I recently had a story shared with me by a mentor of mine on his experience as a business-to-business salesman. He was a corporate type that sold telephone systems and services to major retailers. The telecommunications industry has always been a rapidly moving and competitive industry, especially since deregulation came along. Many of his transactions […]
10 Building Blocks to Small Business Success
Guest Article When it comes to starting a business, it’s best to start with the fundamentals. You must first come up with a good idea. Then figure out if you can generate a customer base. You must consider your financial position. Conduct a SWOT analysis. Then once you have some proof of concept you’ll need […]
Why You Need To Build An Email List, and Not a Social Media Profile
Guest Article I’ve got news for you — when you’re building your social media profile (and not your email list), you’re setting yourself up for failure. Here’s why: Your goal with social media should be to drive traffic back to your own website. Once your target lands there, you’d best have at least three ways […]
Employee Time Tracking: Nothing Personal It’s Just Business
Guest Article Tracking where and how your employees spend their time is critical, especially for service-oriented companies that bill per hour. It’s also important to understand what the overall productivity level is of your employees, especially those who work from home. It’s not that you don’t trust your employees, but when you measure something, people […]
How Much More Productive Could You Be in Your Small Business?
Guest Article We all know the importance of working out and keeping our bodies in tip-top shape. The recommended amount of exercise per week is 30 minutes, three times per week. Easy, right? Wrong. As a small business owner, we wear so many hats, have way too many demands and time is money. Those 90 […]
5 Secrets for Growing Your Business Smarter and Faster
Guest Article There’s no doubt that starting and running a business comes with a long to-do list. Maintaining your normal activities will keep you busy beyond the 8-hour day in addition to the administrative activities that are essential to running your operations. This is especially onerous if you are the only one and wearing all […]
How to Use Images to Build Your Online Reputation
Guest Post Images are a powerful and dynamic storytelling tool. They can convey a message within a glance and can therefore make your website stand out from the rest. Images, such as those found on your website and infographics, can be a powerful marketing tool, especially for startups looking to earn links and gain recognition […]
How to Get Started with Email Marketing
Guest Post Nothing else in email marketing is more important than having a strong relationship with your email list subscribers. Do things right and you’ll have a super responsive list of recipients, which is gold in the email marketing game. Most likely your list is in QuickBooks or a spreadsheet. The most common is a […]
How to Refresh Your Small Business Elevator Pitch for 2013
When you are in business, you are selling yourself as much as you are selling your products and services. One of things that you might want to update as you head into the New Year is how you introduce yourself. Some call it your 30 second commercial; some call it a value proposition or your […]
How to Hire Effectively in Your Small Business
When is it the right time to bring on a part time or full time person in your business? Are you ready to move past happen stance or inconsistent support? Have you considered what to consider as you interview each candidate? Does the person bring energy into the room upon arrival? Not everyone has to […]