]

Filed Under: AI for business, Branding & Marketing, Business Inspiration, Featured Post, Grow Your Business, Leadership, Solopreneurs, Starting A Small Business, Technology, Women in Business, Your Small Business Tagged With: AI planning tool, AI platform, AI strategy, AI workplace, business processes, Cofounder.ai, Customer Service, market validation, repetitive work, technology strategy

How to Drive Inbound Leads and Turn Them Into Revenue

September 7, 2026 By Melinda Emerson Leave a Comment

Business woman on phone

For many small businesses, inbound leads are among the most valuable sources of potential sales. When someone picks up the phone or goes to your website to contact your business, they are usually much closer to making a buying decision than someone casually browsing online. They already recognize they have a problem and are actively […]

Filed Under: Branding & Marketing, Cash Flow & Finance, Featured Post, Grow Your Business, Sales, Starting A Small Business, Women in Business, Your Small Business Tagged With: advertising, google business profile, inbound leads, lead revenue, sales

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What the 2026 Midterm Elections Mean for Small Business Owners

Running a small business requires making decisions about money, employees, customers, and growth. Government policy is another factor that belongs in that decision-making process. Tax legislation, healthcare requirements, trade policy, and access to financing can all affect a company’s operating expenses and long-term plans. On Nov. 3, Americans will vote in the midterm elections. All […]

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