If yours is a small business interested in selling through online platforms, there’s a ‘new’ online platform looking for you. While I’ve used the term ‘new,’ Alibaba.com—part of the Alibaba Group—is not new at all. Often called “the Amazon of China,” the 20-year-old Alibaba Group has recently announced opportunities for American businesses to sell to …
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 …
Time for a Small Business Declaration of IndependenceRead More
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
Spring Clean Your Small Business Costs
It’s spring! Time for the annual ritual of “spring cleaning.” But don’t just clean out your kitchen cupboards. It’s time to clean up—and pare down—your small business expenses. Give me half a day, and I’ll put more money in your bank account. When you’re running a business, you have fixed expenses that you routinely pay …
Handling the Summer Cash Flow Crunch
It’s Small Business Week—the beginning of May—and you know what that means: summer is around the corner. For many businesses, especially women-owned businesses, summer is either their busiest or slowest season. Businesses located in tourist locations, in hospitality industries, or in the wedding business, may see the bulk of their income in the next few …
