Features
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Lose Weight Fast—Your Business, That Is
September 15, 2011
Does your business need to lose weight? Mine did. In 2011, I spent far more money than what was coming in. That's okay. It's a new business. That's what's supposed to happen, right? You invest so that you can build up the business. Not always. And we must stay vigilant. We have to lose weight.
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Are Your Customers Satisfied?
September 13, 2011
When business is rolling steadily along, companies often don’t spend time to asking customers how they’re performing—if they lose one, they just find another. But in tough markets it’s more important than ever to seek customer input.
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The 10 Worst Things About Owning A Business
September 12, 2011
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The 3 Secrets To Extremely Loyal Employees
September 08, 2011
In the business world there is always a lot of talk about the importance of customer loyalty. But employee loyalty is every bit as important. Many people overlook the importance of employee, but to do so can be detrimental to your business. If you have not considered the issue before, there is no better time than now.
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Investing in Your Community Will Boost Your Sales
September 07, 2011
No business operates in a vacuum. No matter where you are based, your company is part of the local community — and it can easily be part of other communities, both online and off. It's tempting not to worry too much about the community, of course. The most important focus should be your business's success, rather than trying to integrate with your neighbors. But the two aren't mutually exclusive.
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5 Interview Questions Every Small Business Owner Should Ask
September 06, 2011
Hiring is one of the most important and critical tasks for any small business owner. After all, your business is only as good as your people. But how do you know who the good people are? And how do you determine which candidates will perform to your expectations? Anyone can put on a good show for a few hours during an interview. What you want are people who will still be good in a few months. Nothing is certain, of course, but these five questions will help you see deeper into the candidate's mind and make the decision that is best for your business.
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The Recipe For Business Success
September 02, 2011
Elizabeth Gignilliat, CEO of Parties That Cook, shares her recipe for business success.
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Be The CEO Who Listens To His People
September 01, 2011
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Balancing Personal and Professional on Facebook
August 31, 2011
By now, you probably have a Facebook account. According to some recent reports, there are nearly 750 million other people on Facebook as well. But no matter how long you’ve had an account, you may still be struggling with this question: how do I balance my personal and professional lives on my Facebook profile?
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Why You Should Stay Under The Radar
August 30, 2011
Every entrepreneur wants to see their business grow. But there is a risk. If you grow too big or too fast, the competition will catch on. By growing fast and staying under the radar, you will allow your business to strengthen.
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Cut To Grow: Simple Strategies For Building Your Business
August 29, 2011
Chris Brogan, President of Human Business Works, shares how to cut things out of your business to make it and you more productive.
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9 Things Every Entrepreneur Should Know Before Starting A Business
August 25, 2011
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3 Smart Investments For Greater Productivity
August 24, 2011
A faster computer might help you work faster, or it might help you get on Facebook faster. So if speedier laptops for everyone aren't the answer, what is?
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Recession? Sure Feels Like One
August 23, 2011
Dr. Joe explains that another recession may have already started, and the thought of that may be all that's needed to create demands for more Fed easing and more fiscal stimulus. The NASDAQ is down -18% from the start of the December 2007 recession on an inflation-adjusted basis. The commodities and consumer inflation trends may actually be slowing right now. Yet again, Dr. Joe explains some of the economic workings that are contrary to the morning news.
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Do You Think Like An Employee Or An Entrepreneur?
August 22, 2011
Whether we choose to work for a business or to start our own, our ability to identify our business mindset as well as the mindset of the organizations who pay us can lead to successful business relationships or disaster. Organizations that value entrepreneurial thinking tend to undervalue folks who think like employees. Those that value employee thinking tend to find entrepreneurial thinkers disruptive, difficult to manage and counterproductive to the organizational goals.
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The Zen Way To Build A Successful Business
August 19, 2011
Zen philosophers knew nothing about social media. But, Guy Kawasaki recently wrote about how Zen can help with Powerpoint, Facebook and Twitter. Similarly, studying the ancient wisdom of these masters can also provide a path to build a successful business. According to Zen philosophy, there are "five fingers" of success that have worked for thousands of years.
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Top 10 Attributes Of Successful Strategic Plans
August 18, 2011
For all of the attention and focus placed on strategic planning and change initiatives, it’s hard to imagine that roughly 70 percent of strategic plans fail and 73 percent of change initiatives fall short of producing any meaningful or lasting change. Troubled by these figures, we compared notes on initiatives that have succeeded and, sourcing some renowned scholars, have come up with a top 10 list of shared attributes.
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9 Business Lessons From A Blown Out Car Tire
August 17, 2011
Your businesses is similar to a blown tire. If we take the time to observe closely, there are a variety of signs warning we will notice that can indicate problems (or continued success) in our businesses. As business owners it is critical that you are in tune with all aspects of your business.
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Are You Using the Right Economic Benchmarks for Your Business?
August 16, 2011
Is it real? Is it current? No, we're not talking about philosophy or the timeliness of something, we're talking about financial data. Dr. Joe explains how to use national economic data when comparing your business performance to the economy. Be sure to use the right tool at the right time and in the right way.
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Unemployment, the Downgrade, the Stock Rout, and Productivity
August 11, 2011
It was an interesting weekend, with Standard and Poors downgrading U.S. long-term debt (but not changing short-term debt ratings) to just a small notch under AAA. Why was everyone surprised? It was telegraphed for weeks, and everyone had access to the same Congressional Budget Office baseline data they were using in their forecasts. No matter which baseline you selected, which was a bone of contention with the Treasury Department, it showed the same thing.
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Using LinkedIn to Find a Job
August 10, 2011
LinkedIn allows you to upload your resume right to your profile, which is a fantastic feature. Potential employers have the most important document that you can produce. The time you spend crafting a solid resume is validated when you open it up to the LinkedIn audience.
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How To Land Rockstar Employees By Buying Companies For Free
August 09, 2011
The best kind of people to hire for a small business are self-starters. The type who are curious, motivated, don’t do anything halfway. These are the people who give everything to their work because they know their work will give a lot back in return.
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Getting Noticed: Small and Medium-Sized Businesses Need A Cross Media Strategy
August 08, 2011
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Building a Professional Sales Team Selecting the Right People
August 04, 2011
In the first article in our series we discussed the importance of defining the role of Professional Sales Person in your organization. This analysis must consider what your clients are looking for in a sales representative
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GDP Data Revisions Show Steeper Recession and Unrecovered Economy
August 02, 2011
The economy is still faltering. While there was great hope that successful completion of the debt ceiling negotiations would be met with economic enthusiasm, from what we know of the agreements as proposed is that, as usual, the debt ceiling is just raised, and there is a lot of kicking the can down the road, so each side can blame the other for lack or restraint or lack of cooperation, and spending can continue.