Small Biz Interviews: Saving for a Rainy Day
The adage “Know what you do, do what you love” seems particularly appropriate for Freeman, a small Seattle-based company founded on a singular goal: design the perfect raincoat. From an ad hoc space in their own kitchen, husband/wife duo Scott and Brittany Freeman, well-versed in the rules of wet weather if not necessarily menswear design,…
Read More5 Lessons You Can Learn from Buzzfeed to Drive More Blog Traffic
Love them or hate them, Buzzfeed is one of the most successful websites on the internet. Buzzfeed attracts more unique monthly visitors than CNN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. Buzzfeed has several tricks up its sleeve to spread its content far and wide, and you can easily use these tricks on your…
Read MoreEncore Entrepreneur is the New Baby Boomer Lifestyle
Contrary to what you might guess, the highest rate of entrepreneurial growth over the last few years is not Gen-Y upstarts, but Boomers over the age of 50, now called encore entrepreneurs. In fact, according to the most recent Index of Startup Activity by the Kauffman Foundation and recent SBA reports, these Baby Boomers are actually driving a…
Read MoreDo You Rush Things?
There’s a ride at Walt Disney World called Rock n’ Roller Coaster. At the very beginning of the ride, the car you ride in goes from a dead stop to over 60 mph in less than three seconds. What a rush! While that’s enough to get anyone’s heart racing, the folks at Disney don’t leave anything to…
Read More5 Effortless Ways Small Business Owners Can Thrive in 2017
Small business owners have it tough. With limited budgets and an inability to command the resources of corporate giants, they need to thrive in an increasingly competitive world. These tips are going to help you thrive over the coming twelve months. 1. Employ Locals for a More Established Team High turnover rates are deadly for…
Read MoreDo We All Undervalue Bootstrapping?
In business schools, in popular blogs, in business publications, and in general discussion of starting a business, we undervalue bootstrapping. We teach starting a business as if every new business requires sophisticated venture capital. I understand how this can be educational. It means teaching business planning, which is the ultimate business teaching tool, and investment…
Read MoreDon’t Make These 4 Common Tax Mistakes
As a business owner, one time of the year that you might not look forward to is tax time. After all, not only do you probably not want to have to pay in any taxes, but you might be a bit stressed out about the whole process of filling out and filing your tax forms.…
Read MoreFamily-Run Franchises: Are They Right for You?
If you’re close to your family, it might seem a natural extension of your personal relationship to move into a business one. Many families choose to go into the franchise business together, to varying degrees of success. Here’s what you should consider before mixing business with pleasure in your family. Are You Able to Separate…
Read MoreCan You Pierce Layers in Supplier–Customer Partnerships?
I recently experienced an amazing effort of outreach by a vice president of a large national customer asking for a meeting with the product development team of a critical supplier, one of “my” companies. The goal, the VP stated, was to “see if these guys are battle hardened veterans that have dealt with the real-world…
Read More13 Easy Ways to Be More Productive and More Relaxed
As a small business owner, your time is incredibly valuable, and usually quite limited. You seem to spend hours at your desk tapping away, but sometimes you don’t actually achieve a lot. Here are some of the best ways to improve your productivity levels without working harder, just working smarter. 1. Take advantage of time-management…
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