4 Bad Habits You Need to Break
Business owners these days rarely take the time to analyze the performance of their various ventures. With the emergence of a global economy that is literally a click away, most businesses—if not all—are too focused on pushing volumes and mutating the bottom line. One may be quick to defend this highly impersonal attitude as being…
Read More11 Apps to Make Your Smartphone Work Harder for Your Business
It’s easy to view your smartphone as nothing more than an elaborate distraction. However, if you use it properly, it has the potential to be an incredibly powerful business ally. By utilizing built-in features, such as GPS, in combination with innovative apps, you can use your phone to multi-task much more effectively. Be Productive MobileDay…
Read MoreWhich of the 3 Types of Advertising is Right for You?
If we never advertised, we’d never sell anything. Right? Perhaps right, but there are three major types of advertising, some requiring large outlays of cash, some not. First, you can advertise your brand so that people recognize it when they see it in later materials. Second, you can make a call to action, using an…
Read More5 Venture Capital Tips for Hardware Startups: It’s More Than Just the Product
Hardware startups, like every startup, need capital to get off the ground. But when it comes to getting started, it’s hard to point to a standard operating manual, because the world of hardware startups is so new—startups have been able to approach this space only recently due to low-cost components and digital fabrication. For years,…
Read More8 Myths That Can Inhibit Innovation in Your Business
Starting an entrepreneurial business, or maintaining the competitiveness of a mature business, requires innovation. Yet everyone I know seems to have a different perspective on what constitutes real innovation, and why is seems to happen so rarely. Another challenge is to debunk some of the common myths that seem prevent many from even assuming they…
Read MoreHow to Keep Customers from Falling Through the Cracks
If you’ve put in the work to get a customer to commit to your business, the last thing you want to do is lose them because of poor communication. A customer falling through the cracks doesn’t just lose you that sale, it may end up costing you that customer’s friends, family and coworkers. Bad customer…
Read MoreHow to Migrate Your Small Business IT to a New System
Most IT system migration projects understandably run late or over-budget because of financial or operational constraints. However, this may put your IT system at risk and negatively impact business operations. Below explains how to strategic plan and successfully complete an IT system migration. Data Migration Bear in mind that obtaining security accreditation for data migration…
Read More7 Social Media Tips That Promote Professionalism
“Professionalism is not just an idea; it’s a big deal. Having a team of dedicated and professional staff makes a huge difference in how customers perceive your business [or nonprofit], repeatedly patronize it, and refer it to others. It can make or break your brand whether you work alone, have one employee, or employ a…
Read More10 Most Common Business Plan Mistakes, Updated for 2016
Over the weekend, a Quora user asked me to list common mistakes that people make when developing a business plan. I’ve done that post from time to time, and it seemed like a good time to do it again. Here’s my list of most common business plan mistakes for 2016: 1. Misunderstanding the business objective.…
Read MoreSeth Godin Was Wrong: The Trouble with “Remarkable”
Seth Godin is a pretty smart guy. He invented permission marketing, popularized tribes, and taught us how to become the linchpin of our professional environments. He also reinvented book publishing with the Domino Project. Among his many good ideas is the concept of the Purple Cow—the idea that being remarkable is the key to attracting attention and success. Well, I…
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