I have a confession to make: I love doing work for my small business in a café. I’m not alone. Look around most coffee houses, and you’ll see businesspeople and students toiling away on laptops. But remember: that café owner is a small business owner too. How can you be fair to them while turning …
Instagram, It’s Not Just for Pics Anymore
Want a sell-out crowd of small business owners at your next Chamber of Commerce meeting? Then invite a speaker on the topic of “How to Increase Sales Using Social Media.” Small businesses are excited about, but challenged, when it comes to using social media for actually conducting business. Now, there’s a newly expanded tool they …
Lin-Manuel Miranda Spills Secrets of Success
When the organizers of Qualtrics’ X4 Summit were looking for a “wow” factor for their annual tech conference in Salt Lake City, they pulled out all the stops. Maroon Five played a two-hour private concert. Tony Hawk, Arianna Huffington, Magic Johnson, shared business insights. Olympian Jonny Moseley skied with attendees. But when CEO Ryan Smith …
7 Reasons Your Customers Hate You
Ever wonder why your small business customers keep breaking up with you? It’s not them; it’s you. Sure, you want to blame the competition down the street—it’s younger, sexier, or cooler. But more likely, you’ve done something to irritate your small business customers—you take them for granted, you never call anymore, you don’t do the …
What’s at your Core?
I’ve created a major new product for my small business, and, after more than two years of hard work and investment, it’s almost ready to launch. I’m not quite ready to tell you what it is. But I can tell you that a few years ago, I took a good, hard look at my small …
What the Year of the Dog Holds for Your Small Business
Gung Hay Fat Choy. That’s the traditional greeting for Chinese New Year—which began on Friday, February 16 with celebrations continuing for two weeks. What does the Chinese New Year mean for your small business? In the Chinese—or Lunar—calendar, each year corresponds with one of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. According to legend, the …
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Small Biz Lessons from Ice Skating
The Winter Olympics are here, and figure skating is always one of the most popular sports of the games. I know I’m always enthralled watching how athleticism and artistry are combined. When I was just starting my small business, I was an enthusiastic, though not very good, ice skater, and I found there were many …
Small Biz Trends for 2018
You don’t have to be “trendy” to take advantage of emerging trends to help your business grow. Smart small business owners know they need to keep up with social and technological changes to succeed and survive over time. Which trends can your small business benefit from in 2018? Local. The term “local” is hot. Consumers …
Valentine’s Day is for Small Biz Too
It’s nearly Valentine’s Day—so it’s time to show your small business customers some love. In today’s #MeToo and #TimesUp climate, that doesn’t mean doing anything your grandmother would be ashamed of you for. And it doesn’t (necessarily) mean sending customers a box of chocolates or Valentine’s Day cards. No, it means insuring your customers know …
