The Essential Guide to Family Member Loans

Family loans are loans between relatives and family members. For some, borrowing money from a relative is a better option than taking a loan from a bank. With family loans, the borrower is not restricted to use the funds for a particular purpose, the rates and terms are typically better, and since family members know…

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Trademark Ownership Strategy

I’ve stressed the importance of trademarks on many occasions. In short, owning (and controlling) the brand name is essential on the journey of franchising. It’s one of the many reasons that California cannabis companies can’t franchise. Acquiring the trademark isn’t the only thing you need to consider when going through this process. One important, yet often…

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8 Coaching Myths to Avoid in Building Your Team

Business productivity is all about having the right people, even though I’m bombarded daily with online tools and mobile apps that promise to solve every problem with automation and data. In reality, business success and satisfaction is about doing the right things at the right time, which requires leadership and coaching. But coaching doesn’t always…

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Would You Pay a High Achiever More Than Yourself?

Recently I was asked to review an offer letter for a senior director of business development. The CEO was concerned that he was offering far too much in the form of incentive compensation, with bonuses that could greatly exceed the base salary if all the bonus items were achieved. I asked the CEO to imagine…

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The Rise of Influencers and How to Account for Their Success

Influencers – such as bloggers and social media mavens – have risen in prominence as the internet becomes more integrated as a tool for communication and commerce. In fact, many influencers make significant profits by plying their particular brand of persuasion. With profit, though, comes taxes. While clarity has been late in coming, the IRS…

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7 Ways to Keep Your Servers Safe and Sound

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself how safe your company’s resources really are? When it comes to your servers, there’s no messing around. Servers need to be regularly monitored to ensure they run at their best. Your servers allow their users to share and access their information from various workstations. Servers store your data…

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How Weak Leadership Impacts Customer Loyalty

Customer experience is foundational to the success of your organization. As a customer experience expert, and as a customer myself, I have seen my fair share of customer experiences ranging from exceptional to downright disturbing. Check out Sometimes Truth is Stranger than Fiction and Is Your Customer Focused Language Important? for more about interesting customer service experiences. One thing that…

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