Here’s a dilemma most wine drinkers face: you want to buy a good bottle of wine, but you don’t want to spend a fortune. And, if you’re like me, you’d like to help support a fellow small business owner, choosing a pleasurable wine from a small winery at an affordable price. How do you figure …
Secrets of Trade Show Success
Marketing: it’s critical for success in any business, especially small businesses. But every small business has limited resources – both in terms of time and money – to spend on marketing, so make sure your marketing dollars and hours are being spent where they’ll do the most good. Where do I spend most of my …
11 Small Biz Social Media Do’s and Don’ts
Face it, some days you wish social media would just go away so you can get back to running your small business. Sure, you like Facebook for keeping up with family and friends, but what the heck are you supposed to post about your storage unit business? Instagram and Pinterest are great for pretty pictures, …
Small Biz Regulation Cut? Not So Fast
With smiling small business owners surrounding him, Donald Trump held a ceremony to sign one of his many Executive Orders on his tenth day in office. This Executive Order was drafted to keep one of Trump’s campaign promises of cutting regulations for small businesses. It’s a nice show, Mr. Trump. But that’s mostly what it …
Make Customers Fall In Love With Your Biz
Don’t let the heat of new attraction dim; nurture the relationship with your customers. In February, love is in the air. After all, February contains Valentine’s Day, American Heart Month, even Love Your Pet Day. But for small-business owners and entrepreneurs, I’m declaring February as Love Your Customers Month. Getting and keeping customers is like …
Should Your Students Emulate Elon Musk?
In the summer of 2016, Elon Musk, CEO of electric-car maker Tesla, unveiled his vision of the future, called “Master Plan, Part Deux.” Not content to just concentrate on building a sexy, safe, and desirous electric car, Musk already had a lot on his plate: building a massive electric battery plant in Nevada, buying the solar-panel company SolarCity and, oh …
Travel Ban Threatens Main Street Small Biz
Walk down University Avenue in Palo Alto, the “Main Street” of Silicon Valley, and you’ll easily hear seven or ten different languages spoken. Those speakers come from all over the world to launch companies, create jobs, invest in America. America has always attracted the best and the brightest, the most eager, from around the world. …
Small Business Borrowing Troubles
Having trouble getting a bank loan for your small business? So are many other small companies, especially those in economically disadvantaged areas, according to a report released Tuesday January 24. That lack of traditional bank financing has led to a proliferation of online small business lenders. But experts warn: be careful. “Overall, the total number …
4 Steps to Take to Trump-Proof Your Small Biz
On January 20, Donald J. Trump takes up residence in the White House. What does this new Administration potentially mean for small business? There’s an old saying: politicians campaign in poetry and govern in prose. Now, the last campaign didn’t offer poetry from any side, but the grand promises and slogans of a campaign now …
