Halloween is just around the corner, so I’ve got a “Trick or Treat” Small Business Quiz. When do you know whether something in your small business is a “Treat”—a real opportunity—or a “Trick”—a problem disguised as a chance to grow? Are these tricks or treats for your small business? (Answers below) Your top performing salesperson …
Eight Easy Steps to Keep your Small Business Safe
Every small business owner wants to know how to increase sales, improve their marketing, motivate their employees. But first, let’s make sure we keep your company safe—your data, your money, your physical premises. Having survived in business for over 25 years, I’ve picked up a few tricks along the way—and learned a hard lesson or …
How Not to Start a Startup
I live in the heart of Silicon Valley, where the main industry seems to be starting businesses. As a result, I’ve seen a lot of startups come and go—and I’ve started a few myself—so I’ve had quite an education. I’ve had friends who’ve started businesses they’ve built and sold for millions of dollars. But even …
Managing Millennials in Your Small Business
Want to succeed in growing your small business? Then one skill you’d be wise to learn is how to manage and motivate millennials. After all, millennials—those born roughly between 1980-2000—are now America’s largest demographic group. While the average age of a small business owner is 50.3 years, many of your employees, not to mention customers, …
Reducing Spam Calls in your Small Business
I get a ton of spam. No, not the processed lunch meat—unsolicited junk phone calls, or robocalls. These junk phone calls scare people into believing they’re in trouble with the IRS or sell them scam-ridden vacation packages. While, as an individual, these spam phone calls are annoying, for a small business, they’re downright expensive. For …
Focus on Employees to Build your Small Biz
When I started my small business, I was committed to treating my employees well. As an employee, I’d worked for bosses who took their employees for granted, and I knew how de-motivating that could be. I knew that I didn’t want to be that kind of boss. Even more importantly, in a small business, your …
Time for a Small Business Declaration of Independence
Small business owners: King George III had nothing on you as a tyrant. When the colonists in America rebelled against that despotic (and crazy) English King, they were fighting to take charge of their own lives. They wanted to set the rules, not be dictated to. But as a small business owner, are you really …
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9 Steps to Protect Your Small Biz from Tariffs
It’s time to recognize the facts: the US is in a trade war. Some of the victims of the war are almost certainly going to be small businesses and small farms. Maybe even yours. Even if your small business does not directly import or export goods, you’re still going to pay and pay big. I’ve …
Hey Small Businesses: Do You Know Where Your Customers Are?
You’ve got 20,000 followers for your small business on Facebook. You sell hundreds of products a month on Amazon. Your restaurant increased its sales by linking up with an online food delivery service. This all seems good, right? Not so fast. Who owns your customers? That’s a critical question for you to answer if you …
Hey Small Businesses: Do You Know Where Your Customers Are?Read More
