-
3 Biggest Fears of Small Business Owners
Last week, marketing specialist Warrillow & Co. issued the Top 3 fears of entrepreneurs. It seems what really scares business owners are not the day-to-day aches and pains, such as sales, rising taxes or more competition; the real fears spring from deep in the entrepreneur’s insecure soul: They are fear of not marketing effectively (38%); of never being able to retire (33%); and that they’re not staying abreast of new technology (20%). Read More Here
-
Is Your Small Business Website a Sales Funnel?
There’s a really big concept that’s important to get your arms around when it comes to your small business website. Yet, very few small business owners know it (which means there’s a big opening for you). In fact, what’s really wild is that even a majority of website pros, including web designers, web developers, and agencies don’t take advantage of it either. What is it? Read More
-
Top 10 Sources Of Funding For Start-ups
I’m not going to tell you how bad it is out there for entrepreneurs looking to raise money. If you don’t know this by now, you probably ought to look for other work. There is money out there, of course–there always is–but you have to know where to find it. You also need a sense of the strings that come with each flavor of capital. I’ve found that entrepreneurs tend to fixate on one or two funding sources–often to their detriment. Better to keep all options on the table. Here, then, is my prioritized list of sources, with some rules of thumb about each. With any luck, it will save you a lot of time and energy. Read More
-
Tame Your Cluttered Office
Many who know me might claim what follows is an example of “do as I say and not as I do.” More accurately, though, it’s do as I’m trying to do. I am not a neat freak. My work spaces, whether at the office or at home, tend to be a bit messy. I’m one of those “out of sight, out of mind” types, so I usually have folders, files, papers, magazines, and notebooks within easy reach. Read More
-
Free Google Tools for Small Business Websites
Small business owners need a lot of help to create and maintain a successful website. Thankfully, Google has some amazing tools out there that are free (many of which I use on my website and most of my client websites). Start incorporating some of these tools for your small business online presence. Read More
-
7 Ways to Build a Loyal Team
It might sounds crazy to talk about worker loyalty at a time when big companies routinely show longtime employees the door. But loyalty isn’t dead. Instead, it has shifted, with few people nowadays feeling loyal to the company overall or even the people running the business. “In the past, loyalty was vertical,” says Daniel Pink, author of “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. “The organization was on top and it provided security down to the individual.” Read More Here
-
Deciding to Start Your Business Part-Time
Launching a startup requires a great commitment of time, energy and financial resources. But starting a business doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to lay everything on the line right now, all at once: Many entrepreneurs figure out how to hang the Open for Business sign on a part-time basis. Read More Here
-
Best Books for Business Owners of 2009
Another year, another blizzard of business books. Which ones should you read? To pick the best business books of the year for the entrepreneur, we turned to editor at large Leigh Buchanan, who writes Inc.’s monthly “Skimmer’s Guide” book review; editor at large Bo Burlingham, the author of Small Giants; columnist Joel Spolsky, who is CEO and cofounder of Fog Creek Software in New York City; Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh; and Jack Covert, founder of 800CEORead.com, an influential blog that tracks new releases. Here are their top choices for 2009. Read More
-
Email Marketing for Small Business Owners
For everything shiny-and-new in the media about social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, the tried-and-true method of email marketing continues to lead the pack of new media advertising alternatives. In fact, Datran Media’s annual survey of Fortune 1000 executives and agencies listed email marketing once again as the strongest performer of new media marketing. And the new “2010 Marketing Trends” survey from StongMail indicates that email marketing leads the list of marketing tactics in which business executives plan to increase spending in 2010. Read More
-
236 Million Plus Listen To Radio Every Week
Radio reaches more than 236 million persons aged 12 and older over the course of a typical week, according to the RADAR 103 National Radio Listening Report, which will officially be released MONDAY, DECEMBER 14th. Since the DECEMBER 2007 RADAR 95 report, the RADAR national radio listening estimates and network radio audience reports have been based on the PORTABLE PEOPLE METER respondents from markets where ARBITRON has commercialized the PPM ratings service and on diary respondents from the balance of the United States. Read More
