Small Business Operations

Spring Clean Your Small Business, Twitter Chat Recap

By Anita Campbell - Apr 11, 2013 - 2 Comments

It's that time of year again. It's time to spring clean your small business. This means cleaning your workspace and business, of course. But it also means getting more organized in general and freshening things up. A recent Twitter chat looked at how to clean up, get organized and start running … Read More

16 Tips for Saving on Small Business Expenses Infographic

By Anita Campbell - Apr 10, 2013 - 7 Comments

Your top three business expenses are your employees’ wages, inventory and rent. According to an infographic from Bolt Insurance, 1 in every 5 dollars your business earns goes toward paying your employees. That’s a tough expense to cut, but there’s a lot you can do to reduce your costs on … Read More

10 Ways to Avoid Becoming a Customer Service Robot

By Susan Payton - Apr 9, 2013 - 7 Comments

In thinking about another area of business where brands often fail due to over-automating activity, customer service comes to mind. Who hasn't been a victim of a customer service rep mechanically reading off of a script, never pausing to genuinely ask how we're doing? If you train customer … Read More

6 Time Saving Tips to Shave Hours Off Your Week

By Megan Totka - Apr 4, 2013 - 20 Comments

[Click for full version] When you’re running a small business, time is literally money. Without a salary or a clock to punch, the only time you’re making money is when you’re working. Unfortunately, this leads too many small business owners to work extra hours - and eventually burn … Read More

4 Steps To Getting Rid Of Your Business Dependencies

By Steve Wilkinghoff - Apr 2, 2013 - 3 Comments

I'm no computer or programming expert, but I recently came across some articles about a concept from computer science called Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). There was a reference to the difference between what are called "real dependencies" and "artificial dependencies". In my … Read More

20 Signs That You’re a Success in Your Industry

By Valentine Belonwu - Mar 31, 2013 - 23 Comments

Running a small business can be confusing and the path forward is often unclear. Many small business owners are hanging on the brink of being just successful enough to not go out of business. In otherwords, many are just getting by. If that's the case, should you keep the business open in … Read More

10 WordPress Plugins That Protect Your Site

By Shawn Hessinger - Mar 29, 2013 - 9 Comments

WordPress plugins are an easy way to protect a valuable company asset, your site. That includes the content of your website or blog, making up the sum total of your business's online marketing, communications, branding and even intellectual property. A report this week of a vulnerability in … Read More

8 Steps To Destroy Your Fear And Replace It With Certainty

By Steve Wilkinghoff - Mar 27, 2013 - 5 Comments

Recently, I had a conversation with a business owner who was keen to make some changes to his business. These changes involved the sales mix of his service offerings and focusing more aggressively on a specific subset of his current customers. He realized that his true passion was for … Read More

The Company That Works Out Together, Works Well Together

By Rieva Lesonsky - Mar 27, 2013 - 6 Comments

Overit Media in Albany, New York, is at the leading edge of a trend. The 30-person company was recently featured in Fast Company because of its hourly company-wide business fitness breaks, which range from lunges and pushups to “freestyle dancing.” Every hour, employees drop what they’re … Read More

Why, When, What and How to Outsource Tasks

By Richard White - Mar 22, 2013 - 12 Comments

Is it a good idea for a small business to outsource some tasks? Contrary to what many small business entrepreneurs think, it is often a great idea to outsource certain tasks to others. But, before you make any decisions to outsource, here are a few things you need to think about. Why, When, … Read More

How To Improve Your Operating Performance Through Information Technology

By Anita Campbell - Mar 21, 2013 - 1 Comment

Sponsored Post These days, every business and every department is looking for better performance. Let’s look at 3 strategies to improve the company operating performance, through technology options available today: 1. Your organization will be more efficient if IT takes the … Read More

4 Growth Tactics for Your Small Business

By Ann Smarty - Mar 19, 2013 - 9 Comments

Many of us would love to be the next Facebook, Reddit or Google. It is a dream of anyone with a startup, whatever the genre, to become the contender for established sites already dominating the Web. The problem is that these sites are already working with a dedicated user base. When it comes to … Read More