You love your small business, right? Your friends envy you. After all, every day, you get to do something you love, work with people you’ve chosen, set your own hours. It’s paradise, correct? C’mon, you and I both know the truth—running a small business also means dealing with a whole bunch of not-so-sexy stuff. Here’s …
What Main Street Can Learn from Wall Street
If you think your small business should only be focused on profits, think again. The world is changing: customers, employees, communities increasingly expect companies to serve a social good, not just make money. It’s time to start thinking not of just one bottom line, but of a “triple bottom line.” Perhaps no better proof of …
Don’t Nickel-and-Dime Your Small Business Customers
When I started my first small business, my lawyer gave me some memorable advice. “Rhonda,” he counseled, “I’ve never had a client dispute a bill for professional services. People willingly pay thousands of dollars in hourly fees without complaint, but if I bill them $2 in mailing charges, they’ll get upset. It’s small items that …
Don’t Nickel-and-Dime Your Small Business CustomersRead More
7 Can’t-Miss Rules for Small Biz Growth
Ask virtually any small business owner what they want for their company, and the answer is likely to be “more customers, more money, more business.” In other words, they want their business to grow. But how do you get your small business to grow? Like many small business owners, in the beginning of my own …
7 Small Business Resolutions for 2018
It’s that time of year again: time for new year’s resolutions. Personal resolutions can be tough to keep—lose those pounds or quit smoking—but small business new year’s resolutions can be a whole lot easier and bring you greater satisfaction and success by year’s end. Seven resolutions to help you succeed in 2018: 1. Find—and speak …
Do These 3 Things in Your Small Biz Before Year End
In your small business, it’s almost time for you to tear the December 2017 page of your calendar off the wall. Before you do, there are three last-minute, year-end steps you can take to improve your small business bottom line for 2017. For advice on year-end financial tips, I turned to three of the leading …
Do These 3 Things in Your Small Biz Before Year EndRead More
Why Sex is Holding Women in Business Back
Sexual harassment is one of the many obstacles women entrepreneurs face as they try to grow small businesses into bigger enterprises, as pointed out in a new report, “Tackling the Gender Gap: What Women Entrepreneurs Need to Thrive,” released today by Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. …
The Worst Month Ever for Small Business
December should be a happy time for small business owners. Your cash registers should be full or you should be enjoying holiday parties. But to borrow a phrase, December, 2017 is going to be small business’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad month. This month, a number of decisions will be made or considered with …
50 Shades of Green
Wish lists aren’t just for boys and girls. We small businesses have them too. What tops yours? More customers? More sales? More money? Here’s a list of ideas to help bring in more customers, more sales, and more money this holiday season. Email newsletters with a holiday theme Customer appreciation events Extended holiday hours 2018 …
