Are you ready to dream big in 2012? This is the perfect time to get a clear sense of what you need to do better in your business. Setting annual sales goals is fine, but you know me. I am all about the 30-day sales goal. As in, how much money do you need to […]
How to Export to China as a Small Business
Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with Frank Lavin @Export_Now Frank was America’s salesman in chief in his role as Under Secretary for International Trade at the U.S. Department of […]
Managing The Stress In Your Small Business
When you put out your shingle that says open for business, you immediately take on 10-14 jobs all at once. Even the best multi-tasker, can become a spaghetti brain at times, especially when everything happens all at once. How you handling stress is a key ingredient in your long-term success in business. Here is a […]
Are You Focused on the What’s New Part of Your Business?
The ads have been run, the banners placed (either at your brick-and mortar store or online), the emails have been sent and the tweets have been written, it’s now time to launch your business. All the months of preparation, anxiety, and expectations have coalesced around this pivotal point – creating an enterprise to sell something. […]
Pros and Cons of Running a Small Business with Your Spouse
What can be better than having your most trusted ally working with you while you are trying to navigate the challenging route to small business ownership? You can rely on him / her to face whatever challenge comes along the way. Your spouse also understands your strengths and weaknesses better than anyone else and can […]
Are Your Poor Management Skills Holding Back Your Business?
You run a small business and you can’t help but notice that you are not getting the most out of some of your employees. Are they not motivated? Do they just not seem to get the required work? Have you found them to be different from when you first hired them? Do you suspect that […]
Are You Ready For Succession Planning In Your Family Business?
A colleague recently asked me: “Is succession planning the biggest issue facing family businesses today?” After giving the question some thought, I responded that we must be clear on what we mean by Succession Planning. If succession planning is defined as the journey to plan for leadership for the survival of the business as an […]
Deciding When and Who to Hire in Your Small Business
To quote an old economics professor of mine, “the fundamental economic problem is the efficient use of scarce resources”. I tend to look at most of my business issues from this perspective – does it make sense to do this task myself? Do I have the skills needed to do it well? Or can someone […]
Are You Ready to Work From Home?
When launching a small business, you need to keep your expenses low. One great way to do this is to work from your home. There are 26 million small business in the US today and 16 million of them are solopreneurs, who in most cases are building their business dreams from their back bedroom, basement […]
Are You Ready for Holiday Shoppers?
Whether you are retailer or an internet marketer, it’s time to create a Christmas holiday strategy. If you make the bulk of your profits on black Friday, Small Business Saturday or Cyber Monday, you need to make sure that your business is ready for the holiday rush. Even if the holidays are not your peak […]