Woof! Allow me to introduce myself. I’m ZuZu, Rhonda Abrams’ dog. I know you’re looking for Rhonda’s small business advice, but for “Take Your Dog to Work Day,” happening on June 23, I’m taking over her column. Of course, in Rhonda’s company, every day is “Take Your Dog to Work Day,” as dogs are welcome …
8 Cheap Ways to Reward Small Biz Employees
Employees are at the heart of your small business. They serve the customers, make your product or provide your services, fill and process orders, get the shipping out the door. Without good employees, it’s tough to build a successful, profitable company. But in small businesses, money can often be tight. How can you reward good …
8 Lessons from Airlines for Small Business
Lately, it seems like airlines can’t do anything right. They drag people off planes, kill giant rabbits, snatch strollers from babies. Is this what customer service should be all about? If you run a small business, the airlines have been giving us all a master class in “what not to do to your customers,” so …
7 Signs Your Small Business Is About to Die
Every small business owner has good days and bad days, good months and bad months. But how do you know when you’re not just experiencing a temporary downswing but are in serious trouble? Here are seven key danger signs that your business is about to fail and steps you can take to keep your business …
8 Things Scarier than Zombies for Small Business
Embezzlement. Losing your biggest customer. Unending debt. For a small business owner, lots of things are scarier than zombies (reappearing October 23 when AMC’s popular series The Walking Dead resumes) or goblins knocking on your door on Halloween. If you’re checking under your bed–or desk–for monsters, here are fearsome things that might threaten your small …
6 Steps to Small Business Health
Do you offer paid sick leave in your small business? If not, you may soon. Throughout the country, there’s a national movement to insure that employees receive at least a few paid sick days every year. This week, President Barack Obama devoted his weekly address to the subject of paid sick leave, pointing out that …
Do New Overtime Rules Affect Your Small Biz?
Beginning in December, 2016, about 4.2 million more Americans will qualify for overtime pay under new rules from the US Department of Labor. If you own a small business and have full-time employees, there’s a good chance these rules apply to you. Currently, hourly workers, lower-wage earners, and non-managerial workers must be paid 1.5 times …
7 Things to Stop Doing in Your Business
If you’re like me in my small business, you’ve got a long list of things you’ve got to do today, this week, this month. You’re overwhelmed. Well, I’m going to help you find more time and become more productive. How? By sharing the seven things you should stop doing in your small business now. When …
5 Benefits of a Great Company Culture
Recently, I had lunch with a friend, I’ll call him Ryan, who’s launched a high-tech start-up. Most of us would envy Ryan’s success. He easily raised nearly two million dollars in funding. He’s attracted a small team of outstanding employees. He’s landed a couple of major customers. But he confided to me that his biggest …
