Growth Tips for Businesses

What would you suggest I do to increase my customer base?

By Bill Wortman | Jul 24, 2013

Increasing customer base: You may need to assess your target audience, geographic trade area, competition, staffing, and sales tools:

Branding by Design

By Dan Fontaine | Jul 24, 2013

You can’t afford to forget about design. When you start out in business, you’re faced with a lot of things that you have to do, from products to legal requirements to accounting and on and on. One of the important tasks before you is design.

It Pays to be Neighborly: Franchises Building Relationships with the Community

By Franchise.com | Jul 23, 2013

Everyone loves the neighbor who plans block parties, waters your plants while you’re away on vacation, and does their part to make the community a better place. One of the magical things about owning a franchise is the fact that you can be that neighbor and benefit your entire community.

Is there an acceptable policy for applicant screening for criminal background checks according to the EEOC?

By Jason White | Jul 23, 2013

As discussed in the EEOC and other labor industry information below, it is possible to develop acceptable policies and procedures for using criminal background checks in the applicant screening process without violating hiring discrimination regulations. However, due to the general complexities and legal risks, we always recommend that our members consult their business labor lawyers in order identify the federal and state labor laws applicable to their employees and businesses and to develop hiring and other personnel policies and procedures that are legally compliant.

Do You Need to Have Access to a Bid/RFP System?

By Jack Siney | Jul 23, 2013

You are a government contractor (or an aspiring government contractor). You have done your research and you know the government agencies you want to target. Now the BIG question is: Should you sign-up for a Bid/Request-for-Proposal (RFP) system?

How to Hire a Consultant for Your Business

By EJ Dealy | Jul 23, 2013

As a business owner, sometimes you may feel that you are too close to the problem at hand. You may find that you and your team of employees work well together, but often think similarly and come about solutions the same way.

Attributes of Great Leaders

By BizCoachingOnDemand.com | Jul 22, 2013

After evaluating and interviewing 70 chief executives, Adam Bryant wrote a book titled The Corner Office: Indispensable and Unexpected Lessons from CEOs on How to Lead and Succeed. In it, he describes 5 attributes that great leaders share. What’s especially interesting is how these qualities are not genetic, but can be developed and applied by individuals in any company.

Using an Attorney in Negotiations

By Jason White | Jul 22, 2013

Negotiations are an area where small businesses often call for help from an attorney, but the decision to let an attorney handle negotiations can be tricky. So how do you know whether to let your attorney negotiate on your behalf or just be a sounding board to provide you with guidance?

The Importance of Ranking on Page 1 of the Search Engine Results

By Ryan Kettler | Jul 22, 2013

I keep hearing a lot of murmuring in the small business marketing community, talking about Google Adwords/PPC, and other forms of paid advertisement. The general consensus is that these are effective marketing techniques for small businesses, but in actuality, organic search results are where small businesses should be focusing your marketing efforts.

Is Your Crazy New Business Idea a Home Run or a Dud?

By YEC | Jul 22, 2013

Whether it’s your next big business or a unique marketing campaign, when that next ambitious idea hits, ask yourself these five questions—and if the answer is yes to all five, well, roll up your sleeves and make it happen!