Small Business Leadership Primer

Small business leadership can be a tricky endeavor. There is much more involved than simply performing the various tasks involved in running your business day to day. A leader must also set the tone and direction of the business and then encourage others to do their best. Never make the mistake of believing that you must have a large team to be a leader. Even small teams need someone to point the way.

Leadership Basics

7 Ways to lead. Leading and empowering have not always been used synonymously, but perhaps they should be. The reality is that these are complimentary ideas, and leadership is best when it seeks to empower those in the team to do their best as well. How can we lead in a way that empowers others to do the best they can? This post looks at leadership in your small business and how you can bring out the best in your team. SBA Community

Lead your own way. The uncertain economic times encourage adherence to the old philosophy of “playing it safe”. However, if you truly want to be innovative and stay ahead of the crowd, this article encourages you to look at 10 common practices for tough economic times and see the advantages to ignoring them. Certainly this approach merits examination. Inc.com

Tips & Trends

Getting your business beyond the competition. It’s something every business must deal with. Other businesses in your market fighting for your customers and clients. How do you win out and yet avoid the pitfalls that a small business and especially a startup are prone to? Here are some suggestions that will push your startup out in front of the pack. get busy media

Corporate America lends a hand to small business. Corporate America offers various programs and helps to support small businesses and entrepreneurs. Some are worthwhile. Some are not very helpful. EBay, IBM, Intuit, and RatePoint are four who offer the entrepreneur very different types of help, but with the same goal. They give the small business owner more time to work on what’s important to them. Huff Post Small Business

Tech & Innovation

Why small bussinesses (sometimes) aren’t innovative. While it is true that most jobs are created by small businesses, it is wrong to think that all small businesses are similar. Not all are cutting edge operations lead by innovators or entrepreneurs who have a great new idea they want to develop and market.  While all small businesses are invariably lumped together, they are not all the same. Slate

Is your small business investing in tech? Maybe you may want to start. A lot of your competitors may be dedicating resources to technology investments and perhaps with good reason. What about your business? What kind of technology would help your company run more smoothly? Is now the time to invest and where should your business investment in technology get started. WSJ

Client Relations

Is social media advertising a good idea? With so many people using Facebook and many other giant social networking sites out there, certainly the possibility (even probability) of reaching potential customers through those networks has increased. So what do you think? Is social media advertising good for small businesses or could it be a big waste of time and money? WSJ

How to say “no.” There are times you may need to turn down a client or customer, but saying no can be harder than it sounds especially if you have gotten in the habit, like many small business owners, of saying yes to more work. Be prepared with a response that is professional but to the point. The Work At Home Woman

Management & Operations

How to run your business from…anywhere? One of the greatest perks of leading a small business can be not having to be chained to the office anymore…even if that office is in your living room. How do you go about running your business remotely? It’s probably both easier and more challenging than you think. Here’s how to get started. Youngentrepreneur

How to get results. Obviously the best leadership should produce the best results, but how exactly is this put to the test? How can we measure leadership and the benefits it brings? How can we introduce the idea of accountability and results as a way to improve the efforts we make to create a more successful business daily? Partners in Excellence

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